Public Act 096-1422
 
SB2612 EnrolledLRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee
Law is amended by adding Section 5-10 as follows:
 
    (35 ILCS 645/5-10 new)
    Sec. 5-10. Municipal tax review; requests for information.
    (a) A municipality may conduct an audit of fees under this
Act to determine the accuracy of the fees paid by an
electricity deliverer.
    (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
has imposed a fee under this Law may, subject to the
limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the
Public Utilities Act, request any information from an
electricity deliverer that the municipality reasonably
requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The
information that may be requested by the municipality includes,
without limitation:
        (1) in an electronic format, the database used by the
    electricity deliverer to determine the amount due to the
    municipality; provided, however, that, if the municipality
    has requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load
    shape data from an electricity deliverer that is an
    electric utility and has not provided the electric utility
    with the verifiable authorization required by Section
    16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric
    utility shall remove from the database all
    customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data
    before providing it to the municipality; and
        (2) in a format used by the public utility in the
    ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
    the municipality, to determine the unit consumption by
    providing the gross kilowatt-hours or other units of
    measurement subject to the fee imposed by this Law within
    the municipal jurisdiction.
    (c) Each electricity deliverer must provide the
information requested under subsection (b) within:
        (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
    less; or
        (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
    The time in which an electricity deliverer must provide the
information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
an agreement between the municipality and the electricity
deliverer. If an electricity deliverer receives, during a
single month, information requests from more than 2
municipalities, or the aggregate population of the requesting
municipalities is 100,000 customers or more, the electricity
deliverer is entitled to an additional 30 days to respond to
those requests.
    (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
error by the electricity deliverer in the amount of fees
collected or paid by the electricity deliverer, then the
municipality must notify the electricity deliverer of the
error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant to Section 30 of
the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act or a lesser
period of time from the date the fee was due that may be
specified in the municipal ordinance imposing the fee. Upon
such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant to Section
35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act
subject to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d). The
electricity deliverer must submit a written response within 60
days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it
has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is
inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days
after the receipt of the electricity deliverer's response to
review and contest the conclusion of the electricity deliverer.
If the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the
audit findings within 120 days after the notification of the
error to the electricity deliverer, then either party may
submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the
Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals
process does not produce a satisfactory result, then either
party may pursue the alleged error in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
    (e) Electricity deliverers and municipalities are not
liable for any error in past collections and payments that was
unknown to either the electricity deliverer or the municipality
prior to the audit process unless the error was due to
negligence in the collection or processing of required data.
If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted
in a customer, who should not have owed a fee to any
municipality, having paid a fee to a municipality, then the
customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the
Public Utilities Act, recover the fee from the electricity
deliverer, and any amount so paid by the electricity deliverer
may be deducted by that electricity deliverer from any fees or
taxes then or thereafter owed by the electricity deliverer to
that municipality.
    (f) All account specific information provided by an
electricity deliverer under this Section may be used only for
the purpose of an audit of fees conducted under this Section
and the enforcement of any related claim. All such information
must be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its
agents and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom
of Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
for or requiring public disclosure.
    (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
    (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having
a population greater than 1,000,000.
 
    Section 10. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 35 as follows:
 
    (50 ILCS 45/10)
    Sec. 10. Application and home rule preemption. The
limitations provided by this Act shall take precedence over any
provision of any tax ordinance imposed by a unit of local
government, as defined in this Act, in Illinois, including
without limitation any tax authorized under Section 8-11-2 of
the Illinois Municipal Code.
    Consistent with the limitations provided by this Act, a
municipality, other than a municipality having a population
greater than 1,000,000, may not impose any penalty with respect
to a tax authorized by Section 8-11-2 of the Illinois Municipal
Code or with respect to an audit authorized by Section 8-11-2.5
of the Illinois Municipal Code, except as specified in Sections
50, 55, and 60 of this Act.
    This Act is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and
functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution.
(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
    (50 ILCS 45/35)
    Sec. 35. Audit procedures. Taxpayers have the right to be
treated by officers, employees, and agents of the local tax
administrator with courtesy, fairness, uniformity,
consistency, and common sense. This Section applies to any
audit of a tax imposed by a unit of local government other than
a municipality having a population greater than 1,000,000,
except to the extent otherwise provided in Section 8-11-2.5 of
the Illinois Municipal Code. Taxpayers must be notified in
writing by the local jurisdiction of a proposed audit of the
taxpayer's books and records clearly identifying who will be
conducting the audit. For audits being conducted by third-party
providers, the local jurisdiction must provide written
authorization for the third-party provider to review the books
and records of the taxpayer. No contact may be made by the
third-party provider until the local-jurisdiction
authorization is received by the taxpayer. The notice of audit
must specify the tax and time period to be audited and must
detail the minimum documentation or books and records to be
made available to the auditor. Audits must be held only during
reasonable times of the day and, unless impracticable, at times
agreed to by the taxpayer. The auditor must sign a
confidentiality agreement upon request by the taxpayer. Upon
the completion of the audit, the local jurisdiction must issue
an audit closure report to the taxpayer with the results of the
audit. An auditor who determines that there has been an
overpayment of tax during the course of the audit is obligated
to identify the overpayment to the taxpayer so that the
taxpayer can take the necessary steps to recover the
overpayment. If the overpayment is the result of the
application of some or all of the taxpayer's tax payment to an
incorrect local government entity, then upon request by a unit
of local government, the audit information must be given to any
unit of local government that may be affected by an overpayment
the auditor must notify the correct local government entity of
the taxpayer's application error.
(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
    Section 15. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
5-1095.1 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1095.1 new)
    Sec. 5-1095.1. County franchise fee review; requests for
information.
    (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community
antenna television system (CATV) operator, a county imposes a
franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the county may
conduct an audit of that CATV operator's franchise fees derived
from the provision of cable and video services to subscribers
within the franchise area to determine whether the amount of
franchise fees paid by that CATV operator to the county was
accurate. Any audit conducted under this subsection (a) shall
determine any overpayment or underpayment to the county by the
CATV operator, and the amount due to the county or CATV
operator is limited to the net difference.
    (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a county that has
imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may,
subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local
Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information
from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV
operator in the ordinary course of its business that the county
reasonably requires in order to perform an audit under
subsection (a). The information that may be requested by the
county includes without limitation the following:
        (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator
    in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
    by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the
    franchise fee due to the county; and
        (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the
    ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
    the county, to determine the CATV operator's franchise fees
    derived from the provision of cable and video services to
    subscribers within the CATV operator's franchise area.
    (c) The CATV operator must provide the information
requested under subsection (b) within:
        (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the
    population of the requesting county is 500,000 or less; or
        (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the
    population of the requesting county exceeds 500,000.
    The time in which a CATV operator must provide the
information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
an agreement between the county and the CATV operator.
    (d) If an audit by the county or its agents finds an error
by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees paid
by the CATV operator to the county, then the county may notify
the CATV operator of the error. Any such notice must be given
to the CATV operator by the county within 90 days after the
county discovers the error, and no later than 4 years after the
date the franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV
operator must submit a written response within 60 days after
receipt of the notice stating that the CATV operator has
corrected the error on a prospective basis or stating the
reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The county
then has 60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's
response to review and contest the conclusion of the CATV
operator. No legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based
upon an alleged error shall be commenced unless within 180 days
after the county's notification of the error to the CATV
operator the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of
the audit findings.
    (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past
franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator
prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to
negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection
or processing of required data and (ii) the county had not
failed to respond in writing in a timely manner to any written
request of the CATV operator to review and correct information
used by the CATV operator to calculate the appropriate
franchise fees if a diligent review of such information by the
county reasonably could have been expected to discover such
error.
    (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV
operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of
any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must
be held in strict confidence by the county and its agents and
may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of
Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
for or requiring public disclosure.
    (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means
a person or entity that provides cable and video services under
a franchise agreement with a county pursuant to Section 5-1095
of the Counties Code and a holder authorized under Section
21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 as
consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law.
    (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was
commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit
that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not
apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit
provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures.
    (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
county, taxpayer, or tax collector.
    (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the
payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete
audit.
    (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a county shall
provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses
within the corporate limits of the county and shall annually
update the list.
    (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule
powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
 
    Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
adding Sections 8-11-2.5 and 11-42-11.05 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5 new)
    Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for
information.
    (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section
8-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax
receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to
the tax or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of
the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that
was paid by the public utility was accurate.
    (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
has imposed a tax under this Act may, subject to the
limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the
Public Utilities Act and in the Local Government Taxpayers'
Bill of Rights Act, request any information from a utility in
the format maintained by the public utility in the ordinary
course of its business that the municipality reasonably
requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The
information that may be requested by the municipality includes,
without limitation:
        (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility
    in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
    by the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to
    the municipality; provided, however, that, if the
    municipality has requested customer-specific billing,
    usage, and load shape data from a public utility that is an
    electric utility and has not provided the electric utility
    with the verifiable authorization required by Section
    16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric
    utility shall remove from the database all
    customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data
    before providing it to the municipality; and
        (2) in a format used by the public utility in the
    ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
    the municipality, to determine the unit consumption of
    utility services by providing the gross therms, kilowatts,
    minutes, or other units of measurement being taxed within
    the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues
    collected and the associated taxes assessed.
    (c) Each public utility must provide the information
requested under subsection (b) within:
        (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
    less; or
        (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
    The time in which a public utility must provide the
information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
an agreement between the municipality and the public utility.
If a public utility receives, during a single month,
information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the
aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is
100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to an
additional 30 days to respond to those requests.
    (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the
public utility, then the municipality must notify the public
utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant
to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
Act or a lesser period of time from the date the tax was due
that may be specified in the municipal ordinance imposing the
tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant
to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
Act subject to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d).
The public utility must submit a written response within 60
days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it
has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is
inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days
after the receipt of the public utility's response to review
and contest the conclusion of the public utility. If the
parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit
findings within 120 days after the notification of the error to
the public utility, then either party may submit the matter for
appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the Local Government
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals process does not
produce a satisfactory result, then either party may pursue the
alleged error in a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (e) No public utility is liable for any error in past
collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to the
audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by the
public utility in the collection or processing of required data
and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in writing
on an accurate and timely basis to any written request of the
public utility to review and correct information used by the
public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a diligent
review of such information by the municipality reasonably could
have been expected to discover such error. If, however, an
error in past collections or payments resulted in a customer,
who should not have owed a tax to any municipality, having paid
a tax to a municipality, then the customer may, to the extent
allowed by Section 9-252 of the Public Utilities Act, recover
the tax from the public utility, and any amount so paid by the
public utility may be deducted by that public utility from any
taxes then or thereafter owed by the public utility to that
municipality.
    (f) All account specific information provided by a public
utility under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
an audit of taxes conducted under this Section and the
enforcement of any related tax claim. All such information must
be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its agents
and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of
Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
for or requiring public disclosure.
    (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
    (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having
a population greater than 1,000,000.
 
    (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11.05 new)
    Sec. 11-42-11.05. Municipal franchise fee review; requests
for information.
    (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community
antenna television system (CATV) operator, a municipality
imposes a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the
municipality may conduct an audit of that CATV operator's
franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and video
services to subscribers within the franchise area to determine
whether the amount of franchise fees paid by that CATV operator
to the municipality was accurate. Any audit conducted under
this subsection (a) shall determine any overpayment or
underpayment to the municipality by the CATV operator, and the
amount due to the municipality or CATV operator is limited to
the net difference.
    (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that
has imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may,
subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local
Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information
from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV
operator in the ordinary course of its business that the
municipality reasonably requires in order to perform an audit
under subsection (a). The information that may be requested by
the municipality includes without limitation the following:
        (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator
    in the ordinary course of its business, the database used
    by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the
    franchise fee due to the municipality; and
        (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the
    ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by
    the municipality, to determine the CATV operator's
    franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and
    video services to subscribers within the CATV operator's
    franchise area.
    (c) The CATV operator must provide the information
requested under subsection (b) within:
        (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
    less; or
        (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the
    population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
    The time in which a CATV operator must provide the
information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
an agreement between the municipality and the CATV operator.
    (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
error by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees
paid by the CATV operator to the municipality, then the
municipality may notify the CATV operator of the error. Any
such notice must be given to the CATV operator by the
municipality within 90 days after the municipality discovers
the error, and no later than 4 years after the date the
franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV operator
must submit a written response within 60 days after receipt of
the notice stating that the CATV operator has corrected the
error on a prospective basis or stating the reason that the
error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has
60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's response to
review and contest the conclusion of the CATV operator. No
legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based upon an alleged
error shall be commenced unless within 180 days after the
municipality's notification of the error to the CATV operator
the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit
findings.
    (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past
franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator
prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to
negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection
or processing of required data and (ii) the municipality had
not failed to respond in writing in a timely manner to any
written request of the CATV operator to review and correct
information used by the CATV operator to calculate the
appropriate franchise fees if a diligent review of such
information by the municipality reasonably could have been
expected to discover such error.
    (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV
operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of
an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of
any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must
be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its agents
and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of
Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing
for or requiring public disclosure.
    (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means
a person or entity that provides cable and video services under
a franchise agreement with a municipality pursuant to Section
11-42-11 of the Municipal Code and a holder authorized under
Section 21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007
as consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law.
    (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was
commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit
that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not
apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit
provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures.
    (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
    (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the
payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete
audit.
    (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a municipality
shall provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses
within the corporate limits of the municipality and shall
annually update the list.
    (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule
powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
    (m) This Section does not apply to any municipality having
a population of more than 1,000,000.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.