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91_HB2213
LRB9103075EGfg
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Pension Code and the State
2 Mandates Act.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
6 changing Section 7-171 and adding Section 7-199.4 as follows:
7 (40 ILCS 5/7-171) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-171)
8 Sec. 7-171. Finance; taxes.
9 (a) Each municipality other than a school district shall
10 appropriate an amount sufficient to provide for the current
11 municipality contributions required by Sections Section 7-172
12 and 7-199.4 of this Article, for the fiscal year for which
13 the appropriation is made and all amounts due for municipal
14 contributions for previous years. A municipality that has
15 Those municipalities which have been assessed an annual
16 amount to amortize its unfunded obligation, as provided in
17 subparagraph 5 of paragraph (a) of Section 7-172 of this
18 Article, shall include in the appropriation an amount
19 sufficient to pay the amount assessed. The appropriation
20 shall be based upon an estimate of assets available for
21 municipality contributions and liabilities therefor for the
22 fiscal year for which appropriations are to be made,
23 including funds available from levies for this purpose in
24 prior years.
25 (b) For the purpose of providing monies for municipality
26 contributions, beginning for the year in which a municipality
27 is included in this fund:
28 (1) A municipality other than a school district may
29 levy a tax which shall not exceed the amount appropriated
30 for municipality contributions.
31 (2) A school district may levy a tax in an amount
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1 reasonably calculated at the time of the levy to provide
2 for the municipality contributions required under
3 Sections Section 7-172 and 7-199.4 of this Article for
4 the fiscal years for which revenues from the levy will be
5 received and all amounts due for municipal contributions
6 for previous years. Any levy adopted before the
7 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995 by a school
8 district shall be considered valid and authorized to the
9 extent that the amount was reasonably calculated at the
10 time of the levy to provide for the municipality
11 contributions required under Section 7-172 for the fiscal
12 years for which revenues from the levy will be received
13 and all amounts due for municipal contributions for
14 previous years. In no event shall a budget adopted by a
15 school district limit a levy of that school district
16 adopted under this Section.
17 (c) Any county which is served by a regional office of
18 education that serves 2 or more counties may include in its
19 appropriation an amount sufficient to provide its
20 proportionate share of the municipality contributions for
21 that regional office of education. The tax levy authorized
22 by this Section may include an amount necessary to provide
23 monies for this contribution.
24 (d) Any county that is a part of a multiple-county
25 health department or consolidated health department which is
26 formed under "An Act in relation to the establishment and
27 maintenance of county and multiple-county public health
28 departments", approved July 9, 1943, as amended, and which is
29 a participating instrumentality may include in the county's
30 appropriation an amount sufficient to provide its
31 proportionate share of municipality contributions of the
32 department. The tax levy authorized by this Section may
33 include the amount necessary to provide monies for this
34 contribution.
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1 (d-5) A school district participating in a special
2 education joint agreement created under Section 10-22.31 of
3 the School Code that is a participating instrumentality may
4 include in the school district's tax levy under this Section
5 an amount sufficient to provide its proportionate share of
6 the municipality contributions for current and prior service
7 by employees of the participating instrumentality created
8 under the joint agreement.
9 (e) Such tax shall be levied and collected in like
10 manner, with the general taxes of the municipality and shall
11 be in addition to all other taxes which the municipality is
12 now or may hereafter be authorized to levy upon all taxable
13 property therein, and shall be exclusive of and in addition
14 to the amount of tax levied for general purposes under
15 Section 8-3-1 of the "Illinois Municipal Code", approved May
16 29, 1961, as amended, or under any other law or laws which
17 may limit the amount of tax which the municipality may levy
18 for general purposes. The tax may be levied by the governing
19 body of the municipality without being authorized as being
20 additional to all other taxes by a vote of the people of the
21 municipality.
22 (f) The county clerk of the county in which any such
23 municipality is located, in reducing tax levies shall not
24 consider any such tax as a part of the general tax levy for
25 municipality purposes, and shall not include the same in the
26 limitation of any other tax rate which may be extended.
27 (g) The amount of the tax to be levied in any year
28 shall, within the limits herein prescribed, be determined by
29 the governing body of the respective municipality.
30 (h) The revenue derived from any such tax levy shall be
31 used only for the purposes specified in this Article and, as
32 collected, shall be paid to the treasurer of the municipality
33 levying the tax. Monies received by a county treasurer for
34 use in making contributions to a regional office of education
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1 for its municipality contributions shall be held by him for
2 that purpose and paid to the regional office of education in
3 the same manner as other monies appropriated for the expense
4 of the regional office.
5 (Source: P.A. 89-329, eff. 8-17-95; 90-448, eff. 8-16-97;
6 90-511, eff. 8-22-97; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)
7 (40 ILCS 5/7-199.4 new)
8 Sec. 7-199.4. To administer a program of group health
9 benefits for retired educational employees and their spouses.
10 (a) For the purposes of this Section:
11 "Educational employer" means a school district or other
12 employer created under or governed by the School Code having
13 employees who participate in the Fund by reason of that
14 employment.
15 "Active educational employee" means an employee of an
16 educational employer who is an active participant in the
17 Fund.
18 "Retired educational employee" means a person who is
19 receiving a retirement annuity from the Fund based on at
20 least 5 years of service as an employee of an educational
21 employer.
22 (b) The Board shall establish and administer a program
23 of group health benefits for retired educational employees
24 and their spouses or surviving spouses. The program may be
25 self-funded or operated under a policy of group accident and
26 health insurance. In either case, the program shall be
27 entirely independent of the other functions and assets of the
28 Fund, and the assets and liabilities arising out of the
29 operation of the program shall remain separate from the other
30 assets and liabilities of the Fund.
31 The Board may adopt any rules that may be necessary or
32 convenient relating to the establishment and administration
33 of the program or to the conditions and terms of
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1 participation in the program.
2 (c) All retired educational employees are eligible to
3 participate in the program established under this Section.
4 (d) Moneys received by the Board relating to the program
5 established under this Section shall not be deemed
6 contributions to or assets of the Fund. All such moneys
7 shall be held by the Board in a separate account and used
8 only for the purposes of the program established under this
9 Section.
10 (e) The Fund shall pay from the separate account a
11 portion of the cost of participation for each retired
12 educational employee who elects to participate in the
13 program, not to exceed the following percentages of the cost
14 of the retired educational employee's participation (not
15 including any dependent or optional coverages):
16 (1) For persons who have contributed to the program
17 for less than 48 months, 0%.
18 (2) For persons who have contributed to the program
19 for at least 48 months but less than 96 months, 25%.
20 (3) For persons who have contributed to the program
21 for at least 96 months but less than 144 months, 50%.
22 (4) For persons who have contributed to the program
23 for at least 144 months but less than 192 months, 75%.
24 (5) For persons who have contributed to the program
25 for at least 192 months, 100%.
26 (f) The balance of the cost of participation in the
27 program for a retired educational employee who elects to
28 participate, together with the entire cost of any optional
29 coverage or coverage for dependent beneficiaries, shall be
30 paid by deductions authorized by the participant to be
31 withheld from his or her monthly annuity payment, except that
32 any amount by which the monthly premium balance exceeds the
33 net amount of the monthly annuity payment shall be paid
34 directly to the Fund by the participant. All amounts so
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1 withheld or paid shall be held in trust for the purposes of
2 paying the costs of the program.
3 (g) Beginning July 1, 1999, all active educational
4 employees shall contribute 0.5% of earnings toward the cost
5 of the program established under this Section. These
6 contributions shall be deducted by the employer and paid to
7 the Fund for deposit into the separate account established
8 under this Section. The Fund may use the same processes for
9 collecting the contributions required by this subsection that
10 it uses to collect contributions from employees under Section
11 7-173. An educational employer may agree to pick up or pay
12 the contributions required under this subsection on behalf of
13 the employee. Contributions made under this Section are not
14 transferable to other pension funds or retirement systems and
15 are not refundable upon termination of service.
16 (h) Beginning July 1, 1999, every educational employer
17 shall contribute toward the cost of the program established
18 under this Section an amount equal to 0.5% of the earnings of
19 its active educational employees. These contributions shall
20 be paid by the employer to the Fund for deposit into the
21 separate account established under this Section. The Fund
22 may use the same processes for collecting the contributions
23 required by this subsection that it uses to collect
24 contributions from employers under Sections 7-172 and
25 7-172.1. Contributions for the program established under
26 this Section are separate from the contributions to the Fund
27 required under Section 7-172 and shall not be included in the
28 calculation of the contribution rate under that Section.
29 (i) The Board shall submit an annual report of its
30 activities under this Section to each educational employer
31 participating in the program administered under this Section.
32 (j) The group accident and health insurance program
33 established under this Section is not and shall not be
34 construed to be a pension or retirement benefit for purposes
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1 of Section 5 of Article XIII of the Illinois Constitution.
2 Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
3 Section 8.23 as follows:
4 (30 ILCS 805/8.23 new)
5 Sec. 8.23. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6
6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
7 for the implementation of any mandate created by this
8 amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly.
9 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10 becoming law.