A bill sponsored by State Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), and aimed at improving efficiency and limiting red tape in grant programs administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation has been signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“Ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly is one of the most important oversight duties that we perform in Springfield,” Hoffman said. “This law will streamline the process and ensure we are not wasting money on redundant, purely bureaucratic requirements.”
The new law, HB 4489, amends the 2014 Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA), exempting grants administered by IDOT for the purpose of surface transportation projects. The law as originally passed resulted in unintended consequences and what supporters of the bill argued were wasteful redundancies and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Hoffman’s bill sought to eliminate these at a time when both Gov. Pritzker’s “Rebuild Illinois” Capital Plan as well as the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have spurred massive investment in Illinois’ surface transportation infrastructure.
The new law is effective immediately.
“With so much work being done to enhance and improve Illinois’ roads, bridges, and highways, it is really important that we make sure we’re getting every penny’s worth of benefit for the taxpayers’ money,” Hoffman said.
“I commend Gov. Pritzker for recognizing the opportunity we had here to better achieve that. I am optimistic that we will now see a more streamlined and efficient process.”
For more information, call Rep. Hoffman at (618) 416-7407 or email repjayhoffman@gmail.com.
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