Illinois good government bills watch list

The 2013 legislative session is in full swing and there are a number of good government reform bills that have been introduced by legislators of both parties. While much of the focus in the media and at the Illinois Policy Institute is rightly on big-dollar issues such as pension and Medicaid reform, there are many other issues...

The 2013 legislative session is in full swing and there are a number of good government reform bills that have been introduced by legislators of both parties. While much of the focus in the media and at the Illinois Policy Institute is rightly on big-dollar issues such as pension and Medicaid reform, there are many other issues that have a big impact on the state’s future. We’ve compiled a list of some of the good bills that have caught our eye in the first few weeks of session.

Local government transparency

As evidenced by last year’s corruption scandal involving former city of Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell and Illinois taking third place in a list of the most corrupt states in the country, Illinois has a lot of work to do to prevent corruption in the future. One of the best ways to do so is to enact comprehensive local government transparency reforms.

House Bill 3312 – Local government transparency bill
Sponsor: state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton

HB 3312 is a comprehensive online transparency reform modeled off of the Illinois Policy Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist and Senate Bill 3372, a 2012 local government transparency bill sponsored by state Sen. Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington.

This bill requires local government agencies with a budget of more than $1 million to maintain a website that includes:

• Contact information for elected and appointed officials
• Notice of and materials prepared for regular and emergency meetings
• Procedures for requesting information from the unit of local government or school district
• An annual budget
• Ordinances under which the unit of local government or school district operates
• Procedures to apply for building permits and zoning variances
• Financial reports and audits
• Information concerning employee compensation
• Contracts with lobbying firms
• Taxes and fees imposed by the unit of local government or school district
• Rules governing the award of contracts
• Bids and contracts worth $25,000 or more
• Campaign contributions made by a vendor
• A debt disclosure report
• Public notices
• A searchable expenditure and revenue database

“Taxpayers of Illinois deserve an easy and open way to track how their tax dollars are spent,” Ives said. “HB 3312 requires taxing bodies to post on their websites financial and contract information that they already collect so that taxpayers can easily view it.”

Property tax cap reform bills

Illinois residents have the second-highest property tax rate in the entire country. Property tax levies have continued to grow despite property values falling statewide since 2007.

House Bill 89 – Property tax falling equalized assessed value
Sponsor: state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo

House Bill 95 – Property Tax Extension Limitation Law
Sponsor: state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills

Synopsis:

• Both HB 89 and HB 95 amend the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, or PTELL, in the Property Tax Code.
• Both HB 89 and HB 95 propose that if the total equalized assessed value, or EAV, of all taxable property in the taxing district for the current levy year is less than the total EAV from the previous year, then the extension limitation is:
  • 0 percent, or
  • The rate of increase approved by the voters
• HB 89 proposes a permanent change to PTELL. HB 95 proposes temporary changes to PTELL and strengthens caps for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 tax years only.

Both HB 89 and HB 95 would strengthen the PTELL law by making it hard for local governments to raise tax levies when property values drop. Franks’ HB 89 bill is the stronger reform for Illinois taxpayers because its reforms are permanent.

Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act reforms

The legislative process is often described as “a lot like making sausage.” There are a lot of steps that go into making legislation, and they are often controlled by special interest lobbying groups and political insiders who are able to get their way while the average citizen is left in the dark.

A number of legislative loopholes contribute to the legislative process being corrupted by special interests. The Open Meetings Act, or OMA, allows collective bargaining meetings to happen behind closed doors without any meaningful oversight by the citizens and taxpayers. The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, has a “preliminary draft” loophole that allows government to deny citizens the right to get details about what happens during the decision-making process on virtually all legislation being considered by a government body.

It’s high time to pass some truth-in-legislation reforms that would take the mystery out of the legislative process. Loopholes in OMA and FOIA must be closed to strengthen citizens’ ability to participate in making our democracy accessible for everyone involved, not just political insiders.

House Bill 3310 – Collective bargaining open meetings
Sponsor: state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton

This bill would require open meetings for collective bargaining negotiations. Public bodies would be required to include meeting minutes for collective bargaining meetings. No longer would negotiation documents that weren’t in final version be allowed to be withheld from public inspection.

House Bill 3311 – Repealing the Freedom of Information Act’s draft exemption
Sponsor: state Rep. JoAnn Osmond, R-Antioch

HB 3311 repeals a provision authorizing a public body to deny a FOIA request on the basis that the requested record is a preliminary draft, note, recommendation, memorandum or other record in which an opinion is expressed, or a policy or action is formulated.

Both of these bills would go a long way to help illuminate the legislative process for Illinois citizens. If these bills pass, the FOIA and OMA reforms would be a significant deterrent to special interests from controlling the legislative process without public oversight.

Be sure to contact your legislator to register your view on these important bills.