ICCTA Action Alert Nov. 24, 2003 Last week the Illinois General Assembly completed its fall veto session. Lawmakers have scheduled January 14, 2004, to return to Springfield to begin the next spring session. Several issues of interest to community colleges were processed during the veto session. Override of "hold harmless" veto House Bill 2671 -- Community college system budget / Hold harmless dollars ICCTA Position: SUPPORT override of Governor’s reduction veto The FY 04 community college system budget included dollars to transition the system into a new funding formula. These "negative impact" dollars were approved by the General Assembly at a level of $7.4 million, but the Governor used his item reduction veto powers to reduce the level of funding to $3.7 million. Lawmakers overrode the Governor and restored funding to the full $7.4 million. The vote was 115 - 0 in the House and 58 - 0 in the Senate. ACTION NEEDED: Please thank those members of the General Assembly who were contacted for their assistance on this issue. Let them know that we appreciate their support. GED test fees The General Assembly also overrode the Governor’s reduction veto of House Bill 2663 to restore $1 million for the general educational development (GED) testing program. Property tax cap changes Two changes to the Property Tax Limitation Act (property tax caps) were approved by the General Assembly after the Governor vetoed the proposals earlier this year: Senate Bill 606 Property Tax Cap -- Cook County Replaces the definition of "new property" with respect to certain incentive property with a provision saying that, in addition to its other meanings, "new property" means, in counties that classify in accordance with Section 4 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution, an incentive property's additional assessed value resulting from a scheduled increase in the level of assessment as applied to the first year final board of review market value. Overrode the Governor’s total veto. Senate Bill 1881 Property Tax Cap Exemption - Park Districts Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. In each of the definitions of "aggregate extension," excludes extensions made to fund the park district's expenses to provide joint recreational programs for the handicapped under the Park District Code and the Illinois Municipal Code. Effective immediately. Overrode the Governor’s total veto. Call ICCTA at 1-800-454-2282 for the latest legislative updates Illinois Community College Trustees Association 401 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 200 Springfield, IL 62701-1711 217-528-2858 (phone) 217-528-8662 (fax) ICCTA@communitycolleges.org (e-mail) http://www.communitycolleges.org | Home | News | Events | Links |