Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB0001

Amends the General Provisions, General Assembly, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), State Employee, State Universities, Downstate Teacher, and Judges Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Contains a Part A, which is intended by the General Assembly as a stand-alone reform of the General Assembly, State Employee, State Universities, and Downstate Teacher Articles of the Illinois Pension Code and takes effect upon becoming law. Contains a Part B, which is intended to provide alternative provisions that take effect only if and when a corresponding portion of Part A is determined to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid or unenforceable. In Part A, caps pensionable salary, temporarily suspends and reduces the amount of automatic annual increases, requires the systems to be 100% funded by 2043, and increases required employee contributions. In Part B, requires persons to make an election either to accept reductions in the amount of, as well as delays in eligibility for, automatic annual increases or to forgo certain healthcare benefits and future increases in pensionable income. Effective upon becoming law, except that specified portions of Part B take effect upon the date following the date upon which certain contingencies occur.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Replaces Part A with Senate Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill 35 with the following changes: (i) replaces the inseverability clause with the original Part A severability clause, (ii) restricts participation in the General Assembly Retirement System to persons who become participants before January 1, 2014, (iii) deletes references to the Tier 3 retirement plan, and (iv) makes technical and other changes. Reinserts Part B with the following changes: (i) deletes changes to funding formulas, (ii) restricts participation in the General Assembly Retirement System to persons who become participants before January 1, 2014, (iii) makes changes concerning funding guarantees, and (iv) makes technical and other changes. Effective upon becoming law, except that specified portions of Part B take effect upon the date following the date upon which certain contingencies occur.

Requires the election packet provided to Tier I employees and Tier I retirees to include a notice advising them that they may be required to pay for the full cost of coverage provided through the group healthcare plan.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts only those provisions from Part B of Senate Amendment No.1 that affect Tier I employees in the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Removes provisions in the introductory clauses that made those changes take effect only if provisions in Part A of Senate Amendment No. 1 were determined to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Changes measured dates in the election provisions to dates certain. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Includes findings. Amends the General Provisions, General Assembly, State Employee, State Universities, and Downstate Teacher Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Increases the retirement age for certain Tier I members and participants. Changes the conditions of eligibility for, and the amount of, automatic annual increases for Tier I retirees. Increases required employee contributions for Tier I members and participants. Limits pensionable salary for Tier I participants and, in future terms, for Tier II members of the General Assembly Retirement System. Changes the required State contribution to each of the affected retirement systems so that those systems are 100% funded by 2044, and changes the actuarial cost method from projected unit credit to entry age normal. Adds State funding guarantees. Provides that the System shall not use any contribution received by the System under the applicable Article to provide a subsidy for the cost of participation in a retiree health care program. Makes other changes. Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), Cook County, State Employees, State Universities, Downstate Teachers, and Chicago Teachers Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. For participants who first become participants on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act, prohibits (i) payments for unused sick or vacation time from being used to calculate pensionable earnings and salary and (ii) unused sick or vacation time from being used to establish service credit. Imposes limitations on participation by certain persons. Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act to provide that amendments to Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Illinois Pension Code (and to Article 1 as it applies to those Articles) are not subject to collective bargaining and take precedence. Amends the State Finance Act; to the list of standardized items of appropriation, adds "State retirement contribution for annual normal cost" and "State retirement contribution for unfunded accrued liability" and defines those terms. Amends the Governor's Office of Management and Budget Act. Adds those terms to a list of classifications to be used in statements and estimates of expenditures submitted to the Office in connection with the preparation of a State budget. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Makes other changes. Includes an inseverability provision. Effective immediately.

In each of the funding guarantees, provides that the State pledges not to impair the rights and remedies of the boards of trustees as set forth in the funding guarantees (rather than any rights and remedies of the boards of trustees); also makes changes in the State funding pledge. Provides that the changes, the impact of changes, and the implementation of changes made to the State Employees, State Universities, or Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code, or to the General Provisions Article of that Code as it applies to those Articles, made by the amendatory Act, and those Articles thereafter, are not subject to interest arbitration or any award issued pursuant to interest arbitration. In the Budget Stabilization Act, deletes the reference to terminating transfers into the Pension Stabilization Fund if any provision of the amendatory Act is held invalid, which duplicates the effect of the inseverability provision. Makes changes in the Findings Section. Makes changes to the inseverability provision. Also makes technical and other changes.

Recommends that the House recede from House Amendments Nos. 1 and 3 and that the bill be amended as follows: Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the General Provisions, General Assembly, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), Cook County, State Employee, State Universities, Downstate Teacher, and Chicago Teacher Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. In the General Assembly, State Employee, State Universities, and Downstate Teacher Articles: (1) changes the amount of automatic annual increases in retirement annuities and supplemental annuities for certain active and inactive Tier 1 members; (2) for active and inactive Tier 1 members who have not begun to receive a retirement annuity, reduces some automatic annual increases in retirement annuity to zero; (3) reduces employee contributions for Tier 1 members by 1% of earnings; (4) changes the required State contributions so that the Systems are 100% (rather than 90%) funded by the end of State fiscal year 2044 (rather than 2045); (5) changes the actuarial cost method from projected unit credit to entry age normal; (6) adds State funding guarantees; (7) increases the retirement age for active and inactive Tier 1 members under age 46; (8) caps pensionable salary for Tier 1 members; (9) requires each system to create a new defined contribution plan; and (10) exempts the changes made in these Articles from provisions concerning new benefit increases. In the General Assembly Article, also changes the amount of automatic annual increases for Tier 2 members and survivors. In the State Universities Article: (1) redefines "effective rate of interest" and provides for the use of that rate in the actuarial assumptions used to calculate the amount of certain retirement annuities and (2) specifies that certain governmental entities will not qualify as employers. In the Downstate Teacher Article, redefines "regular interest" and provides for the use of that rate in the actuarial assumptions used to calculate the amount of certain retirement annuities. Amends the Budget Stabilization Act. Provides for the transfer of certain amounts from the General Revenue Fund to the Pension Stabilization Fund. Sets forth requirements pertaining to the accounting of payments received by the designated retirement systems from the Pension Stabilization Fund. Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act to provide that employers are not required to bargain over the changes, the impact of changes, or the implementation of changes that are made to Article 14, 15, or 16 of the Illinois Pension Code, or to Article 1 of the Code as it applies to those Articles, by the amendatory Act or any subsequent Public Act, nor be subject to interest arbitration or any award issued pursuant to interest arbitration in relation thereto. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Contains severability and inseverability provisions. Contains a legislative statement.

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