My Illinois Constitution

ART. VII, SECTION 14. TAXPAYER’S BILL OF RIGHTS

(a) General provisions. The preferred interpretation of this section shall reasonably restrain most the growth of government. All provisions are self-executing and severable and supersede conflicting state constitutional, state statutory, charter, or other state or local provisions. Other limits on district revenue, spending, and debt may be weakened only by future voter approval.

(b) Term definitions. Within this section:

(1) “Initiative” means a non-recall petition or referred measure in an election.
(2) “Entity” means the state or any local government.
(3) “Emergency” excludes economic conditions, revenue shortfalls, or district salary or fringe benefit increases.
(4) “Fiscal year spending” means all entity expenditures and reserve increases except, as to both, those for refunds made in the current or next fiscal year or those from gifts, federal funds, collections for another government, pension contributions by employees and pension fund earnings, reserve transfers or expenditures, damage awards, or property sales.
(5) “Inflation” means the percentage change in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.

(c) All governmental taxing entities in the state of Illinois shall limit the growth of their budget appropriations and expenditures to no greater than the prior year except for the rate of inflation plus population growth with in the boundaries of that entity. Should the operation of economic activity reduce an entity’s revenue, the highest level of expenditure shall be the foundation from which the entity can calculate its allowable increase.

(d) Excess revenues over allowable expenditures at the end of a fiscal year shall be transferred to a Reserve Fund. The Reserve Fund shall not exceed 3% of the current year’s expenditures. Expenditures from the Reserve Fund may be made only upon the exhaustion of other available funds.

(e) For any fiscal year, the excess lf revenues over expenditures, except as provided in paragraph (d) shall be returned as refunds as determined by the governing body of the entity.

(f) The citizens or elected representatives of any Illinois governmental entity may, in accordance with provisions in this Constitution or in the Illinois election code, place on the ballot, an initiative to exceed expenditure caps in paragraph (c).

For the purposes of this section, the entity seeking to increase the expenditure limits must follow provisions in paragraph (g) of this Section.

(g) Election provisions.

(1) Initiatives under this Section shall be decided in a state general election.
(2) At least 30 days before an initiative, entities shall mail at the least cost, and as a package where entities where initiatives overlap, a titled notice or set of notices addressed to “All Registered Voters” at each address of one or more active registered electors. The entities may coordinate the mailing required by this paragraph with the distribution of the ballot information booklet required by law. Titles shall have this order of preference: “NOTICE OF ELECTION TO INCREASE TAXES/TO INCREASE DEBT/ON A CITIZEN PETITION/ON A REFERRED MEASURE.” Except for entity voter-approved additions, notices shall include only:

(i) The election date, hours, ballot title, text, and local election office address and telephone number.
(ii) For proposed entity tax or bonded debt increases, the estimated or actual total of district fiscal year spending for the current year and each of the past four years, and the overall percentage and dollar change.
(iii) For the first full fiscal year of each proposed district tax increase, district estimates of the maximum dollar amount of each increase and of district fiscal year spending without the increase.
(iv) For proposed district bonded debt, its principal amount and maximum annual and total district repayment cost, and the principal balance of total current district bonded debt and its maximum annual and remaining total district repayment cost.
(v) Two summaries, up to 500 words each, one for and one against the proposal, of written comments filed with the election officer by 45 days before the election. No summary shall mention names of persons or private groups, nor any endorsements of or resolutions against the proposal. Petition representatives following these rules shall write this summary for their petition. The election officer shall maintain and accurately summarize all other relevant written comments. The provisions of this subparagraph (v) do not apply to a statewide ballot issue.