HJ0051 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0051 LRB100 12518 MST 25518 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII (Finance) of the Constitution of Illinois states the following requirement: "Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year."; and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to this constitutional mandate, it is the duty of the Illinois legislature to adopt a revenue estimate for each and every fiscal year in order to have a basis from which to design a budget that is balanced; and

WHEREAS, Subsection (a) of Section 4 of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability Act directs the Commission to publish, on the third Wednesday in March of each year, revised revenue estimates for the approaching fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, For FY 2018, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability estimates that Illinois will generate $33.991 billion, including federal and State Sources; with regard to the Subtotal of General Funds generated for FY 2018, the Commission estimates that the State will have $31.147 billion in total general revenues once allocations are made to the Refund Fund, Fund for Advancement of Education, and the Commitment to Human Services Fund; and

WHEREAS, The Governor's Office of Management and Budget reports in their revenue estimate that for FY 2018: Illinois will generate a total of $34.401 billion when including total federal and State sources; with regard to the Subtotal of General Funds generated for FY 2018, the Office estimates that the State will have $31.476 billion in total general revenues once allocations are made to the Refund Fund, Fund for Advancement of Education, and the Commitment to Human Services Fund; the Office has included two key assumptions in the budget book, including $300 Million to be received from the sale of the Thompson Center and $942 in Fund for Advancement of Education and Commitment to Human Services Fund re-classification under general funds definitions; and

WHEREAS, The legislature has a proper basis from which to adopt a revenue estimate for FY 2018, with the figures provided by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget; and

WHEREAS, The legislature needs to adopt a revenue estimate that combines that the figures provided by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that General Assembly will adopt an FY 2018 revenue estimate that is inclusive of the figures provided by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget and outlines the funds that will be available during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017, for the purposes of meeting the constitutional obligation set forth in subsection (b) of Section 2 of Article VIII of the Illinois Constitution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, the President of the Illinois Senate, the House Minority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader.