Bill
HB 5611
Creates the Education Property Tax Relief Fund to finance school district property tax relief grants starting 2030, with annual $300M then $850M, and links pension funding via a ne
Date introduced: February 13, 2026
Sponsor: Representative Travis Weaver (with 2 co-sponsors: Rep. Ryan Spain, Rep. Kevin Schmidt)
Purpose of the bill
- To create a dedicated Education Property Tax Relief Fund and establish a state-supported property tax relief grant program for school districts beginning in Fiscal Year 2030.
- To modify the Budget Stabilization Act to specify additional pension-related transfers, termination conditions, and allocation rules related to the Pension Stabilization Fund.
- To align finance provisions with the new Education Property Tax Relief Fund and related grant program.
Key provisions
1) Education Property Tax Relief Fund (new)
- Creates a new special fund in the State treasury: the Education Property Tax Relief Fund.
- Purpose: to finance a school district property tax relief grant program (the mechanics are in the School Code). Unexpended funds revert to the General Revenue Fund at year-end.
2) School district property tax relief grant program (new, in the School Code)
- For State fiscal year 2030 and onward, the State Board of Education will establish and administer a program to award property tax relief grants to Illinois school districts.
- Grant conditions: In exchange for receiving a grant, a school district’s maximum aggregate property tax extension for the taxable year cannot exceed its adjusted maximum aggregate property tax extension for that same year.
- Definitions:
- Aggregate property tax extension: the annual corporate extension plus any annual special-purpose extensions for the district.
- Adjusted maximum aggregate property tax extension: the district’s maximum allowed extension minus the grant amount received for the prior year.
- Grants are funded from the Education Property Tax Relief Fund.
- Grants distributed pro rata based on per-pupil average daily attendance (per ADA) as reported in the prior year’s district report card (Section 10-17a).
3) Education Property Tax Relief Fund funding schedule and administration
- Certification and transfer: Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) shall certify annual amounts to the Comptroller and Treasurer by September 1 each year.
- Funding amounts specified:
- Fiscal years 2030–2033: $300,000,000 per year.
- Fiscal year 2034 and thereafter: $850,000,000 per year.
- Transfer mechanics: Upon certification, the Comptroller shall order transfers from the General Revenue Fund to the Education Property Tax Relief Fund; unexpended funds revert to the General Revenue Fund at year-end.
- Fund operation: Any unspent funds at year-end move back to General Revenue Fund.
4) Budget Stabilization Act amendments (related to pensions)
- Adds and clarifies provisions for the Pension Stabilization Fund, including:
- Creation of the Pension Stabilization Fund as a special fund dedicated to payments to designated retirement systems (SERS, TRS, SURS, JRS, and the General Assembly Retirement System).
- Transfer rules tied to estimated general fund revenues and percent-of-revenue thresholds (0.5% when revenues are within 99% of projections; 1.0% when within 98% of projections).
- A new scheduled, c-5 and c-10 subsections for specified fiscal years detailing fixed transfer amounts: $300,000,000 (2030–2033) and $850,000,000 (2034 onward), with termination criteria by 2045 or when each retirement system reaches 100% funding, whichever occurs first.
- Monthly transfer structure (1/12 of annual total per month) with a final-year adjustment after reconciling actual general fund revenues to ensure annual transfers equal the specified percentage of actual revenues.
- Transfers to designated retirement systems must follow actuarial deficiencies and are used to fund unfunded liabilities. They are in addition to existing state contributions and are not to be counted as current-year pension contributions until full funding is achieved.
5) Additional conforming changes
- The bill makes conforming changes in the State Finance Act to codify these provisions and ensure consistency across statutes.
Who is affected
Key timeline and procedural notes
Overall assessment
HB5611 seeks to create a dedicated funding stream to provide property tax relief grants to school districts beginning in 2030, financed through the new Education Property Tax Relief Fund. It pairs this with a long-range plan to strengthen pension funding through the Pension Stabilization Fund, capping potential revenue diversions and specifying fixed transfer levels contingent on funding milestones and revenue performance. The bill also introduces reform-oriented, long-term fiscal planning for education property taxes and state pension funding.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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