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90_HB3057
605 ILCS 10/17 from Ch. 121, par. 100-17
605 ILCS 10/19 from Ch. 121, par. 100-19
605 ILCS 10/24 from Ch. 121, par. 100-24
Amends the Toll Highway Act. Provides that for all
outstanding bonds issued by the Illinois State Toll Highway
Authority, the State guarantees the timely payment of any
amounts not paid by the Authority, with recourse to the Court
of Claims. Provides that any increase in tolls is subject to
the prior approval of the General Assembly by a three-fifths
majority vote. Provides that all of the Authority's
expenditures shall be paid from the Illinois State Toll
Highway Authority Fund, subject to annual appropriation by
the General Assembly. Provides that all amounts required to
pay principal, interest, and expenses pursuant to all
currently outstanding trust indentures shall be deemed
automatically appropriated by the General Assembly in an
amount sufficient to pay the principal, interest, and other
expenses. Removes the provision that allows the Authority to
retain portions of the Fund.
LRB9010537DJpc
LRB9010537DJpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Toll Highway Act by changing Sections
2 17, 19, and 24.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Toll Highway Act is amended by changing
6 Sections 17, 19, and 24 as follows:
7 (605 ILCS 10/17) (from Ch. 121, par. 100-17)
8 Sec. 17. (a) The Authority may from time to time issue
9 bonds for any lawful purpose including, without limitation,
10 the costs of issuance thereof and all such bonds or other
11 obligations of the Authority issued pursuant to this Act
12 shall be and are hereby declared to be negotiable for all
13 purposes notwithstanding their payment from a limited source
14 and without regard to any other law or laws.
15 (b) The bonds of every issue shall be payable solely out
16 of revenues of the Authority, accumulated reserves or sinking
17 funds, bond proceeds, proceeds of refunding bonds, or
18 investment earnings as the Authority shall specify in a bond
19 resolution.
20 (c) The bonds may be issued as serial bonds or as term
21 bonds, or the Authority, in its discretion, may issue bonds
22 of both types. The bonds shall be authorized by a bond
23 resolution of the Authority, may be issued in one or more
24 series and shall bear such date or dates, mature at such time
25 or times not exceeding 25 years from their respective date or
26 dates of issue, bear interest at such rate or rates, fixed or
27 variable, without regard to any limit contained in any other
28 statute or law of the State of Illinois, be payable as to
29 principal and interest at such time or times, be in such
30 denominations, be in such form, either coupon or fully
31 registered, carry such registration and conversion
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1 privileges, be payable in lawful money of the United States
2 of America at such places, be subject to such terms of
3 redemption and may contain such other terms and provisions,
4 as such bond resolution or resolutions may provide. The
5 bonds shall be executed by the manual or facsimile signatures
6 of the Chairman and the Secretary. In case any of the
7 officers whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons, if
8 any, shall cease to be an officer before the delivery of such
9 bonds, such signature shall nevertheless be valid and
10 sufficient for all purposes, as if he had remained in office
11 until such delivery. The bonds shall be sold in such manner
12 as the Authority shall determine. The proceeds from the sale
13 of such bonds shall be paid to the Treasurer of the State of
14 Illinois as ex officio custodian. Pending preparation of the
15 definitive bonds, the Authority may issue interim receipts or
16 certificates which shall be exchanged for such definitive
17 bonds.
18 (d) Any bond resolution, or trust indenture entered into
19 pursuant to a bond resolution, may contain provisions, which
20 shall be a part of the contract with the holders of the bonds
21 to be authorized, as to: (i) pledging or creating a lien upon
22 all or part of the revenues of the Authority or any reserves,
23 sinking funds, bond proceeds or investment earnings; (ii) the
24 setting aside of reserves or sinking funds, and the
25 regulation, investment and disposition thereof; (iii) the use
26 and maintenance requirements for the toll highways; (iv) the
27 purposes to which or the investments in which the proceeds of
28 sale of any series or issue of bonds then or thereafter to be
29 issued may be applied; (v) the issuance of additional bonds,
30 the terms upon which additional bonds may be issued and
31 secured, the purposes for such additional bonds, and the
32 terms upon which additional bonds may rank on a parity with,
33 or be subordinate or superior to other bonds; (vi) the
34 refunding of outstanding bonds; (vii) the procedure, if any,
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1 by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be
2 amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds the holders of
3 which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such
4 consent may be given; (viii) defining the acts or omissions
5 to act which shall constitute a default in the duties of the
6 Authority to holders of its obligations and providing the
7 rights and remedies of such holders in the event of a
8 default; (ix) any other matters relating to the bonds which
9 the Authority deems desirable.
10 (e) Neither the directors of the Authority nor any
11 person executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the
12 bonds or be subject to any personal liability or
13 accountability by reason of the issuance thereof.
14 (f) The Authority shall have power out of any funds
15 available therefor to purchase its bonds. The Authority may
16 hold, pledge, cancel or resell such bonds subject to and in
17 accordance with agreements with bondholders.
18 (g) In the discretion of the Authority any bonds issued
19 under the provisions of this Act may be secured by a trust
20 indenture by and between the Authority and a trustee or
21 trustees, which may be any trust company or bank in the State
22 of Illinois having the powers of a trust company and
23 possessing capital and surplus of not less than $50,000,000.
24 The bond resolution or trust indenture providing for the
25 issuance of bonds so secured shall pledge such revenues of
26 the Authority, sinking funds, bond proceeds, or investment
27 earnings as may be specified therein, may contain such
28 provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and
29 remedies of the bondholders as may be reasonable and proper
30 and not in violation of law, including particularly such
31 provisions as have hereinabove been specifically authorized
32 to be included in any bond resolution or trust indenture of
33 the Authority, and may restrict the individual right of
34 action by bondholders. In addition to the foregoing, any
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1 bond resolution or trust indenture may contain such other
2 provisions as the Authority may deem reasonable and proper
3 for the security of the bondholders, including, but not
4 limited to, the purchase of bond insurance and the
5 arrangement of letters of credit, lines of credit or other
6 credit or liquidity enhancement facilities; provided there
7 shall be no pledge of the toll highway or any part thereof.
8 All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of any
9 bond resolution or trust indenture may be treated as a part
10 of the cost of the operation of the toll highways.
11 (h) Bonds issued under the authority of this Act do not,
12 and shall state upon the face of each bond that they do not,
13 represent or constitute a debt of the Authority or of the
14 State of Illinois within the meaning of any constitutional or
15 statutory limitation or a pledge of the faith and credit of
16 the Authority or the State of Illinois, or grant to the
17 owners or holders thereof any right to have the Authority or
18 the General Assembly levy any taxes or appropriate any funds
19 for the payment of the principal thereof or interest thereon.
20 Such bonds shall be payable and shall state that they are
21 payable solely from the revenues and the sources authorized
22 under this Act and pledged for their payment in accordance
23 with the bond resolution or trust indenture.
24 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the
25 Authority or any department, board, commission or other
26 agency to create an obligation of the State of Illinois
27 within the meaning of the Constitution or Statutes of
28 Illinois.
29 (i) Any resolution or trust indenture authorizing the
30 issuance of the bonds may include provision for the issuance
31 of additional bonds. All resolutions of the Authority to
32 carry such adopted bond resolutions into effect, to provide
33 for the sale and delivery of the bonds, for letting of
34 contracts for the construction of toll highways and the
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1 acquisition of real and personal property deemed by the
2 Authority necessary or convenient for the construction
3 thereof, shall not require the approval of the Governor or of
4 any other department, division, commission, bureau, board or
5 other agency of the State.
6 (j) For all outstanding bonds issued by the Authority
7 before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998, the
8 State guarantees the timely payment of any principal or
9 interest that is not paid by the Authority when due, with
10 recourse to the Court of Claims.
11 (Source: P.A. 83-1258.)
12 (605 ILCS 10/19) (from Ch. 121, par. 100-19)
13 Sec. 19. The Authority shall fix and revise from time to
14 time, tolls or charges or rates for the privilege of using
15 each of the toll highways constructed pursuant to this Act.
16 However, any increase in tolls shall be subject to the prior
17 approval of the General Assembly by a three-fifths majority
18 vote. Such tolls shall be so fixed and adjusted at rates
19 calculated to provide the lowest reasonable toll rates that
20 will provide funds sufficient with other revenues of the
21 Authority to pay, (a) the cost of the construction of a toll
22 highway authorized by joint resolution of the General
23 Assembly pursuant to Section 14.1 and the reconstruction,
24 major repairs or improvements of toll highways, (b) the cost
25 of maintaining, repairing, regulating and operating the toll
26 highways including only the necessary expenses of the
27 Authority, and (c) the principal of all bonds, interest
28 thereon and all sinking fund requirements and other
29 requirements provided by resolutions authorizing the issuance
30 of the bonds as they shall become due. The use and
31 disposition of any sinking or reserve fund shall be subject
32 to such regulation as may be provided in the resolution or
33 trust indenture authorizing the issuance of the bonds.
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1 Subject to the provisions of any resolution or trust
2 indenture authorizing the issuance of bonds any moneys in any
3 such sinking fund in excess of an amount equal to one year's
4 interest on the bonds then outstanding secured by such
5 sinking fund may be applied to the purchase or redemption of
6 bonds. All such bonds so redeemed or purchased shall
7 forthwith be cancelled and shall not again be issued. No
8 person shall be permitted to use any toll highway without
9 paying the toll established under this Section except when on
10 official Toll Highway Authority business which includes
11 police and other emergency vehicles. However, any law
12 enforcement agency vehicle, fire department vehicle, or other
13 emergency vehicle that is plainly marked shall not be
14 required to pay a toll to use a toll highway. A law
15 enforcement, fire protection, or emergency services officer
16 driving a law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency
17 services agency vehicle that is not plainly marked must
18 present an Official Permit Card which the law enforcement,
19 fire protection, or emergency services officer receives from
20 his or her law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency
21 services agency in order to use a toll highway without paying
22 the toll. A law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency
23 services agency must apply to the Authority to receive a
24 permit, and the Authority shall adopt rules for the issuance
25 of a permit, that allows all law enforcement, fire
26 protection, or emergency services agency vehicles of the law
27 enforcement, fire protection, or emergency services agency
28 that are not plainly marked to use any toll highway without
29 paying the toll established under this Section. The Authority
30 shall maintain in its office a list of all persons that are
31 authorized to use any toll highway without charge when on
32 official business of the Authority and such list shall be
33 open to the public for inspection.
34 Among other matters, this amendatory Act of 1990 is
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1 intended to clarify and confirm the prior intent of the
2 General Assembly to allow toll revenues from the toll highway
3 system to be used to pay a portion of the cost of the
4 construction of the North-South Toll Highway authorized by
5 Senate Joint Resolution 122 of the 83rd General Assembly in
6 1984.
7 (Source: P.A. 90-152, eff. 7-23-97.)
8 (605 ILCS 10/24) (from Ch. 121, par. 100-24)
9 Sec. 24. Except as otherwise provided in any bond
10 resolution, the proceeds derived from the sale of bonds, and
11 all receipts and income derived from tolls, licenses, gifts,
12 donations, concessions, fees, rentals, and all other revenues
13 from whatever source derived, shall, within three days after
14 receipt thereof, be paid to the Treasurer of the State of
15 Illinois, and held by him as a special fund known as the
16 Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Fund. All of the
17 Authority's expenditures, including without limitation debt
18 service and operating expenses, shall be paid from this
19 special fund, subject to annual appropriation by the General
20 Assembly. All amounts required to pay principal, interest,
21 and other expenses pursuant to all currently outstanding
22 trust indentures, as of the effective date of this amendatory
23 Act of 1998, shall be deemed automatically appropriated by
24 the General Assembly in an amount sufficient to pay the
25 principal, interest, and other expenses. , except that the
26 Authority may retain portions of the Illinois State Toll
27 Highway Authority Fund as a locally maintained construction
28 fund revolving account and as a revenue fund revolving
29 account, where authorized by a bond resolution, and as
30 locally maintained change funds, where necessary for the
31 operations of the Authority. The State Treasurer shall be ex
32 officio custodian of such special fund, which fund shall be
33 held, invested and disbursed for the purposes provided herein
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1 upon the order of the Authority and in accordance with
2 provisions and covenants of any bond resolution authorizing
3 the issuance of bonds which have not been paid or deemed
4 paid. The interest accruing on said special fund shall be
5 computed and added to the principal thereof every six months.
6 In addition to the special audits prescribed by this Act, the
7 said fund shall also be subject to audit in the same manner
8 as is now, or may hereinafter be, provided for the audit of
9 State funds and accounts. The said special fund shall be
10 protected by a corporate surety bond, executed by the
11 Treasurer, with a surety authorized to do business under the
12 laws of the State of Illinois. The amount of said bond shall
13 be fixed by resolution of the Authority, approved by the
14 Governor, and may be increased or diminished at any time. The
15 premiums on said bond shall be payable from the funds of the
16 Authority. The bond shall be subject to the approval of the
17 Governor and Attorney General of the State of Illinois, and,
18 when so approved, shall be filed in the office of the
19 Secretary of State. Said special fund shall be considered
20 always appropriated for the purposes of disbursements, as
21 provided in this Act, and shall be paid out and disbursed
22 only as provided herein, and shall not, at any time be
23 appropriated or diverted to any other use or purpose.
24 (Source: P.A. 83-1258.)