The Rules Committees is a powerful standing committee in the House controlled by the majority. All legislation is assigned to the Rules Committee as a kind of legislative filter that sorts the more-than-6,000 bills introduced each year. The committee considers the legislation and often assigns it to other committees in order to be heard by other lawmakers. Sometimes, legislation dies in the Rules Committee if the committee decides it does not merit further consideration, occasionally leading to objections from the minority party that just a few legislators from the majority have the power to completely kill their legislation. Minority party members have objected that this makes it difficult or impossible for them to represent their constituents.
The bill, as it was introduced in the House by Rep. David A. Welter (R-75) on March 5, "appropriates $2,600,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Village of Coal City for the debt incurred by the municipality for its cleanup and recovery efforts following the destruction from the EF-3 tornado on June 22, 2015" and "includes a preamble concerning the costs relating to the EF-3 tornado," according to the General Assembly website.
The following house representative also co-sponsored the bill: Lindsay Parkhurst (R-79).
The table below shows a history of actions for this bill through March 5.
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