102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB3974

 

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Sen. Laura M. Murphy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 45/30
65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5
220 ILCS 5/9-224.1 new
220 ILCS 5/16-122

    Amends the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. Provides that the statute of limitations set by a unit of local government for the determination and assessment of taxes covered by the Act may not exceed 7 years (currently, 4 years) after the end of the calendar year for which the return for the period was filed or the end of the calendar year in which the return for the period was due, whichever occurs later. Makes conforming changes concerning the tolling of this 7-year period. Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. In a Section concerning municipal audits of public utilities, provides that municipalities may request information from public utilities no more than annually (currently, no more than once every 2 years). Provides that customer specific billing, usage, or load shape data may be provided to a unit of local government if the unit of local government is requesting the information for the purposes of an audit under specified provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that, if the public utility fails to respond in a timely manner to the request for information with complete information, the public utility shall be liable to the municipality for a penalty of $1,000 for each day it fails to produce the requested information. Provides that, if a public utility is liable for any error in past tax payments in excess of $5,000 that were unknown prior to an audit from the municipality, then the public utility shall reimburse the municipality for the cost of the audit. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall not consider: (i) any court costs, attorney's fees, or other fees incurred under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code; or (ii) any penalties or interest imposed by a municipality under certain provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code to be expenses for the purpose of determining any rate or charge. Makes other changes.


LRB102 24041 HLH 33259 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3974LRB102 24041 HLH 33259 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
5Act is amended by changing Section 30 as follows:
 
6    (50 ILCS 45/30)
7    Sec. 30. Statute of limitations. Units of local government
8have an obligation to review tax returns in a timely manner and
9issue any determination of tax due as promptly as possible so
10that taxpayers may make timely corrections of future returns
11and minimize any interest charges applied to tax
12underpayments. Each unit of local government must provide
13appropriate statutes of limitation for the determination and
14assessment of taxes covered by this Act, provided, however,
15that a statute of limitations may not exceed the following:
16        (1) For utility taxes, no No notice of determination
17    of tax due or assessment may be issued more than 7 4 years
18    after the end of the calendar year for which the return for
19    the period was filed or the end of the calendar year in
20    which the return for the period was due, whichever occurs
21    later. An audit or review that is timely performed under
22    Section 35 of this Act or Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois
23    Municipal Code shall toll this 7-year period.

 

 

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1        (1.5) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), no
2    notice of determination of tax due or assessment may be
3    issued more than 4 years after the end of the calendar year
4    for which the return for the period was filed or the end of
5    the calendar year in which the return for the period was
6    due, whichever occurs later.
7        (2) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), if
8    If any tax return was not filed or if during any 4-year
9    period for which a notice of tax determination or
10    assessment may be issued by the unit of local government
11    the tax paid or remitted was less than 75% of the tax due
12    for that period, the statute of limitations shall be no
13    more than 6 years after the end of the calendar year in
14    which the return for the period was due or the end of the
15    calendar year in which the return for the period was
16    filed, whichever occurs later. In the event that a unit of
17    local government fails to provide a statute of
18    limitations, the maximum statutory period provided in this
19    Section applies.
20        (3) The changes to this Section made by this
21    amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly do not revive
22    any determination and assessment of tax due where the
23    statute of limitations has expired, but do extend the
24    current statute of limitations for the determination and
25    assessment of taxes that have not yet expired.
26    This Section does not place any limitation on a unit of

 

 

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1local government if a fraudulent tax return is filed.
2(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
3    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
4changing Section 8-11-2.5 as follows:
 
5    (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5)
6    Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for
7information.
8    (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section
98-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax
10receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to
11the tax or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of
12the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that
13was paid by the public utility was accurate.
14    (b) Not more than once annually every 2 years, a
15municipality that has imposed a tax under this Act may,
16subject to the limitations and protections stated in Section
1716-122 of the Public Utilities Act and in the Local Government
18Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, make a written request via
19e-mail to an e-mail address provided by the utility for any
20information from a utility in the format maintained by the
21public utility in the ordinary course of its business that the
22municipality reasonably requires in order to perform an audit
23under subsection (a). The information that may be requested by
24the municipality includes, without limitation:

 

 

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1        (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility
2    in the ordinary course of its business, the
3    premises-specific and other information database used by
4    the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to
5    the municipality; provided, however, that a public utility
6    that is an electric utility may not provide
7    customer-specific information , if the municipality has
8    requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape
9    data from a public utility that is an electric utility and
10    has not provided the electric utility with the verifiable
11    authorization required by Section 16-122 of the Public
12    Utilities Act, then the electric utility shall remove from
13    the database all customer-specific billing, usage, and
14    load shape data before providing it to the municipality;
15    and
16        (2) information related to each premises address that
17    the public utility's records indicate:
18            (A) is located in the municipality;
19            (B) is located in an adjacent unincorporated
20        municipality identified by the requesting
21        municipality; or
22            (C) is located in one of a list of zip codes
23        provided by the requesting municipality that include
24        areas within the requesting municipality's boundaries;
25        and
26        (3) for each address identified in paragraph (2):

 

 

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1            (A) the premises address and zip code;
2            (B) classification of the premises as designated
3        by the public utility (e.g., residential, commercial,
4        industrial);
5            (C) first date of service; and
6            (D) for each month of service in the current year
7        (up to one month prior to the date of the request by
8        the municipality) and for the previous 10 calendar
9        years:
10                (i) the amount of the utility service used,
11            measured in gross therms, kilowatts, minutes, or
12            other units of measurement;
13                (ii) total taxable charges;
14                (iii) the total tax collected and remitted;
15                (iv) the municipal jurisdiction for tax
16            collection and remittance; and
17                (v) whether the customer is exempt from
18            municipal tax. in a format used by the public
19            utility in the ordinary course of its business,
20            summary data, as needed by the municipality, to
21            determine the unit consumption of utility services
22            by providing the gross therms, kilowatts, minutes,
23            or other units of measurement being taxed within
24            the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues
25            collected and the associated taxes assessed.
26    (c) Each public utility must provide the information

 

 

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1requested under subsection (b) within 90 days after the date
2of the request. :
3        (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
4    population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
5    less; or
6        (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
7    population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.
8    The time in which a public utility must provide the
9information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
10an agreement between the municipality and the public utility.
11If the public utility fails to respond to the request for
12information with complete information within the timeline
13established by this Section, the public utility shall be
14liable to the municipality for a penalty of $1,000 for each day
15it fails to produce the requested information. Those penalties
16shall be assessed by the municipality, but may be reduced or
17vacated by the municipality or a court of competent
18jurisdiction upon demonstration by the public utility, by
19clear and convincing evidence, that the public utility's
20failure to provide the requested information within the
21timeline established by this Section resulted from excusable
22neglect. If a public utility receives, during a single month,
23information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the
24aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is
25100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to
26an additional 30 days to respond to those requests.

 

 

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1    (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
2error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the
3public utility, then the municipality must notify the public
4utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant
5to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of
6Rights Act or a lesser period of time from the date the tax was
7due that may be specified in the municipal ordinance imposing
8the tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted
9pursuant to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill
10of Rights Act subject to the timelines set forth in this
11subsection (d). The public utility must submit a written
12response within 60 days after the date the notice was
13postmarked stating that it has corrected the error or stating
14the reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The
15municipality then has 60 days after the receipt of the public
16utility's response to review and contest the conclusion of the
17public utility. If the parties are unable to agree on the
18disposition of the audit findings within 120 days after the
19notification of the error to the public utility, then either
20party may submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section
2140 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If
22the appeals process does not produce a satisfactory result,
23then either party may pursue the alleged error in a court of
24competent jurisdiction. If the municipality prevails and
25receives at least 50% of the relief requested in court, the
26public utility is liable for the attorney's fees and costs of

 

 

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1the municipality.
2    (d-5) If a public utility is liable for any error or errors
3in past tax payments cumulatively in excess of $5,000 that
4were unknown prior to an audit from the municipality, the
5public utility shall reimburse the municipality for the cost
6of the audit in addition to any interest and penalties
7imposed.
8    (e) (Blank). No public utility is liable for any error in
9past collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to
10the audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by
11the public utility in the collection or processing of required
12data and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in
13writing on an accurate and timely basis to any written request
14of the public utility to review and correct information used
15by the public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a
16diligent review of such information by the municipality
17reasonably could have been expected to discover such error.
18If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted
19in a customer, who should not have owed a tax to any
20municipality, having paid a tax to a municipality, then the
21customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the
22Public Utilities Act, recover the tax from the public utility,
23and any amount so paid by the public utility may be deducted by
24that public utility from any taxes then or thereafter owed by
25the public utility to that municipality.
26    (e-5) The public utility shall be liable to the

 

 

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1municipality for all unpaid taxes due during the statutory
2period set forth in Section 30 of the Local Government
3Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, including taxes that the public
4utility failed to properly bill to the customer. To the extent
5that a public utility's errors in past tax collections and
6payments relate to premises located in an area of the
7municipality that was annexed on or after the effective date
8of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, however,
9the public utility shall only be liable for such errors
10beginning 60 days after the date that the municipality
11provided the public utility notice of the annexation, provided
12that the public utility provides municipalities with an e-mail
13address to send annexation notices and the municipality
14notified the utility within 60 days after the annexation. A
15copy of the annexation ordinance and the map provided to the
16recorder of the county under this Act sent to the e-mail
17address provided by the public utility shall be deemed
18sufficient notice, but other forms of notice may also be
19sufficient.
20    (f) All premises-specific account specific information
21provided by a public utility under this Section may be used
22only for the purpose of an audit of taxes conducted under this
23Section and the enforcement of any related tax claim. All such
24information must be held in strict confidence by the
25municipality and its agents and may not be disclosed to the
26public under the Freedom of Information Act or under any other

 

 

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1similar statutes allowing for or requiring public disclosure.
2    (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
3as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
4municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
5    (g-5) As used in this Section:
6    "Customer-specific information" means the name, phone
7number, e-mail address, and banking information of a customer,
8but specifically excludes the customer's tax exempt status.
9    "Premises-specific information" means any information,
10including billing, usage, and load shape data, associated with
11a premises address but not with customer-specific information.
12    (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having
13a population greater than 1,000,000.
14(Source: P.A. 96-1422, eff. 8-3-10.)
 
15    Section 15. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
16changing Section 16-122 and by adding Section 9-224.1 as
17follows:
 
18    (220 ILCS 5/9-224.1 new)
19    Sec. 9-224.1. Audit compliance; municipal fines. For the
20purpose of determining any rate or charge, the Commission
21shall not consider the following costs as an expense of any
22public utility company, including any allocation of those
23costs to the public utility from an affiliate or corporate
24parent: (i) any court costs, attorney's fees, or other fees

 

 

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1incurred under subsection (d) of Section 8-11-2.5 of the
2Illinois Municipal Code; or (ii) any penalties or interest
3imposed by a municipality under Section 8-11-2.5 of the
4Illinois Municipal Code.
 
5    (220 ILCS 5/16-122)
6    Sec. 16-122. Customer information.
7    (a) Upon the request of a retail customer, or a person who
8presents verifiable authorization and is acting as the
9customer's agent, and payment of a reasonable fee, electric
10utilities shall provide to the customer or its authorized
11agent the customer's billing and usage data.
12    (b) Upon request from any alternative retail electric
13supplier and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility
14serving retail customers in its service area shall make
15available generic information concerning the usage, load shape
16curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate
17classification. Provided however, no customer specific
18billing, usage or load shape data shall be provided under this
19subsection unless authorization to provide such information is
20provided by the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this
21Section.
22    (c) Upon request from a unit of local government and
23payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility shall make
24available information concerning the usage, load shape curves,
25and other characteristics of customers by customer

 

 

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1classification and location within the boundaries of the unit
2of local government, however, no customer specific billing,
3usage, or load shape data shall be provided under this
4subsection unless authorization to provide that information is
5provided by the customer or the unit of local government is
6requesting the information for the purposes of an audit under
7Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
8    (d) All such customer information shall be made available
9in a timely fashion in an electronic format, if available.
10(Source: P.A. 92-585, eff. 6-26-02.)