Public Act 099-0668
 
HB4371 EnrolledLRB099 13772 AWJ 37740 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Water Authorities Act is amended by changing
Section 28 as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 3715/28)
    Sec. 28. Cessation or dissolution of authority
organization.
    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a
majority vote of the board of trustees is in favor of the
proposition to annex the authority to another authority whose
boundaries are contiguous, or consolidate the authority into a
municipality with which the authority is coterminous or
substantially coterminous, or consolidate the authority into
the county in which the authority sits if the authority
contains territory within only one county, and if the governing
authorities of the governmental unit assuming the functions of
the former authority agree by resolution to accept the
functions (and jurisdiction over the territory, if applicable)
of the consolidated or annexed authority, then the authority
shall cease. On the effective date of the annexation or
consolidation, all the rights, powers, duties, assets,
property, liabilities, indebtedness, obligations, bonding
authority, taxing authority, and responsibilities of the
authority shall vest in and be assumed by the governmental unit
assuming the functions of the former authority.
    The employees of the former authority shall be transferred
to the governmental unit assuming the functions of the former
authority. The governmental unit assuming the functions of the
former authority shall exercise the rights and
responsibilities of the former authority with respect to those
employees. The status and rights of the employees of the former
authority under any applicable contracts or collective
bargaining agreements, historical representation rights under
the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, or under any pension,
retirement, or annuity plan shall not be affected by this
amendatory Act.
    (b) Any authority created under this Act, other than an
authority servicing any part of the City of Chicago, which does
not have any outstanding and unpaid revenue bonds issued under
this Act may be dissolved any time after a date which is 4
years after the date of its creation as follows:
    Any 500 electors residing within the area of the authority
may petition the circuit court to order submitted to referendum
the question whether the authority should be dissolved. Upon
the filing of the petition, and the determination that it is in
accordance with the general election law, the circuit court
shall: designate the election at which this question is to be
submitted; order notice of the referendum in the manner
provided by the general election law; and certify the
proposition to the proper election officials for submission in
accordance with the general election law.
    The proposition shall be in substantially the following
form:
 
------------------------------------------------------------- 
    "Shall the (name of                         YES 
    water authority)                       -------------- 
    be dissolved?"                               NO 
------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
    If a majority of the votes cast on this question are in
favor of dissolution of the authority under this subsection,
then such organization shall cease, the authority is dissolved,
and the circuit court shall direct the discharge of all
outstanding obligations.
    If the vote is in favor of dissolution of the authority
under this subsection, there shall be no further appointments
or elections for trustees. Except as otherwise provided for in
this subsection, the trustees acting at the time of this vote
shall close up the business affairs of the district and make
the necessary conveyances of the title to the district
property. The terms of the trustees acting at the time of a
vote in favor of dissolution are extended until the business
affairs are closed up and conveyances of title are completed.
    To the extent that the authority has entered into a
multiyear lease on a real property asset (including, but not
limited to, surface water property) that it possesses, the
court, upon application of the trustees, may order the trustees
to arrange the transfer of such real property asset, instead of
liquidating the real property asset, to a unit of local
government with legal authority to operate the real property
asset. Such transfer may be made with or without compensation
in the discretion of the court in accordance with this
paragraph. In determining whether compensation shall be paid,
the court shall determine if the same or substantially similar
groups of citizens will benefit from the real property asset
after transfer. To the extent that the same or substantially
similar groups of citizens will continue to benefit from the
real property asset, the court is not required to order
compensation paid by the receiving unit of local government to
the authority. To the extent that a substantial change occurs
to the groups of citizens that will benefit from the real
property asset after the transfer, the court shall determine,
after receiving input from the trustees and the unit of local
government, an equitable method of compensation, after
receiving input from the trustees and the unit of local
government, to be received from the unit of local government to
whom the real property asset is being transferred. The court
shall liberally construe this provision to provide for an
equitable determination of relative benefit.
    If the vote is against dissolution of the authority, no
petition for a referendum under this subsection may be filed
within 4 years of the previous referendum.
    The dissolution of any authority under this subsection does
not affect the obligation of any bonds issued or contracts
entered into by such authority, nor invalidate the levy,
extension or collection of any taxes upon the property in the
debtor authority, but all such bonds and contracts shall be
fulfilled or repaid as required under the terms of the bonds or
contracts.
    All money remaining after the business affairs of the
authority have been closed up and all the debts and obligations
of the authority have been paid under this subsection, shall be
paid to the township or townships in which such authority is
situated, or the county or counties of any portion of such
authority that is situated outside of a township, in the
proportion that the taxable value the real property in the
authority situated in each township or county bears to the
taxable value of all the real property in the authority.
    All courts shall take judicial notice of the dissolution of
such authority.
(Source: P.A. 98-1002, eff. 8-18-14.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.