Public Act 095-0910
 
HB4536 Enrolled LRB095 15146 AMC 41111 b

    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
Sections 16-150.1 and 16-203 as follows:
 
    (40 ILCS 5/16-150.1)
    Sec. 16-150.1. Return to teaching in subject shortage area.
    (a) As used in this Section, "eligible employment" means
employment beginning on or after July 1, 2003 and ending no
later than June 30, 2013 2008, in a subject shortage area at a
qualified school, in a position requiring certification under
the law governing the certification of teachers.
    As used in this Section, "qualified school" means a public
elementary or secondary school that meets all of the following
requirements:
        (1) At the time of hiring a retired teacher under this
    Section, the school is experiencing a shortage of teachers
    in the subject shortage area for which the teacher is
    hired.
        (2) The school district to which the school belongs has
    complied with the requirements of subsection (e), and the
    regional superintendent has certified that compliance to
    the System.
        (3) If the school district to which the school belongs
    provides group health benefits for its teachers generally,
    substantially similar health benefits are made available
    for teachers participating in the program under this
    Section, without any limitations based on pre-existing
    conditions.
    (b) An annuitant receiving a retirement annuity under this
Article (other than a disability retirement annuity) may engage
in eligible employment at a qualified school without impairing
his or her retirement status or retirement annuity, subject to
the following conditions:
        (1) the eligible employment does not begin within the
    school year during which service was terminated;
        (2) the annuitant has not received any early retirement
    incentive under Section 16-133.3, 16-133.4, or 16-133.5;
        (3) if the annuitant retired before age 60 and with
    less than 34 years of service, the eligible employment does
    not begin within the year following the effective date of
    the retirement annuity;
        (4) if the annuitant retired at age 60 or above or with
    34 or more years of service, the eligible employment does
    not begin within the 90 days following the effective date
    of the retirement annuity; and
        (5) before the eligible employment begins, the
    employer notifies the System in writing of the annuitant's
    desire to participate in the program established under this
    Section.
    (c) An annuitant engaged in eligible employment in
accordance with subsection (b) shall be deemed a participant in
the program established under this Section for so long as he or
she remains employed in eligible employment.
    (d) A participant in the program established under this
Section continues to be a retirement annuitant, rather than an
active teacher, for all of the purposes of this Code, but shall
be deemed an active teacher for other purposes, such as
inclusion in a collective bargaining unit, eligibility for
group health benefits, and compliance with the laws governing
the employment, regulation, certification, treatment, and
conduct of teachers.
    With respect to an annuitant's eligible employment under
this Section, neither employee nor employer contributions
shall be made to the System and no additional service credit
shall be earned. Eligible employment does not affect the
annuitant's final average salary or the amount of the
retirement annuity.
    (e) Before hiring a teacher under this Section, the school
district to which the school belongs must do the following:
        (1) If the school district to which the school belongs
    has honorably dismissed, within the calendar year
    preceding the beginning of the school term for which it
    seeks to employ a retired teacher under the program
    established in this Section, any teachers who are legally
    qualified to hold positions in the subject shortage area
    and have not yet begun to receive their retirement
    annuities under this Article, the vacant positions must
    first be tendered to those teachers.
        (2) For a period of at least 90 days during the 6
    months preceding the beginning of either the fall or spring
    term for which it seeks to employ a retired teacher under
    the program established in this Section, the school
    district must, on an ongoing basis, both (i) advertise its
    vacancies in the subject shortage area in a newspaper of
    general circulation in the area in which the school is
    located and in employment bulletins published by college
    and university placement offices located near the school;
    and (ii) search for teachers legally qualified to fill
    those vacancies through the Illinois Education Job Bank.
    The school district must submit documentation of its
compliance with this subsection to the regional
superintendent. Upon receiving satisfactory documentation from
the school district, the regional superintendent shall certify
the district's compliance with this subsection to the System.
    (f) This Section applies without regard to whether the
annuitant was in service on or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 93-320, eff. 7-23-03; 94-129, eff. 7-7-05.)
 
    (40 ILCS 5/16-203)
    Sec. 16-203. Application and expiration of new benefit
increases.
    (a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means
an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this
Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for
any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment
to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the
effective date of Public Act 94-4) this amendatory Act of the
94th General Assembly. "New benefit increase", however, does
not include any benefit increase resulting from the changes
made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the 95th General
Assembly.
    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or any
subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit increase
is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be granted
only in conformance with and contingent upon compliance with
the provisions of this Section.
    (c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must
identify and provide for payment to the System of additional
funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual
increase in cost to the System as it accrues.
    Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General
Assembly providing the additional funding required under this
subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional
funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and
shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of the
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. A new
benefit increase created by a Public Act that does not include
the additional funding required under this subsection is null
and void. If the Public Pension Division determines that the
additional funding provided for a new benefit increase under
this subsection is or has become inadequate, it may so certify
to the Governor and the State Comptroller and, in the absence
of corrective action by the General Assembly, the new benefit
increase shall expire at the end of the fiscal year in which
the certification is made.
    (d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after
its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified
in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided
under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General
Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase
by law.
    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating
the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires
under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied
and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit
increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and
alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any
other person, including without limitation a person who
continues in service after the expiration date and did not
apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new
benefit increase was in effect.
(Source: P.A. 94-4, eff. 6-1-05.)
 
    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.32 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 805/8.32 new)
    Sec. 8.32. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
the 95th General Assembly.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.