HR1078 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1078 LRB098 21211 MST 59158 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is the highly-respected legislative support agency that closely tracks the revenue received by the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability recently released its monthly briefing for the month ending April 2014; and

WHEREAS, In that briefing, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability revised its estimate of the revenue that will be received into the General Revenue Fund for the current Fiscal Year 2014; and

WHEREAS, That revised revenue estimate is $36,661,000,000; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives passed House Resolution 389 on May 31, 2013, establishing an estimated revenue figure for Fiscal Year 2014 of $35,446,000,000; and

WHEREAS, The Fiscal Year 2014 budget that was passed by the General Assembly was built on the $35,446,000,000 figure; and

WHEREAS, The new revenue estimate by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is $1,215,000,000 higher than the revenue estimate on which the budget was constructed; and

WHEREAS, The State is now less than 60 days from the end of its current fiscal year, meaning that the agencies and departments of government have operated on the budget that was enacted in May of 2013; and

WHEREAS, It is well known that the State has several billions of dollars in unpaid old bills which it is obligated to pay; and

WHEREAS, Using the increase in revenues that are now estimated to flow into the General Revenue Fund for Fiscal Year 2014 would allow the State to substantially pay down its backlog of old bills; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Comptroller to use all revenues in excess of the $35,446,000,000 on which the Fiscal Year 2014 budget was constructed to pay outstanding old bills that the State is obligated to pay; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this resolution refers to all General Revenue funds above the $35,446,000,000 budgeted level that have not heretofore been appropriated in supplemental appropriations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Comptroller of the State of Illinois.