August 1, 2003

To the Honorable Members of the

Illinois House of Representatives

93^rd General Assembly

Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 313 entitled “AN ACT in relation to vehicles,” with the following specific recommendation for change:

            on page 1, line 28, by adding the following sentence after “Code,”

“In implementing and enforcing the provisions of this Section, the Department and other authorized state agencies shall do so in a manner that is not inconsistent with any applicable federal law or regulation so that no federal funding or support is jeopardized by the enactment or application of these provisions.”

            and on page 3, line 11, by adding the following language after “passengers,”:

“are only exempted to the extent that the safety testing requirements applicable to such vehicles in the State of registration are no less stringent than the safety testing requirements applicable to contract carriers that are lawfully registered in Illinois;”

With these changes, which are necessary to protect the State’s continued access to federal Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program funds, House Bill 313 will have my approval.  I respectively request your concurrence.

Sincerely,

ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH

Governor