HB0005 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 03503 MKM 33506 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB0005

Introduced 12/3/2004, by Rep. David E. Miller

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
20 ILCS 655/5	from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 605
20 ILCS 655/11.2 new

Creates the Illinois Urban Development Authority Act. Creates the Illinois Urban Development Authority. Provides that the Authority shall be governed by an 11-member board. Requires the Authority to make annual reports to certain entities. Sets forth the powers of the Authority. Sets forth the procedures by which the Authority may issue bonds. Contains other provisions. Amends the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act to allow the Authority to designate areas as Enterprise Zones. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning urban development.

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 Illinois Urban Development Authority Act.

Section 2. Findings. The General Assembly hereby determines and declares that:

(1) the economic burdens resulting from involuntary unemployment fall in part upon the State in the form of increased need for public assistance, reduced tax revenues, and increased resources devoted to crime prevention and incarceration and that the unemployed worker and his or her family may migrate outside the State to find work and such migration will reduced the tax revenues of local governments and the State of Illinois, thereby endangering their financial ability to support necessary governmental services for their remaining inhabitants;

(2) the State has a responsibility to help create a favorable climate for new and improved job opportunities for all of its citizens, especially in areas with high economic distress, by encouraging the development of commercial and service businesses and industrial and manufacturing plants and creating job opportunities;

(3) the State has a responsibility to increase and improve post-release employment opportunities for ex-offenders and reduce recidivism rates through the combined resources and expertise of providers of workforce development, supportive services, and private enterprises;

(4) a lack of decent housing contributes to urban blight, crime, anti-social behavior, disease, a higher need for public assistance, reduced tax revenues, and the migration of workers and their families away from areas that fail to offer adequate, decent, affordable housing;

(5) decent, affordable housing is a necessary ingredient of life affording each citizen basic human dignity, a sense of self worth, confidence, and a firm foundation upon which to build a family and educate children; and

(6) in order to foster civic and neighborhood pride, citizens require access to educational institutions, recreation, parks and open spaces, entertainment and sports, a reliable transportation network, cultural facilities, and theaters.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of Illinois, in the interest of promoting industrial, commercial, residential, jobs, service, transportation, and facilities, thereby reducing the evils attendant upon unemployment, crime, and recidivism and enhancing the public health, safety, morals, happiness, and general welfare of this State specifically by making available through the Illinois Urban Development Authority, funds for industrial projects, commercial projects, and housing projects to a municipality with a municipal poverty rate greater than 3% in excess of the statewide average.

Section 3. Definitions. The following terms, whenever used or referred to in this Act, shall have the following meanings, except in such instances where the context may clearly indicate otherwise:

"Authority" means the Illinois Urban Development Authority created by this Act.

"Board" means the Illinois Urban Development Authority Board of Directors.

"Bonds" shall include bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness.

"Commercial project" means any project, including but not limited to one or more buildings and other structures, improvements, machinery, and equipment whether or not on the same site or sites now existing or hereafter acquired, suitable for use by any retail or wholesale concern, distributorship, or agency, any cultural facilities of a for-profit or not-for-profit type including but not limited to educational, theatrical, recreational and entertainment, sports facilities, racetracks, stadiums, convention centers, exhibition halls, arenas, opera houses and theaters, waterfront improvements, swimming pools, boat storage, moorage, docking facilities, restaurants, coliseums, sports training facilities, parking facilities, terminals, hotels and motels, gymnasiums, medical facilities, and port facilities.

"Costs incurred in connection with the development, construction, acquisition, or improvement of a project" means the cost of purchase and construction of all lands and improvements in connection with a project and equipment and other property, rights, easements, and franchises acquired that are deemed necessary for such construction; financing charges; interest costs with respect to bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the Authority prior to and during construction and for a period of 6 months thereafter; engineering and legal expenses; the costs of plans, specifications, surveys, and estimates of costs and other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of any project, together with such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and construction of a specific project and the placing of the same in operation.

"Financial aid" means the expenditure of Authority funds or funds provided by the Authority through the issuance of its revenue bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness for the development, construction, acquisition, or improvement of a project.

"Governmental agency" means any federal, State or local governmental body, and any agency or instrumentality thereof, corporate or otherwise.

"Governor" means the Governor of the State of Illinois.

"Housing project" or "residential project" includes a specific work or improvement undertaken to provide dwelling accommodations, including the acquisition, construction, leasing, or rehabilitation of lands, buildings, and community facilities and in connection therewith to provide nonhousing facilities which are an integral part of a planned large-scale project or new community.

"Industrial project" means (1) a capital project, including one or more buildings and other structures, improvements, machinery, and equipment whether or not on the same site or sites now existing or hereafter acquired, suitable for use by any manufacturing, industrial, research, transportation, or commercial enterprise including but not limited to use as a factory, mill, processing plant, assembly plant, packaging plant, fabricating plant, office building, industrial distribution center, warehouse, repair, overhaul or service facility, freight terminal, research facility, test facility, railroad facility, solid waste and wastewater treatment and disposal sites and other pollution control facilities, resource or waste reduction, recovery, treatment and disposal facilities, and including also the sites thereof and other rights in land therefor whether improved or unimproved, site preparation and landscaping and all appurtenances and facilities incidental thereto such as utilities, access roads, railroad sidings, truck docking and similar facilities, parking facilities, dockage, wharfage, railroad roadbed, track, trestle, depot, terminal, switching, and signaling equipment or related equipment and other improvements necessary or convenient thereto; or (2) any land, buildings, machinery or equipment comprising an addition to or renovation, rehabilitation or improvement of any existing capital project.

"Lease agreement" means an agreement whereby a project acquired by the Authority by purchase, gift, or lease is leased to any person or corporation that will use or cause the project to be used as a project as defined in this Act upon terms providing for lease rental payments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal of and interest and premium, if any, on any bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of the Authority issued with respect to such project, providing for the maintenance, insurance, and operation of the project on terms satisfactory to the Authority, and providing for disposition of the project upon termination of the lease term, including purchase options or abandonment of the premises, with such other terms as may be deemed desirable by the Authority. The Authority may, directly or indirectly, lease or otherwise transfer property the Authority owns to another and such leased property shall remain tax exempt.

"Loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to which the Authority agrees to loan the proceeds of its bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued with respect to a project to any person or corporation that will use or cause the project to be used as a project as defined in this Act upon terms providing for loan repayment installments at least sufficient to pay when due all principal and interest and premium, if any, on any bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the Authority issued with respect to the project, providing for maintenance, insurance, and operation of the project on terms satisfactory to the Authority and providing for other matters as may be deemed advisable by the Authority.

"Municipal poverty rate" is the percentage of total population of the municipality having income levels below the poverty level as determined by the Authority based upon the most recent data released by the United States Census Bureau before the beginning of such calendar year.

"Occupational license" means a license issued by the Illinois Gaming Board to a person or entity to perform an occupation which the Illinois Gaming Board has identified as requiring a license to engage in riverboat, dockside, or land-based gambling in Illinois.

"Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, both domestic and foreign, company, association, or joint stock association and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.

"Project" means an industrial, housing, residential, commercial, or service project, or any combination thereof, provided that all uses shall fall within one of those categories. Any project, of any nature whatsoever, shall automatically include all site improvements and new construction involving sidewalks, sewers, solid waste and wastewater treatment and disposal sites and other pollution control facilities, resource or waste reduction, recovery, treatment and disposal facilities, parks, open spaces, wildlife sanctuaries, streets, highways, and runways.

"Revenue bond" means any bond issued by the Authority the principal and interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income derived from any project or activity of the Authority.

Section 4. Illinois Urban Development Authority. There is hereby created a political subdivision, body politic and corporate by the name of Illinois Urban Development Authority. The exercise by the Authority of the powers conferred by law shall be an essential public function. The governing powers of the Authority shall be vested in a body consisting of 11 members appointed as follows: one member appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago; one member appointed by the President of the Cook County Board; 4 members appointed by the Governor who are residents of a municipality, other than a municipality with a population greater than 1,000,000, whose municipal poverty rate is greater than 3% in excess of the statewide average; 2 members appointed by the Governor that have an expertise, skill, and experience in labor relations; and 3 members appointed by the Governor that have an expertise, skill, and experience operating a business that is certified by the State of Illinois as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Minority Business Enterprise, or Women Business Enterprise.

Six members shall constitute a quorum. However, when a quorum of members of the Authority is physically present at the meeting site, other Authority members may participate in and act at any meeting through the use of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation in such meeting shall constitute attendance and presence in person at the meeting of the person or persons so participating. The Chairman of the Authority shall be elected by the Authority. All board members shall be persons of recognized ability and experience in one or more of the following areas: economic development, finance, banking, industrial development, small business management, real estate development, community development, venture finance, construction, and labor relations.

The terms of all members of the Authority shall begin 30 days after the effective date of this Act. Of the 11 members first appointed pursuant to this Act, 4 shall serve until the third Monday in January 2006, 4 shall serve until the third Monday in January 2007, and 3 shall serve until the third Monday in January 2008. All board members shall hold office for a term of 4 years commencing the third Monday in January of the year in which their term commences, except in case of an appointment to fill a vacancy. In case of vacancy in the office when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate when he shall nominate such person to fill such office, and any person so nominated who is confirmed by the Senate, shall hold his office during the remainder of the term and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified. If the Senate is not in session, the Governor may make temporary appointments in the case of vacancies.

Members of the Authority shall not be entitled to compensation for their services as members but shall be entitled to reimbursement for all necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as members. The Governor may remove any member of the Authority in case of incompetency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, after service on the member of a copy of the written charges against the member and an opportunity to be publicly heard in person or by counsel in the his or her defense upon not less than 10 days' notice.

The members of the Authority shall appoint an Executive Director, who must be a person knowledgeable in the areas of financial markets and instruments and the financing of business enterprises, to hold office at the pleasure of the members. The Executive Director shall be the chief administrative and operational officer of the Authority and shall direct and supervise its administrative affairs and general management and perform such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the members and shall receive compensation fixed by the Authority. The Executive Director or any committee of the members may carry out any responsibilities of the members as the members by resolution may delegate. The Executive Director shall attend all meetings of the Authority; however, no action of the Authority shall be invalid on account of the absence of the Executive Director from a meeting. The Authority may engage the services of such other agents and employees, including attorneys, appraisers, engineers, accountants, credit analysts, and other consultants, as it may deem advisable and may prescribe their duties and fix their compensation.

The Authority shall determine the municipal poverty rate and the statewide average municipal poverty rate annually by using the most recent data released by the United States Census Bureau before the beginning of each calendar year. The Authority shall have the sole and exclusive authority to determine the municipal poverty rate and the statewide average municipal poverty rate and to determine whether a municipality's poverty rate is greater than 3% in excess of the statewide average so long as the determination is based on the most recent data released by the United States Census Bureau.

Section 5. Conflicts of interest.

(a) No member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee thereof shall, in the member's own name or in the name of a nominee, be an officer, director, or hold an ownership interest of more than 7.5% in any person, association, trust, corporation, partnership, or other entity which is, in its own name or in the name of a nominee, a party to a contract or agreement upon which the member or officer, agent or employee may be called upon to act or vote.

(b) With respect to any direct or any indirect interest, other than an interest prohibited in subsection (a), in a contract or agreement upon which the member or officer, agent or employee may be called upon to act or vote, a member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee thereof must disclose the interest to the secretary of the Authority prior to the taking of final action by the Authority concerning the contract or agreement and shall disclose the nature and extent of the interest and his or her acquisition thereof, which shall be publicly acknowledged by the Authority and entered upon the minutes of the Authority. If a member of the Authority or officer, agent, or employee thereof holds such an interest then the member shall refrain from any further official involvement in regard to the contract or agreement, from voting on any matter pertaining to the contract or agreement, and from communicating with other members of the Authority or its officers, agents, and employees concerning the contract or agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any contract or agreement entered into in conformity with this subsection shall not be void or invalid by reason of the interest described in this subsection, nor shall any person disclosing an interest and refraining from further official involvement as provided in this subsection be guilty of an offense, be removed from office, or be subject to any other penalty on account of the interest.

(c) Any contract or agreement made in violation of subsections (a) or (b) shall be null and void, whether or not the contract performance has been authorized, and shall give rise to no action against the Authority. No real estate to which a member or employee of the Authority holds legal title or in which a member or employee of the Authority has any beneficial interest, including any interest in a land trust, shall be purchased by the Authority or by a nonprofit corporation or limited-profit entity for a development to be financed under this Act.

All members and employees of the Authority shall file annually with the Authority a record of all real estate in this State to which the member or employee holds legal title or in which the member or employee has any beneficial interest, including any interest in a land trust. In the event it is later disclosed that the Authority has purchased real estate in which a member or employee had an interest, that purchase shall be voidable by the Authority and the member or employee involved shall be disqualified from membership in or employment by the Authority.

Section 6. Records and reports of the Authority. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Authority. The treasurer of the Authority shall be custodian of all Authority funds, and shall be bonded in such amount as the other members of the Authority may designate. The accounts and bonds of the Authority shall be set up and maintained in a manner approved by the Auditor General, and the Authority shall file with the Auditor General a certified annual report within 120 days after the close of its fiscal year. The Authority shall also file with the Governor, the Secretary of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, by March 1 of each year, a written report covering its activities and any activities of any instrumentality corporation established under this Act for the previous fiscal year. In its report to be filed by March 1, 2005, the Authority shall present an economic development strategy for all municipalities with a municipal poverty rate greater than 3% in excess of the Statewide average, the Authority shall make modifications in the economic development strategy for the 4 years beginning on the next ensuing July 1, to reflect changes in economic conditions or other factors, including the policies of the Authority and the State of Illinois. It shall also present an economic development strategy for the fifth year beginning after the next ensuing July 1. The strategy shall recommend specific legislative and administrative action by the State, the Authority, units of local government, or other governmental agencies. These recommendations may include, but are not limited to, new programs, modifications to existing programs, credit enhancements for bonds issued by the Authority, and amendments to this Act. When filed, the report shall be a public record and open for inspection at the offices of the Authority during normal business hours.

Section 7. Approval of official acts. All official acts of the Authority shall require the approval of at least 6 members.

Section 8. Powers of the Authority.

(a) The Authority possesses all the powers of a body corporate necessary and convenient to accomplish the purposes of this Act, including, without limitation, except as defined in Section 9.1 of the Act, the following:

(1) To enter into loans, contracts, agreements, and mortgages in any matter connected with any of its corporate purposes and to invest its funds.

(2) To sue and be sued.

(3) To employ agents and employees necessary to carry out its purposes.

(4) To have and use a common seal and to alter the same at its discretion.

(5) To adopt all needful ordinances, resolutions, by-laws, rules, and regulations for the conduct of its business and affairs and for the management and use of the projects developed, constructed, acquired, and improved in furtherance of its purposes.

(6) To designate the fiscal year for the Authority.

(7) To accept and expend appropriations.

(8) To maintain an office or offices at such place as the Authority may designate.

(9) To employ, either as regular employees or as independent contractors, such consultants, engineers, architects, accountants, attorneys, financial experts, construction experts and personnel, superintendents, managers, and other professional personnel as may be necessary in the judgment of the Authority and to fix their compensation.

(10) To acquire, hold, lease, use, encumber, transfer, or dispose of real and personal property.

(11) To enter into contracts of any kind and execute all instruments necessary or convenient with respect to its carrying out the powers in this Act to accomplish the purposes of the Authority.

(12) To fix and revise from time to time and to charge and collect rates, rents, fees, or other charges for the use of facilities or for services rendered in connection with the facilities.

(13) To borrow money from any source for any corporate purpose, including working capital for its operations, reserve funds, or the payment of interest, to mortgage, pledge, or otherwise encumber the property or funds of the Authority, and to contract with or engage the services of any person in connection with any financing, including financial institutions, issuers of letters of credit, or insurers.

(14) To issue bonds or notes under this Act.

(15) To receive and accept from any source, private or public, contributions, gifts, or grants of money or property.

(16) To make loans from proceeds or funds otherwise available to the extent necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of the Authority.

(17) To exercise all the corporate powers granted to Illinois corporations under the Business Corporation Act of 1983, except to the extent that any of these powers are inconsistent with those of a body politic and corporate of the State.

(18) To have and exercise all powers and be subject to all duties usually incident to boards of directors of corporations.

(19) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted by this Act.

(b) The Authority shall not issue any bonds relating to the financing of a project located within the planning and subdivision control jurisdiction of any municipality or county unless notice, including a description of the proposed project and the financing therefor, is submitted to the corporate authorities of the municipality or, in the case of a proposed project in an unincorporated area, to the county board.

(c) If any of the powers set forth in this Act are exercised within the jurisdictional limits of any municipality, all ordinances of the municipality shall remain in full force and effect and shall be controlling.

Section 9. Bonds and notes.

(a) The Authority may, at any time and from time to time, issue bonds and notes for any corporate purpose, including the establishment of reserves and the payment of interest. In this Act the term "bonds" includes notes of any kind, interim certificates, refunding bonds, or any other evidence of obligation.

The bonds of any issue shall be payable solely from the property or receipts of the Authority, including, without limitation: (i) fees, charges, or other revenues payable to the Authority; (ii) payments by financial institutions, insurance companies, or others under letters or lines of credit, policies of insurance, or purchase agreements; (iii) investment earnings from funds or accounts maintained under a bond resolution or trust agreement; (iv) proceeds of refunding bonds; and (v) any and all appropriations authorized by the General Assembly.

Bonds shall be authorized by a resolution of the Authority and may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the Authority and a corporate trustee or trustees, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the State. Bonds shall:

(1) be issued at, above, or below par value, for cash or other valuable consideration, and mature at time or times, whether as serial bonds or as term bonds or both, not exceeding 35 years from their respective date of issue; however, the length of the term of the bond should bear a reasonable relationship to the value life of the item financed;

(2) bear interest at the fixed or variable rate or rates determined by the method provided in the resolution or trust agreement;

(3) be payable at a time or times, in the denominations and form, either coupon or registered or both, and carry the registration and privileges as to conversion and for the replacement of mutilated, lost, or destroyed bonds as the resolution or trust agreement may provide;

(4) be payable in lawful money of the United States at a designated place;

(5) be subject to the terms of purchase, payment, redemption, refunding, or refinancing that the resolution or trust agreement provides;

(6) be executed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the officers of the Authority designated by the Authority, which signatures shall be valid at delivery even for one who has ceased to hold office; and

(7) be sold in the manner and upon the terms determined by the Authority.

(b) Any resolution or trust agreement may contain provisions which shall be a part of the contract with the holders of the bonds as to the following:

(1) Pledging, assigning, or directing the use, investment or disposition of receipts of the Authority or proceeds or benefits of any contract and conveying or otherwise securing any property or property rights.

(2) The setting aside of loan funding deposits, debt service reserves, capitalized interest accounts, cost of issuance accounts and sinking funds, and the regulations, investment, and disposition thereof.

(3) Limitations on the purpose to which or the investments in which the proceeds of the sale of any issue of bonds may be applied and restrictions to investment of revenues or bond proceeds in government obligations for which principal and interest are unconditionally guaranteed by the United States of America.

(4) Limitations on the issue of additional bonds, the terms upon which additional bonds may be issued and secured, and the terms upon which additional bonds may rank on a parity with or be subordinate or superior to other bonds.

(5) The refunding or refinancing of outstanding bonds.

(6) The procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be altered or amended, the amount of bonds and holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which consent must be given.

(7) Defining the acts or omissions that constitute a default in the duties of the Authority to holders of bonds and providing the rights or remedies of the holders in the event of a default which may include provisions restricting individual right of action by bondholders.

(8) Providing for guarantees, pledges of property, letters of credit, or other security, or insurance for the benefit of bondholders.

(9) Any other matter relating to the bonds that the Authority determines appropriate.

(c) No member of the Authority nor any person executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the bonds or subject to any personal liability by reason of the issuance of the bonds.

(d) The Authority may enter into agreements with agents, banks, insurers, or others for the purpose of enhancing the marketability of or as security for its bonds.

(e) A pledge by the Authority of revenues as security for an issue of bonds shall be valid and binding from the time the pledge is made.

The revenues pledged shall immediately be subject to the lien of the pledge without any physical delivery or further act, and the lien of any pledge shall be valid and binding against any person having any claim of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the Authority, irrespective of whether the person has notice.

No resolution, trust agreement or financing statement, continuation statement, or other instrument adopted or entered into by the Authority need be filed or recorded in any public record other than the records of the Authority in order to perfect the lien against third persons, regardless of any contrary provision of law.

(f) The Authority may issue bonds to refund any of its bonds then outstanding, including the payment of any redemption premium and any interest accrued or to accrue to the earliest or any subsequent date of redemption, purchase, or maturity of the bonds. Refunding bonds may be issued for the public purposes of realizing savings in the effective costs of debt service, directly or through a debt restructuring, for alleviating impending or actual default and may be issued in one or more series in an amount in excess of that of the bonds to be refunded.

(g) Bonds or notes of the Authority may be sold by the Authority through the process of competitive bid or negotiated sale.

(h) At no time shall the total outstanding bonds and notes of the Authority exceed $500 million exclusive of bonds issued to refund outstanding bonds.

(i) The bonds and notes of the Authority shall not be debts of the State, any unit of local government, or any political subdivision of the State other than the Authority.

Section 9.1. Limitation.

(a) The Authority may issue its bonds or notes (including refunding bond or notes) only if the financed project is situated within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipality with a municipal poverty rate greater than 3% in excess of the statewide average.

(b) If a project is situated in 2 or more municipalities where one municipality has a municipal poverty rate greater than 3% in excess of the Statewide average and the other does not, the project shall be deemed to be within the municipality with a municipal poverty rate greater than 3% in excess of the Statewide average.

Section 10. Legality for investment. Any financial institution, investment company, insurance company, or association and any personal representative, guardian, trustee, or other fiduciary, may legally invest any monies belonging to them or within their control in any bonds issued by the Authority.

Section 11. Tax exemption. The Authority shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments of any kind whatsoever and its bonds, their transfer, the interest payable on them, and any income derived from them shall be exempt at the time of issuance and at all times from every kind and nature of taxation by this State or by any of its political subdivisions, municipal corporations, or public agencies of any kind, except for estate, transfer, and inheritance taxes as provided in Section 12.

For purposes of Section 250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, the exemption of the income from bonds issued by the Authority shall terminate after all of the bonds have been paid. The amount of such income that shall be added and then subtracted on the Illinois income tax return of a taxpayer, under Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, from federal adjusted gross income or federal taxable income in computing Illinois base income shall be the interest net of any bond premium amortization.

Section 12. Additional powers and duties.

(a) The Authority may, but need not, acquire title to any project with respect to which it exercises its authority.

(b) The Authority shall have the power to enter into intergovernmental agreements with the State of Illinois, the United States government and any agency or instrumentality of the United States, any unit of local government, or any other unit of government to the extent allowed by Article VII, Section 10 of the Illinois Constitution and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.

(c) The Authority shall have the power to share employees with other units of government, including agencies of the United States, agencies of the State of Illinois, and agencies or personnel of any unit of local government.

(d) The Authority shall have the power to exercise powers and issue bonds as if it were a municipality so authorized in Divisions 12.1, 74, 74.1, 74.3, 74.4, and 74.5 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

Section 13. Fees and charges. The Authority may collect fees and charges in connection with its loans, commitments, and servicing and may provide technical assistance in the development of the region.

Section 90. The Illinois Enterprise Zone Act is amended by changing Section 5 and by adding Section 11.2 as follows:

(20 ILCS 655/5) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 605)

Sec. 5. Initiation of Enterprise Zones by Municipality or County.

(a) Except as provided in Section 11.2, no No area may be designated as an enterprise zone except pursuant to an initiating ordinance adopted in accordance with this Section.

(b) A county or municipality may by ordinance designate an area within its jurisdiction as an enterprise zone, subject to the certification of the Department in accordance with this Act, if:

(i) the area is qualified in accordance with Section 4; and

(ii) the county or municipality has conducted at least one public hearing within the proposed zone area on the question of whether to create the zone, what local plans, tax incentives and other programs should be established in connection with the zone, and what the boundaries of the zone should be; public notice of such hearing shall be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the zone area, not more than 20 days nor less than 5 days before the hearing.

(c) An ordinance designating an area as an enterprise zone shall set forth:

(i) a precise description of the area comprising the zone, either in the form of a legal description or by reference to roadways, lakes and waterways, and township, county boundaries;

(ii) a finding that the zone area meets the qualifications of Section 4;

(iii) provisions for any tax incentives or reimbursement for taxes, which pursuant to state and federal law apply to business enterprises within the zone at the election of the designating county or municipality, and which are not applicable throughout the county or municipality;

(iv) a designation of the area as an enterprise zone, subject to the approval of the Department in accordance with this Act;

(v) the duration or term of the enterprise zone.

(d) This Section does not prohibit a municipality or county from extending additional tax incentives or reimbursement for business enterprises in Enterprise Zones or throughout their territory by separate ordinance.

(e) No county or municipality located within the Metro East Mass Transit District which adopts an ordinance designating an area within the District as an Enterprise Zone shall provide for any exemption, deduction, credit, refund or abatement of any taxes imposed by the Metro East Mass Transit District Board of Trustees under Section 5.01 of the "Local Mass Transit District Act", approved July 21, 1959, as amended.

(f) The Department shall encourage applications from all areas of the State and shall actively solicit applications from those counties with populations of less than 300,000.

(Source: P.A. 85-870.)

(20 ILCS 655/11.2 new)

Sec. 11.2. The Illinois Urban Development Authority. The Illinois Urban Development Authority may by resolution designate any portion of the State as an Enterprise Zone under this Act in addition to any other Enterprise Zones that may be created under this Act. The designated area shall have all the privileges and rights of an Enterprise Zone under this Act, but shall not be counted in determining the number of Enterprise Zones to be created in any year under this Act.

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