103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5603

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Kam Buckner

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
40 ILCS 5/6-111  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-111
40 ILCS 5/6-211  from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-211
30 ILCS 805/8.48 new

    Amends the Chicago Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that "salary" means the actual salary attached to the exempt rank position held by the fireman, if specified contributions have been made and the fireman has held one or more exempt positions for at least 3 years (instead of 5 consecutive years) and has held the rank of battalion chief, field officer, captain, ambulance commander, lieutenant, or paramedic-in-charge for at least 3 years (instead of held the rank of battalion chief or field officer for at least 5 years) during the exempt period. Removes a provision that limits application of that salary definition to firemen born before 1955. Makes conforming changes. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.


LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5603LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1    AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
5changing Sections 6-111 and 6-211 as follows:
 
6    (40 ILCS 5/6-111)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-111)
7    Sec. 6-111. Salary. "Salary": Subject to Section 6-211,
8the annual salary of a fireman, as follows:
9    (a) For age and service annuity, minimum annuity, and
10disability benefits, the actual amount of the annual salary,
11except as otherwise provided in this Article.
12    (b) For prior service annuity, widow's annuity, widow's
13prior service annuity and child's annuity to and including
14August 31, 1957, the amount of the annual salary up to a
15maximum of $3,000.
16    (c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 6-141.1, for
17widow's annuity, beginning September 1, 1957, the amount of
18annual salary up to a maximum of $6,000.
19    (d) "Salary" means the actual amount of the annual salary
20attached to the permanent career service rank held by the
21fireman, except as provided in subsections (e) and (e-5).
22    (e) In the case of a fireman who holds an exempt position
23above career service rank:

 

 

HB5603- 2 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1        (1) For the purpose of computing employee and city
2    contributions, "salary" means the actual salary attached
3    to the exempt rank position held by the fireman.
4        (2) For the purpose of computing benefits: "salary"
5    means the actual salary attached to the exempt rank
6    position held by the fireman, if (i) the contributions
7    specified in Section 6-211 have been made and , (ii) the
8    fireman has held one or more exempt positions for at least
9    3 5 consecutive years and has held the rank of battalion
10    chief, or field officer, captain, ambulance commander,
11    lieutenant, or paramedic-in-charge for at least 3 5 years
12    during the exempt period, and (iii) the fireman was born
13    before 1955; otherwise, "salary" means the salary attached
14    to the permanent career service rank held by the fireman,
15    as provided in subsection (d).
16        (e-5) In the case of a person who made the election to
17    participate under Section 6-230, "salary" means the lesser
18    of (i) the salary associated with the highest career
19    service rank under this Article or (ii) the actual salary
20    received by that person for service in a position covered
21    under Section 8-243.
22    (f) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
23of the 93rd General Assembly, and for any prior periods for
24which contributions have been paid under subsection (g) of
25this Section, all salary payments made to any active or former
26fireman who holds or previously held the permanent assigned

 

 

HB5603- 3 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1position or classified career service rank, grade, or position
2of ambulance commander shall be included as salary for all
3purposes under this Article.
4    (g) Any active or former fireman who held the permanent
5assigned position or classified career service rank, grade, or
6position of ambulance commander may elect to have the full
7amount of the salary attached to that permanent assigned
8position or classified career service rank, grade, or position
9included in the calculation of his or her salary for any period
10during which the fireman held the permanent assigned position
11or classified career service rank, grade, or position of
12ambulance commander by applying in writing and making all
13employee and employer contributions, without interest, related
14to the actual salary payments corresponding to the permanent
15assigned position or classified career service rank, grade, or
16position of ambulance commander for all periods beginning on
17or after January 1, 1995. All applicable contributions must be
18paid in full to the Fund before January 1, 2006 before the
19payment of any benefit under this subsection (g) will be made.
20    Any former fireman or widow of a fireman who (i) held the
21permanent assigned position or classified career service rank,
22grade, or position of ambulance commander, (ii) is in receipt
23of annuity on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
2493rd General Assembly, and (iii) pays to the Fund
25contributions under this subsection (g) for salary payments at
26the permanent assigned position or classified career service

 

 

HB5603- 4 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1rank, grade, or position of ambulance commander shall have his
2or her annuity recalculated to reflect the ambulance commander
3salary and the resulting increase shall become payable on the
4next annuity payment date following the date the contribution
5is received by the Fund.
6    In the case of an active or former fireman who (i) dies
7before January 1, 2006 without making an election under this
8subsection and (ii) was eligible to make an election under
9this subsection at the time of death (or would have been
10eligible had the death occurred after the effective date of
11this amendatory Act), any surviving spouse, child, or parent
12of the fireman who is eligible to receive a benefit under this
13Article based on the fireman's salary may make that election
14and pay the required contributions on behalf of the deceased
15fireman. If the death occurs within the 30 days immediately
16preceding January 1, 2006, the deadline for application and
17payment is extended to January 31, 2006.
18    Any portion of the compensation received for service as an
19ambulance commander for which the corresponding contributions
20have not been paid shall not be included in the calculation of
21salary.
22    (h) Beginning January 1, 1999, with respect to a fireman
23who is licensed by the State as an Emergency Medical
24Technician, references in this Article to the fireman's salary
25or the salary attached to or appropriated for the permanent
26assigned position or classified career service rank, grade, or

 

 

HB5603- 5 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1position of the fireman shall be deemed to include any
2additional compensation payable to the fireman by virtue of
3being licensed as an Emergency Medical Technician, as provided
4under a collective bargaining agreement with the city.
5    (i) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
6of the 93rd General Assembly (and for any period prior to that
7date for which contributions have been paid under subsection
8(j) of this Section), the salary of a fireman, as calculated
9for any purpose under this Article, shall include any duty
10availability pay received by the fireman (i) pursuant to a
11collective bargaining agreement or (ii) pursuant to an
12appropriation ordinance in an amount equivalent to the amount
13of duty availability pay received by other firemen pursuant to
14a collective bargaining agreement, and references in this
15Article to the salary attached to or appropriated for the
16permanent assigned position or classified career service rank,
17grade, or position of the fireman shall be deemed to include
18that duty availability pay.
19    (j) An active or former fireman who received duty
20availability pay at any time after December 31, 1994 and
21before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
22General Assembly and who either (1) retired during that period
23or (2) had attained age 46 and at least 16 years of service by
24the effective date of this amendatory Act may elect to have
25that duty availability pay included in the calculation of his
26or her salary for any portion of that period for which the pay

 

 

HB5603- 6 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1was received, by applying in writing and paying to the Fund,
2before January 1, 2006, the corresponding employee
3contribution, without interest.
4    In the case of an applicant who is receiving an annuity at
5the time the application and contribution are received by the
6Fund, the annuity shall be recalculated and the resulting
7increase shall become payable on the next annuity payment date
8following the date the contribution is received by the Fund.
9    In the case of an active or former fireman who (i) dies
10before January 1, 2006 without making an election under this
11subsection and (ii) was eligible to make an election under
12this subsection at the time of death (or would have been
13eligible had the death occurred after the effective date of
14this amendatory Act), any surviving spouse, child, or parent
15of the fireman who is eligible to receive a benefit under this
16Article based on the fireman's salary may make that election
17and pay the required contribution on behalf of the deceased
18fireman. If the death occurs within the 30 days immediately
19preceding January 1, 2006, the deadline for application and
20payment is extended to January 31, 2006.
21    Any duty availability pay for which the corresponding
22employee contribution has not been paid shall not be included
23in the calculation of salary.
24    (k) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory
25Act of the 93rd General Assembly are not limited to firemen in
26service on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act.

 

 

HB5603- 7 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1(Source: P.A. 100-1144, eff. 11-28-18.)
 
2    (40 ILCS 5/6-211)  (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 6-211)
3    Sec. 6-211. Permanent and temporary positions; exempt
4positions above career service rank.
5    (a) Except as specified in subsection (b), no annuity,
6pension or other benefit shall be paid to a fireman or widow,
7under this Article, based upon any salary paid by virtue of a
8temporary appointment, and all contributions, annuities and
9benefits shall be related to the salary which attaches to the
10permanent position of the fireman.
11    Any fireman temporarily serving in a position or rank
12other than that to which he has received permanent appointment
13shall be considered, while so serving, as though he were in his
14permanent position or rank, except that no increase in any
15pension, annuity or other benefit hereunder shall accrue to
16him by virtue of any service performed by him subsequent to
17attaining the compulsory retirement age provided by law or
18ordinance.
19    This Section does not apply to any person certified to the
20fire department by the civil service commission of the city,
21during the period of probationary service.
22    A fireman who holds a position at the will of the Fire
23Commissioner or other appointing authority, whether or not
24such position is an "exempt" position, shall be deemed to hold
25a temporary position.

 

 

HB5603- 8 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1    (b) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
2of the 93rd General Assembly, for service in an exempt
3position above career service rank, employee contributions
4shall be based on the actual full salary attached to the exempt
5rank position held by the fireman.
6    For service in an exempt position above career service
7rank, benefit computations under this Article shall be based
8on the actual full salary attached to the exempt rank position
9held by the fireman if and only if:
10        (1) employee contributions have been paid on the
11    actual full salary attached to the exempt rank position
12    held by the fireman for all service on or after January 1,
13    1994 in an exempt position above career service rank; and
14        (2) the fireman has held one or more exempt positions
15    for at least 3 5 consecutive years (or, in the case of a
16    fireman who retired due to attainment of compulsory
17    retirement age before December 1, 2003, held one or more
18    exempt positions for a consecutive period of at least 3
19    years and 9 months and made the payment required under
20    subsection (c) for a period of at least 5 years) and has
21    held the rank of battalion chief, or field officer,
22    captain, ambulance commander, lieutenant, or
23    paramedic-in-charge for at least 3 5 years (at least 3
24    years and 9 months in the case of a fireman who retired due
25    to attainment of compulsory retirement age before December
26    1, 2003) during the exempt period. ; and

 

 

HB5603- 9 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1        (3) the fireman was born before 1955.
2    (c) For service prior to the effective date of this
3amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly in an exempt
4position above career service rank for which contributions
5have been paid only on the salary attached to the fireman's
6permanent career service rank, a fireman may make the
7contributions required under subsection (b) by paying to the
8Fund before the later of the date of retirement or 6 months
9after the effective date of this amendatory Act, but in no
10event later than July 1, 2005, an amount equal to the
11difference between the employee contributions actually made
12for that service and the employee contributions that would
13have been made based on the actual full salary attached to the
14exempt rank position held by the fireman on or after January 1,
151994, plus interest thereon at the rate of 4% per year,
16compounded annually, from the date of the service to the date
17of payment (or to the date of retirement if retirement is
18before the effective date of this amendatory Act). In the case
19of a fireman who retired in an exempt rank position after
20January 1, 1994 and before January 1, 1999 and in the case of a
21fireman who retired due to attaining compulsory retirement age
22before December 1, 2003, the payment under this subsection (c)
23shall be for a period of at least 5 years.
24    If a fireman dies while eligible to make the contributions
25required under subsection (b) but before the contributions are
26paid, the fireman's widow may elect to make the contributions.

 

 

HB5603- 10 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1    (d) Subsection (e) of Section 6-111 and the changes made
2to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
3Assembly apply to a fireman who retires (or becomes disabled)
4on or after January 1, 1994. In the case of a benefit payable
5on the effective date of this amendatory Act, the resulting
6increase in benefit shall begin to accrue with the first
7benefit payment period commencing after the required
8contributions are paid.
9    (e) If a fireman or his survivors do not qualify to have
10benefits computed on the full amount of salary received for
11service in an exempt position as provided in subsection (b),
12benefits shall be computed on the basis of the salary attached
13to the permanent career service rank, and a refund of any
14employee contributions paid on the difference between the
15actual salary and the salary attached to the permanent career
16service rank shall be payable to the fireman upon termination
17of service, or to the fireman's widow or estate upon the
18fireman's death.
19    (f) The tax levy computed under Section 6-165 shall be
20based on employee contributions, including the payments of
21employee contributions under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of
22this Section 6-211.
23    (g) The city shall pay to the Fund on an annual basis, in
24addition to the usual city contributions, an amount at least
25equal to the sum of (1) the increase in normal cost resulting
26from subsection (e) of Section 6-111 and the changes made to

 

 

HB5603- 11 -LRB103 36115 RPS 66206 b

1this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
2Assembly, plus (2) amortization (over a period of 30 years
3from the effective date of this amendatory Act) of the initial
4unfunded liability resulting from subsection (e) of Section
56-111 and the changes made to this Section by this amendatory
6Act of the 93rd General Assembly. The payment required under
7this subsection shall be no less than $400,000 per year.
8Payment shall begin with the first calendar year commencing
9after the effective date of this amendatory Act and shall be in
10addition to the tax levy otherwise calculated under Section
116-165. The city may increase that tax levy by the amount of the
12payment required under this subsection, or it may utilize any
13funds appropriated for this purpose.
14(Source: P.A. 93-654, eff. 1-16-04.)
 
15    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
16Section 8.48 as follows:
 
17    (30 ILCS 805/8.48 new)
18    Sec. 8.48. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
198 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
20the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
21Act of the 103rd General Assembly.