Rep. Robert Rita
Filed: 11/30/2016
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2814
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2814, AS AMENDED, | ||||||
3 | by inserting the following Section in its proper numeric | ||||||
4 | sequence as follows:
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5 | "Section 85. The Public Utilities Act is amended by | ||||||
6 | changing Section 2-202 as follows:
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7 | (220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
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8 | Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.
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9 | (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State | ||||||
10 | that
in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation | ||||||
11 | of public
utilities under this Act in the interests of the | ||||||
12 | People of the State of
Illinois and the public utilities as | ||||||
13 | well, the public utilities subject
to regulation under this Act | ||||||
14 | and which enjoy the privilege of operating
as public utilities | ||||||
15 | in this State, shall bear the expense of
administering this Act | ||||||
16 | by means of a tax on such privilege measured by the
annual |
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1 | gross revenue of such public utilities in the manner provided | ||||||
2 | in
this Section. For purposes of this Section, "expense of
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3 | administering this Act" includes any costs incident to studies, | ||||||
4 | whether
made by the Commission or under contract entered into | ||||||
5 | by the Commission,
concerning environmental pollution problems | ||||||
6 | caused or contributed to by
public utilities and the means for | ||||||
7 | eliminating or abating those
problems. Such proceeds shall be | ||||||
8 | deposited in the Public Utility Fund in
the State treasury.
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9 | (b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
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10 | Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be | ||||||
11 | paid out
of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of | ||||||
12 | the members of the
Commission which shall be paid from the | ||||||
13 | General Revenue Fund.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this | ||||||
14 | Act to the contrary, the
ordinary and contingent expenses of | ||||||
15 | the Commission incident to the
administration of the Illinois | ||||||
16 | Commercial Transportation Law may be paid
from appropriations | ||||||
17 | from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal
year | ||||||
18 | 1986.
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19 | (c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to | ||||||
20 | the
provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue | ||||||
21 | for each
calendar year commencing with the calendar year | ||||||
22 | beginning January 1, 1982,
except that the Commission may, by | ||||||
23 | rule, establish a different rate no
greater than 0.1%.
For | ||||||
24 | purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include
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25 | revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale,
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26 | delivery, or furnishing of electricity.
"Gross revenue" shall |
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1 | not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers
under | ||||||
2 | the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
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3 | (d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in | ||||||
4 | accordance with
paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
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5 | (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this | ||||||
6 | subsection (d), on
or before January 10 of each year each | ||||||
7 | public utility
subject to the provisions of this Act shall | ||||||
8 | file with the Commission an
estimated annual gross revenue | ||||||
9 | return containing an estimate of the amount
of its gross | ||||||
10 | revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said
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11 | year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said | ||||||
12 | calendar year on the
basis of that estimate. Public | ||||||
13 | utilities may also file revised returns
containing updated | ||||||
14 | estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the
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15 | calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form | ||||||
16 | the basis for
quarterly payments due during the remainder | ||||||
17 | of the calendar year. In
addition, on or before March 31 of | ||||||
18 | each year, each public
utility shall
file an amended return | ||||||
19 | showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown by
the | ||||||
20 | company's books and records as of December 31 of the | ||||||
21 | previous year.
Forms and instructions for such estimated, | ||||||
22 | revised, and amended returns
shall be devised and supplied | ||||||
23 | by the Commission.
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24 | (2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002, | ||||||
25 | the
requirements of paragraph (1) of
this subsection (d) | ||||||
26 | shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year
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1 | for which the total tax the public utility owes under this | ||||||
2 | Section is less than
$10,000. For such public utilities | ||||||
3 | with respect to such years,
the public
utility shall file | ||||||
4 | with the Commission, on or before March 31
of the
following | ||||||
5 | year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a | ||||||
6 | statement of
the amount of tax due for that year on the | ||||||
7 | basis of such a return. Forms and
instructions for such | ||||||
8 | returns and corrected returns shall be devised and
supplied | ||||||
9 | by the Commission.
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10 | (e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public | ||||||
11 | utility as
provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d) of | ||||||
12 | this Section shall contain
or be verified by a written | ||||||
13 | declaration by an appropriate officer of the public
utility | ||||||
14 | that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The | ||||||
15 | Commission
may audit each such return submitted and may, under | ||||||
16 | the provisions of Section
5-101 of this Act, take such measures | ||||||
17 | as are necessary to ascertain the
correctness of the returns | ||||||
18 | submitted. The Commission has the power to direct
the filing of | ||||||
19 | a corrected return by any utility which has filed an incorrect
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20 | return and to direct the filing of a return by any utility | ||||||
21 | which has failed to
submit a return. A taxpayer's signing a | ||||||
22 | fraudulent return under this Section
is perjury, as defined in | ||||||
23 | Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
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24 | (f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1) | ||||||
25 | of
subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of | ||||||
26 | tax due
under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on |
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1 | or before the tenth day
of January, April, July, and October of | ||||||
2 | the calendar year subject to tax. In
the event that an | ||||||
3 | adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
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4 | result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under | ||||||
5 | subsection (d) or
subsection (e) of this Section, the amount of | ||||||
6 | any deficiency shall be paid by
the public utility together | ||||||
7 | with the amended or corrected return and the amount
of any | ||||||
8 | excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the | ||||||
9 | public
utility, be returned to the public utility in the form | ||||||
10 | of a credit memorandum
in the amount of such excess or be | ||||||
11 | refunded to the public utility in accordance
with the | ||||||
12 | provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such
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13 | deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility | ||||||
14 | need not pay the
deficiency and may not claim a credit.
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15 | (2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of | ||||||
16 | subsection (d)
shall pay the amount of tax due under subsection | ||||||
17 | (c) on or before March
31 next following the end of the | ||||||
18 | calendar year subject to tax. In the
event that an adjustment | ||||||
19 | in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
result of the | ||||||
20 | filing of a corrected return under subsection (e), the amount
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21 | of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility at the | ||||||
22 | time the
corrected return is filed. Any excess tax payment by | ||||||
23 | the public utility shall
be returned to it after the filing of | ||||||
24 | a claim for credit, in the form of a
credit memorandum in the | ||||||
25 | amount of the excess. However, if such deficiency or
excess is | ||||||
26 | less than $1, the public utility need not pay the deficiency |
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1 | and may
not claim a credit.
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2 | (g) Each installment or required payment of the tax imposed | ||||||
3 | by
subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of the date | ||||||
4 | that it is due.
Failure to make a payment as required by this | ||||||
5 | Section shall result in the
imposition of a late payment | ||||||
6 | penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both,
as provided by | ||||||
7 | this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be the
greater | ||||||
8 | of:
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9 | (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | ||||||
10 | installment or
required payment is unpaid or
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11 | (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | ||||||
12 | should have been paid
on the due date, based upon the most | ||||||
13 | recently filed estimated, annual, or
amended return, and | ||||||
14 | what was
actually paid, times 1%, for each month or portion | ||||||
15 | of a
month that
the installment or required payment goes | ||||||
16 | unpaid. This penalty may be
assessed as soon as the | ||||||
17 | installment or required payment becomes delinquent.
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18 | The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public | ||||||
19 | utilities
subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall | ||||||
20 | be calculated after
the filing of the amended return. It shall | ||||||
21 | be imposed if the amount actually
paid on any of the dates | ||||||
22 | specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least
one-fourth | ||||||
23 | of the amount actually due for the year, and shall equal the | ||||||
24 | greater
of:
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25 | (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | ||||||
26 | amount due is unpaid
or
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1 | (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | ||||||
2 | should have been
paid, based on the amended return, and | ||||||
3 | what was actually paid as of the
date specified in | ||||||
4 | subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the
sum | ||||||
5 | of 10% and the percentage most recently established by the | ||||||
6 | Commission
for interest to be paid on customer deposits | ||||||
7 | under 83 Ill. Adm. Code
280.70(e)(1), for each month or | ||||||
8 | portion of a month that the amount due goes
unpaid, except | ||||||
9 | that no underestimation penalty shall be assessed if the
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10 | amount actually paid on or before each of the dates | ||||||
11 | specified in subsection
(f) was
based on an estimate of | ||||||
12 | gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross
revenues | ||||||
13 | for the previous year. The Commission may enforce the | ||||||
14 | collection
of any delinquent installment or payment, or | ||||||
15 | portion thereof by legal
action or in any other manner by | ||||||
16 | which the collection of debts due the
State of Illinois may | ||||||
17 | be enforced under the laws of this State. The
executive | ||||||
18 | director or his designee may excuse the payment of an
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19 | assessed penalty or a portion of an assessed penalty if he | ||||||
20 | determines that
enforced collection of the penalty as | ||||||
21 | assessed
would be unjust.
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22 | (h) All sums collected by the Commission under the | ||||||
23 | provisions of
this Section shall be paid promptly after the | ||||||
24 | receipt of the same, accompanied
by a detailed statement | ||||||
25 | thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State
treasury.
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26 | (i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year |
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1 | the
Commission shall:
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2 | (1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in the | ||||||
3 | Public Utility
Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium | ||||||
4 | plus the balance, if any, in that
fund at the beginning of | ||||||
5 | that biennium;
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6 | (2) determine the sum total of the following items: (A) | ||||||
7 | all moneys
expended or obligated against appropriations | ||||||
8 | made from the Public Utility
Fund during the preceding | ||||||
9 | fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the credit
memoranda | ||||||
10 | then outstanding against the Public Utility Fund, if any; | ||||||
11 | and
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12 | (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum | ||||||
13 | determined as
provided in item (1) exceeds the amount | ||||||
14 | determined as provided in item (2).
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15 | If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this | ||||||
16 | subsection exceeds
50% of the previous fiscal year's | ||||||
17 | appropriation level, the Commission shall then compute the
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18 | proportionate amount, if
any, which (x) the tax paid hereunder | ||||||
19 | by each utility during the preceding
biennium, and (y) the | ||||||
20 | amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the
preceding | ||||||
21 | biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Sections 2-9 | ||||||
22 | and
2-11
of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears to the | ||||||
23 | difference between the amount
determined as
provided in item | ||||||
24 | (3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal | ||||||
25 | year's appropriation level.
The
Commission
shall cause the | ||||||
26 | proportionate amount determined with respect to payments
made |
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1 | under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be transferred into the | ||||||
2 | General
Revenue Fund in the State Treasury, and notify each
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3 | public utility that it may file during the 3 month period after | ||||||
4 | the date of
notification a claim for credit for the | ||||||
5 | proportionate amount
determined with respect to payments made | ||||||
6 | hereunder by the public utility.
If the
proportionate amount is | ||||||
7 | less than $10, no notification will be sent by the
Commission, | ||||||
8 | and no right to a claim exists as to that amount. Upon the
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9 | filing of a claim for credit within the period provided, the | ||||||
10 | Commission
shall issue a credit memorandum in such amount to | ||||||
11 | such public utility. Any
claim for credit filed after the | ||||||
12 | period provided for in this Section is void.
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13 | (i-5) During the month of October of each year the | ||||||
14 | Commission shall: | ||||||
15 | (1) determine the amount of all moneys expected to be | ||||||
16 | deposited in the Public Utility Fund during the current | ||||||
17 | fiscal year, plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the | ||||||
18 | beginning of that year; | ||||||
19 | (2) determine the total of all moneys expected to be | ||||||
20 | expended or obligated against appropriations made from the | ||||||
21 | Public Utility Fund during the current fiscal year; and | ||||||
22 | (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the amount | ||||||
23 | determined in paragraph (2) exceeds the amount determined | ||||||
24 | as provided in paragraph (1). | ||||||
25 | If the amount determined as provided in paragraph (3) of | ||||||
26 | this subsection (i-5) results in a deficit, the Commission may |
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1 | assess electric utilities and gas utilities for the difference | ||||||
2 | between the amount appropriated for the ordinary and contingent | ||||||
3 | expenses of the Commission and the amount derived under | ||||||
4 | paragraph (1) of this subsection (i-5). Such proceeds shall be | ||||||
5 | deposited in the Public Utility Fund in
the State treasury. The | ||||||
6 | Commission shall apportion that difference among those public | ||||||
7 | utilities on the basis of each utility's share of the total | ||||||
8 | intrastate gross revenues of the utilities subject to this | ||||||
9 | subsection (i-5). Payments required under this subsection | ||||||
10 | (i-5) shall be made in the time and manner directed by the | ||||||
11 | Commission. The Commission shall permit utilities to recover | ||||||
12 | Illinois Commerce Commission assessments effective pursuant to | ||||||
13 | this subsection through an automatic adjustment mechanism that | ||||||
14 | is incorporated into an existing tariff that recovers costs | ||||||
15 | associated with this Section, or through a supplemental | ||||||
16 | customer charge. | ||||||
17 | Within 6 months after the first time assessments are made | ||||||
18 | under this subsection (i-5), the Commission shall initiate a | ||||||
19 | docketed proceeding in which it shall consider, in addition to | ||||||
20 | assessments from electric and gas utilities subject to this | ||||||
21 | subsection, the raising of assessments from, or the payment of | ||||||
22 | fees by, water and sewer utilities, entities possessing | ||||||
23 | certificates of service authority as alternative retail | ||||||
24 | electric suppliers under Section 16-115 of this Act, entities | ||||||
25 | possessing certificates of service authority as alternative | ||||||
26 | gas suppliers under Section 19-110 of this Act, and |
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1 | telecommunications carriers providing local exchange | ||||||
2 | telecommunications service or interexchange telecommunications | ||||||
3 | service under sections 13-204 or 13-205 of this Act. The | ||||||
4 | amounts so determined shall be based on the costs to the agency | ||||||
5 | of the exercise of its regulatory and supervisory functions | ||||||
6 | with regard to the different industries and service providers | ||||||
7 | subject to the proceeding. No less often than every 3 years | ||||||
8 | after the end of a proceeding under this subsection (i-5), the | ||||||
9 | Commission shall initiate another proceeding for that purpose. | ||||||
10 | The Commission may use this apportionment method until the | ||||||
11 | docketed proceeding in which the Commission considers the | ||||||
12 | raising of assessments from other entities subject to its | ||||||
13 | jurisdiction under this Act has concluded. No credit memoranda | ||||||
14 | shall be issued pursuant to subsection (i) if the amount | ||||||
15 | determined as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection | ||||||
16 | (i-5) results in a deficit. | ||||||
17 | (j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f)
and | ||||||
18 | credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant | ||||||
19 | to
subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the | ||||||
20 | date of issuance,
against the payment of any amount due during | ||||||
21 | that period under
the tax imposed by subsection (c), or, | ||||||
22 | subject to reasonable rule of the
Commission including | ||||||
23 | requirement of notification, may be assigned to any
other | ||||||
24 | public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any | ||||||
25 | application
of credit memoranda after the period provided for | ||||||
26 | in this Section is void.
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1 | (k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of | ||||||
2 | fees, taxes or
other charges whenever he shall determine that | ||||||
3 | the person or public utility
will not be liable for payment of | ||||||
4 | such fees, taxes or charges during the
next 24 months and he | ||||||
5 | determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum
would be | ||||||
6 | unjust.
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7 | (Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)".
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