Full Text of HJR0154 99th General Assembly
HJ0154 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The 99th General Assembly of the State of Illinois | 3 | | has submitted House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment | 4 | | 36, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution, to the | 5 | | voters of Illinois at the November 2016 general election; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution Amendment Act requires | 7 | | the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation of the | 8 | | proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, | 9 | | a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which | 10 | | the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also requires the | 11 | | information to be published and distributed to the electorate; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 15 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed new Section 11 of | 16 | | Article IX shall be published as follows:
| 17 | | "ARTICLE IX | 18 | | REVENUE | 19 | | SECTION 11. TRANSPORTATION FUNDS | 20 | | (a) No moneys, including bond proceeds, derived from taxes, | 21 | | fees, excises, or license taxes relating to registration, |
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| 1 | | title, or operation or use of vehicles, or related to the use | 2 | | of highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit, intercity | 3 | | passenger rail, ports, airports, or to fuels used for | 4 | | propelling vehicles, or derived from taxes, fees, excises, or | 5 | | license taxes relating to any other transportation | 6 | | infrastructure or transportation operation, shall be expended | 7 | | for purposes other than as provided in subsections (b) and (c). | 8 | | (b) Transportation funds may be expended for the following: | 9 | | the costs of administering laws related to vehicles and | 10 | | transportation, including statutory refunds and adjustments | 11 | | provided in those laws; payment of highway obligations; costs | 12 | | for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, and | 13 | | betterment of highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit, | 14 | | intercity passenger rail, ports, airports, or other forms of | 15 | | transportation; and other statutory highway purposes. | 16 | | Transportation funds may also be expended for the State or | 17 | | local share of highway funds to match federal aid highway | 18 | | funds, and expenses of grade separation of highways and | 19 | | railroad crossings, including protection of at-grade highways | 20 | | and railroad crossings, and, with respect to local governments, | 21 | | other transportation purposes as authorized by law. | 22 | | (c) The costs of administering laws related to vehicles and | 23 | | transportation shall be limited to direct program expenses | 24 | | related to the following: the enforcement of traffic, railroad, | 25 | | and motor carrier laws; the safety of highways, roads, streets, | 26 | | bridges, mass transit, intercity passenger rail, ports, or |
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| 1 | | airports; and the construction, reconstruction, improvement, | 2 | | repair, maintenance, operation, and administration of | 3 | | highways, under any related provisions of law or any purpose | 4 | | related or incident to, including grade separation of highways | 5 | | and railroad crossings. The limitations to the costs of | 6 | | administering laws related to vehicles and transportation | 7 | | under this subsection (c) shall also include direct program | 8 | | expenses related to workers' compensation claims for death or | 9 | | injury of employees of the State's transportation agency; the | 10 | | acquisition of land and the erection of buildings for highway | 11 | | purposes, including the acquisition of highway rights-of-way | 12 | | or for investigations to determine the reasonable anticipated | 13 | | future highway needs; and the making of surveys, plans, | 14 | | specifications, and estimates for the construction and | 15 | | maintenance of flight strips and highways. The expenses related | 16 | | to the construction and maintenance of flight strips and | 17 | | highways under this subsection (c) are for the purpose of | 18 | | providing access to military and naval reservations, | 19 | | defense-industries, defense-industry sites, and sources of raw | 20 | | materials, including the replacement of existing highways and | 21 | | highway connections shut off from general use at military and | 22 | | naval reservations, defense-industries, and defense-industry | 23 | | sites, or the purchase of rights-of-way. | 24 | | (d) None of the revenues described in subsection (a) of | 25 | | this Section shall, by transfer, offset, or otherwise, be | 26 | | diverted to any purpose other than those described in |
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| 1 | | subsections (b) and (c) of this Section. | 2 | | (e) If the General Assembly appropriates funds for a mode | 3 | | of transportation not described in this Section, the General | 4 | | Assembly must provide for a dedicated source of funding. | 5 | | (f) Federal funds may be spent for any purposes authorized | 6 | | by federal law. "; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed | 8 | | amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief | 9 | | argument against the amendment, and the form in which the | 10 | | amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and | 11 | | distributed as follows: |
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| 1 | | PROPOSED AMENDMENT
| 2 | | TO ADD SECTION 11 TO ARTICLE IX | 3 | | OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION | 4 | | That will be submitted to the voters
| 5 | | November 8, 2016 | 6 | | This pamphlet includes | 7 | | EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
| 8 | | ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT
| 9 | | ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT
| 10 | | FORM OF BALLOT
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| 1 | | To the Electors of the State of Illinois: | 2 | | The Illinois Constitution establishes a structure for | 3 | | government and laws. There are three ways to initiate change to | 4 | | the Illinois Constitution: (1) a constitutional convention may | 5 | | propose changes to any part; (2) the General Assembly may | 6 | | propose changes to any part; or (3) a petition initiative may | 7 | | propose amendments limited to structural and procedural | 8 | | subjects contained in the Legislative Article. The people of | 9 | | Illinois must approve any changes to the Constitution before | 10 | | they become effective. The purpose of this document is to | 11 | | inform you of proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution and | 12 | | provide you with a brief explanation and a summary of the | 13 | | arguments in favor of and in opposition to the proposed | 14 | | amendment. | 15 | | EXPLANATION
| 16 | | The proposed amendment adds a new Section to the Revenue | 17 | | Article of the Illinois Constitution that provides revenue | 18 | | generated from transportation related taxes and fees (referred | 19 | | to as "transportation funds") shall be used exclusively for | 20 | | transportation related purposes. Transportation related taxes | 21 | | and fees include motor fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, | 22 | | and other taxes and user fees dedicated to public highways, | 23 | | roads, streets, bridges, mass transit (buses and rail), ports, |
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| 1 | | or airports.
| 2 | | Under the proposed amendment, transportation funds may be used | 3 | | by the State or local governments only for the following | 4 | | purposes: (1) costs related to administering transportation | 5 | | and vehicle laws, including public safety purposes and the | 6 | | payment of obligations such as bonds; (2) the State or local | 7 | | share necessary to secure federal funds or for local government | 8 | | transportation purposes as authorized by law; (3) the | 9 | | construction, reconstruction, improvement, repair, | 10 | | maintenance, and operation of highways, mass transit, and | 11 | | railroad crossings; (4) expenses related to workers' | 12 | | compensation claims for death or injury of transportation | 13 | | agency employees; and (5) to purchase land for building | 14 | | highways or buildings for to be used for highway purposes.
| 15 | | This new Section is a limitation on the power of the General | 16 | | Assembly or a unit of local government to use, divert, or | 17 | | transfer transportation funds for a purpose other than | 18 | | transportation. It does not, and is not intended to, impact or | 19 | | change the way in which the State and local governments use | 20 | | sales taxes, including the sales and excise tax on motor fuel, | 21 | | or alter home rule powers granted under this Constitution. It | 22 | | does not seek to change the way in which the State funds | 23 | | programs administered by the Illinois Secretary of State, | 24 | | Illinois Department of Transportation, and operations by the |
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| 1 | | Illinois State Police directly dedicated to the safety of | 2 | | roads, or entities or programs funded by units of local | 3 | | government. Further, the Section does not impact the | 4 | | expenditure of federal funds, which may be spent for any | 5 | | purpose authorized by federal law.
| 6 | | Arguments In Favor of the Proposed Amendment | 7 | | Historically, the State and units of local government have used | 8 | | portions of revenue from transportation funds for other | 9 | | purposes. Approval of this amendment will ensure that | 10 | | transportation funds are used only for transportation | 11 | | purposes. This limitation provides a dedicated source of | 12 | | funding for projects that will increase the quality of | 13 | | Illinois' roads, bridges, bridge and road safety inspections, | 14 | | and mass transit. Improving the quality of our roads and | 15 | | highways will help reduce accidents and damage to vehicles | 16 | | caused by road conditions or hazards. | 17 | | Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment | 18 | | Approval of the proposed amendment unnecessarily limits the | 19 | | power of the State and local governments to appropriate public | 20 | | revenues for the general welfare of all Illinoisans in order to | 21 | | protect funding for one particular purpose - transportation. | 22 | | Our elected officials should be asked to prioritize the use of |
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| 1 | | public funds, but this amendment would restrict their ability | 2 | | to spend funds as the elected officials and taxpayers deem fit. | 3 | | As a result, elected officials may be asked to reduce funding | 4 | | for other priorities, such as education or social service | 5 | | programs. | 6 | | FORM OF BALLOT | 7 | | Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
| 8 | | Explanation of Amendment
| 9 | | The proposed amendment adds a new section to the Revenue | 10 | | Article of the Illinois Constitution. The proposed amendment | 11 | | provides that no moneys derived from taxes, fees, excises, or | 12 | | license taxes, relating to registration, titles, operation, or | 13 | | use of vehicles or public highways, roads, streets, bridges, | 14 | | mass transit, intercity passenger rail, ports, or airports, or | 15 | | motor fuels, including bond proceeds, shall be expended for | 16 | | other than costs of administering laws related to vehicles and | 17 | | transportation, costs for construction, reconstruction, | 18 | | maintenance, repair, and betterment of public highways, roads, | 19 | | streets, bridges, mass transit, intercity passenger rail, | 20 | | ports, airports, or other forms of transportation, and other | 21 | | statutory highway purposes, including the State or local share | 22 | | to match federal aid highway funds. You are asked to decide | 23 | | whether the proposed amendment should become part of the |
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| 1 | | Illinois Constitution.
| 2 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 | | YES For the proposed addition
- | 4 | | ---------- of Section 11 to Article IX
| 5 | | NO of the Illinois Constitution.
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