100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB0507

 

Introduced , by Rep. Keith P. Sommer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/17-2.11  from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.11

    Amends the School Code. Allows a school board to use remaining funds on hand in the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund for dyslexia screenings for students. Makes technical corrections. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
517-2.11 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/17-2.11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.11)
7    Sec. 17-2.11. School board power to levy a tax or to borrow
8money and issue bonds for fire prevention, safety, energy
9conservation, accessibility, school security, and specified
10repair purposes.
11    (a) Whenever, as a result of any lawful order of any
12agency, other than a school board, having authority to enforce
13any school building code applicable to any facility that houses
14students, or any law or regulation for the protection and
15safety of the environment, pursuant to the Environmental
16Protection Act, any school district having a population of less
17than 500,000 inhabitants is required to alter or reconstruct
18any school building or permanent, fixed equipment; the district
19may, by proper resolution, levy a tax for the purpose of making
20such alteration or reconstruction, based on a survey report by
21an architect or engineer licensed in this State, upon all of
22the taxable property of the district at the value as assessed
23by the Department of Revenue and at a rate not to exceed 0.05%

 

 

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1per year for a period sufficient to finance such alteration or
2reconstruction, upon the following conditions:
3        (1) When there are not sufficient funds available in
4    the operations and maintenance fund of the school district,
5    the school facility occupation tax fund of the district, or
6    the fire prevention and safety fund of the district, as
7    determined by the district on the basis of rules adopted by
8    the State Board of Education, to make such alteration or
9    reconstruction or to purchase and install such permanent,
10    fixed equipment so ordered or determined as necessary.
11    Appropriate school district records must be made available
12    to the State Superintendent of Education, upon request, to
13    confirm this insufficiency.
14        (2) When a certified estimate of an architect or
15    engineer licensed in this State stating the estimated
16    amount necessary to make the alteration or reconstruction
17    or to purchase and install the equipment so ordered has
18    been secured by the school district, and the estimate has
19    been approved by the regional superintendent of schools
20    having jurisdiction over the district and the State
21    Superintendent of Education. Approval must not be granted
22    for any work that has already started without the prior
23    express authorization of the State Superintendent of
24    Education. If the estimate is not approved or is denied
25    approval by the regional superintendent of schools within 3
26    months after the date on which it is submitted to him or

 

 

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1    her, the school board of the district may submit the
2    estimate directly to the State Superintendent of Education
3    for approval or denial.
4    In the case of an emergency situation, where the estimated
5cost to effectuate emergency repairs is less than the amount
6specified in Section 10-20.21 of this Code, the school district
7may proceed with such repairs prior to approval by the State
8Superintendent of Education, but shall comply with the
9provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection (a) as soon
10thereafter as may be as well as Section 10-20.21 of this Code.
11If the estimated cost to effectuate emergency repairs is
12greater than the amount specified in Section 10-20.21 of this
13Code, then the school district shall proceed in conformity with
14Section 10-20.21 of this Code and with rules established by the
15State Board of Education to address such situations. The rules
16adopted by the State Board of Education to deal with these
17situations shall stipulate that emergency situations must be
18expedited and given priority consideration. For purposes of
19this paragraph, an emergency is a situation that presents an
20imminent and continuing threat to the health and safety of
21students or other occupants of a facility, requires complete or
22partial evacuation of a building or part of a building, or
23consumes one or more of the 5 emergency days built into the
24adopted calendar of the school or schools or would otherwise be
25expected to cause such school or schools to fall short of the
26minimum school calendar requirements.

 

 

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1    (b) Whenever any such district determines that it is
2necessary for energy conservation purposes that any school
3building or permanent, fixed equipment should be altered or
4reconstructed and that such alterations or reconstruction will
5be made with funds not necessary for the completion of approved
6and recommended projects contained in any safety survey report
7or amendments thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act;
8the district may levy a tax or issue bonds as provided in
9subsection (a) of this Section.
10    (c) Whenever any such district determines that it is
11necessary for accessibility purposes and to comply with the
12school building code that any school building or equipment
13should be altered or reconstructed and that such alterations or
14reconstruction will be made with funds not necessary for the
15completion of approved and recommended projects contained in
16any safety survey report or amendments thereto authorized under
17Section 2-3.12 of this Act, the district may levy a tax or
18issue bonds as provided in subsection (a) of this Section.
19    (d) Whenever any such district determines that it is
20necessary for school security purposes and the related
21protection and safety of pupils and school personnel that any
22school building or property should be altered or reconstructed
23or that security systems and equipment (including but not
24limited to intercom, early detection and warning, access
25control and television monitoring systems) should be purchased
26and installed, and that such alterations, reconstruction or

 

 

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1purchase and installation of equipment will be made with funds
2not necessary for the completion of approved and recommended
3projects contained in any safety survey report or amendment
4thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act and will deter
5and prevent unauthorized entry or activities upon school
6property by unknown or dangerous persons, assure early
7detection and advance warning of any such actual or attempted
8unauthorized entry or activities and help assure the continued
9safety of pupils and school staff if any such unauthorized
10entry or activity is attempted or occurs; the district may levy
11a tax or issue bonds as provided in subsection (a) of this
12Section.
13    (e) If a school district does not need funds for other fire
14prevention and safety projects, including the completion of
15approved and recommended projects contained in any safety
16survey report or amendments thereto authorized by Section
172-3.12 of this Act, and it is determined after a public hearing
18(which is preceded by at least one published notice (i)
19occurring at least 7 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper
20of general circulation within the school district and (ii)
21setting forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter
22of the hearing) that there is a substantial, immediate, and
23otherwise unavoidable threat to the health, safety, or welfare
24of pupils due to disrepair of school sidewalks, playgrounds,
25parking lots, or school bus turnarounds and repairs must be
26made; then the district may levy a tax or issue bonds as

 

 

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1provided in subsection (a) of this Section.
2    (f) For purposes of this Section a school district may
3replace a school building or build additions to replace
4portions of a building when it is determined that the
5effectuation of the recommendations for the existing building
6will cost more than the replacement costs. Such determination
7shall be based on a comparison of estimated costs made by an
8architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois. The
9new building or addition shall be equivalent in area (square
10feet) and comparable in purpose and grades served and may be on
11the same site or another site. Such replacement may only be
12done upon order of the regional superintendent of schools and
13the approval of the State Superintendent of Education.
14    (g) The filing of a certified copy of the resolution
15levying the tax when accompanied by the certificates of the
16regional superintendent of schools and State Superintendent of
17Education shall be the authority of the county clerk to extend
18such tax.
19    (h) The county clerk of the county in which any school
20district levying a tax under the authority of this Section is
21located, in reducing raised levies, shall not consider any such
22tax as a part of the general levy for school purposes and shall
23not include the same in the limitation of any other tax rate
24which may be extended.
25    Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as
26all other taxes of school districts, subject to the provisions

 

 

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1contained in this Section.
2    (i) The tax rate limit specified in this Section may be
3increased to .10% upon the approval of a proposition to effect
4such increase by a majority of the electors voting on that
5proposition at a regular scheduled election. Such proposition
6may be initiated by resolution of the school board and shall be
7certified by the secretary to the proper election authorities
8for submission in accordance with the general election law.
9    (j) When taxes are levied by any school district for fire
10prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
11purposes as specified in this Section, and the purposes for
12which the taxes have been levied are accomplished and paid in
13full, and there remain funds on hand in the Fire Prevention and
14Safety Fund from the proceeds of the taxes levied, including
15interest earnings thereon, the school board by resolution shall
16use such excess and other board restricted funds, excluding
17bond proceeds and earnings from such proceeds, as follows:
18        (1) for other authorized fire prevention, safety,
19    energy conservation, and required safety inspections,
20    school security purposes and for required safety
21    inspections, dyslexia screenings for students, sampling
22    for lead in drinking water in schools, and for repair and
23    mitigation due to lead levels in the drinking water supply;
24    or
25        (2) for transfer to the Operations and Maintenance Fund
26    for the purpose of abating an equal amount of operations

 

 

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1    and maintenance purposes taxes.
2Notwithstanding subdivision (2) of this subsection (j) and
3subsection (k) of this Section, through June 30, 2019, the
4school board may, by proper resolution following a public
5hearing set by the school board or the president of the school
6board (that is preceded (i) by at least one published notice
7over the name of the clerk or secretary of the board, occurring
8at least 7 days and not more than 30 days prior to the hearing,
9in a newspaper of general circulation within the school
10district and (ii) by posted notice over the name of the clerk
11or secretary of the board, at least 48 hours before the
12hearing, at the principal office of the school board or at the
13building where the hearing is to be held if a principal office
14does not exist, with both notices setting forth the time, date,
15place, and subject matter of the hearing), transfer surplus
16life safety taxes and interest earnings thereon to the
17Operations and Maintenance Fund for building repair work.
18    (k) If any transfer is made to the Operation and
19Maintenance Fund, the secretary of the school board shall
20within 30 days notify the county clerk of the amount of that
21transfer and direct the clerk to abate the taxes to be extended
22for the purposes of operations and maintenance authorized under
23Section 17-2 of this Act by an amount equal to such transfer.
24    (l) If the proceeds from the tax levy authorized by this
25Section are insufficient to complete the work approved under
26this Section, the school board is authorized to sell bonds

 

 

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1without referendum under the provisions of this Section in an
2amount that, when added to the proceeds of the tax levy
3authorized by this Section, will allow completion of the
4approved work.
5    (m) Any bonds issued pursuant to this Section shall bear
6interest at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by
7law at the time of the making of the contract, shall mature
8within 20 years from date, and shall be signed by the president
9of the school board and the treasurer of the school district.
10    (n) In order to authorize and issue such bonds, the school
11board shall adopt a resolution fixing the amount of bonds, the
12date thereof, the maturities thereof, rates of interest
13thereof, place of payment and denomination, which shall be in
14denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000,
15and provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax
16upon all the taxable property in the school district sufficient
17to pay the principal and interest on such bonds to maturity.
18Upon the filing in the office of the county clerk of the county
19in which the school district is located of a certified copy of
20the resolution, it is the duty of the county clerk to extend
21the tax therefor in addition to and in excess of all other
22taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized to be levied by such
23school district.
24    (o) After the time such bonds are issued as provided for by
25this Section, if additional alterations or reconstructions are
26required to be made because of surveys conducted by an

 

 

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1architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois, the
2district may levy a tax at a rate not to exceed .05% per year
3upon all the taxable property of the district or issue
4additional bonds, whichever action shall be the most feasible.
5    (p) This Section is cumulative and constitutes complete
6authority for the issuance of bonds as provided in this Section
7notwithstanding any other statute or law to the contrary.
8    (q) With respect to instruments for the payment of money
9issued under this Section either before, on, or after the
10effective date of Public Act 86-004 (June 6, 1989), it is, and
11always has been, the intention of the General Assembly (i) that
12the Omnibus Bond Acts are, and always have been, supplementary
13grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the
14Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that
15may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those
16Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a
17limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the
18Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this
19Section within the supplementary authority granted by the
20Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of
21this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive
22than those Acts.
23    (r) When the purposes for which the bonds are issued have
24been accomplished and paid for in full and there remain funds
25on hand from the proceeds of the bond sale and interest
26earnings therefrom, the board shall, by resolution, use such

 

 

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1excess funds in accordance with the provisions of Section
210-22.14 of this Act.
3    (s) Whenever any tax is levied or bonds issued for fire
4prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
5purposes, such proceeds shall be deposited and accounted for
6separately within the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund.
7(Source: P.A. 98-26, eff. 6-21-13; 98-1066, eff. 8-26-14;
899-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-713, eff. 8-5-16; 99-922, eff.
91-17-17.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.