HB2802ham001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Theresa Mah

Filed: 3/23/2017

10000HB2802ham001 LRB100 06136 JLS 24175 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2802

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2802 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Transportation Benefits Program Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Covered employee" means any person who performs an average of at least 10 hours of work per week for compensation within the geographic boundaries of the jurisdiction of the Regional Transportation Authority for the same employer within the previous calendar month.

"Covered employer" means an employer within the boundaries of the Regional Transportation Authority for which an average of 25 or more full-time employees for compensation. In determining the number of persons performing work for an employer during a given week, all persons performing work for compensation on a full-time, part-time, or temporary basis shall be counted, including persons made available to work through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity.

"Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or business trust who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over wages, hours, or working conditions of an employee.

"Public transit" means any transportation system within the authority and jurisdiction of the Regional Transportation Authority.

"Qualified parking" means parking provided to an employee on or near the business premises of the employer or on or near a location from which the employee commutes to work by transportation on public transit. "Qualified parking" does not include parking on or near property used by the employee for residential purposes.

"Transit pass" means any pass, token, fare card, voucher, or similar item entitling a person to transportation on public transit.

Section 10. Transportation benefits program.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), all covered employers shall provide at least one of the following transportation benefit programs to covered employees:

(1) A program consistent with 26 U.S.C. 132(f) that allows employees to elect to exclude from taxable wages and compensation the employee's commuting costs incurred for the purchase of a transit pass to use public transit or for the purchase of qualified parking, up to a maximum level allowed by federal tax law.

(2) A program under which the employer supplies a transit pass for the particular qualifying public transit requested by the covered employee or reimburses the covered employee for payments made for the use of qualified parking.

(b) This Act does not apply to a covered employer whose place of business is located in a zip code in which regularly-scheduled transit service does not operate.

Section 15. List of zip codes. The Regional Transportation Authority shall prepare a list of zip codes within the geographic area of the Authority in which regularly-scheduled transit service does not operate. The Authority shall publish the list of zip codes on its website.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.".