REPORT 



FROM SPRINGFIELD 



FARMERS will be interested in the 

 record of the 66th Illinois General 

 Assembly as it applies to agricul- 

 ture in particular. 



The increase in the gasoline tax 

 and increased state aid to schools, two 

 of the most controversial proposals 

 considered by Illinois lawmakers during 

 the recent session, are dealt with in 

 greater detail elsewhere in this issue of 

 the lAA RECORD. 



Action on a few of the other impor- 

 tant bills affecting farmers are listed be- 

 low. Many bills relating to taxes, motor 

 vehicles, insurance, schools, drainage, 

 highways and other questions of interest 

 to rural people were considered. The 

 Illinois Agricultural Association took 

 some position on them or submitted 

 amendments which it believed were in 

 the best interests of agriculture. 



During the session 1,821 bills were 

 introduced. „ Of these a reported 829 

 passed of which 301 were senate bills 

 and 528 House bills. This is more than 

 have been passed at previous sessions. 

 However, many of the bills made only 

 minor changes in existing laws. 



This report covers only legislative 

 action. The bills go to the governor 

 for his consideration. 



The 66th General Assembly was char- 

 acterized by more than the usual 



amount of lethargy and inaction during 

 the early days of the session. Very 

 little was accomplished on legislation 

 action during the first three months. 

 This may have been caused by the 

 change in administration which re- 

 quired some time for reorganization. 



Highway Legislation other than the 

 increase in the gas tax: The following 

 bills recommended by the Illinois High- 

 way and Traffic Problems Commission 

 passed. 



(a) Authorized the highway depart- 

 ment to standardize traffic control de- 

 vices, (b) Directed that a continuous 

 program for enforcement of truck 

 weight limits be carried on. (c) Limited 

 the height of trucks and buses to 13 1/2 

 feet, (d) Increased the driver's license 

 fee from 50 cents for three years to $1. 

 (e) Required excess weight on over- 

 loaded trucks to be removed and in- 

 creased penalties for overweight, (f) 

 Authorized the classification of streets 

 and highways and required highway 

 authorities to adopt and publish their 

 program for highway improvement. 

 (g) Clarified the law on consolidation 

 of townships for road purposes, (h) 

 Prohibited the installation of television 

 screens in motor vehicles. 



lAA authorities recommended that 

 legislation permitting townships to con- 

 solidate for road purposes be carefully 

 considered in many townships. Town- 

 ships can be consolidated for road ad- 

 ministration purposes and districts large 

 enough to be efficient can be set \ip 

 without loss of local control under this 

 legislation. 



School Legislation other than the 

 state aid to schools bill: A number of 

 the recommendations of the governor's 

 commission were adopted. These in- 

 cluded: 



(a) Permitted school boards which 

 have made their 1948 levy to make a 

 supplemental levy, if necessary, to meet 

 the qualifying rate. (b) Created a 

 commission to study state aid and 

 school reorganization problems. (c) 

 Required the transportation of high 

 school pupils and required that all non- 

 high school territory be abolished by 

 July 1, 1953. (d) Provided that any 

 school district which fails to maintain 

 a school for two consecutive years after 

 June, 1949 be abolished, (e) Required 

 that high schools have a minimum av- 

 erage of 15 students per grade after 

 June 30, 1953. (f) Authorized school 

 districts to carry insurance on their 

 school buses. 



Six other bills relating to schools, 

 four of which were opposed by the lAA. 

 were defeated. The four bills opposed 

 by the lAA were one authorizing junior 

 colleges, a second authorizing nursery 

 schools to be paid for with school 

 funds, a third reducing the minimum 

 population requirements for a com- 

 munity unit district from 2,000 to 1,000 

 and a fourth increasing the requirement 

 from 2,000 to 3,000. 



A fifth bill favored by the lAA re- 

 quired petitions for community unit dis- 

 tricts to be submitted to the Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction for his 

 recommendations as to the feasibility of 

 the district and required him to estimate 

 the local tax rates required to carry on 

 the proposed district. It did not pass. 



The law with respect to organization 

 of community unit districts was changed 

 to require 200 instead of 100 names on 

 a petition; to require that the names be 

 obtained from at least three fourths of 

 the school districts or parts of districts 

 involved; to require that the territory 

 be compact and contiguous, and to pro- 

 vide for review by the courts of the ac- 

 tion of the county superintendent in 

 approving a petition for the calling of 

 an election to organize a community 

 unit district. 



Veterinary College — The bill appro- 

 priating funds for the University of 

 Illinois Veterinary College building 

 passed. The lAA secured an amend- 

 ment to this bill making the appropria- 

 tion from the general fund rather than 

 from the agricultural premium fund. 



L A. A. RECORD 



