08/15/2008
Lawmakers called to special session by governor
It was Governor's Day at the Illinois State Fair this week, but that didn't stop Gov. Rod Blagojevich from calling the Illinois General Assembly to Springfield for a two-day special session. Wednesday was to be used to solve what some have called the "education crisis" in Illinois; Thursday was ostensibly called so lawmakers could pass the governor's capital plan.
As usual, very little was accomplished.
The Senate finally did reject a pending pay raise for lawmakers after much public discourse as to whether lawmakers actually deserved a raise given the state of affairs in Illinois. However, leaders in the Senate were quoted as saying they needed a raise and deserved a raise. Many senators wanted to vote to reject the raise. The Senate President finally relented and the raise was rejected by a vote of 47-0. Lawmakers will receive their 3.8 percent cost of living increase.
On Thursday, while the Senate simply gaveled in and gaveled out, the House was busy taking up two of the governor's "Rewrite to Do Right" amendatory vetoes. The governor has publicly said he has identified 50 bills that are awaiting his action where he plans to use his amendatory veto powers to make changes to the bills.
One such bill was HB 5285, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Jefferson (Rockford). Originally HB 5285 contained language that stated if a dependent child enrolled on their parents healthcare policy is unable to meet the full-time student requirement due to an illness, that requirement would be waived. The governor chose to use his amendatory veto to add language to the bill that would mandate that health insurance policies allow dependents to stay on a policy until they are 26 years of age (or up to 30 if they are veterans) without any college requirements. Currently most policies allow dependents to stay on still age 23 but only if those dependents are full-time students.
NFIB and many others believe the governor has grossly overstepped his constitutional powers and has misused his amendatory veto powers. We are also opposed to the language the governor added to HB 5285. In essence, he bypassed legislators and the legislative process to achieve his goal.
Unfortunately, the House passed the motion to accept the amendatory veto 70-21. However, it is clear that many believe it will eventually be challenged in court.
The question of how far a governor's amendatory veto privileges go has long been debated and the courts have delivered mixed messages over the years. The bill now goes to the Senate where that body must also vote, within 15 days, to accept the motion. If they do so, it appears that the court may get the final say on this issue.
The governor has also threatened to call lawmakers back during the month of September. Technically the next scheduled regular session day is in November.
