SB2052 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 19161 HLH 45394 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB2052

Introduced 2/7/2008, by Sen. William R. Haine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
5 ILCS 220/3.9 new
5 ILCS 420/4A-101	from Ch. 127, par. 604A-101

Creates the Flood Prevention District Act. Provides that a flood prevention district may be created within certain counties for the purpose of performing emergency levee repair, flood prevention, and stormwater control. Provides that the affairs of the district shall be managed by a board of commissioners consisting of 3 commissioners. Sets forth the terms of the commissioners. Sets forth the powers of the district, including the power to issue revenue bonds, the power to impose a retailers' occupation tax within the territory of the district, and the power of eminent domain. Amends the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. Provides that two or more county flood prevention districts may enter into an intergovernmental agreement. Amends the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Provides that members of the board of commissioners of any flood prevention district are required to file a statement of economic interests. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT 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 Flood Prevention District Act.

Section 5. Creation; purpose.

(a) Any county served or protected by a federal levee system may be designated as a flood prevention district for the purpose of performing emergency levee repair, flood prevention, and stormwater control in order to prevent the loss of life or property. The county board of any such county may declare an emergency and create a flood prevention district by the affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the county board.

(b) Two or more flood prevention districts may join together through an intergovernmental agreement, pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.

(c) Any district created under this Act shall be dissolved 25 years after the date the district is created or upon the payment of all obligations of the district under Section 20 of this Act, whichever occurs later. A district may be dissolved earlier if all obligations of the district have been paid, including its obligations related to bonds issued under Section 20 of this Act and any obligations incurred pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement.

Section 10. Commissioners.

The affairs of the district shall be managed by a board of 3 commissioners who shall be appointed by the chairman of the county board of the county in which the district is situated. All initial appointments under this Section must be made within 90 days after the district is organized. Of the initial appointments, one commissioner shall serve for a one-year term, one commissioner shall serve for a 2-year term, and one commissioner shall serve for a 3-year term, as determined by lot. Their successors shall be appointed for 3-year terms. No commissioner may serve for more than 20 years. Each commissioner must be a legal voter in the district. Commissioners shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

Section 20. Powers of the district. A district formed under this Act shall have the following powers:

(1) To sue or be sued.

(2) To apply for and accept gifts, grants, and loans from any public agency or private entity.

(3) To enter into intergovernmental agreements to further ensure levee repair, levee construction or reconstruction, flood prevention, and stormwater control, including agreements with the United States Army Corps of Engineers or any other agency or department of the federal government.

(4) To undertake evaluation, planning, design, construction, and related activities that are determined to be urgently needed to stabilize, repair, restore, improve, or replace existing levees and other flood control systems.

(5) To address underseepage problems and old and deteriorating pumps, gates, pipes, electrical controls, and other infrastructure.

(6) To conduct urgently needed evaluations of levees and other flood control facilities that protect urban areas, including the performance of floodplain mapping studies.

(7) To provide capital moneys for levee or river-related scientific studies, including the construction of facilities for such purposes.

(8) To construct stormwater containment facilities and stormwater drainage facilities. If the county in which the district is located has adopted a stormwater management plan pursuant to Section 5-1062, 5-1062.1, or 5-1062.2 of the Counties Code, then such construction shall conform with that stormwater management plan.

(9) To borrow money or receive money from the United States Government or any agency thereof, or from any other public or private source, for the purposes of the District.

(10) To enter into agreements with private property owners.

(11) To issue revenue bonds, payable from revenue received from a retailers' occupation tax imposed under Section 25 of this Act. These bonds may be issued with maturities not exceeding 25 years from the date of the bonds, and in such amounts as may be necessary to provide sufficient funds, together with interest, for the purposes of the District. These bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not more than the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi-annually, may be made registerable as to principal, and may be made payable and callable as provided on any date at a price of par and accrued interest under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the bonds. Bonds issued under this Section are negotiable instruments. In case any officer whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons ceases to hold that office before the bonds are delivered, such officer's signature, shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as though such officer had remained in office until the bonds were delivered. The bonds shall be sold in such manner and upon such terms as the board of commissioners shall determine, except that the selling price shall be such that the interest cost to the District of the proceeds of the bonds shall not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi-annually, computed to maturity according to the standard table of bond values.

(12) To acquire property by gift, grant, or eminent domain, in accordance with the Eminent Domain Act.

(13) To retain professional staff to carry out the functions of the District. Any flood prevention district shall employ a Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works with appropriate professional qualifications, including a degree in engineering, construction, hydrology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. The Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works shall be vested with the authority to carry out the duties and mission of the Flood Prevention District, pursuant to the direction and supervision of the Board of Commissioners. The Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works may hire additional staff as necessary to carry out the duties and mission of the district, including administrative support personnel. Two or more districts may, through an intergovernmental agreement, share the services of a Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works, support staff, or both. If 2 districts are adjoining and share a common federal levee, they must retain the services of the same person as Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works.

Section 25. Retailers' occupation tax.

(a) If the Board of a flood prevention district determines that an emergency situation exists regarding levee repair, flood prevention, or stormwater control, and upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the county board of the county in which the district is situated, it may impose a retailers' occupation tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail within the territory of the district for a period not to exceed 25 years or as required to repay the bonds issued pursuant to Section 20 of this Act. The tax rate may not exceed 1/4% of the gross receipts from all taxable sales made in the course of that business. The tax imposed under this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The Department shall have full power to administer and enforce this Section; to collect all taxes and penalties so collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder. In the administration of, and compliance with this Section, the Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, and be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions and definitions of terms, and employ the same modes of procedure, as are prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a-1, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 2 through 2-65 (in respect to all provisions therein other than the State rate of tax), 2c, 3 (except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and Section 3-7 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.

Persons subject to any tax imposed under this Section may reimburse themselves for their seller's tax liability hereunder by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination in a single amount with State taxes that sellers are required to collect under the Use Tax Act, under any bracket schedules the Department may prescribe.

If a tax is imposed under this subsection (a), a tax shall also be imposed under subsection (b) of this Section.

(b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a service occupation tax shall also be imposed upon all persons within the territory of the district engaged in the business of making sales of service, who, as an incident to making the sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within the territory of the district, either in the form of tangible personal property or in the form of real estate as an incident to a sale of service. The tax rate shall not exceed 1/4% of the selling price of all tangible personal property transferred.

The tax imposed under this subsection and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The Department shall have full power to administer and enforce this subsection; to collect all taxes and penalties due hereunder; to dispose of taxes and penalties collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder. In the administration of and compliance with this paragraph, the Department and persons who are subject to this paragraph shall have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers and duties, and be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions and definitions of terms, and employ the same modes of procedure, as are prescribed in Sections 1a-1, 2, 2a, 3 through 3-50 (in respect to all provisions therein other than the State rate of tax), 4 , 5, 7, 8, 9 (except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected, and except that the returned merchandise credit for this tax may not be taken against any State tax), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference therein to Section 2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act), 13, the first paragraph of Section 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Service Occupation Tax Act and Section 3-7 of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.

Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their serviceman's tax liability hereunder by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, that charge may be stated in combination in a single amount with State tax that servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use Tax Act, under any bracket schedules the Department may prescribe.

(c) Motor vehicles, as defined in Section 1-146 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, food for human consumption, prescription and nonprescription medicines, drugs, and medical appliances are exempt from any tax imposed under this Act.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize the district to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business that under the Constitution of the United States may not be made the subject of taxation by the State.

Section 30. Disbursement of federal funds.

(a) Any reimbursements for the construction of flood protection facilities or stormwater control, containment, or drainage facilities shall be appropriated to each county flood prevention district in accordance with the location of the specific facility for which the federal appropriation is made.

(b) If there are federal reimbursements to a county flood prevention district for construction of flood protection facilities that were built using revenues authorized by this Act, those funds may be used for any of the following purposes:

(1) Design and construction of additional flood prevention and stormwater management facilities located in the district. If the county in which the district is located has adopted a stormwater management plan pursuant to Section 5-1062, 5-1062.1, or 5-1062.2 of the Counties Code, then such design and construction shall conform with that stormwater management plan.

(2) Early retirement of bonds issued in accordance with this Act.

Section 60. The Intergovernmental Cooperation Act is amended by adding Section 3.9 as follows:

(5 ILCS 220/3.9 new)

Sec. 3.9. Flood prevention. Two or more county flood prevention districts may enter into an intergovernmental agreement to provide any services authorized in the Flood Prevention District Act.

Section 70. The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act is amended by changing Section 4A-101 as follows:

(5 ILCS 420/4A-101) (from Ch. 127, par. 604A-101)

Sec. 4A-101. Persons required to file. The following persons shall file verified written statements of economic interests, as provided in this Article:

(a) Members of the General Assembly and candidates for nomination or election to the General Assembly.

(b) Persons holding an elected office in the Executive Branch of this State, and candidates for nomination or election to these offices.

(c) Members of a Commission or Board created by the Illinois Constitution, and candidates for nomination or election to such Commission or Board.

(d) Persons whose appointment to office is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

(e) Holders of, and candidates for nomination or election to, the office of judge or associate judge of the Circuit Court and the office of judge of the Appellate or Supreme Court.

(f) Persons who are employed by any branch, agency, authority or board of the government of this State, including but not limited to, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Illinois Community College Board, and institutions under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, Board of Trustees of Governor's State University, Board of Trustees of Illinois State University, Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University, or Board of Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, and are compensated for services as employees and not as independent contractors and who:

(1) are, or function as, the head of a department, commission, board, division, bureau, authority or other administrative unit within the government of this State, or who exercise similar authority within the government of this State;

(2) have direct supervisory authority over, or direct responsibility for the formulation, negotiation, issuance or execution of contracts entered into by the State in the amount of $5,000 or more;

(3) have authority for the issuance or promulgation of rules and regulations within areas under the authority of the State;

(4) have authority for the approval of professional licenses;

(5) have responsibility with respect to the financial inspection of regulated nongovernmental entities;

(6) adjudicate, arbitrate, or decide any judicial or administrative proceeding, or review the adjudication, arbitration or decision of any judicial or administrative proceeding within the authority of the State;

(7) have supervisory responsibility for 20 or more employees of the State; or

(8) negotiate, assign, authorize, or grant naming rights or sponsorship rights regarding any property or asset of the State, whether real, personal, tangible, or intangible.

(g) Persons who are elected to office in a unit of local government, and candidates for nomination or election to that office, including regional superintendents of school districts.

(h) Persons appointed to the governing board of a unit of local government, or of a special district, and persons appointed to a zoning board, or zoning board of appeals, or to a regional, county, or municipal plan commission, or to a board of review of any county, and persons appointed to the Board of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and any Trustee appointed under Section 22 of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act, and persons appointed to a board or commission of a unit of local government who have authority to authorize the expenditure of public funds. This subsection does not apply to members of boards or commissions who function in an advisory capacity.

(i) Persons who are employed by a unit of local government and are compensated for services as employees and not as independent contractors and who:

(1) are, or function as, the head of a department, division, bureau, authority or other administrative unit within the unit of local government, or who exercise similar authority within the unit of local government;

(2) have direct supervisory authority over, or direct responsibility for the formulation, negotiation, issuance or execution of contracts entered into by the unit of local government in the amount of $1,000 or greater;

(3) have authority to approve licenses and permits by the unit of local government; this item does not include employees who function in a ministerial capacity;

(4) adjudicate, arbitrate, or decide any judicial or administrative proceeding, or review the adjudication, arbitration or decision of any judicial or administrative proceeding within the authority of the unit of local government;

(5) have authority to issue or promulgate rules and regulations within areas under the authority of the unit of local government; or

(6) have supervisory responsibility for 20 or more employees of the unit of local government.

(j) Persons on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

(k) Persons employed by a school district in positions that require that person to hold an administrative or a chief school business official endorsement.

(l) Special government agents. A "special government agent" is a person who is directed, retained, designated, appointed, or employed, with or without compensation, by or on behalf of a statewide executive branch constitutional officer to make an ex parte communication under Section 5-50 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act or Section 5-165 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(m) Members of the board of commissioners of any flood prevention district.

This Section shall not be construed to prevent any unit of local government from enacting financial disclosure requirements that mandate more information than required by this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-617, eff. 12-9-03; 93-816, eff. 7-27-04.)

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