HB0537ham001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Robert W. Pritchard

Filed: 2/23/2017

10000HB0537ham001 LRB100 06956 MLM 22251 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 537

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 537 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section 12-5 and by adding Section 28-8.2 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/12-5) (from Ch. 46, par. 12-5)

Sec. 12-5. Notice for public questions. For all elections held after July 1, 1999, notice of public questions shall be required only as set forth in this Section and Section 28-8.2 of this Code or as set forth in Section 17-3 or 19-3 of the School Code. Not more than 60 30 days nor less than 40 10 days before the date of a regular election at which a public question is to be submitted to the voters of a political or governmental subdivision, and at least 20 days before an emergency referendum, the election authority shall publish notice of the referendum. The notice shall be published once in a local, community newspaper having general circulation in the political or governmental subdivision. The notice shall also be given at least 10 days before the date of the election by posting a copy of the notice at the principal office of the election authority. The local election official shall also post a copy of the notice at the principal office of the political or governmental subdivision, or if there is no principal office at the building in which the governing body of the political or governmental subdivision held its first meeting of the calendar year in which the referendum is being held. The election authority and the political or governmental subdivision may, but are not required to, post the notice electronically on their World Wide Web pages. The notice, which shall appear over the name or title of the election authority, shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that at the election to be held on (insert day of the week), (insert date of election), the following proposition will be submitted to the voters of (name of political or governmental subdivision):

(insert the public question as it will appear on the ballot)

The polls at the election will be open at 6:00 o'clock A.M. and will continue to be open until 7:00 o'clock P.M. of that day.

Dated (date of notice)

(Name or title of the election authority)

The notice shall also include any additional information required by the statute authorizing the public question and Section 28-8.2 of this Code. The notice may include an explanation, in neutral and plain language, of the question and its purposes supplied by the governing body of the political or governmental subdivision to whose voters the question is to be submitted. The notice shall set forth the precincts and polling places at which the referendum will be conducted only in the case of emergency referenda.

(Source: P.A. 92-6, eff. 6-7-01; 93-847, eff. 7-30-04.)

(10 ILCS 5/28-8.2 new)

Sec. 28-8.2. Revenue referenda disclosure.

(a) For purposes of this Section, "revenue referenda" means referenda by a unit of local government, including a school district, seeking to impose or increase a retailers' occupation tax, a use tax, a service occupation tax, a service use tax, or a property tax, or regarding the issuance of bonds.

(b) Revenue referenda shall contain the following information:

(1) the amount of the new or increased tax or bond;

(2) the amount that this proposed imposition or increase will impact the unit of local government's current taxes or bonds;

(3) if a bond, the projected life of the bond and the estimated amounts of principal, interest, and total debt service; and

(4) an example of the impact the new property tax or bond is estimated to have on a family owning a residence worth $100,000, both before and after the issuance of the property tax or bond.

(c) In addition to other notice and publication requirements as may be otherwise required by law, the unit of local government proposing revenue referenda shall publish the referenda questions, along with the required disclosures under subsection (b) of this Section, no more than 60 days nor less than 40 days prior to the referenda appearing on the ballot in a newspaper of general circulation published in the unit of local government or school district and on the unit of local government's or school district's website and community newsletter, if they have one.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".