Full Text of SB2612 96th General Assembly
SB2612enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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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 | 5 |
| 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. | 8 |
| (a) A municipality may conduct an audit of fees under this | 9 |
| Act to determine the accuracy of the fees paid by an | 10 |
| electricity deliverer.
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| (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that | 12 |
| has imposed a fee under this Law may, subject to the | 13 |
| limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the | 14 |
| Public Utilities Act, request any information from an | 15 |
| electricity deliverer that the municipality reasonably | 16 |
| requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The | 17 |
| information that may be requested by the municipality includes, | 18 |
| without limitation: | 19 |
| (1) in an electronic format, the database used by the | 20 |
| electricity deliverer to determine the amount due to the | 21 |
| municipality; provided, however, that, if the municipality | 22 |
| has requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load | 23 |
| shape data from an electricity deliverer that is an |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| electric utility and has not provided the electric utility | 2 |
| with the verifiable authorization required by Section | 3 |
| 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric | 4 |
| utility shall remove from the database all | 5 |
| customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data | 6 |
| before providing it to the municipality; and | 7 |
| (2) in a format used by the public utility in the | 8 |
| ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by | 9 |
| the municipality, to determine the unit consumption by | 10 |
| providing the gross kilowatt-hours or other units of | 11 |
| measurement subject to the fee imposed by this Law within | 12 |
| the municipal jurisdiction. | 13 |
| (c) Each electricity deliverer must provide the | 14 |
| information requested under subsection (b) within: | 15 |
| (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the | 16 |
| population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or | 17 |
| less; or | 18 |
| (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the | 19 |
| population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000. | 20 |
| The time in which an electricity deliverer must provide the | 21 |
| information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by | 22 |
| an agreement between the municipality and the electricity | 23 |
| deliverer. If an electricity deliverer receives, during a | 24 |
| single month, information requests from more than 2 | 25 |
| municipalities, or the aggregate population of the requesting | 26 |
| municipalities is 100,000 customers or more, the electricity |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| deliverer is entitled to an additional 30 days to respond to | 2 |
| those requests. | 3 |
| (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an | 4 |
| error by the electricity deliverer in the amount of fees | 5 |
| collected or paid by the electricity deliverer, then the | 6 |
| municipality must notify the electricity deliverer of the | 7 |
| error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant to Section 30 of | 8 |
| the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act or a lesser | 9 |
| period of time from the date the fee was due that may be | 10 |
| specified in the municipal ordinance imposing the fee. Upon | 11 |
| such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant to Section | 12 |
| 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act | 13 |
| subject to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d). The | 14 |
| electricity deliverer must submit a written response within 60 | 15 |
| days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it | 16 |
| has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is | 17 |
| inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days | 18 |
| after the receipt of the electricity deliverer's response to | 19 |
| review and contest the conclusion of the electricity deliverer. | 20 |
| If the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the | 21 |
| audit findings within 120 days after the notification of the | 22 |
| error to the electricity deliverer, then either party may | 23 |
| submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the | 24 |
| Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals | 25 |
| process does not produce a satisfactory result, then either | 26 |
| party may pursue the alleged error in a court of competent |
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| jurisdiction. | 2 |
| (e) Electricity deliverers and municipalities are not | 3 |
| liable for any error in past collections and payments that was | 4 |
| unknown to either the electricity deliverer or the municipality | 5 |
| prior to the audit process unless the error was due to | 6 |
| negligence in the collection or processing of required data. | 7 |
| If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted | 8 |
| in a customer, who should not have owed a fee to any | 9 |
| municipality, having paid a fee to a municipality, then the | 10 |
| customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the | 11 |
| Public Utilities Act, recover the fee from the electricity | 12 |
| deliverer, and any amount so paid by the electricity deliverer | 13 |
| may be deducted by that electricity deliverer from any fees or | 14 |
| taxes then or thereafter owed by the electricity deliverer to | 15 |
| that municipality. | 16 |
| (f) All account specific information provided by an | 17 |
| electricity deliverer under this Section may be used only for | 18 |
| the purpose of an audit of fees conducted under this Section | 19 |
| and the enforcement of any related claim. All such information | 20 |
| must be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its | 21 |
| agents and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom | 22 |
| of Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing | 23 |
| for or requiring public disclosure. | 24 |
| (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed | 25 |
| as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a | 26 |
| municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector. |
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| (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having | 2 |
| a population greater than 1,000,000. | 3 |
| Section 10. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights | 4 |
| 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 | 8 |
| provision of any tax ordinance imposed by a unit of local
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| government, as defined in this Act, in Illinois , including | 10 |
| without limitation any tax authorized under Section 8-11-2 of | 11 |
| the Illinois Municipal Code .
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| Consistent with the limitations provided by this Act, a | 13 |
| municipality, other than a municipality having a population | 14 |
| greater than 1,000,000, may not impose any penalty with respect | 15 |
| to a tax authorized by Section 8-11-2 of the Illinois Municipal | 16 |
| Code or with respect to an audit authorized by Section 8-11-2.5 | 17 |
| of the Illinois Municipal Code, except as specified in Sections | 18 |
| 50, 55, and 60 of this Act. | 19 |
| This Act is a denial and limitation of home rule powers
and | 20 |
| functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article
VII of | 21 |
| 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 | 2 |
| treated by officers, employees, and agents of the local
tax | 3 |
| administrator with courtesy, fairness, uniformity,
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| consistency, and common sense. This Section applies to any | 5 |
| audit of a tax imposed by a unit of local government other than | 6 |
| a municipality having a population greater than 1,000,000, | 7 |
| except to the extent otherwise provided in Section 8-11-2.5 of | 8 |
| the Illinois Municipal Code. Taxpayers must be notified in
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| writing by the local jurisdiction of a proposed audit of the | 10 |
| taxpayer's books and
records clearly identifying who will be | 11 |
| conducting the audit. For audits being conducted by third-party | 12 |
| providers, the local jurisdiction must provide written | 13 |
| authorization for the third-party provider to review the books | 14 |
| and records of the taxpayer. No contact may be made by the | 15 |
| third-party provider until the local-jurisdiction | 16 |
| authorization is received by the taxpayer . The notice of audit | 17 |
| must specify the tax and time
period to be audited and must | 18 |
| detail the minimum
documentation or books and records to be | 19 |
| made available to
the auditor. Audits must be held only during | 20 |
| reasonable
times of the day and, unless impracticable, at times | 21 |
| agreed
to by the taxpayer. The auditor must sign a | 22 |
| confidentiality agreement upon request by the taxpayer. Upon | 23 |
| the completion of the audit, the local jurisdiction must issue | 24 |
| an audit closure report to the taxpayer with the results of the | 25 |
| audit. An auditor who determines that there has
been an | 26 |
| 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 | 2 |
| taxpayer can take the necessary steps to recover the
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| overpayment. If the overpayment is the result of the | 4 |
| application
of some or all of the taxpayer's tax payment to an | 5 |
| incorrect
local government entity, then upon request by a unit | 6 |
| of local government, the audit information must be given to any | 7 |
| unit of local government that may be affected by an overpayment | 8 |
| the auditor must notify the correct
local government entity of | 9 |
| 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 | 12 |
| 5-1095.1 as follows: | 13 |
| (55 ILCS 5/5-1095.1 new)
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| Sec. 5-1095.1. County franchise fee review; requests for | 15 |
| information. | 16 |
| (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community | 17 |
| antenna television system (CATV) operator, a county imposes a | 18 |
| franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the county may | 19 |
| conduct an audit of that CATV operator's franchise fees derived | 20 |
| from the provision of cable and video services to subscribers | 21 |
| within the franchise area to determine whether the amount of | 22 |
| franchise fees paid by that CATV operator to the county was | 23 |
| accurate. Any audit conducted under this subsection (a) shall | 24 |
| 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 | 2 |
| operator is limited to the net difference. | 3 |
| (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a county that has | 4 |
| imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may, | 5 |
| subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local | 6 |
| Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information | 7 |
| from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV | 8 |
| operator in the ordinary course of its business that the county | 9 |
| reasonably requires in order to perform an audit under | 10 |
| subsection (a). The information that may be requested by the | 11 |
| county includes without limitation the following: | 12 |
| (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator | 13 |
| in the ordinary course of its business, the database used | 14 |
| by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the | 15 |
| franchise fee due to the county; and | 16 |
| (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the | 17 |
| ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by | 18 |
| the county, to determine the CATV operator's franchise fees | 19 |
| derived from the provision of cable and video services to | 20 |
| subscribers within the CATV operator's franchise area. | 21 |
| (c) The CATV operator must provide the information | 22 |
| requested under subsection (b) within: | 23 |
| (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the | 24 |
| population of the requesting county is 500,000 or less; or | 25 |
| (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the | 26 |
| population of the requesting county exceeds 500,000. |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| The time in which a CATV operator must provide the | 2 |
| information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by | 3 |
| an agreement between the county and the CATV operator. | 4 |
| (d) If an audit by the county or its agents finds an error | 5 |
| by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees paid | 6 |
| by the CATV operator to the county, then the county may notify | 7 |
| the CATV operator of the error. Any such notice must be given | 8 |
| to the CATV operator by the county within 90 days after the | 9 |
| county discovers the error, and no later than 4 years after the | 10 |
| date the franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV | 11 |
| operator must submit a written response within 60 days after | 12 |
| receipt of the notice stating that the CATV operator has | 13 |
| corrected the error on a prospective basis or stating the | 14 |
| reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The county | 15 |
| then has 60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's | 16 |
| response to review and contest the conclusion of the CATV | 17 |
| operator. No legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based | 18 |
| upon an alleged error shall be commenced unless within 180 days | 19 |
| after the county's notification of the error to the CATV | 20 |
| operator the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of | 21 |
| the audit findings. | 22 |
| (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past | 23 |
| franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator | 24 |
| prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to | 25 |
| negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection | 26 |
| 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 | 2 |
| request of the CATV operator to review and correct information | 3 |
| used by the CATV operator to calculate the appropriate | 4 |
| franchise fees if a diligent review of such information by the | 5 |
| county reasonably could have been expected to discover such | 6 |
| error. | 7 |
| (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV | 8 |
| operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of | 9 |
| an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of | 10 |
| any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must | 11 |
| be held in strict confidence by the county and its agents and | 12 |
| may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of | 13 |
| Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing | 14 |
| for or requiring public disclosure. | 15 |
| (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means | 16 |
| a person or entity that provides cable and video services under | 17 |
| a franchise agreement with a county pursuant to Section 5-1095 | 18 |
| of the Counties Code and a holder authorized under Section | 19 |
| 21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 as | 20 |
| consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law. | 21 |
| (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was | 22 |
| commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit | 23 |
| that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory | 24 |
| Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not | 25 |
| apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before | 26 |
| the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit | 2 |
| provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures. | 3 |
| (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed | 4 |
| as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a | 5 |
| county, taxpayer, or tax collector. | 6 |
| (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the | 7 |
| payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete | 8 |
| audit. | 9 |
| (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this | 10 |
| amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a county shall | 11 |
| provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses | 12 |
| within the corporate limits of the county and shall annually | 13 |
| update the list. | 14 |
| (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule | 15 |
| powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of | 16 |
| Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. | 17 |
| Section 20. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by | 18 |
| adding Sections 8-11-2.5 and 11-42-11.05 as follows: | 19 |
| (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5 new)
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| Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for | 21 |
| information. | 22 |
| (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section | 23 |
| 8-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax | 24 |
| receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| the tax
or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of | 2 |
| the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that | 3 |
| was paid by the public utility was accurate.
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| (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that | 5 |
| has imposed a tax under this Act may, subject to the | 6 |
| limitations and protections stated in Section 16-122 of the | 7 |
| Public Utilities Act and in the Local Government Taxpayers' | 8 |
| Bill of Rights Act, request any information from a utility in | 9 |
| the format maintained by the public utility in the ordinary | 10 |
| course of its business that the municipality reasonably | 11 |
| requires in order to perform an audit under subsection (a). The | 12 |
| information that may be requested by the municipality includes, | 13 |
| without limitation: | 14 |
| (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility | 15 |
| in the ordinary course of its business, the database used | 16 |
| by the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to | 17 |
| the municipality; provided, however, that, if the | 18 |
| municipality has requested customer-specific billing, | 19 |
| usage, and load shape data from a public utility that is an | 20 |
| electric utility and has not provided the electric utility | 21 |
| with the verifiable authorization required by Section | 22 |
| 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act, then the electric | 23 |
| utility shall remove from the database all | 24 |
| customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape data | 25 |
| before providing it to the municipality; and | 26 |
| (2) in a format used by the public utility in the |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by | 2 |
| the municipality, to determine the unit consumption of | 3 |
| utility services by providing the gross therms, kilowatts, | 4 |
| minutes, or other units of measurement being taxed within | 5 |
| the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues | 6 |
| collected and the associated taxes assessed. | 7 |
| (c) Each public utility must provide the information | 8 |
| requested under subsection (b) within: | 9 |
| (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the | 10 |
| population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or | 11 |
| less; or | 12 |
| (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the | 13 |
| population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000. | 14 |
| The time in which a public utility must provide the | 15 |
| information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by | 16 |
| an agreement between the municipality and the public utility. | 17 |
| If a public utility receives, during a single month, | 18 |
| information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the | 19 |
| aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is | 20 |
| 100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to an | 21 |
| additional 30 days to respond to those requests. | 22 |
| (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an | 23 |
| error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the | 24 |
| public utility, then the municipality must notify the public | 25 |
| utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant | 26 |
| to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| Act or
a lesser period of time from the date the tax was due | 2 |
| that may be specified in the municipal
ordinance imposing the | 3 |
| tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted pursuant | 4 |
| to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights | 5 |
| Act subject to the timelines set forth in this subsection (d). | 6 |
| The public utility must submit a written response within 60 | 7 |
| days after the date the notice was postmarked stating that it | 8 |
| has corrected the error or stating the reason that the error is | 9 |
| inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has 60 days | 10 |
| after the receipt of the public utility's response to review | 11 |
| and contest the conclusion of the public utility. If the | 12 |
| parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit | 13 |
| findings within 120 days after the notification of the error to | 14 |
| the public utility, then either party may submit the matter for | 15 |
| appeal as outlined in Section 40 of the Local Government | 16 |
| Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If the appeals process does not | 17 |
| produce a satisfactory result, then either party may pursue the | 18 |
| alleged error in a court of competent jurisdiction. | 19 |
| (e) No public utility is liable for any error in past | 20 |
| collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to the | 21 |
| audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by the | 22 |
| public utility in the collection or processing of required data | 23 |
| and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in writing | 24 |
| on an accurate and timely basis to any written request of the | 25 |
| public utility to review and correct information used by the | 26 |
| public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a diligent |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| review of such information by the municipality reasonably could | 2 |
| have been expected to discover such error. If, however, an | 3 |
| error in past collections or payments resulted in a customer, | 4 |
| who should not have owed a tax to any municipality, having paid | 5 |
| a tax to a municipality, then the customer may, to the extent | 6 |
| allowed by Section 9-252 of the Public Utilities Act, recover | 7 |
| the tax from the public utility, and any amount so paid by the | 8 |
| public utility may be deducted by that public utility from any | 9 |
| taxes then or thereafter owed by the public utility to that | 10 |
| municipality. | 11 |
| (f) All account specific information provided by a public | 12 |
| utility under this Section may be used only for the purpose of | 13 |
| an audit of taxes conducted under this Section and the | 14 |
| enforcement of any related tax claim. All such information must | 15 |
| be held in strict confidence by the municipality
and its agents | 16 |
| and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of | 17 |
| Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing | 18 |
| for or requiring public disclosure. | 19 |
| (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed | 20 |
| as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a | 21 |
| municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector. | 22 |
| (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having | 23 |
| a population greater than 1,000,000. | 24 |
| (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11.05 new)
| 25 |
| Sec. 11-42-11.05. Municipal franchise fee review; requests |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| for information. | 2 |
| (a) If pursuant to its franchise agreement with a community | 3 |
| antenna television system (CATV) operator, a municipality | 4 |
| imposes a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542, then the | 5 |
| municipality may conduct an audit of that CATV operator's | 6 |
| franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and video | 7 |
| services to subscribers within the franchise area to determine | 8 |
| whether the amount of franchise fees paid by that CATV operator | 9 |
| to the municipality was accurate. Any audit conducted under | 10 |
| this subsection (a) shall determine any overpayment or | 11 |
| underpayment to the municipality by the CATV operator, and the | 12 |
| amount due to the municipality or CATV operator is limited to | 13 |
| the net difference. | 14 |
| (b) Not more than once every 2 years, a municipality that | 15 |
| has imposed a franchise fee authorized by 47 U.S.C. 542 may, | 16 |
| subject to the limitations and protections stated in the Local | 17 |
| Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, request information | 18 |
| from the CATV operator in the format maintained by the CATV | 19 |
| operator in the ordinary course of its business that the | 20 |
| municipality reasonably requires in order to perform an audit | 21 |
| under subsection (a). The information that may be requested by | 22 |
| the municipality includes without limitation the following: | 23 |
| (1) in an electronic format used by the CATV operator | 24 |
| in the ordinary course of its business, the database used | 25 |
| by the CATV operator to determine the amount of the | 26 |
| franchise fee due to the municipality; and |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| (2) in a format used by the CATV operator in the | 2 |
| ordinary course of its business, summary data, as needed by | 3 |
| the municipality, to determine the CATV operator's | 4 |
| franchise fees derived from the provision of cable and | 5 |
| video services to subscribers within the CATV operator's | 6 |
| franchise area. | 7 |
| (c) The CATV operator must provide the information | 8 |
| requested under subsection (b) within: | 9 |
| (1) 60 days after the receipt of the request if the | 10 |
| population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or | 11 |
| less; or | 12 |
| (2) 90 days after the receipt of the request if the | 13 |
| population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000. | 14 |
| The time in which a CATV operator must provide the | 15 |
| information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by | 16 |
| an agreement between the municipality and the CATV operator. | 17 |
| (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an | 18 |
| error by the CATV operator in the amount of the franchise fees | 19 |
| paid by the CATV operator to the municipality, then the | 20 |
| municipality may notify the CATV operator of the error. Any | 21 |
| such notice must be given to the CATV operator by the | 22 |
| municipality within 90 days after the municipality discovers | 23 |
| the error, and no later than 4 years after the date the | 24 |
| franchise fee was due. Upon such a notice, the CATV operator | 25 |
| must submit a written response within 60 days after receipt of | 26 |
| the notice stating that the CATV operator has corrected the |
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SB2612 Enrolled |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| error on a prospective basis or stating the reason that the | 2 |
| error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The municipality then has | 3 |
| 60 days after the receipt of the CATV operator's response to | 4 |
| review and contest the conclusion of the CATV operator. No | 5 |
| legal proceeding to collect a deficiency based upon an alleged | 6 |
| error shall be commenced unless within 180 days after the | 7 |
| municipality's notification of the error to the CATV operator | 8 |
| the parties are unable to agree on the disposition of the audit | 9 |
| findings. | 10 |
| (e) No CATV operator is liable for any error in past | 11 |
| franchise fee payments that was unknown by the CATV operator | 12 |
| prior to the audit process unless (i) the error was due to | 13 |
| negligence on the part of the CATV operator in the collection | 14 |
| or processing of required data and (ii) the municipality had | 15 |
| not failed to respond in writing in a timely manner to any | 16 |
| written request of the CATV operator to review and correct | 17 |
| information used by the CATV operator to calculate the | 18 |
| appropriate franchise fees if a diligent review of such | 19 |
| information by the municipality reasonably could have been | 20 |
| expected to discover such error. | 21 |
| (f) All account specific information provided by a CATV | 22 |
| operator under this Section may be used only for the purpose of | 23 |
| an audit conducted under this Section and the enforcement of | 24 |
| any franchise fee delinquent claim. All such information must | 25 |
| be held in strict confidence by the municipality and its agents | 26 |
| and may not be disclosed to the public under the Freedom of |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| Information Act or under any other similar statutes allowing | 2 |
| for or requiring public disclosure. | 3 |
| (g) For the purposes of this Section, "CATV operator" means | 4 |
| a person or entity that provides cable and video services under | 5 |
| a franchise agreement with a municipality pursuant to Section | 6 |
| 11-42-11 of the Municipal Code and a holder authorized under | 7 |
| Section 21-401 of the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007 | 8 |
| as consistent with Section 21-901 of that Law. | 9 |
| (h) This Section does not apply to any action that was | 10 |
| commenced, to any complaint that was filed, or to any audit | 11 |
| that was commenced before the effective date of this amendatory | 12 |
| Act of the 96th General Assembly. This Section also does not | 13 |
| apply to any franchise agreement that was entered into before | 14 |
| the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General | 15 |
| Assembly unless the franchise agreement contains audit | 16 |
| provisions but no specifics regarding audit procedures. | 17 |
| (i) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed | 18 |
| as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a | 19 |
| municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector. | 20 |
| (j) If a contingent fee is paid to an auditor, then the | 21 |
| payment must be based upon the net difference of the complete | 22 |
| audit. | 23 |
| (k) Within 90 days after the effective date of this | 24 |
| amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, a municipality | 25 |
| shall provide to any CATV operator a complete list of addresses | 26 |
| within the corporate limits of the municipality and shall |
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LRB096 13422 RLJ 28151 b |
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| annually update the list. | 2 |
| (l) This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule | 3 |
| powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of | 4 |
| Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. | 5 |
| (m) This Section does not apply to any municipality having | 6 |
| a population of more than 1,000,000.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 |
| becoming law.
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