093_HB1514ham001
LRB093 08135 BDD 11591 a
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1514
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 1514 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
4 "Section 5. The Conservation District Act is amended by
5 changing Sections 5 and 6 as follows:
6 (70 ILCS 410/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7105)
7 Sec. 5. Board of trustees.
8 (a) The affairs of a conservation district shall be
9 managed by a board consisting which shall consist of 5
10 trustees, except as otherwise provided in this Section. If
11 the boundaries of the district are coextensive with the
12 boundaries of one county, the trustees shall be residents of
13 that county. If the district embraces 2 counties, 3 trustees
14 shall be residents of the county with the larger population
15 and 2 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the
16 district embraces 3 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
17 of the county with the smallest population and each of the
18 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
19 district embraces 4 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents
20 of the county with the largest population and each of the
21 other counties shall have one resident trustee. If the
22 district embraces 5 counties, each county shall have one
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1 resident trustee.
2 (b) A district that is entirely within a county of under
3 300,000 inhabitants and contiguous to a county of more than
4 2,000,000 inhabitants and that is authorized by referendum as
5 provided in subsection (d) of Section 15 to incur
6 indebtedness over 0.575% but not to exceed 1.725% shall have
7 a board consisting of 7 trustees, all of whom shall be
8 residents of the county. The additional 2 trustees shall be
9 appointed by the chairman of the county board, with the
10 consent of the county board, and shall hold office for terms
11 expiring on June 30 as follows: one trustee after 4 years
12 and one trustee after 5 years from the date of the
13 referendum. Successor trustees shall be appointed in the
14 same manner no later than June 1 before the commencement of
15 the term of the trustee.
16 (c) Trustees shall be qualified voters of the such
17 district who do not hold any other public office and are not
18 officers of any political party. Trustees, if nominated by
19 the county board chairman as hereinafter provided, shall be
20 selected on the basis of their demonstrated interest in the
21 purpose of conservation districts.
22 (d) If the trustees are appointed, the chairman of the
23 county board for the county of which the trustee is a
24 resident shall, with the consent of the county board of that
25 county, appoint the first trustees who shall hold office for
26 terms expiring on June 30 after one, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year
27 periods respectively as determined and fixed by lot.
28 Thereafter, successor appointed trustees shall be appointed
29 for a term of 5-years in the same manner no later than June 1
30 prior to the commencement of term of the trustee. If the term
31 of office of any appointed trustee expires before the first
32 election of trustees under subsection (i) after referendum
33 approval of elected trustees, the chairman of the county
34 board who appointed that trustee under this subsection shall
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1 appoint a successor to serve until a successor is elected and
2 has qualified.
3 (e) When a vacancy occurs in the office of trustee,
4 whether by death, resignation, refusal to qualify, no longer
5 being a qualified voter of the district, or for any other
6 reason, the board of trustees shall declare that a vacancy
7 exists. The vacancy shall be filled within 60 days. Each
8 successor trustee shall serve for a term of 5 years. A
9 vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term, for
10 appointed trustees, shall be filled for the unexpired term by
11 appointment of a trustee by the county board chairman of the
12 county of which the trustee shall be a resident, with the
13 approval of the county board of that county. An appointed A
14 trustee who has served a full term of 5 years is ineligible
15 to serve as a trustee for a period of one year following the
16 expiration of his or her term. In the case of an elected
17 trustee, appointment of an eligible person shall be by the
18 president of the board of trustees with the advice and
19 consent of the other trustees. The appointee shall serve the
20 remainder of the unexpired term. If, however, more than 28
21 months remain in the term of the elected trustee and the
22 vacancy occurs at least 182 days before the next general
23 election, the appointment shall be until the next general
24 election, at which time the vacated office of the elected
25 trustee shall be filled by election for the remainder of the
26 term.
27 If a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the
28 board of trustees, the remaining trustees shall select one of
29 their number to serve as president for the balance of the
30 unexpired term of the president in whose office the vacancy
31 occurred.
32 When any trustee during his or her term of office shall
33 cease to be a bona fide resident of the district, or shall
34 move from one township or congressional township in the
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1 district to another so that the township residency
2 requirements of this Section are no longer met, then he or
3 she is disqualified as a trustee and the his office becomes
4 vacant. If the district has decided to elect or appoint
5 trustees from single member subdistricts under subsection
6 (i), then when any trustee during his or her term of office
7 shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the subdistrict he
8 or she is disqualified as a trustee and the office becomes
9 vacant.
10 (f) Trustees shall serve without compensation, but may
11 be paid their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
12 performance of their official duties.
13 (g) An appointed A trustee may be removed for cause by
14 the county board chairman for the county of which the trustee
15 is a resident, with the approval of the county board of that
16 county, but every such removal shall be by a written order
17 and, which shall be filed with the county clerk.
18 (h) A conservation district with 5 trustees may
19 determine by majority vote of the board to increase the size
20 of the board to 7 trustees. With respect to a 7-member
21 board, no more than 3 members may be residents of any
22 township in a county under township organization or of any
23 congressional township in a county not under township
24 organization. In the case of a 7-member board representing a
25 district that embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be
26 residents of the county with the larger population and 3
27 trustees shall be residents of the other county. If the
28 district embraces 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents
29 of each of the 2 counties with the smallest population and
30 the largest county shall have 3 resident trustees. If the
31 district embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident
32 of the county with the smallest population and each of the
33 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
34 district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the largest
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1 population shall each have 2 resident trustees and each of
2 the other counties shall have one resident trustee. The
3 pertinent appointing authorities shall appoint the additional
4 2 trustees to initial terms as equally staggered as possible
5 from the terms of the trustees already appointed from that
6 township or county so that 2 trustees representing the same
7 area shall not be succeeded in the same year.
8 (i) a conservation district may determine by referendum
9 (i) to have an elected or appointed board of trustees, (ii)
10 to have a board of trustees with 5 or 7 members, and (iii) to
11 have trustees chosen at large or from single-member
12 subdistricts. A referendum may be placed on the ballot in
13 the following manner:
14 (1) If the boundaries of the district are
15 coextensive with the boundaries of a single county, the
16 county board may determine by the ordinance to hold the
17 referendum; or
18 If the boundaries of the district are embraced by
19 more than one county, then the county board of each
20 county in the district, jointly, may determine by
21 ordinance to hold the referendum; or
22 (3) A petition singed by not less than 5% of the
23 electors of the entire district may be submitted to the
24 board of trustees requiring the district to hold the
25 referendum.
26 The secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the
27 proposition to the appropriate election authorities who shall
28 submit the proposition at a consolidated or general election
29 according to the Election Code. The Election Code shall
30 apply to and govern the election. The proposition shall be in
31 substantially the following form:
32 Shall the (insert name) Conservation District have
33 an (insert "elected" or "appointed") board of trustees
34 with (insert "5" or "7") trustees chosen (insert "at
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1 large" or "from single member subdistricts")?
2 The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
3 If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in
4 the affirmative, the trustees of the district shall
5 thereafter be chosen as provided in this paragraph. At the
6 next consolidated election, a district that has decided by
7 referendum to have its trustees elected rather than appointed
8 shall elect 5 or 7 trustees as provided in the ordinance or
9 petition and in the proposition. The trustees shall be
10 elected on a nonpartisan basis. The provisions of the general
11 election law shall apply to and govern the nomination and
12 election of the trustees.
13 (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
14 at large trustees, then with respect to a 5-member board,
15 the residency of members shall be the same as prescribed
16 in subsection (a).
17 With respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3
18 members may be residents of the same township in a county
19 under township organization or of the same congressional
20 township in a county not under township organization. In
21 the case of a 7-member board representing a district that
22 embraces 2 counties, 4 trustees shall be residents of the
23 county with the larger population and 3 trustees shall be
24 residents of the other county. If the district embraces
25 3 counties, 2 trustees shall be residents of each of the
26 2 counties with the smallest population and the largest
27 county shall have 3 resident trustees. If the district
28 embraces 4 counties, one trustee shall be a resident of
29 the county with the smallest population and each of the
30 other counties shall have 2 resident trustees. If the
31 district embraces 5 counties, the 2 counties with the
32 largest population shall each have 2 resident trustees
33 and each of the other counties shall have one resident
34 trustee.
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1 (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
2 trustees from single member subdistricts, then with
3 respect to a 5-member board of a district embracing a
4 single county, the county board shall apportion the
5 district into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a
6 resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 5
7 subdistricts. In the case of a 5-member board of a
8 district embracing more than one county, the members of
9 each county board shall, jointly, apportion the district
10 into 5 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a resident of
11 and elected or appointed from each of the 5 subdistricts.
12 The initial subdistricts shall be apportioned within 90
13 days after the referendum is approved, and the
14 subdistricts shall be reapportioned after each decennial
15 census.
16 With respect to a 7-member board of a district
17 embracing a single county, the county board shall
18 apportion the district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee
19 shall be a resident of and elected or appointed from each
20 of the 7 subdistricts. In the case of a 7-member board
21 of a district embracing more than one county, the members
22 of each county board shall, jointly, apportion the
23 district into 7 subdistricts. One trustee shall be a
24 resident of and elected or appointed from each of the 7
25 subdistricts. The initial subdistricts shall be
26 apportioned within 90 days after the referendum is
27 approved, and the subdistricts shall be reapportioned
28 after each decennial census.
29 (j) When a conservation district determines to elect or
30 appoint trustees as provided in subsection (i), the terms of
31 these trustees shall commence on the first Monday of December
32 following the election. The terms of all trustees previously
33 appointed or elected under this Section shall expire on the
34 first Monday of December following the first election.
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1 (1) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
2 at large trustees, then the initial elected board of
3 trustees shall, no later than 45 days after taking
4 office, divide themselves publicly by lot as equally as
5 possible into 2 groups. Trustees or their successors
6 from the larger group shall serve for terms of 4 years;
7 the initial elected trustees from the second group shall
8 serve for terms of 2 years, and their successors shall be
9 elected for terms of 4 years.
10 (2) If the district has decided to elect or appoint
11 trustees from single member subdistricts, then the
12 members of the initial elected board of trustees and each
13 subsequent board elected prior to the first decennial
14 census following the initial apportionment shall be
15 elected to a term of 2 years. In the year following the
16 first decennial census occurring after the initial
17 apportionment and in the year following each subsequent
18 decennial census, the 5 or 7 subdistricts shall be
19 reapportioned to reflect the results of the census. The
20 board of trustees elected in the first election following
21 a decennial census shall, no later than 45 days after
22 taking office, divide themselves publicly by lot as
23 equally as possible into 3 groups. Trustees or their
24 successors from one group shall be elected to terms of 4
25 years, 4 years, and 2 years. Trustees or their
26 successors from the second group shall be elected to
27 terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 4 years. The trustee or
28 successors from the third group shall be elected to terms
29 of 2 years, 4 years, and 4 years.
30 (Source: P.A. 90-195, eff. 7-24-97; 91-629, eff. 8-19-99.)
31 (70 ILCS 410/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7106)
32 Sec. 6. Officers and employees. As soon as possible
33 after the initial election or the initial appointments, as
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1 the case may be Within 60 days after their selection, the
2 trustees shall organize by selecting from their members a
3 president, secretary, treasurer, and such other officers as
4 are deemed necessary, who shall hold office for 2 years in
5 the case of an elected board, or the fiscal year in which
6 elected in the case of an appointed board, and until their
7 successors are selected and qualify. Three trustees shall
8 constitute a quorum of the board for the transaction of
9 business if the district has 5 trustees. If the district has
10 7 trustees, 4 trustees shall constitute a quorum of the board
11 for the transaction of business. The board shall hold
12 regular monthly meetings. Special meetings may be called by
13 the president and shall be called on the request of a
14 majority of members, as may be required.
15 The board shall provide for the proper and safe keeping
16 of its permanent records and for the recording of the
17 corporate action of the district. It shall keep a proper
18 system of accounts showing a true and accurate record of its
19 receipts and disbursements, and it shall cause an annual
20 audit to be made of its books, records, and accounts.
21 The records of the district shall be subject to public
22 inspection at all reasonable hours and under such regulations
23 as the board may prescribe.
24 The district shall annually make a full and complete
25 report to the county board of each county within the district
26 and to the Department of Natural Resources of its
27 transactions and operations for the preceding year. The Such
28 report shall contain a full statement of its receipts,
29 disbursements, and the program of work for the period
30 covered, and may include such recommendations as may be
31 deemed advisable.
32 Executive or ministerial duties may be delegated to one
33 or more trustees or to an authorized officer, employee,
34 agent, attorney, or other representative of the district.
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1 All officers and employees authorized to receive or
2 retain the custody of money or to sign vouchers, checks,
3 warrants, or evidences of indebtedness binding upon the
4 district shall furnish surety bond for the faithful
5 performance of their duties and the faithful accounting for
6 all moneys that may come into their hands in an amount to be
7 fixed and in a form to be approved by the board.
8 All contracts for supplies, material, or work involving
9 an expenditure in excess of $10,000 shall be let to the
10 lowest responsible bidder, after due advertisement, excepting
11 work requiring personal confidence or necessary supplies
12 under the control of monopolies, where competitive bidding is
13 impossible. All contracts for supplies, material, or work
14 shall be signed by the president of the board and by any such
15 other officer as the board in its discretion may designate.
16 (Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18 becoming law.".