Bill Text: IL HB0459 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Creates the School District Debt Control and Taxpayer Protection Act, and amends the School Code. Provides that a school district may not refinance debt past the repayment period of the debt when issued, may not issue debt to be serviced over a period of greater than 20 years, and may not issue capital appreciation bonds. Provides that school districts may not be indebted in an amount greater than that indicated in the Act and if a school district does exceed the debt limitation, then the school district many not incur any new debt until the school district's debt is lower than the debt limitation. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-27 - Third Reading - Short Debate - Lost 043-070-000 [HB0459 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB0459-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning education.
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 School
District Debt Control and Taxpayer Protection Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Capital appreciation bond" means debt issued without
annual or semiannual payments of principal, interest, or both.
"Entire debt service" means principal, interest, and
issuance costs of all debt and bonds.
"Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as
equalized by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
"Tax anticipation warrants" means tax anticipation
warrants drawn and issued under the School Code.
Section 10. Refinancing debt. Notwithstanding any other
law to the contrary, a school district may not refinance debt
past the repayment period of the debt when issued.
Section 15. Debt serviced more than 20 years.
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a school district may
not issue debt to be serviced over a period greater than 20
years.

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Section 20. Equalized assessed value. Notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, for the purpose of calculating the
debt limit of a school district in relation to its equalized
assessed value, debt shall include all debt issued and its
associated interest and issuance costs.
Section 25. Debt limitation. Notwithstanding any other law
to the contrary, no school district may become indebted in any
manner or for any purpose in an amount, including the entire
debt service, in the aggregate exceeding 13.8% for a unit
district or 6.9% for an elementary or high school district of
the value of the taxable property therein to be ascertained by
the last assessment for State and county taxes or, if greater,
the sum that is produced by multiplying the school district's
2016 equalized assessed value by the debt limitation percentage
in effect on the effective date of this Act, previous to the
incurring of such indebtedness.
Section 30. New debt prohibited.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and on
and after the effective date of this Act, a school district
that exceeds the debt limitation of Section 25 of this Act may
not incur any new debt, including, but not limited to, tax
anticipation warrants, until the school district's aggregate
debt limitation is below the debt limitation of Section 25.

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(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a school district may
issue new debt on or after the effective date of this Act if a
referendum allowing new debt to be issued was passed before the
effective date of this Act.
Section 35. Capital appreciation bonds. Notwithstanding
any other law to the contrary and on and after the effective
date of this Act, no school district may issue capital
appreciation bonds.
Section 40. Additional debt. Nothing in this Act shall
authorize any school district to issue additional debt above
and beyond what is otherwise authorized by law.
Section 45. Bond referendum information. Notwithstanding
any other law to the contrary, the referendum question allowing
a school district to issue bonds must include the following:
(1) a description of the project for which the bonds
will be issued;
(2) an estimate of the number of years during which the
bonds will be outstanding; and
(3) an estimate of the total debt service to be paid on
the bonds, including principal, interest, and costs of
issuing the bonds.
Section 50. Bond issuance information. If a school district

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presents information to the public about a bond issuance, then
that information must include an estimate of the average annual
property tax needed to pay the principal of and interest on the
bonds extendable against property containing a median-priced
home in the school district's boundaries at a fair market
value.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.