Full Text of SB0172 97th General Assembly
SB0172sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Terry Link Filed: 3/29/2011
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 172
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 172 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act | 5 | | is amended by changing Sections 26a, 26a.1, 26a.2, 26a.3, 28, | 6 | | 29, and 30 as follows:
| 7 | | (70 ILCS 405/26a) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a)
| 8 | | Sec. 26a.
Any 25 or more owners of lands lying within the | 9 | | boundaries
of any district organized under the provisions of | 10 | | this Act may file,
with the Department, a petition proposing | 11 | | the consolidation of such
district with one or more adjoining | 12 | | soil conservation districts. Such
petition shall set forth: (1) | 13 | | the names of the districts proposed to be
consolidated, and (2) | 14 | | the proposed name of the consolidated district.
| 15 | | Within 30 days after such petition is filed the Department | 16 | | shall
submit the proposal to the directors of each district |
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| 1 | | proposed to be
consolidated. The Directors of each such | 2 | | district, shall within 30 days
thereafter, adopt and forward to | 3 | | the Department a resolution approving
or disapproving the | 4 | | proposed consolidation.
| 5 | | If the directors of all of the said districts approve the | 6 | | proposals
to consolidate such districts, then the proposals | 7 | | shall be sent to the Department to determine if the | 8 | | consolidation is administratively practical and feasible. it | 9 | | shall be the duty of the Department to
give 10 days notice of | 10 | | the holding of a referendum by causing such
notice to be | 11 | | published at least once in one or more newspapers having
| 12 | | general circulation within the district and to hold a | 13 | | referendum within
each such district upon the proposition or | 14 | | the proposed consolidation.
Except as otherwise provided in | 15 | | this Act, the proposition shall be
submitted in accordance with | 16 | | Section 28-3 of the Election Code.
| 17 | | The question at such referendum shall be submitted upon | 18 | | ballots in
substantially the following form:
| 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 20 | | Place an X in the square opposite the
proposition for which you | 21 | | desire to vote.
| 22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 23 | | For approval of the proposed
| 24 | | consolidation of (here insert names
| 25 | | of districts to be consolidated)
| 26 | | into one soil and water
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| 1 | | conservation district.
| 2 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 3 | | Against approval of the
| 4 | | proposed consolidation of (here
| 5 | | insert names of districts to be
| 6 | | consolidated) into one soil and
| 7 | | water conservation district.
| 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 9 | | Only owners or occupiers of land, or both, lying within the | 10 | | districts
are eligible to vote in such referendum and each | 11 | | shall have one vote.
Eligible voters may vote in person or by | 12 | | absentee ballot.
| 13 | | If a majority of the votes cast in the referendum in each | 14 | | of such
districts are cast in favor of the proposed | 15 | | consolidation and if the
Department determines that such | 16 | | consolidation is administratively
practicable and feasible, | 17 | | the Chairmen of the directors of the said
districts shall | 18 | | present to the Secretary of State through the Department
an | 19 | | application for a certificate of organization of the | 20 | | consolidated
district. The application shall be signed and | 21 | | sworn to by all of the
said chairmen, and shall set forth the | 22 | | names of the constituent
districts, the proposed name of the | 23 | | consolidated district, and the
location of the office of the | 24 | | consolidated district. The said
application shall be | 25 | | accompanied by the statement from the Department
which shall | 26 | | set forth (and such statement need contain no details other
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| 1 | | than the mere recitals) that a petition for the consolidation | 2 | | of the
said district was filed and , that the proposed | 3 | | consolidation was, by
resolution, approved by the governing | 4 | | bodies of all of such districts ,
that a referendum was held in | 5 | | each of the said districts on the question
of the proposed | 6 | | consolidation, and that the result of such referendum
showed a | 7 | | majority of the votes cast in each district to be in favor of
| 8 | | the proposed consolidation .
| 9 | | The Secretary of State shall receive and file such | 10 | | application and
statement and shall record them in an | 11 | | appropriate book of record in his
or her office. When the | 12 | | application and statements have been made, filed, and
recorded | 13 | | as herein provided, the consolidation of such districts shall
| 14 | | be deemed affected and the consolidated district shall | 15 | | constitute a
public body, corporate and politic, vested with | 16 | | all the power of soil
and water conservation districts. The | 17 | | Secretary of State shall make and
issue to the signers of the | 18 | | application a certificate, under the seal of
the State, of the | 19 | | due organization of the said consolidated district,
and shall | 20 | | record such certificate with the application and statement. A
| 21 | | copy of the statement and certificate of organization, duly | 22 | | certified by
the Secretary of State, shall be recorded with the | 23 | | recorder of
the county in which the office of the consolidated | 24 | | district is located.
| 25 | | Upon a consolidation of districts, the directors of all | 26 | | such
districts shall continue to hold office and serve as a |
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| 1 | | temporary
governing body of the consolidated district until the | 2 | | members of a
permanent governing body have been elected and | 3 | | have qualified. The
provisions of Sections 19, 20 and 21 of | 4 | | this Act that relate to the
number, and to the nomination, | 5 | | election and organization of members of
the governing bodies of | 6 | | soil and water conservation districts shall
govern the | 7 | | selection of the members of the permanent governing body of a
| 8 | | consolidated district.
| 9 | | Upon the issuance, by the Secretary of State, of a | 10 | | certificate of
organization to a consolidated district, | 11 | | property belonging to the
constituent district shall become the | 12 | | property of the consolidated
district. All contracts | 13 | | theretofore entered into, to which the
constituent districts | 14 | | are parties, shall remain in force and effect for
the period | 15 | | provided in such contracts. The consolidated districts shall
be | 16 | | substituted for each constituent district as party to such | 17 | | contracts,
and shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to | 18 | | all liabilities
under such contracts and shall have the same | 19 | | right and liability to
perform, to require performance, to sue | 20 | | and to be sued thereon, and to
modify or terminate such | 21 | | contracts by mutual consent or otherwise, as
the constituent | 22 | | district would have had. Any indebtedness, claim, demand
or | 23 | | right owing or belonging to any of the constituent districts | 24 | | shall
vest in and become due to the consolidated district, | 25 | | which shall have
the right to demand, sue for, recover and | 26 | | enforce the same in its own
name. Upon a consolidation of |
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| 1 | | districts, all land-use regulations
theretofore adopted and in | 2 | | force and effect within any of the
constituent districts shall | 3 | | remain in force and effect throughout the
territory for which | 4 | | they were originally adopted, until repealed,
amended, | 5 | | supplemented, or superseded by action of the consolidated
| 6 | | district.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 83-358 .)
| 8 | | (70 ILCS 405/26a.1) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-1)
| 9 | | Sec. 26a.1. Division of districts. Any 25 or more owners of | 10 | | lands lying within the boundaries of any
district organized | 11 | | under this Act which lies in more than one county may
file with | 12 | | the Department a petition proposing the division of the | 13 | | district
into 2 or more districts along county lines. Such | 14 | | petition shall set forth:
| 15 | | (1) The name of the district proposed to be divided . ,
| 16 | | (2) The proposed names of the districts to be formed | 17 | | from it.
| 18 | | (3) The proposed boundaries of each of the districts to | 19 | | be formed.
| 20 | | The petition shall be accompanied by an inventory of the | 21 | | property
belonging to the district and of its liabilities and a | 22 | | proposed plan for a
division of these assets and liabilities | 23 | | between or among the districts
proposed to be formed.
| 24 | | Within 30 days after such a petition is filed, the | 25 | | Department shall
submit the proposal to the directors of the |
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| 1 | | district proposed to be
divided. The directors shall within 30 | 2 | | days thereafter adopt and submit to
the Department a resolution | 3 | | approving or disapproving the proposed
division.
| 4 | | If the directors disapprove the proposed division, the | 5 | | petition shall be
denied. If the directors favor the proposed | 6 | | division, the Department shall
give 10 days notice of the | 7 | | holding of a referendum by causing such notice
to be published | 8 | | at least once in one or more newspapers having general
| 9 | | circulation within the district and hold a referendum within | 10 | | the district
upon the question of the proposed division. Except | 11 | | as otherwise provided in
this Act, the proposition shall be | 12 | | submitted in accordance with Section
28-3 of the Election Code. | 13 | | The proposition shall be submitted upon
ballots in | 14 | | substantially the following form:
| 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 16 | | Place an X in the square opposite the
| 17 | | proposition for which you wish to vote.
| 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 19 | | For the division of the ....
| 20 | | Soil and Water Conservation District
| 21 | | into the .... and .... Soil and Water
| 22 | | Conservation Districts with the
| 23 | | boundaries described below.
| 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 25 | | Against the division of the ....
| 26 | | Soil and Water Conservation District
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| 1 | | into the .... and .... Soil and Water
| 2 | | Conservation Districts with the
| 3 | | boundaries described below.
| 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 5 | | (Here insert descriptions of proposed new districts.)
| 6 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 7 | | Only owners or occupiers of land, or both, lying within the | 8 | | district are
eligible to vote in the referendum. Such vote may | 9 | | be cast in person or by
absentee ballot.
| 10 | | (Source: Laws 1961, p. 530 .)
| 11 | | (70 ILCS 405/26a.2) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-2)
| 12 | | Sec. 26a.2.
If the directors of the district favor the | 13 | | proposed division a majority of the votes cast in the | 14 | | referendum under Section
26a.1 are cast in favor of the | 15 | | proposed division and if the Department
determines that such | 16 | | division is administratively practicable and feasible,
the | 17 | | Department shall also determine the boundaries of the proposed | 18 | | new
districts, record these determinations and proceed with the | 19 | | division of the
district in the manner hereinafter provided. If | 20 | | less than a majority of the
votes cast in the referendum are | 21 | | cast in favor of the proposed division or
if the Department | 22 | | determines that such division is not administratively
| 23 | | practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination | 24 | | and deny the
petition.
| 25 | | After the Department has determined that the proposed |
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| 1 | | division is
administratively practicable and feasible, it | 2 | | shall consider the proposed
division of the district's assets | 3 | | and liabilities. If the plan suggested in
the petition appears | 4 | | to be fair and equitable, the Department shall approve
it and | 5 | | the assets and liabilities shall be distributed and assumed in
| 6 | | accordance therewith. The Department may, however, make | 7 | | whatever
modifications in the plan of distribution it deems | 8 | | necessary to make the
scheme fair and equitable.
| 9 | | (Source: Laws 1959, p. 2249.)
| 10 | | (70 ILCS 405/26a.3) (from Ch. 5, par. 131a-3)
| 11 | | Sec. 26a.3.
After the Department has made and recorded a | 12 | | determination that
division of the district is | 13 | | administratively practicable and feasible, the
directors of | 14 | | the district shall present to the Secretary of State through
| 15 | | the Department an application for the discontinuance of the | 16 | | district and
for a certificate of organization for each of the | 17 | | new districts. The
application shall be signed and sworn to by | 18 | | the directors and shall set
forth the name of the district | 19 | | being divided, the proposed names of the
districts being formed | 20 | | and the location of the offices of each of the new
districts. | 21 | | The application shall be accompanied by a statement from the
| 22 | | Department setting forth (and such statement need contain no | 23 | | details other
than the mere recitals) that a petition for the | 24 | | division of the district
was filed and , that the proposed | 25 | | division was, by resolution, approved by the
governing body of |
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| 1 | | the district , that a referendum was held in the district
on the | 2 | | question of the proposed division, and that the result of such
| 3 | | referendum showed a majority of the votes cast to be in favor | 4 | | of the
proposed division .
| 5 | | The Secretary of State shall receive and file the | 6 | | application and
statement and shall record them in an | 7 | | appropriate book of record in his
or her office. When the | 8 | | application and statement had been made, filed and
recorded, | 9 | | the division of the district shall be deemed effected and each | 10 | | of
the new districts shall constitute a public body, corporate | 11 | | and politic,
vested with all the powers of soil and water | 12 | | conservation districts. The
Secretary of State shall issue to | 13 | | the signers of the application a separate
certificate, under | 14 | | the seal of the State, of the due organization of each
of the | 15 | | new districts, and shall record the certificates with the
| 16 | | application and statement. A copy of the statement, along with | 17 | | the
appropriate certificate of organization, shall be recorded | 18 | | with the
recorder of the county in which each new district has | 19 | | its office.
| 20 | | (Source: P.A. 83-358.)
| 21 | | (70 ILCS 405/28) (from Ch. 5, par. 133)
| 22 | | Sec. 28. Discontinuance of district. At any time after 3 | 23 | | years after the organization of a district, under
the | 24 | | provisions of this Act, any 25 or more owners of land within | 25 | | the limits
of such district who own at least 10% of the land, |
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| 1 | | by area, within such
district may file a petition with the | 2 | | Department praying that the
operations of the district be | 3 | | terminated and the existence of the district
discontinued. The | 4 | | Department may conduct such public meetings and public
hearings | 5 | | upon such petition as may be necessary to assist it in the
| 6 | | consideration thereof.
| 7 | | Within 60 days after such a petition has been received by | 8 | | the Department
it shall give due notice of the holding of a | 9 | | referendum, and shall
supervise such referendum, and issue | 10 | | appropriate regulations governing the
conduct thereof, the | 11 | | question to be submitted by ballots upon which the
words "For | 12 | | terminating the existence of the ....(name of the soil and | 13 | | water
conservation district to be here inserted)" and "Against | 14 | | terminating the
existence of the ....(name of the soil and | 15 | | water conservation district to
be here inserted)" shall appear | 16 | | with a square before each proposition and a
direction to insert | 17 | | an X mark in the square before one or the other of said
| 18 | | propositions. Only owners of land lying within the boundaries | 19 | | of the
district shall be eligible to vote in such referendum | 20 | | and each shall have
one vote. Owners of land may vote in person | 21 | | or by absentee ballot. No
informalities in the conduct of such | 22 | | referendum or in any matters relating
thereto shall invalidate | 23 | | said referendum or the result thereof if notice
thereof shall | 24 | | have been given substantially as herein provided and said
| 25 | | referendum shall have been fairly conducted.
| 26 | | (Source: Laws 1961, p. 530.)
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| 1 | | (70 ILCS 405/29) (from Ch. 5, par. 134)
| 2 | | Sec. 29. Determination for discontinuance. Within 60 days | 3 | | after the Department receives a petition for the discontinuance | 4 | | of a district, the The Department shall publish the result of | 5 | | such referendum and shall
thereafter consider and determine | 6 | | whether the continued operation of the
district is | 7 | | administratively practicable and feasible. If at least a
| 8 | | majority of the owners of land within the district shall vote | 9 | | in the
referendum on the question of discontinuance, and if a | 10 | | majority of the
votes cast in such referendum were in favor of | 11 | | discontinuance or if a
majority of the votes cast in such | 12 | | referendum were for continuance or if
the Department determines | 13 | | that the attitude of the owners of lands lying
within the | 14 | | district, the approximate wealth and income of the land
| 15 | | occupiers of the district, the probable expense of carrying on | 16 | | erosion
control operations within the district , and other | 17 | | economic and social
factors as may be relevant are such that | 18 | | the continued operation of the
district is not otherwise | 19 | | practicable and feasible, the Department shall
record such | 20 | | determination and shall certify such determination to the
| 21 | | directors of the district.
| 22 | | (Source: Laws 1951, p. 428.)
| 23 | | (70 ILCS 405/30) (from Ch. 5, par. 135)
| 24 | | Sec. 30. Winding up district affairs. Upon receipt from the |
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| 1 | | Department of a certification that the Department
has | 2 | | determined that the continued operation of the district is not
| 3 | | administratively practicable and feasible, the directors shall | 4 | | forthwith
proceed to terminate the affairs of the district. The | 5 | | directors shall
dispose of all property belonging to the | 6 | | district at public auction and,
after settlement of all legal | 7 | | obligations against the district, shall pay
over the proceeds | 8 | | of such sale into the State treasury. Before dissolution of the | 9 | | district, the district must return any unspent funds received | 10 | | from the State to the State treasury. All contracts entered | 11 | | into or legal proceedings, to which the district is a party, | 12 | | must also be fulfilled, settled, or terminated before the | 13 | | district is dissolved. | 14 | | The directors shall
thereupon file an application, duly | 15 | | verified, with the Secretary of State
for the discontinuance of | 16 | | such district, and shall transmit with such
application the | 17 | | certificate of the Department setting forth the
determination | 18 | | of the Department that the continued operation of such
district | 19 | | is not administratively practicable and feasible and that all
| 20 | | debts of the district have been paid. The application shall | 21 | | recite that the
property of the district has been disposed of | 22 | | and the proceeds paid over as
in this Section section provided, | 23 | | and shall set forth a full accounting of such
properties and | 24 | | proceeds of the sale. The Secretary of State shall issue to
the | 25 | | directors a certificate of dissolution and shall record such
| 26 | | certificate in an appropriate book of record in his or her |
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| 1 | | office. A copy of such
certificate of dissolution issued by the | 2 | | Secretary of State shall be
recorded with the recorder of the | 3 | | county in which the office of
such district is located.
| 4 | | Upon issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the | 5 | | provisions of
this Section section , all ordinances and | 6 | | regulations theretofore adopted and in
force within such | 7 | | districts shall be of no further force and effect. All
| 8 | | contracts theretofore entered into, to which the district is a | 9 | | party, shall
remain in force and effect for the period provided | 10 | | in such contracts. The
Department shall be substituted for the | 11 | | district as party to such
contracts. The Department shall be | 12 | | entitled to all benefits and subject to
all liabilities under | 13 | | such contracts and shall have the same right and
liability to | 14 | | perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued thereon,
| 15 | | and to modify or terminate such contracts by mutual consent or | 16 | | otherwise,
as the directors of the district would have had. | 17 | | Such dissolution shall not
affect the lien of any judgment | 18 | | entered under the provisions of Section 25
of this Act, nor the | 19 | | pendency of any action instituted under the
provisions of such | 20 | | section, and the Department shall succeed to all the
rights and | 21 | | obligations of the district as to such liens and actions.
| 22 | | The Department shall not be required to entertain petitions | 23 | | for the
discontinuance of any district nor conduct referenda | 24 | | upon such petitions
nor make determinations pursuant to such | 25 | | petitions in accordance with the
provisions of this Act, more | 26 | | often than once in 3 years.
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 83-358.)
| 2 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 3 | | becoming law.".
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