Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4616

Rep. Suzanne M. Ness

Filed: 3/24/2026

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4616

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4616 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Community Mental Health Act is amended by changing Sections 3a and 3c as follows:

(405 ILCS 20/3a) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 303a)

Sec. 3a. Every governmental unit authorized to levy an annual tax under any of the provisions of this Act shall, before it may levy such tax, establish a 7 member community mental health board who shall administer this Act. Such board shall be appointed by the chairman of the governing body of a county, the mayor of a city, the president of a village, the president of an incorporated town, or the supervisor of a township, as the case may be, with the advice and consent of the governing body of such county, city, village, incorporated town or the town board of trustees of any township, except in any county with a county executive form of government, if applicable, the county executive shall appoint the board with the advice and consent of the county board. Whenever there is a vacancy in the community mental health board's membership for a period of 60 days prior to the expiration of the term or for more than 60 days after the expiration of the term, any member of the governing body may nominate a qualified candidate to fill such vacancy. If the governing body votes to reject a nominated candidate or takes no action on a candidate's nomination, twice, then the candidate is prohibited from appointment to the community mental health board for a period of one calendar year. A community mental health board member may, at his or her discretion, continue to serve on the board after the expiration of his or her term until a successor is appointed and approved by a majority vote of the governing body. Members of the community mental health board shall be residents of the government unit and, as nearly as possible, be representative of interested groups of the community such as local health departments, local comprehensive health planning agencies, hospital boards, lay associations concerned with mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse, and individuals with professional or lived expertise in mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse. General public representation may also be considered for appointment when there are gaps in board duties and qualifications that cannot be filled from the above stated categories. Only one member shall be a member of the governing body, with the term of membership on the board to run concurrently with the elected term of the member. The chairman of the governing body may, upon the request of the community mental health board, appoint 2 additional members to the community mental health board. No member of the community mental health board may be a full-time or part-time employee of the Department of Human Services or a board member, employee or any other individual receiving compensation from any facility or service operating under contract to the board. If a successful referendum is held under Section 5 of this Act, all members of such board shall be appointed within 60 days after the local election authority certifies the passage of the referendum. If a community mental health board has been established by a county with a population of less than 500,000 and the community mental health board is funded in whole or in part by a special mental health sales tax described in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section 5-1006.5 of the Counties Code, the largest municipality in the county with at least 125,000 residents may appoint 2 additional members to the board. The members shall be appointed by the mayor of the municipality with the advice and consent of the municipality's governing body.

Home rule units are exempt from this Act. However, they may, by ordinance, adopt the provisions of this Act, or any portion thereof, that they may deem advisable.

The tax rate set forth in Section 4 may be levied by any non-home rule unit only pursuant to the approval by the voters at a referendum. Such referendum may have been held at any time subsequent to the effective date of the Community Mental Health Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-274, eff. 1-1-24; 103-565, eff. 11-17-23; 103-592, eff. 6-7-24.)

(405 ILCS 20/3c) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 303c)

Sec. 3c. Any member of the community mental health board may be removed by the appointing officer for absenteeism, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, after being given a written statement of the charges and an opportunity to be heard thereon. Prior to filing the vacancy created by the removal of a member of the community mental health board under this Section, the full membership of the governing body may vote to override the appointing officer's removal of a member of the community mental health board with an 80% vote of the governing body required to override the removal.

(Source: P.A. 77-1500.)".