Bill Text: IL SB0172 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2011-08-16 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0418 [SB0172 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB0172-Amended.html

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Sen. Terry Link

Filed: 3/29/2011

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 172
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 172 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act
is amended by changing Sections 26a, 26a.1, 26a.2, 26a.3, 28,
29, and 30 as follows:
(70 ILCS 405/26a) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a)
Sec. 26a. Any 25 or more owners of lands lying within the
boundaries of any district organized under the provisions of
this Act may file, with the Department, a petition proposing
the consolidation of such district with one or more adjoining
soil conservation districts. Such petition shall set forth: (1)
the names of the districts proposed to be consolidated, and (2)
the proposed name of the consolidated district.
Within 30 days after such petition is filed the Department
shall submit the proposal to the directors of each district

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proposed to be consolidated. The Directors of each such
district, shall within 30 days thereafter, adopt and forward to
the Department a resolution approving or disapproving the
proposed consolidation.
If the directors of all of the said districts approve the
proposals to consolidate such districts, then the proposals
shall be sent to the Department to determine if the
consolidation is administratively practical and feasible. it
shall be the duty of the Department to give 10 days notice of
the holding of a referendum by causing such notice to be
published at least once in one or more newspapers having
general circulation within the district and to hold a
referendum within each such district upon the proposition or
the proposed consolidation. Except as otherwise provided in
this Act, the proposition shall be submitted in accordance with
Section 28-3 of the Election Code.
The question at such referendum shall be submitted upon
ballots in substantially the following form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Place an X in the square opposite the proposition for which you
desire to vote.
-------------------------------------------------------------
For approval of the proposed
consolidation of (here insert names
of districts to be consolidated)
into one soil and water

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conservation district.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Against approval of the
proposed consolidation of (here
insert names of districts to be
consolidated) into one soil and
water conservation district.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Only owners or occupiers of land, or both, lying within the
districts are eligible to vote in such referendum and each
shall have one vote. Eligible voters may vote in person or by
absentee ballot.
If a majority of the votes cast in the referendum in each
of such districts are cast in favor of the proposed
consolidation and if the Department determines that such
consolidation is administratively practicable and feasible,
the Chairmen of the directors of the said districts shall
present to the Secretary of State through the Department an
application for a certificate of organization of the
consolidated district. The application shall be signed and
sworn to by all of the said chairmen, and shall set forth the
names of the constituent districts, the proposed name of the
consolidated district, and the location of the office of the
consolidated district. The said application shall be
accompanied by the statement from the Department which shall
set forth (and such statement need contain no details other

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than the mere recitals) that a petition for the consolidation
of the said district was filed and , that the proposed
consolidation was, by resolution, approved by the governing
bodies of all of such districts, that a referendum was held in
each of the said districts on the question of the proposed
consolidation, and that the result of such referendum showed a
majority of the votes cast in each district to be in favor of
the proposed consolidation.
The Secretary of State shall receive and file such
application and statement and shall record them in an
appropriate book of record in his or her office. When the
application and statements have been made, filed, and recorded
as herein provided, the consolidation of such districts shall
be deemed affected and the consolidated district shall
constitute a public body, corporate and politic, vested with
all the power of soil and water conservation districts. The
Secretary of State shall make and issue to the signers of the
application a certificate, under the seal of the State, of the
due organization of the said consolidated district, and shall
record such certificate with the application and statement. A
copy of the statement and certificate of organization, duly
certified by the Secretary of State, shall be recorded with the
recorder of the county in which the office of the consolidated
district is located.
Upon a consolidation of districts, the directors of all
such districts shall continue to hold office and serve as a

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temporary governing body of the consolidated district until the
members of a permanent governing body have been elected and
have qualified. The provisions of Sections 19, 20 and 21 of
this Act that relate to the number, and to the nomination,
election and organization of members of the governing bodies of
soil and water conservation districts shall govern the
selection of the members of the permanent governing body of a
consolidated district.
Upon the issuance, by the Secretary of State, of a
certificate of organization to a consolidated district,
property belonging to the constituent district shall become the
property of the consolidated district. All contracts
theretofore entered into, to which the constituent districts
are parties, shall remain in force and effect for the period
provided in such contracts. The consolidated districts shall be
substituted for each constituent district as party to such
contracts, and shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to
all liabilities under such contracts and shall have the same
right and liability to perform, to require performance, to sue
and to be sued thereon, and to modify or terminate such
contracts by mutual consent or otherwise, as the constituent
district would have had. Any indebtedness, claim, demand or
right owing or belonging to any of the constituent districts
shall vest in and become due to the consolidated district,
which shall have the right to demand, sue for, recover and
enforce the same in its own name. Upon a consolidation of

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districts, all land-use regulations theretofore adopted and in
force and effect within any of the constituent districts shall
remain in force and effect throughout the territory for which
they were originally adopted, until repealed, amended,
supplemented, or superseded by action of the consolidated
district.
(Source: P.A. 83-358.)
(70 ILCS 405/26a.1) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-1)
Sec. 26a.1. Division of districts. Any 25 or more owners of
lands lying within the boundaries of any district organized
under this Act which lies in more than one county may file with
the Department a petition proposing the division of the
district into 2 or more districts along county lines. Such
petition shall set forth:
(1) The name of the district proposed to be divided. ,
(2) The proposed names of the districts to be formed
from it.
(3) The proposed boundaries of each of the districts to
be formed.
The petition shall be accompanied by an inventory of the
property belonging to the district and of its liabilities and a
proposed plan for a division of these assets and liabilities
between or among the districts proposed to be formed.
Within 30 days after such a petition is filed, the
Department shall submit the proposal to the directors of the

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district proposed to be divided. The directors shall within 30
days thereafter adopt and submit to the Department a resolution
approving or disapproving the proposed division.
If the directors disapprove the proposed division, the
petition shall be denied. If the directors favor the proposed
division, the Department shall give 10 days notice of the
holding of a referendum by causing such notice to be published
at least once in one or more newspapers having general
circulation within the district and hold a referendum within
the district upon the question of the proposed division. Except
as otherwise provided in this Act, the proposition shall be
submitted in accordance with Section 28-3 of the Election Code.
The proposition shall be submitted upon ballots in
substantially the following form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Place an X in the square opposite the
proposition for which you wish to vote.
-------------------------------------------------------------
For the division of the ....
Soil and Water Conservation District
into the .... and .... Soil and Water
Conservation Districts with the
boundaries described below.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Against the division of the ....
Soil and Water Conservation District

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into the .... and .... Soil and Water
Conservation Districts with the
boundaries described below.
-------------------------------------------------------------
(Here insert descriptions of proposed new districts.)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Only owners or occupiers of land, or both, lying within the
district are eligible to vote in the referendum. Such vote may
be cast in person or by absentee ballot.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 530.)
(70 ILCS 405/26a.2) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-2)
Sec. 26a.2. If the directors of the district favor the
proposed division a majority of the votes cast in the
referendum under Section 26a.1 are cast in favor of the
proposed division and if the Department determines that such
division is administratively practicable and feasible, the
Department shall also determine the boundaries of the proposed
new districts, record these determinations and proceed with the
division of the district in the manner hereinafter provided. If
less than a majority of the votes cast in the referendum are
cast in favor of the proposed division or if the Department
determines that such division is not administratively
practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination
and deny the petition.
After the Department has determined that the proposed

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division is administratively practicable and feasible, it
shall consider the proposed division of the district's assets
and liabilities. If the plan suggested in the petition appears
to be fair and equitable, the Department shall approve it and
the assets and liabilities shall be distributed and assumed in
accordance therewith. The Department may, however, make
whatever modifications in the plan of distribution it deems
necessary to make the scheme fair and equitable.
(Source: Laws 1959, p. 2249.)
(70 ILCS 405/26a.3) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-3)
Sec. 26a.3. After the Department has made and recorded a
determination that division of the district is
administratively practicable and feasible, the directors of
the district shall present to the Secretary of State through
the Department an application for the discontinuance of the
district and for a certificate of organization for each of the
new districts. The application shall be signed and sworn to by
the directors and shall set forth the name of the district
being divided, the proposed names of the districts being formed
and the location of the offices of each of the new districts.
The application shall be accompanied by a statement from the
Department setting forth (and such statement need contain no
details other than the mere recitals) that a petition for the
division of the district was filed and , that the proposed
division was, by resolution, approved by the governing body of

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the district, that a referendum was held in the district on the
question of the proposed division, and that the result of such
referendum showed a majority of the votes cast to be in favor
of the proposed division.
The Secretary of State shall receive and file the
application and statement and shall record them in an
appropriate book of record in his or her office. When the
application and statement had been made, filed and recorded,
the division of the district shall be deemed effected and each
of the new districts shall constitute a public body, corporate
and politic, vested with all the powers of soil and water
conservation districts. The Secretary of State shall issue to
the signers of the application a separate certificate, under
the seal of the State, of the due organization of each of the
new districts, and shall record the certificates with the
application and statement. A copy of the statement, along with
the appropriate certificate of organization, shall be recorded
with the recorder of the county in which each new district has
its office.
(Source: P.A. 83-358.)
(70 ILCS 405/28) (from Ch. 5, par. 133)
Sec. 28. Discontinuance of district. At any time after 3
years after the organization of a district, under the
provisions of this Act, any 25 or more owners of land within
the limits of such district who own at least 10% of the land,

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by area, within such district may file a petition with the
Department praying that the operations of the district be
terminated and the existence of the district discontinued. The
Department may conduct such public meetings and public hearings
upon such petition as may be necessary to assist it in the
consideration thereof.
Within 60 days after such a petition has been received by
the Department it shall give due notice of the holding of a
referendum, and shall supervise such referendum, and issue
appropriate regulations governing the conduct thereof, the
question to be submitted by ballots upon which the words "For
terminating the existence of the ....(name of the soil and
water conservation district to be here inserted)" and "Against
terminating the existence of the ....(name of the soil and
water conservation district to be here inserted)" shall appear
with a square before each proposition and a direction to insert
an X mark in the square before one or the other of said
propositions. Only owners of land lying within the boundaries
of the district shall be eligible to vote in such referendum
and each shall have one vote. Owners of land may vote in person
or by absentee ballot. No informalities in the conduct of such
referendum or in any matters relating thereto shall invalidate
said referendum or the result thereof if notice thereof shall
have been given substantially as herein provided and said
referendum shall have been fairly conducted.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 530.)

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(70 ILCS 405/29) (from Ch. 5, par. 134)
Sec. 29. Determination for discontinuance. Within 60 days
after the Department receives a petition for the discontinuance
of a district, the The Department shall publish the result of
such referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine
whether the continued operation of the district is
administratively practicable and feasible. If at least a
majority of the owners of land within the district shall vote
in the referendum on the question of discontinuance, and if a
majority of the votes cast in such referendum were in favor of
discontinuance or if a majority of the votes cast in such
referendum were for continuance or if the Department determines
that the attitude of the owners of lands lying within the
district, the approximate wealth and income of the land
occupiers of the district, the probable expense of carrying on
erosion control operations within the district, and other
economic and social factors as may be relevant are such that
the continued operation of the district is not otherwise
practicable and feasible, the Department shall record such
determination and shall certify such determination to the
directors of the district.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 428.)
(70 ILCS 405/30) (from Ch. 5, par. 135)
Sec. 30. Winding up district affairs. Upon receipt from the

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Department of a certification that the Department has
determined that the continued operation of the district is not
administratively practicable and feasible, the directors shall
forthwith proceed to terminate the affairs of the district. The
directors shall dispose of all property belonging to the
district at public auction and, after settlement of all legal
obligations against the district, shall pay over the proceeds
of such sale into the State treasury. Before dissolution of the
district, the district must return any unspent funds received
from the State to the State treasury. All contracts entered
into or legal proceedings, to which the district is a party,
must also be fulfilled, settled, or terminated before the
district is dissolved.
The directors shall thereupon file an application, duly
verified, with the Secretary of State for the discontinuance of
such district, and shall transmit with such application the
certificate of the Department setting forth the determination
of the Department that the continued operation of such district
is not administratively practicable and feasible and that all
debts of the district have been paid. The application shall
recite that the property of the district has been disposed of
and the proceeds paid over as in this Section section provided,
and shall set forth a full accounting of such properties and
proceeds of the sale. The Secretary of State shall issue to the
directors a certificate of dissolution and shall record such
certificate in an appropriate book of record in his or her

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office. A copy of such certificate of dissolution issued by the
Secretary of State shall be recorded with the recorder of the
county in which the office of such district is located.
Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the
provisions of this Section section, all ordinances and
regulations theretofore adopted and in force within such
districts shall be of no further force and effect. All
contracts theretofore entered into, to which the district is a
party, shall remain in force and effect for the period provided
in such contracts. The Department shall be substituted for the
district as party to such contracts. The Department shall be
entitled to all benefits and subject to all liabilities under
such contracts and shall have the same right and liability to
perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued thereon,
and to modify or terminate such contracts by mutual consent or
otherwise, as the directors of the district would have had.
Such dissolution shall not affect the lien of any judgment
entered under the provisions of Section 25 of this Act, nor the
pendency of any action instituted under the provisions of such
section, and the Department shall succeed to all the rights and
obligations of the district as to such liens and actions.
The Department shall not be required to entertain petitions
for the discontinuance of any district nor conduct referenda
upon such petitions nor make determinations pursuant to such
petitions in accordance with the provisions of this Act, more
often than once in 3 years.

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(Source: P.A. 83-358.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".