Bill Text: IL HB5843 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Downstate Police and Downstate Firefighter Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the annual employer contribution shall include an amount sufficient to bring the total assets of the pension fund up to 90% of the total actuarial liabilities of the pension fund by the end of municipal fiscal year 2050 (instead of 2040). Makes a conforming change. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-14 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5843 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5843-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5843 Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/3-125 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 3-125
40 ILCS 5/4-118 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-118
30 ILCS 805/8.48 new
Amends the Downstate Police and Downstate Firefighter Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the annual employer contribution shall include an amount sufficient to bring the total assets of the pension fund up to 90% of the total actuarial liabilities of the pension fund by the end of municipal fiscal year 2050 (instead of 2040). Makes a conforming change. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB5843 LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
changing Sections 3-125 and 4-118 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/3-125) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 3-125)
Sec. 3-125. Financing.
(a) The city council or the board of trustees of the
municipality shall annually levy a tax upon all the taxable
property of the municipality at the rate on the dollar which
will produce an amount which, when added to the deductions
from the salaries or wages of police officers, and revenues
available from other sources, will equal a sum sufficient to
meet the annual requirements of the police pension fund. The
annual requirements to be provided by such tax levy are equal
to (1) the normal cost of the pension fund for the year
involved, plus (2) an amount sufficient to bring the total
assets of the pension fund up to 90% of the total actuarial
liabilities of the pension fund by the end of municipal fiscal
year 2050 2040, as annually updated and determined by an
enrolled actuary employed by the Illinois Department of
Insurance or by an enrolled actuary retained by the pension
fund or the municipality. In making these determinations, the

HB5843 - 2 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
required minimum employer contribution shall be calculated
each year as a level percentage of payroll over the years
remaining up to and including fiscal year 2050 2040 and shall
be determined under the projected unit credit actuarial cost
method. The tax shall be levied and collected in the same
manner as the general taxes of the municipality, and in
addition to all other taxes now or hereafter authorized to be
levied upon all property within the municipality, and shall be
in addition to the amount authorized to be levied for general
purposes as provided by Section 8-3-1 of the Illinois
Municipal Code, approved May 29, 1961, as amended. The tax
shall be forwarded directly to the treasurer of the board
within 30 business days after receipt by the county.
(b) For purposes of determining the required employer
contribution to a pension fund, the value of the pension
fund's assets shall be equal to the actuarial value of the
pension fund's assets, which shall be calculated as follows:
(1) On March 30, 2011, the actuarial value of a
pension fund's assets shall be equal to the market value
of the assets as of that date.
(2) In determining the actuarial value of the System's
assets for fiscal years after March 30, 2011, any
actuarial gains or losses from investment return incurred
in a fiscal year shall be recognized in equal annual
amounts over the 5-year period following that fiscal year.
(c) If a participating municipality fails to transmit to

HB5843 - 3 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
the fund contributions required of it under this Article for
more than 90 days after the payment of those contributions is
due, the fund may, after giving notice to the municipality,
certify to the State Comptroller the amounts of the delinquent
payments in accordance with any applicable rules of the
Comptroller, and the Comptroller must, beginning in fiscal
year 2016, deduct and remit to the fund the certified amounts
or a portion of those amounts from the following proportions
of payments of State funds to the municipality:
(1) in fiscal year 2016, one-third of the total amount
of any payments of State funds to the municipality;
(2) in fiscal year 2017, two-thirds of the total
amount of any payments of State funds to the municipality;
and
(3) in fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year
thereafter, the total amount of any payments of State
funds to the municipality.
The State Comptroller may not deduct from any payments of
State funds to the municipality more than the amount of
delinquent payments certified to the State Comptroller by the
fund.
(d) The police pension fund shall consist of the following
moneys which shall be set apart by the treasurer of the
municipality:
(1) All moneys derived from the taxes levied
hereunder;

HB5843 - 4 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
(2) Contributions by police officers under Section
3-125.1;
(2.5) All moneys received from the Police Officers'
Pension Investment Fund as provided in Article 22B of this
Code;
(3) All moneys accumulated by the municipality under
any previous legislation establishing a fund for the
benefit of disabled or retired police officers;
(4) Donations, gifts or other transfers authorized by
this Article.
(e) The Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability shall conduct a study of all funds established
under this Article and shall report its findings to the
General Assembly on or before January 1, 2013. To the fullest
extent possible, the study shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(1) fund balances;
(2) historical employer contribution rates for each
fund;
(3) the actuarial formulas used as a basis for
employer contributions, including the actual assumed rate
of return for each year, for each fund;
(4) available contribution funding sources;
(5) the impact of any revenue limitations caused by
PTELL and employer home rule or non-home rule status; and
(6) existing statutory funding compliance procedures

HB5843 - 5 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
and funding enforcement mechanisms for all municipal
pension funds.
(Source: P.A. 101-610, eff. 1-1-20.)
(40 ILCS 5/4-118) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-118)
Sec. 4-118. Financing.
(a) The city council or the board of trustees of the
municipality shall annually levy a tax upon all the taxable
property of the municipality at the rate on the dollar which
will produce an amount which, when added to the deductions
from the salaries or wages of firefighters and revenues
available from other sources, will equal a sum sufficient to
meet the annual actuarial requirements of the pension fund, as
determined by an enrolled actuary employed by the Illinois
Department of Insurance or by an enrolled actuary retained by
the pension fund or municipality. For the purposes of this
Section, the annual actuarial requirements of the pension fund
are equal to (1) the normal cost of the pension fund, or 17.5%
of the salaries and wages to be paid to firefighters for the
year involved, whichever is greater, plus (2) an annual amount
sufficient to bring the total assets of the pension fund up to
90% of the total actuarial liabilities of the pension fund by
the end of municipal fiscal year 2050 2040, as annually
updated and determined by an enrolled actuary employed by the
Illinois Department of Insurance or by an enrolled actuary
retained by the pension fund or the municipality. In making

HB5843 - 6 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
these determinations, the required minimum employer
contribution shall be calculated each year as a level
percentage of payroll over the years remaining up to and
including fiscal year 2050 2040 and shall be determined under
the projected unit credit actuarial cost method. The amount to
be applied towards the amortization of the unfunded accrued
liability in any year shall not be less than the annual amount
required to amortize the unfunded accrued liability, including
interest, as a level percentage of payroll over the number of
years remaining in the 40-year amortization period.
(a-2) A municipality that has established a pension fund
under this Article and that employs a full-time firefighter,
as defined in Section 4-106, shall be deemed a primary
employer with respect to that full-time firefighter. Any
municipality of 5,000 or more inhabitants that employs or
enrolls a firefighter while that firefighter continues to earn
service credit as a participant in a primary employer's
pension fund under this Article shall be deemed a secondary
employer and such employees shall be deemed to be secondary
employee firefighters. To ensure that the primary employer's
pension fund under this Article is aware of additional
liabilities and risks to which firefighters are exposed when
performing work as firefighters for secondary employers, a
secondary employer shall annually prepare a report accounting
for all hours worked by and wages and salaries paid to the
secondary employee firefighters it receives services from or

HB5843 - 7 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
employs for each fiscal year in which such firefighters are
employed and transmit a certified copy of that report to the
primary employer's pension fund, the Department of Insurance,
and the secondary employee firefighter no later than 30 days
after the end of any fiscal year in which wages were paid to
the secondary employee firefighters.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed to allow a
secondary employee to qualify for benefits or creditable
service for employment as a firefighter for a secondary
employer.
(a-5) For purposes of determining the required employer
contribution to a pension fund, the value of the pension
fund's assets shall be equal to the actuarial value of the
pension fund's assets, which shall be calculated as follows:
(1) On March 30, 2011, the actuarial value of a
pension fund's assets shall be equal to the market value
of the assets as of that date.
(2) In determining the actuarial value of the pension
fund's assets for fiscal years after March 30, 2011, any
actuarial gains or losses from investment return incurred
in a fiscal year shall be recognized in equal annual
amounts over the 5-year period following that fiscal year.
(b) The tax shall be levied and collected in the same
manner as the general taxes of the municipality, and shall be
in addition to all other taxes now or hereafter authorized to
be levied upon all property within the municipality, and in

HB5843 - 8 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
addition to the amount authorized to be levied for general
purposes, under Section 8-3-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code
or under Section 14 of the Fire Protection District Act. The
tax shall be forwarded directly to the treasurer of the board
within 30 business days of receipt by the county (or, in the
case of amounts added to the tax levy under subsection (f),
used by the municipality to pay the employer contributions
required under subsection (b-1) of Section 15-155 of this
Code).
(b-5) If a participating municipality fails to transmit to
the fund contributions required of it under this Article for
more than 90 days after the payment of those contributions is
due, the fund may, after giving notice to the municipality,
certify to the State Comptroller the amounts of the delinquent
payments in accordance with any applicable rules of the
Comptroller, and the Comptroller must, beginning in fiscal
year 2016, deduct and remit to the fund the certified amounts
or a portion of those amounts from the following proportions
of payments of State funds to the municipality:
(1) in fiscal year 2016, one-third of the total amount
of any payments of State funds to the municipality;
(2) in fiscal year 2017, two-thirds of the total
amount of any payments of State funds to the municipality;
and
(3) in fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year
thereafter, the total amount of any payments of State

HB5843 - 9 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
funds to the municipality.
The State Comptroller may not deduct from any payments of
State funds to the municipality more than the amount of
delinquent payments certified to the State Comptroller by the
fund.
(c) The board shall make available to the membership and
the general public for inspection and copying at reasonable
times the most recent Actuarial Valuation Balance Sheet and
Tax Levy Requirement issued to the fund by the Department of
Insurance.
(d) The firefighters' pension fund shall consist of the
following moneys which shall be set apart by the treasurer of
the municipality: (1) all moneys derived from the taxes levied
hereunder; (2) contributions by firefighters as provided under
Section 4-118.1; (2.5) all moneys received from the
Firefighters' Pension Investment Fund as provided in Article
22C of this Code; (3) all rewards in money, fees, gifts, and
emoluments that may be paid or given for or on account of
extraordinary service by the fire department or any member
thereof, except when allowed to be retained by competitive
awards; and (4) any money, real estate or personal property
received by the board.
(e) For the purposes of this Section, "enrolled actuary"
means an actuary: (1) who is a member of the Society of
Actuaries or the American Academy of Actuaries; and (2) who is
enrolled under Subtitle C of Title III of the Employee

HB5843 - 10 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or who has been
engaged in providing actuarial services to one or more public
retirement systems for a period of at least 3 years as of July
1, 1983.
(f) The corporate authorities of a municipality that
employs a person who is described in subdivision (d) of
Section 4-106 may add to the tax levy otherwise provided for in
this Section an amount equal to the projected cost of the
employer contributions required to be paid by the municipality
to the State Universities Retirement System under subsection
(b-1) of Section 15-155 of this Code.
(g) The Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability shall conduct a study of all funds established
under this Article and shall report its findings to the
General Assembly on or before January 1, 2013. To the fullest
extent possible, the study shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(1) fund balances;
(2) historical employer contribution rates for each
fund;
(3) the actuarial formulas used as a basis for
employer contributions, including the actual assumed rate
of return for each year, for each fund;
(4) available contribution funding sources;
(5) the impact of any revenue limitations caused by
PTELL and employer home rule or non-home rule status; and

HB5843 - 11 - LRB103 40635 RPS 73336 b
(6) existing statutory funding compliance procedures
and funding enforcement mechanisms for all municipal
pension funds.
(Source: P.A. 101-522, eff. 8-23-19; 101-610, eff. 1-1-20;
102-59, eff. 7-9-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.48 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.48 new)
Sec. 8.48. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
Act of the 103rd General Assembly.