House Sponsors: STROGER-CURRIE-FANTIN-BOST-KOSEL, CROTTY, JONES,JOHN AND GRANBERG. Senate Sponsors: CRONIN-BERMAN Short description: SCH CD-CHI SCH FIN AUTH BONDS Synopsis of Bill as introduced: Amends the School Code and the Property Tax Code. Authorizes the Chicago School Finance Authority to incur indebtedness by the issuance of bonds for constructing new and rehabilitating existing school buildings in an aggregate additional principal amount outstanding at any time not exceeding $1.2 billion. Defines the Authority's "debt service extension base" (as used in the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law relative to a source from which limited bonds may be made payable) to mean an amount equal to the portion of the 1994 taxes that were levied by the Authority to pay debt service on bonds issued by the Authority and that had not yet been abated as a result of the refunding of those bonds, without regard to subsequent additional abatements by the Authority of that tax levy. Effective immediately. STATE MANDATES FISCAL NOTE HB1640 fails to create a State mandate. FISCAL NOTE (State Bd. of Ed.) There is no impact on ISBE. STATE MANDATES FISCAL NOTE (SBE) No change from SBE fiscal note. STATE DEBT IMPACT NOTE HB 1640 would not impact State debt. FISCAL NOTE (Dept. of Revenue) HB 1640 has no direct fiscal impact on this Dept. SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1 Deletes reference to: 35 ILCS 200/18-185 105 ILCS 5/34A-501.2 new Deletes everything after the enacting clause. Restores a Section of the engrossed bill relating to the terms of bonds issued by the Chicago School Finance Authority, but makes only a technical change in that Section as restored. SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 2. Deletes reference to: 105 ILCS 5/34A-502 Adds reference to: 30 ILCS 330/12 from Ch. 127, par. 662 105 ILCS 5/1C-2 105 ILCS 5/1D-1 105 ILCS 5/17-1.5 105 ILCS 5/18-8.05 105 ILCS 5/21-2 from Ch. 122, par. 21-2 105 ILCS 5/21-2a from Ch. 122, par. 21-2a 105 ILCS 5/21-4 from Ch. 122, par. 21-4 105 ILCS 5/21-14 from Ch. 122, par. 21-14 105 ILCS 5/24-11 from Ch. 122, par. 24-11 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 Deletes everything. Amends the General Obligation Bond Act and the School Code. Removes a provision that requires proceeds from the sale of certain bonds to be deposited into the School Infrastructure Fund. Provides that all state block grants are subject to an audit. Makes changes in relation to the limitation of administrative costs. Makes changes in relation to the basis for apportionment of general State financial aid and supplemental general State aid, including changes to general provisions and changes concerning available local resources, equalized assessed valuation data, general State aid for newly configured school districts, supplementary grants in aid, alternative schools, and the general State aid adjustment grant. Provides that an initial teaching certificate is valid for 4 years of teaching (instead of just 4 years). Requires the State Board of Education to ensure that the curriculum for all approved teacher preparation programs include, and that all prospective teachers pursuing Early Childhood, Elementary, or Secondary Education certificates receive, instruction on the exceptional child. Provides that nothing in provisions concerning special certificates shall be construed to adversely affect the rights of any person presently certificated or any person whose certification is currently pending under the provisions concerning special certificates, and requires that these persons be issued Standard Elementary and Standard Secondary Certificates. Makes changes in relation to contractual continued service. Makes changes in relation to the content of evaluation plans for certified employees. Effective July 1, 1998. SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 3. Provides that Initial Teaching Certificates and Standard Certificates shall be issued for categories corresponding to Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, and Special K-12, with certification designations (instead of for categories corresponding to Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Secondary Education, with special certification designations). Removes a provision requiring special certification designations to be issued for special certificates. Removes provisions that provide that nothing in a Section concerning special certificates shall be construed to adversely affect the rights of any person presently certificated or any person whose certification is currently pending under the Section concerning special certificates and that require that these persons be issued Standard Elementary and Standard Secondary Certificates. Provides instead that those persons holding special certificates on January 1, 1999 shall be eligible for the issuance of Standard Elementary and Standard Secondary Certificates with appropriate special certification designations or Standard Special K-12 Certificates with appropriate special certification designations. Provides that those persons eligible to receive K-12 certification after January 1, 1999 shall be issued Initial Elementary and Initial Secondary Certificates with appropriate special certification designations or Initial Special K-12 Certificates with appropriate special certification designations. SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 4. (Tabled May 22, 1998) Adds reference to: 105 ILCS 5/1A-8 105 ILCS 5/1B-8 Authorizes the State Board of Education to also certify as a dis- trict in financial difficulty if the district previously was so certi- fied and requests to be recertified because of continuing financial problems. Authorizes emergency financial assistance grants to be made to a district in an amount not exceeding $250 times pupil enrollment in the district during the prior school year. Provides that a district may receive both an emergency financial assistance grant and an emer- gency financial assistance loan. Changes the simple interest rate pay- able on such loans from 4% to 50% of the most recent one-year U.S. Treasury Bill rate as determined by the State Superintendent of Educa- tion at the time the loan's approved. SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 5. Adds reference to: 105 ILCS 230/5-37 new Eliminates a proposal to change to 1.00% from 1.20% the imputed tax rate used to calculate the Available Local Resources and abatement-related EAV adjustments of high school districts under the State aid formula applicable beginning with the 1998-99 school year. Also adds provisions amending the School Construction Law to estab- lish succeeding year carry-over grant priority, by category, for the school construction project grant entitlements of school districts that do not receive a grant award in the entitlement year due to lack of adequate appropriations. Changes the bill's July 1, 1998 effective date to an immediate effective date, except provides that all changes to the State aid formula Section of the School Code take effect July 1, 1998. Last action on Bill: PUBLIC ACT.............................. 90-0653 Last action date: 98-07-29 Location: House Amendments to Bill: AMENDMENTS ADOPTED: HOUSE - 0 SENATE - 4 END OF INQUIRY Full Text Bill Status