2001 Practitioners' Questions and Answers

Let's first start with the Fall Veto Session, which is November 13 - November 15 and November 27 - November 29, 2001. The Department's number one priority for the Fall Session is successfully passing House Bill 3288; the Department's several income tax initiatives from the Spring Session. The bill was mired late in the session with objection from the Riverboat gaming and horse racing industries due to a more stringent withholding requirement on winnings, after passing the Senate 57-00-00, the bill lost on Third Reading in the House due to these objections. It is the Department's desire to remove this small objectionable part of House Bill 3288 and pass the remainder of the bill. If not successful this fall, the Department will likely reintroduce the bill's provisions (without the gaming withholding provisions) in next year's session.

The Department is just now in the process of reviewing and prioritizing any initiatives that might be introduced in the 2002 Session. As with every second year of an Illinois General Assembly, 2002 will be a "Rules Year", which generally means only emergency and budget matters are considered. Generally, priority consideration is given only to proposals that are required to address audit findings, court decrees or decisions, and budgetary issues. It will likely be early December before the Department's 2002 legislative agenda is fully established.