Full Text of HB0731 102nd General Assembly
HB0731sam002 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Laura M. Murphy Filed: 5/31/2021
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 731
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 731, AS AMENDED, by | 3 | | replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | 4 | | following:
| 5 | | "Section 5. The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights | 6 | | Act is amended by changing Section 30 as follows:
| 7 | | (50 ILCS 45/30)
| 8 | | Sec. 30. Statute of limitations. Units of local
government | 9 | | have an obligation to review tax returns in a
timely manner and | 10 | | issue any determination of tax due as
promptly as possible so | 11 | | that taxpayers may make timely
corrections of future returns | 12 | | and minimize any interest
charges applied to tax | 13 | | underpayments. Each unit of local
government must provide | 14 | | appropriate statutes of limitation
for the determination and | 15 | | assessment of taxes covered by this
Act, provided, however, | 16 | | that a statute of limitations may not
exceed the following:
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| 1 | | (1) For utility taxes, no No notice of determination | 2 | | of tax due or
assessment may be issued more than 7 4 years | 3 | | after the end
of the calendar year for which the return for | 4 | | the period
was filed or the end of the calendar year in | 5 | | which the
return for the period was due, whichever occurs | 6 | | later. An audit or review that is timely performed under | 7 | | Section 35 of this Act or Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois | 8 | | Municipal Code shall toll this 7-year period.
| 9 | | (1.5) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), no | 10 | | notice of determination of tax due or
assessment may be | 11 | | issued more than 4 years after the end
of the calendar year | 12 | | for which the return for the period
was filed or the end of | 13 | | the calendar year in which the
return for the period was | 14 | | due, whichever occurs later.
| 15 | | (2) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), if | 16 | | If any tax return was not filed or if during
any 4-year | 17 | | period for which a notice of tax determination
or | 18 | | assessment may be issued by the unit of local
government | 19 | | the tax paid or remitted was less than 75% of
the tax due | 20 | | for that period, the statute of limitations
shall be no | 21 | | more than 6 years after the end of the
calendar year in | 22 | | which the return for the period was due
or the end of the | 23 | | calendar year in which the return for
the period was | 24 | | filed, whichever occurs later.
In the event that a unit of | 25 | | local government fails to
provide a statute of | 26 | | limitations, the maximum statutory
period provided in this |
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| 1 | | Section applies.
| 2 | | (3) The changes to this Section made by this | 3 | | amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly do not revive | 4 | | any determination and assessment of tax due where the | 5 | | statute of limitations has expired, but do extend the | 6 | | current statute of limitations for the determination and | 7 | | assessment of taxes that have not yet expired. | 8 | | This Section does not place any limitation on a unit of
| 9 | | local government if a fraudulent tax return is filed.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
| 11 | | Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by | 12 | | changing Section 8-11-2.5 as follows: | 13 | | (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5)
| 14 | | Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for | 15 | | information. | 16 | | (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section | 17 | | 8-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax | 18 | | receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to | 19 | | the tax
or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of | 20 | | the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that | 21 | | was paid by the public utility was accurate.
| 22 | | (b) Not more than once annually every 2 years , a | 23 | | municipality that has imposed a tax under this Act may, | 24 | | subject to the limitations and protections stated in Section |
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| 1 | | 16-122 of the Public Utilities Act and in the Local Government | 2 | | Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, make a written request via | 3 | | e-mail to an e-mail address provided by the utility for any | 4 | | information from a utility in the format maintained by the | 5 | | public utility in the ordinary course of its business that the | 6 | | municipality reasonably requires in order to perform an audit | 7 | | under subsection (a). The information that may be requested by | 8 | | the municipality includes, without limitation: | 9 | | (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility | 10 | | in the ordinary course of its business, the | 11 | | premises-specific and other information database used by | 12 | | the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to | 13 | | the municipality; provided, however, that a public utility | 14 | | that is an electric utility may not provide | 15 | | customer-specific information , if the municipality has | 16 | | requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape | 17 | | data from a public utility that is an electric utility and | 18 | | has not provided the electric utility with the verifiable | 19 | | authorization required by Section 16-122 of the Public | 20 | | Utilities Act, then the electric utility shall remove from | 21 | | the database all customer-specific billing, usage, and | 22 | | load shape data before providing it to the municipality ; | 23 | | and | 24 | | (2) information related to each premises address that | 25 | | the public utility's records indicate: | 26 | | (A) is located in the municipality; |
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| 1 | | (B) is located in an adjacent unincorporated | 2 | | municipality identified by the requesting | 3 | | municipality; or | 4 | | (C) is located in one of a list of zip codes | 5 | | provided by the requesting municipality that include | 6 | | areas within the requesting municipality's boundaries; | 7 | | and | 8 | | (3) for each address identified in paragraph (2): | 9 | | (A) the premises address and zip code; | 10 | | (B) classification of the premises as designated | 11 | | by the public utility (e.g., residential, commercial, | 12 | | industrial); | 13 | | (C) first date of service; and | 14 | | (D) for each month of service in the current year | 15 | | (up to one month prior to the date of the request by | 16 | | the municipality) and for the previous 10 calendar | 17 | | years: | 18 | | (i) the amount of the utility service used, | 19 | | measured in gross therms, kilowatts, minutes, or | 20 | | other units of measurement; | 21 | | (ii) total taxable charges; | 22 | | (iii) the total tax collected and remitted; | 23 | | (iv) the municipal jurisdiction for tax | 24 | | collection and remittance; and | 25 | | (v) whether the customer is exempt from | 26 | | municipal tax. in a format used by the public |
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| 1 | | utility in the ordinary course of its business, | 2 | | summary data, as needed by the municipality, to | 3 | | determine the unit consumption of utility services | 4 | | by providing the gross therms, kilowatts, minutes, | 5 | | or other units of measurement being taxed within | 6 | | the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues | 7 | | collected and the associated taxes assessed. | 8 | | (c) Each public utility must provide the information | 9 | | requested under subsection (b) within 90 days after the date | 10 | | of the request. : | 11 | | (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the | 12 | | population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or | 13 | | less; or | 14 | | (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the | 15 | | population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000. | 16 | | The time in which a public utility must provide the | 17 | | information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by | 18 | | an agreement between the municipality and the public utility. | 19 | | If the public utility fails to respond to the request for | 20 | | information with complete information within the timeline | 21 | | established by this Section, the public utility shall be | 22 | | liable to the municipality for a penalty of $1,000 for each day | 23 | | it fails to produce the requested information. Those penalties | 24 | | shall be assessed by the municipality, but may be reduced or | 25 | | vacated by the municipality or a court of competent | 26 | | jurisdiction upon demonstration by the public utility, by |
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| 1 | | clear and convincing evidence, that the public utility's | 2 | | failure to provide the requested information within the | 3 | | timeline established by this Section resulted from excusable | 4 | | neglect. If a public utility receives, during a single month, | 5 | | information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the | 6 | | aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is | 7 | | 100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to | 8 | | an additional 30 days to respond to those requests. | 9 | | (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an | 10 | | error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the | 11 | | public utility, then the municipality must notify the public | 12 | | utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant | 13 | | to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of | 14 | | Rights Act or
a lesser period of time from the date the tax was | 15 | | due that may be specified in the municipal
ordinance imposing | 16 | | the tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted | 17 | | pursuant to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill | 18 | | of Rights Act subject to the timelines set forth in this | 19 | | subsection (d). The public utility must submit a written | 20 | | response within 60 days after the date the notice was | 21 | | postmarked stating that it has corrected the error or stating | 22 | | the reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The | 23 | | municipality then has 60 days after the receipt of the public | 24 | | utility's response to review and contest the conclusion of the | 25 | | public utility. If the parties are unable to agree on the | 26 | | disposition of the audit findings within 120 days after the |
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| 1 | | notification of the error to the public utility, then either | 2 | | party may submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section | 3 | | 40 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If | 4 | | the appeals process does not produce a satisfactory result, | 5 | | then either party may pursue the alleged error in a court of | 6 | | competent jurisdiction. If the municipality prevails and | 7 | | receives at least 50% of the relief requested in court, the | 8 | | public utility is liable for the attorney's fees and costs of | 9 | | the municipality. | 10 | | (d-5) If a public utility is liable for any error or errors | 11 | | in past tax payments cumulatively in excess of $5,000 that | 12 | | were unknown prior to an audit from the municipality, the | 13 | | public utility shall reimburse the municipality for the cost | 14 | | of the audit in addition to any interest and penalties | 15 | | imposed. | 16 | | (e) (Blank). No public utility is liable for any error in | 17 | | past collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to | 18 | | the audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by | 19 | | the public utility in the collection or processing of required | 20 | | data and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in | 21 | | writing on an accurate and timely basis to any written request | 22 | | of the public utility to review and correct information used | 23 | | by the public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a | 24 | | diligent review of such information by the municipality | 25 | | reasonably could have been expected to discover such error. | 26 | | If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted |
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| 1 | | in a customer, who should not have owed a tax to any | 2 | | municipality, having paid a tax to a municipality, then the | 3 | | customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the | 4 | | Public Utilities Act, recover the tax from the public utility, | 5 | | and any amount so paid by the public utility may be deducted by | 6 | | that public utility from any taxes then or thereafter owed by | 7 | | the public utility to that municipality. | 8 | | (e-5) The public utility shall be liable to the | 9 | | municipality for all unpaid taxes due during the statutory | 10 | | period set forth in Section 30 of the Local Government | 11 | | Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, including taxes that the public | 12 | | utility failed to properly bill to the customer. To the extent | 13 | | that a public utility's errors in past tax collections and | 14 | | payments relate to premises located in an area of the | 15 | | municipality that was annexed on or after the effective date | 16 | | of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, however, | 17 | | the public utility shall only be liable for such errors | 18 | | beginning 60 days after the date that the municipality | 19 | | provided the public utility notice of the annexation, provided | 20 | | that the public utility provides municipalities with an e-mail | 21 | | address to send annexation notices and the municipality | 22 | | notified the utility within 60 days after the annexation. A | 23 | | copy of the annexation ordinance and the map provided to the | 24 | | recorder of the county under this Act sent to the e-mail | 25 | | address provided by the public utility shall be deemed | 26 | | sufficient notice, but other forms of notice may also be |
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| 1 | | sufficient. | 2 | | (f) All premises-specific account specific information | 3 | | provided by a public utility under this Section may be used | 4 | | only for the purpose of an audit of taxes conducted under this | 5 | | Section and the enforcement of any related tax claim. All such | 6 | | information must be held in strict confidence by the | 7 | | municipality
and its agents and may not be disclosed to the | 8 | | public under the Freedom of Information Act or under any other | 9 | | similar statutes allowing for or requiring public disclosure. | 10 | | (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed | 11 | | as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a | 12 | | municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector. | 13 | | (g-5) As used in this Section: | 14 | | "Customer-specific information" means the name, phone | 15 | | number, e-mail address, and banking information of a customer, | 16 | | but specifically excludes the customer's tax exempt status. | 17 | | "Premises-specific information" means any information, | 18 | | including billing, usage, and load shape data, associated with | 19 | | a premises address but not with customer-specific information. | 20 | | (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having | 21 | | a population greater than 1,000,000.
| 22 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1422, eff. 8-3-10.)
| 23 | | Section 15. The Public Utilities Act is amended by | 24 | | changing Section 16-122 and by adding Section 9-224.1 as | 25 | | follows: |
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| 1 | | (220 ILCS 5/9-224.1 new) | 2 | | Sec. 9-224.1. Audit compliance; municipal fines. For the | 3 | | purpose of determining any rate or charge, the Commission | 4 | | shall not consider the following costs as an expense of any | 5 | | public utility company, including any allocation of those | 6 | | costs to the public utility from an affiliate or corporate | 7 | | parent: (i) any court costs, attorney's fees, or other fees | 8 | | incurred under subsection (d) of Section 8-11-2.5 of the | 9 | | Illinois Municipal Code; or (ii) any penalties or interest | 10 | | imposed by a municipality under Section 8-11-2.5 of the | 11 | | Illinois Municipal Code.
| 12 | | (220 ILCS 5/16-122)
| 13 | | Sec. 16-122. Customer information.
| 14 | | (a) Upon the request of a retail customer, or a person
who | 15 | | presents verifiable authorization and is acting as the
| 16 | | customer's agent, and payment of a reasonable fee, electric
| 17 | | utilities shall provide to the customer or its authorized
| 18 | | agent the customer's billing and usage data.
| 19 | | (b) Upon request from any alternative retail electric
| 20 | | supplier and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility
| 21 | | serving retail customers in its service area shall make
| 22 | | available generic information concerning the usage, load shape
| 23 | | curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate
| 24 | | classification. Provided however, no customer specific
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| 1 | | billing, usage or load shape data shall be provided under this
| 2 | | subsection unless authorization to provide such information is
| 3 | | provided by the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this
| 4 | | Section.
| 5 | | (c) Upon request from a unit of local government and | 6 | | payment of a
reasonable fee, an electric utility shall make | 7 | | available information concerning
the usage, load shape curves, | 8 | | and other characteristics of customers by
customer | 9 | | classification and location within the boundaries of the unit | 10 | | of local
government, however, no customer specific billing, | 11 | | usage, or load shape data
shall be provided under this | 12 | | subsection unless authorization to provide that
information is | 13 | | provided by the customer or the unit of local government is | 14 | | requesting the information for the purposes of an audit under | 15 | | Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code .
| 16 | | (d) All such customer information shall be made available
| 17 | | in a timely fashion in an electronic format, if available.
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 92-585, eff. 6-26-02.)".
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