Public Act 096-0202
 		





SB0243 Enrolled
LRB096 03507 RLC 13532 b






    AN ACT concerning vehicles.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:



 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended  by changing 
Section 12-612 as follows:
 



    (625 ILCS 5/12-612)



    Sec. 12-612. False or secret compartment in a motor 
vehicle. 

    (a) Offenses.  It is unlawful for any person:
        (1) to own or operate with criminal intent any motor

    vehicle he or
she knows to contain a false or secret 
    compartment that is used or has been used to conceal a 
    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 
    or paragraph (a)(1) of Section 24-1.6 of the Criminal Code 
    of 1961, or controlled substance as prohibited by the 
    Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine 
    Control and Community Protection Act; or .
It is unlawful 
    for any person
to knowingly
        (2) to install, create, build, or fabricate in any 
    motor vehicle a false
or secret compartment knowing that 
    another person intends to use the compartment to conceal a 
    firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 
    of the Criminal Code of 1961, or controlled substance as 
    prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the 
    Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.

    (b) Definitions.  For purposes of this Section: , a "false
        (1) "False or secret
compartment" means an enclosure 
    integrated into a vehicle that is a modification of the 
    vehicle as built by the original manufacturer.
        (2) "Vehicle" means any of the following vehicles 
    without regard to whether the vehicles are private or 
    commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, 
    buses, aircraft, and watercraft any
enclosure that is 
    intended and designed to be used
to conceal, hide, and 
    prevent discovery by law enforcement
officers of the false 
    or secret compartment, or its contents, and which is

    integrated into a vehicle.
For purpose of this Section,
a

    person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to 
    conceal the
contents of the compartment from a law 
    enforcement officer may be inferred from
factors 
    including, but not limited to, the discovery of a person, 
    firearm,
controlled substance, or other contraband within 
    the false or secret
compartment, or from the discovery of 
    evidence of the previous placement of a
person, firearm, 
    controlled substance, or other contraband within the false 
    or
secret compartment.

    (c) Forfeiture.  Any motor vehicle containing a false or 
secret compartment used in violation of this Section,
as well 
as any items within that compartment, shall be subject to 
seizure by
the Department of State Police or by any municipal 
or other local law
enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction 
that property is found as provided
in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of 
the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/36-1 and
5/36-2).  The 
removal of the false or secret compartment from the motor

vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a 
defense to
forfeiture of the motor vehicle under Section 36-2 
of the Criminal Code of 1961
and shall not be the basis for the 
court to release the vehicle to the owner.

    (d) Sentence.  A violation of this Section is a Class 4 
felony. The sentence imposed for violation of this Section 
shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in 
connection with the firearm, controlled substance, or other 
contraband concealed in the false or secret compartment.
    (e) For purposes of this Section, a new owner is not 
responsible for any conduct that occurred or knowledge of 
conduct that occurred prior to transfer of title. 

(Source: P.A. 93-276, eff. 1-1-04.)