| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning finance.
| ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Hotel | ||||||
| 5 | Jobs Recovery Grant Program Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Purpose and findings. In 2019, The hotel | ||||||
| 7 | industry in the State of Illinois directly employed more than | ||||||
| 8 | 60,000 people and generated $4,000,000,000 in State and local | ||||||
| 9 | taxes. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, one in 3 | ||||||
| 10 | hotel workers were laid off or furloughed, and hotels lost | ||||||
| 11 | $3,600,000,000 in economic activity. Unlike other segments of | ||||||
| 12 | the hospitality industry, the hotel industry has not received | ||||||
| 13 | any direct hotel-specific support from the federal government. | ||||||
| 14 | Funds awarded under this Act will be used by hotels to support | ||||||
| 15 | their workforce and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||
| 16 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||
| 17 | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | ||||||
| 18 | Opportunity. | ||||||
| 19 | The following terms shall have the meanings given to those | ||||||
| 20 | terms in the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act: "hotel"; | ||||||
| 21 | "operator"; and "room". | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Section 15. Grant program. Subject to appropriation for | ||||||
| 2 | this purpose, the Department shall establish the Hotel Jobs | ||||||
| 3 | Recovery Grant Program for the purpose of providing direct | ||||||
| 4 | relief to hotels impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The | ||||||
| 5 | Department shall award a one-time grant to the operator of | ||||||
| 6 | each hotel in the State in an amount equal to $1,500 for each | ||||||
| 7 | room in the hotel. Every hotel operating in the State shall be | ||||||
| 8 | eligible for the grant. There shall be no maximum award for the | ||||||
| 9 | grant. | ||||||
| 10 | Section 20. Use of funds. Any operator who receives grant | ||||||
| 11 | funds under this Act shall use a minimum of 80% of the funds on | ||||||
| 12 | payroll costs, including, but not limited to, wages, benefits, | ||||||
| 13 | and healthcare. The remaining funds shall be used on any of the | ||||||
| 14 | following costs related to the operator's hotels in the State: | ||||||
| 15 | public safety upgrades; property taxes; mortgage payments; or | ||||||
| 16 | any debts incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||
| 17 | Section 25. Reporting. Within 12 months after receiving | ||||||
| 18 | grant funds under this Act, the operator shall submit a | ||||||
| 19 | written attestation to the Department acknowledging compliance | ||||||
| 20 | with Section 20 of this Act. | ||||||
| 21 | Section 30. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt | ||||||
| 22 | emergency rules to administer the grant program. | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Section 35. Repeal. This Act is repealed on December 31, | ||||||
| 2 | 2024. | ||||||
| 3 | Section 900. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is | ||||||
| 4 | amended by adding Section 5-45.21 as follows: | ||||||
| 5 | (5 ILCS 100/5-45.21 new) | ||||||
| 6 | Sec. 5-45.21. Emergency rulemaking; Hotel Jobs Recovery | ||||||
| 7 | Grant Program Act. To provide for the expeditious and timely | ||||||
| 8 | implementation of the Hotel Jobs Recovery Grant Program Act, | ||||||
| 9 | emergency rules implementing the Hotel Jobs Recovery Grant | ||||||
| 10 | Program Act may be adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by | ||||||
| 11 | the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The | ||||||
| 12 | adoption of emergency rules authorized by Section 5-45 and | ||||||
| 13 | this Section is deemed to be necessary for the public | ||||||
| 14 | interest, safety, and welfare. | ||||||
| 15 | This Section is repealed one year after the effective date | ||||||
| 16 | of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
| ||||||
| 17 | Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 18 | 2022.
| ||||||