Bill Text: IL SB1681 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Creates the Unified Fire Protection District Act. Provides the purpose of the Act and definitions. Provides that a Unified Fire Protection District may be formed either by referendum or intergovernmental agreement, and sets forth requirements for each method of formation. Provides for a Planning Committee, its formation, powers, and duties with regard to the Plan. Provides guidelines for the Plan that shall design, finance, and develop the new District. Provides for the board of trustees of the Unified Fire Protection District and their duties, powers, and obligations with regard to the District. Further provides for employees, contracts, tax levy, indebtedness, and liabilities of the formerly separate units of local government now consolidated into a Unified Fire Protection District. Provides for the dissolution of the District by referendum. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2014-08-26 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-1095 [SB1681 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB1681-Chaptered.html



Public Act 098-1095
SB1681 EnrolledLRB098 09096 OMW 39233 b
AN ACT concerning local government.
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
Regional Fire Protection Agency Act.
Section 5. Purpose and creation.
(a) Purpose. The General Assembly finds the consolidation
of fire protection services on a regional basis provided by
fire departments throughout the State of Illinois to be an
economic benefit. Therefore, this Act establishes procedures
for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies that
encompass wider service areas by combining existing fire
departments and extending service areas of these departments
into under-served geographic areas. It is the expressed intent
of the General Assembly that Regional Fire Protection Agencies
shall achieve a net savings in the cost of providing fire
protection services, emergency medical services, and related
services in the expanded service area by reducing and
eliminating costs including, but not limited to, duplicative or
excessive administrative and operational services, equipment,
facilities, and capital expenditures, without a reduction in
the quality or level of these services.
(b) Creation. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may be
formed by filing voter-initiated petitions for the purposes of
integrating existing service areas of contiguous units of local
government providing fire protection services to achieve the
purposes of this Act.
Section 7. Application.
This Act does not apply to any unit of local government
that has entered into a consolidation agreement with one or
more units of local government that includes the consolidation
of the delivery of fire protection or emergency medical
services under a single chain of command. Additionally, this
Act does not apply to any unit of local government that has
adopted a resolution declaring the intent to consolidate the
delivery of fire protection or emergency medical services under
a single chain of command with one or more units of local
government. The resolution shall exempt the local government
from the provisions of this Act for one year following its
passage. The existence of an automatic aid agreement or mutual
aid agreements does not constitute a consolidation for the
purposes of this Section.
Section 10. Definitions. The definitions in this Section
apply throughout this Act unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
"Board" means the governing body of a Regional Fire
Protection Agency.
"Fire protection jurisdiction" means a fire protection
district, municipal fire department, or service organized
under Section 5-1056.1 of the Counties Code, Sections 195 and
200 of the Illinois Township Code, Section 10-2.1 of the
Illinois Municipal Code, or the Illinois Fire Protection
District Act.
"Joint Committee" means the group consisting of the parties
appointed by the court in accordance with the procedures of
this Act after a petition has been filed to create a Regional
Fire Protection Agency. The Joint Committee meets for the
limited purpose of negotiating the terms of an
intergovernmental agreement to create and implement a Regional
Fire Protection Agency.
"Property Tax" or "Tax" has the same meaning as the term
"Tax", as defined in Section 1-145 of the Property Tax Code.
"Regional Fire Protection Agency" or "Agency" means a fire
protection organization formed pursuant to this Act that
combines 2 or more units of local government with a unified
command and operations that has boundaries that are coextensive
with 2 or more adjacent units of local government and has been
created by a referendum under this Act.
"Special Mediator" means an individual who possesses the
qualifications specified in this Act and shall facilitate the
negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement to create a
Regional Fire Protection Agency.
Section 15. Elections and referenda. When a referendum is
submitted under this Act for approval or rejection by the
electors, the time and manner of conducting a referendum,
including petition signature requirements, shall be in
accordance with the general election law of the State. The
creation of any Regional Fire Protection Agency by referendum
shall be secured by an intergovernmental agreement that
includes terms that meet the standards set forth in Section 25
of this Act.
Section 20. Notice to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall be served notice
as to any plans of 2 or more units of local government to
combine fire protection or emergency medical services, or both,
as follows:
(1) Whenever a county clerk or other election authority
places upon a ballot the question of creating or altering
an Agency or fire protection jurisdiction, the clerk or
other election authority shall notify the Office of the
State Fire Marshal that the proposition is to be put before
the electorate. The notice shall be sent to the Office of
the State Fire Marshal within 10 business days after the
question is certified to the clerk or other election
authority.
(2) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent
fire protection jurisdictions conduct a public hearing to
consider a plan to combine 2 or more fire protection
jurisdiction service areas by intergovernmental agreement,
the clerk of each unit of local government to be party to
such an intergovernmental agreement shall notify the
Office of the State Fire Marshal that the units of local
government are considering such a plan. The notice shall be
sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal within 10
business days after notice of the meeting is published.
(3) Whenever the governing bodies of 2 or more adjacent
fire protection jurisdictions enter into an agreement to
combine 2 or more fire protection jurisdiction service
areas by intergovernmental agreement, the clerk of each
unit of local government to be party to such an
intergovernmental agreement shall notify the Office of the
State Fire Marshal that the units of local government have
entered into the intergovernmental agreement. The notice
shall be sent to the Office of the State Fire Marshal
within 10 business days after notice of the meeting is
published.
Section 25. Creation of an Agency by petition and
referendum.
(a) Petition. A Regional Fire Protection Agency may
exclusively be formed upon petition signed by the lesser of:
(i) at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates for
Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election in each of the
units of local governments included in the Regional Fire
Protection Agency; or (ii) at least 500 legal voters in each of
the units of local government to be included in the Regional
Fire Protection Agency. The petition shall be filed in the
circuit court of the county in which the greater part of the
land of the proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be
situated. The petition shall set forth the names of the units
of local government proposed to be included, the name of the
proposed Regional Fire Protection Agency, the benefits of
consolidating the units of local government within a Regional
Fire Protection Agency, the names of the representatives of the
petitioners from each unit of local government who shall be
authorized to serve on the Joint Committee, and up to 3
alternate representatives from each unit of local government in
the event a designated representative ceases to be an elector
of their jurisdiction or resigns from the Joint Committee. Upon
its filing, the petition shall be presented to the court, and
the court shall fix the date and hour for a hearing.
(b) Notice of Hearing. Upon the filing of the petition, the
court shall set a hearing date that is at least 4 weeks, but
not more than 8 weeks, after the date the petition is filed.
The court, clerk, petitioner's counsel, or sheriff shall, upon
order of the court, give notice 21 days before the hearing in
one or more daily or weekly newspapers of general circulation
in each county where an affected unit of local government is
organized. The notice must describe the units of local
government to be included and shall state that if the
conditions required by this Section are met, then the
proposition for the creation of the Agency shall be submitted
to the voters of the units of local government in the proposed
Agency by order of the court.
(c) Hearing and referendum. At the hearing, the court shall
first determine whether the petition is supported by the
required number of valid signatures of legal voters within the
contiguous units of local government. If the petition is
proper, then the court shall remand the matter to a Special
Mediator who shall mediate the negotiations regarding the terms
of an intergovernmental agreement by the members of the Joint
Committee as provided in subsection (d) of this Section. The
Special Mediator shall be a member of the bar of the State of
Illinois or a member of the faculty of an accredited law
school. The Special Mediator shall have practiced law for at
least 7 years and be knowledgeable about municipal, labor,
employment, and election law. The Special Mediator shall be
free of any conflicts of interest. The Special Mediator shall
have strong mediation skills and the temperament and training
to listen well, facilitate communication, and assist with
negotiations. Special Mediators shall have sufficient
experience and familiarity with municipal, labor, employment,
and election law to provide a credible evaluation and
assessment of relative positions. The Special Mediator
assigned to mediate the Joint Committee's negotiations shall be
selected by the members of the Joint Committee from a panel of
7 individuals provided by the Joint Labor Management Committee,
as it is defined in Section 50 of the Fire Department Promotion
Act. The panel shall be randomly selected by the Joint Labor
Management Committee from a master list maintained by the Joint
Labor Management Committee consisting of at least 14 qualified
Special Mediators. If the members fail to agree, the court
shall appoint the Special Mediator. The Joint Committee may
elect to conduct negotiations without the assistance of the
Special Mediator upon a majority vote of the Joint Committee.
To certify a question for referendum, the court must find that:
(i) based upon a preponderance of the evidence, at least 2 of
the 3 Joint Committee representatives appointed by the court
for each unit of local government included in the proposed
Agency have executed an intergovernmental agreement that
includes terms that are in compliance with the requirements
under subsection (d) of this Section; (ii) the terms of an
agreed-upon intergovernmental agreement have been approved by
the requisite governing bodies of each of the units of local
government; and (iii) should the terms of an agreed-upon
intergovernmental agreement change the terms of the collective
bargaining agreement for a bargaining unit of employees of any
local unit of government of the proposed Regional Fire
Protection Agency, any affected collective bargaining units
must also approve all such changes in the terms of the
collective bargaining agreement.
(d) Joint Committee. The court shall allow appointments to
the Joint Committee as follows:
(1) A representative of each unit of local government
included within the proposed service area of the proposed
Agency.
(2) A representative of each collective bargaining
unit that is a party to a collective bargaining agreement
with a unit of local government to provide fire suppression
or emergency medical services, or both, included within the
proposed Agency.
(3) A representative for the petitioners from each unit
of local government included within the proposed Agency, as
designated by the petition, or, if none are designated or
willing to serve, then chosen by the court from among the
legal voters that signed the petition.
(e) Joint Committee Negotiations. After remand, the
Special Mediator shall schedule a meeting of the Joint
Committee and facilitate the members in negotiating the terms
of an intergovernmental agreement. The first order of business
shall be to establish a financial baseline for the current
costs of fire and emergency medical services provided by the
units of local government party to the Joint Committee. To this
end, each unit of local government party to the Joint Committee
shall disclose to the Joint Committee the total aggregate
expenditures it allocates for providing all fire, rescue, and
emergency medical services. These expenditures shall include,
but are not limited to, the following cost factors: (i) all
expenses from the corporate fund and other operational funds
related to fire protection services, whether direct or
indirect, for the current fiscal year; and (ii) all costs,
whether direct or indirect, paid from other funds, including,
but not limited to, capital or building funds, pension funds,
workers' compensation funds, health insurance funds,
enterprise funds, administrative funds, and all other funds
from which money is, or may be, paid or transferred to pay for
the administration and compensation or benefits for employees
or persons assigned to provide fire or emergency medical
services or related services, equipment, and buildings and
their maintenance or operation and debt service for any
expenditures related to these or related cost factors.
The Special Mediator or the court, or both if necessary,
shall facilitate the computation and production of this
financial baseline unless the Joint Committee elects to conduct
negotiations without the assistance of the Special Mediator.
The financial baseline shall serve as the predicate to: (i) the
annual contributions to be made by each unit of local
government to the costs of providing fire and emergency medical
services to the service area established for the proposed
Regional Fire Protection Agency; and (ii) for the court's
findings pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section.
The Joint Committee may take note or give due consideration
to available resources, studies, and plans that may facilitate
the resolution of issues relating to the terms of an agreement.
Negotiations may continue for a period of 90 days or, if the
court determines that additional time will facilitate
agreement, longer.
If no agreement is reached, the court shall dismiss the
petition. If an agreement is reached, the court shall schedule
an evidentiary hearing with notice to determine if the terms of
the agreement are in compliance with the requirements of
subsection (f) of this Section. The expenses of the Special
Mediator shall be apportioned equally among the included units
of local government unless the parties agree otherwise in the
intergovernmental agreement.
If the intergovernmental agreement has been approved by the
governing bodies of at least 2 units of local government
included in the original petition, then the petition may
proceed, provided that the agreement is also executed by at
least 2 of 3 Joint Committee representatives from each affected
unit of local government included in the original petition. The
units of local government that did not consent to inclusion
shall be dismissed, and an amended petition on behalf of the
consenting units of local government shall be scheduled for an
evidentiary hearing.
The persons or entities, or their duly authorized
representatives, that shall have standing to present evidence
at the hearing are the petitioners, the units of local
government that sought to be included in the proposed Agency,
and the representatives of each collective bargaining unit that
is a party to a collective bargaining agreement with a fire
protection jurisdiction within a unit of local government
included within the proposed Agency.
If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence,
that the petition is supported by a proper intergovernmental
agreement, the court shall enter an order certifying the
proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit
the question of the creation of the proposed Agency to the
legal voters of each included unit of local government at the
next election. Notice of the election shall be given and the
election conducted in the manner provided by the general
election law. The notice shall state the boundaries of the
proposed Agency.
The question shall be submitted in substantially the
following form:
Shall the service areas of (names of existing units of
local government to be combined) be combined to create the
(name of the Regional Fire Protection Agency)?
Responses shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
A written statement of the election results shall be filed
with the court. If, in each unit of local government included
within the boundaries of the Regional Fire Protection Agency, a
majority of the voters voting on the question favor the
proposition, then the court shall issue an order stating that
the Agency has been approved.
(f) Intergovernmental agreement; minimum standards of
service. The terms of the intergovernmental agreement shall
ensure that all of the following standards of service are met:
(1) The formation of the Agency shall result in no net
increase in the cost of fire protection services and
emergency medical services to the units of local government
in the proposed Agency due to the reduction or elimination
of duplicative administrative costs, operational costs,
equipment costs, or capital expenditures unless members of
the Joint Committee can demonstrate that an increase in the
cost to a participating unit of local government is
justified by a corresponding increase in the level of
services provided under the terms of the intergovernmental
agreement.
(2) The formation of the Agency shall not increase the
average response times in any included unit of local
government.
(3) Agencies shall have no independent ability to levy
taxes and shall rely on the fiscal support and
contributions from component fire protection
jurisdictions, as required under the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement.
Section 30. Judicial notice. All courts in this State shall
take judicial notice of the existence of any Agency organized
under this Act, and every such Agency shall constitute a body
corporate that may sue or be sued in all courts.
Section 35. Support. Notwithstanding any provision of this
Act, a Regional Fire Protection Agency may receive
supplementary funding, fiscal support, or other revenue or
property consideration from the State, including the Office of
the State Fire Marshal, a county, or any other unit of local
government, to defray the expenses of organizing a new Agency
or as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, and may be
appropriated by that entity to the Agency.
Section 40. Enforcement of an intergovernmental agreement.
In the event of a default of payment, the Agency shall be
authorized to secure collection of promised contributions from
the defaulting unit of local government by court order
authorizing the interception of or turning over of: (1) monies
deposited or to be deposited into any fund of the defaulting
unit of local government; or (2) grants or other revenues or
taxes expected to be received by the unit of local government
from the State, county, or federal government, including taxes
imposed by the governmental unit pursuant to a grant of
authority by the State, such as property, sales or use taxes or
utility taxes.
Any interception authorized under this Section by the
Agency shall be valid and binding from the time the
interception order is made until the defaulting unit of local
government has paid in full its past due obligations to the
Agency and has been current in its obligations to the Agency
for a minimum of 12 months. The revenues, monies, and other
funds intercepted and to be intercepted by the Agency shall
immediately be subject to the Agency's lien. The lien shall be
valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind
in tort, contract, or otherwise against the defaulting unit of
local government, irrespective of whether such parties have
notice. Under any such interception, a defaulting unit of local
government may bind itself to impose rates, charges, or taxes
to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Any
ordinance, resolution, trust agreement, or other instrument by
which a lien is created shall be filed in the records of the
Agency.
The State Treasurer, the State Comptroller, the Department
of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and any county
official charged with collecting and disbursing property taxes
shall deposit or cause to be deposited any amount of grants or
other revenues or taxes expected to be received by the
defaulting unit of local government from that official or
entity that has been pledged to the defaulting unit of local
government, directly into a designated escrow account
established by the Agency at a trust company or bank having
trust powers, unless otherwise prohibited by law. The court
order authorizing that disposition shall, within 10 days after
issuance, be filed with the official or entity with custody of
the garnished grants or other revenues or taxes.
Section 45. Initial startup.
(a) An Agency shall commence operations no later than 90
days after the date of the election unless an alternative date
is agreed to by the terms of the intergovernmental agreement
and shall operate for the purposes set forth in the
intergovernmental agreement. An Agency's governing body shall
consist of representatives designated by the governing bodies
of the participating units of local government as set forth in
this Act, and shall be considered to be formed upon approval of
the governing body of each member unit of local government
unless otherwise agreed to by the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement.
(b) The Regional Fire Protection Agency shall be governed
by a 5-member Board of Trustees. Each trustee shall be a
resident of a unit of local government within the Agency. The
Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members.
The number of trustees from each unit of local government
shall be in proportion, as nearly as practicable, to the number
of residents of the Agency who reside in that unit of local
government in relation to the total population of the Agency.
Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of
the same unit of local government and shall be appointed by the
same appointing authority. The appropriate appointing
authorities shall appoint 5 trustees of the Agency within 60
days after the entry of the order establishing the Agency. The
trustees shall be electors in one of the units of local
government of the Agency, provided that the Board shall consist
of at least one trustee from each unit of local government,
subject to the intergovernmental agreement, within the
Regional Fire Protection Agency. The trustees shall hold the
terms of office and shall have the powers and qualifications
that are provided for trustees under Section 4 of the Fire
Protection District Act.
In the event of a conflict between the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement and the powers of the trustees
otherwise provided by law, the terms of the intergovernmental
agreement shall prevail and supersede.
(c) The Agency shall have the power, duties, and
obligations of a fire protection district as otherwise provided
by the Fire Protection District Act, except as modified or
limited by the provisions of this Act or terms of the
intergovernmental agreement. The Agency shall develop a budget
funded at a level sufficient to ensure that the quality of
services provided to the residents of the service area within
the boundary of the included units of local government
continues at a level equal to or greater than those provided
prior to the modification.
(d) The establishment of an Agency as a separately named
unit of local government shall not prevent the units of local
government within it from identifying their historical fire
departments with the names of their localities. In that event,
local fire departments shall be described as [local name]
Branch of the [name of the Agency].
(e) Upon the formation of an Agency under this Act, the
fire departments of the participating units of local government
shall be operated under a single chain of command under the
leadership of one fire chief appointed by the Board of the
Agency. The manner in which chiefs and subordinate chief
officers who are redundant under the single chain of command
and who are eliminated or integrated into the new unified chain
of command shall be defined within the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement entered into by the parties. The
chiefs and other chief officers shall retain any rights they
may have as established by other applicable law, provided that
positions shall not be available to any person who is already
retired and receiving benefits under Article 4 of the Illinois
Pension Code. Any proposed reduction to a bargaining unit
position resulting from the abolishment of a non-bargaining
unit position shall be subject to compliance with the
bargaining rights of any affected collective bargaining
representative.
Upon taking office, the fire chief of the Agency shall
command all operations of the unified service area of the
Agency. The District shall become a body politic and corporate
with all the powers, rights, duties, and obligations vested in
it under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement and as
otherwise provided under the provisions of this Act.
(f) Upon the organization of the Agency, the duties of each
included unit of local government relating to the operation of
a fire department and emergency medical services within the
boundaries of the Agency shall be transferred to the Board of
the Agency to be exercised according to the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement and as otherwise provided under
the provisions of this Act.
(g) Unless otherwise agreed upon, all firefighters,
emergency medical services personnel, and other personnel
lawfully in the employment of any unit of local government
included in the Agency shall maintain identity with the fire
departments that they were serving on prior to the creation of
the Regional Fire Protection Agency, but shall be subject to
the unified chain of command established by the Board.
An Agency consisting of any fire department that employs
full-time officers or members shall be subject to Sections
16.01 through 16.18 of the Fire Protection District Act unless
the terms of the intergovernmental agreement agreed to by the
included units of local government and included collective
bargaining unit agents representing employees engaged in
providing fire protection or emergency medical services, or
both, within the Agency's service area provide otherwise.
(h) Contracts in effect between an exclusive bargaining
agent representing employees engaged in providing fire
protection or emergency medical services, or both, within the
Agency's service area and a participating unit of local
government shall continue according to their terms. Successor
contracts shall be negotiated in accordance with the provisions
of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Upon agreement of
any 2 or more units of local government and corresponding
exclusive bargaining representatives, and approval of that
agreement by a majority of the members of each respective
bargaining unit who vote on the issue, any 2 or more bargaining
units may be consolidated into a single bargaining unit.
(i) Any unit of local government that is included in an
Agency shall be exempt from any reduction in the formula for
distribution of income tax revenues under Section 901 of the
Illinois Income Tax Act and personal property replacement tax
revenues under subsection (c) of Section 201 of the Illinois
Income Tax Act collected from local taxpayers by State agencies
and redistributed to the units of local government based on the
formula and laws in effect as of the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
Section 50. Levy of taxes; limitations; indebtedness.
(a) To carry out the purposes for which an Agency is
created, the Agency Board is empowered to take all actions
authorized by law and authorized under this Act for the purpose
of enforcing payment of any and all contributions and payments
required under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement
executed under the provisions of this Act.
(b) The inclusion of any unit of local government into an
Agency shall not affect the obligation of any contract entered
into by the unit of local government unless otherwise agreed
upon in the intergovernmental agreement. Such contracts shall
remain the obligation of the unit of local government that
incurred the obligation.
The inclusion of a unit of local government in an Agency
shall not adversely affect proceedings for the collection or
enforcement of any tax debt, or other obligation owed to the
unit of local government. The proceedings shall continue to
finality as if no inclusion had taken place. The proceeds
thereof shall be paid to the treasurer of the unit of local
government, subject to the terms of the intergovernmental
agreement.
All suits pending in any court on behalf of or against any
participating unit of local government relating to the
provision of fire or emergency medical services on the date
that the unit of local government is joined into an Agency
under this Act may be prosecuted or defended in the name of the
unit of local government unless otherwise provided in the
intergovernmental agreement. All judgments obtained for any
unit of local government joined into an Agency shall be
collected and enforced by the Agency for its benefit unless
otherwise provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
The intergovernmental agreement shall define ownership
interests and rights of each unit of local government's fire
department related assets and liabilities.
Section 55. Petition to dissolve a District; referendum.
The Board of an Agency established by referendum may certify
and submit the question of dissolution of the Agency to the
electors of the Agency. The Board may draft a ballot title,
give notice as required by the general election law, and
perform other duties as required to put the question before the
voters of the Agency for their approval or rejection as a
single ballot measure. The electorate consists of the voters
voting within the boundaries of the existing Agency. A simple
majority of the registered voters voting on the single ballot
measure is required to approve dissolution of the Agency. The
Agency seeking dissolution is liable for its proportionate
share of the costs of the election.
The question shall be in substantially the following form:
Shall the [name of Regional Fire Protection Agency] be
dissolved?
Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the
dissolution, the assets, liabilities, obligations, and
personnel assigned or belonging to the Agency shall revert to
the component units of local government comprising or
contributing to the Agency, proportional to each unit of local
government's contribution. All such transfers and
reassignments shall be made in an expeditious and timely
manner, and no longer than 120 days after the date upon which
the Agency's dissolution vote was certified by local election
authorities.
Section 60. Powers; exclusive. The powers provided by this
Act for the creation of Regional Fire Protection Agencies do
not prohibit a unit of local government from entering into an
intergovernmental agreement to merge, consolidate, or
otherwise cooperate with other units of local government to
provide fire, rescue, or emergency medical services as
otherwise provided by Section 10 of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution and the Illinois Intergovernmental Cooperation
Act. However, the powers and benefits provided by this Act for
the combination of fire protection or emergency medical
services, or both, of 2 or more units of local government shall
be limited to Regional Fire Protection Agencies operated
according to the terms of an intergovernmental agreement that
has been approved by referendum in accordance with this Act.
The terms of any intergovernmental agreement of an Agency
created by referendum shall supersede and control over any and
all other intergovernmental agreements that may exist that
relate to the provision of fire protection or emergency medical
services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the
service areas combined under the terms of a referendum-approved
intergovernmental agreement.
Section 65. Home rule. A home rule municipality may not
administer fire protection services or emergency medical
services, or both, in geographic areas incorporated within the
service area of an Agency in a manner that is inconsistent with
the terms of an intergovernmental agreement approved in
accordance with this Act. This Section is a limitation under
subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
powers and functions exercised by the State.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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