Full Text of HB0353 98th General Assembly
HB0353eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning finance.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Fiscal | 5 | | Integrity of Special State Funds Commission Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds | 7 | | that: | 8 | | (a) The State of Illinois currently has over 700 special | 9 | | funds within the State treasury, collecting funds from a wide | 10 | | range of sources specified in their respective enabling laws. | 11 | | (b) From Fiscal Years 2004 through 2007, the Illinois State | 12 | | Budget was funded in part by administrative chargebacks | 13 | | totaling over $700 million. From Fiscal Years 2003 through | 14 | | 2010, legislatively authorized transfers known as fund sweeps | 15 | | totaled over $1.2 billion, with an additional $1 billion in | 16 | | other fund transfers being made during those same fiscal years. | 17 | | In Fiscal Year 2011, consolidated services transfers exceeded | 18 | | $179 million, and inter-fund borrowing exceeded $496 million. | 19 | | (c) Currently, four statutes protect specific funds from | 20 | | transfers, chargebacks and other forms of fund sweeps. In the | 21 | | 2013 Spring Session of the 98th General Assembly, 2 | 22 | | constitutional amendment resolutions and 34 bills and | 23 | | amendments have been filed that include language protecting |
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| 1 | | certain funds from transfers, chargebacks and other forms of | 2 | | fund sweeps. | 3 | | (d) Notwithstanding the impact of Public Act 96-958, which | 4 | | requires the repayment of certain fund transfers within 18 | 5 | | months from the date of transfer, the annual budget of the | 6 | | State of Illinois remains dependent in part on various forms of | 7 | | transfers and borrowing from special funds in the State | 8 | | treasury. | 9 | | Section 10. Fiscal Integrity of Special State Funds | 10 | | Commission. | 11 | | (a) There is created the Fiscal Integrity of Special State | 12 | | Funds Commission. The Commission shall have 10 voting members | 13 | | appointed as follows:
| 14 | | One member of the General Assembly, who shall serve as | 15 | | co-chairperson, and one member of the public appointed by | 16 | | the President of the Senate;
| 17 | | One member of the General Assembly and one member of | 18 | | the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
| 19 | | One member of the General Assembly, who shall serve as | 20 | | co-chairperson, and one member of the public appointed by | 21 | | the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
| 22 | | One member of the General Assembly and one member of | 23 | | the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 24 | | Representatives; and
| 25 | | 2 members appointed by the Governor.
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| 1 | | The State Comptroller, or his or her designee, the | 2 | | State Treasurer, or his or her designee, and the Director | 3 | | of the Department of Revenue, or his or her designee, shall | 4 | | serve as non-voting, ex-officio members of the Commission.
| 5 | | (b) The co-chairpersons may appoint such other individuals | 6 | | as they may deem helpful as non-voting members of the | 7 | | Commission. | 8 | | (c) The members of the Commission shall serve without | 9 | | compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses from funds | 10 | | appropriated for that purpose. | 11 | | (d) The Department of Revenue shall provide administrative | 12 | | support, together with meeting space, to assist the Commission | 13 | | in fulfilling its mission. The Governor's Office of Management | 14 | | and Budget and the Commission on Government Forecasting and | 15 | | Accountability shall provide information and assistance, as | 16 | | requested, to the Commission in fulfilling its mission. | 17 | | Section 15. Meetings. | 18 | | (a) The Commission shall conduct monthly meetings, | 19 | | conference calls, or both, and shall conduct at least 2 public | 20 | | hearings, as the co-chairpersons shall direct, before filing | 21 | | its final written findings and recommendations as provided in | 22 | | Section 25 of this Act. Additional public hearings may be held | 23 | | at the discretion of the co-chairpersons. | 24 | | (b) The public hearings shall be held at geographically | 25 | | convenient locations around the State. The locations, dates, |
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| 1 | | and times of the hearings shall be determined by the | 2 | | co-chairpersons on a schedule that is publicly announced no | 3 | | less than 3 weeks in advance of each hearing. All hearings | 4 | | shall be completed at least 2 months prior to the time for | 5 | | submission of the final written findings and recommendations as | 6 | | provided in Section 25 of this Act. | 7 | | (c) At the public hearings, the Commission shall allow | 8 | | interested persons to present their views and comments and to | 9 | | present any written literature, statements, articles, or | 10 | | comments. Based on attendance and time frames, the Commission | 11 | | may set limits on the time each speaker may comment. These | 12 | | hearings may be continued if all persons cannot be heard. | 13 | | Section 20. Activities and purpose. | 14 | | (a) The Commission shall conduct a thorough review of the | 15 | | use of various forms of transfers and borrowing from special | 16 | | funds in the State treasury in constructing the annual budget | 17 | | for the State of Illinois. | 18 | | (b) The Commission shall also conduct an analysis of the | 19 | | effect of Public Act 96-958 on special fund transfers since it | 20 | | took effect on July 1, 2010. | 21 | | (c) The Commission shall also conduct a review of the use | 22 | | of various forms of fund transfers by other states in their | 23 | | annual budgeting processes. | 24 | | (d) Through a review of budget documents including budget | 25 | | implementation legislation, the public hearings required in |
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| 1 | | Section 15 of this Act and otherwise, the Commission shall | 2 | | gather information, review studies, evaluate testimony, and | 3 | | consider and summarize written comments received, and shall | 4 | | make written findings and recommendations as required in | 5 | | Section 25 of this Act.
| 6 | | Section 25. Report; legislation. | 7 | | (a) The Commission shall make its report to the General | 8 | | Assembly on or before December 31, 2014. The report of the | 9 | | Commission shall detail those findings and recommendations | 10 | | supported by a majority of the voting members. | 11 | | (b) The findings and recommendations shall include, but are | 12 | | not limited to:
| 13 | | (1) A comparison of the specific purposes (as set forth | 14 | | in statute or rule) for which funds are being collected | 15 | | with the purposes for which funds are being used upon | 16 | | transfer out of their respective special funds in the State | 17 | | treasury.
| 18 | | (2) A determination of whether certain special funds | 19 | | should be consolidated, and the findings and criteria upon | 20 | | which such recommendations were made.
| 21 | | (3) A determination of whether adjustments should be | 22 | | made to the collection of moneys through special funds, | 23 | | identifying the specific funds and the findings and | 24 | | criteria upon which such recommendations were made. | 25 | | (4) Identification of replacement sources of revenue |
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| 1 | | to balance any loss of revenue that would result from the | 2 | | Commission's other recommendations.
| 3 | | (5) A determination of whether a consolidated budget | 4 | | including some or all of the special funds should be | 5 | | prepared and publicly available on an annual basis. | 6 | | (c) In addition to the report, the Commission shall provide | 7 | | to the General Assembly its recommendations in the form of | 8 | | legislation. The Legislative Reference Bureau shall provide | 9 | | drafting assistance to the Commission. | 10 | | Section 30. Repealer. This Act is repealed on December 31, | 11 | | 2015.
| 12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 13 | | becoming law.
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