Public Act 100-0763
 
HB5019 EnrolledLRB100 17190 RJF 32346 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Salary and Annuity Withholding Act is
amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 365/4)  (from Ch. 127, par. 354)
    Sec. 4. Authorization of withholding. An employee or
annuitant may authorize the withholding of a portion of his
salary, wages, or annuity for any one or more of the following
purposes:
        (1) for purchase of United States Savings Bonds;
        (2) for payment of premiums on life or accident and
    health insurance as defined in Section 4 of the "Illinois
    Insurance Code", approved June 29, 1937, as amended, and
    for payment of premiums on policies of automobile insurance
    as defined in Section 143.13 of the "Illinois Insurance
    Code", as amended, and the personal multiperil coverages
    commonly known as homeowner's insurance. However, no
    portion of salaries, wages or annuities may be withheld to
    pay premiums on automobile, homeowner's, life or accident
    and health insurance policies issued by any one insurance
    company or insurance service company unless a minimum of
    100 employees or annuitants insured by that company
    authorize the withholding by an Office within 6 months
    after such withholding begins. If such minimum is not
    satisfied the Office may discontinue withholding for such
    company. For any insurance company or insurance service
    company which has not previously had withholding, the
    Office may allow withholding for premiums, where less than
    100 policies have been written, to cover a probationary
    period. An insurance company which has discontinued
    withholding may reinstate it upon presentation of facts
    indicating new management or re-organization satisfactory
    to the Office;
        (3) for payment to any labor organization designated by
    the employee;
        (4) for payment of dues to any association the
    membership of which consists of State employees and former
    State employees;
        (5) for deposit in any credit union, in which State
    employees are within the field of membership as a result of
    their employment;
        (6) for payment to or for the benefit of an institution
    of higher education by an employee of that institution;
        (7) for payment of parking fees at the parking
    facilities located on the Urbana-Champaign campus of the
    University of Illinois;
        (8) for voluntary payment to the State of Illinois of
    amounts then due and payable to the State;
        (9) for investment purchases made as a participant or
    contributor to qualified tuition programs in College
    Savings Programs established pursuant to Section 529 of the
    Internal Revenue Code or qualified ABLE programs
    established pursuant to Section 529A of the Internal
    Revenue Code Section 30-15.8a of the School Code;
        (10) for voluntary payment to the Illinois Department
    of Revenue of amounts due or to become due under the
    Illinois Income Tax Act;
        (11) for payment of optional contributions to a
    retirement system subject to the provisions of the Illinois
    Pension Code;
        (12) for contributions to organizations found
    qualified by the State Comptroller under the requirements
    set forth in the Voluntary Payroll Deductions Act of 1983;
        (13) for payment of fringe benefit contributions to
    employee benefit trust funds (whether such employee
    benefit trust funds are governed by the Employee Retirement
    Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §1001 et
    seq. or not) for State contractual employees hired through
    labor organizations and working pursuant to a signed
    agreement between a labor organization and a State agency,
    whether subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act or not;
    this item (13) is not intended to limit employee benefit
    trust funds and the contributions to be made thereto to be
    limited to those which are encompassed for purposes of
    computing the prevailing wage in any particular locale, but
    rather such employee benefit trusts are intended to include
    contributions to be made to such funds that are intended to
    assist in training, building and maintenance, industry
    advancement, and the like, including but not limited to
    those benefit trust funds such as pension and welfare that
    are normally computed in the prevailing wage rates and
    which otherwise would be subject to contribution
    obligations by private employers that are signatory to
    agreements with labor organizations;
        (14) for voluntary payment as part of the Illinois
    Gives Initiative under Section 26 of the State Comptroller
    Act; or
        (15) for payment of parking fees at the underground
    facility located south of the William G. Stratton State
    Office Building in Springfield or the parking ramp located
    at 401 South College Street, west of the William G.
    Stratton State Office Building in Springfield.
(Source: P.A. 98-700, eff. 7-7-14; 99-166, eff. 7-28-15.)
 
    Section 10. The State Comptroller Act is amended by
changing Sections 10.05, 10.05d, 16.1, and 27 as follows:
 
    (15 ILCS 405/10.05)  (from Ch. 15, par. 210.05)
    Sec. 10.05. Deductions from warrants; statement of reason
for deduction. Whenever any person shall be entitled to a
warrant or other payment from the treasury or other funds held
by the State Treasurer, on any account, against whom there
shall be any then due and payable account or claim in favor of
the State, the United States upon certification by the
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, or his or her
delegate, pursuant to a reciprocal offset agreement under
subsection (i-1) of Section 10 of the Illinois State Collection
Act of 1986, or a unit of local government, a school district,
a public institution of higher education, as defined in Section
1 of the Board of Higher Education Act, or the clerk of a
circuit court, upon certification by that entity, the
Comptroller, upon notification thereof, shall ascertain the
amount due and payable to the State, the United States, the
unit of local government, the school district, the public
institution of higher education, or the clerk of the circuit
court, as aforesaid, and draw a warrant on the treasury or on
other funds held by the State Treasurer, stating the amount for
which the party was entitled to a warrant or other payment, the
amount deducted therefrom, and on what account, and directing
the payment of the balance; which warrant or payment as so
drawn shall be entered on the books of the Treasurer, and such
balance only shall be paid. The Comptroller may deduct any one
or more of the following: (i) the entire amount due and payable
to the State or a portion of the amount due and payable to the
State in accordance with the request of the notifying agency;
(ii) the entire amount due and payable to the United States or
a portion of the amount due and payable to the United States in
accordance with a reciprocal offset agreement under subsection
(i-1) of Section 10 of the Illinois State Collection Act of
1986; or (iii) the entire amount due and payable to the unit of
local government, school district, public institution of
higher education, or clerk of the circuit court, or a portion
of the amount due and payable to that entity, in accordance
with an intergovernmental agreement authorized under this
Section and Section 10.05d. No request from a notifying agency,
the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, a unit of
local government, a school district, a public institution of
higher education, or the clerk of a circuit court for an amount
to be deducted under this Section from a wage or salary
payment, or from a contractual payment to an individual for
personal services, or from pension annuity payments made under
the Illinois Pension Code shall exceed 25% of the net amount of
such payment. "Net amount" means that part of the earnings of
an individual remaining after deduction of any amounts required
by law to be withheld. For purposes of this provision, wage,
salary or other payments for personal services shall not
include final compensation payments for the value of accrued
vacation, overtime or sick leave. Whenever the Comptroller
draws a warrant or makes a payment involving a deduction
ordered under this Section, the Comptroller shall notify the
payee and the State agency that submitted the voucher of the
reason for the deduction and he or she shall retain a record of
such statement in his or her records. As used in this Section,
an "account or claim in favor of the State" includes all
amounts owing to "State agencies" as defined in Section 7 of
this Act. However, the Comptroller shall not be required to
accept accounts or claims owing to funds not held by the State
Treasurer, where such accounts or claims do not exceed $50, nor
shall the Comptroller deduct from funds held by the State
Treasurer under the Senior Citizens and Persons with
Disabilities Property Tax Relief Act or for payments to
institutions from the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund
(unless the Trust Fund moneys are used for child support). The
Comptroller shall not deduct from payments to be disbursed from
the Child Support Enforcement Trust Fund as provided for under
Section 12-10.2 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, except for
payments representing interest on child support obligations
under Section 10-16.5 of that Code. The Comptroller and the
Department of Revenue shall enter into an interagency agreement
to establish responsibilities, duties, and procedures relating
to deductions from lottery prizes awarded under Section 20.1 of
the Illinois Lottery Law. The Comptroller may enter into an
intergovernmental agreement with the Department of Revenue and
the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, or his or
her delegate, to establish responsibilities, duties, and
procedures relating to reciprocal offset of delinquent State
and federal obligations pursuant to subsection (i-1) of Section
10 of the Illinois State Collection Act of 1986. The
Comptroller may enter into intergovernmental agreements with
any unit of local government, school district, public
institution of higher education, or clerk of a circuit court to
establish responsibilities, duties, and procedures to provide
for the offset, by the Comptroller, of obligations owed to
those entities.
    For the purposes of this Section, "clerk of a circuit
court" means the clerk of a circuit court in any county in the
State.
(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
 
    (15 ILCS 405/10.05d)
    Sec. 10.05d. Deductions for delinquent obligations owed to
units of local government, school districts, public
institutions of higher education, and clerks of the circuit
courts. Pursuant to Section 10.05 and this Section, the
Comptroller may enter into intergovernmental agreements with a
unit of local government, a school district, a public
institution of higher education, or the clerk of a circuit
court, in order to provide for (i) the use of the Comptroller's
offset system to collect delinquent obligations owed to that
entity and (ii) the payment to the Comptroller of a processing
charge of up to $15 per transaction for offsets processed
without the assistance of a third-party vendor and a processing
charge of up to $20 per transaction for offsets processed with
the assistance of a third-party vendor. A third-party vendor
may be selected by the Comptroller, pursuant to lawful
procurement practices, in order to provide enhanced
identification services to the State. The Comptroller shall
deduct, from a warrant or other payment described in Section
10.05, in accordance with the procedures provided therein, its
processing charge and the amount certified as necessary to
satisfy, in whole or in part, the delinquent obligation owed to
the unit of local government, school district, public
institution of higher education, or clerk of the circuit court,
as applicable. The Comptroller shall provide the unit of local
government, school district, public institution of higher
education, or clerk of the circuit court, as applicable, with
the address to which the warrant or other payment was to be
mailed and any other information pertaining to each person from
whom a deduction is made pursuant to this Section. All
deductions ordered under this Section and processing charges
imposed under this Section shall be deposited into the
Comptroller Debt Recovery Trust Fund, a special fund that the
Comptroller shall use for the collection of deductions and
processing charges, as provided by law, and the payment of
deductions and administrative expenses, as provided by law.
    Upon processing a deduction, the Comptroller shall give
written notice to the person subject to the offset. The notice
shall inform the person that he or she may make a written
protest to the Comptroller within 60 days after the Comptroller
has given notice. The protest shall include the reason for
contesting the deduction and any other information that will
enable the Comptroller to determine the amount due and payable.
The notice may inform the person that, in lieu of protest, he
or she may provide written authority to the Comptroller to
process the deduction immediately. Upon receiving the written
authority provided by the person subject to the offset to
process the deduction immediately, the Comptroller may process
the deduction immediately. The intergovernmental agreement
entered into under Section 10.05 and this Section shall
establish procedures through which the Comptroller shall
determine the validity of the protest and shall make a final
disposition concerning the deduction. If the person subject to
the offset has not made a written protest within 60 days after
the Comptroller has given notice or if a final disposition is
made concerning the deduction, the Comptroller shall pay the
deduction to the unit of local government, school district,
public institution of higher education, or clerk of the circuit
court, as applicable, from the Comptroller Debt Recovery Trust
Fund.
    For the purposes of this Section, "clerk of a circuit
court" means a clerk of the circuit court in any county in the
State.
    For purposes of this Section, "third-party vendor" means
the vendor selected by the Comptroller to provide enhanced
identification services to the State.
(Source: P.A. 97-632, eff. 12-16-11; 97-970, eff. 8-16-12;
98-272, eff. 8-9-13.)
 
    (15 ILCS 405/16.1)  (from Ch. 15, par. 216.1)
    Sec. 16.1. All reports filed by local governmental units
with the Comptroller together with any accompanying comment or
explanation immediately becomes part of his or her public
records and shall be open to public inspection. The Comptroller
shall establish and maintain an online repository designated as
"The Warehouse" that makes available to the public any and all
reports required by law to be filed with the Office of the
Comptroller by local governmental units. The Comptroller shall
make the information contained in such reports available to
State agencies and units of local government upon request.
(Source: P.A. 99-393, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
    (15 ILCS 405/27)
    Sec. 27. Comptroller's online ledger. The Comptroller
shall establish and maintain an online repository of the
State's financial transactions, to be known as the
Comptroller's "Online Ledger". The Comptroller shall establish
rules and regulations pertaining to the establishment and
maintenance of the online ledger "Online Ledger". Any listing
of an immediately preceding year's amount of State employee
salaries on the online ledger "Online Ledger" shall list the
total amount paid to a State employee during that past calendar
year, or a monthly reporting of a State employee's salary from
that past calendar year, as rounded to the nearest hundred
dollar. Any monthly reporting of a State employee's salary for
the current year shall also be listed as rounded to the nearest
hundred dollar. The Comptroller, in his or her discretion, may
list the unadjusted total salary amount paid to a State
employee for any previous year other than the rounded salary
amount for the immediately preceding calendar year.
(Source: P.A. 99-393, eff. 1-1-16; 100-253, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
    Section 15. The Comptroller Merit Employment Code is
amended by changing Section 10b.7 as follows:
 
    (15 ILCS 410/10b.7)  (from Ch. 15, par. 432)
    Sec. 10b.7. For the granting of appropriate preference in
entrance examinations to qualified veterans or persons who have
been members of the armed forces of the United States or to
qualified persons who, while citizens of the United States,
were members of the armed forces of allies of the United States
in time of hostilities with a foreign country, and to certain
other persons as set forth in this Section.
    (a) As used in this Section:
        (1) "Time of hostilities with a foreign country" means
    any period of time in the past, present, or future during
    which a declaration of war by the United States Congress
    has been or is in effect or during which an emergency
    condition has been or is in effect that is recognized by
    the issuance of a Presidential proclamation or a
    Presidential executive order and in which the armed forces
    expeditionary medal or other campaign service medals are
    awarded according to Presidential executive order.
        (2) "Armed forces of the United States" means the
    United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast
    Guard. Service in the Merchant Marine that constitutes
    active duty under Section 401 of federal Public Law 95-202
    shall also be considered service in the Armed Forces of the
    United States for purposes of this Section.
    (3) "Veteran" means a person who has served as a member of
the armed forces of the United States, the Illinois National
Guard, or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United
States.
    (b) The preference granted under this Section shall be in
the form of points added to the final grades of the persons if
they otherwise qualify and are entitled to appear on the list
of those eligible for appointments.
    (c) A veteran is qualified for a preference of 10 points if
the veteran currently holds proof of a service connected
disability from the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs or an allied country or if the veteran is a recipient
of the Purple Heart.
    (d) A veteran who has served during a time of hostilities
with a foreign country is qualified for a preference of 5
points if the veteran served under one or more of the following
conditions:
        (1) The veteran served a total of at least 6 months, or
        (2) The veteran served for the duration of hostilities
    regardless of the length of engagement, or
        (3) The veteran was discharged on the basis of
    hardship, or
        (4) The veteran was released from active duty because
    of a service connected disability and was discharged under
    honorable conditions.
    (e) A person not eligible for a preference under subsection
(c) or (d) is qualified for a preference of 3 points if the
person has served in the armed forces of the United States, the
Illinois National Guard, or any reserve component of the armed
forces of the United States and the person: (1) served for at
least 6 months and has been discharged under honorable
conditions; or (2) has been discharged on the ground of
hardship; or (3) was released from active duty because of a
service connected disability; or (4) served a minimum of 4
years in the Illinois National Guard or reserve component of
the armed forces of the United States regardless of whether or
not the person was mobilized to active duty. An active member
of the National Guard or a reserve component of the armed
forces of the United States is eligible for the preference if
the member meets the service requirements of this subsection
(e).
    (f) The rank order of persons entitled to a preference on
eligible lists shall be determined on the basis of their
augmented ratings. When the Director establishes eligible
lists on the basis of category ratings such as "superior",
"excellent", "well-qualified", and "qualified", the veteran
eligibles in each such category shall be preferred for
appointment before the non-veteran eligibles in the same
category.
    (g) Employees in positions covered by jurisdiction B who,
while in good standing, leave to engage in military service
during a period of hostility, shall be given credit for
seniority purposes for time served in the armed forces.
    (h) A surviving unremarried spouse of a veteran who
suffered a service connected death or the spouse of a veteran
who suffered a service connected disability that prevents the
veteran from qualifying for civil service employment shall be
entitled to the same preference to which the veteran would have
been entitled under this Section.
    (i) A preference shall also be given to the following
individuals: 10 points for one parent of an unmarried veteran
who suffered a service connected death or a service connected
disability that prevents the veteran from qualifying for civil
service employment. The first parent to receive a civil service
appointment shall be the parent entitled to the preference.
(Source: P.A. 87-796.)
 
    Section 20. The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is
amended by changing Section 5 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 210/5)  (from Ch. 15, par. 155)
    Sec. 5. Rules; payment plans; offsets.
    (a) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of Public Aid and
July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
State agencies shall adopt rules establishing formal due dates
for amounts owing to the State and for the referral of
seriously past due accounts to private collection agencies,
unless otherwise expressly provided by law or rule, except that
on and after July 1, 2005, the Department of Employment
Security may continue to refer to private collection agencies
past due amounts that are exempt from subsection (g). Such
procedures shall be established in accord with sound business
practices.
    (b) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of Public Aid and
July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
agencies may enter deferred payment plans for debtors of the
agency and documentation of this fact retained by the agency,
where the deferred payment plan is likely to increase the net
amount collected by the State, except that, on and after July
1, 2005, the Department of Employment Security may continue to
enter deferred payment plans for debts that are exempt from
subsection (g).
    (c) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of Public Aid and
July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
State agencies may use the Comptroller's Offset System provided
in Section 10.05 of the State Comptroller Act for the
collection of debts owed to the agency, except that, on and
after July 1, 2005, the Department of Employment Security may
continue to use the Comptroller's offset system to collect
amounts that are exempt from subsection (g).
    (c-1) All debts that exceed $250 and are more than 90 days
past due shall be placed in the Comptroller's Offset System,
unless (i) the State agency shall have entered into a deferred
payment plan or demonstrates to the Comptroller's satisfaction
that referral for offset is not cost effective; or (ii) the
State agency is a university that elects to place in the
Comptroller's Offset System only debts that exceed $1,000 and
are more than 90 days past due. All debt, and maintenance of
that debt, that is placed in the Comptroller's Offset System
must be submitted electronically to the office of the
Comptroller. Any exception to this requirement must be approved
in writing by the Comptroller.
    (c-2) Upon processing a deduction to satisfy a debt owed to
a university or a State agency and placed in the Comptroller's
Offset System in accordance with subsection (c-1), the
Comptroller shall give written notice to the person subject to
the offset. The notice shall inform the person that he or she
may make a written protest to the Comptroller within 60 days
after the Comptroller has given notice. The notice may inform
the person that, in lieu of protest, he or she may provide
written authority to the Comptroller to process the deduction
immediately. Upon receiving the written authority provided by
the person subject to the offset to process the deduction
immediately, the Comptroller may process the deduction
immediately. The protest shall include the reason for
contesting the deduction and any other information that will
enable the Comptroller to determine the amount due and payable.
If the person subject to the offset has not made a written
protest within 60 days after the Comptroller has given notice,
or if a final disposition is made concerning the deduction, the
Comptroller shall pay the deduction to the university or the
State agency.
    (c-3) For a debt owed to a university or a State agency and
placed in the Comptroller's Offset System in accordance with
subsection (c-1), the Comptroller shall deduct, from a warrant
or other payment, its processing charge and the amount
certified as necessary to satisfy, in whole or in part, the
debt owed to the university or the State agency. The
Comptroller shall deduct a processing charge of up to $15 per
transaction for each offset and such charges shall be deposited
into the Comptroller Debt Recovery Trust Fund.
    (c-4) If a State university withholds moneys from a
university-funded payroll for a debt in accordance with this
Act, the university may also withhold the processing charge
identified in Section 10.05d of the State Comptroller Act and
subsection (c-3) of Section 5 of the Illinois State Collection
Act of 1986. Both amounts must be remitted to the Office of the
Comptroller in a timely manner.
    (d) State agencies shall develop internal procedures
whereby agency initiated payments to its debtors may be offset
without referral to the Comptroller's Offset System.
    (e) State agencies or the Comptroller may remove claims
from the Comptroller's Offset System, where such claims have
been inactive for more than one year.
    (f) State agencies may use the Comptroller's Offset System
to determine if any State agency is attempting to collect debt
from a contractor, bidder, or other proposed contracting party.
    (g) Beginning July 1, 2004 for the Departments of Public
Aid (now Healthcare and Family Services) and Employment
Security and July 1, 2005 for Universities and other State
agencies, State agencies shall refer to the Department of
Revenue Debt Collection Bureau (the Bureau) all debt to the
State, provided that the debt satisfies the requirements for
referral of delinquent debt as established by rule by the
Department of Revenue.
    (h) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall
be exempt from the requirements of this Section with regard to
child support debts, the collection of which is governed by the
requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security
Act. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services may refer
child support debts to the Bureau, provided that the debt
satisfies the requirements for referral of delinquent debt as
established by rule by the Department of Revenue. The Bureau
shall use all legal means available to collect child support
debt, including those authorizing the Department of Revenue to
collect debt and those authorizing the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services to collect debt. All such referred debt
shall remain an obligation under the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services' Child Support Enforcement Program subject
to the requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social
Security Act, including the continued use of federally mandated
enforcement remedies and techniques by the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services.
    (h-1) The Department of Employment Security is exempt from
subsection (g) with regard to debts to any federal account,
including but not limited to the Unemployment Trust Fund, and
penalties and interest assessed under the Unemployment
Insurance Act. The Department of Employment Security may refer
those debts to the Bureau, provided the debt satisfies the
requirements for referral of delinquent debt as established by
rule by the Department of Revenue. The Bureau shall use all
legal means available to collect the debts, including those
authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those
authorizing the Department of Employment Security to collect
debt. All referred debt shall remain an obligation to the
account to which it is owed.
    (i) All debt referred to the Bureau for collection shall
remain the property of the referring agency. The Bureau shall
collect debt on behalf of the referring agency using all legal
means available, including those authorizing the Department of
Revenue to collect debt and those authorizing the referring
agency to collect debt.
    (j) No debt secured by an interest in real property granted
by the debtor in exchange for the creation of the debt shall be
referred to the Bureau. The Bureau shall have no obligation to
collect debts secured by an interest in real property.
    (k) Beginning July 1, 2003, each agency shall collect and
provide the Bureau information regarding the nature and details
of its debt in such form and manner as the Department of
Revenue shall require.
    (l) For all debt accruing after July 1, 2003, each agency
shall collect and transmit such debtor identification
information as the Department of Revenue shall require.
(Source: P.A. 97-759, eff. 7-6-12; 98-1043, eff. 8-25-14.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.