Public Act 093-0952
 
HB5017 Enrolled LRB093 18662 MKM 44389 b

    AN ACT concerning fire protection districts.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 3. The Department of State Police Law of the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section
2605-330 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2605/2605-330)  (was 20 ILCS 2605/55a in part)
    Sec. 2605-330. Firefighter applicant criminal history
records checks background investigations. Upon the request of
the chief of a volunteer fire department or the board of
trustees of a fire protection district, the Department shall
conduct fingerprint-based criminal history records checks of
both State and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history
record databases concerning criminal background investigations
of prospective firefighters and report to the requesting chief
or the board of trustees of a fire protection district any
conviction information any record of convictions maintained in
the Department's files about those persons. The Department may
charge the requesting chief or board of trustees a fee for
conducting the criminal history records check. The fee shall be
deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not
exceed the cost of the inquiry a fee, based on actual costs,
for the dissemination of conviction information under this
Section. The Department may prescribe the form and manner for
requesting and furnishing conviction information under this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 91-371, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)
 
    Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
changing Section 4a and by adding Section 16.08b as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 705/4a)  (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 24.1)
    Sec. 4a. Change to elected board of trustees; petition;
election; ballot; nomination and election of trustees. Any fire
protection district organized under this Act may determine, in
either manner provided in the following items (1) and (2) of
this Section, to have an elected, rather than an appointed,
board of trustees.
        (1) If the district lies wholly within a single
    township but does not also lie wholly within a
    municipality, the township board of trustees may
    determine, by ordinance, to have an elected board of
    trustees.
        (2) Upon presentation to the board of trustees of a
    petition, signed by not less than 10% of the electors of
    the district, requesting that a proposition for the
    election of trustees be submitted to the electors of the
    district, the secretary of the board of trustees shall
    certify the proposition to the appropriate election
    authorities who shall submit the proposition at a regular
    election in accordance with the general election law. The
    general election law shall apply to and govern such
    election. The proposition shall be in substantially the
    following form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
        Shall the trustees of......       YES
        Fire Protection District be     -------------------------
        elected, rather than appointed?   NO
-------------------------------------------------------------
        If a majority of the votes cast on such proposition are
    in the affirmative, the trustees of the district shall
    thereafter be elected as provided by this Section.
    At the next regular election for trustees as provided by
the general election law, a district that has approved by
ordinance or referendum to have its trustees elected rather
than appointed shall elect 3, 5, or 7 trustees, as previously
determined by the organization of the district or as increased
under Section 4.01 or 4.02. The initial elected trustees shall
be elected for 2, 4, and 6 year terms. In a district with 3
trustees, one trustee shall be elected for a term of 2 years,
one for a term of 4 years, and one for a term of 6 years. In a
district with 5 trustees, 2 shall be elected for terms of 2
years, 2 for terms of 4 years, and one for a term of 6 years. In
a district with 7 trustees, 3 shall be elected for terms of 2
years, 2 for terms of 4 years, and 2 for terms of 6 years.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 2A-54 of the Election
Code, the term of each elected trustee shall commence on the
first Monday of the month following the month of his election
and until his successor is elected and qualified. The length of
the terms of the trustees first elected shall be determined by
lot at their first meeting. Except as otherwise provided in
Section 2A-54 of the Election Code, thereafter, each trustee
shall be elected to serve for a term of 6 years commencing on
the first Monday of the month following the month of his
election and until his successor is elected and qualified.
    No party designation shall appear on the ballot for
election of trustees. The provisions of the general election
law shall apply to and govern the nomination and election of
trustees.
    Nominations for members of the board of trustees shall be
made by a petition signed by at least 25 voters or 5% of the
voters, whichever is less, residing within the district and
shall be filed with the secretary of the board. In addition to
the requirements of general election law, the form of the
petition shall be as follows:
NOMINATING PETITIONS
    To the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of (name of fire
protection district):
    We, the undersigned, being (number of signatories or 5% or
more) of the voters residing within the district, hereby
petition that (name of candidate) who resides at (address of
candidate) in this district shall be a candidate for the office
of (office) of the Board of Trustees (full-term or vacancy) to
be voted for at the election to be held (date of election).
    The secretary of the board shall notify each candidate for
whom a petition for nomination has been filed of their
obligations under the Campaign Financing Act, as required by
the general election law. The notice shall be given on a form
prescribed by the State Board of Elections and in accordance
with the requirements of the general election law.
    The secretary shall, within 7 days of filing or on the last
day for filing, whichever is earlier, acknowledge to the
petitioner in writing his acceptance of the petition.
    The provisions of Section 4 relating to eligibility, powers
and disabilities of trustees shall apply equally to elected
trustees.
    Whenever a fire protection district determines to elect
trustees as provided in this Section, the trustees appointed
pursuant to Section 4 shall continue to constitute the board of
trustees until the first Monday of the month following the
month of the first election of trustees. If the term of office
of any appointed trustees expires before the first election of
trustees, the authority which appointed that trustee under
Section 4 of this Act shall appoint a successor to serve until
a successor is elected and has qualified. The terms of all
appointed trustees in such district shall expire on the first
Monday of the month following the month of the first election
of trustees under this Section or when successors have been
elected and have qualified, whichever occurs later.
(Source: P.A. 90-358, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (70 ILCS 705/16.08b new)
    Sec. 16.08b. Emergency medical technician licensure. The
board of trustees of a fire protection district may require
that all firefighters hired on or after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly by any fire
department within the district must be licensed as an EMT-B,
EMT-I, or EMT-P under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Systems Act.