Public Policy Advocacy Report
Chamber Supports Business Interests in Committees and on the Floor
This past week saw intense floor action in both the Illinois House and the Senate on legislation that has advanced out of substantive committees. The Chicagoland Chamber supported and opposed many of these bills. The following list includes bills that the Chamber is working on and their current status.
Chamber Supports:
Senate Bill 1922 (Raoul), House Amendment #4 (Madigan) - The City of Chicago's public employee pension reform legislation was heard in the House Personnel and Pension Committee and moved to the floor. Additional amendments are expected before final action. The Chamber supports SB 1922 as amended, which makes comprehensive changes to the City's Municipal and Laborers' pension funds. The bill requires increased contributions from employees and increased property taxes over five years.
Pension Reform Proposal Summary
Legislation highlights:- COLA rate: Tier 1 COLA will be changed from its current rate to the lesser of 3 percent or 50 percent of CPI (inflation), calculated on a simple as opposed to compounded basis. Tier 2 COLA will remain the same.
- COLA pauses: There will be pauses in the COLAs in years 2017, 2019, and 2025.
- COLA delay: COLAs for all future retirees are delayed one additional year. This means that retirees will wait two years, rather than one, before receiving a COLA.
- Employee contributions: Contributions from employees will be increased a half-percent each year in years 2015 through 2019 for a total increase of 2.5 percent, thus moving from the current rate of 8.5 percent to a future rate of 11 percent in 2019.
- Retirement age: There will be no change to Tier 1 retirement age. The retirement age for Tier 2 employees is decreased from 67 to 65.
- ARC Funding: Actuarial Required Funding (“ARC”) will be achieved no later than 2020, and from 2020 forward the City will contribute the ARC funding required. The City will increase its contributions to the funds through an increase in the multiplier it uses:
Municipal Fund -- The multiplier will go up from its current 1.25 multiple of employee contributions to 1.85X in 2015, 2.15X in 2016, 2.45X in 2017, 2.75X in 2018 and 3.05X in 2019.
Laborers’ Fund -- The multiplier will increase from its current 1.0X to 1.6x in 2015, 1.9X in 2016, 2.2X in 2017, 2.5X in 2018 and 2.8X in 2019.
- City contributions during five-year ramp to ARC: Will be made through a mix of budget savings and efficiencies and property tax increases. 50 percent of increased city contribution will be paid for via property tax levy into a Pension Stabilization Fund.
The Chamber issued a statement supporting Mayor Emanuel's pension reform efforts. To view the statement,
click here.
House Bill 4609 (Feigenholtz) – HB 4609 establishes a Task Force on Fire Prevention and Fire Safety with nominees appointed by the Governor from a broad range of affected industries and citizens. The purpose of the Task Force is to research, analyze, and consider the benefits and costs of fire sprinkler systems within high-rise buildings, as well as to provide public education pertaining to fire drills and other prevention measures. The amendment further regulates the Office of the State Fire Marshal regarding the adoption of rules requiring the installation of fire sprinkler systems in existing structures. The Chamber supports HB 4609 which is expected to be further amended before it comes to a vote in the House.
Chamber Opposed:
House Bill 4211 (Franks) – HB 4211 would have prohibited an electronic system as the only method for payment of rent in residential real estate. It would not have allowed property owners and managers to charge a reasonable fee for the administrative burdens associated with processing rent payments received by check or another electronic means. After a vigorous debate on the rights of private property owners, the bill was soundly defeated 46-65. To view the roll call,
click here. Senate Bill 68 (Lightford) - SB 68 amends the Minimum Wage Law. It increases the Illinois minimum wage to $9.25 per hour on October 1, 2014, $10 per hour on July 1, 2015, and $10.65 per hour on July 1, 2016. The Chamber opposes SB 68 which is on third reading in the Senate.
Senate Bill 2758 (Biss) - This legislation creates the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act. It establishes a retirement savings program in the state treasury in the form of an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA with the intent of promoting retirement savings for private-sector employees.
Opposed by the Chamber and a coalition of
businesses, SB 2758 has been amended many times, and is on second reading in the Senate.
See attached fact sheet. Senate Bill 3287 (Raoul) - SB 3287 a
mends the Workers' Compensation Act to provide changes regarding the right to recover damages for injury or death from a service organization that is wholly owned by the employer or the employer's insurer or broker. The Chamber is opposed to this legislation which would eliminate the workers’ compensation exclusive remedy/immunity enjoyed by many companies that provide safety consulting services. There is a sizable coalition of business and construction groups opposed to this legislation –
see attached fact sheet. SB 3287 is on second reading in the Senate. House Bill 2846 (Golar) - HB 2846 creates the Best Candidate for the Job Act and provides that private and public employers shall properly consider for employment and licenses persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses. It prohibits discrimination against such persons unless there is a direct relationship between the offense and the specific license or employment sought. The Chamber opposes HB 2846 which is has had several amendments, and is on second reading in the House.
Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 40 (Harmon) – The Chamber opposes this proposal to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would permit a graduated rate for the state income tax on individuals and corporations. It provides that there may be one tax on the income of individuals and corporations, that this may be a tax where lower rates apply to lower income levels and higher rates apply to higher income levels. SJRCA advanced out of a subcommittee and will be heard in the full Senate Executive Committee.
