HB3823eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3823 Engrossed LRB099 05458 NHT 25982 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 17-2 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/17-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 17-2)

Sec. 17-2. Tax levies; purposes; rates. Except as otherwise provided in Articles 12 and 13 of this Act, the following maximum rates shall apply to all taxes levied after August 10, 1965, in districts having a population of less than 500,000 inhabitants, including those districts organized under Article 11 of the School Code. The school board of any district having a population of less than 500,000 inhabitants may levy a tax annually, at not to exceed the maximum rates and for the specified purposes, upon all the taxable property of the district at the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue as follows:

(1) districts maintaining only grades 1 through 8, .92% for educational purposes and .25% for operations and maintenance purposes;

(2) districts maintaining only grades 9 through 12, .92% for educational purposes and .25% for operations and maintenance purposes;

(3) districts maintaining grades 1 through 12, 1.63% for the 1985-86 school year, 1.68% for the 1986-87 school year, 1.75% for the 1987-88 school year and 1.84% for the 1988-89 school year and thereafter for educational purposes and .405% for the 1989-90 school year, .435% for the 1990-91 school year, .465% for the 1991-92 school year, and .50% for the 1992-93 school year and thereafter for operations and maintenance purposes;

(4) all districts, 0.75% for capital improvement purposes (which is in addition to the levy for operations and maintenance purposes), which tax is to be levied, accumulated for not more than 6 years, and spent for capital improvement purposes (including but not limited to the construction of a new school building or buildings or the purchase of school grounds on which any new school building is to be constructed or located, or both) only in accordance with Section 17-2.3 of this Act;

(5) districts maintaining only grades 1 through 8, .12% for transportation purposes, provided that districts maintaining only grades kindergarten through 8 which have an enrollment of at least 2600 students may levy, subject to Section 17-2.2, at not to exceed a maximum rate of .20% for transportation purposes for any school year in which the number of students requiring transportation in the district exceeds by at least 2% the number of students requiring transportation in the district during the preceding school year, as verified in the district's claim for pupil transportation and reimbursement and as certified by the State Board of Education to the county clerk of the county in which such district is located not later than November 15 following the submission of such claim; districts maintaining only grades 9 through 12, .12% for transportation purposes; and districts maintaining grades 1 through 12, .14% for the 1985-86 school year, .16% for the 1986-87 school year, .18% for the 1987-88 school year and .20% for the 1988-89 school year and thereafter, for transportation purposes;

(6) districts providing summer classes, .15% for educational purposes, subject to Section 17-2.1 of this Act.

Whenever any special charter school district operating grades 1 through 12, has organized or shall organize under the general school law, the district so organized may continue to levy taxes at not to exceed the rate at which taxes were last actually extended by the special charter district, except that if such rate at which taxes were last actually extended by such special charter district was less than the maximum rate for districts maintaining grades 1 through 12 authorized under this Section, such special charter district nevertheless may levy taxes at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate for districts maintaining grades 1 through 12 authorized under this Section, and except that if any such district maintains only grades 1 through 8, the board may levy, for educational purposes, at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate for elementary districts authorized under this Section.

Maximum rates before or after established in excess of those prescribed shall not be affected by the amendatory Act of 1965.

Maximum rates established under this Section are subject to subsection (b-10) of Section 5-35 of the School Construction Law.

(Source: P.A. 87-984; 87-1023; 88-45.)

Section 10. The School Construction Law is amended by changing Section 5-35 as follows:

(105 ILCS 230/5-35)

Sec. 5-35. School construction project grant amounts; permitted use; prohibited use.

(a) The product of the district's grant index and the recognized project cost, as determined by the Capital Development Board, for an approved school construction project shall equal the amount of the grant the Capital Development Board shall provide to the eligible district. The grant index shall not be used in cases where the General Assembly and the Governor approve appropriations designated for specifically identified school district construction projects.

The average of the grant indexes of the member districts in a joint agreement shall be used to calculate the amount of a school construction project grant awarded to an eligible Type 40 area vocational center.

(b) In each fiscal year in which school construction project grants are awarded, 20% of the total amount awarded statewide shall be awarded to a school district with a population exceeding 500,000, provided such district complies with the provisions of this Article.

In addition to the uses otherwise authorized by this Law, any school district with a population exceeding 500,000 is authorized to use any or all of the school construction project grants (i) to pay debt service, as defined in the Local Government Debt Reform Act, on bonds, as defined in the Local Government Debt Reform Act, issued to finance one or more school construction projects and (ii) to the extent that any such bond is a lease or other installment or financing contract between the school district and a public building commission that has issued bonds to finance one or more qualifying school construction projects, to make lease payments under the lease.

(b-3) The Capital Development Board shall make payment in an amount equal to 20% of each amount deposited into the School Infrastructure Fund pursuant to subsection (b-5) of Section 6z-45 of the State Finance Act to the Board of Education of the City of Chicago within 10 days after such deposit. The Board of Education of the City of Chicago shall use such moneys received (i) for application to the costs of a school construction project, (ii) to pay debt service on bonds, as those terms are defined in the Local Government Debt Reform Act, that are issued to finance one or more school construction projects, and (iii) to the extent that any such bond is a lease or other installment or financing contract between the school district and a public building commission that has issued bonds to finance one or more qualifying school construction projects, to make lease payments under the lease. The Board of Education of the City of Chicago shall submit quarterly to the Capital Development Board documentation sufficient to establish that this money is being used as authorized by this Section. The Capital Development Board may withhold payments if the documentation is not provided. The remaining 80% of each such deposit shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section; however, no portion of this remaining 80% shall be awarded to a school district with a population of more than 500,000.

(b-5) In addition to the uses otherwise authorized by this Law, any school district that (1) was organized prior to 1860 and (2) is located in part in a city originally incorporated prior to 1840 is authorized to use any or all of the school construction project grants (i) to pay debt service on bonds, as those terms are defined in the Local Government Debt Reform Act, that are issued to finance one or more school construction projects and (ii) to the extent that any such bond is a lease or other installment or financing contract between the school district and a public building commission that has issued bonds to finance one or more qualifying school construction projects, to make lease payments under the lease.

(b-10) Notwithstanding other uses that may be authorized by this Law, if a school district, other than a school district with a population exceeding 500,000, in any fiscal year receives school construction project grant funds for a school construction project for which the district has a bond and interest levy and the district has any outstanding debt on that construction project, then the district shall use a minimum of 80% of the grant funds to first defease or redeem any outstanding debt and shall reduce the debt levy by an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the grant funds used to pay off outstanding debt within the first 5 levy years of receiving the funds. Any remaining funds not required to defease or redeem any outstanding debt shall be used at the discretion of the district to fund capital improvements related to school construction projects.

(c) No portion of a school construction project grant awarded by the Capital Development Board shall be used by a school district for any on-going operational costs.

(Source: P.A. 98-18, eff. 6-7-13.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.