99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1355

 

Introduced 2/18/2015, by Sen. Andy Manar

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-20.56 new
105 ILCS 5/17-2.11  from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.11
105 ILCS 5/34-18.49 new

    Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board shall require that each school building in the district be equipped with approved carbon monoxide alarms within one year after the effective date of the amendatory Act, unless a school building does not have or is not close to any sources of carbon monoxide. Allows a school board to use remaining funds on hand in the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund for the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in school buildings. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections
510-20.56 and 34-18.49 and by changing Section 17-2.11 as
6follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.56 new)
8    Sec. 10-20.56. Carbon monoxide alarms required.
9    (a) In this Section, "approved carbon monoxide alarm" and
10"alarm" have the meaning ascribed to those terms in the Carbon
11Monoxide Alarm Detector Act.
12    (b) A school board shall require that each school building
13in the district be equipped with approved carbon monoxide
14alarms within one year after the effective date of this
15amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, unless a school
16building does not have or is not close to any sources of carbon
17monoxide.
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/17-2.11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.11)
19    Sec. 17-2.11. School board power to levy a tax or to borrow
20money and issue bonds for fire prevention, safety, energy
21conservation, disabled accessibility, school security, and
22specified repair purposes.

 

 

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1    (a) Whenever, as a result of any lawful order of any
2agency, other than a school board, having authority to enforce
3any school building code applicable to any facility that houses
4students, or any law or regulation for the protection and
5safety of the environment, pursuant to the Environmental
6Protection Act, any school district having a population of less
7than 500,000 inhabitants is required to alter or reconstruct
8any school building or permanent, fixed equipment; the district
9may, by proper resolution, levy a tax for the purpose of making
10such alteration or reconstruction, based on a survey report by
11an architect or engineer licensed in this State, upon all of
12the taxable property of the district at the value as assessed
13by the Department of Revenue and at a rate not to exceed 0.05%
14per year for a period sufficient to finance such alteration or
15reconstruction, upon the following conditions:
16        (1) When there are not sufficient funds available in
17    the operations and maintenance fund of the school district,
18    the school facility occupation tax fund of the district, or
19    the fire prevention and safety fund of the district, as
20    determined by the district on the basis of rules adopted by
21    the State Board of Education, to make such alteration or
22    reconstruction or to purchase and install such permanent,
23    fixed equipment so ordered or determined as necessary.
24    Appropriate school district records must be made available
25    to the State Superintendent of Education, upon request, to
26    confirm this insufficiency.

 

 

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1        (2) When a certified estimate of an architect or
2    engineer licensed in this State stating the estimated
3    amount necessary to make the alteration or reconstruction
4    or to purchase and install the equipment so ordered has
5    been secured by the school district, and the estimate has
6    been approved by the regional superintendent of schools
7    having jurisdiction over the district and the State
8    Superintendent of Education. Approval must not be granted
9    for any work that has already started without the prior
10    express authorization of the State Superintendent of
11    Education. If the estimate is not approved or is denied
12    approval by the regional superintendent of schools within 3
13    months after the date on which it is submitted to him or
14    her, the school board of the district may submit the
15    estimate directly to the State Superintendent of Education
16    for approval or denial.
17    In the case of an emergency situation, where the estimated
18cost to effectuate emergency repairs is less than the amount
19specified in Section 10-20.21 of this Code, the school district
20may proceed with such repairs prior to approval by the State
21Superintendent of Education, but shall comply with the
22provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection (a) as soon
23thereafter as may be as well as Section 10-20.21 of this Code.
24If the estimated cost to effectuate emergency repairs is
25greater than the amount specified in Section 10-20.21 of this
26Code, then the school district shall proceed in conformity with

 

 

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1Section 10-20.21 of this Code and with rules established by the
2State Board of Education to address such situations. The rules
3adopted by the State Board of Education to deal with these
4situations shall stipulate that emergency situations must be
5expedited and given priority consideration. For purposes of
6this paragraph, an emergency is a situation that presents an
7imminent and continuing threat to the health and safety of
8students or other occupants of a facility, requires complete or
9partial evacuation of a building or part of a building, or
10consumes one or more of the 5 emergency days built into the
11adopted calendar of the school or schools or would otherwise be
12expected to cause such school or schools to fall short of the
13minimum school calendar requirements.
14    (b) Whenever any such district determines that it is
15necessary for energy conservation purposes that any school
16building or permanent, fixed equipment should be altered or
17reconstructed and that such alterations or reconstruction will
18be made with funds not necessary for the completion of approved
19and recommended projects contained in any safety survey report
20or amendments thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act;
21the district may levy a tax or issue bonds as provided in
22subsection (a) of this Section.
23    (c) Whenever any such district determines that it is
24necessary for disabled accessibility purposes and to comply
25with the school building code that any school building or
26equipment should be altered or reconstructed and that such

 

 

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1alterations or reconstruction will be made with funds not
2necessary for the completion of approved and recommended
3projects contained in any safety survey report or amendments
4thereto authorized under Section 2-3.12 of this Act, the
5district may levy a tax or issue bonds as provided in
6subsection (a) of this Section.
7    (d) Whenever any such district determines that it is
8necessary for school security purposes and the related
9protection and safety of pupils and school personnel that any
10school building or property should be altered or reconstructed
11or that security systems and equipment (including but not
12limited to intercom, early detection and warning, access
13control and television monitoring systems) should be purchased
14and installed, and that such alterations, reconstruction or
15purchase and installation of equipment will be made with funds
16not necessary for the completion of approved and recommended
17projects contained in any safety survey report or amendment
18thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act and will deter
19and prevent unauthorized entry or activities upon school
20property by unknown or dangerous persons, assure early
21detection and advance warning of any such actual or attempted
22unauthorized entry or activities and help assure the continued
23safety of pupils and school staff if any such unauthorized
24entry or activity is attempted or occurs; the district may levy
25a tax or issue bonds as provided in subsection (a) of this
26Section.

 

 

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1    (e) If a school district does not need funds for other fire
2prevention and safety projects, including the completion of
3approved and recommended projects contained in any safety
4survey report or amendments thereto authorized by Section
52-3.12 of this Act, and it is determined after a public hearing
6(which is preceded by at least one published notice (i)
7occurring at least 7 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper
8of general circulation within the school district and (ii)
9setting forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter
10of the hearing) that there is a substantial, immediate, and
11otherwise unavoidable threat to the health, safety, or welfare
12of pupils due to disrepair of school sidewalks, playgrounds,
13parking lots, or school bus turnarounds and repairs must be
14made; then the district may levy a tax or issue bonds as
15provided in subsection (a) of this Section.
16    (f) For purposes of this Section a school district may
17replace a school building or build additions to replace
18portions of a building when it is determined that the
19effectuation of the recommendations for the existing building
20will cost more than the replacement costs. Such determination
21shall be based on a comparison of estimated costs made by an
22architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois. The
23new building or addition shall be equivalent in area (square
24feet) and comparable in purpose and grades served and may be on
25the same site or another site. Such replacement may only be
26done upon order of the regional superintendent of schools and

 

 

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1the approval of the State Superintendent of Education.
2    (g) The filing of a certified copy of the resolution
3levying the tax when accompanied by the certificates of the
4regional superintendent of schools and State Superintendent of
5Education shall be the authority of the county clerk to extend
6such tax.
7    (h) The county clerk of the county in which any school
8district levying a tax under the authority of this Section is
9located, in reducing raised levies, shall not consider any such
10tax as a part of the general levy for school purposes and shall
11not include the same in the limitation of any other tax rate
12which may be extended.
13    Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as
14all other taxes of school districts, subject to the provisions
15contained in this Section.
16    (i) The tax rate limit specified in this Section may be
17increased to .10% upon the approval of a proposition to effect
18such increase by a majority of the electors voting on that
19proposition at a regular scheduled election. Such proposition
20may be initiated by resolution of the school board and shall be
21certified by the secretary to the proper election authorities
22for submission in accordance with the general election law.
23    (j) When taxes are levied by any school district for fire
24prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
25purposes as specified in this Section, and the purposes for
26which the taxes have been levied are accomplished and paid in

 

 

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1full, and there remain funds on hand in the Fire Prevention and
2Safety Fund from the proceeds of the taxes levied, including
3interest earnings thereon, the school board by resolution shall
4use such excess and other board restricted funds, excluding
5bond proceeds and earnings from such proceeds, as follows:
6        (1) for other authorized fire prevention, safety,
7    energy conservation, and school security purposes, for the
8    installation of carbon monoxide alarms in school
9    buildings, and for required safety inspections; or
10        (2) for transfer to the Operations and Maintenance Fund
11    for the purpose of abating an equal amount of operations
12    and maintenance purposes taxes.
13Notwithstanding subdivision (2) of this subsection (j) and
14subsection (k) of this Section, through June 30, 2016, the
15school board may, by proper resolution following a public
16hearing set by the school board or the president of the school
17board (that is preceded (i) by at least one published notice
18over the name of the clerk or secretary of the board, occurring
19at least 7 days and not more than 30 days prior to the hearing,
20in a newspaper of general circulation within the school
21district and (ii) by posted notice over the name of the clerk
22or secretary of the board, at least 48 hours before the
23hearing, at the principal office of the school board or at the
24building where the hearing is to be held if a principal office
25does not exist, with both notices setting forth the time, date,
26place, and subject matter of the hearing), transfer surplus

 

 

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1life safety taxes and interest earnings thereon to the
2Operations and Maintenance Fund for building repair work.
3    (k) If any transfer is made to the Operation and
4Maintenance Fund, the secretary of the school board shall
5within 30 days notify the county clerk of the amount of that
6transfer and direct the clerk to abate the taxes to be extended
7for the purposes of operations and maintenance authorized under
8Section 17-2 of this Act by an amount equal to such transfer.
9    (l) If the proceeds from the tax levy authorized by this
10Section are insufficient to complete the work approved under
11this Section, the school board is authorized to sell bonds
12without referendum under the provisions of this Section in an
13amount that, when added to the proceeds of the tax levy
14authorized by this Section, will allow completion of the
15approved work.
16    (m) Any bonds issued pursuant to this Section shall bear
17interest at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by
18law at the time of the making of the contract, shall mature
19within 20 years from date, and shall be signed by the president
20of the school board and the treasurer of the school district.
21    (n) In order to authorize and issue such bonds, the school
22board shall adopt a resolution fixing the amount of bonds, the
23date thereof, the maturities thereof, rates of interest
24thereof, place of payment and denomination, which shall be in
25denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000,
26and provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax

 

 

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1upon all the taxable property in the school district sufficient
2to pay the principal and interest on such bonds to maturity.
3Upon the filing in the office of the county clerk of the county
4in which the school district is located of a certified copy of
5the resolution, it is the duty of the county clerk to extend
6the tax therefor in addition to and in excess of all other
7taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized to be levied by such
8school district.
9    (o) After the time such bonds are issued as provided for by
10this Section, if additional alterations or reconstructions are
11required to be made because of surveys conducted by an
12architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois, the
13district may levy a tax at a rate not to exceed .05% per year
14upon all the taxable property of the district or issue
15additional bonds, whichever action shall be the most feasible.
16    (p) This Section is cumulative and constitutes complete
17authority for the issuance of bonds as provided in this Section
18notwithstanding any other statute or law to the contrary.
19    (q) With respect to instruments for the payment of money
20issued under this Section either before, on, or after the
21effective date of Public Act 86-004 (June 6, 1989), it is, and
22always has been, the intention of the General Assembly (i) that
23the Omnibus Bond Acts are, and always have been, supplementary
24grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the
25Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that
26may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those

 

 

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1Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a
2limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the
3Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this
4Section within the supplementary authority granted by the
5Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of
6this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive
7than those Acts.
8    (r) When the purposes for which the bonds are issued have
9been accomplished and paid for in full and there remain funds
10on hand from the proceeds of the bond sale and interest
11earnings therefrom, the board shall, by resolution, use such
12excess funds in accordance with the provisions of Section
1310-22.14 of this Act.
14    (s) Whenever any tax is levied or bonds issued for fire
15prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
16purposes, such proceeds shall be deposited and accounted for
17separately within the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund.
18(Source: P.A. 98-26, eff. 6-21-13; 98-1066, eff. 8-26-14.)
 
19    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.49 new)
20    Sec. 34-18.49. Carbon monoxide alarms required.
21    (a) In this Section, "approved carbon monoxide alarm" and
22"alarm" have the meaning ascribed to those terms in the Carbon
23Monoxide Alarm Detector Act.
24    (b) The board shall require that each school building in
25the district be equipped with approved carbon monoxide alarms

 

 

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1within one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act
2of the 99th General Assembly, unless a school building does not
3have or is not close to any sources of carbon monoxide.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.