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Public Act 096-1422
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| SB2612 Enrolled | LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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AN ACT concerning local government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Electricity Infrastructure Maintenance Fee |
Law is amended by adding Section 5-10 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 645/5-10 new)
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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.
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(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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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(h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having |
a population greater than 1,000,000.
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Section 10. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights |
Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 35 as follows:
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(50 ILCS 45/10)
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Sec. 10. Application and home rule preemption. The
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limitations provided by this Act shall take precedence over
any |
provision of any tax ordinance imposed by a unit of local
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government, as defined in this Act, in Illinois, including |
without limitation any tax authorized under Section 8-11-2 of |
the Illinois Municipal Code.
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
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(50 ILCS 45/35)
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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,
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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
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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 |
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to identify the overpayment to the taxpayer so that
the |
taxpayer can take the necessary steps to recover the
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
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Section 15. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section |
5-1095.1 as follows:
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(55 ILCS 5/5-1095.1 new)
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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.
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Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by |
adding Sections 8-11-2.5 and 11-42-11.05 as follows:
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(65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5 new)
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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)
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Sec. 11-42-11.05. Municipal franchise fee review; requests |
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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 |