Distributed via Email: August 4, 2010

GOVERNOR TAKES FURTHER ACTION ON BUDGET

Governor Pat Quinn Tuesday exercised his new authority under the Emergency Budget Act of Fiscal Year 2011 to make further rescissions and re-allocations in the new state budget. According to the governor, he has cut another $1.4 billion from the overall state budget from what the General Assembly approved in May.

For elementary and secondary education, an additional $65 million was cut from the regular transportation budget line item. This reduction, along with the earlier $81 million cut from this line item, results in a 42 percent reduction in reimbursement for student transportation for the coming school year. After legislative action in May and the governor’s earlier actions in July, K-12 education was taking a $241 million cut below FY ’10 funding levels. With the governor’s action from Tuesday, the total hit to public education is now $311 million below last year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

The final FY 2011 K-12 budget, then, results in the following cuts according to the governor’s office:

• $146 million in student transportation
• $68.5 million in reading improvement block grants
• $16 million in “hold harmless” funding
• $2.1 million in operations and support for the ISBE
• $80 million in smaller grants in various ISBE budget line items

The line-by-line ISBE budget can be viewed here. The previous budget action was highlighted in Alliance Legislative Report 96-60.

Governor Quinn Tuesday did restore funding to the following budget line items:

GOVERNOR SIGNS MORE BILLS INTO LAW

In a flurry of activity before the deadline for the governor to take action on legislation, Governor Quinn has signed dozens of bills into law. Several Alliance “hot bills” are now law, including:

HB 4879 (Eddy, R-Hutsonville) includes the number of pupils enrolled in early education programs in a school district’s transportation reimbursement. The bill is now Public Act 96-1264, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

HB 5120 (Rose, R-Mahomet) clarifies that a school bus must contain either an operating two-way radio or a cellular radio telecommunication device while the school bus driver is in possession of a school bus. The bill is now Public Act 96-1066, effective July 16, 2010.

HB 5838 (Burke, D-Chicago) , r egarding the requirement for automated external defibrillators (AED) at outdoor physical fitness facilities, the bill deletes the provision which requires that if there is no building available near the outdoor facility, the person responsible for supervising the activity must ensure the availability of an AED. The bill is now Public Act 96-1268, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

HB 6041 (Eddy) allows school districts to increase, abate, maintain, abolish, and re-create working cash funds and provides that moneys in the working cash fund may be used by the school board for any and all school purposes. The bill is nowPublic Act 96-1277, effective July 26, 2010.

SB 3117 (Garrett, D-Lake Forest) extends the time period for allowing interfund transfers by three years (from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2013). It allows a school district to transfer funds among the education fund, the operations and maintenance fund, and the transportation fund.

The bill is now Public Act 96-1201, effective July 22, 2010.

SB 3635 (Noland, D-Elgin) , i n the provisions concerning the account of expenditures for programs in transitional bilingual education, the bill provides that at least 60% of bilingual funding must be used for instructional costs. The bill is now Public Act 96-1170, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

SB 3638 (Link, D-Vernon Hills) provides for the creation (through the Department of Revenue) of Taxpayer Action Boards in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties to promote “sunshine in assessments” and transparency reforms. It also extends the alternative general homestead exemption for a period of 3 years and, for counties other than Cook County, the county may elect to be subject to the alternative general homestead exemption if the county adopts an ordinance within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Finally, the bill provides that taxpayers who have been granted a disabled veteran’s standard homestead exemption must reapply each year and, for Cook County, requires that taxpayers who receive the senior citizens homestead exemption to re-apply each year. The bill is now Public Act 96-1418, effective Aug. 2, 2010.

OTHER BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

HB 4755 (Soto, D-Chicago) requires the ISBE to establish a program for three-year competitive grants to schools to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless children, subject to an appropriation to the ISBE for this purpose. The bill is now Public Act 96-1229, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

HB 4873 (Davis, W., D-Hazel Crest) adds to the list of offenses that disqualify a person for a school bus driver permit. The new offenses include: solicitation of murder for hire, luring a minor, human trafficking, any of various sex offender offenses, any of various offenses relating to juvenile prostitution or child pornography, any of various offenses relating to possession of controlled substances or cannabis, any of various offenses relating to aggravated battery, or any of various offenses relating to illegal possession of firearms. The bill is now Public Act 96-1182, effective July 22, 2010.

HB 5481 (Kosel, R-New Lenox) allows for the funding of local gifted education programs by the ISBE, through a request for proposals process, if funds are available for that purpose. The bill is now Public Act 96-1152, effective July 21, 2010.

HB 5633 (Mitchell, J., R-Sterling) amends the School Construction Law to require that the grant index be calculated for each of the school districts forming a reorganized school district or cooperative high school and that the average of those be used as the index for school construction grant purposes. It also requires the total enrollment of member districts forming a cooperative high school to meet the minimum enrollment requirements. The bill authorizes a reorganized school district or cooperative high school to use a school construction application that was submitted by a school district that formed the reorganized school district or cooperative high school if that application has not been entitled for a project by the ISBE and certain other conditions are satisfied within the current or prior 2 fiscal years. The bill is now Public Act 96-1381, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

HB 6079 (Black, R-Danville) provides for the establishment of cooperative high schools or elementary schools. The bill is now Public Act 96-1328 effective July 27, 2010.

SB 615 (Holmes, D-Aurora) requires the Department of Agriculture to establish, and make available on its website, an electronic database to facilitate the purchase of fresh produce and food products by schools. The bill is now Public Act 96-1095, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

SB 2350 (Garrett) allows a veteran to apply for the veteran’s homestead exemption for the taxable year after he or she returns if he or she first acquires a principal residence during the taxable year in which he or she returns, but after January 1 st of that year, and if the property is owned and occupied as a principal residence by the veteran on January 1 st of the next taxable year. The bill is now Public Act 96-1288, effective July 26, 2010.

SB 2554 (Martinez, D-Chicago) , u nder the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the bill makes changes concerning conditions under which a person may return to employment and continue to receive his or her annuity. It provides that the selected rate of payment of earnings as additional contributions for retirement annuity purposes shall be applicable to all earnings paid (rather than earnings beginning on the first day of the second month) following receipt by the Board of written notice of election to make such contributions. The bill is now Public Act 96-1258, effective July 23, 2010.

SB 2810 (Harmon, D-Oak Park) amends the Local Government Energy Conservation Act, relating to guaranteed energy savings contracts. It provides that energy savings may include energy reduction and offsetting sources of renewable energy funds including renewable energy credits and carbon credits. The bill also adds to what a unit of local government must include as reference document regarding energy audits. The bill is now Public Act 96-1197, effective July 22, 2010.

SB 3139 (Harmon) provides that each taxing district's debt service extension base shall be increased each year beginning with the later of (i) the 2009 levy year or (ii) the first levy year in which the Law becomes applicable to the taxing district, by the lesser of 5% or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index during the 12-month calendar year preceding the levy year. It provides that, if a taxing district's debt service extension base is established or increased by a referendum held after Feb. 2, 2010, the debt service extension base shall be increased if certain authorizing language is included in the referendum. The bill is now Public Act 96-1202, effective July 22, 2010.

SB 3332 (Cronin, R-Elmhurst) provides that all sex education courses that discuss sexual intercourse shall teach pupils about the dangers associated with drug and alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The bill is now Public Act 96-1082, effective July 16, 2010.

SB 3460 (Harmon) , for early childhood construction grants, the bill allows a public school district or other eligible entity to provide local matching funds in an amount equal to 10% of the grant (rather than the amount of the grant). The bill is now Public Act 96-1402, effective July 29, 2010.

SB 3543 (Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields) creates the Illinois Youth Development Council. The purpose of the Council is to provide oversight and coordination of the state’s public funds currently invested to support positive youth development programs and activities. The chief administrator of the ISBE is a member of the council. The bill is now Public Act 96-1302, effective July 27, 2010.

SB 3547 (Clayborne, D-E. St. Louis) allows for various sources of school funding to be used for the purchase of electronic textbooks. The bill is now Public Act 96-1403, effective July 29, 2010.

SB 3609 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville) provides that the ISBE, in consultation with the state comptroller, may transfer line item appropriations for General State Aid between the Common School Fund and the Education Assistance Fund (instead of from the Common School Fund to the Education Assistance Fund) and removes the requirement that the salaries for regional superintendents and assistant regional superintendents of schools be payable from the Common School Fund. The bill is now Public Act 96-1086, effective July 16, 2010.

SB 3681 (Lightford, D-Maywood) adds a “trigger” as to what could cause intervention into a local school district that is certified to be in financial difficulty. Specifically, the ISBE would look at a district that is likely to fail to fully meet any regularly scheduled payroll obligations or debt service payments. The bill also makes some changes regarding obsolete language in the School Code. The bill is now Public Act 96-1423, effective Aug. 3, 2010.

SB 3706 (Holmes) provides that the ISBE shall develop and maintain a nutrition and physical activity best practices database and that the database shall contain the results of any wellness-related fitness testing done by local school districts, as well as information on successful programs and policies implemented by local school districts designed to improve nutrition and physical activity in the public and charter schools. The bill is now Public Act 96-1223, effective July 23, 2010.

BILLS VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

The following bills were vetoed (either a total veto or an amendatory veto) by the governor and will be taken up when the legislature returns in November:

HB 5154 (Chapa La Via, D-Aurora) amends the Personnel Record Review Act to provide that disclosure of performance evaluations of public employees (including school districts) under the Freedom of Information Act shall be prohibited. The amendatory veto recommends that the performance evaluations of only state and local peace officers (instead of all personnel) be prohibited from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

HB 5863 (Eddy) states that, in order to substitute teach in the public schools, a person holding a valid substitute teacher's certificate or other type of teaching certificate shall register as a substitute teacher with the regional superintendent of schools in each educational service region where the person will be employed. The registered substitute teacher is responsible for the payment of fees to register the certificate for its period of validity and authorization payment of costs of a criminal history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. The regional superintendent shall maintain a file for each registered substitute teacher in the educational service region that includes a copy of the person’s certificate, the results from the criminal history records check and checks of the databases, a copy of the physical examination, and a copy of the tuberculin skin test. The regional superintendent shall issue a signed and sealed certificate of authorization to the substitute teacher that verifies those filed documents that the teacher can present to all prospective employing school districts. The amendatory veto recommends that the effective date be changed from immediately to Jan. 1, 2011.

HB 6065 (Cross, R-Oswego) requires that a diabetes care plan shall serve as the basis of a student’s Section 504 plan (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794) and shall be signed by a student’s parent or guardian and submitted to the school for any student with diabetes who seeks assistance with diabetes care in the school setting. It requires delegated care aides to perform the duties necessary to assist a student with diabetes in accordance with his or her diabetes care plan. The bill requires that, in schools that have a student with diabetes, all school employees shall receive training in the basics of diabetes care, how to identify when a student with diabetes needs immediate or emergency medical attention, and whom to contact in the case of an emergency. The aides must be trained to perform certain tasks necessary to assist a student with diabetes in accordance with his or her diabetes care plan. The amendatory veto recommends that the effective date be changed from immediately to June 1, 2011.

SB 2499 (Noland) , for school districts located in more than one county that use an estimated equalized assessed value to calculate the limiting rate, the bill allows the ISBE to make estimated payments until the actual limiting rate becomes available. A total veto was issued by the governor.

This legislative report is written and edited by the lobbyists of the Illinois Association of School Boards to provide information to the members of the organizations that comprise the Statewide School Management Alliance.

Bill Text/Status: Illinois General Assembly

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