Rep. Susana A. Mendoza

Filed: 5/5/2010

 

 


 

 


 
09600SB2612ham001 LRB096 13422 RLJ 41250 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2612

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2612 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee
5 Law is amended by adding Section 5-10 as follows:
 
6     (35 ILCS 645/5-10 new)
7     Sec. 5-10. Municipal tax review; requests for information.
8     (a) A municipality may conduct an audit of fees under this
9 Act to determine the accuracy of the fees paid by an
10 electricity deliverer.
11     (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
12 has imposed a fee under this Law may, subject to the
13 limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the
14 Public Utilities Act, request any information from an
15 electricity deliverer that the municipality reasonably
16 requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The

 

 

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1 information that may be requested by the municipality includes,
2 without limitation:
3         (1) in an electronic format, the database used by the
4     electricity deliverer to determine the amount due to the
5     municipality; provided, however, that, if the municipality
6     has requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load
7     shape data from an electricity deliverer that is an
8     electric utility and has not provided the electric utility
9     with the verifiable authorization required by Section
10     16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric
11     utility shall remove from the database all
12     customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data
13     before providing it to the municipality; and
14         (2) in a format used by the public utility in the
15     ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
16     the municipality, to determine the unit consumption by
17     providing the gross kilowatt-hours or other units of
18     measurement subject to the fee imposed by this Law within
19     the municipal jurisdiction.
20     (c) Each electricity deliverer must provide the
21 information requested under subsection (b) within:
22         (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
23     population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
24     less; or
25         (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
26     population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.

 

 

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1     The time in which an electricity deliverer must provide the
2 information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
3 an agreement between the municipality and the electricity
4 deliverer. If an electricity deliverer receives, during a
5 single month, information requests from more than 2
6 municipalities, or the aggregate population of the requesting
7 municipalities is 100,000 customers or more, the electricity
8 deliverer is entitled to an additional 30 days to respond to
9 those requests.
10     (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
11 error by the electricity deliverer in the amount of fees
12 collected or paid by the electricity deliverer, then the
13 municipality must notify the electricity deliverer of the
14 error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant to Section 30 of
15 the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act or a lesser
16 period of time from the date the fee was due that may be
17 specified in the municipal ordinance imposing the fee. Upon
18 such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant Section 35
19 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act subject
20 to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d). The
21 electricity deliverer must submit a written response within 60
22 days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it
23 has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is
24 inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days
25 after the receipt of the electricity deliverer's response to
26 review and contest the conclusion of the electricity deliverer.

 

 

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1 If the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the
2 audit findings within 120 days after the notification of the
3 error to the electricity deliverer, then either party may
4 submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the
5 Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals
6 process does not produce a satisfactory result, then either
7 party may pursue the alleged error in a court of competent
8 jurisdiction.
9     (e) Electricity deliverers and municipalities are not
10 liable for any error in past collections and payments that was
11 unknown to either the electricity deliverer or the municipality
12 prior to the audit process unless the error was due to
13 negligence in the collection or processing of required data.
14 If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted
15 in a customer, who should not have owed a fee to any
16 municipality, having paid a fee to a municipality, then the
17 customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the
18 Public Utilities Act, recover the fee from the electricity
19 deliverer, and any amount so paid by the electricity deliverer
20 may be deducted by that electricity deliverer from any fees or
21 taxes then or thereafter owed by the electricity deliverer to
22 that municipality.
23     (f) All account specific information provided by an
24 electricity deliverer under this Section may be used only for
25 the purpose of an audit of fees conducted under this Section
26 and the enforcement of any related claim. All such information

 

 

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1 must be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its
2 agents and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom
3 of Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
4 for or requiring public disclosure.
5     (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
6 as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
7 municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
 
8     Section 10. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
9 Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 35 as follows:
 
10     (50 ILCS 45/10)
11     Sec. 10. Application and home rule preemption. The
12 limitations provided by this Act shall take precedence over any
13 provision of any tax ordinance imposed by a unit of local
14 government, as defined in this Act, in Illinois, including
15 without limitation any tax authorized under Section 8-11-2 of
16 the Illinois Municipal Code.
17     Consistent with the limitations provided by this Act, a
18 municipality may not impose any penalty with respect to a tax
19 authorized by Section 8-11-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code or
20 with respect to an audit authorized by Section 8-11-2.5 of the
21 Illinois Municipal Code, except as specified in Sections 50,
22 55, and 60 of this Act.
23     This Act is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and
24 functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article VII of

 

 

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1 the Illinois Constitution.
2 (Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
3     (50 ILCS 45/35)
4     Sec. 35. Audit procedures. Taxpayers have the right to be
5 treated by officers, employees, and agents of the local tax
6 administrator with courtesy, fairness, uniformity,
7 consistency, and common sense. This Section applies to any
8 audit of a tax imposed by a unit of local government, except to
9 the extent otherwise provided in Section 8-11-2.5 of the
10 Illinois Municipal Code. Taxpayers must be notified in writing
11 by the local jurisdiction of a proposed audit of the taxpayer's
12 books and records clearly identifying who will be conducting
13 the audit. For audits being conducted by third-party providers,
14 the local jurisdiction must provide written authorization for
15 the third-party provider to review the books and records of the
16 taxpayer. No contact may be made by the third-party provider
17 until the local-jurisdiction authorization is received by the
18 taxpayer. The notice of audit must specify the tax and time
19 period to be audited and must detail the minimum documentation
20 or books and records to be made available to the auditor.
21 Audits must be held only during reasonable times of the day
22 and, unless impracticable, at times agreed to by the taxpayer.
23 The auditor must sign a confidentiality agreement upon request
24 by the taxpayer. Upon the completion of the audit, the local
25 jurisdiction must issue an audit closure report to the taxpayer

 

 

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1 with the results of the audit. An auditor who determines that
2 there has been an overpayment of tax during the course of the
3 audit is obligated to identify the overpayment to the taxpayer
4 so that the taxpayer can take the necessary steps to recover
5 the overpayment. If the overpayment is the result of the
6 application of some or all of the taxpayer's tax payment to an
7 incorrect local government entity, then upon request by a unit
8 of local government, the audit information must be given to any
9 unit of local government that may be affected by an overpayment
10 the auditor must notify the correct local government entity of
11 the taxpayer's application error.
12 (Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
13     Section 15. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
14 5-1095.1 as follows:
 
15     (55 ILCS 5/5-1095.1 new)
16     Sec. 5-1095.1. County franchise fee review; requests for
17 information.
18     (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community
19 antenna television system (CATV) operator, a county imposes a
20 franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the county may
21 conduct an audit of that CATV operator's franchise fees derived
22 from the provision of cable and video services to subscribers
23 within the franchise area to determine whether the amount of
24 franchise fees paid by that CATV operator to the county was

 

 

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1 accurate. Any audit conducted under this subsection (a) shall
2 determine any overpayment or underpayment to the county by the
3 CATV operator, and the amount due to the county or CATV
4 operator is limited to the net difference.
5     (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a county that has
6 imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may,
7 subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local
8 Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information
9 from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV
10 operator in the ordinary course of its business that the county
11 reasonably requires in order to perform an audit under
12 subsection (a). The information that may be requested by the
13 county includes without limitation the following:
14         (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator
15     in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
16     by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the
17     franchise fee due to the county; and
18         (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the
19     ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
20     the county, to determine the CATV operator's franchise fees
21     derived from the provision of cable and video services to
22     subscribers within the CATV operator's franchise area.
23     (c) The CATV operator must provide the information
24 requested under subsection (b) within:
25         (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the
26     population of the requesting county is 500,000 or less; or

 

 

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1         (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the
2     population of the requesting county exceeds 500,000.
3     The time in which a CATV operator must provide the
4 information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
5 an agreement between the county and the CATV operator.
6     (d) If an audit by the county or its agents finds an error
7 by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees paid
8 by the CATV operator to the county, then the county may notify
9 the CATV operator of the error. Any such notice must be given
10 to the CATV operator by the county within 90 days after the
11 county discovers the error, and no later than 4 years after the
12 date the franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV
13 operator must submit a written response within 60 days after
14 receipt of the notice stating that the CATV operator has
15 corrected the error on a prospective basis or stating the
16 reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The county
17 then has 60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's
18 response to review and contest the conclusion of the CATV
19 operator. No legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based
20 upon an alleged error shall be commenced unless within 180 days
21 after the county's notification of the error to the CATV
22 operator the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of
23 the audit findings.
24     (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past
25 franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator
26 prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to

 

 

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1 negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection
2 or processing of required data and (ii) the county had not
3 failed to respond in writing in a timely manner to any written
4 request of the CATV operator to review and correct information
5 used by the CATV operator to calculate the appropriate
6 franchise fees if a diligent review of such information by the
7 county reasonably could have been expected to discover such
8 error.
9     (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV
10 operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
11 an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of
12 any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must
13 be held in strict confidence by the county and its agents and
14 may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of
15 Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
16 for or requiring public disclosure.
17     (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means
18 a person or entity that provides cable and video services under
19 a franchise agreement with a county pursuant to Section 5-1095
20 of the Counties Code and a holder authorized under Section
21 21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 as
22 consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law.
23     (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was
24 commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit
25 that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory
26 Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not

 

 

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1 apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before
2 the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
3 Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit
4 provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures.
5     (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
6 as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
7 county, taxpayer, or tax collector.
8     (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the
9 payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete
10 audit.
11     (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
12 amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a county shall
13 provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses
14 within the corporate limits of the county and shall annually
15 update the list.
16     (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule
17 powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
18 Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
 
19     Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
20 adding Sections 8-11-2.5 and 11-42-11.05 as follows:
 
21     (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5 new)
22     Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for
23 information.
24     (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section

 

 

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1 8-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax
2 receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to
3 the tax or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of
4 the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that
5 was paid by the public utility was accurate.
6     (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
7 has imposed a tax under this Act may, subject to the
8 limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the
9 Public Utilities Act and in the Local Government Taxpayers'
10 Bill of Rights Act, request any information from a utility in
11 the format maintained by the public utility in the ordinary
12 course of its business that the municipality reasonably
13 requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The
14 information that may be requested by the municipality includes,
15 without limitation:
16         (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility
17     in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
18     by the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to
19     the municipality; provided, however, that, if the
20     municipality has requested customer-specific billing,
21     usage, and load shape data from a public utility that is an
22     electric utility and has not provided the electric utility
23     with the verifiable authorization required by Section
24     16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric
25     utility shall remove from the database all
26     customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data

 

 

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1     before providing it to the municipality; and
2         (2) in a format used by the public utility in the
3     ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
4     the municipality, to determine the unit consumption of
5     utility services by providing the gross therms, kilowatts,
6     minutes, or other units of measurement being taxed within
7     the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues
8     collected and the associated taxes assessed.
9     (c) Each public utility must provide the information
10 requested under subsection (b) within:
11         (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
12     population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
13     less; or
14         (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
15     population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
16     The time in which a public utility must provide the
17 information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
18 an agreement between the municipality and the public utility.
19 If a public utility receives, during a single month,
20 information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the
21 aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is
22 100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to an
23 additional 30 days to respond to those requests.
24     (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
25 error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the
26 public utility, then the municipality must notify the public

 

 

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1 utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant
2 to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
3 Act or a lesser period of time from the date the tax was due
4 that may be specified in the municipal ordinance imposing the
5 tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant
6 to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
7 Act subject to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d).
8 The public utility must submit a written response within 60
9 days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it
10 has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is
11 inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days
12 after the receipt of the public utility's response to review
13 and contest the conclusion of the public utility. If the
14 parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit
15 findings within 120 days after the notification of the error to
16 the public utility, then either party may submit the matter for
17 appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the Local Government
18 Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals process does not
19 produce a satisfactory result, then either party may pursue the
20 alleged error in a court of competent jurisdiction.
21     (e) No public utility is liable for any error in past
22 collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to the
23 audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by the
24 public utility in the collection or processing of required data
25 and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in writing
26 on an accurate and timely basis to any written request of the

 

 

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1 public utility to review and correct information used by the
2 public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a diligent
3 review of such information by the municipality reasonably could
4 have been expected to discover such error. If, however, an
5 error in past collections or payments resulted in a customer,
6 who should not have owed a tax to any municipality, having paid
7 a tax to a municipality, then the customer may, to the extent
8 allowed by Section 9-252 of the Public Utilities Act, recover
9 the tax from the public utility, and any amount so paid by the
10 public utility may be deducted by that public utility from any
11 taxes then or thereafter owed by the public utility to that
12 municipality.
13     (f) All account specific information provided by a public
14 utility under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
15 an audit of taxes conducted under this Section and the
16 enforcement of any related tax claim. All such information must
17 be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its agents
18 and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of
19 Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
20 for or requiring public disclosure.
21     (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
22 as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
23 municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
 
24     (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11.05 new)
25     Sec. 11-42-11.05. Municipal franchise fee review; requests

 

 

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1 for information.
2     (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community
3 antenna television system (CATV) operator, a municipality
4 imposes a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the
5 municipality may conduct an audit of that CATV operator's
6 franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and video
7 services to subscribers within the franchise area to determine
8 whether the amount of franchise fees paid by that CATV operator
9 to the municipality was accurate. Any audit conducted under
10 this subsection (a) shall determine any overpayment or
11 underpayment to the municipality by the CATV operator, and the
12 amount due to the municipality or CATV operator is limited to
13 the net difference.
14     (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
15 has imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may,
16 subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local
17 Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information
18 from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV
19 operator in the ordinary course of its business that the
20 municipality reasonably requires in order to perform an audit
21 under subsection (a). The information that may be requested by
22 the municipality includes without limitation the following:
23         (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator
24     in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
25     by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the
26     franchise fee due to the municipality; and

 

 

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1         (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the
2     ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
3     the municipality, to determine the CATV operator's
4     franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and
5     video services to subscribers within the CATV operator's
6     franchise area.
7     (c) The CATV operator must provide the information
8 requested under subsection (b) within:
9         (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the
10     population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
11     less; or
12         (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the
13     population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
14     The time in which a CATV operator must provide the
15 information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
16 an agreement between the municipality and the CATV operator.
17     (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
18 error by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees
19 paid by the CATV operator to the municipality, then the
20 municipality may notify the CATV operator of the error. Any
21 such notice must be given to the CATV operator by the
22 municipality within 90 days after the municipality discovers
23 the error, and no later than 4 years after the date the
24 franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV operator
25 must submit a written response within 60 days after receipt of
26 the notice stating that the CATV operator has corrected the

 

 

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1 error on a prospective basis or stating the reason that the
2 error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has
3 60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's response to
4 review and contest the conclusion of the CATV operator. No
5 legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based upon an alleged
6 error shall be commenced unless within 180 days after the
7 municipality's notification of the error to the CATV operator
8 the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit
9 findings.
10     (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past
11 franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator
12 prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to
13 negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection
14 or processing of required data and (ii) the municipality had
15 not failed to respond in writing in a timely manner to any
16 written request of the CATV operator to review and correct
17 information used by the CATV operator to calculate the
18 appropriate franchise fees if a diligent review of such
19 information by the municipality reasonably could have been
20 expected to discover such error.
21     (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV
22 operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
23 an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of
24 any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must
25 be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its agents
26 and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of

 

 

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1 Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
2 for or requiring public disclosure.
3     (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means
4 a person or entity that provides cable and video services under
5 a franchise agreement with a municipality pursuant to Section
6 11-42-11 of the Municipal Code and a holder authorized under
7 Section 21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007
8 as consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law.
9     (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was
10 commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit
11 that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory
12 Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not
13 apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before
14 the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
15 Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit
16 provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures.
17     (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
18 as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
19 municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
20     (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the
21 payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete
22 audit.
23     (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
24 amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a municipality
25 shall provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses
26 within the corporate limits of the municipality and shall

 

 

09600SB2612ham001 - 20 - LRB096 13422 RLJ 41250 a

1 annually update the list.
2     (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule
3 powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
4 Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
 
5     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6 becoming law.".