SB3789eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3789 Engrossed LRB102 24623 AWJ 33861 b

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act.

Section 5. Definition. As used in this Act, "governmental unit" includes all units of local government that may levy any tax, except municipalities and counties.

Section 10. Formation of committee; members; vacancy; administrative support.

(a) Within one year after the effective date of this Act and at least once every 10 years thereafter, each governmental unit must form a committee to study local efficiencies and report recommendations regarding efficiencies and increased accountability to the county board in which the governmental unit is located.

(b) Each committee's membership shall include the elected or appointed members of the governing board of the governmental unit; at least 2 residents of the governmental unit, who are appointed by the chair of the board of the governmental unit, with the advice and consent of the board; and any chief executive officer or other officer of the governmental unit. The committee shall be chaired by the president or chief elected or appointed official of the governing board of the governmental unit, or his or her designee. The chairperson may appoint additional members to the committee as he or she deems appropriate.

Committee members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed by the governmental unit for their expenses incurred in performing their duties.

(c) A committee may employ or use the services of specialists in public administration and governmental management and any other trained consultants, analysts, investigators, and assistants it considers appropriate, and it may seek assistance from community colleges and universities as necessary to prepare the report required under Section 25.

(d) If a vacancy occurs in the committee membership, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the appointments under subsection (b).

(e) Each governmental unit shall provide administrative and other support to its committee.

Section 15. Duties of a committee. The duties of a committee include, but are not limited to, the study of the governmental unit's governing statutes, ordinances, rules, procedures, powers, jurisdiction, shared services, intergovernmental agreements, and interrelationships with other governmental units and the State. The committee shall also collect data, research, and analysis as necessary to prepare the report described in Section 25.

Section 20. Meetings. Each committee shall meet at least 3 times. The committee may meet during a regularly scheduled meeting of the governmental unit as long as: (1) separate notice is given in conformance with the Open Meetings Act; (2) the committee meeting is listed as part of the board of the governmental unit's agenda; and (3) at least a majority of the members of the committee are present at the committee's meeting. Each meeting of the committee shall be public, and the committee shall provide an opportunity for any person to be heard at the public hearings for at least 3 minutes. The committee may require speakers to register. The committee shall meet in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, and the committee shall be a public body to which the Freedom of Information Act applies.

At the conclusion of each meeting, the committee shall conduct a survey of residents who attended asking for input on the matters discussed at the meeting.

Section 25. Report. Each committee shall summarize its work and findings within a written report, which shall include recommendations in respect to increased accountability and efficiency, and shall provide the report to the county board in which the governmental unit is located no later than 18 months after the formation of the committee. The report shall be made available to the public.

Section 30. Dissolution of the committee. After a committee has made the report required under Section 25 available to the public, the committee is dissolved until it is reestablished with newly appointed members under Section 10.

Section 85. The School Code is amended by changing Section 17-1.1 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/17-1.1)

Sec. 17-1.1. Shared service reporting and fiscal efficiency.

(a) Annually, each school district shall complete a report developed by the State Board of Education, to accompany the annual financial report and to be published on the State Board of Education's Internet website, that summarizes district attempts to improve fiscal efficiency through shared services or outsourcing in the prior fiscal year. The report must be primarily in checklist form and approximately one page in length. It shall include, but shall not be limited to, the incidence of the following shared service options: insurance; employee benefits; transportation; personnel recruitment; shared personnel; technology services; energy purchasing; supply and equipment purchasing; food services; legal services; investment pools; special education cooperatives, vocational cooperatives, and other shared educational programs; curriculum planning; professional development; custodial services; maintenance services; grounds maintenance services; food services; grant writing; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program offerings. The report shall also include a list of potential shared services or outsourcing the district may consider or investigate for the next fiscal year and any anticipated barriers to implementation. This report must be approved by the school board at an open meeting that allows for public comment, and it shall be published on the Internet website of the school district, if any.

(b) Based on data supplied by school districts through the annual financial report, regional superintendents of schools shall publish annually a regional report summarizing district attempts to improve fiscal efficiency through shared services or outsourcing within the educational service region. This report shall include a list of all joint purchasing initiatives, joint agreements between districts, attempts to reduce or eliminate duplication of services and duplicative expenditures, and identification of any overlapping regional service delivery systems.

(c) For school districts required to develop and submit to the State Board of Education a deficit reduction plan under Section 17-1 of this Code, the regional superintendent of schools and the school district shall jointly prepare a shared services and outsourcing plan that considers actions that may improve the district's fiscal efficiency and how future savings associated with shared services or outsourcing are to be utilized.

(Source: P.A. 97-357, eff. 1-1-12.)

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.46 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.46 new)

Sec. 8.46. 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 the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act.

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