HB1356 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 05868 AMC 35922 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB1356

Introduced 02/09/05, by Rep. Jack McGuire

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

40 ILCS 5/15-159	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-159
40 ILCS 5/15-159.1 new

Amends the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Adds 4 elected members to the SURS Board of Trustees. Effective immediately.

PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Section 15-159 and by adding Section 15-159.1 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/15-159) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 15-159)

Sec. 15-159. Board created.

(a) A board of trustees constituted as provided in this Section shall administer this System. The board shall be known as the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System.

(b) Until July 1, 1995, the Board of Trustees shall be constituted as follows:

Two trustees shall be members of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Governors State University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, one shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University, and one shall be a member of the Illinois Community College Board, selected in each case by their respective boards, and 2 shall be participants of the system appointed by the Governor for a 6 year term with the first appointment made pursuant to this amendatory Act of 1984 to be effective September 1, 1985, and one shall be a participant appointed by the Illinois Community College Board for a 6 year term, and one shall be a participant appointed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois for a 6 year term, and one shall be a participant or annuitant of the system who is a senior citizen age 60 or older appointed by the Governor for a 6 year term with the first appointment to be effective September 1, 1985.

The terms of all trustees holding office under this subsection (b) on June 30, 1995 shall terminate at the end of that day or as otherwise required by law and the Board shall thereafter be constituted as otherwise provided in this Section subsection (c).

(c) Beginning July 1, 1995, the Board of Trustees shall be constituted as follows:

The Board shall consist of 9 trustees appointed by the Governor. Two of the trustees, designated at the time of appointment, shall be participants of the System. Two of the trustees, designated at the time of appointment, shall be annuitants of the System who are receiving retirement annuities under this Article. The 5 remaining trustees may, but need not, be participants or annuitants of the System.

The term of office of trustees appointed under this subsection (c) shall be 6 years, beginning on July 1. However, of the initial trustees appointed under this subsection (c), 3 shall be appointed for terms of 2 years, 3 shall be appointed for terms of 4 years, and 3 shall be appointed for terms of 6 years, to be designated by the Governor at the time of appointment.

A vacancy in a trustee position created under this subsection (c) on the board of trustees caused by resignation, death, expiration of term of office, or other reason shall be filled by a qualified person appointed by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Trustees in a trustee position created under this subsection (c) (other than the trustees incumbent on June 30, 1995) shall continue in office until their respective successors are appointed and have qualified, except that a trustee appointed to one of the participant positions shall be disqualified immediately upon the termination of his or her status as a participant and a trustee appointed to one of the annuitant positions shall be disqualified immediately upon the termination of his or her status as an annuitant receiving a retirement annuity.

(c-1) Beginning July 1, 2006, the Board of Trustees shall consist of the 9 trustees appointed under subsection (c) plus 4 elected trustees who shall be elected as provided in this subsection (c-1) and Section 15-159.1.

One of the elected trustees shall be a participant of the System nominated and elected by the participants of the System who are employees of the University of Illinois.

One of the elected trustees shall be a participant of the System nominated and elected by the participants of the System who are employees of Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University, or Southern Illinois University.

One of the elected trustees shall be a participant of the System nominated and elected by the participants of the System who are employees of Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University, or Western Illinois University.

One of the elected trustees shall be a participant of the System nominated and elected by the participants of the System who are employees of Illinois community colleges.

The term of office of trustees elected under this subsection (c-1) shall be 6 years, beginning on July 1, except that the initial trustees elected under this subsection (c-1) shall serve for terms of 3, 4, 5, and 6 years, to be determined by lot at the first meeting of the Board following their election.

Candidates for election shall be nominated by petition containing the signatures and addresses of at least 100 participants from the applicable constituency. Petitions shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board during the month of January before the election. The Secretary shall determine the validity of petitions of candidates by February 15 before the election and shall notify the candidates as to whether or not their petitions have met the requirements.

If no more than one candidate files a valid petition for election to a position, that candidate shall be declared elected. If there is more than one nominee for a position, then the Board shall conduct by mail a secret ballot election among those persons eligible to vote for that position, in accordance with Section 15-159.1 and such rules and procedures as it may adopt.

If a vacancy occurs among the elected members of the Board, the remaining elected members of the Board shall meet for the purpose of filling the vacant position by appointing a person who is eligible for nomination and election to the position to serve for the remainder of the term. The meeting shall be held as soon as practicable after the position becomes vacant. Appointment of a person to fill a vacancy in an elected trustee position requires a majority vote of the elected members present at the meeting.

An elected trustee shall continue in office until his or her successor is elected (or, in the case of a vacancy occurring during a term, appointed) and has qualified, except that an elected trustee shall be disqualified upon the termination of his or her status as a participant.

(d) Each trustee must take an oath of office before a notary public of this State and shall qualify as a trustee upon the presentation to the the Board of a certified copy of the oath. The oath must state that the person will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of the retirement system, and will not knowingly violate or wilfully permit to be violated any provisions of this Article.

Each trustee shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in attending board meetings and carrying out his or her duties as a trustee or officer of the System.

(e) This amendatory Act of 1995 (Public Act 89-196) is intended to supersede the changes made to this Section by Public Act 89-4.

(Source: P.A. 89-4, eff. 1-1-96; 89-196, eff. 7-21-95.)

(40 ILCS 5/15-159.1 new)

Sec. 15-159.1. Election of trustees.

(a) Election of trustees shall be by mail ballot. By no later than April 1 of the year of the election, the board shall prepare and send ballots and ballot envelopes to the persons eligible to vote as of February 1 of the year of the election. The ballots shall contain the names of all candidates of the constituency for which the person is eligible to vote, in alphabetical order. The ballot envelope shall have on the outside a form of certificate stating that the person voting the ballot is a member of the specified constituency and is entitled to vote.

(b) Persons wishing to vote shall vote the ballot and place it in the ballot envelope, seal the envelope, execute the certificate on the envelope, and return the ballot to the System.

(c) The final date for ballot return shall be May 1, or if that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or State holiday, then the next business day. Ballots received on or before that date, in a ballot envelope with a properly executed certificate and properly voted, shall be valid ballots.

(d) The board shall set a day for counting ballots, shall name judges and clerks of election to conduct the count of ballots, and shall make any rules that may be necessary for the conduct of the count.

(e) Candidates for the office of trustee, and employee and labor organizations, shall have access, at their own expense, to the System's participant mailing lists for election purposes.

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