by Robert A. Stuart General Counsel

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACTION DAMAGING TO PARK DISTRICTS

The results of the 1977 Session of the 80th General Assembly, including the several special sessions called by the Governor and convened during the months of October and November have been extremely disappointing, as well as damaging, to all units of local government in the State including, and particularly, park districts and forest preserve districts. The Federal legislation enacted by the Congress and implemented by our General Assembly in Illinois continues to impose increased financial burdens upon all units of local government. At the same time all branches of Government are receiving increased public demands for additional services which in turn require increased manpower, facilities and program. Our more than 350 park districts in this State, which administer the finest park and recreation programs on a local level within the nation, are presently faced with an almost insurmountable problem of meeting the expenditures required and demanded by the general public. While the legislatures, both Federal and State continue to impose such financial burdens upon local government through the enactment of minimum wage laws, workmens compensation laws, unemployment compensation laws and mandatory retirement and pension laws, these same legislatures continuously refuse to give to local government the ability to raise the necessary revenues required to meet these additional burdens imposed upon local government by the Legislature itself.

The 80th General Assembly in Illinois clearly failed to meet, or in most cases even refused to consider seriously, these problems during the 1977 sessions in that it wholly failed to deal with the problems involving (1) the generally recognized increased cost of insurance premiums required by the mandatory workmens compensation statutes; (2) the tremendous increase in revenues which will be required as a result of the Congressional enactment of The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 USC Sec. 3301), and the amendments of 1976, (Public Law No. 94-566) which legislation for the first time brings all public employees (including part-time employees) under the provisions of the Unemployment Compensation Law, and (3) the enactment of S.B. 1149 providing for the consolidation of elections which in most cases will result in increased election costs for units of local government as well as a multitude of other legal problems. Until our Legislatures are willing to face up to the problem of providing the necessary authority to raise the funds required to provide the services demanded by the public, local government can only continue to curtail drastically its operations to meet the economic limitations imposed upon it.

The following Bills dealing with park districts were passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor:

Senate Bills S.B.

169—Glass, et al.
Amends Section 11.2-2 of The Park District Code and validates all levies adopted by resolution under that Section, regardless of the fact that any step required was taken prior to October 1, 1976 and provided such action was taken on or after August 12. 1976 (thus validating the levy of any tax for the working cash fund for the year 1976). The said section is also amended to permit the levy of a "working cash fund tax" for "no more than four of the years 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 at a rate not to exceed .025%". No further amendments to that section concerning the working cash fund tax were included.
(P.A. 80-620)

S.B. 807—Philip
Amends Ch. 571/2, Sec. 14.1. Raises the maximum tax rate which the board of a forest preserve district may levy to .06% (formerly .025%), subject to the provision that the rate of tax may not be increased by virtue of this amendment unless the board adopts a resolution authorizing such increase and publishes notice thereof in a newspaper having general circulation in the district at least once not less than 45 days prior to the effective date of increase. A referendum must be held if petition signed by not less than 2 1/2% of the registered voters is filed no later than 30 days after the publication of the notice required.
(P.A. 80-369)

S.B. 994—Wooten
Amends Section 10-7 of The Park District Code. Limits park districts in selling or leasing property to such sale or lease to "another unit of Illinois slate or local government for public use providing that the grantee or lessee covenants to hold the property for purposes of public park or recreation or if the park district obtains other real property as substantially the same size or larger without additional cost to the district.
(P.A. 80-300)

Note: This amendment to Section 10-7 has raised some serious legal questions as to its possible effect upon the provisions of the Conveyancing Act (Ch. 30 Ill. Rev. Stats., Sections 156-158a and Sections 10-3 through 10-7b of The Park District Code).

S.B. 1033—Hickey
Amends Section 6 of the "Forest Preserve District Act" (Ch. 57'/2. Par. 6. Ill. Rev. Stats.) to peimit a forest preserve district to acquire lands outside of the corporate boundaries of the district but contiguous thereto, by gift, devise or grant and subiect to the approval of the county board, and to manage and control the same except that the district shall have no power to acquire such real estate outside of the corporate boundaries of the district by eminent domain or by purchase.
(P.A. 80-301)

S.B. 1137—Weaver
Amends Section 18.1 of the Forest Preserve District Act (Ch. 571/2. Par. 15a3.1, Ill. Rev. Stats.) Amends Section 18.1 to permit Forest Preserve Districts with a population of 100,-000 or more (formerly 300,000) population to construct and maintain recreational facilities.
(P.A. 80-548)

Illinois Parks and Recreation 8 November/December. 1977

S.B. 1168—Weaver
Amends Section 1 of the Forest Preserve District Act (Ch. 571/2, Par. 20.01 III. Rev. Stilts.) to permit Forest Preserve District containing a population of 100,000 (formerly 200,000) or more to prepare, acquire, maintain and display botanic materials and botanic gardens.
(P.A. 80-550)

S.B. 1169—Weaver
Amends Section 3a and 8 of the Forest Preserve District Act (Ch. 57 1/2, Par. 3a, III. Rev. Stats.) to provide for organization of the board and presiding officer of forest preserve districts.
(P.A. 80-773)

S.B. 1149—Regner, et al.
Amends Section 7-5 of "The Election Code", prescribes consolidated schedule of all elections by all governmental units and purports to repeal all Illinois statutes pertaining to election procedure (including election provisions of "The Park District Code" which are in conflict with the provisions of the consolidated election act).
(P.A. 80-936)

House Bills

H.B. 306—MacDonald, et al.
Amends Section 3-9 of The Park District Code (Ch. 105, Par 3-9 Ill. Rev. Stats.) to provide that any territory not incorporated within a park district but containing 60 acres or less may be annexed by ordinance if it is wholly hounded by one or more park districts and a river, lake, railroad or "arterial street as defined in Section 1-104 of the Illinois Vehicle Code" (formerly "highway").
(P.A. 80-847)
Note: "Arterial street" under Section 1-104, Ch. 95 1/2 Ill. Rev. Stats. is defined as being "any U.S. or State numbered route, controlled access highway, or other major radial or circumferential street or highway designated by local authoriteies within their respective jurisdictions as part of a major arterial system of streets or highway." (The term "highway" as it had formerly been used in this Section is defined under Secion 1.126, Ch. 95 1/2 Ill. Rev. Stats. as being "the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publically maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel." This term has also been defined by Illinois case law as being any public way used by the public for any form of vehicular traffic and including alleyways, established paths, etc. The latter definition was deemed by the Legislature to be outsied of the legislative intent of the original amendment.)

H.B. 1306—Hart
Amends Section 2-13 of The Park District Code (Ch. 105, Par. 2-13 Ill. Rev. Stats.) to make permissive rather than, mandatory the appointment of the same judges of election as are appointed for other elections held at the same time as park board elections (formerly mandatory if a township election were held on the same day as a park board election).
(P.A. 80-638)
Note: What effect the Consolidated Election bill (S, 11. 1149 P.A, 80-936 and H. B. 3 Second Special Session) may have upon this provision of The Park District Code is subject to further legal interpretation and should he considered carefully.

H.B. 1356—Simms and Giorgi
Amends Sections 1 1-4 of The Park District Code, Par. 330a, Ch. 105 Ill. Rev. Stats, to limit jurisdiction of all park district police in counties containing a population of less than 300,-000 to the limits of the property of the park board unless such police power is granted by an intergovernmental cooperation agreement to which the park district and other units of local government involved are parties.
(P.A. 80-414)

FEDERAL AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE LEGISLATION HAS FAR. REACHING EFFECTS UPON PARK DISTRICTS

Under the provisions of the 1976 Federal Unemployment Compensation Amendments (Public Law No. 94-566) to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 USC Sec. 3301) Congress mandated all states to provide unemployment insurance coverage to four major areas of the employee force, namely: (1) domestic employees; (2) agricultural employees; (3 state government employees; and (4) all local government employees.

The Federal law required all states in enacting federally approved plan of such extended coverage b January 1, 1978 (thus requiring the General Assembly in Illinois to pass such a bill prior to November 10, 1977) to conform generally to the following:

(1) All employees covered by the Federal Unemployment Insurance Act must also be covered under the State act in eluding all employees of counties, townships, municipalities school districts, and all special districts.

(2) Under certain provisions and conditions the Stat act might in its discretion deny unemployment insurance coverage to professional athletes and employees of educational institutions timing summer break periods.

(3) In extending unemployment insurance coverage to local governmental units the State had the following financing options:

(a) Under an employer contribution plan the employe is required to pay a certain percentage of each employee first $6,000 in wages into a trust fund. Unemploymen insurance benefits are then paid from this fund. Certain forms were available to the State under this provision either the State could simply pay the costs instead of charging them to the local governmental unit or a mixed system could be devised where the local governmental units would pay a lower percentage rate on the first $6,000 and the State would assume the deficit.

(b) The second option available to the State was that of financing an extended unemployment insurance coverage under a reimbursement plan. Under this plan the employing local goveinmental unit would simply reimburse the State for the specific amount that any former employee might draw in unemployment insurance benefits

(4) The State must increase the wage base upon which unemployment insurance taxes are computed from the first $4.200 to the first $6,000. (This increase in wage base will result in a .43 % increase in unemployment tax or the sum of $204.00 for each employee.)

The failure of the State of Illinois to comply with the 1976 Federal Unemployment Compensatior Amendments would have had even more serious economic consequences for the State as well as private employers and local governmental units. In the first place the private employer would have lost his 2.7% federal income tax offset. In the public sector public employees would receive unemployment insurance coverage regardless of noncompliance with the Federal law. In that event the local governmental units would be treated as new employers coming into the system at the prescribed tax rate of 2.7% for the first threr years and, also, would lose the option to reimburse the unemployment benefit fund directly for benefits paid to claimants. The State would no longer have been eligible to participate in the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program which at the present assumed 50% of the unemployment benefit costs. It.was also noted that Illinois' unemployment insurance trust fund had had a deficit since 1977 of more thann $750,000,000. In the event compliance legislation had not been enacted the credit which Illinois employers had received against Federal unemployment tax would have been reduced and the employer and the State would 'have been required to pick up the deficit directly.

Faced with these problems the General Assembly, only hours before the deadline on November 10, passed Senate Bill 6 introduced in the 1977 Second

Illinois Parks and Recreation 9 November/December, 1977

LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE . . .
Continued from Page 9.

Special Session which amended the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act to conform to the provisions of the Federal Amendments (Public Law 94-566), which Bill imposed emergency contribution rates in order to permit the deferral or repayment of Federal advances. Senate Bill 6 contained an emergency clause making it effective immediately upon signature by the Governor.

Therefore, it should be noted by all park districts that they are now subject to the payment of unemployment compensation insurance and, therefore, must file the required quarterly reports.

The debate before Committee in both the House and Senate relative to this legislation centered primarily upon the question of whether the State under its option granted by the 1976 Federal Amendments would pick up the local governmental unit costs which, it was argued by the private sector including the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, would result in greatly increased costs to the private employer; whether it would grant to the local governmental unit the authority to levy a tax to cover its increased costs without public referendum, or as the third alternative whether it would pick up a portion of the increased costs imposed upon the local governmental unit. As a compromise Senate Bill 6 now results in the Federal government picking up the increased costs in the first two quarters of 1978, the State picking up the increased costs to local governmental units in the third quarter o 1978 and the State pickmg up 25% of the costs to local governmental units in the fourth quarter, while the local governmental unit is required to pick up the remaining 25% in the fourth quarter through its own revenues. Subsequent to January 1, 1979 the park district, or local governmental unit must then pick up the entire cost of unemployment compensation. It should be noted that House Bill 16 introduced in the Second Special Session provides for a non-public referendum levy by park districts and other local governmental units of a tax sufficient to pay the increased costs of unemployment insurance compensation. It cannot be anticipated, however, that any such relief will be forthcoming unless such similar legislation should be enacted subsequent to the convening of the General Assembly on January 1, 1978.

Certain other effects of this legislation which might have a substantial bearing upon park district programming and policy should also be noted. (1) Nothing in either the Unemployment Amendments or the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) guarantees Federal funds for unemployment benefits in CETA programs and funding provisions are found only in the CETA Appropriation Act itself. If such funding should be cut back or eliminated in next year's Appropriation Act, a large number of persons with CETA-funded jobs could he added to various park districts unemployment rolls resulting in a substantially increased burden upon park districts and (2) park districts and other local governments are precluded from the option of excluding certain part-time or temporary employees from the receipt of unemployment compensation, inasmuch as only emergency temporary employees need not be covered by the Act. So long as the temporary employees work the statutory minimum number of days to qualify for unemployment benefits, park districts and other local governments must pick up the cost by paying for their benefits.

The question of the constitutionality of Public Law No. 94-566 has been raised in an action filed by the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers on April 3, 1977. This multi-party lawsuit joining states, counties and municipalities challenges the constitutionality of the law on the grounds that the amendments deny to state and local governments the freedom to decide individually whether they desire to provide unemployment compensation to their employees. This litigation is presently in progress and the arguments can be expected to extend over some period of time. Even a favorable decision in this litigation will not eliminate the immediate problems which face our park districts and other units of local government in Illinois. Clearly, the budgeting and appropriation process imposed upon park districts under the provisions of Section 4-4 of The Park District Code must take into full consideration this additional expenditure of funds for unemployment insurance financing and this consideration cannot be delayed.

CONSOLIDATION OF ELECTIONS BILL CREATES NUMEROUS PROBLEMS FOR PARK DISTRICTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL UNITS.

The passage of Senate Bill 1149 in the Regular Session and House Bill 3 in the Second Special Session of the 1977 General Assembly has created a myriad of problems, economic and otherwise, for all units of local government, including park districts, in its application. Limitations of space preclude a complete analysis of this Bill at the present time. A more complete analysis will be published in the next issue of the magazine.

In his message to the General Assembly in signing Senate Bill 1149 into law the Governor clearly recognized the inadequacies of the Act and the many problems which would require implementation in order to make election consolidation legislation practical and effective.

Under the provisions of the Consolidation of Elections Bill, there will be only five elections including primaries held in each two year period, these being designated as general, consolidated, and non-partisan elections.

Generally, Public Act 80-936 (Ch. 46 Ill. Rev. Stats., 2A-1) provides: (1) All public questions (referenda) will be held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November; (2) Elections for commissioners of park districts, including township park districts, will be held in odd-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Public Act 80-936 repeals Article 2 of "The Election Code" approved May 11, 1943, as amended, and adds Article 2A in its place. However, it makes no specific change in the many provisions contained elsewhere in the statutes providing for elections in the numerous other units of local government including The Park District Code, the Municipal Code, the School District Code and others. Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Section 8d) provides "A bill expressly amending a law shall set forth completely the sections amended." Public Act 80-936 in failing to amend specifically and as required under Article IV would appear to be unconstitutional in its application and, if so, coming elections held under its provisions can only result in utter confusion as well as an extensive amount of litigation. In support of this position on the question of the constitutionality of the Act the opinion of the Court in the case of People, ex rel Peoria Civic Center Authority vs. Vonachen (340 NE 2nd 1) should be examined.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 12 November/December, 1977