Bill Text: IL HB0688 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Enrolled
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Downstate Firefighter and Chicago Firefighter Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Authorizes a firefighter to transfer up to 10 years of creditable service in a downstate firefighter pension fund to the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago upon payment of a specified amount. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-11-09 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0544 [HB0688 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HB0688-Enrolled.html
Bill Title: Amends the Downstate Firefighter and Chicago Firefighter Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Authorizes a firefighter to transfer up to 10 years of creditable service in a downstate firefighter pension fund to the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago upon payment of a specified amount. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-11-09 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0544 [HB0688 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HB0688-Enrolled.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Sections 4-108, 4-108.6, and 6-227 and by adding Section | ||||||
6 | 3-110.12 as follows:
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7 | (40 ILCS 5/3-110.12 new) | ||||||
8 | Sec. 3-110.12. Transfer to Article 4 fund. | ||||||
9 | (a) At any time during the
6 months following the effective | ||||||
10 | date of this Section, an active member of an Article 4 | ||||||
11 | firefighters' pension fund may apply for transfer to that fund | ||||||
12 | of up to 6 years of his or her creditable service accumulated
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13 | in the police pension fund under this Article that is | ||||||
14 | administered by the same unit of local government if that | ||||||
15 | active member was not subject to disciplinary action when he or | ||||||
16 | she terminated employment with that police department. The | ||||||
17 | creditable service shall be transferred upon payment by
the | ||||||
18 | police pension fund to the Article 4 fund of an amount
equal | ||||||
19 | to: | ||||||
20 | (1) the amounts accumulated to the credit of the | ||||||
21 | applicant on the books
of the fund on the date of transfer | ||||||
22 | for the service to be transferred; and | ||||||
23 | (2) employer contributions in an amount equal to the |
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1 | amount determined
under item (1); and | ||||||
2 | (3) any interest paid by the applicant in order to | ||||||
3 | reinstate service. | ||||||
4 | Participation in the police pension fund with respect to | ||||||
5 | the transferred creditable service shall terminate on the date | ||||||
6 | of transfer. | ||||||
7 | (b) At the time of applying for transfer of creditable | ||||||
8 | service under this Section, an active member of an Article 4 | ||||||
9 | firefighters' pension fund may, for the purpose of that | ||||||
10 | transfer, reinstate creditable service that was
terminated by | ||||||
11 | receipt of a refund, by payment to the police pension fund of | ||||||
12 | the
amount of the refund with interest thereon at the rate of | ||||||
13 | 6% per year,
compounded annually, from the date of the refund | ||||||
14 | to the date of payment.
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15 | (40 ILCS 5/4-108) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-108)
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16 | Sec. 4-108. Creditable service.
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17 | (a) Creditable service is the time served as a firefighter | ||||||
18 | of a
municipality. In computing creditable service, furloughs | ||||||
19 | and leaves of
absence without pay exceeding 30 days in any one | ||||||
20 | year shall not be counted,
but leaves of absence for illness or | ||||||
21 | accident regardless of length, and
periods of disability for | ||||||
22 | which a firefighter received no disability
pension payments | ||||||
23 | under this Article, shall be counted.
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24 | (b) Furloughs and leaves of absence of 30 days or less in | ||||||
25 | any one year may
be counted as creditable service, if the |
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1 | firefighter makes the contribution
to the fund that would have | ||||||
2 | been required had he or she not been
on furlough or leave of | ||||||
3 | absence. To qualify for this creditable service,
the | ||||||
4 | firefighter must pay the required contributions to the fund not | ||||||
5 | more
than 90 days subsequent to the termination of the furlough | ||||||
6 | or leave of
absence, to the extent that the municipality has | ||||||
7 | not made such contribution
on his or her behalf.
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8 | (c) Creditable service includes:
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9 | (1) Service in the military, naval or air forces of the
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10 | United States entered upon when the person was an active
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11 | firefighter, provided
that, upon applying for a permanent | ||||||
12 | pension, and in accordance with the
rules of the board the | ||||||
13 | firefighter pays into the fund the amount that would
have | ||||||
14 | been contributed had he or she been a regular contributor | ||||||
15 | during such
period of service, if and to the extent that | ||||||
16 | the municipality which the
firefighter served made no such | ||||||
17 | contributions in his or her behalf. The
total amount of | ||||||
18 | such creditable service shall not exceed 5 years, except
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19 | that any firefighter who on July 1, 1973 had more than 5 | ||||||
20 | years of such
creditable service shall receive the total | ||||||
21 | amount thereof as of that date.
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22 | (1.5) Up to 24 months of service in the military, | ||||||
23 | naval, or air forces of the United States that was served | ||||||
24 | prior to employment by a municipality or fire protection | ||||||
25 | district as a firefighter. To receive the credit for the | ||||||
26 | military service prior to the employment as a firefighter, |
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1 | the firefighter must apply in writing to the fund and must | ||||||
2 | make contributions to the fund equal to (i) the employee | ||||||
3 | contributions that would have been required had the service | ||||||
4 | been rendered as a member, plus (ii) an amount determined | ||||||
5 | by the fund to be equal to the employer's normal cost of | ||||||
6 | the benefits accrued for that military service, plus (iii) | ||||||
7 | interest at the actuarially assumed rate provided by the | ||||||
8 | Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, | ||||||
9 | compounded annually from the first date of membership in | ||||||
10 | the fund to the date of payment on items (i) and (ii). The | ||||||
11 | changes to this paragraph (1.5) by this amendatory Act of | ||||||
12 | the 95th General Assembly apply only to participating | ||||||
13 | employees in service on or after its effective date.
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14 | (2) Service prior to July 1, 1976 by a firefighter | ||||||
15 | initially excluded
from participation by reason of age who | ||||||
16 | elected to participate and paid
the required contributions | ||||||
17 | for such service.
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18 | (3) Up to 8 years of service by a firefighter as an | ||||||
19 | officer in a statewide
firefighters' association when he is | ||||||
20 | on a leave of absence from a
municipality's payroll, | ||||||
21 | provided that (i) the firefighter has at least 10
years of | ||||||
22 | creditable service as an active firefighter, (ii) the | ||||||
23 | firefighter
contributes to the fund the amount that he | ||||||
24 | would have contributed had he
remained an active member of | ||||||
25 | the fund, (iii) the employee or statewide
firefighter | ||||||
26 | association contributes to the fund an amount equal to the
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1 | employer's required contribution as determined by the | ||||||
2 | board, and (iv) for all leaves of absence under this | ||||||
3 | subdivision (3), including those beginning before the | ||||||
4 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General | ||||||
5 | Assembly, the firefighter continues to remain in sworn | ||||||
6 | status, subject to the professional standards of the public | ||||||
7 | employer or those terms established in statute.
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8 | (4) Time spent as an on-call fireman for a | ||||||
9 | municipality,
calculated at the rate of one year of | ||||||
10 | creditable service for each 5 years
of time spent as an | ||||||
11 | on-call fireman, provided that (i) the firefighter has
at | ||||||
12 | least 18 years of creditable service as an active | ||||||
13 | firefighter, (ii) the
firefighter spent at least 14 years | ||||||
14 | as an on-call firefighter for the
municipality, (iii) the | ||||||
15 | firefighter applies for such creditable service
within 30 | ||||||
16 | days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
17 | 1989,
(iv) the firefighter contributes to the Fund an | ||||||
18 | amount representing
employee contributions for the number | ||||||
19 | of years of creditable service
granted under this | ||||||
20 | subdivision (4), based on the salary and contribution
rate | ||||||
21 | in effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the | ||||||
22 | Fund, to
be determined by the board, and (v) not more than | ||||||
23 | 3 years of creditable
service may be granted under this | ||||||
24 | subdivision (4).
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25 | Except as provided in Section 4-108.5, creditable | ||||||
26 | service shall not
include time
spent as a volunteer |
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1 | firefighter, whether or not any compensation was received
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2 | therefor. The change made in this Section by Public Act | ||||||
3 | 83-0463 is intended
to be a restatement and clarification | ||||||
4 | of existing law, and does not imply
that creditable service | ||||||
5 | was previously allowed under this Article for time
spent as | ||||||
6 | a volunteer firefighter.
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7 | (5) Time served between July 1, 1976 and July 1, 1988 | ||||||
8 | in
the position of protective inspection officer or | ||||||
9 | administrative assistant
for fire services, for a | ||||||
10 | municipality with a population under 10,000 that is
located | ||||||
11 | in a county with a population over 3,000,000 and that | ||||||
12 | maintains a
firefighters' pension fund under this Article, | ||||||
13 | if the position included
firefighting duties, | ||||||
14 | notwithstanding that the person may not have held an
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15 | appointment as a firefighter, provided that application is | ||||||
16 | made to the
pension fund within 30 days after the effective | ||||||
17 | date of this amendatory Act
of 1991, and the corresponding | ||||||
18 | contributions are paid for the number of
years of service | ||||||
19 | granted, based upon the salary and contribution rate in
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20 | effect for the firefighter at the date of entry into the | ||||||
21 | pension fund, as
determined by the Board.
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22 | (6) Service before becoming a participant by a | ||||||
23 | firefighter initially
excluded from participation by | ||||||
24 | reason of age who becomes a participant
under the amendment | ||||||
25 | to Section 4-107 made by this amendatory Act of 1993 and
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26 | pays the required contributions for such service.
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1 | (7) Up to 3 years of time during which the firefighter | ||||||
2 | receives a
disability pension under Section 4-110, | ||||||
3 | 4-110.1, or 4-111, provided that (i)
the firefighter | ||||||
4 | returns to active service after the disability for a period | ||||||
5 | at
least equal to the period for which credit is to be | ||||||
6 | established and (ii) the
firefighter makes contributions | ||||||
7 | to the fund based on the rates specified in
Section 4-118.1 | ||||||
8 | and the salary upon which the disability pension is based.
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9 | These contributions may be paid at any time prior to the | ||||||
10 | commencement of a
retirement pension. The firefighter may, | ||||||
11 | but need not, elect to have the
contributions deducted from | ||||||
12 | the disability pension or to pay them in
installments on a | ||||||
13 | schedule approved by the board. If not deducted from the
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14 | disability pension, the contributions
shall include | ||||||
15 | interest at the rate of 6% per year, compounded annually, | ||||||
16 | from
the date for which service credit is being established | ||||||
17 | to the date of payment.
If contributions are paid under | ||||||
18 | this subdivision (c)(7) in excess of those
needed to | ||||||
19 | establish the credit, the excess shall be refunded. This
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20 | subdivision (c)(7) applies to persons receiving a | ||||||
21 | disability pension under
Section 4-110, 4-110.1, or 4-111 | ||||||
22 | on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 91st | ||||||
23 | General Assembly, as well as persons who begin to receive | ||||||
24 | such a
disability pension after that date.
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25 | (8) Up to 6 years of service as a police officer and | ||||||
26 | participant in an Article 3 police pension fund |
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1 | administered by the unit of local government that employs | ||||||
2 | the firefighter under this Article, provided that the | ||||||
3 | service has been transferred to, and the required payment | ||||||
4 | received by, the Article 4 fund in accordance with Section | ||||||
5 | 3-110.12 of this Code. | ||||||
6 | (Source: P.A. 97-651, eff. 1-5-12.)
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7 | (40 ILCS 5/4-108.6) | ||||||
8 | Sec. 4-108.6. Transfer of creditable service to the | ||||||
9 | Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. | ||||||
10 | (a) Until 6 months after the effective date of this | ||||||
11 | amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, January 1, 2010, | ||||||
12 | any active member of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of | ||||||
13 | Chicago may apply for transfer of up to 10 years of creditable | ||||||
14 | service accumulated in any pension fund established under this | ||||||
15 | Article to the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. | ||||||
16 | Such creditable service shall be transferred only upon payment | ||||||
17 | by such pension fund to the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund | ||||||
18 | of Chicago of an amount equal to: | ||||||
19 | (1) the amounts accumulated to the credit of the | ||||||
20 | applicant on the books of the fund on the date of transfer; | ||||||
21 | (2) employer contributions in an amount equal to the | ||||||
22 | amount determined under subparagraph (1); and | ||||||
23 | (3) any interest paid by the applicant in order to | ||||||
24 | reinstate service. | ||||||
25 | Participation in such pension fund as to any credits |
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1 | transferred under this Section shall terminate on the date of | ||||||
2 | transfer. | ||||||
3 | (b) An active member of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit | ||||||
4 | Fund of Chicago applying for a transfer of creditable service | ||||||
5 | under subsection (a) may reinstate credits and creditable | ||||||
6 | service terminated upon receipt of a refund by payment to the | ||||||
7 | Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago of the amount of | ||||||
8 | the refund with interest thereon at the actuarially assumed | ||||||
9 | rate, compounded annually, from the date of the refund to the | ||||||
10 | date of payment.
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11 | (Source: P.A. 96-727, eff. 8-25-09.)
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12 | (40 ILCS 5/6-227) | ||||||
13 | Sec. 6-227. Transfer of creditable service from Article 4. | ||||||
14 | Until 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act | ||||||
15 | of the 100th General Assembly, January 1, 2010, any active | ||||||
16 | member of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago may | ||||||
17 | transfer to the Fund up to a total of 10 years of creditable | ||||||
18 | service accumulated under Article 4 of this Code upon payment | ||||||
19 | to the Fund within 5 years after the date of application of an | ||||||
20 | amount equal to the difference between the amount of employee | ||||||
21 | and employer contributions transferred to the Fund under | ||||||
22 | Section 4-108.6 and the amounts determined by the Fund in | ||||||
23 | accordance with this Section, plus interest on that difference | ||||||
24 | at the actuarially assumed rate, compounded annually, from the | ||||||
25 | date of service to the date of payment. |
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1 | The Fund must determine the fireman's payment required to | ||||||
2 | establish creditable service under this Section by taking into | ||||||
3 | account the appropriate actuarial assumptions, including | ||||||
4 | without limitation the fireman's service, age, and salary | ||||||
5 | history; the level of funding of the Fund; and any other | ||||||
6 | factors that the Fund determines to be relevant. For this | ||||||
7 | purpose, the fireman's required payment should result in no | ||||||
8 | significant increase to the Fund's unfunded actuarial accrued | ||||||
9 | liability determined as of the most recent actuarial valuation, | ||||||
10 | based on the same assumptions and methods used to develop and | ||||||
11 | report the Fund's actuarial accrued liability and actuarial | ||||||
12 | value of assets under Statement No. 25 of Governmental | ||||||
13 | Accounting Standards Board or any subsequent applicable | ||||||
14 | Statement.
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15 | (Source: P.A. 96-727, eff. 8-25-09.)
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16 | Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | ||||||
17 | Section 8.41 as follows:
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18 | (30 ILCS 805/8.41 new) | ||||||
19 | Sec. 8.41. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | ||||||
20 | of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | ||||||
21 | implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of | ||||||
22 | the 100th General Assembly.
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23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
24 | becoming law.
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