HB3115 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 25473 AWJ 51822 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3115

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Justin Slaughter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
55 ILCS 5/3-7010	from Ch. 34, par. 3-7010
55 ILCS 5/3-8012	from Ch. 34, par. 3-8012
65 ILCS 5/10-1-13	from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-13
65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-15	from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-15
30 ILCS 805/8.47 new

Creates the Police Department Promotion Act. Requires municipal police departments and sheriff departments to make promotions in accordance with the Act. Requires the preparation and publishing of promotion lists. Sets components that may be included in the promotion process. Sets requirements for written examinations, the award of seniority points, the award of ascertained merit points, subjective evaluations, and the award of veterans' preferences. Sets penalties for violations of the Act. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Contains other provisions. Amends the Counties Code and Illinois Municipal Code to make conforming changes. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Police Department Promotion Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Affected department" or "department" means a full-time municipal police department that is subject to a collective bargaining agreement or the full-time members of a police department operated by a county sheriff. "Affected department" or "department" does not include police departments operated by the State or a municipality with a population over 1,000,000 or a combined department that was providing both police and firefighting services on January 1, 2002.

"Appointing authority" means a board of fire and police commissioners, board of police commissioners, Sheriff's Merit Commission, civil service commissioners, superintendent or department head, or other entity having the authority to administer and grant promotions in an affected department.

"Promotion" means any appointment or advancement to a rank within the affected department (1) for which an examination was required before January 1, 2022; (2) that is included within a bargaining unit; or (3) that is the next rank immediately above the highest rank included within a bargaining unit, if the next rank is not the only rank between the police chief or sheriff and the highest rank included within the bargaining unit, or is a rank otherwise excepted under item (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of this definition. "Promotion" does not include appointments: (i) that are for fewer than 180 days; (ii) to the positions of superintendent, chief, sheriff, or other chief executive officer; (iii) to an exclusively administrative or executive rank for which an examination is not required; (iv) to a rank that was exempted by a home rule municipality prior to January 1, 2022; or (v) to an administrative rank immediately below the superintendent, chief, sheriff, or other chief executive officer of an affected department if the rank shall not be held by more than 2 persons and there is a promoted rank immediately below it. Notwithstanding the exceptions to the definition of "promotion" set forth in items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) of this definition, "promotion" includes any appointments to ranks covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement in effect on the effective date of this Act.

"Preliminary promotion list" means the rank order of eligible candidates established in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 20 prior to applicable veteran's preference points.

"Rank" means any position within the chain of command of an affected department to which employees are regularly assigned to perform duties related to providing law enforcement, criminal investigation, or emergency services.

"Final-adjusted promotion list" means the promotion list for the position that is in effect on the date the position is created or the vacancy occurs. If there is no final-adjusted promotion list in effect for that position on that date, or if all persons on the current final-adjusted promotion list for that position refuse the promotion, the affected department shall not make a permanent promotion until a new final-adjusted promotion list has been prepared in accordance with this Act, but may make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy. Temporary appointments shall not exceed 180 days.

Section 10. Applicability; home rule.

(a) This Act shall apply to all positions in an affected department, except those specifically excluded in items (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) of the definition of "promotion" in Section 5, unless the positions are covered by a collective bargaining agreement in force on the effective date of this Act. Existing promotion lists shall continue to be valid until their expiration dates or up to a maximum of 3 years after the effective date of this Act.

(b) Notwithstanding any statute, ordinance, rule, or other law to the contrary, all promotions in an affected department to which this Act applies shall be administered in the manner provided for in this Act. Provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code, municipal ordinances, or rules adopted pursuant to such authority and other laws relating to promotions in affected departments shall continue to apply to the extent they are compatible with this Act, but, if this Act conflicts with any other law, this Act controls.

(c) A home rule or non-home rule municipality may not administer an affected department promotion process in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of the powers and functions exercised by the State.

(d) This Act is intended to serve as a minimum standard and shall be construed to authorize and not to limit any of the following:

(1) An appointing authority from establishing different or supplemental promotional criteria or components if the criteria are job-related and applied uniformly.

(2) The right of an exclusive bargaining representative to require an employer to negotiate clauses within a collective bargaining agreement relating to conditions, criteria, or procedures for the promotion of employees to ranks covered by this Act.

(3) The negotiation by an employer and an exclusive bargaining representative of provisions within a collective bargaining agreement to achieve affirmative action objectives if the clauses are consistent with applicable law.

(e) Local authorities and exclusive bargaining agents affected by this Act may agree to waive one or more of its provisions and bargain on the contents of those provisions if any of the waivers are considered permissive subjects of bargaining.

Section 15. Promotion process.

(a) For the purpose of granting promotion to any rank to which this Act applies, the appointing authority shall from time to time, as necessary, administer a promotion process in accordance with this Act.

(b) Eligibility requirements to participate in the promotional process may include a minimum requirement as to the length of employment, education, training, and certification in subjects and skills related to policing. After the effective date of this Act, eligibility requirements shall be published at least one year prior to the date of the beginning of the promotional process and all members of the affected department shall be given an equal opportunity to meet those eligibility requirements.

(c) All aspects of the promotion process shall be equally accessible to all eligible employees of the department. Every component of the testing and evaluation procedures shall be published to all eligible candidates when the announcement of promotional testing is made. The scores for each component of the testing and evaluation procedures shall be disclosed to each candidate as soon as practicable after the component is completed.

(d) The appointing authority shall provide a separate promotional examination for each rank that is filled by promotion. All examinations for promotion shall be competitive among the members of the next lower rank who meet the established eligibility requirements and desire to submit themselves to examination. The appointing authority may employ consultants to design and administer promotion examinations or may adopt any job-related examinations or study materials that may become available, so long as they comply with the requirements of this Act.

Section 20. Promotion lists.

(a) For the purpose of granting a promotion to any rank to which this Act applies, the appointing authority shall from time to time, as necessary, prepare a preliminary promotion list in accordance with this Act. The preliminary promotion list shall be distributed, posted, or otherwise made conveniently available by the appointing authority to all members of the department.

(b) A person's position on the preliminary promotion list shall be determined by a combination of factors, which may include any of the following: (i) the person's score on the written examination for that rank, determined in accordance with Section 35; (ii) the person's seniority within the department, determined in accordance with Section 40; (iii) the person's ascertained merit, determined in accordance with Section 45; and (iv) the person's score on the subjective evaluation, determined in accordance with Section 50. Candidates shall be ranked on the list in rank order based on the highest to the lowest total points scored on all the components of the test. Promotional components shall be determined and administered in accordance with the referenced Section, unless otherwise modified or agreed to as provided by paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d) of Section 10. The use of physical criteria, including, but not limited to, fitness testing, agility testing, and medical evaluations, is specifically barred from the promotion process. Each promotional component of the test shall be scored on a scale of 100 points. The component scores shall then be reduced by the weighting factor assigned to the component on the test and the scores of all components shall be added to produce a total score based on a scale of 100 points.

(c) A person on the preliminary promotion list who is eligible for a veteran's preference under the laws and agreements applicable to the department may file a written application for that preference within 10 days after the initial posting of the preliminary promotion list. The preference shall be calculated as provided under Section 55 and added to the total score achieved by the candidate on the test. The appointing authority shall then make adjustments to the rank order of the preliminary promotion list based on any veteran's preferences awarded. The final-adjusted promotion list shall then be distributed, posted, or otherwise made conveniently available by the appointing authority to all members of the department.

(d) Whenever a promotional rank is created or becomes vacant due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position the person with the highest ranking on the final promotion list for that rank, except that the appointing authority shall have the right to pass over that person and appoint the next highest ranked person on the list if the appointing authority has reason to conclude that the highest ranking person has demonstrated substantial shortcomings in work performance or has engaged in misconduct affecting the person's ability to perform the duties of the promoted rank since the posting of the promotion list. If the highest ranking person is passed over, the appointing authority shall document its reasons for its decision to select the next highest ranking person on the list. Unless the reasons for passing over the highest ranking person are not remediable, a person who is the highest ranking person on the list at the time of the vacancy may not be passed over more than once. Any dispute as to the selection of the first or second highest ranking person shall be subject to resolution in accordance with any grievance procedure in effect covering the employee.

A vacancy occurs in a position on the date upon which the position is vacated, and, on that same date, a vacancy occurs in all ranks inferior to that rank if the position or positions continue to be funded and authorized by the corporate authorities. If a vacated position is not filled due to a lack of funding or authorization and is subsequently reinstated, the final promotion list shall be continued in effect until all positions vacated have been filled or for a period up to 5 years beginning from the date on which the position was vacated. In such event, the candidate or candidates who would have otherwise been promoted when the vacancy originally occurred shall be promoted.

Any candidate may refuse a promotion once without losing his or her position on the final-adjusted promotion list. Any candidate who refuses promotion a second time shall be removed from the final-adjusted promotion list if the action doesn't prejudice a person's opportunities to participate in future promotion examinations.

(e) A final-adjusted promotion list shall remain valid and unaltered for a period of not less than 2 nor more than 3 years after the date of the initial posting. Integrated lists are prohibited, and, when a list expires, it shall be void, except as provided in subsection (d) of this Section. If a promotion list is not in effect, a successor list shall be prepared and distributed within 180 days after a vacancy, as defined in subsection (d) of this Section.

(f) This Section does not apply to the initial hiring list.

Section 25. Monitoring.

(a) All aspects of the promotion process, including, without limitation, the administration, scoring, and posting of scores for the written examination and subjective evaluation and the determination and posting of seniority and ascertained merit scores, shall be subject to monitoring and review in accordance with this Section and Sections 30 and 50.

(b) Two impartial persons who are not members of the affected department shall be selected to act as observers by the exclusive bargaining agent. The appointing authorities may also select 2 additional impartial observers.

(c) The observers monitoring the promotion process are authorized to be present and observe when any component of the test is administered or scored. Except as otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement, observers may not interfere with the promotion process, but shall promptly report any observed or suspected violation of the requirements of this Act or an applicable collective bargaining agreement to the appointing authority and all other affected parties.

(d) The provisions of this Section do not apply to the extent that they are inconsistent with provisions otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 30. Promotion examination components. Promotion examinations that include components consisting of written examinations, seniority points, ascertained merit, or subjective evaluations shall be administered as provided in Sections 35, 40, 45, and 50. The weight, if any, that is given to any component included in a test may be set at the discretion of the appointing authority if the weight is subject to modification by the terms of any collective bargaining agreement in effect on the effective date of this Act or thereafter by negotiations between the employer and an exclusive bargaining representative. If the appointing authority establishes a minimum passing score, the score shall be announced prior to the date of the promotion process, and it must be an aggregate of all components of the testing process. All candidates shall be allowed to participate in all components of the testing process irrespective of their score on any one component. The provisions of this Section do not apply to the extent that they are inconsistent with provisions otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 35. Written examinations.

(a) The appointing authority may not condition eligibility to take the written examination on the candidate's score on any of the previous components of the examination. The written examination for a particular rank shall consist of matters relating to the duties regularly performed by persons holding that rank within the department. The examination shall be based only on the contents of written materials that the appointing authority has identified and made readily available to potential examinees at least 90 days before the examination is administered. The test questions and material must be pertinent to the particular rank for which the examination is being given. The written examination shall be administered after the determination and posting of the seniority list, ascertained merit points, and subjective evaluation scores. The written examination shall be administered, the test materials opened, and the results scored and tabulated.

(b) Written examinations shall be graded at the examination site on the day of the examination immediately upon completion of the test in front of the observers if the observers are appointed under Section 25, or, if the tests are graded offsite by a bona fide testing agency, the observers shall witness the sealing and the shipping of the tests for grading and the subsequent opening of the scores upon the return from the testing agency. Every examinee shall have the right (i) to obtain his or her score on the examination on the day of the examination or upon the day of its return from the testing agency (or the appointing authority shall require the testing agency to mail the individual scores to any address submitted by the candidates on the day of the examination), and (ii) to review the answers to the examination that the examiners consider correct. The appointing authority may hold a review session after the examination for the purpose of gathering feedback on the examination from the candidates. The review sessions shall be at no cost to the candidates.

(c) Sample written examinations may be examined by the appointing authority and members of the department, but no person in the department or the appointing authority (including the chief, civil service commissioners, board of fire and police commissioners, board of police commissioners, Sheriff's Merit Commission, and other appointed or elected officials) may see or examine the specific questions on the actual written examination before the examination is administered. If a sample examination is used, actual test questions shall not be included. It is a violation of this Act for any member of the department or the appointing authority to obtain or divulge foreknowledge of the contents of the written examination before it is administered.

(d) Each department shall maintain reading and study materials for its current written examination and the reading list for the last 2 written examinations or for a period of 5 years, whichever is less, for each rank and shall make these materials available and accessible at each duty station.

(e) The provisions of this Section do not apply to the extent that they are in conflict with provisions otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 40. Seniority points.

(a) Seniority points shall be based only upon service with the affected department and shall be calculated as of the date of the written examination. The weight of this component and its computation shall be determined by the appointing authority or through a collective bargaining agreement.

(b) A seniority list shall be posted before the written examination is given and before the preliminary promotion list is compiled. The seniority list shall include the seniority date, any breaks in service, the total number of eligible years, and the number of seniority points.

Section 45. Ascertained merit.

(a) The promotion test may include points for ascertained merit. Ascertained merit points may be awarded for education, training, and certification in subjects and skills related to policing. The basis for granting ascertained merit points, after the effective date of this Act, shall be published at least one year prior to the date ascertained merit points are awarded and all persons eligible to compete for promotion shall be given an equal opportunity to obtain ascertained merit points unless otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement.

(b) Total points awarded for ascertained merit shall be posted before the written examination is administered and before the promotion list is compiled.

Section 50. Subjective evaluation.

(a) A promotion test may include subjective evaluation components. Subjective evaluations may include an oral interview, tactical evaluation, performance evaluation, or other component based on subjective evaluation of the examinee. The methods used for subjective evaluations may include using any employee assessment centers, evaluation systems, chief's points, or other methods.

(b) Any subjective component shall be identified to all candidates prior to its application, be job-related, and be applied uniformly to all candidates. Every examinee shall have the right to documentation of his or her score on the subjective component upon the completion of the subjective examination component or its application. A designated representative of the contracting union party shall be notified and be entitled to be present to monitor any preliminary meeting between certified assessors or representatives of a testing agency and representatives of the appointing authority held prior to the administration of the test to candidates for promotion.

(c) Where chief's points or other subjective methods are employed that are not amenable to monitoring, monitors shall not be required, but any disputes as to the results of such methods shall be subject to resolution in accordance with any collectively bargained grievance procedure in effect at the time of the test.

(d) Where performance evaluations are used as a basis for promotions, they shall be given annually and made readily available to each candidate for review and they shall include any disagreement or documentation the employee provides to refute or contest the evaluation. These annual evaluations are not subject to grievance procedures, unless used for points in the promotion process.

(e) Total points awarded for subjective components shall be posted before the written examination is administered and before the promotion list is compiled.

(f) Persons selected to grade candidates for promotion during an assessment center process shall be impartial professionals who have undergone training to be certified assessors. The training and certification requirements shall, at a minimum, provide that, to obtain and maintain certification, assessors shall complete a course of basic training, subscribe to a code of ethical conduct, complete continuing education, and satisfy minimum activity levels.

(g) The standards for certification shall be established by the Police Joint Labor and Management Committee (Committee) composed of 6 members: 2 designated by a statewide association whose membership is predominantly police chiefs representing management interests of the affected departments, one designated by a statewide association whose membership is predominantly sheriffs representing management interests of the affected departments, and 3 designated by 3 different statewide labor organizations representative of sworn or commissioned police officers in Illinois having at least 2,000 members. The statewide labor organizations will nominate proposed representatives for the Committee and shall be subject to approval by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (Board). Members may serve terms of one year subject to reappointment.

In developing certification standards the Committee may seek the advice and counsel of professionals and experts and may appoint an advisory committee.

The Committee may charge reasonable fees that are related to the costs of administering authorized programs and conducting classes, including, without limitation, the costs of monitoring programs and classes, to the following: (i) applicants for certifications or recertifications, (ii) recipients of certifications or recertifications, and (iii) individuals and entities approved by the Committee to conduct programs or classes.

The Committee's initial certification standards shall be submitted to the Board by January 1, 2024. The Committee may provisionally certify persons who have prior experience as assessors on promotional examinations in policing. Effective January 1, 2024, only those persons who meet the certification standards developed by the Committee and submitted to the Board may be selected to grade candidates on a subjective component of a promotional examination conducted under the authority of this Act; however, the subjective component shall be waived for persons employed or appointed by the jurisdiction administering the examination.

The Committee shall annually:

(1) issue public notice offering persons who are interested in qualifying as certified assessors the opportunity to enroll in training; and

(2) submit to the Board an amended list of persons who remain certified, are newly certified, or who are no longer certified.

(h) The Board shall support the program by adopting certification standards based on those submitted by the Committee and by establishing a roster of certified assessors composed of persons certified by the Committee.

If the parties have not agreed to contract with a particular testing company to provide certified assessors, either party may request the Board to provide the names of certified assessors. Within 7 days after receiving a request from either party for a list of certified assessors, the Board shall select at random from the roster of certified assessors a panel numbering not less than 2 times the number of assessors required. The parties shall augment the number by a factor of 50% by designating assessors who may serve as alternates to the primary assessors.

The parties shall select assessors from the list or lists provided by the Board or from the panel obtained by the testing company as provided above. Within 7 days following the receipt of the list, the parties shall notify the Board of the assessors they have selected. Unless the parties agree on an alternate selection procedure, they shall alternatively strike names from the list provided by the Board until only the number of required assessors remain. A coin toss shall determine which party strikes the first name. If the parties fail to notify the Board in a timely manner of their selection of assessors, the Board shall appoint the assessors required from the roster of certified assessors. If an assessor is not able to participate in the assessment center process for which he was selected, either of the parties involved in the promotion process may request that additional names of certified assessors be provided by the Board.

Section 55. Veterans' preference. A person on a preliminary promotion list who is eligible for veteran's preference under any law or agreement applicable to an affected department may file a written application for that preference within 10 days after the initial posting of the preliminary promotion list. The veteran's preference shall be calculated as provided in the applicable law and added to the applicant's total score on the preliminary promotion list. Any person who has received a promotion from a promotion list on which his or her position was adjusted for veteran's preference, under this Act or any other law, shall not be eligible for any subsequent veteran's preference under this Act.

Section 60. Right to review. Any affected person or party who believes that an error has been made with respect to eligibility to take an examination, examination result, placement or position on a promotion list, or veteran's preference shall be entitled to a review of the matter by the appointing authority or as otherwise provided by law.

Section 65. Violations.

(a) A person who knowingly divulges or receives test questions or answers before a written examination, or otherwise knowingly violates or subverts any requirement of this Act, commits a violation of this Act and may be subject to charges for official misconduct.

(b) A person who is the knowing recipient of test information in advance of the examination shall be disqualified from the promotion examination or demoted from the rank to which he was promoted, as applicable and otherwise subjected to disciplinary actions.

Section 85. The Counties Code is amended by changing Sections 3-7010 and 3-8012 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/3-7010) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-7010)

Sec. 3-7010. Rules governing appointments and promotions. All appointments and promotions shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this Division, the Police Department Promotion Act, and the rules and regulations of the Board without considering the political affiliation of any applicant.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

(55 ILCS 5/3-8012) (from Ch. 34, par. 3-8012)

Sec. 3-8012. Rules governing appointments and promotions. Political affiliation. All appointments and promotions shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this Division, the Police Department Promotion Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission, without consideration of the political affiliation of any applicant.

(Source: P.A. 86-962.)

Section 90. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by changing Sections 10-1-13 and 10-2.1-15 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/10-1-13) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-1-13)

Sec. 10-1-13. The commission shall, by its rules, provide for promotions in such classified service, on the basis of ascertained merit and seniority in service and examination and shall provide, in all cases where it is practicable, that vacancies shall be filled by promotion. The commission's rules governing police department promotions shall be consistent with the Police Department Promotion Act, notwithstanding any other provision in this Division. All examinations for promotion shall be competitive among such members of the next lower rank as desire to submit themselves to such examination and the results thereof and the promotional eligible registers prepared therefrom shall be published by the commission within 60 days after any examinations are held. If two or more applicants achieve the identical final grade average, they shall be placed on the promotional eligible register in their order of seniority in the position from which they seek promotion. The commission shall submit to the appointing power the names of not more than 3 applicants for each promotion having the highest rating except that a commission in any municipality with more than 130,000 but less than 2,000,000 population may submit the names of not more than 5 applicants having the highest rating for each promotion, but in making his selection the appointing authority shall not pass over the person having the highest rating on the original register more than once and shall not pass over the person having the second highest rating in the original register more than twice. The commission shall strike off all names of applicants from a promotional eligible register after they have remained thereon no less than 2 years and no more than 3 years, provided that the commission shall notify the appointing power before the names are stricken and such appointing power shall fill any existing vacancies before all names are stricken from the promotional eligible register. The method of examination and the rules governing the same, and the method of certifying, shall be the same as provided for applicants for original appointment.

Except for rules governing police department promotions governed by the Police Department Promotion Act, the changes made by Public Act 77-1388 do This amendatory Act of 1971 does not apply to any municipality which is a home rule unit.

(Source: P.A. 85-462.)

(65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-15) (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-15)

Sec. 10-2.1-15. The board, by its rules, shall provide for promotion in the fire and police departments on the basis of ascertained merit and seniority in service and examination, and shall provide in all cases, where it is practicable, that vacancies shall be filled by promotion. The board's rules governing police department promotions shall be consistent with the Police Department Promotion Act, notwithstanding any other provision in this Division. All examinations for promotion shall be competitive among such members of the next lower rank as desire to submit themselves to examination. All promotions shall be made from the 3 having the highest rating, and where there are less than 3 names on the promotional eligible register, as originally posted, or remaining thereon after appointments have been made therefrom, appointments to fill existing vacancies shall be made from those names or name remaining on the promotional register except that promotions made in any municipality with more than 130,000 but less than 2,000,000 population may be made from the 7 members having the highest rating. The method of examination and the rules governing examinations for promotion shall be the same as provided for applicants for original appointment, except that original appointments only shall be on probation, as provided by the rules. The board shall strike off the names of candidates for promotional appointment after they have remained thereon for more than 3 years, provided there is no vacancy existing which can be filled from the promotional register.

(Source: P.A. 83-761.)

Section 95. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.47 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.47 new)

Sec. 8.47. 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.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.