Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB4321 Latest Draft

Bill / Engrossed Version Filed 04/10/2024

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1  AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.
2  Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3  represented in the General Assembly:
4  Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by
5  changing Sections 3-114.1 and 4-110 as follows:
6  (40 ILCS 5/3-114.1) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 3-114.1)
7  Sec. 3-114.1. Disability pension; line pension - Line of
8  duty.
9  (a) If a police officer as the result of sickness,
10  accident or injury incurred in or resulting from the
11  performance of an act of duty, is found to be physically or
12  mentally disabled for service in the police department, so as
13  to render necessary his or her suspension or retirement from
14  the police service, the police officer shall be entitled to a
15  disability retirement pension equal to the greatest of (1) 65%
16  of the salary attached to the rank on the police force held by
17  the officer at the date of suspension of duty or retirement,
18  (2) the retirement pension that the police officer would be
19  eligible to receive if he or she retired (but not including any
20  automatic annual increase in that retirement pension), or (3)
21  the pension provided under subsection (d), if applicable.
22  A police officer shall be considered "on duty" while on
23  any assignment approved by the chief of the police department

 

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1  of the municipality he or she serves, whether the assignment
2  is within or outside the municipality.
3  (b) If a police officer on disability pension dies while
4  still disabled, the disability pension shall continue to be
5  paid to his or her survivors in the sequence provided in
6  Section 3-112.
7  (c) From and after July 1, 1987, any pension payable under
8  this Section shall be at least $400 per month, without regard
9  to the fact that the disability or death of the police officer
10  occurred prior to that date. If the minimum pension
11  established in Section 3-113.1 is greater than the minimum
12  provided in this Section, the Section 3-113.1 minimum
13  controls.
14  (d) A disabled police officer who (1) is receiving a
15  pension under this Section on the effective date of this
16  amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, (2) files with
17  the Fund, within 30 days after that effective date and
18  annually thereafter while the pension remains payable, a
19  written application for the benefits of this subsection,
20  including an affidavit stating that the applicant has not
21  earned any income from gainful employment during the most
22  recently concluded tax year and a copy of his or her most
23  recent Illinois income tax return, (3) has service credit in
24  the Fund for at least 7 years of active duty, and (4) has been
25  receiving the pension under this Section for a period which,
26  when added to the officer's total service credit in the Fund,

 

 

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1  equals at least 20 years, shall be eligible to receive an
2  annual noncompounded increase in his or her pension under this
3  Section, equal to 3% of the original pension.
4  The Fund may take appropriate steps to verify the
5  applicant's disability and earnings status, and for this
6  purpose may request from the Department of Revenue a certified
7  copy of the applicant's Illinois income tax return for any
8  year for which a benefit under this Section is payable or has
9  been paid.
10  The annual increase shall accrue on each anniversary of
11  the initial pension payment date, for so long as the pension
12  remains payable to the disabled police officer and the
13  required annual application is made, except that the annual
14  increases under this subsection shall cease if the disabled
15  police officer earns income from gainful employment. Within 60
16  days after accepting an initial application under this
17  subsection, the Fund shall pay to the disabled police officer,
18  in a lump sum without interest, the amounts resulting from the
19  annual increases that have accrued retroactively.
20  This subsection is not limited to persons in active
21  service on or after its effective date, but it applies only to
22  a pension that is payable under this Section to a disabled
23  police officer (rather than a survivor). Upon the death of the
24  disabled police officer, the annuity payable under this
25  Section to his or her survivors shall include any annual
26  increases previously received, but no additional increases

 

 

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1  shall accrue under this subsection.
2  (e) For the purposes of this Section only, any police
3  officer who becomes disabled as a result of exposure to and
4  contraction of COVID-19, as evidenced by either a confirmed
5  positive laboratory test for COVID-19 or COVID-19 antibodies
6  or a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed medical
7  professional, shall:
8  (1) be rebuttably presumed to have contracted COVID-19
9  while in the performance of an act or acts of duty;
10  (2) be rebuttably presumed to have been injured while
11  in the performance of an act or acts of duty; and
12  (3) be entitled to receive, at the time the disability
13  is allowed in accordance with Section 3-115, a disability
14  retirement pension under this Section during any period of
15  such disability for which the police officer does not have
16  a right to receive salary.
17  The presumption shall apply to any police officer who was
18  exposed to and contracted COVID-19 on or after March 9, 2020
19  and on or before June 30, 2021; except that the presumption
20  shall not apply if the police officer was on a leave of absence
21  from his or her employment or otherwise not required to report
22  for duty for a period of 14 or more consecutive days
23  immediately prior to the date of contraction of COVID-19. For
24  the purposes of determining when a police officer contracted
25  COVID-19 under this paragraph, the date of contraction is
26  either the date that the police officer was diagnosed with

 

 

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1  COVID-19 or was unable to work due to symptoms that were later
2  diagnosed as COVID-19, whichever occurred first.
3  It is the intent of the General Assembly that the change
4  made in this subsection (e) by this amendatory Act of the 103rd
5  General Assembly shall apply retroactively to March 9, 2020,
6  and any police officer who has been previously denied a
7  disability retirement pension under this Section who would
8  otherwise be entitled to a disability retirement pension under
9  this subsection (e) shall be entitled to retroactive benefits
10  and a disability retirement pension under this Section.
11  (Source: P.A. 91-939, eff. 2-1-01.)
12  (40 ILCS 5/4-110) (from Ch. 108 1/2, par. 4-110)
13  Sec. 4-110. Disability pension; line pension - Line of
14  duty. If a firefighter, as the result of sickness, accident or
15  injury incurred in or resulting from the performance of an act
16  of duty or from the cumulative effects of acts of duty, is
17  found, pursuant to Section 4-112, to be physically or mentally
18  permanently disabled for service in the fire department, so as
19  to render necessary his or her being placed on disability
20  pension, the firefighter shall be entitled to a disability
21  pension equal to the greater of (1) 65% of the monthly salary
22  attached to the rank held by him or her in the fire department
23  at the date he or she is removed from the municipality's fire
24  department payroll or (2) the retirement pension that the
25  firefighter would be eligible to receive if he or she retired

 

 

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1  (but not including any automatic annual increase in that
2  retirement pension). A firefighter shall be considered "on
3  duty" while on any assignment approved by the chief of the fire
4  department, even though away from the municipality he or she
5  serves as a firefighter, if the assignment is related to the
6  fire protection service of the municipality.
7  Such firefighter shall also be entitled to a child's
8  disability benefit of $20 a month on account of each unmarried
9  child less than 18 years of age and dependent upon the
10  firefighter for support, either the issue of the firefighter
11  or legally adopted by him or her. The total amount of child's
12  disability benefit payable to the firefighter, when added to
13  his or her disability pension, shall not exceed 75% of the
14  amount of salary which the firefighter was receiving at the
15  date of retirement.
16  Benefits payable on account of a child under this Section
17  shall not be reduced or terminated by reason of the child's
18  attainment of age 18 if he or she is then dependent by reason
19  of a physical or mental disability but shall continue to be
20  paid as long as such dependency continues. Individuals over
21  the age of 18 and adjudged to be disabled persons pursuant to
22  Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975, except for persons
23  receiving benefits under Article III of the Illinois Public
24  Aid Code, shall be eligible to receive benefits under this
25  Act.
26  If a firefighter dies while still disabled and receiving a

 

 

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1  disability pension under this Section, the disability pension
2  shall continue to be paid to the firefighter's survivors in
3  the sequence provided in Section 4-114. A pension previously
4  granted under Section 4-114 to a survivor of a firefighter who
5  died while receiving a disability pension under this Section
6  shall be deemed to be a continuation of the pension provided
7  under this Section and shall be deemed to be in the nature of
8  worker's compensation payments. The changes to this Section
9  made by this amendatory Act of 1995 are intended to be
10  retroactive and are not limited to persons in service on or
11  after its effective date.
12  For the purposes of this Section only, any firefighter who
13  becomes disabled as a result of exposure to and contraction of
14  COVID-19, as evidenced by either a confirmed positive
15  laboratory test for COVID-19 or COVID-19 antibodies or a
16  confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 from a licensed medical
17  professional, shall:
18  (1) be rebuttably presumed to have contracted COVID-19
19  while in the performance of an act or acts of duty;
20  (2) be rebuttably presumed to have been injured while
21  in the performance of an act or acts of duty; and
22  (3) be entitled to receive, at the time the disability
23  is allowed in accordance with Section 4-112, a disability
24  pension under this Section during any period of such
25  disability for which the firefighter does not have a right
26  to receive salary.

 

 

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1  The presumption shall apply to any firefighter who was
2  exposed to and contracted COVID-19 on or after March 9, 2020
3  and on or before June 30, 2021; except that the presumption
4  shall not apply if the firefighter was on a leave of absence
5  from his or her employment or otherwise not required to report
6  for duty for a period of 14 or more consecutive days
7  immediately prior to the date of contraction of COVID-19. For
8  the purposes of determining when a firefighter contracted
9  COVID-19 under this paragraph, the date of contraction is
10  either the date that the firefighter was diagnosed with
11  COVID-19 or was unable to work due to symptoms that were later
12  diagnosed as COVID-19, whichever occurred first.
13  It is the intent of the General Assembly that the change
14  made by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly
15  shall apply retroactively to March 9, 2020, and any
16  firefighter who has been previously denied a disability
17  pension under this Section who would otherwise be entitled to
18  a disability pension under this Section shall be entitled to
19  retroactive benefits and a disability pension under this
20  Section.
21  (Source: P.A. 93-1090, eff. 3-11-05.)
22  Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
23  Section 8.47 as follows:
24  (30 ILCS 805/8.47 new)

 

 

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1  Sec. 8.47. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
2  8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
3  the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
4  Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
5  Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6  becoming law.

 

 

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