093_HB3478
LRB093 11136 MKM 11947 b
1 AN ACT in relation to economic assistance.
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
5 State Economic Assistance Accountability Act.
6 Section 5. Definition. In this Act:
7 "Business organization" means a corporation, partnership,
8 limited liability company, joint venture, association, or
9 other enterprise that does business in this State.
10 "Department" means the Illinois Department of Commerce
11 and Community Affairs.
12 "Project" means any specific economic development
13 activity of a commercial, industrial, manufacturing,
14 agricultural, scientific, service, or other business, the
15 result of which causes the creation or retention of jobs, and
16 may include the purchase or lease of machinery and equipment,
17 the lease or purchase of real property or funds for
18 infrastructure necessitated by site preparation, building
19 construction, or related purposes.
20 "State economic assistance" means: (1) tax credits and
21 tax exemptions given as an incentive to a business
22 organization pursuant to a certification or designation made
23 by the Department under the Economic Development for a
24 Growing Economy Tax Credit Act and the Illinois Enterprise
25 Zone Act, including the High Impact Business program; and (2)
26 grants or loans given as an incentive to a business
27 organization pursuant to the Large Business Development Act
28 (Article 10 of the Build Illinois Act). The term does not
29 include assistance (i) given for the purpose of job training,
30 (ii) for the purpose of road construction or improvements,
31 (iii) provided to units of local government, or (iv) for
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1 which the funding source is federal.
2 "Director" means the Director of Commerce and Community
3 Affairs.
4 Section 10. Written agreements containing performance
5 covenants and sanctions.
6 (a) State economic assistance provided by the Department
7 as an incentive to a business organization must be based on
8 the terms of a written incentive agreement between the
9 Department and the business organization.
10 (b) The incentive agreement must identify the specific
11 State economic assistance to be provided to the business
12 organization during the term of the agreement.
13 (c) The incentive agreement must also provide for the
14 following:
15 (1) The business organization is bound to make a
16 specified level of capital investment in a project and
17 cause the creation or retention of a specified level of
18 jobs within a specified time period.
19 (2) If the business organization either fails to
20 make the requisite level of capital investment in the
21 project or fails to create or retain the specified number
22 of jobs within the specified time frame, as provided
23 under the Act authorizing such economic assistance, the
24 business organization shall be deemed to no longer
25 qualify for the State economic assistance.
26 (3) If the business organization receives State
27 economic assistance in the form of a High Impact Business
28 designation pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Illinois
29 Enterprise Zone Act and the business receives the benefit
30 of the exemption authorized under Section 5l of the
31 Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (for the sale of building
32 materials incorporated into a High Impact Business
33 location) and the business organization fails to create
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1 or retain the requisite number of jobs, as determined by
2 the Department, within the period of time specified by
3 the Department, the business organization shall be
4 required to pay to the State the full amount of the State
5 tax exemption that it received as a result of the High
6 Impact Business designation.
7 (4) If the business organization receives a grant
8 pursuant to the Large Business Development Act (Article
9 10 of the Build Illinois Act) and the business
10 organization fails to create or retain the requisite
11 number of jobs, as determined by the Department, within
12 the period of time specified by the Department, the
13 business organization shall be required to repay to the
14 Department a pro rata amount of the grant. That amount
15 shall reflect the percentage of the deficiency between
16 the promised number of jobs to be created or retained by
17 the business organization and the actual number of those
18 jobs in existence as of the date the Department
19 determines the business organization is in breach of the
20 job creation or retention covenants contained in the
21 incentive agreement.
22 (d) The Director may elect to waive enforcement of any
23 contractual right arising out of the incentive agreement
24 required by this Act based on a finding that the waiver will
25 promote the viability of the project, will contribute to an
26 increase in employment associated with the project, or will
27 contribute to the retention of jobs in Illinois associated
28 with the project.
29 Section 15. Applicability. This Act applies to all State
30 economic assistance given by the Department on or after the
31 effective date of this Act.
32 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
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1 becoming law.