97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5574

Introduced , by Rep. Roger L. Eddy

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 230/5-35

Amends the School Construction Law. Provides that with respect to a school district that (i) has an approved school construction project for which a grant entitlement was issued for Fiscal Year 2003 or any fiscal year thereafter, but a grant is not awarded until after Fiscal Year 2011 and (ii) passes a referendum at any time from the date of the amendatory Act through July 1, 2014 to reorganize or form a cooperative high school with one or more surrounding school districts, the grant index used to determine the district's grant amount must be 1.00; provided that the maximum amount of the grant must be the recognized project cost and the reorganization must result from either an elementary or high school district reorganizing into a unit school district or a unit school district reorganizing with one or more other unit school districts. Provides that the newly reorganized district, but not the cooperative high school itself, must have an enrollment of no less than 500 students. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning schools.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Construction Law is amended by
5changing Section 5-35 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 230/5-35)
7 Sec. 5-35. School construction project grant amounts;
8permitted use; prohibited use.
9 (a) The product of the district's grant index and the
10recognized project cost, as determined by the Capital
11Development Board, for an approved school construction project
12shall equal the amount of the grant the Capital Development
13Board shall provide to the eligible district. However, with
14respect to a school district that (i) has an approved school
15construction project for which a grant entitlement was issued
16for Fiscal Year 2003 or any fiscal year thereafter, but a grant
17is not awarded until after Fiscal Year 2011, and (ii) passes a
18referendum at any time from the date of this amendatory Act of
19the 97th General Assembly through July 1, 2014 to reorganize or
20form a cooperative high school under Section 10-22.22c of this
21Code with one or more surrounding school districts, the grant
22index used to determine the district's grant amount must be
231.00; provided that the maximum amount of the grant must be the

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1recognized project cost. In order to benefit from this
2increased grant index, however, the reorganization must result
3from either an elementary or high school district reorganizing,
4in accordance with Article 11E of this Code, into a unit school
5district or a unit school district reorganizing, in accordance
6with Article 11E of this Code, with one or more other unit
7school districts; and the newly reorganized district, but not
8the cooperative high school itself, must have an enrollment of
9no less than 500 students. The grant index shall not be used in
10cases where the General Assembly and the Governor approve
11appropriations designated for specifically identified school
12district construction projects.
13 The average of the grant indexes of the member districts in
14a joint agreement shall be used to calculate the amount of a
15school construction project grant awarded to an eligible Type
1640 area vocational center.
17 (b) In each fiscal year in which school construction
18project grants are awarded, 20% of the total amount awarded
19statewide shall be awarded to a school district with a
20population exceeding 500,000, provided such district complies
21with the provisions of this Article.
22 In addition to the uses otherwise authorized by this Law,
23any school district with a population exceeding 500,000 is
24authorized to use any or all of the school construction project
25grants (i) to pay debt service, as defined in the Local
26Government Debt Reform Act, on bonds, as defined in the Local

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1Government Debt Reform Act, issued to finance one or more
2school construction projects and (ii) to the extent that any
3such bond is a lease or other installment or financing contract
4between the school district and a public building commission
5that has issued bonds to finance one or more qualifying school
6construction projects, to make lease payments under the lease.
7 (b-5) In addition to the uses otherwise authorized by this
8Law, any school district that (1) was organized prior to 1860
9and (2) is located in part in a city originally incorporated
10prior to 1840 is authorized to use any or all of the school
11construction project grants (i) to pay debt service on bonds,
12as those terms are defined in the Local Government Debt Reform
13Act, that are issued to finance one or more school construction
14projects and (ii) to the extent that any such bond is a lease
15or other installment or financing contract between the school
16district and a public building commission that has issued bonds
17to finance one or more qualifying school construction projects,
18to make lease payments under the lease.
19 (c) No portion of a school construction project grant
20awarded by the Capital Development Board shall be used by a
21school district for any on-going operational costs.
22(Source: P.A. 96-731, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1467, eff. 8-20-10.)
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.