Bill Text: IL HB3833 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code and the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Allows school boards and local public entities to levy a tort immunity tax for the purpose of paying judgments and settlements under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and the Environmental Protection Act until December 31, 2014 (instead of December 31, 2010).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB3833 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB3833-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 HB3833 Introduced , by Rep. Rita Mayfield SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/17-2.5 from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.5
745 ILCS 10/9-107 from Ch. 85, par. 9-107
Amends the School Code and the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Allows school boards and local public entities to levy a tort immunity tax for the purpose of paying judgments and settlements under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and the Environmental Protection Act until December 31, 2014 (instead of December 31, 2010).
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning environmental liability.
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
17-2.5 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/17-2.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.5)
Sec. 17-2.5. Tax for tort immunity. The school board of any
district may by proper resolution levy an annual tax upon the
value of the taxable property within its territory as equalized
or assessed by the Department of Revenue at a rate that will
produce a sum sufficient (i) to pay the cost of settlements or
judgments under Section 9-102 of the Local Governmental and
Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, (ii) to pay the cost
of settlements or judgments under the federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 and the Environmental Protection Act, but only until
December 31, 2014 2010, (iii) to pay the costs of protecting
itself or its employees against liability, property damage or
loss, including all costs and reserves of being a member of an
insurance pool, under Section 9-103 of the Local Governmental
and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, (iv) to pay the
costs of and principal and interest on bonds issued under
Section 9-105 of the Local Governmental and Governmental

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Employees Tort Immunity Act, (v) to pay tort judgments or
settlements under Section 9-104 of the Local Governmental and
Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act to the extent
necessary to discharge such obligations, and (vi) to pay the
cost of risk care management programs in accordance with
Section 9-107 of the Local Governmental and Governmental
Employees Tort Immunity Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-244, eff. 8-17-07.)
Section 10. The Local Governmental and Governmental
Employees Tort Immunity Act is amended by changing Section
9-107 as follows:
(745 ILCS 10/9-107) (from Ch. 85, par. 9-107)
Sec. 9-107. Policy; tax levy.
(a) The General Assembly finds that the purpose of this
Section is to provide an extraordinary tax for funding expenses
relating to (i) tort liability, (ii) liability relating to
actions brought under the federal Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 or the
Environmental Protection Act, but only until December 31, 2010,
(iii) insurance, and (iv) risk management programs. Thus, the
tax has been excluded from various limitations otherwise
applicable to tax levies. Notwithstanding the extraordinary
nature of the tax authorized by this Section, however, it has
become apparent that some units of local government are using

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the tax revenue to fund expenses more properly paid from
general operating funds. These uses of the revenue are
inconsistent with the limited purpose of the tax authorization.
Therefore, the General Assembly declares, as a matter of
policy, that (i) the use of the tax revenue authorized by this
Section for purposes not expressly authorized under this Act is
improper and (ii) the provisions of this Section shall be
strictly construed consistent with this declaration and the
Act's express purposes.
(b) A local public entity may annually levy or have levied
on its behalf taxes upon all taxable property within its
territory at a rate that will produce a sum that will be
sufficient to: (i) pay the cost of insurance, individual or
joint self-insurance (including reserves thereon), including
all operating and administrative costs and expenses directly
associated therewith, claims services and risk management
directly attributable to loss prevention and loss reduction,
legal services directly attributable to the insurance,
self-insurance, or joint self-insurance program, and
educational, inspectional, and supervisory services directly
relating to loss prevention and loss reduction, participation
in a reciprocal insurer as provided in Sections 72, 76, and 81
of the Illinois Insurance Code, or participation in a
reciprocal insurer, all as provided in settlements or judgments
under Section 9-102, including all costs and reserves directly
attributable to being a member of an insurance pool, under

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Section 9-103; (ii) pay the costs of and principal and interest
on bonds issued under Section 9-105; (iii) pay judgments and
settlements under Section 9-104 of this Act; (iv) discharge
obligations under Section 34-18.1 of the School Code; (v) pay
judgments and settlements under the federal Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 and the Environmental Protection Act, but only until
December 31, 2014 2010; (vi) pay the costs authorized by the
Metro-East Sanitary District Act of 1974 as provided in
subsection (a) of Section 5-1 of that Act (70 ILCS 2905/5-1);
and (vii) pay the cost of risk management programs. Provided it
complies with any other applicable statutory requirements, the
local public entity may self-insure and establish reserves for
expected losses for any property damage or for any liability or
loss for which the local public entity is authorized to levy or
have levied on its behalf taxes for the purchase of insurance
or the payment of judgments or settlements under this Section.
The decision of the board to establish a reserve shall be based
on reasonable actuarial or insurance underwriting evidence and
subject to the limits and reporting provisions in Section
9-103.
If a school district was a member of a
joint-self-health-insurance cooperative that had more
liability in outstanding claims than revenue to pay those
claims, the school board of that district may by resolution
make a one-time transfer from any fund in which tort immunity

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moneys are maintained to the fund or funds from which payments
to a joint-self-health-insurance cooperative can be or have
been made of an amount not to exceed the amount of the
liability claim that the school district owes to the
joint-self-health-insurance cooperative or that the school
district paid within the 2 years immediately preceding the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General
Assembly.
Funds raised pursuant to this Section shall only be used
for the purposes specified in this Act, including protection
against and reduction of any liability or loss described
hereinabove and under Federal or State common or statutory law,
the Workers' Compensation Act, the Workers' Occupational
Diseases Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act. Funds raised
pursuant to this Section may be invested in any manner in which
other funds of local public entities may be invested under
Section 2 of the Public Funds Investment Act. Interest on such
funds shall be used only for purposes for which the funds can
be used or, if surplus, must be used for abatement of property
taxes levied by the local taxing entity.
A local public entity may enter into intergovernmental
contracts with a term of not to exceed 12 years for the
provision of joint self-insurance which contracts may include
an obligation to pay a proportional share of a general
obligation or revenue bond or other debt instrument issued by a
local public entity which is a party to the intergovernmental

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contract and is authorized by the terms of the contract to
issue the bond or other debt instrument. Funds due under such
contracts shall not be considered debt under any constitutional
or statutory limitation and the local public entity may levy or
have levied on its behalf taxes to pay for its proportional
share under the contract. Funds raised pursuant to
intergovernmental contracts for the provision of joint
self-insurance may only be used for the payment of any cost,
liability or loss against which a local public entity may
protect itself or self-insure pursuant to Section 9-103 or for
the payment of which such entity may levy a tax pursuant to
this Section, including tort judgments or settlements, costs
associated with the issuance, retirement or refinancing of the
bonds or other debt instruments, the repayment of the principal
or interest of the bonds or other debt instruments, the costs
of the administration of the joint self-insurance fund,
consultant, and risk care management programs or the costs of
insurance. Any surplus returned to the local public entity
under the terms of the intergovernmental contract shall be used
only for purposes set forth in subsection (a) of Section 9-103
and Section 9-107 or for abatement of property taxes levied by
the local taxing entity.
Any tax levied under this Section shall be levied and
collected in like manner with the general taxes of the entity
and shall be exclusive of and in addition to the amount of tax
that entity is now or may hereafter be authorized to levy for

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general purposes under any statute which may limit the amount
of tax which that entity may levy for general purposes. The
county clerk of the county in which any part of the territory
of the local taxing entity is located, in reducing tax levies
under the provisions of any Act concerning the levy and
extension of taxes, shall not consider any tax provided for by
this Section as a part of the general tax levy for the purposes
of the entity nor include such tax within any limitation of the
percent of the assessed valuation upon which taxes are required
to be extended for such entity.
With respect to taxes levied under this Section, either
before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1994:
(1) Those taxes are excepted from and shall not be
included within the rate limitation imposed by law on taxes
levied for general corporate purposes by the local public
entity authorized to levy a tax under this Section.
(2) Those taxes that a local public entity has levied
in reliance on this Section and that are excepted under
paragraph (1) from the rate limitation imposed by law on
taxes levied for general corporate purposes by the local
public entity are not invalid because of any provision of
the law authorizing the local public entity's tax levy for
general corporate purposes that may be construed or may
have been construed to restrict or limit those taxes
levied, and those taxes are hereby validated. This

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validation of taxes levied applies to all cases pending on
or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1994.
(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to a hospital
organized under Article 170 or 175 of the Township Code,
under the Town Hospital Act, or under the Township
Non-Sectarian Hospital Act and do not give any authority to
levy taxes on behalf of such a hospital in excess of the
rate limitation imposed by law on taxes levied for general
corporate purposes. A hospital organized under Article 170
or 175 of the Township Code, under the Town Hospital Act,
or under the Township Non-Sectarian Hospital Act is not
prohibited from levying taxes in support of tort liability
bonds if the taxes do not cause the hospital's aggregate
tax rate from exceeding the rate limitation imposed by law
on taxes levied for general corporate purposes.
Revenues derived from such tax shall be paid to the
treasurer of the local taxing entity as collected and used for
the purposes of this Section and of Section 9-102, 9-103, 9-104
or 9-105, as the case may be. If payments on account of such
taxes are insufficient during any year to meet such purposes,
the entity may issue tax anticipation warrants against the
current tax levy in the manner provided by statute.
(Source: P.A. 95-244, eff. 8-17-07; 95-723, eff. 6-23-08.)