Sen. Chapin Rose

Filed: 3/20/2023

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1115

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1115 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
5changing Sections 15-150, 15-153, 15-153.2, and 15-198 as
6follows:
 
7    (40 ILCS 5/15-150)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-150)
8    Sec. 15-150. Disability benefits; eligibility benefits -
9Eligibility. A participant may be granted a disability benefit
10if: (1) while a participating employee, he or she becomes
11physically or mentally incapacitated and unable to perform the
12duties of his or her assigned position for any period
13exceeding 60 days; and (2) the employee had completed 2 years
14of service at the time of disability, unless the disability is
15a result of an accident or the employee is a police officer who
16qualifies for the calculation under subsection (b) of Section

 

 

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115-153.
2    An employee shall be considered disabled only during the
3period for which the board determines, based upon the evidence
4listed below, that the employee is unable to reasonably
5perform the duties of his or her assigned position as a result
6of a physical or mental disability. This determination shall
7be based upon:
8        (i) a written certificate from one or more licensed
9    and practicing physicians appointed by or acceptable to
10    the board, stating that the employee is disabled and
11    unable to reasonably perform the duties of his or her
12    assigned position;
13        (ii) a written certificate from the employer stating
14    that the employee is unable to perform the duties of his or
15    her assigned position and, if the employee is a police
16    officer, the employer's position on whether the disability
17    qualifies as a line of duty disability; and
18        (iii) any other medical examinations, hospital
19    records, laboratory results, or other information
20    necessary for determining the employment capacity and
21    condition of the employee; and .
22        (iv) if the employee is a police officer applying for
23    a line of duty disability, a written certification from
24    one or more licensed and practicing physicians appointed
25    by or acceptable to the board, stating that the disability
26    qualifies as a line of duty disability under subsection

 

 

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1    (b) of Section 15-153.
2    The board shall prescribe rules governing the filing,
3investigation, control, and supervision of disability claims.
4Costs incurred by a claimant in connection with completing a
5claim for disability benefits shall be paid (A) by the
6claimant, in the case of the one required medical examination,
7medical certificate, and employer's certificate and any other
8requirements generally imposed by the board on all disability
9benefit claimants; and (B) by the System, in the case of any
10additional medical examination or other additional requirement
11imposed on a particular claimant that is not imposed generally
12on all disability benefit claimants.
13    Pregnancy and childbirth shall be considered a disability.
14    The same application shall be used to determine
15eligibility for the calculation of disability benefits under
16subsection (a) or subsection (b) of Section 15-153.
17(Source: P.A. 90-766, eff. 8-14-98.)
 
18    (40 ILCS 5/15-153)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153)
19    Sec. 15-153. Disability benefits; amount benefits -
20Amount.
21    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the The
22disability benefit shall be the greater of (1) 50% of the basic
23compensation which would have been paid had the participant
24continued in service for the entire period during which
25disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary

 

 

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1increases subsequent to the date of disability or extra
2prospective earnings on a summer teaching contract or other
3extra service not yet entered upon or (2) 50% of the
4participant's average earnings during the 24 months
5immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In
6determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of
7a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off
8status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic
9compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-off
10begins.
11    (b) In lieu of the amount of the disability benefit
12otherwise provided for in subsection (a) of this Section, for
13a participant who is employed as a police officer and who
14incurs a line of duty disability, the disability benefit under
15this Section shall be the greater of: (1) 65% of the basic
16compensation that would have been paid had the participant
17continued in employment for the entire period during which
18disability benefits are payable, excluding wage or salary
19increases subsequent to the date of disability; or (2) 65% of
20the participant's average earnings during the 24 months
21immediately preceding the month in which disability occurs. In
22determining the disability benefit, the basic compensation of
23a participating employee on leave of absence or on lay-off
24status shall be assumed to be equal to his or her basic
25compensation on the date the leave of absence or lay-off
26begins.

 

 

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1    Any police officer who suffers a heart attack or stroke as
2a result of the performance and discharge of police duty shall
3be considered to have been injured in the performance of an act
4of duty and shall be eligible for the calculation of benefits
5provided for under this subsection (b).
6    A police officer shall be considered to be in the
7performance of an act of duty while on any assignment approved
8by the police officer's chief, whether the assignment is on or
9off the employer's property.
10    The changes made to this Section shall apply to
11participants whose line of duty disability occurred on or
12after January 1, 2022.
13    For the purposes of this Section, "line of duty
14disability" means that, as the result of sickness, accident,
15or injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an
16act of duty, the police officer is found to be physically or
17mentally disabled for employment as a police officer so as to
18render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from
19employment as a police officer or is found to be unable to
20perform his or her duties as a police officer by reason of
21heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, or any disease of the
22lungs or respiratory tract, resulting from employment as a
23police officer.
24    If the disability benefit is 50% of basic compensation
25under subsection (a) or 65% of basic compensation under
26subsection (b), payments during the academic year shall accrue

 

 

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1over the period that the basic compensation would have been
2paid had the participant continued in service. If the
3disability benefit is 50% under subsection (a) or 65% under
4subsection (b) of the average earnings of the participant
5during the 24 months immediately preceding the month in which
6disability occurs, payments during the year shall accrue over
7a period of 12 months. Disability benefits shall be paid as of
8the end of each calendar month during which payments accrue.
9Payments for fractional parts of a month shall be determined
10by prorating the total amount payable for the full month on the
11basis of days elapsing during the month. Any disability
12benefit accrued but unpaid on the death of a participant shall
13be paid to the participant's beneficiary.
14(Source: P.A. 93-347, eff. 7-24-03.)
 
15    (40 ILCS 5/15-153.2)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-153.2)
16    Sec. 15-153.2. Disability retirement annuity.
17    (a) This subsection (a) applies to a participant receiving
18benefits calculated under subsection (a) of Section 15-153. A
19participant whose disability benefits are discontinued under
20the provisions of clause (6) of Section 15-152 and who is not a
21participant in the optional retirement plan established under
22Section 15-158.2 is entitled to a disability retirement
23annuity of 35% of the basic compensation which was payable to
24the participant at the time that disability began, provided
25that the board determines that the participant has a medically

 

 

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1determinable physical or mental impairment that prevents him
2or her from engaging in any substantial gainful activity, and
3which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or
4can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less
5than 12 months.
6    (b) This subsection (b) applies to a participant receiving
7benefits calculated under subsection (b) of Section 15-153. A
8participant whose disability benefits are discontinued under
9clause (6) of Section 15-152 and who is not a participant in
10the optional retirement plan established under Section
1115-158.2 is entitled to a disability retirement annuity of 65%
12of the basic compensation that was payable to the participant
13at the time that disability began, provided that the board
14determines that the participant has a medically determinable
15physical or mental impairment that prevents him or her from
16engaging in any substantial gainful activity and can be
17expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to
18last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
19    (c) The board's determination of whether a participant is
20disabled shall be based upon:
21        (i) a written certificate from one or more licensed
22    and practicing physicians appointed by or acceptable to
23    the board, stating that the participant is unable to
24    engage in any substantial gainful activity; and
25        (ii) any other medical examinations, hospital records,
26    laboratory results, or other information necessary for

 

 

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1    determining the employment capacity and condition of the
2    participant.
3    The terms "medically determinable physical or mental
4impairment" and "substantial gainful activity" shall have the
5meanings ascribed to them in the federal Social Security Act,
6as now or hereafter amended, and the regulations issued
7thereunder.
8    (d) The disability retirement annuity payment period shall
9begin immediately following the expiration of the disability
10benefit payments under clause (6) of Section 15-152 and shall
11be discontinued for a recipient of a disability retirement
12annuity when (1) the physical or mental impairment no longer
13prevents the recipient from engaging in any substantial
14gainful activity, (2) the recipient dies, (3) the recipient
15elects to receive a retirement annuity under Sections 15-135
16and 15-136, (4) the recipient refuses to submit to a
17reasonable physical examination by a physician approved by the
18board, or (5) the recipient fails to provide an earnings
19verification necessary to determine continuance of benefits.
20If a person's disability retirement annuity is discontinued
21under clause (1), all rights and credits accrued in the system
22on the date that the disability retirement annuity began shall
23be restored, and the disability retirement annuity paid shall
24be considered as disability payments under clause (6) of
25Section 15-152.
26    (e) The board shall adopt rules governing the filing,

 

 

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1investigation, control, and supervision of disability
2retirement annuity claims. Costs incurred by a claimant in
3connection with completing a claim for a disability retirement
4annuity shall be paid: (A) by the claimant in the case of the
5one required medical examination, medical certificate, and any
6other requirements generally imposed by the board on all
7disability retirement annuity claimants; and (B) by the System
8in the case of any additional medical examination or other
9additional requirement imposed on a particular claimant that
10is not imposed generally on all disability retirement annuity
11claimants.
12(Source: P.A. 100-556, eff. 12-8-17.)
 
13    (40 ILCS 5/15-198)
14    Sec. 15-198. Application and expiration of new benefit
15increases.
16    (a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means
17an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this
18Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for
19any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment
20to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the
21effective date of Public Act 94-4). "New benefit increase",
22however, does not include any benefit increase resulting from
23the changes made to Article 1 or this Article by Public Act
24100-23, Public Act 100-587, Public Act 100-769, Public Act
25101-10, Public Act 101-610, Public Act 102-16, or this

 

 

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1amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly this amendatory
2Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
3    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or
4any subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit
5increase is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be
6granted only in conformance with and contingent upon
7compliance with the provisions of this Section.
8    (c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must
9identify and provide for payment to the System of additional
10funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual
11increase in cost to the System as it accrues.
12    Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General
13Assembly providing the additional funding required under this
14subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and
15Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional
16funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and
17shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of
18the Department of Insurance. A new benefit increase created by
19a Public Act that does not include the additional funding
20required under this subsection is null and void. If the Public
21Pension Division determines that the additional funding
22provided for a new benefit increase under this subsection is
23or has become inadequate, it may so certify to the Governor and
24the State Comptroller and, in the absence of corrective action
25by the General Assembly, the new benefit increase shall expire
26at the end of the fiscal year in which the certification is

 

 

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1made.
2    (d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after
3its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified
4in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided
5under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General
6Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase
7by law.
8    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating
9the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires
10under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied
11and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit
12increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and
13alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any
14other person, including, without limitation, a person who
15continues in service after the expiration date and did not
16apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new
17benefit increase was in effect.
18(Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19;
19101-610, eff. 1-1-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.".