With just four weeks remaining until the General Assembly’s scheduled May 31 adjournment, State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) is hoping to jump-start the budget adoption process by offering lawmakers three revenue estimates that could be used as the starting point for the creation of a full, balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2018.
This week Breen signed on as a Chief Co-Sponsor for House Joint Resolutions 49, 50 and 51, which provide realistic revenue estimates for the upcoming fiscal year which begins on July 1. HJR 49 uses the non-partisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) FY2018 revenue estimate of $31.147 billion, HJR 50 uses the FY2018 estimate published by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) of $31.476 billion, and HJR 51 utilizes an average of the COGFA and GOMB revenue estimates, or $31.312 billion, as the starting point for the creation of the FY2018 budget.
“Our top priority right now needs to be the approval of a balanced budget, and that process begins with the adoption of a revenue estimate,” said Breen. “Until two years ago, this body was able to work in a bipartisan fashion to create a revenue number that served as the starting point of budget creation. It’s required in the Illinois Constitution, and is a step we must take without delay.”
Breen pointed to Article VIII, Section 2 of the Illinois Constitution, which states: Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year. “Our Constitution is clear on this mandate- we must produce a number that estimates how much money we can spend. It is step one of the budget process. Our K-12 education system, our colleges and universities and agencies that provide services for our most vulnerable citizens are relying on us to get this done.”
While the three resolutions were initially filed two weeks ago, they are still being held in Speaker Mike Madigan’s House Rules Committee and have not been assigned to a substantive committee for a hearing.
