98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB1522

 

Introduced , by Rep. Mike Fortner

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
55 ILCS 5/5-1062.3 new

    Amends the Counties Code. Provides that DuPage and Peoria counties may adopt a schedule of fees applicable to real property that benefits from the county's stormwater management facilities and activities. Sets forth the circumstances under which a fee schedule may be adopted and the uses for the fees. Provides that any proposed fee schedule must be approved by a referendum in Peoria County before it can be imposed. Provides that the county shall provide notice to municipalities within its jurisdiction of any fees proposed and seek the input of each municipality with respect to the calculation of the fees. Provides that the county shall give land owners at least 2 years' notice before imposing the fee, during which time the county shall provide education on green infrastructure practices and an opportunity to take action to reduce or eliminate the fee. Further provides that a fee waiver shall be included for property owners who have taken actions or put in place facilities that are approved by the county that reduce or eliminate the cost of managing runoff. Provides that the county may enter into intergovernmental agreements with other bodies of government for the joint administration of stormwater management and collection of the fees. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
55-1062.3 as follows:
 
6    (55 ILCS 5/5-1062.3 new)
7    Sec. 5-1062.3. Stormwater management; DuPage and Peoria
8Counties.
9    (a) The purpose of this Section is to allow management and
10mitigation of the effects of urbanization on stormwater
11drainage in the metropolitan counties of DuPage and Peoria, and
12references to "county" in this Section apply only to those
13counties. This Section does not apply to a municipality that
14only partially lies within one of these counties and, on the
15effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
16Assembly, is served by an existing Section in the Counties Code
17regarding stormwater management. The purpose of this Section
18shall be achieved by:
19        (1) consolidating the existing stormwater management
20    framework into a united, countywide structure;
21        (2) setting minimum standards for floodplain and
22    stormwater management; and
23        (3) preparing a countywide plan for the management of

 

 

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1    stormwater runoff, including the management of natural and
2    man-made drainageways. The countywide plan may incorporate
3    watershed plans.
4    (b) A stormwater management planning committee may be
5established by county board resolution, with its membership
6consisting of equal numbers of county board and municipal
7representatives from each county board district, and such other
8members as may be determined by the county and municipal
9members. If the county has more than 6 county board districts,
10however, the county board may by ordinance divide the county
11into not less than 6 areas of approximately equal population,
12to be used instead of county board districts for the purpose of
13determining representation on the stormwater management
14planning committee.
15    The county board members shall be appointed by the chairman
16of the county board. Municipal members from each county board
17district or other represented area shall be appointed by a
18majority vote of the mayors of those municipalities that have
19the greatest percentage of their respective populations
20residing in that county board district or other represented
21area. All municipal and county board representatives shall be
22entitled to a vote; the other members shall be nonvoting
23members, unless authorized to vote by the unanimous consent of
24the municipal and county board representatives. A municipality
25that is located in more than one county may choose, at the time
26of formation of the stormwater management planning committee

 

 

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1and based on watershed boundaries, to participate in the
2stormwater management planning program of either county.
3Subcommittees of the stormwater management planning committee
4may be established to serve a portion of the county or a
5particular drainage basin that has similar stormwater
6management needs. The stormwater management planning committee
7shall adopt bylaws, by a majority vote of the county and
8municipal members, to govern the functions of the committee and
9its subcommittees. Officers of the committee shall include a
10chair and vice chair, one of whom shall be a county
11representative and one a municipal representative.
12    The principal duties of the committee shall be to develop a
13stormwater management plan for presentation to and approval by
14the county board, and to direct the plan's implementation and
15revision. The committee may retain engineering, legal, and
16financial advisors and inspection personnel. The committee
17shall meet at least quarterly and shall hold at least one
18public meeting during the preparation of the plan and prior to
19its submittal to the county board. The committee may make
20grants to units of local government that have adopted an
21ordinance requiring actions consistent with the stormwater
22management plan and to landowners for the purposes of
23stormwater management, including special projects; use of the
24grant money must be consistent with the stormwater management
25plan.
26    The committee shall not have or exercise any power of

 

 

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1eminent domain.
2    (c) In the preparation of a stormwater management plan, a
3county stormwater management planning committee shall
4coordinate the planning process with each adjoining county to
5ensure that recommended stormwater projects will have no
6significant impact on the levels or flows of stormwaters in
7inter-county watersheds or on the capacity of existing and
8planned stormwater retention facilities. An adopted stormwater
9management plan shall identify steps taken by the county to
10coordinate the development of plan recommendations with
11adjoining counties.
12    (d) The stormwater management committee may not enforce any
13rules or regulations that would interfere with (i) any power
14granted by the Illinois Drainage Code (70 ILCS 605/) to
15operate, construct, maintain, or improve drainage systems or
16(ii) the ability to operate, maintain, or improve the drainage
17systems used on or by land or a facility used for production
18agriculture purposes, as defined in the Use Tax Act (35 ILCS
19105/), except newly constructed buildings and newly installed
20impervious paved surfaces. Disputes regarding an exception
21shall be determined by a mutually agreed upon arbitrator paid
22by the disputing party or parties.
23    (e) Before the stormwater management planning committee
24recommends to the county board a stormwater management plan for
25the county or a portion thereof, it shall submit the plan to
26the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural

 

 

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1Resources for review and recommendations. The Office, in
2reviewing the plan, shall consider such factors as impacts on
3the levels or flows in rivers and streams and the cumulative
4effects of stormwater discharges on flood levels. The Office of
5Water Resources shall determine whether the plan or ordinances
6enacted to implement the plan complies with the requirements of
7subsection (f). Within a period not to exceed 60 days, the
8review comments and recommendations shall be submitted to the
9stormwater management planning committee for consideration.
10Any amendments to the plan shall be submitted to the Office for
11review.
12    (f) Prior to recommending the plan to the county board, the
13stormwater management planning committee shall hold at least
14one public hearing thereon and shall afford interested persons
15an opportunity to be heard. The hearing shall be held in the
16county seat. Notice of the hearing shall be published at least
17once and no less than 15 days in advance of the hearing in a
18newspaper of general circulation published in the county. The
19notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the
20place where copies of the proposed plan will be accessible for
21examination by interested parties. If an affected municipality
22having a stormwater management plan adopted by ordinance wishes
23to protest the proposed county plan provisions, it shall appear
24at the hearing and submit in writing specific proposals to the
25stormwater management planning committee. After consideration
26of the matters raised at the hearing, the committee may amend

 

 

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1or approve the plan and recommend it to the county board for
2adoption.
3    The county board may enact the proposed plan by ordinance.
4If the proposals for modification of the plan made by an
5affected municipality having a stormwater management plan are
6not included in the proposed county plan, and the municipality
7affected by the plan opposes adoption of the county plan by
8resolution of its corporate authorities, approval of the county
9plan shall require an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds
10of the county board members present and voting. If the county
11board wishes to amend the county plan, it shall submit in
12writing specific proposals to the stormwater management
13planning committee. If the proposals are not approved by the
14committee, or are opposed by resolution of the corporate
15authorities of an affected municipality having a municipal
16stormwater management plan, amendment of the plan shall require
17an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the county board
18members present and voting.
19    (g) The county board may prescribe by ordinance reasonable
20rules and regulations for floodplain management and for
21governing the location, width, course, and release rate of all
22stormwater runoff channels, streams, and basins in the county,
23in accordance with the adopted stormwater management plan.
24Land, facilities, and drainage district facilities used for
25production agriculture as defined in subsection (d) shall not
26be subjected to regulation by the county board or stormwater

 

 

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1management committee under this Section for floodplain
2management and for governing location, width, course,
3maintenance, and release rate of stormwater runoff channels,
4streams and basins, or water discharged from a drainage
5district. These rules and regulations shall, at a minimum, meet
6the standards for floodplain management established by the
7Office of Water Resources and the requirements of the Federal
8Emergency Management Agency for participation in the National
9Flood Insurance Program. With respect to DuPage County only,
10the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning may not impose
11more stringent regulations regarding water quality on entities
12discharging in accordance with a valid National Pollution
13Discharge Elimination System permit issued under the
14Environmental Protection Act.
15    (h) For the purpose of implementing this Section and for
16the development, design, planning, construction, operation,
17and maintenance of stormwater facilities provided for in the
18adopted stormwater management plan, a county board that has
19established a stormwater management planning committee
20pursuant to this Section or has participated in a stormwater
21management planning process may adopt a schedule of fees
22applicable to all real property within the county which
23benefits from the county's stormwater management facilities
24and activities, and as may be necessary to mitigate the effects
25of increased stormwater runoff resulting from development. The
26total amount of the fees assessed must be specifically and

 

 

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1uniquely attributable to the actual costs of the county in the
2preparation, administration, and implementation of the adopted
3stormwater management plan, construction and maintenance of
4stormwater facilities, and other activities related to the
5management of the runoff from the property. The individual fees
6must be specifically and uniquely attributable to the portion
7of the actual cost to the county of managing the runoff from
8the property. The fees shall be used to finance activities
9undertaken by the county or its included municipalities to
10mitigate the effects of urban stormwater runoff by providing
11and maintaining stormwater collection, retention, detention,
12and particulate treatment facilities, and improving water
13bodies impacted by stormwater runoff, as identified in the
14county plan. In establishing, maintaining, or replacing such
15facilities, the county shall not duplicate facilities operated
16by other governmental bodies within its corporate boundaries.
17The schedule of fees established by the county board shall
18include a procedure for a full or partial fee waiver for
19property owners who have taken actions or put in place
20facilities that reduce or eliminate the cost to the county of
21providing stormwater management services to their property.
22The county board may also offer tax or fee rebates or incentive
23payments to property owners who construct, maintain, and use
24approved green infrastructure stormwater management devices or
25any other methods that reduce or eliminate the cost to the
26county of providing stormwater management services to the

 

 

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1property, including but not limited to facilities that reduce
2the volume, temperature, velocity, and pollutant load of the
3stormwater managed by the county, such as systems that
4infiltrate, evapotranspirate, or harvest stormwater for reuse,
5known as "green infrastructure". In exercising this authority,
6the county shall provide notice to the municipalities within
7their jurisdictions of any fees proposed under this Section and
8seek the input of each municipality with respect to the
9calculation of the fees. The county shall also give property
10owners at least 2 years' notice of the fee, during which time
11the county shall provide education on green infrastructure
12practices and an opportunity to take action to reduce or
13eliminate the fee. All these fees collected by the county shall
14be held in a separate fund, and shall be expended only in the
15watershed within which they were collected. The county may
16enter into intergovernmental agreements with other government
17bodies for the joint administration of stormwater management
18and the collection of the fees authorized in this Section.
19    A fee schedule authorized by this subsection must have the
20same limit as the authorized stormwater tax. In Peoria County
21only, the fee schedule shall not be adopted unless (i) a
22referendum has been passed approving an impact stormwater tax
23as provided in subsection (i) of this Section; or (ii) the
24question of the adoption of a fee schedule with the same limit
25as the authorized stormwater tax has been approved in a
26referendum by a majority of those voting on the question.

 

 

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1    (i) In the alternative to a fee imposed under subsection
2(h), the county board may cause an annual tax of not to exceed
30.20% of the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department
4of Revenue, of all taxable property in the county to be levied
5upon all the taxable property in the county. The property tax
6shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be
7levied and collected in the county and shall be in addition to
8the maximum tax rate authorized by law for general county
9purposes. The 0.20% limitation provided in this Section may be
10increased or decreased by referendum in accordance with the
11provisions of Sections 18-120, 18-125, and 18-130 of the
12Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/).
13    Any revenues generated as a result of ownership or
14operation of facilities or land acquired with the tax funds
15collected pursuant to this subsection shall be held in a
16separate fund and be used either to abate such property tax or
17for implementing this Section.
18    If at least part of the county has been declared by a
19presidential proclamation after July 1, 1986 and before
20December 31, 1987, to be a disaster area as a result of
21flooding, the tax authorized by this subsection does not
22require approval by referendum. However, in Peoria County, the
23tax authorized by this subsection shall not be levied until the
24question of its adoption, either for a specified period or
25indefinitely, has been submitted to the electors thereof and
26approved by a majority of those voting on the question. This

 

 

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1question may be submitted at any election held in the county
2after the adoption of a resolution by the county board
3providing for the submission of the question to the electors of
4the county. The county board shall certify the resolution and
5proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
6the proposition at an election in accordance with the general
7election law. If a majority of the votes cast on the question
8is in favor of the levy of the tax, it may thereafter be levied
9in the county for the specified period or indefinitely, as
10provided in the proposition. The question shall be put in
11substantially the following form:
12        Shall an annual tax be levied for stormwater management
13    purposes (for a period of not more than ..... years) at a
14    rate not exceeding .....% of the equalized assessed value
15    of the taxable property of ..... County?
16    Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
17    The following question may be submitted at any election
18held in the county after the adoption of a resolution by the
19county board providing for the submission of the question to
20the electors of the county to authorize adoption of a schedule
21of fees applicable to all real property within the county:
22        Shall the county board be authorized to adopt a
23    schedule of fees, at a rate not exceeding that of the
24    stormwater management tax, applicable to all real property
25    for preparation, administration, and implementation of an
26    adopted stormwater management plan, construction and

 

 

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1    maintenance of related facilities, and management of the
2    runoff from the property?
3    Votes shall be recorded as Yes or No.
4    If these questions have been approved by a majority of
5those voting prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
6of the 98th General Assembly, this subsection does not apply.
7    (j) For those counties that adopt a property tax in
8accordance with the provisions in this Section, the stormwater
9management committee shall offer property tax abatements or
10incentive payments to property owners who construct, maintain,
11and use approved stormwater management devices. The stormwater
12management committee is authorized to offer credits to the
13property tax, if applicable, based on authorized practices
14consistent with the stormwater management plan and approved by
15the committee. Expenses of staff of a stormwater management
16committee that are expended on regulatory project review may be
17no more than 20% of the annual budget of the committee,
18including funds raised under subsections (h) and (i).
19    (k) Upon the creation and implementation of a county
20stormwater management plan, the county may petition the circuit
21court to dissolve any or all drainage districts created
22pursuant to the Illinois Drainage Code or predecessor Acts
23which are located entirely within the area of the county
24covered by the plan.
25    However, any active drainage district implementing a plan
26that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county

 

 

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1stormwater management plan may petition the stormwater
2management planning committee for exception from dissolution.
3Upon filing of the petition, the committee shall set a date for
4hearing not less than 2 weeks, nor more than 4 weeks, from the
5filing thereof, and the committee shall give at least one
6week's notice of the hearing in one or more newspapers of
7general circulation within the district, and in addition shall
8cause a copy of the notice to be personally served upon each of
9the trustees of the district. At the hearing, the committee
10shall hear the district's petition and allow the district
11trustees and any interested parties an opportunity to present
12oral and written evidence. The committee shall render its
13decision upon the petition for exception from dissolution based
14upon the best interests of the residents of the district. In
15the event that the exception is not allowed, the district may
16file a petition within 30 days of the decision with the circuit
17court. In that case, the notice and hearing requirements for
18the court shall be the same as herein provided for the
19committee. The court shall likewise render its decision of
20whether to dissolve the district based upon the best interests
21of residents of the district.
22    The dissolution of any drainage district shall not affect
23the obligation of any bonds issued or contracts entered into by
24the district nor invalidate the levy, extension or collection
25of any taxes or special assessments upon the property in the
26former drainage district. All property and obligations of the

 

 

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1former drainage district shall be assumed and managed by the
2county, and the debts of the former drainage district shall be
3discharged as soon as practicable.
4    If a drainage district lies only partly within a county
5that adopts a county stormwater management plan, the county may
6petition the circuit court to disconnect from the drainage
7district that portion of the district that lies within that
8county. The property of the drainage district within the
9disconnected area shall be assumed and managed by the county.
10The county shall also assume a portion of the drainage
11district's debt at the time of disconnection, based on the
12portion of the value of the taxable property of the drainage
13district which is located within the area being disconnected.
14    The operations of any drainage district that continues to
15exist in a county that has adopted a stormwater management plan
16in accordance with this Section shall be in accordance with the
17adopted plan.
18    (l) Any county that has adopted a county stormwater
19management plan under this Section may, after 10 days written
20notice receiving consent of the owner or occupant, enter upon
21any lands or waters within the county for the purpose of
22inspecting stormwater facilities or causing the removal of any
23obstruction to an affected watercourse. If consent is denied or
24cannot be reasonably obtained, the county ordinance shall
25provide a process or procedure for an administrative warrant to
26be obtained. The county shall be responsible for any damages

 

 

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1occasioned thereby.
2    (m) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this
3Section, upon petition of the municipality, and based on a
4finding of the stormwater management planning committee, the
5county shall not enforce rules and regulations adopted by the
6county in any municipality located wholly or partly within the
7county that has a municipal stormwater management ordinance
8that is consistent with and at least as stringent as the county
9plan and ordinance, and is being enforced by the municipal
10authorities. On issues that the county ordinance is more
11stringent as deemed by the committee, the county shall only
12enforce rules and regulations adopted by the county on the more
13stringent issues and accept municipal permits. The county shall
14have no more than 60 days to review permits or the permits
15shall be deemed approved.
16    (n) A county may issue general obligation bonds for
17implementing any stormwater plan adopted under this Section in
18the manner prescribed in Section 5-1012; except that the
19referendum requirement of Section 5-1012 does not apply to
20bonds issued pursuant to this Section on which the principal
21and interest are to be paid entirely out of funds generated by
22the taxes and fees authorized by this Section.
23    (o) A county that has adopted a fee schedule pursuant to
24this Section may not thereafter issue any bond extensions
25related to implementing a stormwater management plan.
26    (p) The powers authorized by this Section may be

 

 

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1implemented by the county board for a portion of the county
2subject to similar stormwater management needs.
3    (q) The powers and taxes authorized by this Section are in
4addition to the powers and taxes authorized by Division 5-15;
5in exercising its powers under this Section, a county shall not
6be subject to the restrictions and requirements of that
7Division.
8    (r) Stormwater management projects and actions related to
9stormwater management in a county that has adopted a fee
10schedule or tax pursuant to this Section prior to the effective
11date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly are
12not altered by this amendatory Act of the 98th General
13Assembly.
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.