Bill Text: IL HB3684 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the State Employee Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that, by paying both employee and employer contributions based upon the employee's compensation and contribution rate in effect on the date he or she last became a member of the System, plus interest at one-half of the actuarially assumed rate, an employee may establish service credit for any period of time spent in active military service since January 1, 1960 for which he or she has not otherwise established credit for, provided that (1) he or she applies within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act and (2) he or she was not dishonorably discharged from such military service. Provides an exemption from the new benefit increase provisions. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-13 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3684 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB3684-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 HB3684 Introduced 2/24/2009, by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/14-104 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-104
40 ILCS 5/14-152.1
Amends the State Employee Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that, by paying both employee and employer contributions based upon the employee's compensation and contribution rate in effect on the date he or she last became a member of the System, plus interest at one-half of the actuarially assumed rate, an employee may establish service credit for any period of time spent in active military service since January 1, 1960 for which he or she has not otherwise established credit for, provided that (1) he or she applies within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act and (2) he or she was not dishonorably discharged from such military service. Provides an exemption from the new benefit increase provisions. Effective immediately.
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PENSION IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing
Sections 14-104 and 14-152.1 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/14-104) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 14-104)
Sec. 14-104. Service for which contributions permitted.
Contributions provided for in this Section shall cover the
period of service granted. Except as otherwise provided in this
Section, the contributions shall be based upon the employee's
compensation and contribution rate in effect on the date he
last became a member of the System; provided that for all
employment prior to January 1, 1969 the contribution rate shall
be that in effect for a noncovered employee on the date he last
became a member of the System. Except as otherwise provided in
this Section, contributions permitted under this Section shall
include regular interest from the date an employee last became
a member of the System to the date of payment.
These contributions must be paid in full before retirement
either in a lump sum or in installment payments in accordance
with such rules as may be adopted by the board.
(a) Any member may make contributions as required in this
Section for any period of service, subsequent to the date of

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establishment, but prior to the date of membership.
(b) Any employee who had been previously excluded from
membership because of age at entry and subsequently became
eligible may elect to make contributions as required in this
Section for the period of service during which he was
ineligible.
(c) An employee of the Department of Insurance who, after
January 1, 1944 but prior to becoming eligible for membership,
received salary from funds of insurance companies in the
process of rehabilitation, liquidation, conservation or
dissolution, may elect to make contributions as required in
this Section for such service.
(d) Any employee who rendered service in a State office to
which he was elected, or rendered service in the elective
office of Clerk of the Appellate Court prior to the date he
became a member, may make contributions for such service as
required in this Section. Any member who served by appointment
of the Governor under the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
and did not participate in this System may make contributions
as required in this Section for such service.
(e) Any person employed by the United States government or
any instrumentality or agency thereof from January 1, 1942
through November 15, 1946 as the result of a transfer from
State service by executive order of the President of the United
States shall be entitled to prior service credit covering the
period from January 1, 1942 through December 31, 1943 as

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provided for in this Article and to membership service credit
for the period from January 1, 1944 through November 15, 1946
by making the contributions required in this Section. A person
so employed on January 1, 1944 but whose employment began after
January 1, 1942 may qualify for prior service and membership
service credit under the same conditions.
(f) An employee of the Department of Labor of the State of
Illinois who performed services for and under the supervision
of that Department prior to January 1, 1944 but who was
compensated for those services directly by federal funds and
not by a warrant of the Auditor of Public Accounts paid by the
State Treasurer may establish credit for such employment by
making the contributions required in this Section. An employee
of the Department of Agriculture of the State of Illinois, who
performed services for and under the supervision of that
Department prior to June 1, 1963, but was compensated for those
services directly by federal funds and not paid by a warrant of
the Auditor of Public Accounts paid by the State Treasurer, and
who did not contribute to any other public employee retirement
system for such service, may establish credit for such
employment by making the contributions required in this
Section.
(g) Any employee who executed a waiver of membership within
60 days prior to January 1, 1944 may, at any time while in the
service of a department, file with the board a rescission of
such waiver. Upon making the contributions required by this

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Section, the member shall be granted the creditable service
that would have been received if the waiver had not been
executed.
(h) Until May 1, 1990, an employee who was employed on a
full-time basis by a regional planning commission for at least
5 continuous years may establish creditable service for such
employment by making the contributions required under this
Section, provided that any credits earned by the employee in
the commission's retirement plan have been terminated.
(i) Any person who rendered full time contractual services
to the General Assembly as a member of a legislative staff may
establish service credit for up to 8 years of such services by
making the contributions required under this Section, provided
that application therefor is made not later than July 1, 1991.
(j) By paying the contributions otherwise required under
this Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be
equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus
interest, but with all of the interest calculated from the date
the employee last became a member of the System or November 19,
1991, whichever is later, to the date of payment, an employee
may establish service credit for a period of up to 4 years
spent in active military service for which he does not qualify
for credit under Section 14-105, provided that (1) he was not
dishonorably discharged from such military service, and (2) the
amount of service credit established by a member under this
subsection (j), when added to the amount of military service

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credit granted to the member under subsection (b) of Section
14-105, shall not exceed 5 years. The change in the manner of
calculating interest under this subsection (j) made by this
amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly applies to credit
purchased by an employee on or after its effective date and
does not entitle any person to a refund of contributions or
interest already paid. In compliance with Section 14-152.1 of
this Act concerning new benefit increases, any new benefit
increase as a result of the changes to this subsection (j) made
by Public Act 95-483 is funded through the employee
contributions provided for in this subsection (j). Any new
benefit increase as a result of the changes made to this
subsection (j) by Public Act 95-483 is exempt from the
provisions of subsection (d) of Section 14-152.1.
(j-5) By paying both employee and employer contributions
based upon the employee's compensation and contribution rate in
effect on the date he or she last became a member of the
System, plus interest at one-half of the actuarially assumed
rate, an employee may establish up to 2 years of service credit
for any period of time spent in active military service since
January 1, 1960 for which he or she does not qualify for credit
under Section 14-105 and has not established credit for under
subsection (j), provided that (1) he or she applies within 6
months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
96th General Assembly and (2) he or she was not dishonorably
discharged from such military service.

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(k) An employee who was employed on a full-time basis by
the Illinois State's Attorneys Association Statewide Appellate
Assistance Service LEAA-ILEC grant project prior to the time
that project became the State's Attorneys Appellate Service
Commission, now the Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate
Prosecutor, an agency of State government, may establish
creditable service for not more than 60 months service for such
employment by making contributions required under this
Section.
(l) By paying the contributions otherwise required under
this Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be
equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus
interest, a member may establish service credit for periods of
less than one year spent on authorized leave of absence from
service, provided that (1) the period of leave began on or
after January 1, 1982 and (2) any credit established by the
member for the period of leave in any other public employee
retirement system has been terminated. A member may establish
service credit under this subsection for more than one period
of authorized leave, and in that case the total period of
service credit established by the member under this subsection
may exceed one year. In determining the contributions required
for establishing service credit under this subsection, the
interest shall be calculated from the beginning of the leave of
absence to the date of payment.
(l-5) By paying the contributions otherwise required under

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this Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be
equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus
interest, a member may establish service credit for periods of
up to 2 years spent on authorized leave of absence from
service, provided that during that leave the member represented
or was employed as an officer or employee of a statewide labor
organization that represents members of this System. In
determining the contributions required for establishing
service credit under this subsection, the interest shall be
calculated from the beginning of the leave of absence to the
date of payment.
(m) Any person who rendered contractual services to a
member of the General Assembly as a worker in the member's
district office may establish creditable service for up to 3
years of those contractual services by making the contributions
required under this Section. The System shall determine a
full-time salary equivalent for the purpose of calculating the
required contribution. To establish credit under this
subsection, the applicant must apply to the System by March 1,
1998.
(n) Any person who rendered contractual services to a
member of the General Assembly as a worker providing
constituent services to persons in the member's district may
establish creditable service for up to 8 years of those
contractual services by making the contributions required
under this Section. The System shall determine a full-time

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salary equivalent for the purpose of calculating the required
contribution. To establish credit under this subsection, the
applicant must apply to the System by March 1, 1998.
(o) A member who participated in the Illinois Legislative
Staff Internship Program may establish creditable service for
up to one year of that participation by making the contribution
required under this Section. The System shall determine a
full-time salary equivalent for the purpose of calculating the
required contribution. Credit may not be established under this
subsection for any period for which service credit is
established under any other provision of this Code.
(p) By paying the contributions otherwise required under
this Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be
equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus
interest, a member may establish service credit for a period of
up to 8 years during which he or she was employed by the
Visually Handicapped Managers of Illinois in a vending program
operated under a contractual agreement with the Department of
Rehabilitation Services or its successor agency.
This subsection (p) applies without regard to whether the
person was in service on or after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly. In the case of a
person who is receiving a retirement annuity on that effective
date, the increase, if any, shall begin to accrue on the first
annuity payment date following receipt by the System of the
contributions required under this subsection (p).

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(q) By paying the required contributions under this
Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be equal to
the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus interest, an
employee who was laid off but returned to State employment
under circumstances in which the employee is considered to have
been in continuous service for purposes of determining
seniority may establish creditable service for the period of
the layoff, provided that (1) the applicant applies for the
creditable service under this subsection (q) within 6 months
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
General Assembly, (2) the applicant does not receive credit for
that period under any other provision of this Code, (3) at the
time of the layoff, the applicant is not in an initial
probationary status consistent with the rules of the Department
of Central Management Services, and (4) the total amount of
creditable service established by the applicant under this
subsection (q) does not exceed 3 years. For service established
under this subsection (q), the required employee contribution
shall be based on the rate of compensation earned by the
employee on the date of returning to employment after the
layoff and the contribution rate then in effect, and the
required interest shall be calculated from the date of
returning to employment after the layoff to the date of
payment.
(r) A member who participated in the University of Illinois
Government Public Service Internship Program (GPSI) may

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establish creditable service for up to 2 years of that
participation by making the contribution required under this
Section, plus an amount determined by the Board to be equal to
the employer's normal cost of the benefit plus interest. The
System shall determine a full-time salary equivalent for the
purpose of calculating the required contribution. Credit may
not be established under this subsection for any period for
which service credit is established under any other provision
of this Code.
(s) A member who worked as a nurse under a contractual
agreement for the Department of Public Aid, or its successor
agency, the Department of Human Services, in the Client
Assessment Unit and was subsequently determined to be a State
employee by the United States Internal Revenue Service and the
Illinois Labor Relations Board may establish creditable
service for those contractual services by making the
contributions required under this Section. To establish credit
under this subsection, the applicant must apply to the System
by July 1, 2008.
The Department of Human Services shall pay an employer
contribution based upon an amount determined by the Board to be
equal to the employer's normal cost of the benefit, plus
interest.
In compliance with Section 14-152.1 added by Public Act
94-4, the cost of the benefits provided by Public Act 95-583
are offset by the required employee and employer contributions.

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(Source: P.A. 94-612, eff. 8-18-05; 94-1111, eff. 2-27-07;
95-483, eff. 8-28-07; 95-583, eff. 8-31-07; 95-652, eff.
10-11-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)
(40 ILCS 5/14-152.1)
Sec. 14-152.1. Application and expiration of new benefit
increases.
(a) As used in this Section, "new benefit increase" means
an increase in the amount of any benefit provided under this
Article, or an expansion of the conditions of eligibility for
any benefit under this Article, that results from an amendment
to this Code that takes effect after June 1, 2005 (the
effective date of Public Act 94-4) this amendatory Act of the
94th General Assembly. "New benefit increase", however, does
not include any benefit increase resulting from the changes
made by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or any
subsequent amendment to this Code, every new benefit increase
is subject to this Section and shall be deemed to be granted
only in conformance with and contingent upon compliance with
the provisions of this Section.
(c) The Public Act enacting a new benefit increase must
identify and provide for payment to the System of additional
funding at least sufficient to fund the resulting annual
increase in cost to the System as it accrues.
Every new benefit increase is contingent upon the General

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Assembly providing the additional funding required under this
subsection. The Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability shall analyze whether adequate additional
funding has been provided for the new benefit increase and
shall report its analysis to the Public Pension Division of the
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. A new
benefit increase created by a Public Act that does not include
the additional funding required under this subsection is null
and void. If the Public Pension Division determines that the
additional funding provided for a new benefit increase under
this subsection is or has become inadequate, it may so certify
to the Governor and the State Comptroller and, in the absence
of corrective action by the General Assembly, the new benefit
increase shall expire at the end of the fiscal year in which
the certification is made.
(d) Every new benefit increase shall expire 5 years after
its effective date or on such earlier date as may be specified
in the language enacting the new benefit increase or provided
under subsection (c). This does not prevent the General
Assembly from extending or re-creating a new benefit increase
by law.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the language creating
the new benefit increase, a new benefit increase that expires
under this Section continues to apply to persons who applied
and qualified for the affected benefit while the new benefit
increase was in effect and to the affected beneficiaries and

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alternate payees of such persons, but does not apply to any
other person, including without limitation a person who
continues in service after the expiration date and did not
apply and qualify for the affected benefit while the new
benefit increase was in effect.
(Source: P.A. 94-4, eff. 6-1-05.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.