THE I. A. A. RECORD 



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Page Three 



Ho>\^ The State Legislature Operates 



Our Law Making Machinery in Action 



'X'HE Illinois legislature known as 

 A the General Assembly consists of a 

 Senate of 51 members and a House of 

 Representatives of 153 members. There 

 are 51 senatorial districts in the state 

 each of which is allowed one senator 

 and three representatives. This ap- 

 portionment was provided for in the 

 Constitution of 1870. 



The lieutenant-governor, at present 

 Fred E. Sterling of Rockford, presides 

 over the Senate. The House of Rep- 

 resentatives elects its own chairman 

 who is called the "speaker." The pres- 

 ent incumbent is Robert E. Scholes of 

 Peoria. ,- ■ . ■:-■'■■■ ■■■; . "■"'-:■-■:';' 



The legislature meets once every two 

 years, in the odd-numbered years. In 

 Illinois the session begins directly after 

 New Years and lasts for nearly six 

 months. This year it is scheduled to 

 close June 20. In certain other states 

 the legislative session is limited to 

 from 60 to 90 days. In others there 

 is a deadline or final date after which 

 no more bills may be introduced. 

 California is much a state which lim- 

 its the length of the session and sets a 

 date limit for the introduction of bills. 



Chairmen and Committees 



Shortly after the legislature con- 

 venes, the presiding officers of each 

 house announce the chairmen and per- 

 sonnel of the various committees. Each 

 member is assigned to a number of 

 committees according to his profession 

 and previous experience. Thus the 

 lawyers are usually placed on the Ju- 



resurrect a bill after it has been acted 

 upon unfavorably by a committee. 



First reading of a bill refers to the 

 order in which the bill is reported to 

 the House or Senate from committee. 

 It consists of nothing more than a 

 presentation of the report of the com- 

 mittee, upon which the bill, if reported 

 favorably is advanced to the order of 

 "second reading." If the committee 

 report is unfavorable the bill is usually 

 allowed to die there. 



When the bill comes up for second 

 reading it is usually acted upon. 

 Amendments, if there be any, are pro- 

 posed at this time. Amendments often 

 result in roll call votes. A bill may be 

 killed on second reading by adopting a 



I 



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pronhptly reported to both houses, and 

 if adopted by both, results in the final 

 passage of the bill. 



After the bill passes both House and 

 Senjjte it goes to the Governor, who 

 mayl follow one of three courses. He 

 may; approve the bill, whereupon it be- 

 comfes law on July 1 unless a later 

 datei is provided in the new law (or 

 an daiilier date has been provided for 

 as ajn emergency-^by a two-thirds vote 

 of botih houses). He may withhold- 

 his signature whereupon the bill be- 

 comes law in 10 days, providing that 

 number of days remain before the final 

 adjolumment of the legislature. He 

 may veto the bill whereupon it is dead 

 and can be revived only by passing it 



motion to "strike out the enacting overj his veto by a two-thirds vote of 

 clause," with or without a roll call, both! houses. j' j 



A similar procedure may be followed 

 in advancing the bill to the order of 

 "third reading." 



Majority Is 77 



Third reading is the order of passage 

 when no amendments are permitted. 

 By common consent it may be moved 

 back to "second reading" for amend- 

 ment. The last opportunity for debate 

 is offered at this time. After the 

 member who sponsors the bill makes a 

 last appeal for favorable votes, the 

 clerk calls the roll. The bill must re- 

 ceive the affirmative votes of a major- 

 ity of members elected or it is de- 

 feated. To pass, therefore, it must re- 

 ceive 77 affirmative votes of the House 

 members and 26 affirmative votes of 

 the Senate members. The late wom- 



Tax 



Tax 



\^^h^t's In the Income Tax Bill 



(Continued from page 1.) 



on second $5,000 I 

 »t 2% : 100 



diciary among others, while farmers 



are ordinarily assigned to the Com- an's eight-hour working bill introduced 



mittee on Agriculture. A representa- by Lottie Holman O'Neill of DuPage 



DuPage 

 county received only 74 votes in the 

 House, hence it failed to carry. A bill 

 which receives 76 yea votes in the 

 House without a single negative vote 

 is nevertheless defeated becaus 76 is 

 not a majority. Having passd one 

 house the bill is then reported to the 

 other house, where it goes thi'ough 

 committee, and follows the orders of 

 first, second, and third readings. 



As soon as both houses act favor- 

 ably on a given bill, it is declared 

 passed. Frequently when a bill has 

 passed one house, amendments are 

 made in the other house. This re- 

 quires a return of the bill to the house 

 which first passed it. If that house 

 . . then accepts or decides to "concur" in 



ponents and opponents are then invited ^^^ amendments of the house, the bill 

 to present their arguments pro and ^^ passed, 

 con before the members. A recommen- ' • : -. , " 



dation— arrived at oftentimes by spir- Conference Committee 



ited debate followed by a vote — ^that 

 the bill "do pass" opens the way for 

 action on the floor of the House or Sen- 

 ate. If a committee recommends that a 

 hill "do not pass" the measure is almost 

 invariably killed. It is exceedingly dif- 

 ficult and in most cases impossible to 



tive or senator may be a member of 

 four, six, or more committees. These 

 committees do most of the work of 

 the legislature. They usually decide 

 the fate of the various bills. 



At the beginning of each session, the 

 clerk of the House or Senate calls the 

 roll. If a member wishes to introduce 

 a bill he refers it to the clerk. The 

 title is rekd at once and the bill is 

 usually referred to a committee. 



Committee Meetings 



In the case of bills of wide interest 

 or those over which there is bound to 

 be controversy, separate or joint com- 

 mittee hearings are arranged. Pro- 



oii remainder at 3% 



150 



If it disagrees, a conference com- 

 mittee representing both houses is 

 asked for. It is the business of the 

 conference committee to reach some 

 agreement without inserting new mat- 

 ter. Any conference agreement is 



Total computed income tax. $300 

 If they pay no property tax, their 

 income tax will be $300. 



If they pay property taxes of 

 $175, their income tax will be 

 $125. 



If they pay property taxes 

 amounting to $300 or more, they 

 will pay no income tax. 

 The purpose of this bill is to 

 secure some contribution to the 

 cost of government from persons 

 who have substantial income but 

 pay little or no property taxes. 

 Thus there are countless high- 

 salaried workers, and many 

 wealthy people who own little or 

 no real estate but have large 

 holdings of stocks and bonds from 

 which they derive large incomes, 

 who pay very little tax in pro- 

 ^rtion to their wealth and abil- 

 ity to pay. Such people enjoy 

 all the benefits of citizenship, but 

 they do not share its responsi- 

 bilities. They help vote the 

 taxes, but they do not help pay 

 them. It is argued that they pay 

 their taxes indirectly in food and 

 tent. Food and rent are no 

 cheaper to the taxpayer who 

 owns real estate and property. 

 He also pays indirect taxes in 

 addition to his direct taxes. 

 Tthe measure pr6vides that the state 

 auditor shall collect the taxes. If it 

 becomes law, it will not go into effect 

 until ,1929.. 



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