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Public Act 91-0103
HB0702 Enrolled LRB9103774DHmg
AN ACT in relation to the Metro-East Park and Recreation
District.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Metro-East Park and Recreation District Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Board" means the board of directors of the Metro-East
Park and Recreation District.
"Chief executive officer" means the chairman of the
county board of a county.
"County" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, or
Jersey County.
"District" or "Metro-East District" means the Metro-East
Park and Recreation District created under this Act.
"Governing body" means a county board.
"Metro-East Park and Recreation Fund" means the fund held
by the District that is the repository for all taxes and
other moneys raised by or for the District under this Act.
"Metro-East region" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe,
Clinton, and Jersey Counties.
"Park district" means a park district organized under the
Park District Code.
Section 10. Creation of Metro-East Park and Recreation
District.
(a) The Metro-East Park and Recreation District may be
created, incorporated, and managed under this Section and may
exercise the powers given to the District under this Act. Any
county may be included in the Metro-East District if the
voters in the county or counties to be included in the
District vote to be included in the District. Any recreation
system or public parks system that exists within the
Metro-East District created under this Section shall remain
in existence with the same powers and responsibilities it had
prior to the creation of the Metro-East District. Nothing in
this Section shall be construed in any manner to limit or
prohibit:
(1) later establishment or cessation of any park or
recreation system provided for by law; or
(2) any powers and responsibilities of any park or
recreation system provided for by law.
(b) When the Metro-East District is organized, it shall
be a body corporate and a political subdivision of this
State, and the District shall be known as the "Metro-East
Park and Recreation District", and in that name may sue and
be sued, issue general revenue bonds, and impose and collect
taxes or fees under this Act.
(c) The Metro-East District shall have as its primary
duty the development, operation, and maintenance of a public
system of interconnecting trails and parks throughout the
counties comprising the District. The Metro-East District
shall supplement but shall not substitute for the powers and
responsibilities of the other parks and recreation systems
within the Metro-East District and shall have the power to
contract with other parks and recreation systems as well as
with other public and private entities.
Section 15. Creation of District; referendum.
(a) The governing body of a county may, by resolution,
elect to create the Metro-East Park and Recreation District.
The Metro-East District shall be established at a referendum
on the question of the formation of the District that is
submitted to the electors of a county at a regular election
and approved by a majority of the electors voting on the
question. The governing body must certify the question to
the proper election authority, which must submit the question
at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
The question must be submitted in substantially the
following form:
Shall the Metro-East Park and Recreation District be
created for the purposes of improving water quality;
increasing park safety; providing neighborhood trails;
improving, restoring, and expanding parks; providing
disabled and expanded public access to recreational
areas; preserving natural lands for wildlife; and
maintaining other recreation grounds within the
boundaries of the Metro-East Park and Recreation
District; and shall (name of county) join any other
counties in the Metro-East region that approve the
formation of the Metro-East Park and Recreation District,
with the authority to impose a Metro-East Park and
Recreation District Retailers' Occupation Tax at a rate
of one-tenth of 1% upon all persons engaged in the
business of selling tangible personal property at retail
in the district on gross receipts on the sales made in
the course of their business for the purposes stated
above, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro-East
Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue
returned to the county from which the tax was collected?
The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No"
In the proposed Metro-East District that consists of only
one county, if a majority of the electors in that county
voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the
Metro-East District may be organized. In the proposed
Metro-East District that consists of more than one county, if
a majority of the electors in any county proposed for
inclusion in the District voting on the question vote in the
affirmative, the Metro-East District may be organized and
that county may be included in the District.
(b) After the Metro-East District has been created, any
county eligible for inclusion in the Metro-East District may
join the District after the county submits the question of
joining the District to the electors of the county at a
regular election. The county board must submit the question
to the proper election authority, which must submit the
question at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
The question must be submitted in substantially the
following form:
Shall (name of county) join the Metro-East Park and
Recreation District with the authority to impose a
Metro-East Park and Recreation District Retailers'
Occupation Tax at a rate of one-tenth of 1% upon all
persons engaged in the business of selling tangible
personal property at retail in the district on gross
receipts on the sales made in the course of their
business, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro-East
Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue
returned to the county from which the tax was collected?
The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, the county shall be included in the
District.
Section 20. Board of directors.
(a) If the Metro-East District is created by only one
county, the District shall be managed by a board of directors
consisting of 3 members. Two members shall be appointed by
the chief executive officer, with the advice and consent of
the county board, of the county in which the District is
located, and one member shall be appointed by the minority
members of the county board with the advice and consent of
the county board. The first appointment shall be made within
90 days and not sooner than 60 days after the District has
been organized. Each member of the board so appointed shall
be a legal voter in the District. The first directors shall
be appointed to hold office for terms of one, 2, and 3 years,
and until June 30 thereafter, respectively, as determined by
lot. Thereafter, successors shall be appointed in the same
manner no later than the first day of the month in which the
term of a director expires. All terms expire if another
county joins the District.
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term
shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(b) If the Metro-East District is created by more than
one county, each county that elects to join the District
shall be represented by a certain number of board members.
The board members shall be distributed from the counties
electing to join the District as follows:
(1) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
consent of the county board, of St. Clair county shall
appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county
board, with the advice and consent of the county board,
shall appoint one member.
(2) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
consent of the county board, of Madison County shall
appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county
board, with the advice and consent of the county board,
shall appoint one member.
(3) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
consent of the county board, of Clinton County shall
appoint one member.
(4) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
consent of the county board, of Jersey County shall
appoint one member.
(5) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
consent of the county board, of Monroe County shall
appoint one member.
The board members shall serve 3-year terms, except that
board members first appointed shall be appointed to serve
terms of one, 2, or 3 years as determined by lot, provided
that board members from counties eligible to appoint more
than one member may not serve identical initial terms. On
the expiration of the initial terms of appointment and on the
expiration of any subsequent term, the resulting vacancy
shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment. Board members shall serve until their successors
are appointed. Board members are eligible for reappointment.
(c) No board member may hold a public office in any
county within the Metro-East District, other than the office
of notary public. Board members must be citizens of the
United States and they must reside within the county from
which they are appointed. No board member may receive
compensation for performance of duties as a board member. No
board member may be financially interested directly or
indirectly in any contract entered into under this Act.
(d) Promptly after their appointment, the initial board
members shall hold an organizational meeting at which they
shall elect a president and any other officers that they deem
necessary from among their number. The members shall make and
adopt any bylaws, rules, and regulations for their guidance
and for the government of the parks, neighborhood trails, and
recreational grounds and facilities that may be expedient and
not inconsistent with this Act.
(e) Board members shall have the exclusive control of the
expenditures of all money collected to the credit of the
Metro-East Park and Recreation Fund created pursuant to
Section 35, and of the supervision, improvement, care, and
custody of public parks, neighborhood trails, recreational
facilities, and grounds owned, maintained, or managed by the
Metro-East District. All moneys received for those purposes
shall be deposited in the Metro-East Park and Recreation
Fund. The board shall have power to purchase or otherwise
secure ground to be used for parks, neighborhood trails,
recreational facilities, and grounds; shall have power to
appoint suitable persons to maintain the parks, neighborhood
trails, recreational grounds, and facilities and to
administer recreational programs and to fix their
compensation; and shall have power to remove those
appointees. The board shall keep accurate records of all its
proceedings and actions and shall comply with the provisions
of the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Section 25. Powers and duties.
(a) The Metro-East Park and Recreation District has the
power to:
(1) issue bonds, notes, or other obligations for
any of the purposes of the District, and to refund the
bonds, notes, or obligations, as provided in Section 40;
(2) contract, as provided by law, with public and
private entities or individuals both within and without
the State and contract with the United States or any
agency thereof in furtherance of any of the purposes of
the District;
(3) own, hold, control, lease, purchase from
willing sellers, contract, and sell any and all rights in
land, buildings, improvements, and any and all other
real, personal, or mixed property, provided that real
property within a county may be purchased by the District
only if a majority of the board members from the county
in which the real property is located consent to the
acquisition;
(4) receive property, both real and personal, or
money that has been granted, donated, devised, or
bequeathed to the District;
(5) establish and collect reasonable charges for
the use of the facilities of the District; and
(6) maintain an office and staff at any place or
places in this State that it may designate and conduct
any business and operations that are necessary to fulfill
the District's duties under this Section.
(b) When a public highway, street, or road extends into
or through a public trail, trail area, or park area of the
Metro-East District, or when a public highway, street, or
road forms all or part of a suitable connection between 2 or
more public trails, trail areas, or park areas within the
Metro-East District, and it is advisable by the board to make
alterations in the route or width of the highway or to grade,
drain, pave, or otherwise improve the highway, the board may
enter into agreements, consistent with the purposes of the
Metro-East District, with the public agency in control of the
portion of the highway, street, or road that lies within any,
or forms any part of, a connecting link to and between any
public trail, trail area, or park area of the Metro-East
District. Any agreement with any public agency must be
consistent with the provisions of the Intergovernmental
Cooperation Act.
This subsection does not alter the legal status of the
highway, street, or road in any way.
(c) The Metro-East District does not have any power of
eminent domain.
Section 30. Taxes.
(a) The board shall impose a tax upon all persons
engaged in the business of selling tangible personal
property, other than personal property titled or registered
with an agency of this State's government, at retail in the
District on the gross receipts from the sales made in the
course of business. This tax shall be imposed only at the
rate of one-tenth of one per cent.
This additional tax may not be imposed on the sales of
food for human consumption that is to be consumed off the
premises where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages,
soft drinks, and food which has been prepared for immediate
consumption) and prescription and non-prescription medicines,
drugs, medical appliances, and insulin, urine testing
materials, syringes, and needles used by diabetics. The tax
imposed by the Board under this Section and all civil
penalties that may be assessed as an incident of the tax
shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue.
The certificate of registration that is issued by the
Department to a retailer under the Retailers' Occupation Tax
Act shall permit the retailer to engage in a business that is
taxable without registering separately with the Department
under an ordinance or resolution under this Section. The
Department has full power to administer and enforce this
Section, to collect all taxes and penalties due under this
Section, to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in
the manner provided in this Section, and to determine all
rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the
erroneous payment of a tax or penalty under this Section. In
the administration of and compliance with this Section, the
Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall
(i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities,
powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions,
restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of
terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are
prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a-1, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 1k,
1m, 1n, 2, 2-5, 2-5.5, 2-10 (in respect to all provisions
contained in those Sections other than the State rate of
tax), 2-15 through 2-70, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 (except provisions
relating to transaction returns and quarter monthly
payments), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k,
5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and
Interest Act as if those provisions were set forth in this
Section.
Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this Section may reimburse themselves for their
sellers' tax liability by separately stating the tax as an
additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination,
in a single amount, with State tax which sellers are required
to collect under the Use Tax Act, pursuant to such bracketed
schedules as the Department may prescribe.
Whenever the Department determines that a refund should
be made under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a
credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State
Comptroller, who shall cause the order to be drawn for the
amount specified and to the person named in the notification
from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the State
Treasurer out of the State Metro-East Park and Recreation
District Fund.
(b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a
service occupation tax shall also be imposed at the same rate
upon all persons engaged, in the District, in the business of
making sales of service, who, as an incident to making those
sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within
the District as an incident to a sale of service. This tax
may not be imposed on sales of food for human consumption
that is to be consumed off the premises where it is sold
(other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food
prepared for immediate consumption) and prescription and
non-prescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances, and
insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and needles used
by diabetics. The tax imposed under this subsection and all
civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof
shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue.
The Department has full power to administer and enforce this
subsection; to collect all taxes and penalties due hereunder;
to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in the manner
hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit
memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax
or penalty hereunder. In the administration of, and
compliance with this subsection, the Department and persons
who are subject to this paragraph shall (i) have the same
rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties,
(ii) be subject to the same conditions, restrictions,
limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions, and
definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of
procedure as are prescribed in Sections 2 (except that the
reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining
a place of business in this State shall mean the District),
2a, 2b, 2c, 3 through 3-50 (in respect to all provisions
therein other than the State rate of tax), 4 (except that the
reference to the State shall be to the District), 5, 7, 8
(except that the jurisdiction to which the tax shall be a
debt to the extent indicated in that Section 8 shall be the
District), 9 (except as to the disposition of taxes and
penalties collected), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference
therein to Section 2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act),
13 (except that any reference to the State shall mean the
District), Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Service
Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act,
as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.
Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their
serviceman's tax liability by separately stating the tax as
an additional charge, which charge may be stated in
combination, in a single amount, with State tax that
servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use
Tax Act, in accordance with such bracket schedules as the
Department may prescribe.
Whenever the Department determines that a refund should
be made under this subsection to a claimant instead of
issuing a credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the
State Comptroller, who shall cause the warrant to be drawn
for the amount specified, and to the person named, in the
notification from the Department. The refund shall be paid
by the State Treasurer out of the State Metro-East Park and
Recreation District Fund.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
authorize the board to impose a tax upon the privilege of
engaging in any business which under the Constitution of the
United States may not be made the subject of taxation by the
State.
(c) The Department shall immediately pay over to the
State Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and
penalties collected under this Section to be deposited into
the State Metro-East Park and Recreation District Fund, which
shall be an unappropriated trust fund held outside of the
State treasury. On or before the 25th day of each calendar
month, the Department shall prepare and certify to the
Comptroller the disbursement of stated sums of money pursuant
to Section 35 of this Act to the District from which
retailers have paid taxes or penalties to the Department
during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be
paid to the District shall be the amount (not including
credit memoranda) collected under this Section during the
second preceding calendar month by the Department plus an
amount the Department determines is necessary to offset any
amounts that were erroneously paid to a different taxing
body, and not including (i) an amount equal to the amount of
refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by
the Department on behalf of the District and (ii) any amount
that the Department determines is necessary to offset any
amounts that were payable to a different taxing body but were
erroneously paid to the District. Within 10 days after
receipt by the Comptroller of the disbursement certification
to the District provided for in this Section to be given to
the Comptroller by the Department, the Comptroller shall
cause the orders to be drawn for the respective amounts in
accordance with directions contained in the certification.
(d) For the purpose of determining whether a tax
authorized under this Section is applicable, a retail sale by
a producer of coal or another mineral mined in Illinois is a
sale at retail at the place where the coal or other mineral
mined in Illinois is extracted from the earth. This
paragraph does not apply to coal or another mineral when it
is delivered or shipped by the seller to the purchaser at a
point outside Illinois so that the sale is exempt under the
United States Constitution as a sale in interstate or foreign
commerce.
(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
authorize the board to impose a tax upon the privilege of
engaging in any business that under the Constitution of the
United States may not be made the subject of taxation by this
State.
(f) An ordinance imposing a tax under this Section or an
ordinance extending the imposition of a tax to an additional
county or counties shall be certified by the board and filed
with the Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of July
next following the filing; or (ii) on or before the first day
of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of January
next following the filing.
(g) When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement
to the District under this Section, the Department shall
increase or decrease the amounts by an amount necessary to
offset any misallocation of previous disbursements. The
offset amount shall be the amount erroneously disbursed
within the previous 6 months from the time a misallocation is
discovered.
Section 35. Allocation of moneys collected. The taxes
authorized by Section 30 of this Act shall be allocated as
follows:
(1) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each
county shall be returned to the Metro-East District for
distribution by the District to each respective county for
park and recreation purposes, except that not less than 50%
of the amount returned to the county shall be allocated for
distribution annually to park districts and municipal park
and recreation departments within the county in the form of
grants. Each county in the District shall establish a grant
commission of not less than 3 members with equal
representation from the county board and municipalities and
park districts in the county. The grant commission shall
award grants to park districts and municipalities for park
and recreation purposes.
(2) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each
county shall be retained by the District for deposit by the
District into the Metro-East Park and Recreation District
Fund.
Section 40. Bonds. The board of the District created
under this Act may issue and sell revenue bonds, payable from
the revenue derived from taxes imposed under Section 30, for
any of the purposes enumerated in this Act or for the purpose
of refunding any revenue bonds theretofore issued from time
to time when considered necessary or advantageous in the
public interest. These bonds shall be authorized by an
ordinance without submission thereof to the electors of the
District, shall mature at any time not to exceed 40 years
from the date of issue, shall bear any rate of interest not
to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond
Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of
the contract, that the board may determine, and may be sold
by the board in any manner that it deems best in the public
interest. However, the bonds shall be sold at any price that
the interest cost of the proceeds therefrom will not exceed
the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as
amended at the time of the making of the contract, based on
the average maturity of the bonds and computed according to
standard tables of bond values. No member of the board shall
have any personal economic interest in any bonds issued in
accordance with this Section.
The board of the District, when availing itself of the
provisions of this Section, shall adopt an ordinance
describing in a general way the purposes for which the bonds
will be issued. The ordinance shall fix the amount of revenue
bonds proposed to be issued, the maturity, interest rate, and
all details in respect thereof, including any provision for
redemption prior to maturity, with or without premium, and
upon any notice that may be provided by the ordinance.
Revenue bonds issued under this Section shall be signed
by the chairman and secretary of the board or any other
officers that the board may by ordinance direct to sign the
bonds, and shall be payable from revenue derived from taxes
imposed under Section 30. These bonds may not in any event
constitute an indebtedness of the District within the meaning
of any constitutional provision or limitation. It shall be
plainly written or printed on the face of each bond that the
bond has been issued under the provisions of this Section,
that the bond, including the interest thereon, is payable
from the revenue pledged to the payment thereof, and that it
does not constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the
District within the meaning of any constitutional or
statutory limitation or provision. No holder of any such
revenue bond may compel any exercise of the taxing power of
the District to pay the bond or interest thereon.
The District may not issue any bonds under this Section
unless a public hearing, with adequate notice to the public,
is held prior to the issuance of the bonds. Notice of the
hearing giving the purpose, time, and place of the hearing
shall be published at least once, not more than 30 nor less
than 15 days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers
published in the District.
Section 45. Report. The board shall, by the end of the
District's fiscal year, submit a financial report to the
State Comptroller.
Section 900. The Property Tax Code is amended by
changing Section 15-105 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/15-105)
Sec. 15-105. Park and conservation districts. All
property within a park or conservation district with
2,000,000 or more inhabitants and owned by that district is
exempt, as is all property located outside the district but
owned by it and used as a nursery, garden, or farm for the
growing of shrubs, trees, flowers and plants for use in
beautifying, maintaining and operating playgrounds, parks,
parkways, public grounds, and buildings owned or controlled
by the district.
Also exempt is all property belonging to any park or
conservation district with less than 2,000,000 inhabitants,
and all property leased to a park district for $1 or less per
year and used exclusively as open space for recreational
purposes, not exceeding 20 acres in the aggregate for each
district.
Also exempt is all property belonging to a park district
organized pursuant to the Metro-East Park and Recreation
District Act.
(Source: P.A. 78-371; 88-455.)
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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