SPRINGFIELD – Governor Bruce Rauner took action today on the following bill:
Bill No.: SB 2046
An Act Concerning Appropriations
Action: Vetoed
Veto Message
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
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