Bill to cap state spending goes to House
SPRINGFIELD — A constitutional amendment that would cap state spending gained some support with Democrats Monday as lawmakers continue to look for ways to solve Illinois' budget crisis.
The proposed legislation would prohibit the state from spending more than it did in a previous year, plus or minus the percent change in Illinoisans' recent average incomes.
The measure was approved by a House committee Monday by a 10-4 vote, and it now moves to the full House.
Because it's a constitutional amendment, voters would have to approve the measure in the November 2012 election even if lawmakers sign off this year. Because of that, the spending cap wouldn't begin until 2013.
Keith Farnham, an Elgin Democrat who sponsored the plan, said the amendment addresses citizens' calls for responsible spending.
“I think people want some restriction on the state's ability to spend money,” Farnham said. “And I don't think in the past we have shown much restraint there.”
The restrictions are not without exceptions. The spending limit would not affect debt and pension payments. The governor would also have the power to call a fiscal emergency and exceed the cap, but only if the General Assembly approves.
Republicans criticized the plan, saying the law may be hard to enforce. The state already ignores the constitutional requirement that lawmakers approve a budget that's balanced every year.
“Before I was ever in the legislature I would hear people say, ‘We have a constitutional amendment that prohibits deficit spending,'” said state Rep.
Don Moffitt, a Gilson Republican, “With that in the constitution, I wonder how we got to where we got.”
House Speaker Michael Madigan argued lawmakers should approve the amendment and give voters the final say at the ballot box.
“I think it's reflective of how the majority of citizens in the state feel today,” Madigan said. “The majority of all the citizens in the state that feel like, ‘You know, the government ought to be like us, they ought to live within its means.'”