HR0055LRB101 07566 MST 52611 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The people of Illinois - who pay for a General
3Assembly to plan for the long-term affairs of the State -
4deserve to have a budget planning document in place that
5considers medium-term and long-term spending pressures in the
6setting of State spending priorities; and
 
7    WHEREAS, No budget was enacted for fiscal years 2016 or
82017; during this period, State spending continued without
9legislative participation, putting Illinois on the brink of
10financial disaster; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Political pressures associated with the 2020
12election cycle will only increase with time, further tainting
13the budget process with politics and raising the possibility
14that, in the absence of corrective action, a repetition of this
15dismal pattern will occur as the spring 2020 deadline nears to
16craft and enact a budget for fiscal year 2021; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The General Assembly needs to re-establish a
18budget cycle and re-establish the credibility it needs in order
19to shift its attention to pension reform, property tax relief,
20crime and violence, the jobs climate, the outmigration from
21Illinois of younger and highly-educated workers and
22professionals, and other urgent issues; and
 

 

 

HR0055- 2 -LRB101 07566 MST 52611 r

1    WHEREAS, Many states such as Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas, and
2including the neighboring state of Indiana, practice 2-year
3spending plans or full-scale biennial budgeting; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Constitution of Illinois directs the Governor
5of Illinois to present an annual budget proposal to the General
6Assembly, but, as we have come to know all too well, nothing
7constrains the General Assembly's actual responses to these
8proposals; nothing prevents the General Assembly from adopting
9a planning process that faces the fact that we, as a State, are
10on the brink of financial disaster and responds to that fact in
11a professional manner and in keeping with our identity as
12legislators and our oaths of office; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In these times, moving toward a long-term budget
14planning cycle will enable State agencies performing essential
15services, third-party service providers whose services are no
16less essential, and institutions and entities of higher
17education to obtain the information that their leaders have
18testified is essential to carrying out their duties; therefore,
19be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we declare that it is expedient for the General Assembly to

 

 

HR0055- 3 -LRB101 07566 MST 52611 r

1adopt a 2-year budget planning document to cover revenues in
2all of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, take account of moneys
3already spent, and control spending in the remainder of fiscal
4year 2019; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That this planning document should rely upon an
6honest estimate, without false promises or shoddy planning, of
7the actual financial income (especially general funds income)
8that the State will take in during fiscal years 2020 and 2021;
9and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we urge the Commission on Government
11Forecasting and Accountability and the Governor's Office of
12Management and Budget to work together to develop an
13extraordinary consolidated revenue estimate for fiscal years
142020 and 2021, this estimate to be presented to both chambers
15of the General Assembly no later than 30 days after the
16adoption of this resolution; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we, the sponsors of this resolution, pledge
18to use this consolidated 2-year revenue estimate to work with
19our colleagues to develop a 2-year State budget and financial
20planning document; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That our goal, as we develop this budget planning
22document, will be to end the current political cycle of

 

 

HR0055- 4 -LRB101 07566 MST 52611 r

1reactive emergency measures and budget court orders; and be it
2further
 
3    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4presented to Michael J. Madigan, Speaker of the House of
5Representatives, John Cullerton, President of the Senate, and
6J.B. Pritzker, Governor.