Public Act 098-0319
 
HB3233 EnrolledLRB098 11019 OMW 41698 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
changing Section 22 as follows:
 
    (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% .30% 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. 95-497, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.