The Capitol Buzz....

As we prepare for the upcoming Lobby Day on Wed., April 30, we want to encourage and remind you to do several things.  First, the members of the General Assembly are on break the week of April 21-25.  This will give you an opportunity to meet with them in their district office and talk about our legislative priorities.  Secondly, if you are unable to meet with them during the break, please contact them in their office and make an appointment to see them when you are in Springfield for Lobby Day.

 

Review our fact sheets here.

An IEA-supported constitutional amendment, SJRCA 92 that would eliminate the mandate on a flat tax and allow the General Assembly to adopt graduated income tax rates was the focus of a lengthy debate in the Senate Executive Committee.  The constitutional amendment passed out of committee on a vote of 7-5.  Sponsors Sen. Michael Frerichs (D-Gifford) and Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) argued that the current "flat" tax rate is regressive, contributing to the reality that lower income taxpayers pay a higher part of their earnings in support of public services than do higher-income households.

Resolutions to put constitutional amendments on the ballot for voter ratification in November must pass both the House and Senate by May 4.  Passage in both chambers will require three-fifths majority votes and ratification would require a 60 percent majority vote in November.  SJRCA 92 does not specify how revenue increases resulting from a graduated tax would be spent.

The Senate passed HB 473 on April 3.  The legislation moved out of the Senate on a partisan vote with all 37 Democrats voting in the affirmative and 21 Republicans voting against the measure.  This legislation would grant the governor the authority to divert up to $530 million from special funds to prop up the state budget.  This proposal puts at risk the Teachers’ Health Insurance Security Fund (THIS), which is the fund that supports the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP).  This program provides retired teachers with health insurance.  The governor swept this fund during his first term of office and would be granted the same ability if this legislation passes the House.  During floor debate, it was pointed out that the THIS fund could be one of the funds that the governor could divert money from.  Currently, the THIS fund contains $61 million.  This bill now resides in the House for a possible vote on the “funds sweep” portion of the bill.

 

SB 1958 (Clayborne, D-Belleville/Eddy, R-Hutsonville) would allow the payment of interest to those receiving refunds from the IMRF board.  This interest would be calculated on a member’s contributions from the date of service until the date of the refund.  Under current law, those who leave the service of a participating IMRF employer and request a refund would only receive the contributions that they paid in, with the fund retaining the interest earned on the contributions of the employee.  The interest rate that would be used to calculate the refund would be 3.75 percent.  The fund uses 7.5 percent as its benchmark.  IEA supported this legislation.

 

SB 1959 (Clayborne, D-Belleville/Holbrook, D-Belleville) makes changes to the amount of the 13th check received by those individuals who retire under the IMRF.  The change would ensure the check never falls below 75 percent of an individual’s monthly retirement annuity or 75 percent of the surviving spouse’s monthly annuity payment.  IEA supported this bill.
 
SB 1960 (Clayborne, D-Belleville/Eddy, R-Hutsonville) decreases the vesting period for those that participate in IMRF from eight years of service to five.  The “vesting period” is the number of years an individual is required to work for an employer before they qualify for a retirement benefit.  IEA supported this bill.

 

SB 2091 (Haine, D-Alton/Eddy, R-Hutsonville) deals with the educator misconduct issue and is an agreed bill between the ISBE, IEA and IFT.  The bill passed the Senate unanimously.  SB 2091 seeks to clarify and streamline the investigation and hearing system in those instances where the agency receives notice of misconduct.  It also seeks to improve the reporting mechanisms to allow the agency to receive notice of alleged educator misconduct.  The bill now moves to the House to be considered.

 

SB 2170 (Murphy, R-Palatine/Cross, R-Oswego) allows teachers, in addition to school authorities, to inspect and search places and areas owned or controlled by the school, as well as personal effects left in those places and areas by students, without notice to or the consent of the student and without a search warrant.  This IEA-supported bill passed the Senate 53-1. 

 

SB 2402 (Martinez, D-Chicago/R. Bradley, D-Chicago) allows for an additional 40 charter schools in Illinois, bringing the total to 100 and removes the boundaries of how many charters are allowed to operate in certain parts of the state.  An amendment was added this week that would only allow charters to have one campus, a provision the IEA supported.  The bill passed the Senate 37-10.  It will now be considered in the House.

 

SB 2595 (Trotter, D-Chicago) increases the contribution rate for full time community college employees from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent.  The increase would be paid into the College Insurance Fund, which covers health insurance for community college retirees.  The bill also allows retirees of City Colleges of Chicago to become a part of the retiree health insurance program beginning Jan. 1, 2009.  The IEA is opposed to this bill because of the increase in contribution rates. 

 

SB 2686 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville/Flider, D-Mt. Zion) allows teachers who have previously received tenure in a district the ability to receive tenure after two years in a new district.  This IEA-IFT initiative passed the Senate unanimously and will now be considered in the House.

 

SB 2689 (Noland, D-Elgin/Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn) changes the school code to allow ESPs to accrue 240 sick days (currently they are allowed to accrue 180) making it possible for ESPs to earn an extra year of service credit according to IMRF rules.  The bill also mandates school districts to keep track of sick days during a recall period for ESPs.  This IEA-supported bill passed out of the Senate by a vote of 37-18 and now moves to the House for consideration.

 

SB 2736 (Halvorson, D-Crete) applies to subcontracting for non-instructional positions at 2- and 4-year higher education institutions.  The bill takes some of the subcontracting protections passed previously for ESPs and inserts those protections into the higher education arena.

 

The 4-year institutions have asked to be removed from this bill.  They claim the additional steps required and comparable wage requirements are not pertinent to the 4-year situation.  In discussions with the 4-year colleges, the sponsor, Sen. Debbie Halvorson, has reported she wants the 4-year institutions to remain part of the bill.  However, she and the other labor groups are open to exploring language that allows the 4-year colleges to supersede the rules in emergency situations.  The 4-year institutions have been asked to bring back a proposal for review.  The deadline to pass this bill from the Senate has been extended until May 31 to accommodate the continuing conversations.  IEA supports the bill.

As many are well aware, TRS has plans to cease their pre-tax payroll deduction plan (PDP) by June 2010.  Their plan is to honor new PDP contracts turned in before May 15th.  These contracts will need to be completed by June 2010.  Current PDP contracts that extend beyond that are in question as to how TRS will handle them.  IEA staff has a meeting scheduled to get more details and will promptly report any additional information that will helpful.  If this is an issue that will impact you please call a TRS benefits counselor.