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92nd General Assembly

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Public Act 92-0395

SB800 Enrolled                                 LRB9203128DHpc

    AN ACT concerning highways.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.   The  Illinois  Highway  Code  is amended by
changing Section 6-501 as follows:

    (605 ILCS 5/6-501) (from Ch. 121, par. 6-501)
    Sec. 6-501.  (a)   Findings  and  purpose.   The  General
Assembly finds:
         (1)  That  the  financial conditions of the Township
    and District road systems of the State of  Illinois  have
    suffered   adversely  as  a  result  of  changes  in  law
    concerning  assessed  valuation  of  property   for   tax
    purposes.  That  as  a result of the changes beginning in
    1945, the rates of permissible levy were first halved  to
    accommodate  full  fair  value,  but  never restored when
    subsequent law  change  established  the  legal  assessed
    valuation at 50% of fair market value as equalized by the
    Department of Revenue.
         (2)  Townships  and  district  road  systems,  as  a
    result  of the decreased financial support, have suffered
    a decline in ability to maintain  or  improve  roads  and
    bridges  in  a  safe  condition  to permit the normal and
    ordinary use of its highway system.   In  many  instances
    bridges  have been closed and detours required because of
    impossible road conditions  resulting  in  hardships  for
    school  districts in transporting pupils and for farms in
    moving products to market.
         (3)  Further, cost for maintenance and  improvements
    have  risen  faster  than the valuations of property, the
    base of financial support.
         (4)  To solve these problems, this Act makes changes
    in rates of taxation -- returning Townships and  District
    road  systems  to  their  approximate financial viability
    prior to 1945.
    (b)  The highway commissioner for each road  district  in
each  county  not  under  township  organization  shall on or
before the third Tuesday in December of each  year  determine
and  certify  to  the county board the amount necessary to be
raised by taxation for road purposes and for the salaries  of
elected road district officials in the road district.
    Should  any  highway commissioner during the last year of
his term of office for any reason not file the certificate in
the office of the county clerk, as required by this  Section,
in  time for presentation to the regular September meeting of
the county board, the clerk shall present in lieu  thereof  a
certificate  equal  in  amount  to  that  presented  for  the
preceding year.
    In  every  such  county the certificate shall be filed in
the office of the county clerk and by that official presented
to the county board at the regular September meeting for  the
consideration  of  the  board.   The  amount  so certified if
approved by the county board, or  the  part  thereof  as  the
county  board  does  approve, shall be extended by the county
clerk as road taxes  against  the  taxable  property  of  the
district.
    (c)  The  highway  commissioner  in each road district in
each county having adopted  township  organization  shall  in
accordance with the Illinois Municipal Budget Law at least 30
days  prior to the public meeting required by this paragraph,
each year prepare or cause to be prepared a tentative  budget
and  appropriation ordinance and file the same with the clerk
of the township or consolidated township  road  district,  as
the  case  may  be,  who  shall make the tentative budget and
appropriation ordinance conveniently available to the  public
inspection  for  at least 30 days prior to final action.  One
public hearing shall be held.  This public hearing  shall  be
held  on  or  before the last day of the first quarter of the
fiscal year before the township  board  of  trustees  or  the
highway board of trustees, as the case may be.  Notice of the
hearing   shall  be  given  by  publication  in  a  newspaper
published in the road district at least 30 days prior to  the
time  of  the hearing.  If there is no newspaper published in
the road district, notice of  the  public  hearing  shall  be
given  by  posting  notices in 5 of the most public places in
the district.  It shall be the duty of the clerk of the  road
district  to  arrange  for  the  public hearing. The township
board of trustees or highway board of trustees, as  the  case
may  be,  at  the  public  hearing  shall adopt the tentative
budget and appropriation ordinance, or any part as the  board
of trustees deem necessary.
    On  or  before  the last Tuesday in December the township
board of trustees  or  highway  board  of  trustees  or  road
district  commissioner,  as  the  case may be, shall levy and
certify to the county clerk the amount necessary to be raised
by  taxation  for  road  purposes  and  the   road   district
commissioner  shall  levy and certify to the county clerk the
amount necessary to be raised by taxation for the salaries of
elected road district officials  in  the  road  district,  as
determined by the highway commissioner.
    The  amount  so certified shall be extended by the county
clerk as road taxes  against  the  taxable  property  of  the
district.
    On   or   after   October   10,  1991,  a  road  district
commissioner whose district is located in a county not  under
township  organization  may  not  levy  separately  a tax for
salaries of elected road district officials  unless  the  tax
has  been first approved by a majority of the electors voting
on the question at a referendum conducted in accordance  with
the  general  election  law.   The  question submitted to the
electors at the referendum  shall  be  in  substantially  the
following  form:  "Shall  the  road  district commissioner be
authorized to levy an annual tax for the salaries of  elected
road  district  officials under Section 6-501 of the Illinois
Highway Code?"
    Except as is otherwise permitted by this  Code  and  when
the  road  district commissioner establishes the tax rate for
the salaries of elected road district officials,  the  county
clerk  shall  not  extend taxes for road purposes against the
taxable property in any road district at rates in  excess  of
the following:
         (1)  in  a  road  district  comprised  of  a  single
    township  in  a county having township organization, at a
    rate in excess of .125% of the  value,  as  equalized  or
    assessed  by the Department of Revenue; unless before the
    last   Tuesday   in   December   annually   the   highway
    commissioner of the township  road  district  shall  have
    secured  the  consent  in  writing  of  a majority of the
    members  of  the  township  board  of  trustees  to   the
    extension of a greater rate, in which case the rate shall
    not  exceed that approved by a majority of the members of
    the township board of trustees, but in no case  shall  it
    exceed  .165%  of  the value, as equalized or assessed by
    the Department.  Once approved by the township  board  of
    trustees,  the  rate shall remain in effect until changed
    by the township board of trustees;
         (2)  in a consolidated township road district, at  a
    rate  in  excess  of  .175% of the value, as equalized or
    assessed by the Department of Revenue;
         (3)  in a road  district  in  a  county  not  having
    township  organization,  at  a rate in excess of .165% of
    the value, as equalized or assessed by the Department  of
    Revenue.
    However,   road  districts  that  have  higher  tax  rate
limitations on a permanent basis for road purposes on July 1,
1967, than the limitations herein provided, may  continue  to
levy the road taxes at the higher limitations, and the county
clerk  shall  extend  the  taxes  at not to exceed the higher
limitations.
    If the amount of taxes levied by the  township  board  of
trustees  or the highway board of trustees or approved by the
county board in any case is in excess of the amount that  may
be  extended the county clerk shall reduce the amount so that
the rate extended shall be no greater than authorized by law.
However, the tax shall not be reduced or scaled in any manner
whatever by reason of the levy and extension  by  the  county
clerk  of  any tax to pay the principal or interest, or both,
of any bonds issued by a road district.
    The taxes, when collected, shall be held by the treasurer
of the district as the regular road fund of the district.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a  period
of  time  ending  18 8 years after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1994, a road district or consolidated  road
district may accumulate up to 50% of the taxes collected from
a   subdivision   under  this  Section  for  improvements  of
nondedicated roads within the subdivision from which and  for
which  the  taxes  were  collected.  These nondedicated roads
will become a part of the township and district  road  system
if the roads meet the criteria established by the counties in
which  the  roads are located.  The total accumulations under
this provision may not exceed 10% of the total funds held  by
the district for road purposes.   This provision applies only
to  townships  within  counties  adjacent  to a county with a
population of 3,000,000 or more  and  only  with  respect  to
subdivisions  whose  plats were filed or recorded before July
23, 1959.
    Any road district may accumulate funds for the purpose of
acquiring, constructing, repairing  and  improving  buildings
and  procuring  land  in relation to the building and for the
purpose  of  procuring   road   maintenance   apparatus   and
equipment,  and  for  the  construction  of  roads,  and  may
annually levy taxes for the purposes in excess of its current
requirements  for  other  purposes,  subject  to the tax rate
limitations provided in this Section, provided a  proposition
to  accumulate  funds  for the purposes is first submitted to
and  approved  by  the  electors  of   the   district.    The
proposition   shall  be  certified  to  the  proper  election
officials by the district clerk upon  the  direction  of  the
highway commissioner, and the election officials shall submit
the proposition at a regular election.  Notice and conduct of
the  referendum  shall  be  in  accordance  with  the general
election law.  The proposition shall be in substantially  the
following form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall.......... road district
accumulate funds in the amount
of $......... for........years               YES
for the purpose of acquiring,
constructing, repairing and improving    --------------------
buildings and procuring land
therefor,  and  for procuring  road          NO
maintenance apparatus and equipment
and for the construction of roads?
-------------------------------------------------------------
    If  a  majority of the electors voting on the proposition
vote in favor of it, the road district may use a  portion  of
the  funds  levied,  subject  to  the  tax  rate  limitations
provided   in  this  Section,  for  the  purposes  for  which
accumulation  was  authorized.  It  shall  not  be  a   valid
objection to any subsequent tax levy made under this Section,
that  there remains unexpended money arising from the levy of
a prior year because of an  accumulation  permitted  by  this
Section and provided for in the budget for that prior year.
(Source: P.A. 87-17; 87-738; 87-768; 87-895; 87-1189; 88-360;
88-673, eff. 7-1-95.)

    Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
    Passed in the General Assembly May 22, 2001.
    Approved August 16, 2001.

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