August 26, 2003
To the Honorable Members of the
Illinois House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly
House Bill 3556 makes
important changes to strengthen the role of the Sex Offender Management Board.
It adds four members to the Board, including representatives of the Illinois
Polygraph Society, the Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Illinois
Chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, and the
Illinois Principal Association. It also requires that programs that evaluate
and treat sex offenders meet standards set by the Board and most significantly
requires that sex offenders under the authority of the criminal justice system
undergo evaluation and treatment. By strengthening the standards for programs that
evaluate and treat sex offenders and by strengthening the Board itself, we help
ensure the safety of our communities and provide appropriate intervention for
those who have committed sex offenses. I applaud these changes.
I am concerned, though,
by the fiscal impact on the state that the legislation imposes by mandating
evaluation and treatment of all sex offenders who are on probation,
incarcerated, or on parole. The Department of Corrections estimates the cost
at $12 million per year to evaluate and treat those who are incarcerated. With
evaluations costing approximately $400 and even modest treatment at $1400 per
year, the cost of the mandates imposed by this legislation are significant not
only for the state but also for the counties that must similarly bear the
burden of this new, unfunded mandate.
I am therefore
returning House Bill 3556 to the General Assembly with modifications that
address these fiscal pressures by ensuring that evaluations and treatment are
available within the constraint of funds available.
Pursuant to Article IV, Section
9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 3556
entitled, “AN ACT in relation to sex offenders”, with the following specific
recommendations for change:
by
replacing line 33 on page 7 through line 2 on page 8 with “Management Board
and shall be provided subject to available funds, including the offender’s
ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and
State and county appropriations for this purpose.”; and
on page 8,
by replacing lines 15 and 16 with “and shall be provided subject to
available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in
the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for
this purpose.”; and
on page 8,
line 24, by deleting “at the”; and
on page 8,
by replacing lines 25 and 26 with “shall be provided subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for this
purpose.”; and
on page 9,
line 11, by replacing “at the expense” with “subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for the
purpose”; and
on page 9,
by deleting line 12; and
on page 9,
line 13, by deleting “ability to pay”; and
on page 9,
line 16, after “Act”, by inserting “or there is insufficient State
and county appropriations for the purpose”; and
on page 9,
line 17, by replacing “shall” with “may”; and
on page 9,
line 18, by replacing “reimbursement” with “funding”; and
on page 9,
line 18, after “services”, by inserting “from the Fund”; and
on page
10, line 2, after “appropriations”, by inserting “for this purpose”;
and
on page
10, line 30, by replacing "evaluation. The" with “evaluation,
subject to available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys
available in the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county
appropriations for this purpose. The”; and
on page
14, by replacing lines 23 and 24 with “shall be provided subject to
available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in
the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for
this purpose.”; and
on page
37, line 22, after “shall”, by inserting “, subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for this
purpose,”; and
on page
44, line 5, after “Corrections”, by inserting “, subject to
available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in
the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for
this purpose”; and
on page
44, line 13, after “offender treatment”, by inserting “, subject to
available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in
the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for
this purpose,”; and
on page
44, line 26, after “offender treatment”, by inserting “, subject to
available funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in
the Sex Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for
this purpose,”; and
on page
46, line 29, after “shall”, by inserting “, subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for this purpose,
”; and
on page
57, line 11, after “shall”, by inserting “, subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for this
purpose,”; and
on page
63, line 8, by replacing “$35” with “$60”; and
on page
63, line 19, by replacing “$25” with “$50”; and
on page
66, line 15, after “shall”, by inserting “, subject to available
funds, including the offender’s ability to pay, moneys available in the Sex
Offender Management Board Fund, and State and county appropriations for this
purpose,”; and
With these changes, House Bill 3556
will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH
Governor
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