The Illinois Senate and its committees meet this week to advance a number of bills. The Illinois House of Representatives was not in session this week and will return Tuesday. Progress on bills of interest to CMAP include the following:

Committee Actions

Date of Budget Submission HB 156
This legislation would require the Governor to submit the annual budget to the Illinois General Assembly by March 6, 2013.
Status: Passed Senate Executive committee.

Smart Grid Costs SB 9
This legislation would make technical changes to the interpretation of smart grid rate cases that allow a utility to retroactively recover certain costs of delivery service and would make other changes concerning the updated cost inputs to the performance-based formula rate.
Status: Passed Senate Executive committee.

Local Government Tax Fund SB 622
This legislation would allow the State to borrow $6.6 million from the Local Government Tax Fund and transfer the money to the State Medical Disciplinary Fund. Additionally, the legislation would also require payback to the fund.
Status: Passed Senate Executive committee.

Crime Free Housing SB 1155
This legislation would allow county board or corporate authority of any non-home rule county or municipality to adopt a crime-free rental housing ordinance in order to reduce crime in residential areas.
Status: Postponed in Senate Local Government committee.

Affordable Housing Fund SB 1244
This legislation would authorize Lake County to establish an affordable housing trust fund to be funded with a $3 charge on property recordings.
Status: Postponed in Senate Local Government committee.

New Bills Filed

Pilot Stormwater Fee HB 1522
This legislation would create a pilot program that would allow DuPage and Peoria Counties to use a stormwater fee system for stormwater programs. (Note: CMAP recently released a report on the value of stormwater utilities.)

Transportation Infrastructure Technical Advisory Group HB 1549
This legislation would direct the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to establish a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) that would determine performance measures for all future transportation infrastructure projects. Together, IDOT and the TAG would develop prioritization and performance standards with input from metropolitan planning organizations and then report its findings to the Illinois General Assembly by FY 2015.

CMAP-Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Merger SB 1594
This legislation would create the Transportation Modernization Act, which would direct the formation of a transition committee to develop an administrative and operational integration process to merge CMAP and the RTA.