HB5684 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 19522 EFG 43916 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB5684

Introduced , by Rep. Peter Breen

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 120/2	from Ch. 102, par. 42
40 ILCS 5/7-114	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-114
40 ILCS 5/7-115	from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-115

Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that any payment that (i) is made by a participating municipality to an employee during the year before the employee's termination of service and after the employee has expressed to the municipality his or her intent to retire and (ii) would have the effect of increasing the employee's rate of earnings by more than 6%, shall not be deemed to be "earnings" for pension purposes and shall not be included in the determination of the rate of earnings, unless the governing board of the municipality has separately confirmed that payment to that specific employee, by ordinance or resolution, at a meeting open to the public and posted and held in accordance with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act. Amends the Open Meetings Act to make a conforming change. Effective immediately.

PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 42)

Sec. 2. Open meetings.

(a) Openness required. All meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c) and closed in accordance with Section 2a.

(b) Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained in subsection (c) are in derogation of the requirement that public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions are to be strictly construed, extending only to subjects clearly within their scope. The exceptions authorize but do not require the holding of a closed meeting to discuss a subject included within an enumerated exception.

(c) Exceptions. A public body may hold closed meetings to consider the following subjects:

(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to subsection (g) of Section 7-114 of the Illinois Pension Code may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with this Act.

(2) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.

(3) The selection of a person to fill a public office, as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public body is given power to remove the occupant under law or ordinance.

(4) Evidence or testimony presented in open hearing, or in closed hearing where specifically authorized by law, to a quasi-adjudicative body, as defined in this Act, provided that the body prepares and makes available for public inspection a written decision setting forth its determinative reasoning.

(5) The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired.

(6) The setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body.

(7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. This exception shall not apply to the investment of assets or income of funds deposited into the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund.

(8) Security procedures, school building safety and security, and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property.

(9) Student disciplinary cases.

(10) The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students.

(11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting.

(12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of claims as provided in the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, if otherwise the disposition of a claim or potential claim might be prejudiced, or the review or discussion of claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications from or with respect to any insurer of the public body or any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool of which the public body is a member.

(13) Conciliation of complaints of discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, when closed meetings are authorized by the law or ordinance prescribing fair housing practices and creating a commission or administrative agency for their enforcement.

(14) Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or future criminal investigations, when discussed by a public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.

(15) Professional ethics or performance when considered by an advisory body appointed to advise a licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to the advisory body's field of competence.

(16) Self evaluation, practices and procedures or professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member.

(17) The recruitment, credentialing, discipline or formal peer review of physicians or other health care professionals for a hospital, or other institution providing medical care, that is operated by the public body.

(18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner Review Board.

(19) Review or discussion of applications received under the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Act.

(20) The classification and discussion of matters classified as confidential or continued confidential by the State Government Suggestion Award Board.

(21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.

(22) Deliberations for decisions of the State Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.

(23) The operation by a municipality of a municipal utility or the operation of a municipal power agency or municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery of electricity or natural gas or (ii) the results or conclusions of load forecast studies.

(24) Meetings of a residential health care facility resident sexual assault and death review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team Act.

(25) Meetings of an independent team of experts under Brian's Law.

(26) Meetings of a mortality review team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team Act.

(27) (Blank).

(28) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Public Aid Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Public Aid Code.

(29) Meetings between internal or external auditors and governmental audit committees, finance committees, and their equivalents, when the discussion involves internal control weaknesses, identification of potential fraud risk areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards of the United States of America.

(30) Those meetings or portions of meetings of a fatality review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team Advisory Council during which a review of the death of an eligible adult in which abuse or neglect is suspected, alleged, or substantiated is conducted pursuant to Section 15 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(31) Meetings and deliberations for decisions of the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

(32) Meetings between the Regional Transportation Authority Board and its Service Boards when the discussion involves review by the Regional Transportation Authority Board of employment contracts under Section 28d of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and Sections 3A.18 and 3B.26 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act.

(33) Those meetings meeting or portions of meetings of the advisory committee and peer review subcommittee created under Section 320 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act during which specific controlled substance prescriber, dispenser, or patient information is discussed.

(d) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:

"Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose relationship with the public body constitutes an employer-employee relationship under the usual common law rules, and who is not an independent contractor.

"Public office" means a position created by or under the Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which is charged with the exercise of some portion of the sovereign power of this State. The term "public office" shall include members of the public body, but it shall not include organizational positions filled by members thereof, whether established by law or by a public body itself, that exist to assist the body in the conduct of its business.

"Quasi-adjudicative body" means an administrative body charged by law or ordinance with the responsibility to conduct hearings, receive evidence or testimony and make determinations based thereon, but does not include local electoral boards when such bodies are considering petition challenges.

(e) Final action. No final action may be taken at a closed meeting. Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of the nature of the matter being considered and other information that will inform the public of the business being conducted.

(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13; 98-63, eff. 7-9-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1027, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1039, eff. 8-25-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-235, eff. 1-1-16; 99-480, eff. 9-9-15; revised 10-14-15.)

Section 10. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Sections 7-114 and 7-115 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/7-114) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-114)

(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 98-599, which has been held unconstitutional)

Sec. 7-114. Earnings. "Earnings":

(a) An amount to be determined by the board, equal to the sum of:

1. The total amount of money paid to an employee for personal services or official duties as an employee (except those employed as independent contractors) paid out of the general fund, or out of any special funds controlled by the municipality, or by any instrumentality thereof, or participating instrumentality, including compensation, fees, allowances, or other emolument paid for official duties (but not including automobile maintenance, travel expense, or reimbursements for expenditures incurred in the performance of duties) and, for fee offices, the fees or earnings of the offices to the extent such fees are paid out of funds controlled by the municipality, or instrumentality or participating instrumentality; and

2. The money value, as determined by rules prescribed by the governing body of the municipality, or instrumentality thereof, of any board, lodging, fuel, laundry, and other allowances provided an employee in lieu of money.

(b) For purposes of determining benefits payable under this fund payments to a person who is engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business and who is paid for his service on a basis other than a monthly or other regular salary, are not earnings.

(c) If a disabled participating employee is eligible to receive Workers' Compensation for an accidental injury and the participating municipality or instrumentality which employed the participating employee when injured continues to pay the participating employee regular salary or other compensation or pays the employee an amount in excess of the Workers' Compensation amount, then earnings shall be deemed to be the total payments, including an amount equal to the Workers' Compensation payments. These payments shall be subject to employee contributions and allocated as if paid to the participating employee when the regular payroll amounts would have been paid if the participating employee had continued working, and creditable service shall be awarded for this period.

(d) If an elected official who is a participating employee becomes disabled but does not resign and is not removed from office, then earnings shall include all salary payments made for the remainder of that term of office and the official shall be awarded creditable service for the term of office.

(e) If a participating employee is paid pursuant to "An Act to provide for the continuation of compensation for law enforcement officers, correctional officers and firemen who suffer disabling injury in the line of duty", approved September 6, 1973, as amended, the payments shall be deemed earnings, and the participating employee shall be awarded creditable service for this period.

(f) Additional compensation received by a person while serving as a supervisor of assessments, assessor, deputy assessor or member of a board of review from the State of Illinois pursuant to Section 4-10 or 4-15 of the Property Tax Code shall not be earnings for purposes of this Article and shall not be included in the contribution formula or calculation of benefits for such person pursuant to this Article.

(g) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section, any payment, whether in the form of a raise or a lump-sum payment, that

(1) is made by a participating municipality to an employee during the year before the employee's termination of service and after the employee has expressed to the municipality his or her intent to retire, and

(2) would have the effect of increasing the employee's rate of earnings under this Article by more than 6%, shall not be deemed to be "earnings" for the purposes of this Article, unless the governing board of that participating municipality has separately confirmed that payment to that specific employee, by ordinance or resolution, at a meeting open to the public and posted and held in accordance with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.

(Source: P.A. 87-740; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.)

(40 ILCS 5/7-115) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-115)

Sec. 7-115. Rate of earnings. "Rate of earnings": The actual rate upon which the earnings of an employee are calculated at any time, as certified in a written notice, on file with the board, by the governing body of the municipality, or instrumentality, or participating instrumentality. For periods during which the employee did not participate but is entitled to creditable service, the monthly earnings shall be considered to be the earnings in the position for each calendar year divided by the number of months of creditable service in that year.

However, payments excluded from earnings under subsection (g) of Section 7-114 shall not be included in determining the rate of earnings.

(Source: P.A. 82-596.)

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