HB1466sam004 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 5/15/2012

09700HB1466sam004 LRB097 06297 AMC 69564 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1466

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1466, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 1B-5 and by adding Section 1B-5.5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/1B-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-5)

Sec. 1B-5. When a petition for emergency financial assistance for a school district is allowed by the State Board under Section 1B-4, the State Superintendent shall within 10 days thereafter appoint 3 members to serve at the State Superintendent's pleasure on a Financial Oversight Panel for the district. The State Superintendent shall designate one of the members of the Panel to serve as its Chairman. In the event of vacancy or resignation the State Superintendent shall appoint a successor within 10 days of receiving notice thereof.

Members of the Panel shall be selected primarily on the basis of their experience and education in financial management, with consideration given to persons knowledgeable in education finance. A member of the Panel may not be a board member or employee of the district for which the Panel is constituted, nor may a member have a direct financial interest in that district.

Annually, a board may petition the State Superintendent for the removal, replacement, or reassignment of any member or members of a Panel. The State Board may vote to either grant or deny the petition based upon the recommendation of the State Superintendent and any other testimony or documentary evidence the State Board deems relevant. If the petition is granted, the State Superintendent shall remove, replace, or reassign the Panel member within 60 days.

Panel members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties by the State Board. The amount reimbursed Panel members for their expenses shall be charged to the school district as part of any emergency financial assistance and incorporated as a part of the terms and conditions for repayment of such assistance or shall be deducted from the district's general State aid as provided in Section 1B-8.

The first meeting of the Panel shall be held at the call of the Chairman. The Panel may elect such other officers as it deems appropriate. The Panel shall prescribe the times and places for its meetings and the manner in which regular and special meetings may be called, and shall comply with the Open Meetings Act.

Two members of the Panel shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of 2 members shall be necessary for any decision or action to be taken by the Panel.

The Panel and the State Superintendent shall cooperate with each other in the exercise of their respective powers. The Panel shall report not later than September 1 annually to the State Board and the State Superintendent with respect to its activities and the condition of the school district for the previous fiscal year.

Any Financial Oversight Panel established under this Article shall remain in existence for not less than 3 years nor more than 10 years from the date the State Board grants the petition under Section 1B-4. If after 3 years the school district has repaid all of its obligations resulting from emergency State financial assistance provided under this Article and has improved its financial situation, the board of education may, not more frequently than once in any 12 month period, petition the State Board to dissolve the Financial Oversight Panel, terminate the oversight responsibility, and remove the district's certification under Section 1A-8 as a district in financial difficulty. In acting on such a petition the State Board shall give additional weight to the recommendations of the State Superintendent and the Financial Oversight Panel.

(Source: P.A. 88-618, eff. 9-9-94.)

(105 ILCS 5/1B-5.5 new)

Sec. 1B-5.5. Abolition of Panel.

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this Section, a Panel must be abolished 10 years after its creation.

(b) The State Board, upon recommendation of the Panel or petition of the board, may abolish a Panel at any time after the Panel has been in existence for 3 years if no obligations of the Panel are outstanding or remain undefeased and upon investigation and finding the following:

(1) that none of the factors specified in Section 1A-8 of this Code remain applicable to the district; and

(2) that there has been substantial achievement of the goals and objectives established pursuant to the financial plan and required under Section 1B-4 of this Code.

(c) The Panel of a district that otherwise meets all of the requirements for abolition of a Panel under subsection (b) of this Section, except for the fact that there are outstanding financial obligations of the Panel, may petition the State Board for reinstatement of all of the board's powers and duties assumed by the Panel; and if approved by the State Board, the following shall apply:

(1) the Panel shall continue in operation, but its powers and duties are limited to those necessary to manage and administer its outstanding obligations;

(2) the board shall once again begin exercising all of the powers and duties otherwise allowed by statute; and

(3) the Panel must be abolished as provided in subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) If the Panel of a district otherwise meets all of the requirements for abolition of a Panel under subsection (b) of this Section, except for outstanding obligations of the Panel, then the district may petition the State Board for abolition of the Panel if the district does the following:

(1) establishes an irrevocable trust fund, the purpose of which is to provide moneys to defease the outstanding obligations of the Panel; and

(2) issues funding bonds pursuant to the provisions of Sections 19-8 and 19-9 of this Code.

A district with a Panel that falls under this subsection (d) must be abolished as provided in subsection (a) of this Section.".