|  |
Public Act 098-0818
Public Act 0818 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
Public Act 098-0818
| | SB2598 Enrolled | LRB098 13500 MLW 48023 b |
|
| AN ACT concerning transportation.
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| represented in the General Assembly:
| Section 5. The Illinois Highway Code is amended by changing | Section 6-501 as follows:
| (605 ILCS 5/6-501) (from Ch. 121, par. 6-501)
| Sec. 6-501. (a) Findings and purpose. The General Assembly | finds:
| (1) That the financial conditions of the Township and | District road
systems of the State of Illinois have | suffered adversely as a result of
changes in law concerning | assessed valuation of property for tax purposes.
That as a | result of the changes beginning in 1945, the rates of
| permissible levy were first halved to accommodate full fair | value, but
never restored when subsequent law change | established the legal assessed
valuation at 50% of fair | market value as equalized by the Department of
Revenue.
| (2) Townships and district road systems, as a result of | the decreased
financial support, have suffered a decline in | ability to maintain or
improve roads and bridges in a safe | condition to permit the normal and
ordinary use of its | highway system. In many instances bridges have been
closed | and detours required because of impossible road conditions |
| resulting
in hardships for school districts in | transporting pupils and for farms in
moving products to | market.
| (3) Further, cost for maintenance and improvements | have risen faster
than the valuations of property, the base | of financial support.
| (4) To solve these problems, this Act makes changes in | rates of taxation
-- returning Townships and District road | systems to their approximate
financial viability prior to | 1945.
| (b) The highway commissioner for each road district in each | county not
under township organization shall on or before the | third Tuesday in December
of each year determine and certify to | the county board the amount necessary
to be raised by taxation | for road purposes and for the salaries of
elected road district | officials in the road district.
| Should any highway commissioner during the last year of his | term of
office for any reason not file the certificate in the | office of the county
clerk, as required by this Section, in | time for presentation to the regular
September meeting of the | county board, the clerk shall present in lieu
thereof a | certificate equal in amount to that presented for the preceding | year.
| In every such county the certificate shall be filed in the | office of the
county clerk and by that official presented to | the county board at the
regular September meeting for the |
| consideration of the board. The amount so
certified if approved | by the county board, or the part thereof as the
county board | does approve, shall be extended by the county clerk as road
| taxes against the taxable property of the district.
| (c) The highway commissioner in each road district in each | county having
adopted township organization shall in | accordance with the Illinois
Municipal Budget Law at least 30 | days prior to the public meeting required by
this paragraph, | each year prepare or cause to be prepared a tentative budget
| and appropriation ordinance and file the same with the clerk of | the township or
consolidated township road district, as the | case may be, who shall make the
tentative budget and | appropriation ordinance conveniently available to the
public | inspection for at least 30 days prior to final action. One | public
hearing shall be held. This public hearing shall be held | on or before the last
day of the first quarter of the fiscal | year before the township board of
trustees or the highway board | of trustees, as the case may be. Notice of the
hearing shall be | given by publication in a newspaper published in the road
| district at least 30 days prior to the time of the hearing. If | there is no
newspaper published in the road district, notice of | the public hearing shall be
given by posting notices in 5 of | the most public places in the district. It
shall be the duty of | the clerk of the road district to arrange for the public
| hearing. The township board of trustees or highway board of | trustees, as the
case may be, at the public hearing shall adopt |
| the tentative budget and
appropriation ordinance, or any part | as the board of trustees deem necessary.
| On or before the last Tuesday in December the township | board of
trustees or highway board of trustees or road district | commissioner, as
the case may be, shall levy and certify to the | county clerk the amount
necessary to be raised by taxation for | road purposes and the road district
commissioner shall levy and | certify to the county clerk the amount necessary to
be raised | by taxation for the salaries of elected road district officials | in
the road district, as determined by the highway | commissioner.
| The amount so certified shall be extended by the county | clerk as road
taxes against the taxable property of the | district.
| On or after October 10, 1991, a road district commissioner | whose district is
located in a county not under township | organization may not levy separately
a tax for
salaries of | elected road district officials unless the tax has been first
| approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question | at a referendum
conducted in accordance with the general | election law. The question submitted
to the electors at the | referendum shall be in substantially the following form:
"Shall | the road district commissioner be authorized to levy an annual | tax for
the salaries of elected road district officials under | Section 6-501 of the
Illinois Highway Code?"
| Except as is otherwise permitted by this Code and when the |
| road district
commissioner establishes the tax rate for the | salaries of elected road
district officials, the county clerk | shall not extend taxes for road
purposes against the taxable | property in any road district at rates in
excess of the | following:
| (1) in a road district comprised of a single township | in a county
having township organization, at a rate in | excess of .125% of the value, as
equalized or assessed by | the Department of Revenue; unless before the
last Tuesday | in December annually the highway commissioner of
the | township road district shall have secured the consent in | writing of a
majority of the members of the township board | of trustees to the extension
of a greater rate, in which | case the rate shall not
exceed that approved by a majority | of the members of the township board of
trustees, but in no | case shall it exceed .165% of the value, as
equalized or | assessed by the Department. Once approved by the township
| board of trustees, the rate shall remain in effect until | changed by the
township board of trustees;
| (2) in a consolidated township road district, at a rate | in excess of
.175% of the value, as equalized or assessed | by the Department of Revenue;
| (3) in a road district in a county not having township | organization, at a
rate in excess of .165% of the value, as | equalized or assessed by the
Department of Revenue.
| However, road districts that have higher tax rate |
| limitations on a
permanent basis for road purposes on July 1, | 1967, than the limitations
herein provided, may continue to | levy the road taxes at the higher
limitations, and the county | clerk shall extend the taxes at not to exceed
the higher | limitations.
| If the amount of taxes levied by the township board of | trustees or the
highway board of trustees or approved by the | county board in any case is in
excess of the amount that may be | extended the county clerk shall reduce
the amount so that the | rate extended shall be no greater than authorized
by law. | However, the tax shall not be reduced or scaled in any manner
| whatever by reason of the levy and extension by the county | clerk of any tax
to pay the principal or interest, or both, of | any bonds issued by a road
district.
| The taxes, when collected, shall be held by the treasurer | of the district
as the regular road fund of the district.
| Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a period of | time ending 18
years after the effective date of this | amendatory Act of 1994, a road district
or consolidated road | district may accumulate up to 50% of the taxes collected
from a | subdivision under this Section for improvements of | nondedicated
roads within the subdivision from which and for
| which the taxes were collected. These nondedicated roads will | become a part of
the
township and district road system if the | roads meet the criteria established by
the counties in which | the roads are located. The total accumulations under
this |
| provision may not exceed 10% of the total funds held by the
| district for
road purposes. This provision applies only to | townships within counties
adjacent to a county with a | population of 3,000,000 or more and only with
respect to | subdivisions whose plats were filed or recorded before July 23,
| 1959.
| Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a period of | time ending 10
years after the effective date of this | amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, a road district
or | consolidated road district may accumulate up to 50% of the | taxes collected
from a subdivision under this Section for | improvements of nondedicated
roads within the subdivision from | which and for
which the taxes were collected. These | nondedicated roads will become a part of
the
township and | district road system if the roads meet the criteria established | by
the counties in which the roads are located. The total | accumulations under
this provision may not exceed 10% of the | total funds held by the
district for
road purposes. This | provision applies only to townships within counties
adjacent to | a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more and only with
| respect to subdivisions whose plats were filed or recorded | before July 23,
1959. | Any road district may accumulate funds for the purpose of | acquiring,
constructing, repairing and improving buildings and | procuring land in
relation to the building and for the purpose | of procuring road maintenance
apparatus and equipment, and for |
| the construction of roads, and may
annually levy taxes for the | purposes in excess of its current requirements
for other | purposes, subject to the tax rate limitations provided in this
| Section, provided a proposition to accumulate funds for the | purposes is
first submitted to and approved by the electors of | the district. The
proposition shall be certified to the proper | election officials by the
district clerk upon the direction of | the highway commissioner, and the
election officials shall | submit the proposition at a regular election.
Notice and | conduct of the referendum shall be in accordance with the
| general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially | the
following form:
| -------------------------------------------------------------
| Shall .......... road district
| accumulate funds in the amount
| of $......... for ........ years YES
| for the purpose of acquiring,
| constructing, repairing and improving --------------------
| buildings and procuring land
| therefor, and for procuring road NO
| maintenance apparatus and equipment
| and for the construction of roads?
| -------------------------------------------------------------
| If a majority of the electors voting on the proposition | vote in
favor of it, the road district may use a portion of the | funds levied,
subject to the tax rate limitations provided in |
| this Section, for the
purposes for which accumulation was | authorized. It shall not be a valid
objection to any subsequent | tax levy made under this Section, that there
remains unexpended | money arising from the levy of a prior year because
of an | accumulation permitted by this Section and provided for in the
| budget for that prior year.
| (d) Any road district may accumulate moneys in a dedicated | fund for a
specific
capital construction or maintenance project | or a major equipment purchase
without submitting a proposition | to the electors of the district if the annual
budget and | appropriation ordinance for the road district states the | amount,
purpose, and duration of any accumulation of funds | authorized under this
Section, with specific reference to each | project to be constructed or equipment
to be purchased. Nothing | in this subsection precludes a road district from
accumulating | moneys for non-specific purposes as provided in this Section.
| (Source: P.A. 92-395, eff. 8-16-01; 92-656, eff. 7-16-02.)
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | becoming law.
|
Effective Date: 8/1/2014
|
|
|
|
Translate
