HR0360 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0360 LRB100 12539 MST 25614 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII (Finance) of the Constitution of Illinois states the following requirement: "Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year."; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is currently operating with no comprehensive budget in place for the previous two fiscal years; concurrently, the legislature has failed to adopt a revenue estimate as is constitutionally mandated in order to allow the budget-making process to proceed; and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to the constitutional obligation set forth in Subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Constitution, it is the duty of the Illinois legislature to adopt a revenue estimate for each and every fiscal year in order to have a basis from which to design a budget that is balanced; and

WHEREAS, In order to assist the legislature in meeting this end, subsection (a) of Section 4 of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act directs the Commission to publish on the third Wednesday in March of each year, revised revenue estimates for the approaching fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, For FY 2018, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability provides that Illinois will generate $33.991 billion, including federal and State sources; with regard to the Subtotal of General Funds generated for FY 2018, the Commission reports that the State will have $31.147 billion in total general revenues once allocations are made to the Refund Fund, the Fund for Advancement of Education, and the Commitment to Human Services Fund; and

WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of Management and Budget reports in its revenue estimate that for FY 2018, Illinois will generate a total of $34.401 billion when including total federal and State sources; with regard to the Subtotal of General Funds generated for FY 2018, the Office reports that the State will have $31.476 billion in total general revenues once allocations are made to the Refund Fund, the Fund for Advancement of Education, and the Commitment to Human Services Fund; the Office has included two key assumptions in the budget book, including $300 million to be received from the sale of the Thompson Center and $942 million in the Fund for Advancement of Education and the Commitment to Human Services Fund re-classification under general funds definitions; and

WHEREAS, With the estimates provided by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, the House of Representatives and the Senate have a proper basis from which to adopt a revenue estimate for FY 2018; House Joint Resolution 49, House Joint Resolution 50, and House Joint Resolution 51 of the 100th General Assembly have been filed and contain detailed explanations of the estimates for FY 2018 from both agencies; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the House of Representatives shall adopt a resolution that contains a revenue estimate for FY 2018 that will enable the legislature to devise a budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2017, that is congruent and does not exceed the forecasted revenues for FY 2018, thereby meeting the General Assembly's constitutional obligation set forth in subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Illinois Constitution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the House of Representatives to adopt House Joint Resolution 49, House Joint Resolution 50, and House Joint Resolution 51 of the 100th General Assembly in order to proceed with the budget-making process; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, the President of the Illinois Senate, the House Minority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader.