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Full Text of SB1794  102nd General Assembly

SB1794ham003 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Anthony DeLuca

Filed: 11/29/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1794

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1794 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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, in the case of a public utility

 

 

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1    serving more than 3,000,000 retail customers in Illinois,
2    no No notice of determination of tax due or assessment may
3    be issued more than 7 4 years after the end of the calendar
4    year for which the return for the period was filed or the
5    end of the calendar year in which the return for the period
6    was due, whichever occurs later. In the case of a public
7    utility other than a public utility serving more than
8    3,000,000 retail customers in Illinois, no notice of
9    determination of tax due or assessment may be issued more
10    than 5 years after the end of the calendar year for which
11    the return for the period was filed or the end of the
12    calendar year in which the return for the period was due,
13    whichever occurs later. An audit or review that is timely
14    performed under Section 35 of this Act or Section 8-11-2.5
15    of the Illinois Municipal Code shall toll the applicable
16    7-year or 5-year period.
17        (1.5) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), no
18    notice of determination of tax due or assessment may be
19    issued more than 4 years after the end of the calendar year
20    for which the return for the period was filed or the end of
21    the calendar year in which the return for the period was
22    due, whichever occurs later.
23        (2) Except for utility taxes under paragraph (1), if
24    If any tax return was not filed or if during any 4-year
25    period for which a notice of tax determination or
26    assessment may be issued by the unit of local government

 

 

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1    the tax paid or remitted was less than 75% of the tax due
2    for that period, the statute of limitations shall be no
3    more than 6 years after the end of the calendar year in
4    which the return for the period was due or the end of the
5    calendar year in which the return for the period was
6    filed, whichever occurs later. In the event that a unit of
7    local government fails to provide a statute of
8    limitations, the maximum statutory period provided in this
9    Section applies.
10        (3) The changes to this Section made by this
11    amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly do not revive
12    any determination and assessment of tax due where the
13    statute of limitations has expired, but do extend the
14    current statute of limitations for the determination and
15    assessment of taxes that have not yet expired.
16    This Section does not place any limitation on a unit of
17local government if a fraudulent tax return is filed.
18(Source: P.A. 91-920, eff. 1-1-01.)
 
19    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
20changing Section 8-11-2.5 as follows:
 
21    (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.5)
22    Sec. 8-11-2.5. Municipal tax review; requests for
23information.
24    (a) If a municipality has imposed a tax under Section

 

 

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18-11-2, then the municipality may conduct an audit of tax
2receipts collected from the public utility that is subject to
3the tax or that collects the tax from purchasers on behalf of
4the municipality to determine whether the amount of tax that
5was paid by the public utility was accurate.
6    (b) Not more than once annually for a public utility
7serving 200,000 or more customers in Illinois, and not more
8than once every 2 years for a public utility serving fewer than
9200,000 customers in Illinois, a municipality that has imposed
10a tax under this Act may, subject to the limitations and
11protections stated in Section 16-122 of the Public Utilities
12Act and in the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act,
13make a written request via email to an email address provided
14by the utility for any information from a utility in the format
15maintained by the public utility in the ordinary course of its
16business that the municipality reasonably requires in order to
17perform an audit under subsection (a). The information that
18may be requested by the municipality includes, without
19limitation:
20        (1) in an electronic format used by the public utility
21    in the ordinary course of its business, the
22    premises-specific and other information database used by
23    the public utility to determine the amount of tax due to
24    the municipality; provided, however, that a public utility
25    that is an electric utility may not provide
26    customer-specific information , if the municipality has

 

 

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1    requested customer-specific billing, usage, and load shape
2    data from a public utility that is an electric utility and
3    has not provided the electric utility with the verifiable
4    authorization required by Section 16-122 of the Public
5    Utilities Act, then the electric utility shall remove from
6    the database all customer-specific billing, usage, and
7    load shape data before providing it to the municipality;
8    and
9        (2) information related to each premises address that
10    the public utility's records indicate:
11            (A) is located in the municipality;
12            (B) is located in an adjacent unincorporated
13        municipality identified by the requesting
14        municipality; or
15            (C) is located in one of a list of zip codes
16        provided by the requesting municipality that include
17        areas within the requesting municipality's boundaries;
18        and
19        (3) for each address identified in paragraph (2):
20            (A) the premises address and zip code;
21            (B) classification of the premises as designated
22        by the public utility (e.g., residential, commercial,
23        industrial);
24            (C) first date of service; and
25            (D) for each month of service in the current year
26        (up to one month prior to the date of the request by

 

 

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1        the municipality) and for the previous 10 calendar
2        years:
3                (i) the amount of the utility service used,
4            measured in gross therms, kilowatts, minutes, or
5            other units of measurement;
6                (ii) total taxable charges;
7                (iii) the total tax collected and remitted;
8                (iv) the municipal jurisdiction for tax
9            collection and remittance; and
10                (v) whether the customer is exempt from
11            municipal tax. in a format used by the public
12            utility in the ordinary course of its business,
13            summary data, as needed by the municipality, to
14            determine the unit consumption of utility services
15            by providing the gross therms, kilowatts, minutes,
16            or other units of measurement being taxed within
17            the municipal jurisdiction and the gross revenues
18            collected and the associated taxes assessed.
19    (c) Each public utility must provide the information
20requested under subsection (b) within 90 days after the date
21of the request. :
22        (1) 60 days after the date of the request if the
23    population of the requesting municipality is 500,000 or
24    less; or
25        (2) 90 days after the date of the request if the
26    population of the requesting municipality exceeds 500,000.

 

 

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1    The time in which a public utility must provide the
2information requested under subsection (b) may be extended by
3an agreement between the municipality and the public utility.
4If the public utility fails to respond to the request for
5information with complete information within the timeline
6established by this Section, the public utility shall be
7liable to the municipality for a penalty of $1,000 for each day
8it fails to produce the requested information. Those penalties
9shall be assessed by the municipality, but may be reduced or
10vacated by the municipality or a court of competent
11jurisdiction upon demonstration that the public utility's
12failure to provide the requested information within the
13timeline established by this Section resulted from good cause.
14For the purposes of this Section, for the period ending on
15December 31 of the year ending 3 years from the effective date
16of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, a
17utility that did not have records retention beyond 4 years
18shall not be penalized for records it does not have in its
19possession due to the change in the statute of limitations
20effectuated by the enactment of this amendatory Act of the
21102nd General Assembly. For utilities with fewer than
223,000,000 retail customers in Illinois, the maximum total
23penalty pursuant to this Section (c) shall not exceed $50,000.
24If a public utility receives, during a single month,
25information requests from more than 2 municipalities, or the
26aggregate population of the requesting municipalities is

 

 

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1100,000 customers or more, the public utility is entitled to
2an additional 30 days to respond to those requests.
3    (d) If an audit by the municipality or its agents finds an
4error by the public utility in the amount of taxes paid by the
5public utility, then the municipality must notify the public
6utility of the error. Any such notice must be issued pursuant
7to Section 30 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of
8Rights Act or a lesser period of time from the date the tax was
9due that may be specified in the municipal ordinance imposing
10the tax. Upon such a notice, any audit shall be conducted
11pursuant to Section 35 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill
12of Rights Act subject to the timelines set forth in this
13subsection (d). The public utility must submit a written
14response within 60 days after the date the notice was
15postmarked stating that it has corrected the error or stating
16the reason that the error is inapplicable or inaccurate. The
17municipality then has 60 days after the receipt of the public
18utility's response to review and contest the conclusion of the
19public utility. If the parties are unable to agree on the
20disposition of the audit findings within 120 days after the
21notification of the error to the public utility, then either
22party may submit the matter for appeal as outlined in Section
2340 of the Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act. If
24the appeals process does not produce a satisfactory result,
25then either party may pursue the alleged error in a court of
26competent jurisdiction. If the municipality prevails and

 

 

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1receives at least 50% of the relief requested in court against
2a public utility with 3,000,000 or more retail customers in
3Illinois, the public utility is liable for the attorney's fees
4and costs of the municipality.
5    (d-5) If a public utility is liable for any error or errors
6in past tax payments cumulatively in excess of $5,000 that
7were unknown to the municipality prior to an audit from the
8municipality, the public utility shall reimburse the
9municipality for the reasonable cost of the audit in addition
10to any interest and penalties imposed. Unless otherwise
11determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, the
12reasonable cost of the audit shall be 35% of the sum of the
13taxes, interest, and penalties for which the public utility is
14liable.
15    (e) (Blank). No public utility is liable for any error in
16past collections and payments that was unknown by it prior to
17the audit process unless (i) the error was due to negligence by
18the public utility in the collection or processing of required
19data and (ii) the municipality had not failed to respond in
20writing on an accurate and timely basis to any written request
21of the public utility to review and correct information used
22by the public utility to collect the municipality's tax if a
23diligent review of such information by the municipality
24reasonably could have been expected to discover such error.
25If, however, an error in past collections or payments resulted
26in a customer, who should not have owed a tax to any

 

 

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1municipality, having paid a tax to a municipality, then the
2customer may, to the extent allowed by Section 9-252 of the
3Public Utilities Act, recover the tax from the public utility,
4and any amount so paid by the public utility may be deducted by
5that public utility from any taxes then or thereafter owed by
6the public utility to that municipality.
7    (e-5) The public utility shall be liable to the
8municipality for all unpaid taxes due during the statutory
9period set forth in Section 30 of the Local Government
10Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act, including taxes that the public
11utility failed to properly bill to the customer. To the extent
12that a public utility's errors in past tax collections and
13payments relate to premises located in an area of the
14municipality that was annexed on or after the effective date
15of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, however,
16the public utility shall only be liable for such errors
17beginning 60 days after the date that the municipality
18provided the public utility notice of the annexation, provided
19that the public utility provides municipalities with an email
20address to send annexation notices and the municipality
21notified the utility within 60 days after the annexation. A
22copy of the annexation ordinance and the map provided to the
23recorder of the county under this Act sent to the email address
24provided by the public utility shall be deemed sufficient
25notice, but other forms of notice may also be sufficient. Upon
26mutual agreement, a utility and municipality may use a web

 

 

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1portal in lieu of email to receive notice of annexations and
2boundary changes. After December 31, 2022, all public
3utilities that serve more than 1,000,000 retail customers in
4Illinois shall provide a secure web portal for municipalities
5to use, and thereafter the web portals shall be used by all
6municipalities to notify the public utilities of annexations.
7The web portal must provide the community with an electronic
8record of all communications and attached documents that the
9community has submitted through the portal.
10    (f) All premises-specific account specific information
11provided by a public utility under this Section may be used
12only for the purpose of an audit of taxes conducted under this
13Section and the enforcement of any related tax claim. All such
14information must be held in strict confidence by the
15municipality and its agents and may not be disclosed to the
16public under the Freedom of Information Act or under any other
17similar statutes allowing for or requiring public disclosure.
18    (g) The provisions of this Section shall not be construed
19as diminishing or replacing any civil remedy available to a
20municipality, taxpayer, or tax collector.
21    (g-5) As used in this Section:
22    "Customer-specific information" means the name, phone
23number, email address, and banking information of a customer,
24but specifically excludes the customer's tax-exempt status.
25    "Premises-specific information" means any information,
26including billing, usage, and load shape data, associated with

 

 

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1a premises address but not with customer-specific information.
2    (h) This Section does not apply to any municipality having
3a population greater than 1,000,000.
4(Source: P.A. 96-1422, eff. 8-3-10.)
 
5    Section 15. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6changing Section 16-122 and by adding Section 9-224.1 as
7follows:
 
8    (220 ILCS 5/9-224.1 new)
9    Sec. 9-224.1. Audit compliance; municipal fines. For the
10purpose of determining any rate or charge, the Commission
11shall not consider the following costs as an expense of any
12public utility company that serves more than 3,000,000 retail
13customers in Illinois, including any allocation of those costs
14to the public utility from an affiliate or corporate parent:
15(i) any court costs, attorney's fees, or other fees incurred
16under subsection (d) of Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois
17Municipal Code; or (ii) any penalties or interest imposed by a
18municipality under Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal
19Code.
 
20    (220 ILCS 5/16-122)
21    Sec. 16-122. Customer information.
22    (a) Upon the request of a retail customer, or a person who
23presents verifiable authorization and is acting as the

 

 

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1customer's agent, and payment of a reasonable fee, electric
2utilities shall provide to the customer or its authorized
3agent the customer's billing and usage data.
4    (b) Upon request from any alternative retail electric
5supplier and payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility
6serving retail customers in its service area shall make
7available generic information concerning the usage, load shape
8curve or other general characteristics of customers by rate
9classification. Provided however, no customer specific
10billing, usage or load shape data shall be provided under this
11subsection unless authorization to provide such information is
12provided by the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this
13Section.
14    (c) Upon request from a unit of local government and
15payment of a reasonable fee, an electric utility shall make
16available information concerning the usage, load shape curves,
17and other characteristics of customers by customer
18classification and location within the boundaries of the unit
19of local government, however, no customer specific billing,
20usage, or load shape data shall be provided under this
21subsection unless authorization to provide that information is
22provided by the customer or the unit of local government is
23requesting the information for the purposes of an audit under
24Section 8-11-2.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
25    (d) All such customer information shall be made available
26in a timely fashion in an electronic format, if available.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 92-585, eff. 6-26-02.)".