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92_SB1493gms
State of Illinois
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Springfield, Illinois 62706
George H. Ryan
GOVERNOR
August 23, 2001
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate
92nd General Assembly
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor by
Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of
1970, and re-affirmed by the People of the State of Illinois
by popular referendum in 1974, and conforming to the standard
articulated by the Illinois Supreme Court in People ex rel.
Klinger v. Howlett, 50 Ill.2d 242 (1972), Continental
Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. v. Zagel, 78 Ill.2d 387
(1979), People ex rel. City of Canton v. Crouch, 79 Ill.2d
356 (1980) and County of Kane v. Carlson, 116 Ill.2d 186
(1987), that gubernatorial action be consistent with the
fundamental purposes and the intent of the bill, I hereby
return Senate Bill 1493 entitled "AN ACT in relation to
senior citizens and disabled persons," with my specific
recommendations for change.
Senate Bill 1493 amends the Senior Citizens and Disabled
Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act
to reduce confusion over the expiration of pharmaceutical
assistance cards and to assist the State in accessing money
owed to other health benefits providers by requiring such
providers to identify recipients of medical assistance for
purposes of third party reimbursement.
The provisions of Senate Bill 1493 are similar to those
included in House Bill 2438, Public Act 92-131, which I
signed into law on July 23, 2001. The primary difference
between these two bills is the implementation date. Both
bills are effective upon becoming law; however, the
provisions of House Bill 2438 are to be implemented on
January 1, 2002. Senate Bill 1493 does not make this
important distinction which will provide the Illinois
Department of Revenue the necessary implementation time.
In order to be in compliance with Senate Bill 1493, the
Department of Revenue would have to convert coverage for
current participants receiving pharmaceutical assistance from
a calendar year basis to a fiscal year basis immediately.
Obviously, this does not allow the Department sufficient time
to accommodate the change. However, there are provisions in
both bills that need to be signed into law.
For this reason, I hereby return Senate Bill 1493 with
the following recommendation for change:
On page 8, by replacing lines 4 through 6 with the
following:
"On and after January 1, 2002, however, to enable the
Department to".
With this change, Senate Bill 1493 will have my approval.
I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
George H. Ryan
GOVERNOR
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