Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB3617
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Full Text of SB3617  102nd General Assembly

SB3617sam003 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Laura Fine

Filed: 2/17/2022

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3617

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3617, AS AMENDED,
3with reference to page and line numbers of Senate Amendment
4No. 1, by replacing line 8 on page 1 through line 4 on page 10
5with the following:
 
6    "Section 3-5. Findings.
7    (a) In the interest of reducing stigma and increasing the
8available pool of potential employees, the General Assembly
9finds and declares that those residents of Illinois diagnosed
10with mental illness and substance use disorders should be
11eligible for and encouraged to seek gainful employment.
12    (b) The General Assembly finds and declares that minority
13communities in this State have been more negatively impacted
14in employment opportunities for minority residents diagnosed
15with mental illness and substance use disorders and should
16receive additional employment opportunities and incentives for
17employing minority residents diagnosed with mental illness or

 

 

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1substance use disorders.
2    (c) Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, employers
3in the State of Illinois have suffered negative economic
4impacts, a loss in workforce, staffing difficulties, and have
5found it difficult to recruit new workers.
6    (d) In the interest of providing additional employment
7opportunities for those residents of Illinois diagnosed with
8mental illness or substance use disorders and expanding the
9pool of potential workers in this State, the General Assembly
10finds and declares that certain qualified employers who employ
11eligible individuals should be eligible for a tax credit.
 
12    Section 3-10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
13    "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
14    "Eligible individual" means an individual with a substance
15use disorder, as that term is defined under Section 1-10 of the
16Substance Use Disorder Act, or an individual with a mental
17illness as that term is defined under Section 1-129 of the
18Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, who is in a
19state of wellness and recovery where there is an abatement of
20signs and symptoms that characterize active substance use
21disorder or mental illness and has demonstrated to the
22qualified employer's satisfaction, pursuant to rules adopted
23by the Department, that he or she has completed a course of
24treatment or is currently in receipt of treatment for such
25substance use disorder or mental illness. A relapse in an

 

 

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1individual's state of wellness shall not make the individual
2ineligible, so long as the individual shows a continued
3commitment to recovery that aligns with an individual's
4relapse prevention plan, discharge plan, or recovery plan.
5    "Qualified employer" means an employer operating within
6the State that has received a certificate of tax credit from
7the Department after the Department has determined that the
8employer:
9        (1) provides a recovery supportive environment for
10    their employees evidenced by a formal working relationship
11    with a substance use disorder treatment provider or
12    facility or mental health provider or facility, each as
13    may be licensed or certified within the State of Illinois,
14    and providing reasonable accommodation to the employees to
15    address their substance use disorder or mental illness,
16    all at no cost or expense to the eligible individual; and
17        (2) satisfies all other criteria in this Section and
18    established by the Department to participate in the
19    recovery tax program created hereunder.
20     "Taxpayer" means any individual, corporation,
21partnership, trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois
22income tax. For the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing
23a joint return shall be considered one taxpayer.
 
24    Section 3-15. Authorization of tax credit program for
25individuals in recovery from substance use disorders or mental

 

 

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1illness.
2    (a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
32023, the Department is authorized to and shall establish and
4administer a recovery tax credit program to provide tax
5incentives to qualified employers who employ eligible
6individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder or
7mental illness in part-time and full-time positions within
8Illinois. The Department shall award the tax credit by
9issuance of a certificate of tax credit to the qualified
10employer, who will present the certificate of tax credit to
11the Department of Revenue by attaching the certificate to its
12tax return, as a credit against the qualified employer's
13income tax liability in accordance with the Illinois Income
14Tax Act. The Department shall maintain an electronic listing
15of the certificates issued by which the Department of Revenue
16may verify tax credit certificates issued.
17    (b) To be a qualified employer, an employer must apply
18annually to the Department to claim a credit based upon
19eligible individuals employed during the preceding calendar
20year, using the forms prescribed by the Department. To be
21approved for a credit under this Act, the employer must:
22        (1) agree to provide to the Department the information
23    necessary to demonstrate that the employer has satisfied
24    program eligibility requirements and provided all
25    information requested or needed by the Department,
26    including the number of hours worked by the eligible

 

 

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1    individual and other information necessary for the
2    Department to calculate the amount of credit permitted;
3    and
4        (2) agree to provide names, employer identification
5    numbers, amounts that the employer may claim, and other
6    information necessary for the Department to calculate any
7    tax credit.
8    (c) To be an eligible individual, the individual must be
9diagnosed with or have been diagnosed with a substance use
10disorder or mental illness. Disclosure by the eligible
11individual of his or her mental illness or substance use
12disorder shall be completely voluntary and his or her health
13information may not be shared or disclosed under this Act
14without the eligible individual's express written consent. The
15eligible individual must have been employed by the qualified
16employer in this State for a minimum of 500 hours during the
17applicable calendar year and the tax credit may only begin on
18the date the eligible individual is hired by the qualified
19employer and ending on December 31 of that calendar year or the
20date that the eligible individual's employment with the
21qualified employer ends, whichever occurs first. Only one tax
22credit may be awarded for any eligible individual while
23employed by the same or related qualified employer. The hours
24of employment of 2 or more eligible individuals may not be
25aggregated to reach the minimum number of hours. If an
26eligible individual has worked in excess of 500 hours between

 

 

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1the date of hiring and December 31 of that year, a qualified
2employer can elect to compute and claim a credit for such
3eligible individual in that year based on the hours worked by
4December 31. Alternatively, the qualified employer may elect
5to include such individual in the computation of the credit in
6the year immediately succeeding the year in which the eligible
7individual was hired. In that case, the credit shall be
8computed on the basis of all hours worked by the eligible
9individual from the date of hire to the earlier of the last day
10of employment or December 31 of the succeeding year.
11    (d) If Department criteria and all other requirements are
12met, a qualified employer shall be entitled to a tax credit
13equal to the product of $1 and the number of hours worked by
14each eligible individual during the eligible individual's
15period of employment with the qualified employer. The tax
16credit awarded under this Act may not exceed $2,000 per
17eligible individual employed by the qualified employer in this
18State. In determining the amount of tax credit that any
19qualified employer may claim, the Department shall review all
20claims submitted for credit by all employers and, to the
21extent that the total amount claimed by employers exceeds the
22amount allocated for this program in that calendar year, shall
23issue tax credits on a pro rata basis corresponding to each
24qualified employer's share of the total amount claimed.
25    (e) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may
26award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed

 

 

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1$2,000,000.
2    (f) A taxpayer who is a qualified employer who has
3received a certificate of tax credit from the Department shall
4be allowed a credit against the tax imposed equal to the amount
5shown on such certificate of tax credit.
6    (g) The credit must be claimed in the taxable year in which
7the tax credit certificate is issued. The credit cannot reduce
8a taxpayer's liability to less than zero. If the amount of the
9credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the credit may
10not be carried forward.
11    (h) If the taxpayer is a partnership or Subchapter S
12corporation the credit shall be allowed to the partners or
13shareholders in accordance with the determination of income
14and distributive share of income under Sections 702 and 704
15and subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code.
16    (i) In carrying out this Act, no patient-specific
17information shall be shared or disclosed. Any individual or
18patient-specific information collected by the Department or
19the Department of Revenue shall not be subject to public
20disclosure or Freedom of Information Act requests.
21    (j) The credit under this Act is exempt from the
22provisions of Section 250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
 
23    Section 3-20. Advisory Council on Mental Illness and
24Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities
25within Minority Communities. The Secretary of the Department

 

 

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1shall appoint the Advisory Council on Mental Illness and
2Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities
3within Minority Communities, to be composed of 15 members,
4which shall include a balanced representation of recipients,
5services providers, employers, local governmental units,
6community and welfare advocacy groups, academia, and the
7general public. The Advisory Council shall advise the
8Department regarding all aspects of employment impacts
9resulting from mental illnesses and substance use disorders
10within minority communities, tax credits, outreach, marketing,
11and education about the tax credit and employment
12opportunities, and other areas as deemed appropriate by the
13Secretary. In appointing the first Council, the Secretary
14shall name 8 members to terms of 2 years and 7 members to serve
15terms of 4 years, all of whom shall be appointed within 6
16months of the effective date of this Act. All members
17appointed thereafter shall serve terms of 4 years. Members
18shall serve without compensation other than reimbursement of
19expenses actually incurred in the performance of their
20official duties. At its first meeting, the Advisory Council
21shall select a chair from among its members. The Advisory
22Council shall meet at least quarterly and at other times at the
23call of the chair.
 
24    Section 3-25. Powers. The Department shall adopt rules for
25the administration of this Act. The Department may enter into

 

 

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1an intergovernmental agreement with the Department of Revenue
2for the administration of this Act.
 
3    Section 3-30. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by
4adding Section 232 as follows:
 
5    (35 ILCS 5/232 new)
6    Sec. 232. Recovery and Mental Health Tax Credit Act. For
7taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, a
8taxpayer who has been awarded a credit under the Recovery and
9Mental Health Tax Credit Act is entitled to a credit against
10the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 as
11provided in that Act. This Section is exempt from the
12provisions of Section 250.".