IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues – 03/15/2023
Illinois Venture Capital Association Illinois Legislative Report
David Stricklin / Stricklin & Associates
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
IVCA PARTNERSHIP BILL CLEARS SENATE COMMITTEE
On a unanimous vote with no debate the Senate Revenue Committee approved SB 1880 to modernize the definition of an investment partnership to include private equity funds. The bill has enjoyed similar acceptance previously in the Illinois Senate, only to be sidelined in the Illinois house. The Senate bill is poised to pass out of the Senate chamber by the March 31 deadline for a bill in the Senate to clear the Senate floor.
In the House, HB 2237 has accumulated several cosponsors from the Revenue and Finance Committee, including the chair and vice-chair of the committee. The House intends to move on its Revenue bills later in the legislative session, which is scheduled to adjourn in mid-May.
IVCA continues to work with legislators and with the Illinois Department of Revenue to make this technical but important change to the statute to help Illinois funds remain competitive and attractive places for investors.
PENSION FUNDS BATTLE STATE TREASURER
A bill SB 2152 to give the State Treasurer proxy authority on state pension fund investments has resulted in some of the major state pension system opposing the suggestion.
The pension funds that will be affected by the measure should the bill be passed are the $63.3 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System, Springfield; the $23.9 billion Chicago-based Illinois State Board of Investment, which manages the assets of the State Employees’ Retirement System, the General Assembly Retirement System and the Judges’ Retirement System; and the $22.4 billion Illinois State Universities Retirement System (SURS), Champaign.
TRS and SURS have specifically registered their opposition, with Treasurer Michael Frerichs and a major construction trade union expressing their support.
Mr. Frerichs said in an interview that he supported SB 2152 stressing “this bill fights for workers’ security” and noted that his office manages $50 billion in a variety of state funds with a strong focus on active proxy voting to urge corporations the funds are invested in to make long-term decisions in managing their companies.
He stressed that he has a long track record in proxy voting adding that “CEOs aren’t evil but do need to be pushed to create long-term growth within their companies” year-round, not just once a year during proxy season.
ILLINOIS UPGRADE
Moody’s bumped up the state’s credit rating and the governor among others was quick to trumpet that news as a sign of fiscal stability which compares favorably to recent periods when overdue bills piled up and vendors waited for months to be paid.
“Like other states, Illinois enjoyed solid tax revenue growth over the past couple years, expanding its capacity to build financial reserves and increase payments towards outstanding liabilities,” Moody’s said in its announcement. “The state is on track to close fiscal 2023, which ends June 30, with further growth in reserves that are already at their strongest level in over a decade.”
Part of what the analysts are factoring are reports such as the one attached below from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) which explains the sturdy revenue picture for the state:
COMED TRIAL BEGINS
One eye on the newsfeed for the next few months for Illinois elected officials and those who make their living in and around Illinois government.
* Crain’s | Things to watch as ‘ComEd Four’ trial finally begins: The trial gets under way, too, just days after a federal jury in Ohio convicted that state’s similarly powerful former House speaker, Republican Larry Householder, in a scheme eerily like what ComEd admitted to running for nearly a decade in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago.