State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ PDF text ]   [ Legislation ]   
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]



92_SB2151

 
                                               LRB9216027SMcd

 1        AN ACT concerning proceeds from tobacco litigation.

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

 4        Section  1.   Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Tobacco Settlement Bond Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions.  In this Act:
 7        "Bond" means a bond or note  or  any  other  evidence  of
 8    obligation  for  borrowed  money  deemed  appropriate  by the
 9    Bureau of the Budget under this Act.
10        "Budget Director" means the Director of the Bureau of the
11    Budget.
12        "Master Settlement Agreement" means the Master Settlement
13    Agreement entered in the case of the People of the  State  of
14    Illinois  v.  Phillip  Morris,  et al. (Circuit Court of Cook
15    County, No. 96-L13146).

16        Section 10.  Bonding.
17        (a)  The Bureau of the Budget  may  issue  no  more  than
18    $1,500,000,000  in  bonds that are revenue bonds and that are
19    payable solely from and secured solely by the proceeds of the
20    Master Settlement Agreement.  The Bureau of  the  Budget  may
21    issue  bonds for the purpose of refunding, advance refunding,
22    or  refinancing  outstanding  bonds,  for  the   purpose   of
23    establishing  reserves, paying the interest on the bonds, and
24    paying costs of issuance of the  bonds,  and  for  any  other
25    proper  public  purpose.   Bonds may be issued in one or more
26    series and shall be payable solely and secured solely by  the
27    moneys  required  under  this  Act to be transferred from the
28    Tobacco Settlement Recovery Fund to  the  Tobacco  Settlement
29    Bond Fund.
30        (b)  Bonds  may  be  authorized  by  a  resolution of the
 
                            -2-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    Bureau of the Budget and may be secured by a trust  agreement
 2    by  and  between  the  Bureau  of  the Budget and a corporate
 3    trustee or trustees, which may be any trust company  or  bank
 4    having  the  powers  of a trust company within or without the
 5    State.  Bonds may:
 6             (1)  Mature at any time or times  not  exceeding  30
 7        years from the effective date of this Act.
 8             (2)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  Bond
 9        Authorization  Act  or  any  other provision of law, bear
10        interest  at  any  fixed  or  variable  rate   or   rates
11        determined  by  the  method provided in the resolution or
12        trust agreement.
13             (3)  Be payable as to principal and interest at  any
14        time  or  times  on  or  after  January  1,  2003, in the
15        denominations and form, either coupon  or  registered  or
16        both,  and  carry  the  registration and privileges as to
17        exchange, transfer, or conversion and for the replacement
18        of mutilated, lost, or destroyed bonds as the  resolution
19        or trust agreement may provide.
20             (4)  Be payable in lawful money of the United States
21        at a designated place.
22             (5)  Be  subject  to the terms of purchase, payment,
23        redemption, refunding, or refinancing that the resolution
24        or trust agreement provides.
25             (6)  Be  executed  by  the   manual   or   facsimile
26        signature  of  the Budget Director, which signature shall
27        be valid at delivery even for one who has ceased to  hold
28        office.
29             (7)  Be sold at public or private sale in the manner
30        and  upon  the  terms  determined  by  the  Bureau of the
31        Budget.
32             (8)  Have such other terms and provisions  as  shall
33        be authorized by the Bureau of the Budget.
34        (c)  Any   resolution  or  trust  agreement  may  contain
 
                            -3-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    provisions that shall be a part  of  the  contract  with  the
 2    holders of the bonds as to:
 3             (1)  Limitations  on  the issue of additional bonds,
 4        the terms upon which additional bonds may be  issued  and
 5        secured,  and  the  terms upon which additional bonds may
 6        rank on a parity with, or be subordinate or superior  to,
 7        other bonds.
 8             (2)  The refunding, advance refunding or refinancing
 9        of outstanding bonds.
10             (3)  The  procedure,  if  any, by which the terms of
11        any contract with holders of the bonds may be altered  or
12        amended,  the  number  of  bond holders that must consent
13        thereto, and the manner in which consent shall be given.
14             (4)  Defining the  acts  or  omissions  which  shall
15        constitute  a  default in the duties of the Bureau of the
16        Budget to the holders of bonds and providing  the  rights
17        or  remedies  of  such  holders in the event of a default
18        which may include provisions restricting individual right
19        of action by the holders of the bonds.
20             (5)  Any other matter relating to  the  bonds  which
21        the Bureau of the Budget determines appropriate.
22        (d)  In  connection  with  the issuance of its bonds, the
23    Bureau of the Budget may enter into arrangements  to  provide
24    additional  security  and liquidity for the bonds.  These may
25    include,  without  limitation,  bond  insurance,  letters  of
26    credit, lines of credit by which the Bureau of the Budget may
27    borrow funds to pay or redeem  its  bonds,  and  purchase  or
28    remarketing  arrangements for assuring the ability of holders
29    of the Bureau of the  Budget's  bonds  to  sell  or  to  have
30    redeemed their bonds.
31        (e)  A  pledge  by the Bureau of the Budget of the moneys
32    transferred from the Tobacco Settlement Recovery Fund to  the
33    Tobacco  Settlement  Bond  Fund  as  security for an issue of
34    bonds or for the performance of  its  obligations  under  any
 
                            -4-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    management agreement shall be valid and binding from the time
 2    when  the  pledge  is  made.  The moneys transferred from the
 3    Tobacco Settlement Recovery Fund to  the  Tobacco  Settlement
 4    Bond  Fund  and  pledged  by  the  Bureau of the Budget shall
 5    immediately be subject to the lien of the pledge without  any
 6    physical  delivery or further act, and the lien of any pledge
 7    shall be valid and binding  against  any  person  having  any
 8    claim of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the
 9    Bureau  of the Budget, irrespective of whether the person has
10    notice. No resolution, trust agreement, management  agreement
11    or  financing  statement,  continuation  statement,  or other
12    instrument adopted or entered  into  by  the  Bureau  of  the
13    Budget  need  be filed or recorded in any public record other
14    than the records of the Bureau of  the  Budget  in  order  to
15    perfect  the  lien  against  third persons, regardless of any
16    contrary provision of law.
17        (f)  The Bureau of the Budget may issue bonds to  refund,
18    advance   refund,   or   refinance  any  of  its  bonds  then
19    outstanding, including the payment of any redemption  premium
20    and  any interest accrued or to accrue to the earliest or any
21    subsequent date of redemption, purchase, or maturity  of  the
22    bonds, provided that the Bureau of the Budget shall not issue
23    any  bonds that mature later than 30 years from the effective
24    date of this Act.
25        (g)  The bonds of the Bureau  of  the  Budget  shall  not
26    constitute  an  indebtedness of the State or of any political
27    subdivision of the State.  The bonds of  the  Bureau  of  the
28    Budget  shall  not be an obligation, general or moral, of the
29    State of Illinois and shall not be an obligation, general  or
30    moral,  secured  by  a pledge of the full faith and credit of
31    the State of Illinois, and the holders of bonds of the Bureau
32    of the Budget may not require the levy or imposition  by  the
33    State of any taxes or the application of other State revenues
34    or  funds  to  the  payment of the bonds of the Bureau of the
 
                            -5-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    Budget.  No employee of the  Bureau  of  the  Budget  or  any
 2    person  executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the
 3    bonds or subject to any personal liability by reason  of  the
 4    issuance  of the bonds.  The foregoing shall be stated on the
 5    face of each bond.
 6        (h)  The State of Illinois pledges to and agrees with the
 7    holders of the bonds of  the  Bureau  of  the  Budget  issued
 8    pursuant  to  this Act that the State will not limit or alter
 9    the rights and powers vested in the Bureau of the  Budget  by
10    this  Act  so  as to impair the terms of any contract made by
11    the Bureau of the Budget with those holders  or  in  any  way
12    impair  the  rights  and  remedies of those holders until the
13    bonds, together with interest thereon, with interest  on  any
14    unpaid  installments  of interest, and all costs and expenses
15    in connection with any action or proceedings by or on  behalf
16    of those holders, are fully met and discharged.  In addition,
17    the State pledges to and agrees with the holders of the bonds
18    of  the Bureau of the Budget issued pursuant to this Act that
19    the State will not limit or alter  the  basis  on  which  the
20    moneys  are  transferred from the Tobacco Settlement Recovery
21    Fund to the Tobacco Settlement Bond Fund as provided in  this
22    Act,  or the use of those funds, so as to impair the terms of
23    any such contract.  The Bureau of the Budget is authorized to
24    include these pledges and agreements  of  the  State  in  any
25    contract  with  the  holders of bonds issued pursuant to this
26    Section.
27        (i)  The Bureau of the Budget may enter  into  agreements
28    or  contracts  with  any  person  necessary or appropriate to
29    place the payment obligations of the  Bureau  of  the  Budget
30    under  any  of  its bonds in whole or in part on any interest
31    rate basis, cash flow basis, or other basis  desired  by  the
32    Bureau of the Budget, including without limitation agreements
33    or   contracts   commonly   known   as  "interest  rate  swap
34    agreements", "forward  payment  conversion  agreements",  and
 
                            -6-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    "futures",  or agreements or contracts providing for payments
 2    based  on  levels  of  or  changes  in  interest  rates,   or
 3    agreements or contracts to exchange cash flows or a series of
 4    payments,  or  agreements  or  contracts,  including  without
 5    limitation   agreements   or   contracts  commonly  known  as
 6    "options", "puts", or "calls", to hedge payment, rate spread,
 7    or similar exposure; provided, that  any  such  agreement  or
 8    contract  shall  not  constitute  an  obligation for borrowed
 9    money and shall not be taken into account under this  Act  or
10    any other debt limit of the Bureau of the Budget or the State
11    of Illinois.

12        Section  15.  Tobacco  Settlement Bond Fund. Beginning on
13    the effective date of this Act, all  moneys  in  the  Tobacco
14    Settlement  Recovery Fund and all moneys thereafter paid into
15    the Tobacco Settlement Recovery Fund shall be transferred  to
16    the  Tobacco  Settlement  Bond Fund, which is hereby created,
17    until the  Bureau  of  the  Budget  certifies  to  the  State
18    Treasurer  and  the  Comptroller that the amount that will be
19    necessary to finance  the  principal  of,  interest  on,  and
20    premium,  if  any,  on the $1,5000,0000 in bonds issued under
21    this Act has been paid into the Tobacco Settlement Bond Fund.
22    All interest earned on  moneys  deposited  into  the  Tobacco
23    Settlement  Bond  Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.  The
24    Bureau of the Budget shall pay  its  administrative  expenses
25    and  debt  service  expenses from the Tobacco Settlement Bond
26    Fund, provided that its administrative expenses do not exceed
27    0.5% of the payments transferred to the Bureau of the Budget.

28        Section 20. Use of proceeds from the sale of  bonds.  All
29    proceeds  from  the  sale  of  bonds  under this Act shall be
30    deposited into the School Infrastructure Fund to be used only
31    for  grants  to  school  districts  for  school  construction
32    projects and school maintenance projects as provided  in  the
 
                            -7-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    School Construction Law.

 2        Section  25.  Records and reporting.  The Budget Director
 3    shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Bureau  of  the
 4    Budget  relating  to  this Act.  The State Treasurer shall be
 5    custodian of all Bureau of the Budget funds relating to  this
 6    Act.  The  accounts  and  books  of  the Bureau of the Budget
 7    relating to this Act shall be set  up  and  maintained  in  a
 8    manner approved by the Auditor General, and the Bureau of the
 9    Budget shall file with the Auditor General a certified annual
10    report  within  120  days after the close of its fiscal year.
11    The Bureau of the Budget shall also file with  the  Governor,
12    the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  the  Clerk  of the House of
13    Representatives,  and  the  Illinois  Economic   and   Fiscal
14    Commission,  by  March  1  of  each  year,  a  written report
15    covering its activities relating to this Act for the previous
16    fiscal year.  After being so filed, the  report  shall  be  a
17    public  record  and open for inspection at the offices of the
18    Bureau of the Budget during normal business hours.

19        Section 30.  Conflicts of interest. No  employee  of  the
20    Bureau  of  the Budget may participate in any decision on any
21    contract entered into by the Bureau  of  the  Budget  if  the
22    employee  has a 7.5% or greater pecuniary interest, direct or
23    indirect,  in  any   firm,   partnership,   corporation,   or
24    association  which  is  or  may  be  a party to the contract.
25    Contracts or agreements obtained through properly  advertised
26    bid  procedures,  or the ownership of stock or other interest
27    in any firm,  partnership,  corporation,  or  association  in
28    which   the   employee   does  not  actively  participate  in
29    day-to-day management, shall not be interpreted as  a  direct
30    or  indirect  pecuniary  interest  in  violation of this Act.
31    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any  contract  or
32    agreement  entered  into  in  conformity with this subsection
 
                            -8-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    shall not be void or invalid by reason of any such  interest,
 2    nor  shall  any  person  so  refraining from participation be
 3    guilty of any offense, be  removed  from  employment,  or  be
 4    subject to any other penalty on account of that interest.

 5        Section 35.  Limitation.  Any action or proceeding in any
 6    court to set aside a resolution authorizing the Bureau of the
 7    Budget's  issuance  of  bonds under this Act or to obtain any
 8    relief upon the ground that the resolution is invalid must be
 9    commenced within 30 days  after  the  Bureau  of  the  Budget
10    adopts  the  resolution.  After  this  period  of  limitation
11    expires,  no  right  of  action  or  defense founded upon the
12    invalidity of the resolution or any of its provisions may  be
13    asserted,  nor  may  the validity of the resolution or any of
14    its provisions be open  to  question  in  any  court  on  any
15    ground.

16        Section  40.  Bonds  as  legal  investments and security.
17    Notwithstanding any restrictions contained in any other  law,
18    all   national   banking  associations,  state  banks,  trust
19    companies, savings banks and institutions, building and  loan
20    associations,   savings  and  loan  associations,  investment
21    companies and other persons carrying on a  banking  business,
22    all  insurance  companies,  insurance  associations and other
23    persons carrying on an insurance business, and all executors,
24    administrators, guardians, trustees  and  other  fiduciaries,
25    may  legally  invest  any sinking funds, money or other funds
26    belonging to them or within their control in any bonds issued
27    by the Bureau of the Budget under this Act.

28        Section 45.  Tax exemptions.  All bonds issued under this
29    Act  are  deemed   to   constitute   essential   public   and
30    governmental purposes and the bonds so issued, their transfer
31    and  the income from those bonds are at all times exempt from
 
                            -9-                LRB9216027SMcd
 1    taxation within this State. For purposes of  Section  250  of
 2    the Illinois Income Tax Act, the exemption of the income from
 3    bonds  issued under this Act shall terminate after all of the
 4    bonds have been paid. The amount of such income that shall be
 5    added and then subtracted on the Illinois income  tax  return
 6    of a taxpayer, pursuant to Section 203 of the Illinois Income
 7    Tax  Act,  from  federal  adjusted  gross  income  or federal
 8    taxable income in computing Illinois base income shall be the
 9    interest net of any bond premium amortization.

10        Section 50.  Personal liability. Neither the employees of
11    the Bureau of the  Budget  nor  any  person  executing  bonds
12    issued  under  this  Act  shall be liable personally on those
13    bonds by reason of the issuance of the bonds.

14        Section  55.  Complete,   additional,   and   alternative
15    methods.   The  foregoing  Sections of this Act are deemed to
16    provide a complete, additional, and  alternative  method  for
17    the  doing  of  the  things  authorized  thereby and shall be
18    regarded as supplemental and additional to  powers  conferred
19    by other laws, provided that the issuance of bonds under this
20    Act  need  not  comply with the requirements of any other law
21    applicable to the issuance of  bonds.   Except  as  otherwise
22    expressly provided in this Act, none of the powers granted to
23    the  Bureau  of the Budget under this Act shall be subject to
24    the supervision or regulation  or  require  the  approval  or
25    consent  of  any municipality or political subdivision or any
26    department,  division,  commission,  board,   body,   bureau,
27    official, or agency thereof or of the State.

28        Section  60.  Liberal  construction  of  Act.   This Act,
29    being  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  State  and  its
30    inhabitants, shall  be  liberally  construed  to  effect  its
31    purposes.
 
                            -10-               LRB9216027SMcd
 1        Section   65.  Severability.   If  any  clause  or  other
 2    portion of this  Act is held invalid, that decision shall not
 3    affect the validity of the remaining portions  of  this  Act.
 4    It  is  hereby  declared  that all such remaining portions of
 5    this Act are severable, and that the General  Assembly  would
 6    have  enacted the remaining portions if the portions that may
 7    be so held to be invalid had not been included in this Act.

 8        Section  905.  The  State  Finance  Act  is  amended   by
 9    changing Section 6z-43 as follows:

10        (30 ILCS 105/6z-43)
11        Sec. 6z-43. Tobacco Settlement Recovery Fund.
12        (a)  There  is  created  in  the State Treasury a special
13    fund to be known as the  Tobacco  Settlement  Recovery  Fund,
14    into  which  shall  be deposited all monies paid to the State
15    pursuant to (1) the Master Settlement  Agreement  entered  in
16    the case of People of the State of Illinois v. Philip Morris,
17    et  al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 96-L13146) and (2)
18    any settlement with or judgment against any  tobacco  product
19    manufacturer  other  than  one  participating  in  the Master
20    Settlement Agreement in satisfaction of any released claim as
21    defined in the Master Settlement Agreement, as  well  as  any
22    other  monies  as  provided  by  law.   All  earnings on Fund
23    investments shall be  deposited  into  the  Fund.   Upon  the
24    creation  of  the Fund, the State Comptroller shall order the
25    State Treasurer to transfer into the Fund any monies paid  to
26    the  State  as  described  in item (1) or (2) of this Section
27    before the creation of the Fund plus any interest  earned  on
28    the investment of those monies.  The Treasurer may invest the
29    moneys  in  the Fund in the same manner, in the same types of
30    investments, and subject to the same limitations provided  in
31    the Illinois Pension Code for the investment of pension funds
32    other  than  those  established  under  Article 3 or 4 of the
 
                            -11-               LRB9216027SMcd
 1    Code.
 2        (b)  As soon as may be practical  after  June  30,  2001,
 3    upon  notification from and at the direction of the Governor,
 4    the State Comptroller shall direct and  the  State  Treasurer
 5    shall  transfer  the  unencumbered  balance  in  the  Tobacco
 6    Settlement  Recovery  Fund as of June 30, 2001, as determined
 7    by the Governor, into the  Budget  Stabilization  Fund.   The
 8    Treasurer  may  invest the moneys in the Budget Stabilization
 9    Fund in the same manner, in the same  types  of  investments,
10    and  subject to the same limitations provided in the Illinois
11    Pension Code for the investment of pension funds  other  than
12    those established under Article 3 or 4 of the Code.
13        (c)  The  State  Treasurer  shall  administer the Tobacco
14    Settlement  Recovery  Fund  consistently  with  the   Tobacco
15    Settlement Bond Act.
16    (Source:  P.A.  91-646,  eff.  11-19-99; 91-704, eff. 7-1-00;
17    91-797,  eff.  6-9-00;  92-11,  eff.  6-11-01;  92-16,   eff.
18    6-28-01.)

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

[ Top ]