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* Greg Hinz…
Labor groups are pushing a proposed super minimum wage of sorts in Springfield—an early test of just how far a pro-union agenda will reach in a Capitol that has a Democratic governor and Democratic supermajorities in both the House and Senate.
Pending in the Senate is a bill, with amendments, that would require construction workers at “high-hazard facilities” not only to be qualified journeypersons who have received advanced safety training, but also would mandate they are “paid at least a rate equivalent to the prevailing (union) hourly wage rate for a journeyperson in the applicable occupation and locality.” […]
But business groups are lining up to oppose the bill, which reportedly stems from an organizing dispute at several Illinois oil refineries but which, according to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, would apply to workers at ethanol plants, chemical facilities and at least some other manufacturing plants. Similar measures stalled in prior Legislatures in recent years, perhaps because the state then had a Republican governor who would have vetoed it.
“This is all about organized labor using state government to mandate use of their services,” says Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Todd Maisch, who believes the bill could end up applying to many large manufacturing plants. “Along with some other issues, I think this raises the question of how many things Democrats are willing to cram down business’ throat.”
* Looks like no agreed-bill process on workers’ comp stuff…
After House and Senate Democrats sent SB 1596 to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce is petitioning the governor to veto the Workers’ Compensation reform bill.
The chamber’s recent letter to Pritzker outlines a handful of potential adverse effects on small businesses and invokes Pritzker’s campaign promise to involve employers in any reform process.
“We urge you to veto SB 1596, as business interests were provided no opportunity to negotiate the provisions of SB 1596 and its provisions will have a profound impact on the workers’ compensation system” wrote Illinois Chamber president and CEO Todd Maisch. […]
Maisch wrote that the proposed law would erode liability protection for employers in workplace injury cases. Under current Workers Compensation (WC) and Occupational Disease (OD) law in Illinois, the letter noted, employees are limited in the amount of time they have to sue their employers. […]
“Exclusive remedy protection for Illinois employers [would be] eviscerated, creating significant new exposures to liability, including punitive damages, that far exceed the benefits provided by the WC or OD Acts …” Maisch wrote.
* Illinois News Network…
A proposed policy change that would allow the state to capture more revenue is being called “theft of services” by retailers. The idea Gov. J.B. Pritzker uses to balance his budget remains in a committee.
Pritzker hopes to get an additional $170 million from recreational pot licenses for his budget that starts this summer. He’s also banking on $212 million from sports betting licenses. Both ideas have yet to advance at the statehouse. Then there’s the “retailers discount” the governor hopes to change to bring in $75 million.
Retailers get to keep 1.75 percent of the overall state sales tax they collect for the state for acting as the state’s sales tax collector. Illinois Retail Merchants Association’s Rob Karr said that doesn’t even cover the processing fees for electronic transactions, which he said make up almost 70 percent of sales. Pritzker wants to cap that reimbursement at $1,000 a year per retailer, Karr said.
“We are subsidizing the state somewhere between four and five cents for every electronic transaction so clearly it is a reimbursement to us and to take it away frankly or reduce it truly amounts to theft of services,” Karr said.
…Adding… From the governor’s office…
Hi,
The INN piece on the retailer’s discount you have up is wrong. The governor’s proposal caps the retailer’s discount at $1,000 per month, not $1,000 per year. Under the Governor’s proposal more than 95 percent of retailers will see no change in their discount as taxable retail sales are highly concentrated among a small percentage of high-volume retailers.
Thanks!
Jordan
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:09 pm
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Maisch spent all four years of the Rauner Administration loudly demanding work comp reform, dems finally get it done and he’s against it? I swear some people are just can’t be happy with anything /s
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:20 pm
Elections have consequences Todd
Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:23 pm
When small time retailers of years ago used an adding machine & pencil to compute sales tax and then mailed a check to the State it made sense to have some compensation. Walmart computers know when a person buys a roll of toilet paper and the computer sends a message to put a case on the truck for store # whatever. Used to be a person looks at how much was on the shelf and ordered more. Sales tax is collection and remittance is computerized today too. Stop crying Karr.
Comment by jimbo26 Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:24 pm
I hope one of the high hazard jobs included in the SB1407 includes cell phone tower workers. This job has the most deaths of all occupations. All these deaths are preventable too. The kids that climb these towers need training.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:51 pm
==We are subsidizing the state somewhere between four and five cents for every electronic transaction==
Is Karr talking about credit card processing fees? What does this have to do with sales tax collection and subsidizing the state? These are separate issues.
Comment by Reserved Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 3:57 pm
So much misinformation from INN on here now. How much are they paying you?
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:00 pm
=== Is Karr talking about credit card processing fees? What does this have to do with sales tax collection and subsidizing the state? These are separate issues. ===
I guess since the sales tax is most often collected via credit card the merchants are paying a transaction fee on the sales tax. So, I’m just shooting from the hip here, but if an item is sold for $1 and the state imposes a six percent sales tax, the merchant collects six cents, the credit card company charges, say, three percent on those six cents, and the state kicks back 1.75 percent. So the merchant is out 1.25 percent. Hope I did this right
Comment by Just Observing Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:04 pm
Since the occupational cancers addressed by the bill don’t show up for decades after exposure, the bill seems to correct a wrong.
Maisch’s statement about punitive damages is a red herring- these are mostly fatal diseases and punitives aren’t allowed in wrongful death cases in this state.
Comment by northsider (the original) Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:05 pm
This bill sounds like a great idea. Those refineries are using out of state workers. Why does Todd support helping workers that live out of state?
Comment by SB 1407 Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:06 pm
Generally speaking, high risk jobs also have high wages associated with them if they are union jobs. Most of the safety measures today are the result of unions. Examples like coal miners and ironworkers come to mind. I know ironworkers / steelworkers used to have a sliding wage scale based on the height above ground level.
Maybe the people in these high risk jobs need an organization to represent them, something like a union?
Comment by RNUG Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:08 pm
The INN keeps pumping out the misinformation… what a “news organization”. Sheesh.
Comment by El Conquistador Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:11 pm
What is the governor’s legislation on the retailer discount? HB2079 and SB1132 clearly state it’s $1,000/year.
“Provides that the vendor discount may not exceed $1,000 per vendor in any calendar year.”
Comment by Anon Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:15 pm
Interesting that he does not plan to cap or change the fact that IDOR get a 2 percent processing fee for handling certain transactions.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 4:31 pm
Here is a thought: Illinois has one of the most complex sales tax formularies in the nation. Why don’t we simplify that, which would reduce the need for retail businesses to hire specialized companies to help them with this problem, thereby making it easier to collect that money for the state?
Comment by Just Me 2 Thursday, Mar 28, 19 @ 6:23 pm