Bill Text: IL HB4607 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Amends the definition of "employee" to exclude persons whose employment does not benefit the public. Also includes technical changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB4607 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB4607-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 HB4607 Introduced , by Rep. Sandy Cole SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
40 ILCS 5/7-109 from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109
Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Illinois Pension Code, Amends the definition of "employee" to exclude persons whose employment does not benefit the public. Also includes technical changes. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY 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
Section 7-109 as follows:
(40 ILCS 5/7-109) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 7-109)
Sec. 7-109. Employee.
(1) "Employee" means any person who:
(a) 1. Receives earnings as payment for the performance
of personal services or official duties out of the
general fund of a municipality, or out of any special
fund or funds controlled by a municipality, or by an
instrumentality thereof, or a participating
instrumentality, including, in counties, the fees or
earnings of any county fee office; and
2. Under the usual common law rules applicable in
determining the employer-employee relationship, has
the status of an employee with a municipality, or any
instrumentality thereof, or a participating
instrumentality, including aldermen, county
supervisors and other persons (excepting those
employed as independent contractors) who are paid
compensation, fees, allowances or other emolument for

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official duties, and, in counties, the several county
fee offices.
(b) Serves as a township treasurer appointed under the
School Code, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and who
receives for such services regular compensation as
distinguished from per diem compensation, and any regular
employee in the office of any township treasurer whether or
not his earnings are paid from the income of the permanent
township fund or from funds subject to distribution to the
several school districts and parts of school districts as
provided in the School Code, or from both such sources; or
is the chief executive officer, chief educational officer,
chief fiscal officer, or other employee of a Financial
Oversight Panel established pursuant to Article 1H of the
School Code, other than a superintendent or certified
school business official, except that such person shall not
be treated as an employee under this Section if that person
has negotiated with the Financial Oversight Panel, in
conjunction with the school district, a contractual
agreement for exclusion from this Section.
(c) Holds an elective office in a municipality,
instrumentality thereof or participating instrumentality.
(2) "Employee" does not include persons who:
(a) Are eligible for inclusion under any of the
following laws:
1. "An Act in relation to an Illinois State

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Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund", approved May
27, 1915, as amended;
2. Articles 15 and 16 of this Code.
However, such persons shall be included as employees to
the extent of earnings that are not eligible for inclusion
under the foregoing laws for services not of an
instructional nature of any kind.
However, any member of the armed forces who is employed
as a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officers Training
Corps of any school and who is not certified under the law
governing the certification of teachers shall be included
as an employee.
(b) Are designated by the governing body of a
municipality in which a pension fund is required by law to
be established for policemen or firemen, respectively, as
performing police or fire protection duties, except that
when such persons are the heads of the police or fire
department and are not eligible to be included within any
such pension fund, they shall be included within this
Article; provided, that such persons shall not be excluded
to the extent of concurrent service and earnings not
designated as being for police or fire protection duties.
However, (i) any head of a police department who was a
participant under this Article immediately before October
1, 1977 and did not elect, under Section 3-109 of this Act,
to participate in a police pension fund shall be an

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"employee", and (ii) any chief of police who elects to
participate in this Fund under Section 3-109.1 of this
Code, regardless of whether such person continues to be
employed as chief of police or is employed in some other
rank or capacity within the police department, shall be an
employee under this Article for so long as such person is
employed to perform police duties by a participating
municipality and has not lawfully rescinded that election.
(c) After August 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public
Act 97-609) this amendatory Act of the 97th General
Assembly, are contributors to or eligible to contribute to
a Taft-Hartley pension plan established on or before June
1, 2011 and are employees of a theatre, arena, or
convention center that is located in a municipality located
in a county with a population greater than 5,000,000, and
to which the participating municipality is required to
contribute as the person's employer based on earnings from
the municipality. Nothing in this paragraph shall affect
service credit or creditable service for any period of
service prior to August 26, 2011 the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, and this
paragraph shall not apply to individuals who are
participating in the Fund prior to August 26, 2011 the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General
Assembly.
(3) All persons, including, without limitation, public

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defenders and probation officers, who receive earnings from
general or special funds of a county for performance of
personal services or official duties within the territorial
limits of the county, are employees of the county (unless
excluded by subsection (2) of this Section) notwithstanding
that they may be appointed by and are subject to the direction
of a person or persons other than a county board or a county
officer. It is hereby established that an employer-employee
relationship under the usual common law rules exists between
such employees and the county paying their salaries by reason
of the fact that the county boards fix their rates of
compensation, appropriate funds for payment of their earnings
and otherwise exercise control over them. This finding and this
amendatory Act shall apply to all such employees from the date
of appointment whether such date is prior to or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act and is intended to
clarify existing law pertaining to their status as
participating employees in the Fund.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
97th General Assembly, "employee" does not include any person
whose employment does not benefit the public.
(Source: P.A. 97-429, eff. 8-16-11; 97-609, eff. 8-26-11;
revised 9-28-11.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.