June 10, 2016
To the Honorable
Members of
The Illinois Senate,
99th General
Assembly:
The State has gone too long without a
balanced budget. State vendors and service providers have gone too long without
payment. We need real solutions to our fiscal problems, not unfunded, empty
promises. So today I return Senate Bill 2046 and implore the General Assembly
to pass a complete, balanced budget for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.
The Constitution requires the General
Assembly to pass a balanced budget, but the General Assembly continues to
abdicate that responsibility.
A balanced budget is not just a
constitutional requirement or the right thing to do for taxpayers; it is the only
possible way to manage State government over the long-term. Unlike the federal
government, the State is unable to sustain deficit spending over multiple years
without significantly impairing its operations. Case-in-point: the State is suffering
from a cash-flow crisis from years of deficit spending, leading to a current
bill backlog of more than $7 billion. The State is months or even years late in
paying vendors and service providers, particularly from general funds.
Without a balanced budget, an
appropriation is just an unfunded, empty promise – a check written from an
over-drawn bank account.
Social service agencies and providers
need real funding, not empty promises. Social services are being squeezed out
by State debt and pension obligations, personnel costs, and other mandated
spending. The only way to ensure that social services are fully funded is to
pass a balanced budget, where spending is in line with revenues.
Senate Bill 2046 is an empty promise.
The bill purports to appropriate $3.89 billion, including more than $3 billion
in general funds that the State does not have, for higher education and social
service providers, but provides no source of funding. Students, universities,
community colleges, social service agencies, and our most vulnerable residents need
real solutions and real funding, which Senate Bill 2046 does not provide.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of
Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2046,
entitled “AN ACT concerning appropriations”, with the foregoing objections,
vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR