Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » There’s no time like the present

Monday, Feb 25, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Wouldn’t you think that before the governor unveiled his budget he’d brief the chief sponsors of an integral part of his proposal about what he intended to do? Or, you know, maybe do it right after?

It just seems so odd to me that the chief sponsors are being kept in the dark about the governor’s plan…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year includes $170 million in new revenue from licensing fees for legalized recreational marijuana, but the details of the legislation are not yet finalized. […]

[Sen. Heather Steans, the chief Senate sponsor] said she would hope to have language filed for a Senate bill “in the next month or so,” and both said they would like to see it passed by May 31, provided they can iron out the final details.

“I haven’t gotten the details behind (the governor’s $170 million projection). So I really can’t comment on that yet,” Steans said. “It seems like a reasonable approach. All the revenue estimates we’ve had so far, when you have a fully mature program in place, have been around $500 million. So this is clearly well below that and based much more on up-front licensing fees, not from receipts based on sales tax.”

I checked this afternoon and, five days after the governor’s budget address, the sponsors have still not been briefed.

Today is February 25th. May 31st is in 95 calendar days. There are 41 scheduled Senate session days and 44 scheduled House session days until the scheduled adjournment.

* There’s no reason to panic yet because there’s still plenty of time to get this done, but time flies fast around these parts and the sponsors have been asking for gubernatorial guidance for over a month to almost no avail. Also, the sponsors have other things to do before adjournment besides this one project. They’re both approp committee chairs, for instance.

18 Comments

- RNUG - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:00 pm:
Process … it is all about process. JB needs to get a handle on legislation for his priorities. Who is supposed to be riding herd on this?

- Are Ya Kiddin' Me? - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:03 pm:
Still a bunch of Directors still to be appointed?
Other than the DCOS,no Legislative team in place?
Ruaner leftovers still making MAJOR decisions?

Really not a good look for the new Admin….

- OutHereInTheMiddle - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:06 pm:
JB(no puncuation!) and team, Please do not go into this thinking you can just tell everyone how it will be. Your predecessor tried that. It didn’t turn out well.

- Fav human - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:12 pm:
Why would the mushrooms need to know before time to vote on it?😄😄😄

- wordslinger - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:18 pm:
Maybe Pritzker’s management team needs to tighten it up a little bit. You’re getting your state salaries plus that JB bonus money after all.

Don’t want to earn a Superstar reputation with the GA.

- Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:18 pm:
===Please do not go into this thinking you can just tell everyone how it will be===

That’s exactly the opposite of what they’re doing.

- Annonin' - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:27 pm:
And don’t forget to allow plenty of time for Durkie and NoTaxBill to whip in with all their “good ideas” for the big compromisapalooza.

BTW will all know none of that will happen right?
Both a too busy trying to trace the source of Baiser’s $$$

- The Bashful Raconteur - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:30 pm:
The shine is wearing off.

- Anonymous - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:33 pm:
Saw the Trib article this weekend about casinos. Seems the only thing people know is that JB wants $10 million dollars a license and he wants 20 licenses.
Nobody seems to know what that looks like or how it rolls out?

- Silent Budgeteer - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
This just sounds so odd to me; back when I worked for the Bureau of the Budget (yes, I’m dating myself there), part of our duties when preparing the Governor’s Budget was to have the appropriation bills (as well as other implementation bills) ready to go. That way, there was something that could be the “work in progress”. The legislature would do the same in having several shell bills ready to go. Time will fly, believe me; I speak from (long-ago) experience.

- Norseman - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:35 pm:
Yes, Virginia, there is a new Gov learning curve.

But, for the money that is being paid and the experience that was part of the deal, the expectations are and should be higher.

- LakeCoQ - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:45 pm:
I have a hard time seeing how the state would get to 170 million in licensing fees in the first year. No doubt there will be many applications for retail and cultivation licenses (depending on how the bill is written). Still the estimate seems quite high unless each application is going to cost BIG BIG dollars just to submit.

- Honeybear - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 2:48 pm:
I have to say OW
you were prescient back during staffer lawsuit.
You laid into JB
Not paying attention to the micro.
a detachment from the front line.
At the time I brushed off your critique.
I should know better by now.

They seem to be building the plane
while flying it.
Are they using the Raunerites
because they don’t have their own people lined up?
Or
because they agree with what Rauner was doing?
(On some things. Pension, Labor Contracts, etc)

Do I have cause to worry?

- XonXoff - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
It’s reported now that Sen. Steans is waiting on results of a demand study to update her SB0007. Meanwhile Rep. Ammons HB0902 seems to be widely dismissed in favor of Steans 2 years prior work on her Bill. I hope the IL medical producers/dispensaries aren’t influencing a delay over their ‘concerns for the industry.’ It won’t take much to delay this right out of the 101st general assembly, or gut it down to only things which produce revenue for the state and The Industry.

- Johnnie F. - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 4:35 pm:
It seems if they want any revenue beyond licensing fees next fiscal year, this should get done soon. Besides recreational sales, I wonder once passed and signed if home growing will be legal from the day one? This winter weather has me thinking about spring gardening and planting.

- Anonymous - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 6:05 pm:
Your going to have to renegotiate labor contracts, exchange labor proposals, steer the state away from the scorched Earth theory with the outgoing administration, etc. I say you’ll get a balanced budget but don’t be surprised if there are not furloughs or other cost savings implemented.

- Anyone Remember - Monday, Feb 25, 19 @ 7:09 pm:
Silent Budgeteer
Yes, and BoB / GOMB created an internal computer program to produce the budget book that sets forth appropriations by line item / division / fund / agency (dating myself, remember the BoB version). And the agencies by now should have submitted the ISLs (Illinois State Legislative budget forms). Yes, some programs have lump sums, but much of the data is there.

- low level - Tuesday, Feb 26, 19 @ 8:58 am:
At least he has found sponsors and has an idea.

His predecessor never got that far. If you wanted to see his proposals in bill form you had to look up HB0000 - it never existed. Blank sheet of paper

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