Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) introduced state legislation Tuesday seeking a two-year property tax freeze plus changes to the Illinois school funding formula.

Under the proposal, the state would also pay employer costs for Chicago teacher pensions. All other schools districts in Illinois have those costs covered by the state.

The legislation, which is expected to get a legislative hearing on Wednesday, comes in response to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's push for lawmakers to approve a property tax freeze.

Rauner favors having a property tax freeze paired with changes to give local governments greater control over the prevailing wage and collective bargaining. Those changes are not contained in the Senate president's legislation.

Meanwhile, the state entered the 2016 fiscal year Wednesday without a spending plan in place as the ongoing budget stalemate continues.

State lawmakers could take up a one-month stopgap budget on Wednesday. Rauner, however, has previously stated that he would not support a temporary spending plan.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE (3:26 p.m.): Senate President John Cullerton's measure passed out of committee in the upper chamber Wednesday by a 9-5 vote. The legislation calls for a two-year property tax freeze and the creation of a school funding reform task force. Under the measure, the state would also assist in paying some of the Chicago Public Schools' pension costs.