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91_HB0702sam002
LRB9103774MWgcam04
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 702
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 702 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT in relation to the Metro-East Park and Recreation
5 District."; and
6 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
7 following:
8 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
9 Metro-East Park and Recreation District Act.
10 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
11 "Board" means the board of directors of the Metro-East
12 Park and Recreation District
13 "Chief executive officer" means the chairman of the
14 county board of a county.
15 "County" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, or
16 Jersey County.
17 "District" or "Metro-East District" means the Metro-East
18 Park and Recreation District created under this Act.
19 "Governing body" means a county board.
20 "Metro-East Park and Recreation Fund" means the fund held
21 by the district that is the repository for all taxes and
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1 other moneys raised by or for the district under this Act.
2 "Metro-East region" means Madison, St. Clair, Monroe,
3 Clinton, and Jersey Counties.
4 "Park district" means a park district organized under the
5 Park District Code.
6 Section 10. Creation of Metro-East Park and Recreation
7 District.
8 (a) The Metro-East Park and Recreation District may be
9 created, incorporated, and managed under this Section and may
10 exercise the powers given to the District under this Act. Any
11 county may be included in the Metro-East District if the
12 voters in the county or counties to be included in the
13 District vote to be included in the District. Any recreation
14 system or public parks system that exists within the
15 Metro-East District created under this Section shall remain
16 in existence with the same powers and responsibilities it had
17 prior to the creation of the Metro-East District. Nothing in
18 this Section shall be construed in any manner to limit or
19 prohibit:
20 (1) later establishment or cessation of any park or
21 recreation system provided for by law; or
22 (2) any powers and responsibilities of any park or
23 recreation system provided for by law.
24 (b) When the Metro-East District is organized, it shall
25 be a body corporate and a political subdivision of this
26 State, and the District shall be known as the "Metro-East
27 Park and Recreation District", and in that name may sue and
28 be sued, issue general revenue bonds, and impose and collect
29 taxes or fees under this Act.
30 (c) The Metro-East District shall have as its primary
31 duty the development, operation, and maintenance of a public
32 system of interconnecting trails and parks throughout the
33 counties comprising the District. The Metro-East District
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1 shall supplement but shall not substitute for the powers and
2 responsibilities of the other parks and recreation systems
3 within the Metro-East District and shall have the power to
4 contract with other parks and recreation systems as well as
5 with other public and private entities.
6 Section 15. Creation of district; referendum.
7 (a) The governing body of a county may, by resolution,
8 elect to create the Metro-East Park and Recreation District.
9 The Metro-East District shall be established at a referendum
10 on the question of the formation of the district that is
11 submitted to the electors of a county at a regular election
12 and approved by a majority of the electors voting on the
13 question. The governing body must certify the question to
14 the proper election authority, which must submit the question
15 at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
16 The question must be submitted in substantially the
17 following form:
18 Shall the Metro-East Park and Recreation District be
19 created for the purposes of improving water quality;
20 increasing park safety; providing neighborhood trails;
21 improving, restoring, and expanding parks; providing
22 disabled and expanded public access to recreational
23 areas; preserving natural lands for wildlife; and
24 maintaining other recreation grounds within the
25 boundaries of the Metro-East Park and Recreation
26 District; and shall (name of county) join any other
27 counties in the Metro-East region that approve the
28 formation of the Metro-East Park and Recreation District,
29 with the authority to impose a Metro-East Park and
30 Recreation District Retailers' Occupation Tax at a rate
31 of one-tenth of 1% upon all persons engaged in the
32 business of selling tangible personal property at retail
33 in the district on gross receipts on the sales made in
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1 the course of their business for the purposes stated
2 above, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro-East
3 Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue
4 returned to the county from which the tax was collected?
5 The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No"
6 In the proposed Metro-East District that consists of only
7 one county, if a majority of the electors in that county
8 voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the
9 Metro-East District may be organized. In the proposed
10 Metro-East District that consists of more than one county, if
11 a majority of the electors in any county proposed for
12 inclusion in the District voting on the question vote in the
13 affirmative, the Metro-East District may be organized and
14 that county may be included in the District.
15 (b) After the Metro-East District has been created, any
16 county eligible for inclusion in the Metro-East District may
17 join the District after the county submits the question of
18 joining the District to the electors of the county at a
19 regular election. The county board must submit the question
20 to the proper election authority, which must submit the
21 question at an election in accordance with the Election Code.
22 The question must be submitted in substantially the
23 following form:
24 Shall (name of county) join the Metro-East Park and
25 Recreation District with the authority to impose a
26 Metro-East Park and Recreation District Retailers'
27 Occupation Tax at a rate of one-tenth of 1% upon all
28 persons engaged in the business of selling tangible
29 personal property at retail in the district on gross
30 receipts on the sales made in the course of their
31 business, with 50% of the revenue going to the Metro-East
32 Park and Recreation District and 50% of the revenue
33 returned to the county from which the tax was collected?
34 The votes must be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
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1 If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
2 in the affirmative, the county shall be included in the
3 district.
4 Section 20. Board of directors.
5 (a) If the Metro-East District is created by only one
6 county, the District shall be managed by a board of directors
7 consisting of 3 members. Two members shall be appointed by
8 the chief executive officer, with the advice and consent of
9 the county board, of the county in which the District is
10 located, and one member shall be appointed by the minority
11 members of county board with the advice and consent of the
12 county board. The first appointment shall be made within 90
13 days and not sooner than 60 days after the District has been
14 organized. Each member of the board so appointed shall be a
15 legal voter in the District. The first directors shall be
16 appointed to hold office for terms of one, 2, and 3 years,
17 and until June 30 thereafter, respectively, as determined by
18 lot. Thereafter, successors shall be appointed in the same
19 manner no later than the first day of the month in which the
20 term of a director expires. All terms expire if another
21 county joins the District.
22 A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term
23 shall be filled in the same manner as the original
24 appointment.
25 (b) If the Metro-East District is created by more than
26 one county, each county that elects to join the District
27 shall be represented by a certain number of board members.
28 The board members shall be distributed from the counties
29 electing to join the District as follows:
30 (1) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
31 consent of the county board, of St. Clair county shall
32 appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county
33 board, with the advice and consent of the county board,
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1 shall appoint one member.
2 (2) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
3 consent of the county board, of Madison County shall
4 appoint 2 members and the minority members of the county
5 board, with the advice and consent of the county board,
6 shall appoint one member.
7 (3) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
8 consent of the county board, of Clinton County shall
9 appoint one member.
10 (4) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
11 consent of the county board, of Jersey County shall
12 appoint one member.
13 (5) The chief executive officer, with the advice and
14 consent of the county board, of Monroe County shall
15 appoint one member.
16 The board members shall serve 3-year terms, except that
17 board members first appointed shall be appointed to serve
18 terms of one, 2, or 3 years as determined by lot, provided
19 that board members from counties eligible to appoint more
20 than one member may not serve identical initial terms. On
21 the expiration of the initial terms of appointment and on the
22 expiration of any subsequent term, the resulting vacancy
23 shall be filled in the same manner as the original
24 appointment. Board members shall serve until their successors
25 are appointed. Board members are eligible for reappointment.
26 (c) No board member may hold a public office in any
27 county within the Metro-East District, other than the office
28 of notary public. Board members must be citizens of the
29 United States and they must reside within the county from
30 which they are appointed. No board member may receive
31 compensation for performance of duties as a board member. No
32 board member may be financially interested directly or
33 indirectly in any contract entered into under this Act.
34 (d) Promptly after their appointment, the initial board
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1 members shall hold an organizational meeting at which they
2 shall elect a president and any other officers that they deem
3 necessary from among their number. The members shall make and
4 adopt any bylaws, rules, and regulations for their guidance
5 and for the government of the parks, neighborhood trails, and
6 recreational grounds and facilities that may be expedient and
7 not inconsistent with this Act.
8 (5) Board members shall have the exclusive control of the
9 expenditures of all money collected to the credit of the
10 Metro-East Park and Recreation Fund created pursuant to
11 Section 35, and of the supervision, improvement, care, and
12 custody of public parks, neighborhood trails, recreational
13 facilities, and grounds owned, maintained, or managed by the
14 Metro-East District. All moneys received for those purposes
15 shall be deposited in the Metro-East Park and Recreation
16 Fund. The board shall have power to purchase or otherwise
17 secure ground to be used for parks, neighborhood trails,
18 recreational facilities, and grounds; shall have power to
19 appoint suitable persons to maintain the parks, neighborhood
20 trails, recreational grounds, and facilities and to
21 administer recreational programs and to fix their
22 compensation; and shall have power to remove those
23 appointees. The board shall keep accurate records of all its
24 proceedings and actions and shall comply with the provisions
25 of the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
26 Section 25. Powers and duties.
27 (a) The Metro-East Park and Recreation District has the
28 power to:
29 (1) issue bonds, notes, or other obligations for
30 any of the purposes of the District, and to refund the
31 bonds, notes, or obligations, as provided in Section 40;
32 (2) contract, as provided by law, with public and
33 private entities or individuals both within and without
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1 the State and contract with the United States or any
2 agency thereof in furtherance of any of the purposes of
3 the District;
4 (3) own, hold, control, lease, purchase from
5 willing sellers, contract, and sell any and all rights in
6 land, buildings, improvements, and any and all other
7 real, personal, or mixed property, provided that real
8 property within a county may be purchased by the District
9 only if a majority of the board members from the county
10 in which the real property is located consent to the
11 acquisition;
12 (4) receive property, both real and personal, or
13 money that has been granted, donated, devised, or
14 bequeathed to the District;
15 (5) establish and collect reasonable charges for
16 the use of the facilities of the District; and
17 (6) maintain an office and staff at any place or
18 places in this State that it may designate and conduct
19 any business and operations that are necessary to fulfill
20 the District's duties under this Section.
21 (b) When a public highway, street, or road extends into
22 or through a public trail, trail area, or park area of the
23 Metro-East District, or when a public highway, street, or
24 road forms all or part of a suitable connection between 2 or
25 more public trails, trail areas, or park areas within the
26 Metro-East District, and it is advisable by the board to make
27 alterations in the route or width of the highway or to grade,
28 drain, pave, or otherwise improve the highway, the board may
29 enter into agreements, consistent with the purposes of the
30 Metro-East District, with the public agency in control of the
31 portion of the highway, street, or road that lies within any,
32 or forms any part of, a connecting link to and between any
33 public trail, trail area, or park area of the Metro-East
34 District. Any agreement with any public agency must be
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1 consistent with the provisions of the Intergovernmental
2 Cooperation Act.
3 This subsection does not alter the legal status of the
4 highway, street, or road in any way.
5 (c) The Metro-East District does not have any power of
6 eminent domain.
7 Section 30. Taxes.
8 (a) The board shall impose a tax upon all persons
9 engaged in the business of selling tangible personal
10 property, other than personal property titled or registered
11 with an agency of this State's government, at retail in the
12 District on the gross receipts from the sales made in the
13 course of business. This tax shall be imposed only at the
14 rate of one-tenth of one per cent.
15 This additional tax may not be imposed on the sales of
16 food for human consumption that is to be consumed off the
17 premises where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages,
18 soft drinks, and food which has been prepared for immediate
19 consumption) and prescription and non-prescription medicines,
20 drugs, medical appliances, and insulin, urine testing
21 materials, syringes, and needles used by diabetics. The tax
22 imposed by the Board under this Section and all civil
23 penalties that may be assessed as an incident of the tax
24 shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue.
25 The certificate of registration that is issued by the
26 Department to a retailer under the Retailers' Occupation Tax
27 Act shall permit the retailer to engage in a business that is
28 taxable without registering separately with the Department
29 under an ordinance or resolution under this Section. The
30 Department has full power to administer and enforce this
31 Section, to collect all taxes and penalties due under this
32 Section, to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in
33 the manner provided in this Section, and to determine all
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1 rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the
2 erroneous payment of a tax or penalty under this Section. In
3 the administration of and compliance with this Section, the
4 Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall
5 (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities,
6 powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions,
7 restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of
8 terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are
9 prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a-1, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 1k,
10 1m, 1n, 2, 2-5, 2-5.5, 2-10 (in respect to all provisions
11 contained in those Sections other than the State rate of
12 tax), 2-15 through 2-70, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 (except provisions
13 relating to transaction returns and quarter monthly
14 payments), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k,
15 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the
16 Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and
17 Interest Act as if those provisions were set forth in this
18 Section.
19 Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
20 granted in this Section may reimburse themselves for their
21 sellers' tax liability by separately stating the tax as an
22 additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination,
23 in a single amount, with State tax which sellers are required
24 to collect under the Use Tax Act, pursuant to such bracketed
25 schedules as the Department may prescribe.
26 Whenever the Department determines that a refund should
27 be made under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a
28 credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State
29 Comptroller, who shall cause the order to be drawn for the
30 amount specified and to the person named in the notification
31 from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the State
32 Treasurer out of the State Metro-East Park and Recreation
33 District Fund.
34 (b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a
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1 service occupation tax shall also be imposed at the same rate
2 upon all persons engaged, in the District, in the business of
3 making sales of service, who, as an incident to making those
4 sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within
5 the District as an incident to a sale of service. This tax
6 may not be imposed on sales of food for human consumption
7 that is to be consumed off the premises where it is sold
8 (ohter than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food
9 prepared for immediate consumption) and prescription and
10 non-prescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances, and
11 insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and needles used
12 by diabetics. The tax imposed under this subsection and all
13 civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof
14 shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue.
15 The Department has full power to administer and enforce this
16 subsection; to collect all taxes and penalties due hereunder;
17 to dispose of taxes and penalties so collected in the manner
18 hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit
19 memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax
20 or penalty hereunder. In the administration of, and
21 compliance with this subsection, the Department and persons
22 who are subject to this paragraph shall (i) have the same
23 rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties,
24 (ii) be subject to the same conditions, restrictions,
25 limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions, and
26 definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of
27 procedure as are prescribed in Sections 2 (except that the
28 reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining
29 a place of business in this State shall mean the District),
30 2a, 2b, 2c, 3 through 3-50 (in respect to all provisions
31 therein other than the State rate of tax), 4 (except that the
32 reference to the State shall be to the District), 5, 7, 8
33 (except that the jurisdiction to which the tax shall be a
34 debt to the extent indicated in that Section 8 shall be the
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1 District), 9 (except as to the disposition of taxes and
2 penalties collected), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference
3 therein to Section 2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act),
4 13 (except that any reference to the State shall mean the
5 District), Section 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Service
6 Occupation Tax Act and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act,
7 as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.
8 Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
9 granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their
10 serviceman's tax liability by separately stating the tax as
11 an additional charge, which charge may be stated in
12 combination, in a single amount, with State tax that
13 servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use
14 Tax Act, in accordance with such bracket schedules as the
15 Department may prescribe.
16 Whenever the Department determines that a refund should
17 be made under this subsection to a claimant instead of
18 issuing a credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the
19 State Comptroller, who shall cause the warrant to be drawn
20 for the amount specified, and to the person named, in the
21 notification from the Department. The refund shall be paid
22 by the State Treasurer out of the State Metro-East Park and
23 Recreation District Fund.
24 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
25 authorize the board to impose a tax upon the privilege of
26 engaging in any business which under the Constitution of the
27 United States may not be made the subject of taxation by the
28 State.
29 (c) The Department shall immediately pay over to the
30 State Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and
31 penalties collected under this Section to be deposited into
32 the State Metro-East Park and Recreation District Fund, which
33 shall be an unappropriated trust fund held outside of the
34 State treasury. On or before the 25th day of each calendar
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1 month, the Department shall prepare and certify to the
2 Comptroller the disbursement of stated sums of money pursuant
3 to Section 35 of this Act to the District from which
4 retailers have paid taxes or penalties to the Department
5 during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be
6 paid to the District shall be the amount (not including
7 credit memoranda) collected under this Section during the
8 second preceding calendar month by the Department plus an
9 amount the Department determines is necessary to offset any
10 amounts that were erroneously paid to a different taxing
11 body, and not including (i) an amount equal to the amount of
12 refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by
13 the Department on behalf of the District and (ii) any amount
14 that the Department determines is necessary to offset any
15 amounts that were payable to a different taxing body but were
16 erroneously paid to the District. Within 10 days after
17 receipt by the Comptroller of the disbursement certification
18 to the District provided for in this Section to be given to
19 the Comptroller by the Department, the Comptroller shall
20 cause the orders to be drawn for the respective amounts in
21 accordance with directions contained in the certification.
22 (d) For the purpose of determining whether a tax
23 authorized under this Section is applicable, a retail sale by
24 a producer of coal or another mineral mined in Illinois is a
25 sale at retail at the place where the coal or other mineral
26 mined in Illinois is extracted from the earth. This
27 paragraph does not apply to coal or another mineral when it
28 is delivered or shipped by the seller to the purchaser at a
29 point outside Illinois so that the sale is exempt under the
30 United States Constitution as a sale in interstate or foreign
31 commerce.
32 (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
33 authorize the board to impose a tax upon the privilege of
34 engaging in any business that under the Constitution of the
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1 United States may not be made the subject of taxation by this
2 State.
3 (f) An ordinance imposing a tax under this Section or an
4 ordinance extending the imposition of a tax to an additional
5 county or counties shall be certified by the board and filed
6 with the Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
7 first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
8 administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of July
9 next following the filing; or (ii) on or before the first day
10 of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
11 administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of January
12 next following the filing.
13 (g) When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement
14 to the District under this Section, the Department shall
15 increase or decrease the amounts by an amount necessary to
16 offset any misallocation of previous disbursements. The
17 offset amount shall be the amount erroneously disbursed
18 within the previous 6 months from the time a misallocation is
19 discovered.
20 Section 35. Allocation of moneys collected. The taxes
21 authorized by Section 30 of this Act shall be allocated as
22 follows:
23 (1) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each
24 county shall be returned to the Metro-East District for
25 distribution by the District to each respective county for
26 park and recreation purposes, except that not less than 50%
27 of the amount returned to the county shall be allocated for
28 distribution annually to park districts and municipal park
29 and recreation departments within the county in the form of
30 grants. Each county in the district shall establish a grant
31 commission of not less than 3 members with equal
32 representation from the county board and municipalities and
33 park districts in the county. The grant commission shall
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1 award grants to park districts and municipalities for park
2 and recreation purposes.
3 (2) Fifty percent of the amounts collected from each
4 county shall be retained by the District for deposit by the
5 District into the Metro-East Park and Recreation District
6 Fund.
7 Section 40. Bonds. The board of the District created
8 under this Act may issue and sell revenue bonds, payable from
9 the revenue derived from taxes imposed under Section 30, for
10 any of the purposes enumerated in this Act or for the purpose
11 of refunding any revenue bonds theretofore issued from time
12 to time when considered necessary or advantageous in the
13 public interest. These bonds shall be authorized by an
14 ordinance without submission thereof to the electors of the
15 District, shall mature at any time not to exceed 40 years
16 from the date of issue, shall bear any rate of interest not
17 to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond
18 Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of
19 the contract, that the board may determine, and may be sold
20 by the board in any manner that it deems best in the public
21 interest. However, the bonds shall be sold at any price that
22 the interest cost of the proceeds therefrom will not exceed
23 the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as
24 amended at the time of the making of the contract, based on
25 the average maturity of the bonds and computed according to
26 standard tables of bond values. No member of the board shall
27 have any personal economic interest in any bonds issued in
28 accordance with this Section.
29 The board of the District, when availing itself of the
30 provisions of this Section, shall adopt an ordinance
31 describing in a general way the purposes for which the bonds
32 will be issued. The ordinance shall fix the amount of revenue
33 bonds proposed to be issued, the maturity, interest rate, and
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1 all details in respect thereof, including any provision for
2 redemption prior to maturity, with or without premium, and
3 upon any notice that may be provided by the ordinance.
4 Revenue bonds issued under this Section shall be signed
5 by the chairman and secretary of the board or any other
6 officers that the board may by ordinance direct to sign the
7 bonds, and shall be payable from revenue derived from taxes
8 imposed under Section 30. These bonds may not in any event
9 constitute an indebtedness of the District within the meaning
10 of any constitutional provision or limitation. It shall be
11 plainly written or printed on the face of each bond that the
12 bond has been issued under the provisions of this Section,
13 that the bond, including the interest thereon, is payable
14 from the revenue pledged to the payment thereof, and that it
15 does not constitute an indebtedness or obligation of the
16 District within the meaning of any constitutional or
17 statutory limitation or provision. No holder of any such
18 revenue bond may compel any exercise of the taxing power of
19 the district to pay the bond or interest thereon.
20 The District may not issue any bonds under this Section
21 unless a public hearing, with adequate notice to the public,
22 is held prior to the issuance of the bonds. Notice of the
23 hearing giving the purpose, time, and place of the hearing
24 shall be published at least once, not more than 30 nor less
25 than 15 days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers
26 published in the District.
27 Section 45. Report. The board shall, by the end of the
28 District's fiscal year, submit a financial report to the
29 State Comptroller.
30 Section 900. The Property Tax Code is amended by
31 changing Section 15-105 as follows:
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1 (35 ILCS 200/15-105)
2 Sec. 15-105. Park and conservation districts. All
3 property within a park or conservation district with
4 2,000,000 or more inhabitants and owned by that district is
5 exempt, as is all property located outside the district but
6 owned by it and used as a nursery, garden, or farm for the
7 growing of shrubs, trees, flowers and plants for use in
8 beautifying, maintaining and operating playgrounds, parks,
9 parkways, public grounds, and buildings owned or controlled
10 by the district.
11 Also exempt is all property belonging to any park or
12 conservation district with less than 2,000,000 inhabitants,
13 and all property leased to a park district for $1 or less per
14 year and used exclusively as open space for recreational
15 purposes, not exceeding 20 acres in the aggregate for each
16 district.
17 Also exempt is all property belonging to a park district
18 organized pursuant to the Metro-East Park and Recreation
19 District Act.
20 (Source: P.A. 78-371; 88-455.)
21 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22 becoming law.".