State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB0316

 
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 1        AN ACT to amend the Illinois  Pension  Code  by  changing
 2    Sections  7-109.3,  7-116,  and  7-173.1  and  adding Section
 3    7-142.2 and to amend the State Mandates Act.

 4        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 5    represented in the General Assembly:

 6        Section  5.   The  Illinois  Pension  Code  is amended by
 7    changing Sections 7-109.3,  7-116,  and  7-173.1  and  adding
 8    Section 7-142.2 as follows:

 9        (40 ILCS 5/7-109.3) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109.3)
10        Sec. 7-109.3.  "Sheriff's Law Enforcement Employees".
11        (a)  "Sheriff's law enforcement employee" means:
12             (1)  A  county  sheriff and all deputies, other than
13        special deputies, employed on a full time  basis  in  the
14        office of the sheriff.
15             (2)  A person who has elected to participate in this
16        Fund  under  Section  3-109.1  of  this  Code, and who is
17        employed  by  a  participating  municipality  to  perform
18        police duties.
19             (3)  A law enforcement officer employed  on  a  full
20        time  basis  by a Forest Preserve District, provided that
21        such officer shall be deemed a "sheriff's law enforcement
22        employee" for the purposes of this Article,  and  service
23        in  that  capacity  shall  be  deemed  to be service as a
24        sheriff's law enforcement employee, only if the board  of
25        commissioners of the District have so elected by adoption
26        of  an affirmative resolution.  Such election, once made,
27        may not be rescinded.
28             (4)  A person not eligible to participate in a  fund
29        established  under Article 3 of this Code who is employed
30        on a full-time basis by a participating  municipality  or
31        participating instrumentality to perform police duties at
 
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 1        an  airport,  but  only if the governing authority of the
 2        employer has approved sheriff's law enforcement  employee
 3        status for its airport police employees by adoption of an
 4        affirmative  resolution.   Such approval, once given, may
 5        not be rescinded.
 6             (5)  A person not eligible to participate in a  fund
 7        established  under Article 3 of this Code who is employed
 8        on a full-time basis by a participating  municipality  to
 9        perform police duties.
10        (b)  An  employee  who  is  a  sheriff's  law enforcement
11    employee and is granted military leave or authorized leave of
12    absence  shall  receive  service  credit  in  that  capacity.
13    Sheriff's law enforcement employees shall not be entitled  to
14    out of State service credit under Section 7-139.
15    (Source: P.A. 90-448, eff. 8-16-97.)

16        (40 ILCS 5/7-116) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-116)
17        Sec. 7-116. "Final rate of earnings":
18        (a)  For  retirement  and survivor annuities, the monthly
19    earnings obtained by dividing the total earnings received  by
20    the   employee  during  the  period  of  either  (1)  the  48
21    consecutive months of service within the last 120  months  of
22    service  in  which his total earnings were the highest or (2)
23    the employee's total period of  service,  by  the  number  of
24    months of service in such period.
25        (b)  For   death   benefits,   the  higher  of  the  rate
26    determined under paragraph  (a)  of  this  Section  or  total
27    earnings received in the last 12 months of service divided by
28    twelve.   If the deceased employee has less than 12 months of
29    service, the monthly final rate shall be the monthly rate  of
30    pay the employee was receiving when he began service.
31        (c)  For  disability  benefits,  the  total earnings of a
32    participating employee in the  last  12  calendar  months  of
33    service prior to the date he becomes disabled divided by 12.
 
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 1        (d)  In  computing  the  final  rate of earnings: (1) the
 2    earnings rate for all  periods  of  prior  service  shall  be
 3    considered  equal to the average earnings rate for the last 3
 4    calendar years of prior service for which creditable  service
 5    is  received  under Section 7-139 or, if there is less than 3
 6    years of creditable prior service, the average for the  total
 7    prior service period for which creditable service is received
 8    under  Section  7-139;  (2)  for  out  of  state  service and
 9    authorized leave, the earnings rate shall be  the  rate  upon
10    which  service  credits  are granted; (3) periods of military
11    leave shall not be considered; (4) the earnings rate for  all
12    periods  of  disability shall be considered equal to the rate
13    of earnings upon which the employee's disability benefits are
14    computed for such periods; (5) the earnings to be  considered
15    for  each  of  the  final  three months of the final earnings
16    period shall not exceed 125% of the highest earnings  of  any
17    other  month in the final earnings period; and (6) the annual
18    amount of final rate of earnings shall be the monthly  amount
19    multiplied  by  the  number  of  months  of  service normally
20    required by the position in a year.
21        (e)  For a person who withdraws from service on or  after
22    the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General
23    Assembly with at least 20 years of service as a sheriff's law
24    enforcement employee, the final rate of earnings shall be the
25    rate  of  earnings in effect for the employee on the last day
26    of service as a sheriff's law enforcement  employee  if  that
27    rate  is  greater  than the final rate of earnings determined
28    under the other provisions of this Section.
29    (Source: P.A. 90-448, eff. 8-16-97.)

30        (40 ILCS 5/7-142.2 new)
31        Sec. 7-142.2.  Optional plan of additional  benefits  and
32    contributions for sheriff's law enforcement employees.
33        (a)  While  this  plan  is  in  effect,  a  sheriff's law
 
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 1    enforcement employee may establish additional optional credit
 2    for additional optional benefits by electing  in  writing  at
 3    any  time  to  make  additional  optional contributions.  The
 4    employee  may  discontinue  making  the  additional  optional
 5    contributions at any time by notifying the Fund in writing.
 6        (b)  Additional optional contributions for the additional
 7    optional benefits shall be as follows:
 8             (1)  For service after the  option  is  elected,  an
 9        additional   contribution   of  3%  of  salary  shall  be
10        contributed to the Fund on the same basis and  under  the
11        same  conditions as contributions required under Sections
12        7-173 and 7-173.1.
13             (2)  For service  as  a  sheriff's  law  enforcement
14        employee  before  the  option  is  elected, an additional
15        contribution of 3%  of  the  salary  for  the  applicable
16        period  of  service,  plus interest at the effective rate
17        from the date of service to the  date  of  payment.   All
18        payments  for  past  service  must be paid in full before
19        credit is given.  No  additional  optional  contributions
20        may  be  made  for any period of service for which credit
21        has been previously forfeited by acceptance of a  refund,
22        unless  the refund is repaid in full with interest at the
23        effective rate from the date of refund  to  the  date  of
24        repayment.
25        (c)  Additional  optional  benefits  shall accrue for all
26    periods   of   eligible   service   for   which    additional
27    contributions are paid in full.  The additional benefit shall
28    consist of an additional 1% of the final rate of earnings for
29    each  year  of  service for which optional contributions have
30    been paid, to be added to  the  employee  retirement  annuity
31    benefits  as  otherwise  computed under Section 7-142.1.  The
32    calculation of these additional benefits shall be subject  to
33    the  same terms and conditions as are used in the calculation
34    of retirement annuity under Section 7-142.1.  The  additional
 
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 1    benefit shall be included in the calculation of the automatic
 2    annual increase in annuity and in the calculation of survivor
 3    benefits,  where applicable.  However, no additional benefits
 4    shall be granted that produce a total  annuity  greater  than
 5    the  applicable  maximum established for that type of annuity
 6    in this  Article.
 7        (d)  Refunds of additional optional  contributions  shall
 8    be made on the same basis and under the same conditions as is
 9    provided  under  this  Article  for  other  optional employee
10    contributions.
11        (e)  Optional contributions shall be accounted for  in  a
12    separate Optional Contribution Reserve.
13        (f)  Actuarial liabilities arising from optional employee
14    contributions  made  under  this  Section  may  be taken into
15    account when computing municipality  contribution  rates  for
16    sheriff's  law  enforcement employees under subsection (c) of
17    Section 7-172.
18        (g)  A sheriff's law enforcement employee may participate
19    in both the program of optional contributions  created  under
20    this  Section  and  the  program  of additional contributions
21    provided for under subdivision (a)2 of Section  7-173.    The
22    optional  contributions  made under this Section shall not be
23    included in  the  calculation  of  retirement  annuity  under
24    subdivision (a)2 of Section 7-142.
25        Optional  contributions  may  be  made under this Section
26    only with respect to service as a sheriff's  law  enforcement
27    employee.   No  optional  service  credit  may be established
28    under this Section  for  any  military  service  or  for  any
29    service  originally  earned  under  any other Article of this
30    Code.  Optional service credit may  be  established  for  any
31    period of disability paid from this Fund, if the employee was
32    a   sheriff's  law  enforcement  employee  at  the  time  the
33    disability  was  incurred  and  makes   additional   optional
34    contributions for the period of disability.
 
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 1        (h)  This  plan  of  optional  benefits and contributions
 2    shall not apply to any former employee receiving  an  annuity
 3    from the Fund who re-enters service, unless he or she renders
 4    at  least  3  years  of additional service as a sheriff's law
 5    enforcement employee after the date of re-entry.
 6        (i)  The  effective  date  of  the   optional   plan   of
 7    additional  benefits  and  contributions  created  under this
 8    Section shall be January 1,  2000  or  the  date  upon  which
 9    approval  is received from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service,
10    whichever is later.

11        (40 ILCS 5/7-173.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-173.1)
12        Sec. 7-173.1. Additional contribution  by  sheriff's  law
13    enforcement employees.
14        (a)  Each  sheriff's  law enforcement employee shall make
15    an additional contribution of 1% of earnings, which shall  be
16    considered as normal contributions.  For earnings on or after
17    July  1,  1988,  the  additional  contribution shall be 2% of
18    earnings.
19        This  additional  contribution  shall  be   payable   for
20    retroactive service periods that which the employee elects to
21    establish  and  to periods of authorized leave of absence.  A
22    sheriff's   law   enforcement   employee   may   make    such
23    contributions  for  any  prior  period of service in the Fund
24    that  would  be  considered  service  as  a   sheriff's   law
25    enforcement  employee  under  Section 7-109.3 as that Section
26    exists  at  the   time   of   application   to   make   those
27    contributions.
28        (b)  If  the  employee  is  awarded  a retirement annuity
29    under Section 7-142 and not under Section 7-142.1,  then  the
30    additional  contribution required under this Section shall be
31    refunded with interest or paid as provided in subsection (c).
32    If the employee  returns  to  a  participating  status  as  a
33    sheriff's  law  enforcement  employee, the employee may repay
 
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 1    the  amount  refunded  with  interest  and  upon   subsequent
 2    retirement  be  entitled to a recomputation of the retirement
 3    annuity under Section 7-142.1  if  the  total  service  as  a
 4    sheriff's  law enforcement employee meets the requirements of
 5    that Section.
 6        (c)  Instead  of  a  refund  under  subsection  (b),  the
 7    retiring employee may elect to  convert  the  amount  of  the
 8    refund   into   an   annuity,  payable  separately  from  the
 9    retirement  annuity.   If  the  annuitant  dies  before   the
10    guaranteed  amount  has been distributed, the remainder shall
11    be paid in a lump sum to the designated  beneficiary  of  the
12    annuitant.  The Board shall adopt any rules necessary for the
13    implementation of this subsection.
14    (Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)

15        Section  90.  The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
16    Section 8.23 as follows:

17        (30 ILCS 805/8.23 new)
18        Sec. 8.23. Exempt mandate.   Notwithstanding  Sections  6
19    and  8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
20    for  the  implementation  of  any  mandate  created  by  this
21    amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly.

22        Section 99. Effective date.  This Act takes  effect  upon
23    becoming law.

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