SB2745 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 20717 SJM 46605 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SB2745

Introduced 2/5/2004, by Mattie Hunter

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 2705/2705-580 new
30 ILCS 105/5d	from Ch. 127, par. 141d
35 ILCS 505/8	from Ch. 120, par. 424

Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the Department of State Police, to establish and administer a Safe Routes to School Construction Program for the construction of bike paths, walking trails, pedestrian bridges, and safe routes for walking and biking to school, with construction grants being made available to local governmental agencies from proceeds of the Motor Fuel Tax Law. Amends the Motor Fuel Tax Law and the State Finance Act. Provides that the Motor Fuel Tax Law proceeds deposited into the State Construction Account Fund shall, subject to appropriation, also be used for the purposes of the Safe Routes to School Construction Program.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning taxes.

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

Section 5. The Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 2705-580 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2705/2705-580 new)

Sec. 2705-580. Safe Routes to School Construction Program.

(a) The Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the Department of State Police, shall establish and administer a Safe Routes to School Construction Program for the construction of bike paths, walking trails, pedestrian bridges, and safe routes for walking and biking to school.

(b) Subject to appropriation from the State Construction Account Fund, the Department of Transportation shall make construction grants available to local governmental agencies under the Safe Routes to School Construction Program based on the results of a statewide competition that requires submission of Safe Routes to School proposals for funding and that rates those proposals on all of the following factors:

(1) Demonstrated needs of the grant applicant.

(2) Potential of the proposal for reducing child injuries and fatalities.

(3) Potential of the proposal for encouraging increased walking and bicycling among students.

(4) Identification of safety hazards.

(5) Identification of current and potential walking and bicycling routes to school.

(6) Consultation and support for projects by school-based associations, local traffic engineers, local elected officials, law enforcement agencies, and school officials.

(c) On March 30, 2005 and each March 30th thereafter, the Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the General Assembly listing and describing the projects funded under the Safe Routes to School Construction Program.

(d) The Department of Transportation shall study the effectiveness of the Safe Routes to School Construction Program, with particular emphasis on the Program's effectiveness in reducing traffic accidents and its contribution to improving safety and reducing the number of child injuries and fatalities in the vicinity of a Safe Routes to School project. The Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the General Assembly on or before December 31, 2005 regarding the results of the study.

(e) The Department of Transportation, State Board of Education, and Department of State Police may each separately adopt any rules necessary to implement this Section.

Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by changing Section 5d as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5d) (from Ch. 127, par. 141d)

Sec. 5d. Except as provided by Section 5e of this Act, the State Construction Account Fund shall be used exclusively for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the State maintained highway system, and, subject to appropriation, for the purposes of the Safe Routes to School Construction Program under Section 2705-580 of the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Except as provided by Section 5e of this Act, none of the money deposited in the State Construction Account Fund shall be used to pay the cost of administering the Motor Fuel Tax Law as now or hereafter amended, nor be appropriated for use by the Department of Transportation to pay the cost of its operations or administration, nor be used in any manner for the payment of regular or contractual employees of the State, nor be transferred or allocated by the Comptroller and Treasurer or be otherwise used, except for the sole purpose of construction, reconstruction and maintenance of the State maintained highway system, and for the purposes of the Safe Routes to School Construction Program under Section 2705-580 of the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, as the Illinois General Assembly shall provide by appropriation from this fund. Beginning with the month immediately following the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985, investment income which is attributable to the investment of moneys of the State Construction Account Fund shall be retained in that fund for the uses specified in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 84-431.)

Section 15. The Motor Fuel Tax Law is amended by changing Section 8 as follows:

(35 ILCS 505/8) (from Ch. 120, par. 424)

Sec. 8. Except as provided in Section 8a, subdivision (h)(1) of Section 12a, Section 13a.6, and items 13, 14, 15, and 16 of Section 15, all money received by the Department under this Act, including payments made to the Department by member jurisdictions participating in the International Fuel Tax Agreement, shall be deposited in a special fund in the State treasury, to be known as the "Motor Fuel Tax Fund", and shall be used as follows:

(a) 2 1/2 cents per gallon of the tax collected on special fuel under paragraph (b) of Section 2 and Section 13a of this Act shall be transferred to the State Construction Account Fund in the State Treasury, to be used for the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of the State maintained highway system, and for the purposes of the Safe Routes to School Construction Program under Section 2705-580 of the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois;

(b) $420,000 shall be transferred each month to the State Boating Act Fund to be used by the Department of Natural Resources for the purposes specified in Article X of the Boat Registration and Safety Act;

(c) $2,250,000 shall be transferred each month to the Grade Crossing Protection Fund to be used as follows: not less than $6,000,000 each fiscal year shall be used for the construction or reconstruction of rail highway grade separation structures; $2,250,000 in fiscal year 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter shall be transferred to the Transportation Regulatory Fund and shall be accounted for as part of the rail carrier portion of such funds and shall be used to pay the cost of administration of the Illinois Commerce Commission's railroad safety program in connection with its duties under subsection (3) of Section 18c-7401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, with the remainder to be used by the Department of Transportation upon order of the Illinois Commerce Commission, to pay that part of the cost apportioned by such Commission to the State to cover the interest of the public in the use of highways, roads, streets, or pedestrian walkways in the county highway system, township and district road system, or municipal street system as defined in the Illinois Highway Code, as the same may from time to time be amended, for separation of grades, for installation, construction or reconstruction of crossing protection or reconstruction, alteration, relocation including construction or improvement of any existing highway necessary for access to property or improvement of any grade crossing including the necessary highway approaches thereto of any railroad across the highway or public road, or for the installation, construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of a pedestrian walkway over or under a railroad right-of-way, as provided for in and in accordance with Section 18c-7401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. The Commission shall not order more than $2,000,000 per year in Grade Crossing Protection Fund moneys for pedestrian walkways. In entering orders for projects for which payments from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund will be made, the Commission shall account for expenditures authorized by the orders on a cash rather than an accrual basis. For purposes of this requirement an "accrual basis" assumes that the total cost of the project is expended in the fiscal year in which the order is entered, while a "cash basis" allocates the cost of the project among fiscal years as expenditures are actually made. To meet the requirements of this subsection, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall develop annual and 5-year project plans of rail crossing capital improvements that will be paid for with moneys from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund. The annual project plan shall identify projects for the succeeding fiscal year and the 5-year project plan shall identify projects for the 5 directly succeeding fiscal years. The Commission shall submit the annual and 5-year project plans for this Fund to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives on the first Wednesday in April of each year;

(d) of the amount remaining after allocations provided for in subsections (a), (b) and (c), a sufficient amount shall be reserved to pay all of the following:

(1) the costs of the Department of Revenue in administering this Act;

(2) the costs of the Department of Transportation in performing its duties imposed by the Illinois Highway Code for supervising the use of motor fuel tax funds apportioned to municipalities, counties and road districts;

(3) refunds provided for in Section 13 of this Act and under the terms of the International Fuel Tax Agreement referenced in Section 14a;

(4) from October 1, 1985 until June 30, 1994, the administration of the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Law, which amount shall be certified monthly by the Environmental Protection Agency to the State Comptroller and shall promptly be transferred by the State Comptroller and Treasurer from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund to the Vehicle Inspection Fund, and for the period July 1, 1994 through June 30, 2000, one-twelfth of $25,000,000 each month, for the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2003, one-twelfth of $30,000,000 each month, and $15,000,000 on July 1, 2003, and $15,000,000 on January 1 and $15,000,000 on July 1 of each calendar year for the period January 1, 2004 through June 30, 2006, for the administration of the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Law of 1995, to be transferred by the State Comptroller and Treasurer from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund into the Vehicle Inspection Fund;

(5) amounts ordered paid by the Court of Claims; and

(6) payment of motor fuel use taxes due to member jurisdictions under the terms of the International Fuel Tax Agreement. The Department shall certify these amounts to the Comptroller by the 15th day of each month; the Comptroller shall cause orders to be drawn for such amounts, and the Treasurer shall administer those amounts on or before the last day of each month;

(e) after allocations for the purposes set forth in subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d), the remaining amount shall be apportioned as follows:

(1) Until January 1, 2000, 58.4%, and beginning January 1, 2000, 45.6% shall be deposited as follows:

(A) 37% into the State Construction Account Fund, and

(B) 63% into the Road Fund, $1,250,000 of which shall be reserved each month for the Department of Transportation to be used in accordance with the provisions of Sections 6-901 through 6-906 of the Illinois Highway Code;

(2) Until January 1, 2000, 41.6%, and beginning January 1, 2000, 54.4% shall be transferred to the Department of Transportation to be distributed as follows:

(A) 49.10% to the municipalities of the State,

(B) 16.74% to the counties of the State having 1,000,000 or more inhabitants,

(C) 18.27% to the counties of the State having less than 1,000,000 inhabitants,

(D) 15.89% to the road districts of the State.

As soon as may be after the first day of each month the Department of Transportation shall allot to each municipality its share of the amount apportioned to the several municipalities which shall be in proportion to the population of such municipalities as determined by the last preceding municipal census if conducted by the Federal Government or Federal census. If territory is annexed to any municipality subsequent to the time of the last preceding census the corporate authorities of such municipality may cause a census to be taken of such annexed territory and the population so ascertained for such territory shall be added to the population of the municipality as determined by the last preceding census for the purpose of determining the allotment for that municipality. If the population of any municipality was not determined by the last Federal census preceding any apportionment, the apportionment to such municipality shall be in accordance with any census taken by such municipality. Any municipal census used in accordance with this Section shall be certified to the Department of Transportation by the clerk of such municipality, and the accuracy thereof shall be subject to approval of the Department which may make such corrections as it ascertains to be necessary.

As soon as may be after the first day of each month the Department of Transportation shall allot to each county its share of the amount apportioned to the several counties of the State as herein provided. Each allotment to the several counties having less than 1,000,000 inhabitants shall be in proportion to the amount of motor vehicle license fees received from the residents of such counties, respectively, during the preceding calendar year. The Secretary of State shall, on or before April 15 of each year, transmit to the Department of Transportation a full and complete report showing the amount of motor vehicle license fees received from the residents of each county, respectively, during the preceding calendar year. The Department of Transportation shall, each month, use for allotment purposes the last such report received from the Secretary of State.

As soon as may be after the first day of each month, the Department of Transportation shall allot to the several counties their share of the amount apportioned for the use of road districts. The allotment shall be apportioned among the several counties in the State in the proportion which the total mileage of township or district roads in the respective counties bears to the total mileage of all township and district roads in the State. Funds allotted to the respective counties for the use of road districts therein shall be allocated to the several road districts in the county in the proportion which the total mileage of such township or district roads in the respective road districts bears to the total mileage of all such township or district roads in the county. After July 1 of any year, no allocation shall be made for any road district unless it levied a tax for road and bridge purposes in an amount which will require the extension of such tax against the taxable property in any such road district at a rate of not less than either .08% of the value thereof, based upon the assessment for the year immediately prior to the year in which such tax was levied and as equalized by the Department of Revenue or, in DuPage County, an amount equal to or greater than $12,000 per mile of road under the jurisdiction of the road district, whichever is less. If any road district has levied a special tax for road purposes pursuant to Sections 6-601, 6-602 and 6-603 of the Illinois Highway Code, and such tax was levied in an amount which would require extension at a rate of not less than .08% of the value of the taxable property thereof, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, or, in DuPage County, an amount equal to or greater than $12,000 per mile of road under the jurisdiction of the road district, whichever is less, such levy shall, however, be deemed a proper compliance with this Section and shall qualify such road district for an allotment under this Section. If a township has transferred to the road and bridge fund money which, when added to the amount of any tax levy of the road district would be the equivalent of a tax levy requiring extension at a rate of at least .08%, or, in DuPage County, an amount equal to or greater than $12,000 per mile of road under the jurisdiction of the road district, whichever is less, such transfer, together with any such tax levy, shall be deemed a proper compliance with this Section and shall qualify the road district for an allotment under this Section.

In counties in which a property tax extension limitation is imposed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, road districts may retain their entitlement to a motor fuel tax allotment if, at the time the property tax extension limitation was imposed, the road district was levying a road and bridge tax at a rate sufficient to entitle it to a motor fuel tax allotment and continues to levy the maximum allowable amount after the imposition of the property tax extension limitation. Any road district may in all circumstances retain its entitlement to a motor fuel tax allotment if it levied a road and bridge tax in an amount that will require the extension of the tax against the taxable property in the road district at a rate of not less than 0.08% of the assessed value of the property, based upon the assessment for the year immediately preceding the year in which the tax was levied and as equalized by the Department of Revenue or, in DuPage County, an amount equal to or greater than $12,000 per mile of road under the jurisdiction of the road district, whichever is less.

As used in this Section the term "road district" means any road district, including a county unit road district, provided for by the Illinois Highway Code; and the term "township or district road" means any road in the township and district road system as defined in the Illinois Highway Code. For the purposes of this Section, "road district" also includes park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts organized under Illinois law and "township or district road" also includes such roads as are maintained by park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts. The Department of Transportation shall determine the mileage of all township and district roads for the purposes of making allotments and allocations of motor fuel tax funds for use in road districts.

Payment of motor fuel tax moneys to municipalities and counties shall be made as soon as possible after the allotment is made. The treasurer of the municipality or county may invest these funds until their use is required and the interest earned by these investments shall be limited to the same uses as the principal funds.

(Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 92-30, eff. 7-1-01; 93-32, eff. 6-20-03.)