[ Search ] [ Legislation ] [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
[ House Amendment 001 ] |
90_HB3212 105 ILCS 5/17-2C 745 ILCS 10/1-211 new 745 ILCS 10/1-212 new 745 ILCS 10/9-103 from Ch. 85, par. 9-103 745 ILCS 10/9-105 from Ch. 85, par. 9-105 745 ILCS 10/9-107 from Ch. 85, par. 9-107 Amends the School Code and the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Provides that the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act does not authorize the issuance of bonds or the levying of taxes by the board of a local taxing entity that is a school district to fund the costs of complying with equitable remedies or relief or with an injunction agreed to by the school board of that local taxing entity or ordered by any court. Defines the terms "damages" and "liability" to exclude from the meaning of those terms the cost or obligation incurred by a school district in complying with equitable remedies or relief or with an injunction. Provides that a financially distressed school district may not transfer from the Tort Immunity Fund to any other school district fund any amount of moneys to fund the cost of complying with equitable remedies or relief or with an injunction agreed to by the school district or ordered by any court. Adds that those provisions are declaratory of existing law. LRB9003585THpkA LRB9003585THpkA 1 AN ACT relating to tort immunity, amending named Acts. 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 5 Section 17-2C as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/17-2C) 7 Sec. 17-2C. Transfer from Tort Immunity Fund by 8 financially distressed school districts. The school board of 9 any school district that is certified under Section 19-1.5 as 10 a financially distressed school district may by resolution 11 transfer from the Tort Immunity Fund to any other school 12 district fund an amount of money not to exceed the lesser of 13 $2,500,000 or 0.6% of the value of the taxable property 14 within the district, provided the amount transferred is not 15 then required for the payment of any liabilities created by a 16 settlement or a tort judgement, defense costs, or for the 17 payment of any liabilities under the Unemployment Insurance 18 Act, Workers' Compensation Act, Occupational Diseases Act, or 19 risk care management programs. 20 Nothing in this Section authorizes a transfer from the 21 Tort Immunity Fund to any other school district fund of any 22 amount of moneys to fund the cost of complying with equitable 23 remedies or relief or with an injunction agreed to by the 24 school district or ordered by any court. This amendatory Act 25 of 1998 is declaratory of existing law. 26 (Source: P.A. 88-641, eff. 9-9-94.) 27 Section 10. The Local Governmental and Governmental 28 Employees Tort Immunity Act is amended by adding Sections 29 1-211 and 1-212 and changing Sections 9-103, 9-105, and 9-107 30 as follows: -2- LRB9003585THpkA 1 (745 ILCS 10/1-211 new) 2 Sec. 1-211. "Damages" means a sum of money awarded by 3 either judgment or settlement to a party on account of an 4 injury caused by the tortious act of a local public entity or 5 public employee, which sum of money is to be the separate 6 property of the party. "Damages" does not mean or include 7 the cost incurred by a school district in complying with 8 equitable remedies or relief or with an injunction. 9 (745 ILCS 10/1-212 new) 10 Sec. 1-212. "Liability" means and refers exclusively to 11 liability for damages. "Liability" does not mean or refer to 12 liability for relief other than damages, such as the 13 obligation of a school district to comply with equitable 14 remedies or relief or with an injunction. 15 (745 ILCS 10/9-103) (from Ch. 85, par. 9-103) 16 Sec. 9-103. (a) A local public entity may protect itself 17 against any liability for damages that, property damage or18loss whichmay be imposed upon it or one of its employees for 19 a tortious act under Federal or State common or statutory 20 law, or imposed upon it under the Workers' Compensation Act, 21 the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, or the Unemployment 22 Insurance Act by means ofincluding, but not limited to,23 insurance, individual or joint self-insurance, including all 24 operating and administrative costs and expenses directly 25 associated therewith, claims services and risk management 26 directly attributable to loss prevention and loss reduction, 27 legal services directly attributable to the insurance, 28 self-insurance, or joint self-insurance program, educational, 29 inspectional, and supervisory services directly relating to 30 loss prevention and loss reduction, or participation in a 31 reciprocal insurer as provided in Sections 72, 76 and 81 of 32 the Illinois Insurance Code. Insurance shall be carried with -3- LRB9003585THpkA 1 a company authorized by the Department of Insurance to write 2 such insurance coverage in Illinois. 3 (a-5) A local public entity may individually or jointly 4 self-insure provided it complies with any other statutory 5 requirements specifically related to individual or joint 6 self-insurance by local public entities. Whenever the terms 7 "self-insure" or "self-insurance" are utilized within this 8 Act, such term shall apply to both individual and joint 9 self-insurance. The expenditure of funds of a local public 10 entity to protect itself or its employees against liability 11 is proper for any local public entity. A local public entity 12 that has individually self-insured may establish reserves for 13 expected losses for any liability or loss for which the local 14 public entity is authorized to purchase insurance under this 15 Act. The decision of the local public entity to establish a 16 reserve and the amount of the reserve shall be based on 17 reasonable actuarial or insurance underwriting evidence. 18 Property taxes shall not be levied or extended if the effect 19 is to increase the reserve beyond 125% of the actuary's or 20 insurance underwriter's estimated ultimate losses at the 95% 21 confidence level. Certification of the amount of the reserve 22 shall be made by the independent auditor, actuary, or 23 insurance underwriter and included in an annual report. 24 (b) A local public entity may contract for or purchase 25 any of the guaranteed fund certificates or shares of 26 guaranteed capital as provided for in Section 56 of the 27 Illinois Insurance Code. The expenditure of funds of the 28 local public entity for said contract or purchase is proper 29 for any local public entity. 30 (c) Any insurance company that provides insurance 31 coverage to a local public entity shall utilize any 32 immunities or may assert any defenses to which the insured 33 local public entity or its employees are entitled. Public 34 entities which are individually or jointly self-insured shall -4- LRB9003585THpkA 1 be entitled to assert all of the immunities provided by this 2 Act or by common law or statute on behalf of themselves or 3 their employees unless the local public entities shall elect 4 by action of their corporate authorities or specifically 5 contract to waive in whole or in part such immunities. 6 (d) Within 30 days after January 1, 1991, and within 30 7 days after each January 1 thereafter, local public entities 8 that are individually or jointly self-insured to protect 9 against liability under the Workers' Compensation Act and the 10 Workers' Occupational Diseases Act shall file with the 11 Industrial Commission a report indicating an election to 12 self-insure. 13 This amendatory Act of 1998 is declaratory of existing 14 law. 15 (Source: P.A. 89-150, eff. 7-14-95.) 16 (745 ILCS 10/9-105) (from Ch. 85, par. 9-105) 17 Sec. 9-105. The board of a local taxing entity may, 18 instead of following the procedure under subdivision (b) of 19 Section 9-104 or when it considers the action advisable, 20 issue general obligation or revenue bonds without referendum 21 for the purpose of creating a reserve for or for the payment 22 of any cost, liability or loss against which such entity may 23 protect itself or self-insure pursuant to Section 9-103 or 24 for the payment of which such entity may levy a tax pursuant 25 to Section 9-107, including any or all tort judgments or 26 settlements entered against or entered into by the entity or 27 by or against another local public entity or an employee of 28 that other public entity while acting within the scope of 29 employment, either individually or where the local public 30 entities have joined in an intergovernmental joint 31 self-insurance contract which among other undertakings 32 authorizes each local public entity to utilize its funds to 33 protect, wholly or partially, any other local public entity -5- LRB9003585THpkA 1 or its employees against liability or loss in accordance with 2 the intergovernmental contract. Such bonds may be issued in 3 an amount necessary to fund a reserve created for any or all 4 of the above described purposes including the discharge of 5 obligations under such judgments or settlements. Such bonds 6 shall not be considered debt under any statutory limitation, 7 and may be issued in an amount, including existing 8 indebtedness, in excess of any heretofore or hereafter 9 imposed statutory limitation as to debt but subject to 10 constitutional limits. 11 Any bonds issued under this Section as limited bonds as 12 defined in Section 3 of the Local Government Debt Reform Act 13 shall comply with the requirements of the Bond Issue 14 Notification Act. 15 Nothing in this Act authorizes these bonds to be issued 16 by the board of a local taxing entity that is a school 17 district in order to fund the cost of complying with 18 equitable remedies or relief or with an injunction agreed to 19 by the school board of that local taxing entity or ordered by 20 any court. This amendatory Act of 1998 is declaratory of 21 existing law. 22 (Source: P.A. 89-655, eff. 1-1-97.) 23 (745 ILCS 10/9-107) (from Ch. 85, par. 9-107) 24 Sec. 9-107. A local public entity may annually levy or 25 have levied on its behalf taxes upon all taxable property 26 within its territory at a rate that will produce a sum that 27 will be sufficient to: (i) pay the cost of insurance, 28 individual or joint self-insurance (including reserves 29 thereon), including all operating and administrative costs 30 and expenses directly associated therewith, claims services 31 and risk management directly attributable to loss prevention 32 and loss reduction, legal services directly attributable to 33 the insurance, self-insurance, or joint self-insurance -6- LRB9003585THpkA 1 program, and educational, inspectional, and supervisory 2 services directly relating to loss prevention and loss 3 reduction, participation in a reciprocal insurer as provided 4 in Sections 72, 76, and 81 of the Illinois Insurance Code, or 5 participation in a reciprocal insurer, all as provided in 6 Section 9-103; (ii) pay the cost of settlements or judgments 7 under Section 9-102; (iii) pay, includingall costs and 8 reserves directly attributable to being a member of an 9 insurance pool, under Section 9-103; (iv)(ii)pay the costs 10 of and principal and interest on bonds issued under Section 11 9-105; (v)(iii)pay judgments and settlements under Section 12 9-104; and (vi(iv)discharge obligations under Section 13 34-18.1 of The School Code, as now or hereafter amended, and 14 to pay the cost of risk management programs. Provided it 15 complies with any other applicable statutory requirements, 16 the local public entity may self-insure and establish 17 reserves for expected losses for any liability or loss for 18 which the local public entity is authorized to levy or have 19 levied on its behalf taxes for the purchase of insurance or 20 the payment of judgments or settlements under this Section. 21 The decision of the board to establish a reserve shall be 22 based on reasonable actuarial or insurance underwriting 23 evidence and subject to the limits and reporting provisions 24 in Section 9-103. 25 Funds raised pursuant to this Section shall only be used 26 for the purposes specified in this Act, including protection 27 against and reduction of any liability or loss described 28 hereinabove and under Federal or State common or statutory 29 law, the Workers' Compensation Act, the Workers' Occupational 30 Diseases Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act. Funds 31 raised pursuant to this Section may be invested in any manner 32 in which other funds of local public entities may be invested 33 under Section 2 of the Public Funds Investment Act. Interest 34 on such funds shall be used only for purposes for which the -7- LRB9003585THpkA 1 funds can be used or, if surplus, must be used for abatement 2 of property taxes levied by the local taxing entity. 3 A local public entity may enter into intergovernmental 4 contracts with a term of not to exceed 12 years for the 5 provision of joint self-insurance which contracts may include 6 an obligation to pay a proportional share of a general 7 obligation or revenue bond or other debt instrument issued by 8 a local public entity which is a party to the 9 intergovernmental contract and is authorized by the terms of 10 the contract to issue the bond or other debt instrument. 11 Funds due under such contracts shall not be considered debt 12 under any constitutional or statutory limitation and the 13 local public entity may levy or have levied on its behalf 14 taxes to pay for its proportional share under the contract. 15 Funds raised pursuant to intergovernmental contracts for the 16 provision of joint self-insurance may only be used for the 17 payment of any cost, liability or loss against which a local 18 public entity may protect itself or self-insure pursuant to 19 Section 9-103 or for the payment of which such entity may 20 levy a tax pursuant to this Section, including tort judgments 21 or settlements, costs associated with the issuance, 22 retirement or refinancing of the bonds or other debt 23 instruments, the repayment of the principal or interest of 24 the bonds or other debt instruments, the costs of the 25 administration of the joint self-insurance fund, consultant, 26 and risk care management programs or the costs of insurance. 27 Any surplus returned to the local public entity under the 28 terms of the intergovernmental contract shall be used only 29 for purposes set forth in subsection (a) of Section 9-103 and 30 Section 9-107 or for abatement of property taxes levied by 31 the local taxing entity. 32 Any tax levied under this Section shall be levied and 33 collected in like manner with the general taxes of the entity 34 and shall be exclusive of and in addition to the amount of -8- LRB9003585THpkA 1 tax that entity is now or may hereafter be authorized to levy 2 for general purposes under any statute which may limit the 3 amount of tax which that entity may levy for general 4 purposes. The county clerk of the county in which any part of 5 the territory of the local taxing entity is located, in 6 reducing tax levies under the provisions of any Act 7 concerning the levy and extension of taxes, shall not 8 consider any tax provided for by this Section as a part of 9 the general tax levy for the purposes of the entity nor 10 include such tax within any limitation of the percent of the 11 assessed valuation upon which taxes are required to be 12 extended for such entity. 13 With respect to taxes levied under this Section, either 14 before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory 15 Act of 1994: 16 (1) Those taxes are excepted from and shall not be 17 included within the rate limitation imposed by law on 18 taxes levied for general corporate purposes by the local 19 public entity authorized to levy a tax under this 20 Section. 21 (2) Those taxes that a local public entity has 22 levied in reliance on this Section and that are excepted 23 under paragraph (1) from the rate limitation imposed by 24 law on taxes levied for general corporate purposes by the 25 local public entity are not invalid because of any 26 provision of the law authorizing the local public 27 entity's tax levy for general corporate purposes that may 28 be construed or may have been construed to restrict or 29 limit those taxes levied, and those taxes are hereby 30 validated. This validation of taxes levied applies to all 31 cases pending on or after the effective date of this 32 amendatory Act of 1994. 33 (3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to a 34 hospital organized under Article 170 or 175 of the -9- LRB9003585THpkA 1 Township Code, under the Town Hospital Act, or under the 2 Township Non-Sectarian Hospital Act and do not give any 3 authority to levy taxes on behalf of such a hospital in 4 excess of the rate limitation imposed by law on taxes 5 levied for general corporate purposes. A hospital 6 organized under Article 170 or 175 of the Township Code, 7 under the Town Hospital Act, or under the Township 8 Non-Sectarian Hospital Act is not prohibited from levying 9 taxes in support of tort liability bonds if the taxes do 10 not cause the hospital's aggregate tax rate from 11 exceeding the rate limitation imposed by law on taxes 12 levied for general corporate purposes. 13 Revenues derived from such tax shall be paid to the 14 treasurer of the local taxing entity as collected and used 15 for the purposes of this Section and of Section 9-102, 16 9-103, 9-104 or 9-105, as the case may be. If payments on 17 account of such taxes are insufficient during any year to 18 meet such purposes, the entity may issue tax anticipation 19 warrants against the current tax levy in the manner provided 20 by statute. 21 Nothing in this Act authorizes the levying of taxes or 22 the issuance of bonds by the board of a local taxing entity 23 that is a school district in order to fund the cost of 24 complying with equitable remedies or relief or with an 25 injunction agreed to by the school board of that local taxing 26 entity or ordered by any court. This amendatory Act of 1998 27 is declaratory of existing law. 28 (Source: P.A. 88-545; 88-692, eff. 2-4-95; 89-150, eff. 29 7-14-95.)