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Blizzard Cancels Session
A winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on the Capitol resulted in the cancellation of session this week by the House of Representatives. The Senate was not scheduled to be in session. Both chambers return to action next week. House and Senate committee information is now available on the General Assembly web site.

Governor to give State of the State March 7
Governor Rod Blagojevich will address a Joint Session of the Illinois General Assembly on March 7. The Governor's speech will cover both the State of the State and his proposed budget for the state fiscal year that begins next July 1. It's widely expected the Governor will propose a Gross Receipts Tax that would generate up to $9 billion. The IMA is stongly OPPOSED to the imposition of a GRT which will specifically pyramid the tax burden for manufacturers.

Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group
Last October, Governor Blagojevich signed Executive Order 06-11 creating the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group. The group, whose goal is to create a comprehensive plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, includes a number of manufacturers -- ADM, BP America, Baxter International, Caterpillar, John Deere, Ford Motor Company and NICOR.

This week's key bill introductions
Keep abreast of IMA's Government Affairs team throughout the session by visiting the IMA's WatchList on the IMA website.

HB 750 (Miller) / SB 750 (Meeks): Comprehensive tax reform package that increases the state's individual and corporate income tax rates to fund education. In addition, the measure repeals a number of tax incentives that help the manufacturing industry.
IMA Position: OPPOSE

SB 1429 (Cullerton): Imposes the state sales tax on the purchase of computer software that is custom designed. This represents the fourth year in a row that the Governor and legislators have attempted to eliminate an incentive that helps Illinois companies compete in the technology arena.
IMA Position: OPPOSE

SB 1611 (Murphy): Increases the size of the Research & Development tax credit from 6.5 to 8.5 percent.
IMA Position: SUPPORT