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91_HB0737sam001
SDS/910043/JRdo
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 737
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 737 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT concerning small claims cases."; and
5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
6 following:
7 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
8 Small Claim Alternative Disposition Act.
9 Section 5. Creation of positions. The Supreme Court may
10 appoint referees in one or more judicial circuits, and, if so
11 appointed, shall authorize the compensation of the referees
12 with funds from the Mandatory Arbitration Fund. The Supreme
13 Court shall determine the number of referees to be appointed,
14 the judicial circuits in which the referees shall serve, and
15 the compensation of the referees.
16 Section 10. Qualifications. Referees shall be licensed
17 attorneys. The Supreme Court may establish other minimum
18 qualifications for referees. Retired judges who are licensed
19 attorneys, and meet the other minimum qualifications
20 established by the Supreme Court, are eligible for
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1 appointment as referees.
2 Section 15. Status. Referees are not deemed to be judges
3 for any purpose and service as a referee by a retired judge
4 is not deemed to be judicial services as referred to in
5 Article VI, Section 15, subsection (a) of the Illinois
6 Constitution. Referees may hold other positions or offices
7 and may practice law, subject to any restrictions established
8 by Supreme Court rules or local court rules.
9 Retired judges who are referees shall be considered
10 temporary employees of the Supreme Court and may be employed
11 for a period not exceeding 75 working days without the
12 suspension of retirement benefits under Article 18 of the
13 Pension Code.
14 Section 20. Duties. Referees may hear only small claims
15 cases as defined in Supreme Court rules (other than actions
16 for the collection of taxes). A small claims case may be
17 heard by a referee only if:
18 (i) all of the parties have consented to have the
19 case heard by a referee; and
20 (ii) none of the parties are represented by an
21 attorney.
22 For purposes of this Act, a corporation prosecuting as
23 plaintiff or defending as defendant through an officer,
24 director, manager, department manager, or supervisor of the
25 corporation as authorized by Section 2-416 of the Code of
26 Civil Procedure is not deemed to be represented by an
27 attorney.
28 A party may consent to have a small claims case heard by
29 a referee by so indicating on a pleading or on a form
30 specified in Supreme Court rules or local court rules or in
31 any other manner specified in Supreme Court rules or local
32 court rules.
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1 After a small claims case has been assigned to a referee,
2 the case may be reassigned to another referee or to a judge
3 only as authorized in Supreme Court rules or local court
4 rules.
5 Section 25. Powers; duties; conduct. Upon the Supreme
6 Court appointing referees under this Act, the Supreme Court
7 may:
8 (i) adopt any rules deemed appropriate, setting
9 forth the powers of referees;
10 (ii) adopt rules of conduct for referees and place
11 restrictions on other activities of referees which the
12 Supreme Court may, in its discretion, determine to be
13 appropriate; and
14 (iii) authorize circuit courts to adopt rules in
15 relation to the matters set forth in subdivisions (i) and
16 (ii) or any other matters deemed appropriate by the
17 Supreme Court.
18 Section 30. Procedure. Referees shall adjudicate
19 disputes at informal hearings in accordance with Supreme
20 Court rules and local court rules. Hearings before referees
21 may be scheduled as directed by the circuit court on weekdays
22 during normal business hours, or as set by Supreme Court
23 rule.
24 Section 35. Review. An action to review a decision of a
25 referee shall be heard and determined by the circuit court.
26 Commencement, pleadings, and practice in an action to review
27 a decision of a referee shall be in accordance with Supreme
28 Court rules. No new or additional evidence in support of or
29 in opposition to any decision of a referee shall be heard by
30 the circuit court. In an action to review a decision of a
31 referee, the findings and conclusions of the referee on
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1 questions of fact shall be held to be prima facie true and
2 correct, and the circuit court shall affirm the decision of
3 the referral unless the decision is contrary to the manifest
4 weight of the evidence. The judgment of a circuit court or
5 order in an action to review a decision of a referee may be
6 appealed in the same manner as any other judgment or order of
7 the circuit court.
8 Section 40. Application. Nothing in this Act applies to
9 alternative dispute resolution or mandatory arbitration
10 established by law or rule.
11 Section 90. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
12 changing Section 18-127 as follows:
13 (40 ILCS 5/18-127) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 18-127)
14 Sec. 18-127. Retirement annuity - suspension on
15 reemployment.
16 (a) A participant receiving a retirement annuity who is
17 regularly employed for compensation by an employer other than
18 a county, in any capacity, shall have his or her retirement
19 annuity payments suspended during such employment. Upon
20 termination of such employment, retirement annuity payments
21 at the previous rate shall be resumed.
22 If such a participant resumes service as a judge, he or
23 she shall receive credit for any additional service. Upon
24 subsequent retirement, his or her retirement annuity shall be
25 the amount previously granted, plus the amount earned by the
26 additional judicial service under the provisions in effect
27 during the period of such additional service. However, if the
28 participant was receiving the maximum rate of annuity at the
29 time of re-employment, he or she may elect, in a written
30 direction filed with the board, not to receive any additional
31 service credit during the period of re-employment. In such
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1 case, contributions shall not be required during the period
2 of re-employment. Any such election shall be irrevocable.
3 (b) Beginning January 1, 1991, any participant receiving
4 a retirement annuity who accepts temporary employment from an
5 employer other than a county or is a temporary employee of
6 the Supreme Court in accordance with the Small Claim
7 Alternative Disposition Act for a period not exceeding 75
8 working days in any calendar year shall not be deemed to be
9 regularly employed for compensation or to have resumed
10 service as a judge for the purposes of this Article. A day
11 shall be considered a working day if the annuitant performs
12 on it any of his duties under the temporary employment
13 agreement.
14 (c) Except as provided in subsection (a), beginning
15 January 1, 1993, retirement annuities shall not be subject to
16 suspension upon resumption of employment for an employer, and
17 any retirement annuity that is then so suspended shall be
18 reinstated on that date.
19 (d) The changes made in this Section by Public Act
20 87-1265 this amendatory Act of 1993 shall apply to judges no
21 longer in service on its effective date, as well as to judges
22 serving on or after that date.
23 (Source: P.A. 86-1488; 87-1265.)
24 Section 95. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
25 changing Section 2-1009A as follows:
26 (735 ILCS 5/2-1009A) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1009A)
27 Sec. 2-1009A. Filing Fees. In each county authorized by
28 the Supreme Court to utilize mandatory arbitration, the clerk
29 of the circuit court shall charge and collect, in addition to
30 any other fees, an arbitration fee of $8, except in counties
31 with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants the fee shall be $10, at
32 the time of filing the first pleading, paper or other
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1 appearance filed by each party in all civil cases, but no
2 additional fee shall be required if more than one party is
3 represented in a single pleading, paper or other appearance.
4 Arbitration fees received by the clerk of the circuit court
5 pursuant to this Section shall be remitted within one month
6 after receipt to the State Treasurer for deposit into the
7 Mandatory Arbitration Fund, a special fund in the State
8 treasury for the purposes purpose of (i) providing
9 compensation to referees under the Small Claim Alternative
10 Disposition Act and (ii) funding mandatory arbitration
11 programs and such other alternative dispute resolution
12 programs as may be authorized by circuit court rule for
13 operation in counties that have implemented mandatory
14 arbitration, with a separate account being maintained for
15 each county.
16 (Source: P.A. 88-108; 89-532, eff. 7-19-96.)".