Sen. Dale A. Righter
Filed: 5/15/2009
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 944
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 944 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 1A-8 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/1A-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 1A-8)
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7 | Sec. 1A-8. Powers of the Board in Assisting Districts | ||||||
8 | Deemed in Financial
Difficulties. To promote the financial | ||||||
9 | integrity of school districts, the
State Board of Education | ||||||
10 | shall be provided the necessary powers to promote
sound | ||||||
11 | financial management and continue operation of the public | ||||||
12 | schools.
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13 | The State Superintendent of Education may require a school | ||||||
14 | district, including any district subject to Article 34A of this | ||||||
15 | Code, to share financial information relevant to a proper | ||||||
16 | investigation of the district's financial condition and the |
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1 | delivery of appropriate State financial, technical, and | ||||||
2 | consulting services to the district if the district (i) has | ||||||
3 | been designated, through the State Board of Education's School | ||||||
4 | District Financial Profile System, as on financial warning or | ||||||
5 | financial watch status, (ii) has failed to file an annual | ||||||
6 | financial report, annual budget, deficit reduction plan, or | ||||||
7 | other financial information as required by law, or (iii) has | ||||||
8 | been identified, through the district's annual audit or other | ||||||
9 | financial and management information, as in serious financial | ||||||
10 | difficulty in the current or next school year. In addition to | ||||||
11 | financial, technical, and consulting services provided by the | ||||||
12 | State Board of Education, at the request of a school district, | ||||||
13 | the State Superintendent may provide for an independent | ||||||
14 | financial consultant to assist the district review its | ||||||
15 | financial condition and options.
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16 | The State Board of Education, after proper investigation of | ||||||
17 | a district's
financial condition, may certify that a district, | ||||||
18 | including any district
subject to Article 34A, is in financial | ||||||
19 | difficulty
when any of the following conditions occur:
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20 | (1) The district has issued school or teacher orders | ||||||
21 | for wages as permitted in Sections
8-16, 32-7.2 and 34-76 | ||||||
22 | of this Code;
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23 | (2) The district has issued tax anticipation warrants | ||||||
24 | or tax
anticipation notes in anticipation of a second | ||||||
25 | year's taxes when warrants or
notes in anticipation of | ||||||
26 | current year taxes are still outstanding, as
authorized by |
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1 | Sections 17-16, 34-23, 34-59 and 34-63 of this Code, or has | ||||||
2 | issued short-term debt against 2 future revenue sources, | ||||||
3 | such as, but not limited to, tax anticipation warrants and | ||||||
4 | general State Aid certificates or tax anticipation | ||||||
5 | warrants and revenue anticipation notes;
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6 | (3) The district has for 2 consecutive years shown an | ||||||
7 | excess
of expenditures and other financing uses over | ||||||
8 | revenues and other financing
sources and beginning fund | ||||||
9 | balances on its annual financial report for the
aggregate | ||||||
10 | totals of the Educational, Operations and Maintenance,
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11 | Transportation, and Working Cash Funds;
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12 | (4) The district refuses to provide financial | ||||||
13 | information or cooperate with the State Superintendent in | ||||||
14 | an investigation of the district's financial condition.
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15 | No school district shall be certified by the State Board of | ||||||
16 | Education to be in financial difficulty solely by
reason of any | ||||||
17 | of the above circumstances arising as a result of (i) the | ||||||
18 | failure
of the county to make any distribution of property tax | ||||||
19 | money due the district
at the time such distribution is due or | ||||||
20 | (ii) the failure of this State to make timely payments of | ||||||
21 | general State aid or any of the mandated categoricals ; or if | ||||||
22 | the district clearly demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the | ||||||
23 | State Board of Education at the time of its
determination that | ||||||
24 | such condition no longer exists. If the State Board of
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25 | Education certifies that a district in a city with 500,000 | ||||||
26 | inhabitants or
more is in financial difficulty, the State Board |
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1 | shall so notify the
Governor and the Mayor of the city in which | ||||||
2 | the district is located. The
State Board of Education may | ||||||
3 | require school districts certified in
financial difficulty, | ||||||
4 | except those districts subject to Article 34A, to
develop, | ||||||
5 | adopt and submit a financial plan within 45 days after
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6 | certification of financial difficulty. The financial plan | ||||||
7 | shall be
developed according to guidelines presented to the | ||||||
8 | district by the State
Board of Education within 14 days of | ||||||
9 | certification. Such guidelines shall
address the specific | ||||||
10 | nature of each district's financial difficulties. Any
proposed | ||||||
11 | budget of the district shall be consistent with the financial | ||||||
12 | plan
submitted to and
approved by the State Board of Education.
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13 | A district certified to be in financial difficulty, other | ||||||
14 | than a district
subject to Article 34A, shall report to the | ||||||
15 | State Board of Education at
such times and in such manner as | ||||||
16 | the State Board may direct, concerning the
district's | ||||||
17 | compliance with each financial plan. The State Board may review
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18 | the district's operations, obtain budgetary data and financial | ||||||
19 | statements,
require the district to produce reports, and have | ||||||
20 | access to any other
information in the possession of the | ||||||
21 | district that it deems relevant. The
State Board may issue | ||||||
22 | recommendations or directives within its powers to
the district | ||||||
23 | to assist in compliance with the financial plan. The district
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24 | shall produce such budgetary data, financial statements, | ||||||
25 | reports and other
information and comply with such directives. | ||||||
26 | If the State Board of Education
determines that a district has |
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1 | failed to comply with its financial plan, the
State Board of | ||||||
2 | Education may rescind approval of the plan and appoint a
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3 | Financial Oversight Panel for the district as provided in | ||||||
4 | Section 1B-4. This
action shall be taken only after the | ||||||
5 | district has been given notice and an
opportunity to appear | ||||||
6 | before the State Board of Education to discuss its
failure to | ||||||
7 | comply with its financial plan.
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8 | No bonds, notes, teachers orders, tax anticipation | ||||||
9 | warrants or other
evidences of indebtedness shall be issued or | ||||||
10 | sold by a school district or
be legally binding upon or | ||||||
11 | enforceable against a local board of education
of a district | ||||||
12 | certified to be in financial difficulty unless and until the
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13 | financial plan required under this Section has been approved by | ||||||
14 | the State
Board of Education.
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15 | Any financial profile compiled and watch list distributed | ||||||
16 | by the State Board of Education in Fiscal Year 2009 or any | ||||||
17 | fiscal year thereafter
pursuant to this Section shall | ||||||
18 | incorporate such adjustments as may be needed in the profile | ||||||
19 | scores to reflect the financial effects of the designate those | ||||||
20 | school districts on the
watch list that would not otherwise be | ||||||
21 | on the watch list were it not for the
inability or refusal of | ||||||
22 | the State of Illinois to make timely
disbursements of any | ||||||
23 | general State aid or mandated categorical aid payments due | ||||||
24 | school districts or to fully reimburse
school districts for | ||||||
25 | mandated categorical programs pursuant to
reimbursement | ||||||
26 | formulas provided in this School Code.
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1 | (Source: P.A. 94-234, eff. 7-1-06 .)
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2 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
3 | 2009.".
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