Prepared and Distributed by The Midwest Hardware Association, Inc.
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Illinois General Assembly Passes Initiatives While Missing Scheduled Adjournment Date
By Alec Laird, MHA Illinois Lobbyist and Vice President, Government Relations for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association
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While attempting to finalize the budget, the General Assembly missed its self-imposed adjournment date of May 19th. As a reminder to eHelps readers, the only substantive date for adjournment is May 31. And then the only repercussion is that the vote total goes from a simple majority to a 3/5th majority. This is not much of a deterrence as the Democrats hold solid super-majorities in both chambers.
While missing its arbitrary adjournment date, the General Assembly passed a few initiatives that will impact eHelps members.
Wrongful Death Punitive Damages—The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) filed HB 219 HFA#1 that adds punitive damages to all wrongful death cases under the Wrongful Death Act.
For over 170 years, Illinois law has consistently held that, absent specific statutory authority or very strong equitable reasons, punitive damages are not permitted under Illinois law. HB 219 would upend the current standard and would greatly expand the liability of companies in wrongful death cases.
The proponents argue that punitive damages will be used to deter future bad acts and should apply to everyone equally. While they profess that is the intent of the legislation, the legislation exempts certain entities from punitive damages. The punitive damages and the so called deterrence for future bad acts do not apply to the following entities:
1. Hospitals;
2. Doctors;
3. Municipalities;
4. State Agencies; and
5. the State.
For instance, families who lost loved ones at the state run LaSalle Veterans Homes during COVID-19 due to negligent care are prohibited from getting punitive damages for the actions of the State. But a private nursing home would be liable for punitive damages for the death of loved ones due to negligent care.
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 74-40 and the Senate by a vote of 37-19.
MHA expects Governor Pritzker to sign the legislation.
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Finance Committee Overhauls Evers' Budget with Opening Votes
By Misha Lee, MHA Wisconsin Lobbyist
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State lawmakers on the legislature’s 16-member Joint Finance Committee (JFC) opened voting on the 2023-25 state budget with the removal of more than 500 provisions that were originally included in Governor Tony Evers' budget plan introduced back in late February. The vote fell along partisan lines with the committee’s 12 Republicans removing hundreds of spending proposals and non-fiscal policy items from the budget, effectively resetting spending levels to the 2021-23 baseline. The move is controversial in nature, but not an uncommon action by the committee.
The Finance committee took similar steps to remove most of Governor Evers’ proposals from his 2019-21 and 2021-23 budget proposals. Included among the 545 items stripped from the latest budget proposal was a plan to create an expansive paid family and medical leave program that was of significant concern to the small business community. The Governor’s 12-week paid leave proposal included funding of $243 million and the hiring of 198 state employees to launch, administer, enforce, and pay the initial benefits in the program. Democrats on the committee introduced a motion to spend state dollars to study the economic impact of the family leave program, but their motion failed along party lines. Also on the list of items removed from the budget was the Governor’s proposed small business retirement plan, along with his initiative to increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour. Other major proposals that were removed include legalization of recreational marijuana, expansion of Medicaid funding, tax dollars for a public health insurance option, and increased spending on public education and environmental initiatives. See the full list of items removed from the budget.
The committee continues to meet and will vote over the next several weeks on making more changes to the budget. Once they are done all of the committee’s modifications to the Governor’s original budget bill are incorporated into a substitute amendment, passed and sent to the full Legislature for separate floor votes in the Assembly and Senate. The Legislature generally begins deliberations and takes a final vote on the budget towards the middle of June and sends the enrolled bill to the Governor.
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midwesthardware.com update...
Classifieds are now the Marketplace!
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If you'd like to post an item, multiple items, or a whole store for that matter, just click on the purple bar that reads "Click here to submit a listing" to get started.
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Listings will remain posted for 90 days once activated by an MHA moderator, and will look something like this:
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If you have any questions in regard to the new Marketplace, please feel free to contact Sam Schmidt at [email protected] or 715-254-9617.
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Sales Trends January 2023
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Here are the most recent Illinois, Minnesota-Dakotas, and Wisconsin hardware store sales trends, gathered from association members using the MHA's monthly accounting services. The figures derived for each region include sales data from the following number of stores:
Illinois - 13 stores
Minn.-Dakotas - 11 stores
Wisconsin - 42 stores
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MHA is the recognized leader in providing accounting to independent hardware stores of all sizes and of all wholesaler affiliations. We provide accurate, timely, complete monthly financial statements and, because we do accounting for hundreds of hardware stores across the country, we offer something that other accounting firms can't.
With MHA monthly accounting service you receive:
- Monthly Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
- Accountant's Interpretation and Analysis Letter
- Complete reconciliation of all bank accounts, outstanding credit card transactions, merchandise payables, and other balance sheet items
- Preparation of sales tax, payroll tax, and other federal, state, and local tax reports
- Nationwide, toll-free telephone access to keep you in touch with the MHA staff
- Outstanding, professional service at reasonable prices
Our trained staff stays up to date on the latest tax developments and works closely with you to prepare and file returns that are accurate, complete, and on time.
Testimonial
“Because they work with other hardware stores around the nation, MHA gives us great insight on what to do when it comes to my accounting and finances. They are the best financial counselors to have for running a hardware store.”
David Tennies, Manager
Tennies Hardware
West Bend, WI
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