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Public Act 094-0129
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| HB0741 Enrolled |
LRB094 07156 AMC 37310 b |
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AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing |
Section 16-150.1 as follows:
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(40 ILCS 5/16-150.1)
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Sec. 16-150.1. Return to teaching in subject shortage area.
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(a) As used in this Section, "eligible employment" means |
employment
beginning on or after July 1, 2003 and ending no |
later than June 30, 2008,
in a subject shortage area at a |
qualified school, in a position requiring
certification under |
the law governing the certification of teachers.
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As used in this Section, "qualified school" means a public |
elementary or
secondary school that meets all of the following |
requirements:
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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 |
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his or her retirement
status or retirement annuity, subject to |
the following conditions:
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(1) the eligible employment does not begin within the |
school year
during which service was terminated;
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(2) the annuitant has not received any early retirement |
incentive under
Section 16-133.3, 16-133.4, or 16-133.5;
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(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;
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(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
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(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.
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(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.
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(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
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group health benefits, and compliance with the laws governing |
the employment,
regulation, certification, treatment, and |
conduct of teachers.
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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.
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(e) Before hiring a teacher under this Section, the school |
district
to which the school belongs must do the following:
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(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
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annuities under this Article, the vacant positions must |
first be tendered to
those teachers.
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(2) For a period of at least 90 days
during the 6 |
months preceding the beginning of either the fall or spring |
term
the school 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.
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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.
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(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.
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(Source: P.A. 93-320, eff. 7-23-03.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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