97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3720

 

Introduced 2/10/2012, by Sen. Don Harmon

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
40 ILCS 5/7-132  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-132
30 ILCS 805/8.36 new

    Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides for the Philip J. Rock Center and School to participate in the Fund as a participating instrumentality. Includes provisions relating to prior service and inability to pay the required employer contributions. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.


LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3720LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1    AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
5Section 7-132 as follows:
 
6    (40 ILCS 5/7-132)   (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-132)
7    Sec. 7-132. Municipalities, instrumentalities and
8participating instrumentalities included and effective dates.
 
9(A) Municipalities and their instrumentalities.
10    (a) The following described municipalities, but not
11including any with more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, and the
12instrumentalities thereof, shall be included within and be
13subject to this Article beginning upon the effective dates
14specified by the Board:
15        (1) Except as to the municipalities and
16    instrumentalities thereof specifically excluded under this
17    Article, every county shall be subject to this Article, and
18    all cities, villages and incorporated towns having a
19    population in excess of 5,000 inhabitants as determined by
20    the last preceding decennial or subsequent federal census,
21    shall be subject to this Article following publication of
22    the census by the Bureau of the Census. Within 90 days

 

 

SB3720- 2 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1    after publication of the census, the Board shall notify any
2    municipality that has become subject to this Article as a
3    result of that census, and shall provide information to the
4    corporate authorities of the municipality explaining the
5    duties and consequences of participation. The notification
6    shall also include a proposed date upon which participation
7    by the municipality will commence.
8        However, for any city, village or incorporated town
9    that attains a population over 5,000 inhabitants after
10    having provided social security coverage for its employees
11    under the Social Security Enabling Act, participation
12    under this Article shall not be mandatory but may be
13    elected in accordance with subparagraph (3) or (4) of this
14    paragraph (a), whichever is applicable.
15        (2) School districts, other than those specifically
16    excluded under this Article, shall be subject to this
17    Article, without election, with respect to all employees
18    thereof.
19        (3) Towns and all other bodies politic and corporate
20    which are formed by vote of, or are subject to control by,
21    the electors in towns and are located in towns which are
22    not participating municipalities on the effective date of
23    this Act, may become subject to this Article by election
24    pursuant to Section 7-132.1.
25        (4) Any other municipality (together with its
26    instrumentalities), other than those specifically excluded

 

 

SB3720- 3 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1    from participation and those described in paragraph (3)
2    above, may elect to be included either by referendum under
3    Section 7-134 or by the adoption of a resolution or
4    ordinance by its governing body. A copy of such resolution
5    or ordinance duly authenticated and certified by the clerk
6    of the municipality or other appropriate official of its
7    governing body shall constitute the required notice to the
8    board of such action.
9    (b) A municipality that is about to begin participation
10shall submit to the Board an application to participate, in a
11form acceptable to the Board, not later than 90 days prior to
12the proposed effective date of participation. The Board shall
13act upon the application within 90 days, and if it finds that
14the application is in conformity with its requirements and the
15requirements of this Article, participation by the applicant
16shall commence on a date acceptable to the municipality and
17specified by the Board, but in no event more than one year from
18the date of application.
19    (c) A participating municipality which succeeds to the
20functions of a participating municipality which is dissolved or
21terminates its existence shall assume and be transferred the
22net accumulation balance in the municipality reserve and the
23municipality account receivable balance of the terminated
24municipality.
25    (d) In the case of a Veterans Assistance Commission whose
26employees were being treated by the Fund on January 1, 1990 as

 

 

SB3720- 4 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1employees of the county served by the Commission, the Fund may
2continue to treat the employees of the Veterans Assistance
3Commission as county employees for the purposes of this
4Article, unless the Commission becomes a participating
5instrumentality in accordance with subsection (B) of this
6Section.
 
7(B) Participating instrumentalities.
8    (a) The participating instrumentalities designated in
9paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be included within and
10be subject to this Article if:
11        (1) an application to participate, in a form acceptable
12    to the Board and adopted by a two-thirds vote of the
13    governing body, is presented to the Board not later than 90
14    days prior to the proposed effective date; and
15        (2) the Board finds that the application is in
16    conformity with its requirements, that the applicant has
17    reasonable expectation to continue as a political entity
18    for a period of at least 10 years and has the prospective
19    financial capacity to meet its current and future
20    obligations to the Fund, and that the actuarial soundness
21    of the Fund may be reasonably expected to be unimpaired by
22    approval of participation by the applicant.
23    The Board shall notify the applicant of its findings within
2490 days after receiving the application, and if the Board
25approves the application, participation by the applicant shall

 

 

SB3720- 5 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1commence on the effective date specified by the Board.
2    (b) The following participating instrumentalities, so long
3as they meet the requirements of Section 7-108 and the area
4served by them or within their jurisdiction is not located
5entirely within a municipality having more than one million
6inhabitants, may be included hereunder:
7        i. Township School District Trustees.
8        ii. Multiple County and Consolidated Health
9    Departments created under Division 5-25 of the Counties
10    Code or its predecessor law.
11        iii. Public Building Commissions created under the
12    Public Building Commission Act, and located in counties of
13    less than 1,000,000 inhabitants.
14        iv. A multitype, consolidated or cooperative library
15    system created under the Illinois Library System Act. Any
16    library system created under the Illinois Library System
17    Act that has one or more predecessors that participated in
18    the Fund may participate in the Fund upon application. The
19    Board shall establish procedures for implementing the
20    transfer of rights and obligations from the predecessor
21    system to the successor system.
22        v. Regional Planning Commissions created under
23    Division 5-14 of the Counties Code or its predecessor law.
24        vi. Local Public Housing Authorities created under the
25    Housing Authorities Act, located in counties of less than
26    1,000,000 inhabitants.

 

 

SB3720- 6 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1        vii. Illinois Municipal League.
2        viii. Northeastern Illinois Metropolitan Area Planning
3    Commission.
4        ix. Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan Area Planning
5    Commission.
6        x. Illinois Association of Park Districts.
7        xi. Illinois Supervisors, County Commissioners and
8    Superintendents of Highways Association.
9        xii. Tri-City Regional Port District.
10        xiii. An association, or not-for-profit corporation,
11    membership in which is authorized under Section 85-15 of
12    the Township Code.
13        xiv. Drainage Districts operating under the Illinois
14    Drainage Code.
15        xv. Local mass transit districts created under the
16    Local Mass Transit District Act.
17        xvi. Soil and water conservation districts created
18    under the Soil and Water Conservation Districts Law.
19        xvii. Commissions created to provide water supply or
20    sewer services or both under Division 135 or Division 136
21    of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
22        xviii. Public water districts created under the Public
23    Water District Act.
24        xix. Veterans Assistance Commissions established under
25    Section 9 of the Military Veterans Assistance Act that
26    serve counties with a population of less than 1,000,000.

 

 

SB3720- 7 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1        xx. The governing body of an entity, other than a
2    vocational education cooperative, created under an
3    intergovernmental cooperative agreement established
4    between participating municipalities under the
5    Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, which by the terms of
6    the agreement is the employer of the persons performing
7    services under the agreement under the usual common law
8    rules determining the employer-employee relationship. The
9    governing body of such an intergovernmental cooperative
10    entity established prior to July 1, 1988 may make
11    participation retroactive to the effective date of the
12    agreement and, if so, the effective date of participation
13    shall be the date the required application is filed with
14    the fund. If any such entity is unable to pay the required
15    employer contributions to the fund, then the participating
16    municipalities shall make payment of the required
17    contributions and the payments shall be allocated as
18    provided in the agreement or, if not so provided, equally
19    among them.
20        xxi. The Illinois Municipal Electric Agency.
21        xxii. The Waukegan Port District.
22        xxiii. The Fox Waterway Agency created under the Fox
23    Waterway Agency Act.
24        xxiv. The Illinois Municipal Gas Agency.
25        xxv. The Kaskaskia Regional Port District.
26        xxvi. The Southwestern Illinois Development Authority.

 

 

SB3720- 8 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1        xxvii. The Cairo Public Utility Company.
2        xxviii. Except with respect to employees who elect to
3    participate in the State Employees' Retirement System of
4    Illinois under Section 14-104.13 of this Code, the Chicago
5    Metropolitan Agency for Planning created under the
6    Regional Planning Act, provided that, with respect to the
7    benefits payable pursuant to Sections 7-146, 7-150, and
8    7-164 and the requirement that eligibility for such
9    benefits is conditional upon satisfying a minimum period of
10    service or a minimum contribution, any employee of the
11    Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning that was
12    immediately prior to such employment an employee of the
13    Chicago Area Transportation Study or the Northeastern
14    Illinois Planning Commission, such employee's service at
15    the Chicago Area Transportation Study or the Northeastern
16    Illinois Planning Commission and contributions to the
17    State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois established
18    under Article 14 and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
19    shall count towards the satisfaction of such requirements.
20        xxix. United Counties Council (formerly the Urban
21    Counties Council), but only if the Council has a ruling
22    from the United States Internal Revenue Service that it is
23    a governmental entity.
24        xxx. The Will County Governmental League, but only if
25    the League has a ruling from the United States Internal
26    Revenue Service that it is a governmental entity.

 

 

SB3720- 9 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1    (c) The governing boards of special education joint
2agreements created under Section 10-22.31 of the School Code
3without designation of an administrative district shall be
4included within and be subject to this Article as participating
5instrumentalities when the joint agreement becomes effective.
6However, the governing board of any such special education
7joint agreement in effect before September 5, 1975 shall not be
8subject to this Article unless the joint agreement is modified
9by the school districts to provide that the governing board is
10subject to this Article, except as otherwise provided by this
11Section.
12    The governing board of the Special Education District of
13Lake County shall become subject to this Article as a
14participating instrumentality on July 1, 1997. Notwithstanding
15subdivision (a)1 of Section 7-139, on the effective date of
16participation, employees of the governing board of the Special
17Education District of Lake County shall receive creditable
18service for their prior service with that employer, up to a
19maximum of 5 years, without any employee contribution.
20Employees may establish creditable service for the remainder of
21their prior service with that employer, if any, by applying in
22writing and paying an employee contribution in an amount
23determined by the Fund, based on the employee contribution
24rates in effect at the time of application for the creditable
25service and the employee's salary rate on the effective date of
26participation for that employer, plus interest at the effective

 

 

SB3720- 10 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1rate from the date of the prior service to the date of payment.
2Application for this creditable service must be made before
3July 1, 1998; the payment may be made at any time while the
4employee is still in service. The employer may elect to make
5the required contribution on behalf of the employee.
6    The governing board of a special education joint agreement
7created under Section 10-22.31 of the School Code for which an
8administrative district has been designated, if there are
9employees of the cooperative educational entity who are not
10employees of the administrative district, may elect to
11participate in the Fund and be included within this Article as
12a participating instrumentality, subject to such application
13procedures and rules as the Board may prescribe.
14    The Boards of Control of cooperative or joint educational
15programs or projects created and administered under Section
163-15.14 of the School Code, whether or not the Boards act as
17their own administrative district, shall be included within and
18be subject to this Article as participating instrumentalities
19when the agreement establishing the cooperative or joint
20educational program or project becomes effective.
21    The governing board of a special education joint agreement
22entered into after June 30, 1984 and prior to September 17,
231985 which provides for representation on the governing board
24by less than all the participating districts shall be included
25within and subject to this Article as a participating
26instrumentality. Such participation shall be effective as of

 

 

SB3720- 11 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1the date the joint agreement becomes effective.
2    The governing boards of educational service centers
3established under Section 2-3.62 of the School Code shall be
4included within and subject to this Article as participating
5instrumentalities. The governing boards of vocational
6education cooperative agreements created under the
7Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and approved by the State
8Board of Education shall be included within and be subject to
9this Article as participating instrumentalities. If any such
10governing boards or boards of control are unable to pay the
11required employer contributions to the fund, then the school
12districts served by such boards shall make payment of required
13contributions as provided in Section 7-172. The payments shall
14be allocated among the several school districts in proportion
15to the number of students in average daily attendance for the
16last full school year for each district in relation to the
17total number of students in average attendance for such period
18for all districts served. If such educational service centers,
19vocational education cooperatives or cooperative or joint
20educational programs or projects created and administered
21under Section 3-15.14 of the School Code are dissolved, the
22assets and obligations shall be distributed among the districts
23in the same proportions unless otherwise provided.
24    The governing board of Paris Cooperative High School shall
25be included within and be subject to this Article as a
26participating instrumentality on the effective date of this

 

 

SB3720- 12 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. If the governing
2board of Paris Cooperative High School is unable to pay the
3required employer contributions to the fund, then the school
4districts served shall make payment of required contributions
5as provided in Section 7-172. The payments shall be allocated
6among the several school districts in proportion to the number
7of students in average daily attendance for the last full
8school year for each district in relation to the total number
9of students in average attendance for such period for all
10districts served. If Paris Cooperative High School is
11dissolved, then the assets and obligations shall be distributed
12among the districts in the same proportions unless otherwise
13provided.
14    The Philip J. Rock Center and School shall be included
15within and be subject to this Article as a participating
16instrumentality on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
17the 97th General Assembly. The Philip J. Rock Center and School
18shall certify to the Fund the dates of service of all employees
19within 90 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
20the 97th General Assembly. The Fund shall transfer to the IMRF
21account of the Philip J. Rock Center and School all creditable
22service and all employer contributions made on behalf of the
23employees for service at the Philip J. Rock Center and School
24that were reported and paid to IMRF by another employer prior
25to this date. If the Philip J. Rock Center and School is unable
26to pay the required employer contributions to the Fund, then

 

 

SB3720- 13 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1the amount due will be paid by all employers as defined in item
2(2) of paragraph (a) of subsection (A) of this Section. The
3payments shall be allocated among these employers in proportion
4to the number of students in average daily attendance for the
5last full school year for each district in relation to the
6total number of students in average attendance for such period
7for all districts. If the Philip J. Rock Center and School is
8dissolved, then its IMRF assets and obligations shall be
9distributed in the same proportions unless otherwise provided.
10    Financial Oversight Panels established under Article 1H of
11the School Code shall be included within and be subject to this
12Article as a participating instrumentality on the effective
13date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. If
14the Financial Oversight Panel is unable to pay the required
15employer contributions to the fund, then the school districts
16served shall make payment of required contributions as provided
17in Section 7-172. If the Financial Oversight Panel is
18dissolved, then the assets and obligations shall be distributed
19to the district served.
20    (d) The governing boards of special recreation joint
21agreements created under Section 8-10b of the Park District
22Code, operating without designation of an administrative
23district or an administrative municipality appointed to
24administer the program operating under the authority of such
25joint agreement shall be included within and be subject to this
26Article as participating instrumentalities when the joint

 

 

SB3720- 14 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1agreement becomes effective. However, the governing board of
2any such special recreation joint agreement in effect before
3January 1, 1980 shall not be subject to this Article unless the
4joint agreement is modified, by the districts and
5municipalities which are parties to the agreement, to provide
6that the governing board is subject to this Article.
7    If the Board returns any employer and employee
8contributions to any employer which erroneously submitted such
9contributions on behalf of a special recreation joint
10agreement, the Board shall include interest computed from the
11end of each year to the date of payment, not compounded, at the
12rate of 7% per annum.
13    (e) Each multi-township assessment district, the board of
14trustees of which has adopted this Article by ordinance prior
15to April 1, 1982, shall be a participating instrumentality
16included within and subject to this Article effective December
171, 1981. The contributions required under Section 7-172 shall
18be included in the budget prepared under and allocated in
19accordance with Section 2-30 of the Property Tax Code.
20    (f) The Illinois Medical District Commission created under
21the Illinois Medical District Act may be included within and
22subject to this Article as a participating instrumentality,
23notwithstanding that the location of the District is entirely
24within the City of Chicago. To become a participating
25instrumentality, the Commission must apply to the Board in the
26manner set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection (B). If

 

 

SB3720- 15 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1the Board approves the application, under the criteria and
2procedures set forth in paragraph (a) and any other applicable
3rules, criteria, and procedures of the Board, participation by
4the Commission shall commence on the effective date specified
5by the Board.
 
6(C) Prospective participants.
7     Beginning January 1, 1992, each prospective participating
8municipality or participating instrumentality shall pay to the
9Fund the cost, as determined by the Board, of a study prepared
10by the Fund or its actuary, detailing the prospective costs of
11participation in the Fund to be expected by the municipality or
12instrumentality.
13(Source: P.A. 96-211, eff. 8-10-09; 96-551, eff. 8-17-09;
1496-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1046, eff. 7-14-10; 97-429, eff.
158-16-11.)
 
16    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
17Section 8.36 as follows:
 
18    (30 ILCS 805/8.36 new)
19    Sec. 8.36. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
20of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
21implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
22the 97th General Assembly.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

SB3720- 16 -LRB097 19677 EFG 64933 b

1becoming law.