HB1551eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1551 Engrossed LRB098 08613 OMW 38731 b

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Act is amended by changing Section 9.6c as follows:

(70 ILCS 2605/9.6c)

Sec. 9.6c. Local Government Assistance Program; bonds.

(a) The General Assembly finds that governmental units located within the boundaries of the district require assistance in financing the cost of repair, replacement, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of local sewer collection systems to reduce certain excessive sanitary sewer groundwater inflows; that such inflows ultimately result in increased need for treatment and storage facilities of the district; and that the district, in the discretion of its commissioners, advantageously may provide loan funds for such purposes.

(b) For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth, as follows:

The following terms shall have the meanings given to them in the Local Government Debt Reform Act: (A) "alternate bonds"; (B) "applicable law"; (C) "bonds"; (D) "general obligation bonds"; (E) "governmental unit"; (F) "ordinance"; and (G) "revenue source".

"Assistance bonds" means the bonds to be issued by the district to provide funds for the program as authorized in subsection (f) of this Section.

"Assistance program" means the program authorized in this Section by which the district may make loans to local governmental units for any one or more of the following undertaken with respect to the repair, replacement, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of local sewer collection systems: preliminary planning, engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal or economic investigations or studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures or other necessary actions, erection, building acquisition, alteration, remodeling, or improvement of such collection systems, or the inspection or supervision of any of the foregoing.

"Loan" means a loan made by the district to a local governmental unit under the assistance program.

"Local governmental unit" means a governmental unit within the boundaries of the district.

"Reconstruction" shall include the construction of totally new lines or systems if reasonably designed to replace obsolete lines or systems.

(c) The commissioners may establish an assistance program.

(d) The commissioners are authorized to do any one or more of the following with respect to the assistance program:

(1) Establish the assistance program as a use or appropriation within the corporate fund of the district.

(2) Accept grants, borrow funds, and appropriate lawfully available funds for the purpose of funding the assistance program.

(3) Make the loans as provided in subsection (e).

(4) Enforce loans with all available remedies as any governmental unit or private person might have with respect to such loans.

(e) The district shall have the power to make loans and local governmental units shall have the power to obtain loans from the district, but only if authorized to borrow under such powers as may be granted to such local governmental units under other applicable law. This Section does not grant local governmental units separate borrowing power. If authorized to issue bonds under such applicable law, however, the form of the borrowing may be such as the district and the local governmental unit may agree, including, without limitation, a loan agreement made between the district and local governmental unit to evidence the bond. Any such loan agreement shall state the statutory authority under applicable law for the bond it represents but otherwise need not be in any specific form. The district shall have all rights and remedies available to the holder of a bond otherwise issued in the form provided for same under applicable law and also such rights and remedies as may be additionally available under subsection (d)(4) of this Section. The loans may be made upon such terms and at such rates, including expressly below market rates, representing a subsidy of funds from the district to the local governmental units, as the district may specify in the loan agreements.

(f) The district may borrow money and issue its assistance bonds under this Section 9.6c for the purpose of funding the assistance program, which bonds shall be alternate revenue bonds payable from any lawfully available revenue source, including without limitation receipts from the loans. Assistance bonds shall not be subject to any referendum requirement and shall not be treated as indebtedness under any applicable provision of law setting forth a limitation upon or requirement with respect to the legal indebtedness of the district.

(Source: P.A. 90-690, eff. 7-31-98.)

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