SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Rod Blagojevich outlined his $53 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2006 to a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 16, and Senate committees began this week to consider some of the hundreds of bills that have already been introduced.

Dan Rutherford (R – Pontiac) says he is concerned by the increases in business taxes included in Blagojevich’s spending blueprint. Rutherford has repeatedly spoken out against excessive taxation of Illinois business community.

The Governor’s plan includes a 75-cent cigarette tax increase, a tax on computer software, a tax on landfill-generated electricity, more raids on dedicated state funds, and the continued expansion of social service programs.

Blagojevich is also proposing the creation of a two-tier state employee pension system to cut future costs – but spend the money now. Senator Rutherford says it’s a good idea to examine the need for pension reforms but warns that under-funding the pension system by $800 million now and assuming that there will be future cost savings, is not a responsible resolution to the state’s fiscal problems.

The Governor’s Budget Address is the only the first step in the long and complex budget negotiation process, and in the coming months, lawmakers will be making changes that reflect the priorities of Illinois citizens.

The following bills were approved by Senate committees during the week of Feb. 14-18 and now head to the full Senate for consideration:

Steroids (SB 64) – Requires school districts to teach junior high and high school students participating in athletic programs about the dangers of using anabolic steroids.

Sex offenders (SB 100) – Prohibits a child sex offender from knowingly being present on school property or a school vehicle when persons younger than 18 are present. Also eliminates an exception for an offender who is the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the school and requires the offender to notify the principal before gaining accessing to school property.

 “Right to Know” (SB 241) – Requires state government to notify the public about releases of all environmental contaminants.

Ammunition (SB 53) – Allows Illinois citizens to purchase ammunition from an out-of- state seller by providing a copy of their FOID card and a copy of their driver’s license or state ID card.  Provides that ammunition may only be shipped to an address on one of those two.

Hunting licenses (SB 123) – Removes the Social Security number from the face of the hunting and fishing license documents, and requires the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to create a customer identification number to keep track of people who annually get these licenses.