HB4536eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4536 Engrossed LRB095 15146 AMC 41111 b

AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Sections 16-150.1 and 16-203 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/16-150.1)

Sec. 16-150.1. Return to teaching in subject shortage area.

(a) As used in this Section, "eligible employment" means employment beginning on or after July 1, 2003 and ending no later than June 30, 2013 2008, in a subject shortage area at a qualified school, in a position requiring certification under the law governing the certification of teachers.

As used in this Section, "qualified school" means a public elementary or secondary school that meets all of the following requirements:

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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 his or her retirement status or retirement annuity, subject to the following conditions:

(1) the eligible employment does not begin within the school year during which service was terminated;

(2) the annuitant has not received any early retirement incentive under Section 16-133.3, 16-133.4, or 16-133.5;

(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;

(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

(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.

(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.

(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 group health benefits, and compliance with the laws governing the employment, regulation, certification, treatment, and conduct of teachers.

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.

(e) Before hiring a teacher under this Section, the school district to which the school belongs must do the following:

(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 annuities under this Article, the vacant positions must first be tendered to those teachers.

(2) For a period of at least 90 days during the 6 months preceding the beginning of either the fall or spring 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.

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.

(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.

(Source: P.A. 93-320, eff. 7-23-03; 94-129, eff. 7-7-05.)

(40 ILCS 5/16-203)

Sec. 16-203. Application and expiration of new benefit increases.

(a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the effective date of Public Act 94-4) this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly. "New benefit increase", however, does not include any benefit increase resulting from the changes made to this Article by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or any subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit increase is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be granted only in conformance with and contingent upon compliance with the provisions of this Section.

(c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must identify and provide for payment to the System of additional funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual increase in cost to the System as it accrues.

Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General Assembly providing the additional funding required under this subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. A new benefit increase created by a Public Act that does not include the additional funding required under this subsection is null and void. If the Public Pension Division determines that the additional funding provided for a new benefit increase under this subsection is or has become inadequate, it may so certify to the Governor and the State Comptroller and, in the absence of corrective action by the General Assembly, the new benefit increase shall expire at the end of the fiscal year in which the certification is made.

(d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase by law.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any other person, including without limitation a person who continues in service after the expiration date and did not apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new benefit increase was in effect.

(Source: P.A. 94-4, eff. 6-1-05.)

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.32 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.32 new)

Sec. 8.32. 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 this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

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