August 18, 2017

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois Senate,

100th General Assembly:

Today I veto Senate Bill 789, which expands the authorized uses of motor fuel tax funds.

This bill would allow for these funds to be directed away from traditional infrastructure projects toward other tangential transportation initiatives including those capital projects focused on pedestrian, bicycle, or electrical vehicles as well as for the operation costs of public transit.

Illinois should be the most modern and effective transportation center in the nation. Instead, we see crumbling roads and bridges across our state. The motor fuel tax is intended as a use tax for the privilege of utilizing these common resources, and the revenue it generates should be focused on funding the pressing renovation and innovation that our infrastructure needs.

Unfortunately, Illinois does not currently have the funds necessary to support every initiative, and by expanding the number of uses to which motor vehicle funds can be directed, this legislation will pull resources from their most appropriate and needed uses. Some of the capital projects that would be eligible for motor fuel funds under this bill are already heavily subsidized by government and others are simply outside the scope of the use tax’s intent.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 789, entitled “AN ACT concerning transportation”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR