(70 ILCS 705/22) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 38.5)

Sec. 22.

The Board of Trustees of any fire protection district incorporated
under this Act is authorized under the terms and conditions hereinafter
set out, to provide emergency ambulance service to or from points within
or without the district; to contract with providers of ambulance service;
to combine with other units of governments for the purpose of providing
ambulance service; to levy a tax for the provision of such service and to
adopt rules and regulations relating to ambulance service within their
jurisdiction.

(a) It is declared as a matter of public policy:

(1) That, in order to preserve, protect and promote the public health, safety and

general welfare, adequate and continuing emergency ambulance service should be available to every citizen of Illinois;

(2) That, insofar as it is economically feasible, emergency ambulance service should be

provided by private enterprise; and

(3) That, in the event adequate and continuing emergency ambulance services do not

exist, fire protection districts should be authorized to provide, and shall cause to be provided, ambulance service as a public responsibility.

(b) Whenever the Board of Trustees of a fire protection district desires
to levy a special tax to provide an ambulance service, it shall certify the
question to the proper election officials, who shall submit that question
at an election to the voters of the district. The result of such referendum
shall be entered upon the records of the district. If a majority of the
votes on the proposition are in favor of such proposition, the Board of
Trustees may thereafter levy a special tax at a rate not to exceed .30% of
the value of all taxable property within the district as equalized or
assessed by the Department of Revenue. The proposition shall be in
substantially the following form:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall the .... Fire Protection
District levy  a special tax at a rate     YES
not to exceed .30% of the value of all
taxable property within the district as --------------------------------------------------------------------
equalized or assessed by the Department
of Revenue for the purpose of providing    NO
an ambulance service?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b-5) On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, whenever the Board of Trustees of a fire protection district desires
to levy a special tax to provide an ambulance service, it shall certify the
question to the proper election officials, who shall submit that question
at an election to the voters of the district. The result of such referendum
shall be entered upon the records of the district. If a majority of the
votes on the proposition are in favor of such proposition, the Board of
Trustees may thereafter levy a special tax at a rate not to exceed .40% of
the value of all taxable property within the district as equalized or
assessed by the Department of Revenue. The proposition shall be in
substantially the following form:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall the .... Fire Protection
District levy  a special tax at a rate     YES
not to exceed .40% of the value of all
taxable property within the district as ---------------------------------------------------------------------
equalized or assessed by the Department
of Revenue for the purpose of providing    NO
an ambulance service?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) If it appears that a majority of all valid votes cast on the
proposition are in favor of levying a special tax to pay for an ambulance,
the Board of Trustees may levy and collect an annual tax for the purpose of
providing ambulance service under this Act to be extended at a rate not to
exceed .40% of the full fair cash value of the taxable property within the
governmental unit as assessed or equalized by the Department of Revenue.
Such annual tax shall be in addition to the other taxes a fire protection
district may levy for its corporate purposes.

(d) Any Board of trustees may:

1. Provide or operate an emergency ambulance service;

2. Contract with a private person, hospital, corporation or another governmental unit

for the provision and operation of emergency ambulance service or subsidize the service thereof;

3. Limit the number of ambulance services;

4. Within its jurisdiction, fix, charge and collect fees for emergency ambulance service

within or outside of the fire protection district not exceeding the reasonable cost of the service;

5. Establish necessary regulations not inconsistent with the statutes or regulations of

the Department of Public Health relating to ambulance service;

6. The trustees shall have the power identified in paragraphs 3 and 5 only if the

district shall have passed the referendum provided for herein.

(e) When any Board of Trustees is authorized prior to January 1, 1978
to levy and collect an annual tax, for the purpose of providing ambulance
service, at any rate not exceeding .25% of the full fair cash value of the
taxable property within the governmental unit as equalized or assessed by
the Department of Revenue, such Board of Trustees may by
resolution increase its authority to tax for ambulance purposes to a rate
not to exceed .30%. Such resolution shall be effective 30 days after its
adoption. Notice of such resolution shall be published twice in a  newspaper
having a general circulation within the district at least 20 days and again
at least 10 days prior to the effective date of the resolution.  Such notice
shall state that the voters of that fire protection district, which district
shall be described in the notice, have until 30 days after the adoption
of the resolution to file a petition with the Board of Trustees praying
that the question of the adoption of the resolution be submitted to a vote
of the electors of such territory, and that, if no such petition is filed,
the resolution shall become effective 30 days after its adoption. The
notice also shall state the specific number of voters required to sign the
petition and the date of the prospective referendum. The district secretary
shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one. If such a
petition, signed by the voters of the district equal to 10% or more of the
registered voters of the district, is so filed with the Board of Trustees,
then the question of the adoption of the resolution shall be certified to
the proper election officials, who shall submit the question to a vote of
the electors of the district at an election in accordance with the general
election law. If such a petition is filed, the resolution does not take
effect unless a majority of the votes cast upon the question of the
adoption of the resolution is in favor of adoption. However, if such a
petition is determined to be invalid, the resolution shall take effect.

The result of the election shall be entered upon the records of the
district.  If a majority of the voters vote in favor of such resolution,
the resolution shall be effective  immediately. The proposition shall be
in substantially the following form:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall the Board of Trustees of
the .... Fire Protection District               YES
be authorized to increase the
special  tax for ambulance service
to a rate  not to exceed .30% of           -----------------------------------------------------------------
the value of all taxable property
within the district as equalized or
assessed by the Department of Revenue           NO
for the purpose of providing such service?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this Section, "ambulance service" includes, without limitation, pre-hospital medical services. "Pre-hospital medical services" includes emergency services  performed by a paramedic or other on-board emergency personnel that are within the scope of the provider's license.  This amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly is declarative of existing law.

(Source: P.A. 98-319, eff. 8-12-13.)