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70 ILCS 750/ Flood Prevention District Act.

    (70 ILCS 750/1)
    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Flood Prevention District Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/5)
    Sec. 5. Creation; purpose.
    (a) Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties may each be designated independently and separately as a flood prevention district for the purpose of performing emergency levee repair and flood prevention in order to prevent the loss of life or property. The county board of any such county may declare an emergency and create a flood prevention district by the affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the county board.
    (b) Two or more flood prevention districts may join together through an intergovernmental agreement to provide any services described in this Act, to construct, reconstruct, repair, or otherwise provide any facilities described in this Act either within or outside of any district's corporate limits, to issue bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, to pledge the taxes authorized to be imposed pursuant to Section 25 of this Act to the obligations of any other district, and to exercise any other power authorized in this Act, pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act.
    (c) Any district created under this Act shall be dissolved upon the later of (i) 25 years after the date the district is created or (ii) the payment of all obligations of the district issued under Section 20 of this Act and the payment of any federal reimbursement moneys to the county treasurer under Section 30 of this Act. A district may be dissolved earlier by its board of commissioners if all federal reimbursement moneys have been paid to the county treasurer and all obligations of the district have been paid, including its obligations related to bonds issued under Section 20 of this Act and any obligations incurred pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/10)
    Sec. 10. Commissioners. The affairs of the district shall be managed by a board of 3 commissioners who shall be appointed by the chairman of the county board of the county in which the district is situated. All initial appointments under this Section must be made within 90 days after the district is organized. Of the initial appointments, one commissioner shall serve for a one‑year term, one commissioner shall serve for a 2‑year term, and one commissioner shall serve for a 3‑year term, as determined by lot. Their successors shall be appointed for 3‑year terms. A commissioner shall continue to serve as commissioner until his or her successor is duly appointed. No commissioner may serve for more than 20 years. All appointments must be made so that no more than 2 commissioners are from the same political party at the time of the appointment. With respect to appointments representing the minority party in the county, the minority party members of the county board may submit names for consideration to the chairman of the county board. Each commissioner must be a legal voter in the district, and at least one commissioner shall reside or own property that is located within a floodplain situated in the territory of the flood protection district. Commissioners shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/20)
    Sec. 20. Powers of the district. A district formed under this Act shall have the following powers:
        (1) To sue or be sued.
        (2) To apply for and accept gifts, grants, and loans

from any public agency or private entity.

(3) To enter into intergovernmental agreements to

further ensure levee repair, levee construction or reconstruction, and flood prevention, within or outside of the district's corporate limits, including agreements with the United States Army Corps of Engineers or any other agency or department of the federal government.

(4) To undertake evaluation, planning, design,

construction, and related activities that are determined to be urgently needed to stabilize, repair, restore, improve, or replace existing levees and other flood control systems located within or outside of the district's corporate limits.

(5) To address underseepage problems and old and

deteriorating pumps, gates, pipes, electrical controls, and other infrastructure within or outside of the district's corporate limits.

(6) To conduct evaluations of levees and other flood

control facilities that protect urban areas, including the performance of floodplain mapping studies.

(7) To provide capital moneys for levee or

river‑related scientific studies, within or outside of the district's corporate limits, including the construction of facilities for such purposes.

(8) To borrow money or receive money from the United

States Government or any agency thereof, or from any other public or private source, for the purposes of the District and to issue indebtedness, including bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness to evidence such borrowing, and to pledge and use some or all of the taxes imposed pursuant to Section 25 of this Act for the repayment of the indebtedness of the District or any other flood prevention districts. The District shall direct the county to use moneys in the County Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund to pay such indebtedness.

(9) To enter into agreements with private property

owners.

(10) To issue revenue bonds, notes, or other

evidences of indebtedness payable from revenue received from a tax imposed under Section 25 of this Act, and from any other revenue sources available to the flood prevention district. These bonds may be issued with maturities not exceeding 25 years from the date of the bonds, and in such amounts as may be necessary to provide sufficient funds, together with interest, for the purposes of the District. These bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not more than the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi‑annually, may be made registerable as to principal, and may be made payable and callable as provided on any date at a price of par and accrued interest under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the bonds. Bonds issued under this Section are negotiable instruments. In case any officer whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons ceases to hold that office before the bonds are delivered, such officer's signature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as though such officer had remained in office until the bonds were delivered. The bonds shall be sold in such manner and upon such terms as the board of commissioners shall determine, except that the selling price shall be such that the interest cost to the District on the proceeds of the bonds shall not exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract of sale, payable semi‑annually, computed to maturity according to the standard table of bond values. Bonds issued by the District shall not be considered indebtedness for purposes of any statutory limitation and may be issued in an amount or amounts, including existing indebtedness, in excess of any heretofore or hereafter imposed statutory limitation as to indebtedness. A request to issue revenue bonds by the District must be submitted for approval to the county board of the county in which the district is situated. The county board has 30 calendar days to approve the issuance of such bonds. If the county board does not approve or disapprove the issuance of the bonds within 30 calendar days after the receipt of such request, the request shall be deemed approved. The District shall direct the county to use moneys in the County Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund to pay for bonds issued.

(11) To acquire property by gift, grant, or eminent

domain, in accordance with the Eminent Domain Act. Any action by the District to acquire property by eminent domain requires the express approval of the county board.

(12) To retain professional staff to carry out the

functions of the District. Any flood prevention district shall employ a Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works with appropriate professional qualifications, including a degree in engineering, construction, hydrology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. The Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works shall be vested with the authority to carry out the duties and mission of the Flood Prevention District, pursuant to the direction and supervision of the Board of Commissioners. The Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works may hire additional staff as necessary to carry out the duties and mission of the district, including administrative support personnel. Two or more districts may, through an intergovernmental agreement, share the services of a Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works, support staff, or both. If 2 districts are adjoining and share a common federal levee, they must retain the services of the same person as Chief Supervisor of Construction and the Works.

(13) To conduct an audit of any drainage, levee, or

sanitary district within the territory of the flood prevention district.

(14) To reimburse any county for costs advanced by

the county for expenses that would have otherwise been paid out of the County Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund, had such fund been established at the time of the expenditure. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit a county to seek reimbursement from a flood prevention district for any expense related to levee maintenance, repair, improvement, construction, staff, operating expenses, levee or river‑related scientific studies, the construction of facilities for any such purpose, or any other non‑emergency levee related expense that occurred prior to an emergency situation involving the levees within such county.

(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/25)
    Sec. 25. Flood prevention retailers' and service occupation taxes.
    (a) If the Board of Commissioners of a flood prevention district determines that an emergency situation exists regarding levee repair or flood prevention, and upon an ordinance confirming the determination adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the county board of the county in which the district is situated, the county may impose a flood prevention retailers' occupation tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail within the territory of the district to provide revenue to pay the costs of providing emergency levee repair and flood prevention and to secure the payment of bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness issued under this Act for a period not to exceed 25 years or as required to repay the bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness issued under this Act. The tax rate shall be 0.25% of the gross receipts from all taxable sales made in the course of that business. The tax imposed under this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The Department shall have full power to administer and enforce this Section; to collect all taxes and penalties so collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder.
    In the administration of and compliance with this subsection, the Department and persons who are subject to this subsection (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) are subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of terms, and (iii) shall employ the same modes of procedure as are set forth in Sections 1 through 1o, 2 through 2‑70 (in respect to all provisions contained in those Sections other than the State rate of tax), 2a through 2h, 3 (except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and all provisions of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act as if those provisions were set forth in this subsection.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under this Section may reimburse themselves for their seller's tax liability hereunder by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination in a single amount with State taxes that sellers are required to collect under the Use Tax Act, under any bracket schedules the Department may prescribe.
    If a tax is imposed under this subsection (a), a tax shall also be imposed under subsection (b) of this Section.
    (b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a flood prevention service occupation tax shall also be imposed upon all persons engaged within the territory of the district in the business of making sales of service, who, as an incident to making the sales of service, transfer tangible personal property, either in the form of tangible personal property or in the form of real estate as an incident to a sale of service to provide revenue to pay the costs of providing emergency levee repair and flood prevention and to secure the payment of bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness issued under this Act for a period not to exceed 25 years or as required to repay the bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness. The tax rate shall be 0.25% of the selling price of all tangible personal property transferred.
    The tax imposed under this subsection and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the State Department of Revenue. The Department shall have full power to administer and enforce this subsection; to collect all taxes and penalties due hereunder; to dispose of taxes and penalties collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder.
    In the administration of and compliance with this subsection, the Department and persons who are subject to this subsection shall (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are set forth in Sections 2 (except that the reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining a place of business in this State means the district), 2a through 2d, 3 through 3‑50 (in respect to all provisions contained in those Sections other than the State rate of tax), 4 (except that the reference to the State shall be to the district), 5, 7, 8 (except that the jurisdiction to which the tax is a debt to the extent indicated in that Section 8 is the district), 9 (except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference therein to Section 2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act), 13 (except that any reference to the State means the district), Section 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 of the Service Occupation Tax Act and all provisions of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those provisions were set forth herein.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their serviceman's tax liability hereunder by separately stating the tax as an additional charge, that charge may be stated in combination in a single amount with State tax that servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use Tax Act, under any bracket schedules the Department may prescribe.
    (c) The taxes imposed in subsections (a) and (b) may not be imposed on personal property titled or registered with an agency of the State; food for human consumption that is to be consumed off the premises where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food that has been prepared for immediate consumption); prescription and non‑prescription medicines, drugs, and medical appliances; modifications to a motor vehicle for the purpose of rendering it usable by a disabled person; or insulin, urine testing materials, and syringes and needles used by diabetics.
    (d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize the district to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business that under the Constitution of the United States may not be made the subject of taxation by the State.
    (e) The certificate of registration that is issued by the Department to a retailer under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act or a serviceman under the Service Occupation Tax Act permits the retailer or serviceman to engage in a business that is taxable without registering separately with the Department under an ordinance or resolution under this Section.
    (f) The Department shall immediately pay over to the State Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and penalties collected under this Section to be deposited into the Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund, which shall be an unappropriated trust fund held outside the State treasury.
    As soon as possible after the first day of each month, beginning January 1, 2011, upon certification of the Department of Revenue, the Comptroller shall order transferred, and the Treasurer shall transfer, to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund the local sales tax increment, as defined in the Innovation Development and Economy Act, collected under this Section during the second preceding calendar month for sales within a STAR bond district. The Department shall make this certification only if the flood prevention district imposes a tax on real property as provided in the definition of "local sales taxes" under the Innovation Development and Economy Act.
    After the monthly transfer to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund, on or before the 25th day of each calendar month, the Department shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller the disbursement of stated sums of money to the counties from which retailers or servicemen have paid taxes or penalties to the Department during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be paid to each county is equal to the amount (not including credit memoranda) collected from the county under this Section during the second preceding calendar month by the Department, (i) less 2% of that amount, which shall be deposited into the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund and shall be used by the Department in administering and enforcing the provisions of this Section on behalf of the county, (ii) plus an amount that the Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that were erroneously paid to a different taxing body; (iii) less an amount equal to the amount of refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by the Department on behalf of the county; (iv) less any amount that the Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that were payable to a different taxing body but were erroneously paid to the county; and (v) less any amounts that are transferred to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund. When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement to a county under this Section, the Department shall increase or decrease the amounts by an amount necessary to offset any miscalculation of previous disbursements within the previous 6 months from the time a miscalculation is discovered.
    Within 10 days after receipt by the Comptroller from the Department of the disbursement certification to the counties provided for in this Section, the Comptroller shall cause the orders to be drawn for the respective amounts in accordance with directions contained in the certification.
    If the Department determines that a refund should be made under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a credit memorandum, then the Department shall notify the Comptroller, who shall cause the order to be drawn for the amount specified and to the person named in the notification from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the Treasurer out of the Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund.
    (g) If a county imposes a tax under this Section, then the county board shall, by ordinance, discontinue the tax upon the payment of all indebtedness of the flood prevention district. The tax shall not be discontinued until all indebtedness of the District has been paid.
    (h) Any ordinance imposing the tax under this Section, or any ordinance that discontinues the tax, must be certified by the county clerk and filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate as of the first day of July next following the filing; or (ii) on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate as of the first day of January next following the filing.
    (j) County Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Fund. All proceeds received by a county from a tax distribution under this Section must be maintained in a special fund known as the [name of county] flood prevention occupation tax fund. The county shall, at the direction of the flood prevention district, use moneys in the fund to pay the costs of providing emergency levee repair and flood prevention and to pay bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness issued under this Act.
    (k) This Section may be cited as the Flood Prevention Occupation Tax Law.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08; 96‑939, eff. 6‑24‑10.)

    (70 ILCS 750/30)
    Sec. 30. Disbursement of federal funds.
    (a) Any reimbursements for the construction of flood protection facilities shall be appropriated to each county flood prevention district in accordance with the location of the specific facility for which the federal appropriation is made.
    (b) If there are federal reimbursements to a county flood prevention district for construction of flood protection facilities that were built using the proceeds of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness authorized by this Act, those funds shall be used for early retirement of such bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued in accordance with this Act.
    (c) When all bonds, notes, or other evidences of

indebtedness of the District have been paid, any remaining federal reimbursement moneys shall be remitted to the county treasurer for deposit into a special fund for the continued long‑term maintenance of federal levees and flood protection facilities, pursuant to the direction of the county board.

(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/35)
    Sec. 35. Financial audit of the District. A financial audit of the District shall be conducted annually by a certified public accountant (CPA) that is licensed at the time of the audit by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The CPA shall meet all of the general standards concerning qualifications, independence, due professional care, and quality control as required by the Government Auditing Standards, 1994 Revision, Chapter 3, including the requirements for continuing professional education and external peer review. The financial audit is to be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for field work and reporting, generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) and AICPA Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) current at the time the audit is commenced. The audit shall be made publicly available and sent to the county board chairman of the county in which the district is situated and to the Illinois Secretary of State.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/40)
    Sec. 40. Budget of the District. The District shall adopt an annual budget by August 31 of each year for the fiscal year beginning October 1. Such budget shall include expected revenues by source and expenditures by project or by function for the following year. The budget must be approved by the county board of the county in which the district is situated prior to any expenditure by the District for the fiscal year beginning October 1. The county board must approve or disapprove the budget of the District within 30 calendar days after the budget is received by the county board. If the county board does not act to approve or disapprove the budget within 30 calendar days of receipt, it shall stand as approved.
    In addition, the District shall submit an annual report to the county board by August 31 of each year detailing the activities of the district. This report must also include any information submitted to the flood prevention district by a drainage, levee, or sanitary district in accordance with Section 4‑45 of the Illinois Drainage Code or Section 2‑2 of the Metro‑East Sanitary District Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/45)
    Sec. 45. Procurement. The District shall conduct all procurements in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Professional Services Selection Act and any competitive bid requirements contained in Section 5‑1022 of the Counties Code.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/50)
    Sec. 50. Contracts for construction. A request for any construction contract of more than $10,000 by the District must be submitted for approval to the county board of the county in which the district is situated. The county board has 30 calendar days to approve the construction contract. If the county board does not approve or disapprove the construction contract within 30 calendar days after the receipt of such request, the request shall be deemed approved.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; 95‑723, eff. 6‑23‑08.)

    (70 ILCS 750/60)
    Sec. 60. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; text omitted.)

    (70 ILCS 750/70)
    Sec. 70. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; text omitted.)

    (70 ILCS 750/75)
    Sec. 75. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; text omitted.)

    (70 ILCS 750/80)
    Sec. 80. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08; text omitted.)

    (70 ILCS 750/99)
    Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.
(Source: P.A. 95‑719, eff. 5‑21‑08.)