HB4444 Engrossed LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 17-2.11 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
8 money and issue bonds for fire prevention, safety, energy
9 conservation, disabled accessibility, school security, and
10 specified repair purposes. Whenever, as a result of any lawful
11 order of any agency, other than a school board, having
12 authority to enforce any school building code applicable to any
13 facility that houses students, or any law or regulation for the
14 protection and safety of the environment, pursuant to the
15 Environmental Protection Act, any school district having a
16 population of less than 500,000 inhabitants is required to
17 alter or reconstruct any school building or permanent, fixed
18 equipment; or whenever any such district determines that it is
19 necessary for energy conservation purposes that any school
20 building or permanent, fixed equipment should be altered or
21 reconstructed and that such alterations or reconstruction will
22 be made with funds not necessary for the completion of approved
23 and recommended projects contained in any safety survey report
24 or amendments thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act;
25 or whenever any such district determines that it is necessary
26 for disabled accessibility purposes and to comply with the
27 school building code that any school building or equipment
28 should be altered or reconstructed and that such alterations or
29 reconstruction will be made with funds not necessary for the
30 completion of approved and recommended projects contained in
31 any safety survey report or amendments thereto authorized under
32 Section 2-3.12 of this Act; or whenever any such district

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 2 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1 determines that it is necessary for school security purposes
2 and the related protection and safety of pupils and school
3 personnel that any school building, bleachers, or property
4 should be altered or reconstructed or that security systems and
5 equipment (including but not limited to intercom, early
6 detection and warning, access control and television
7 monitoring systems) should be purchased and installed, and that
8 such alterations, reconstruction or purchase and installation
9 of equipment will be made with funds not necessary for the
10 completion of approved and recommended projects contained in
11 any safety survey report or amendment thereto authorized by
12 Section 2-3.12 of this Act and will deter and prevent
13 unauthorized entry or activities upon school property by
14 unknown or dangerous persons, assure early detection and
15 advance warning of any such actual or attempted unauthorized
16 entry or activities and help assure the continued safety of
17 pupils and school staff if any such unauthorized entry or
18 activity is attempted or occurs; or if a school district does
19 not need funds for other fire prevention and safety projects,
20 including the completion of approved and recommended projects
21 contained in any safety survey report or amendments thereto
22 authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act, and it is determined
23 after a public hearing (which is preceded by at least one
24 published notice (i) occurring at least 7 days prior to the
25 hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the school
26 district and (ii) setting forth the time, date, place, and
27 general subject matter of the hearing) that there is a
28 substantial, immediate, and otherwise unavoidable threat to
29 the health, safety, or welfare of pupils due to disrepair of
30 school sidewalks, playgrounds, parking lots, or school bus
31 turnarounds and repairs must be made: then in any such event,
32 such district may, by proper resolution, levy a tax for the
33 purpose of making such alteration or reconstruction, based on a
34 survey report by an architect or engineer licensed in the State
35 of Illinois, upon all the taxable property of the district at
36 the value as assessed by the Department of Revenue at a rate

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 3 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1 not to exceed .05% per year for a period sufficient to finance
2 such alterations, repairs, or reconstruction, upon the
3 following conditions:
4         (a) When there are not sufficient funds available in
5 either the operations and maintenance fund of the district
6 or the fire prevention and safety fund of the district as
7 determined by the district on the basis of regulations
8 adopted by the State Board of Education to make such
9 alterations, repairs, or reconstruction, or to purchase
10 and install such permanent fixed equipment so ordered or
11 determined as necessary. Appropriate school district
12 records shall be made available to the State Superintendent
13 of Education upon request to confirm such insufficiency.
14         (b) When a certified estimate of an architect or
15 engineer licensed in the State of Illinois stating the
16 estimated amount necessary to make the alterations or
17 repairs, or to purchase and install such equipment so
18 ordered has been secured by the district, and the estimate
19 has been approved by the regional superintendent of
20 schools, having jurisdiction of the district, and the State
21 Superintendent of Education. Approval shall 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 such estimate is not approved or denied
25 approval by the regional superintendent of schools within 3
26 months after the date on which it is submitted to him or
27 her, the school board of the district may submit such
28 estimate directly to the State Superintendent of Education
29 for approval or denial.
30     For purposes of this Section a school district may replace
31 a school building or build additions to replace portions of a
32 building when it is determined that the effectuation of the
33 recommendations for the existing building will cost more than
34 the replacement costs. Such determination shall be based on a
35 comparison of estimated costs made by an architect or engineer
36 licensed in the State of Illinois. The new building or addition

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 4 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1 shall be equivalent in area (square feet) and comparable in
2 purpose and grades served and may be on the same site or
3 another site. Such replacement may only be done upon order of
4 the regional superintendent of schools and the approval of the
5 State Superintendent of Education.
6     The filing of a certified copy of the resolution levying
7 the tax when accompanied by the certificates of the regional
8 superintendent of schools and State Superintendent of
9 Education shall be the authority of the county clerk to extend
10 such tax.
11     The county clerk of the county in which any school district
12 levying a tax under the authority of this Section is located,
13 in reducing raised levies, shall not consider any such tax as a
14 part of the general levy for school purposes and shall not
15 include the same in the limitation of any other tax rate which
16 may be extended.
17     Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as
18 all other taxes of school districts, subject to the provisions
19 contained in this Section.
20     The tax rate limit specified in this Section may be
21 increased to .10% upon the approval of a proposition to effect
22 such increase by a majority of the electors voting on that
23 proposition at a regular scheduled election. Such proposition
24 may be initiated by resolution of the school board and shall be
25 certified by the secretary to the proper election authorities
26 for submission in accordance with the general election law.
27     When taxes are levied by any school district for fire
28 prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
29 purposes as specified in this Section, and the purposes for
30 which the taxes have been levied are accomplished and paid in
31 full, and there remain funds on hand in the Fire Prevention and
32 Safety Fund from the proceeds of the taxes levied, including
33 interest earnings thereon, the school board by resolution shall
34 use such excess and other board restricted funds excluding bond
35 proceeds and earnings from such proceeds (1) for other
36 authorized fire prevention, safety, energy conservation, and

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 5 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1 school security purposes or (2) for transfer to the Operations
2 and Maintenance Fund for the purpose of abating an equal amount
3 of operations and maintenance purposes taxes. If any transfer
4 is made to the Operation and Maintenance Fund, the secretary of
5 the school board shall within 30 days notify the county clerk
6 of the amount of that transfer and direct the clerk to abate
7 the taxes to be extended for the purposes of operations and
8 maintenance authorized under Section 17-2 of this Act by an
9 amount equal to such transfer.
10     If the proceeds from the tax levy authorized by this
11 Section are insufficient to complete the work approved under
12 this Section, the school board is authorized to sell bonds
13 without referendum under the provisions of this Section in an
14 amount that, when added to the proceeds of the tax levy
15 authorized by this Section, will allow completion of the
16 approved work.
17     Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the
18 maximum rate authorized by law at the time of the making of the
19 contract, shall mature within 20 years from date, and shall be
20 signed by the president of the school board and the treasurer
21 of the school district.
22     In order to authorize and issue such bonds, the school
23 board shall adopt a resolution fixing the amount of bonds, the
24 date thereof, the maturities thereof, rates of interest
25 thereof, place of payment and denomination, which shall be in
26 denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000,
27 and provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax
28 upon all the taxable property in the school district sufficient
29 to pay the principal and interest on such bonds to maturity.
30 Upon the filing in the office of the county clerk of the county
31 in which the school district is located of a certified copy of
32 the resolution, it is the duty of the county clerk to extend
33 the tax therefor in addition to and in excess of all other
34 taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized to be levied by such
35 school district.
36     After the time such bonds are issued as provided for by

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 6 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

1 this Section, if additional alterations or reconstructions are
2 required to be made because of surveys conducted by an
3 architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois, the
4 district may levy a tax at a rate not to exceed .05% per year
5 upon all the taxable property of the district or issue
6 additional bonds, whichever action shall be the most feasible.
7     This Section is cumulative and constitutes complete
8 authority for the issuance of bonds as provided in this Section
9 notwithstanding any other statute or law to the contrary.
10     With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued
11 under this Section either before, on, or after the effective
12 date of Public Act 86-004 (June 6, 1989), it is, and always has
13 been, the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the
14 Omnibus Bond Acts are, and always have been, supplementary
15 grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the
16 Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that
17 may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those
18 Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a
19 limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the
20 Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this
21 Section within the supplementary authority granted by the
22 Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of
23 this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive
24 than those Acts.
25     When the purposes for which the bonds are issued have been
26 accomplished and paid for in full and there remain funds on
27 hand from the proceeds of the bond sale and interest earnings
28 therefrom, the board shall, by resolution, use such excess
29 funds in accordance with the provisions of Section 10-22.14 of
30 this Act.
31     Whenever any tax is levied or bonds issued for fire
32 prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
33 purposes, such proceeds shall be deposited and accounted for
34 separately within the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund.
35 (Source: P.A. 88-251; 88-508; 88-628, eff. 9-9-94; 88-670, eff.
36 12-2-94; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95; 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)
 

 

 

HB4444 Engrossed - 7 - LRB093 19943 NHT 45687 b

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