By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Now that the state has a budget and lawmakers have left Springfield for their districts for the summer, the floodgates of legislation that cleared both chambers this year will soon hit Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.
In the second year of the 100th Illinois General Assembly that wrapped up last week, lawmakers passed 611 bills.
Before adjourning the House last week, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and Speaker Michael Madigan thanked their staffs and heralded the bipartisan group of lawmakers who crafted a budget the governor ultimately signed.
“We can actually enjoy a brief amount of the summer for the first time in about three years,” said Durkin, R-Western Springs.
In 2015, lawmakers left for the summer without passing a budget the governor would enact. In 2016, lawmakers didn’t pass a budget at all. In 2017, lawmakers passed a budget and tax hike the governor’s vetoed, but lawmakers overrode it in an overtime session that spanned across the Independence Day holiday.
Budget aside, for the first year of the 100th General Assembly, which was the 2017 legislative year, the House passed 380 bills while the Senate passed 235 bills for a combined total of 615 bills. For both 2017 and so far in 2018, 1,226 pieces of legislation passed. All together, the House and Senate combined filed 12,812 bills and resolutions for consideration.
For the 2017 legislative year, 329 House bills became law while 214 Senate bills became law for a total of 543 new laws last year. So far this year, 14 bills that have passed since January have become law.
The rest will soon start landing on Rauner’s desk. Because the majority of measures this legislative year were passed in the month of May, the bills will start being sent to the governor within the next few weeks. Lawmakers must send legislation within 30 days of passage.
Rauner then has 60 days to act. If the governor agrees with the bill, he signs it. If he doesn’t, he has the option of an amendatory veto or an outright veto. Those bills then get kicked back to the chamber where the bill originated for further action from lawmakers within 15 days. A veto override requires a three-fifths majority vote. A reduced or amendatory veto only needs a simple majority to be agreed upon by the legislature.
When lawmakers return to Springfield for veto session this fall, Illinois voters will have either given Rauner a second term, or they will have selected his replacement. Regardless, Rauner has a lot of work remaining in his freshman term with the prospect of sorting through hundreds of bills.
Before adjourning the Senate last week, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, touted the bipartisan nature of crafting the budget and looked forward to next the budget.
“We as Democrats were happy to work with a Republican governor and, if it happens, I would hope that next year, if it happens, you’d be willing to work with a Democrat governor, if it happens,” Cullerton said.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady fired back.
“It is fun and we look forward to working with Gov. Rauner to pass another one next year,” said Brady, R-Bloomington.
“I wish you all a very restful and enjoyable summer,” Madigan said Thursday. “We’ll see you sometime after the general election.”
