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| Public Act 097-0721 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State 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 Department of Commerce and Economic | ||||
Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is | ||||
amended by adding Sections 605-456, 605-460, and 605-465 as | ||||
follows: | ||||
(20 ILCS 605/605-456 new) | ||||
Sec. 605-456. Survey and report on business incentives. | ||||
(a) The Department shall contact businesses that are | ||||
located in the State or have been identified as having left the | ||||
State. The Department shall request that the business complete | ||||
a survey, developed by the Department, that includes | ||||
information regarding (i) why the business left, if applicable, | ||||
and the location to which the business relocated and (ii) any | ||||
incentives that are needed to keep and attract the business. | ||||
(b) The Department shall compile the results of the surveys | ||||
and any other relevant information provided to the Department. | ||||
By each July 1, the Department shall report to the General | ||||
Assembly upon its compilation of the previous year's survey | ||||
responses and any of the other relevant information. The report | ||||
must identify, at a minimum, the most common responses, | ||||
categorized by industry and region, regarding (i) why | ||||
businesses left Illinois, (ii) what incentives would have | ||
influenced businesses to remain in Illinois, and (iii) to which | ||
cities and states the businesses have relocated. | ||
(c) For the purposes of this Section, a business is defined | ||
as one that is engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce for | ||
the purpose of manufacturing, processing, assembling, | ||
warehousing, or distributing products, conducting research and | ||
development, providing tourism services, or providing services | ||
in interstate commerce, office industries, or agricultural | ||
processing, but excluding retail, retail food, health, or | ||
professional services. | ||
(d) The Department shall adopt rules for the implementation | ||
of this Section. | ||
(20 ILCS 605/605-460 new) | ||
Sec. 605-460. Engineering excellence program. | ||
(a) Coordination between engineering schools and private | ||
business is an important tool in fostering innovation. | ||
Universities have eager students, experienced faculty, and | ||
state-of-the-art research facilities. Businesses have existing | ||
markets, production capital, and evolving needs. The General | ||
Assembly believes that universities and businesses should | ||
share resources to allow students to participate in the | ||
research and development area of innovative design and to allow | ||
businesses to benefit from the developing skills of these | ||
students. | ||
(b) In order to facilitate engineering excellence, the | ||
Department shall develop a program to achieve the goals set | ||
forth in subsection (a). Under this program, the Department | ||
must: | ||
(1) Annually contact the State's major public and | ||
private universities with engineering schools. | ||
(2) Request a one-page written summary of the | ||
internship, externship, or residency programs operated by | ||
the engineering college of each of the contacted | ||
universities. | ||
(3) Identify the manufacturing businesses within 50 | ||
miles of each university that responded under paragraph (2) | ||
that could benefit from assistance in the area of | ||
innovative design. | ||
(4) Send a letter to each manufacturer identified under | ||
paragraph (3), informing it of the university's program and | ||
advising the business to contact the university if it | ||
wishes to participate in the engineering school's program. | ||
(c) The Department shall adopt rules for the implementation | ||
of this Section. | ||
(20 ILCS 605/605-465 new) | ||
Sec. 605-465. Comprehensive website information. | ||
(a) The Department's official website must contain a | ||
comprehensive list of State, local, and federal economic | ||
benefits available to businesses in each of the State's | ||
counties and municipalities that the Department includes on its | ||
website. In order to do so: | ||
(1) The Department annually must request a summary of | ||
available economic benefits from each of the State's | ||
counties and municipalities that are linked to the | ||
Department's website. | ||
(2) The information obtained under paragraph (1) must | ||
be published on the related web pages of the Department's | ||
website. | ||
(3) The Department's website shall also provide | ||
information regarding available federal economic benefits | ||
to the extent possible. | ||
(b) The Department shall adopt rules for the implementation | ||
of this Section.
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Section 10. The Corporate Accountability for Tax | ||
Expenditures Act is amended by changing Section 25 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 715/25)
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Sec. 25. Recapture.
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(a) All development assistance agreements
shall contain, | ||
at a
minimum, the following recapture provisions:
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(1) The recipient must (i) make the level of capital | ||
investment in the
economic
development project specified | ||
in the development assistance agreement; (ii)
create or
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retain, or both, the requisite number of jobs, paying not | ||
less than specified
wages for the
created and retained | ||
jobs, within and for the duration of the time period
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specified in the
legislation authorizing, or the | ||
administrative rules implementing, the
development
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assistance programs and the development assistance | ||
agreement.
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(2) If the recipient fails to create or retain the | ||
requisite number of
jobs within and
for the time period | ||
specified, in the legislation authorizing, or the
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administrative rules
implementing, the development | ||
assistance programs and the development
assistance
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agreement, the recipient shall be deemed to no longer | ||
qualify for the State
economic
assistance and the | ||
applicable recapture provisions shall take effect.
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(3) If the recipient receives State economic | ||
assistance in the form of a
High
Impact Business | ||
designation pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Illinois | ||
Enterprise
Zone Act
and the business receives the benefit | ||
of the exemption authorized under Section
5l of the
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Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (for the sale of building | ||
materials incorporated
into a High
Impact Business | ||
location) and the recipient fails to create or retain the
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requisite number
of jobs, as determined by the legislation | ||
authorizing the development
assistance
programs
or the | ||
administrative rules implementing such legislation, or | ||
both, within the
requisite
period of time, the recipient | ||
shall be required to pay to the State the full
amount of | ||
the
State tax exemption that it received as a result of the | ||
High Impact Business
designation.
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(4) If the recipient receives a grant or loan pursuant | ||
to the Large
Business
Development Program, the Business | ||
Development Public Infrastructure Program, or
the
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Industrial Training Program and the recipient fails to | ||
create or retain the
requisite number
of jobs for the | ||
requisite time period, as provided in the legislation
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authorizing the
development assistance programs or the | ||
administrative rules implementing such
legislation, or | ||
both, or in the development assistance agreement, the | ||
recipient
shall be
required to repay to the State a pro | ||
rata amount of the grant; that amount
shall
reflect
the | ||
percentage of the deficiency between the requisite number | ||
of jobs to be
created or
retained by the recipient and the | ||
actual number of such jobs in existence as of
the date the
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Department determines the recipient is in breach of the job | ||
creation or
retention
covenants contained in the | ||
development assistance agreement. If the recipient
of
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development assistance under the Large Business | ||
Development Program, the
Business
Development Public | ||
Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program
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ceases
operations at the specific project site, during the | ||
5-year period commencing on
the date of
assistance, the | ||
recipient shall be required to repay the entire amount of | ||
the
grant or to
accelerate repayment of the loan back to | ||
the State.
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(5) If the recipient receives a tax credit under the | ||
Economic
Development for a
Growing Economy tax credit | ||
program, the development assistance agreement must
provide | ||
that (i) if the number of new or retained employees falls | ||
below the
requisite
number set forth in the development | ||
assistance agreement, the allowance of the
credit
shall be | ||
automatically suspended until the number of new and | ||
retained employees
equals
or exceeds the requisite number | ||
in the development assistance agreement; (ii)
if
the
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recipient discontinues operations at the specific project | ||
site during the 5-year period after the beginning of the | ||
first tax year for which the Department issues a tax credit | ||
certificate, the recipient shall
forfeit all
credits taken | ||
by the recipient during such 5-year period; and (iii) in | ||
the
event
of a
revocation or suspension of the credit, the | ||
Department shall contact the
Director
of Revenue to | ||
initiate proceedings against the recipient to recover
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wrongfully
exempted Illinois State income taxes and the | ||
recipient shall promptly repay to
the
Department of Revenue | ||
any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes.
The | ||
forfeited amount of credits shall be deemed assessed on the | ||
date the
Department
contacts the Department of Revenue and | ||
the recipient shall promptly repay to
the
Department of | ||
Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income | ||
taxes.
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(b) The Director may elect to waive enforcement of any | ||
contractual provision
arising out of
the development | ||
assistance agreement required by this Act based on a finding
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that the waiver is
necessary to avert an imminent and | ||
demonstrable hardship to the
recipient that may
result in such | ||
recipient's insolvency or discharge of workers.
If a waiver is
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granted, the recipient must agree to a contractual | ||
modification, including
recapture provisions,
to the
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development assistance
agreement.
The existence of
any waiver
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granted pursuant to this subsection (c), the date of the | ||
granting of such
waiver, and a brief
summary of the reasons | ||
supporting the granting of such waiver shall be
disclosed
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consistent with
the provisions of Section 25 of this Act.
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(b-5) The Department shall post, on its website, (i) the | ||
identity of each recipient from whom amounts were recaptured | ||
under this Section on or after the effective date of this | ||
amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, (ii) the date of | ||
the recapture, (iii) a summary of the reasons supporting the | ||
recapture, and (iv) the amount recaptured from those | ||
recipients. | ||
(c) Beginning June 1, 2004, the Department shall annually | ||
compile a report
on the
outcomes and effectiveness of recapture | ||
provisions by program, including but
not limited
to: (i) the | ||
total number of companies that receive development assistance | ||
as
defined in
this Act; (ii) the total number of recipients in | ||
violation of development
agreements with
the Department; (iii) | ||
the total number of completed recapture efforts; (iv) the
total
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number of recapture efforts initiated; and (v) the number of | ||
waivers granted.
This report
shall be disclosed consistent with | ||
the provisions of Section 20 of this Act.
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(d) For the purposes of this Act, recapture provisions do | ||
not include the
Illinois
Department of Transportation Economic | ||
Development Program, any grants under the
Industrial Training | ||
Program that are not given as an incentive to a
recipient | ||
business organization,
or any successor programs as described | ||
in the term "development assistance" in
Section 5
of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 97-2, eff. 5-6-11.)
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Section 15. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by | ||
changing Section 6 as follows:
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(305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
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Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and | ||
Energy Assistance.
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(a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois | ||
and whose
household income is not greater than an amount | ||
determined annually by the
Department, in consultation with the | ||
Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance pursuant to | ||
this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the | ||
Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
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Department shall consider the amount of available funding and | ||
may not set a
limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm | ||
poverty level as established by
the federal Office of | ||
Management and Budget; except that for the period ending June | ||
30, 2013, 2012, or until the expenditure of federal resources | ||
allocated for energy assistance programs by the American | ||
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, whichever occurs first, the | ||
Department may not establish limits higher than 200% of that | ||
poverty level or the maximum level provided for by federal | ||
guidelines.
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(b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to | ||
subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation | ||
from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds | ||
to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by | ||
this Act. The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized | ||
pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds | ||
for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
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Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be | ||
provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the | ||
Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance | ||
go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to | ||
household income. The Department shall include
factors such as | ||
energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of | ||
the State when determining individual household benefits. In | ||
setting
assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to | ||
provide assistance to
approximately the same number of | ||
households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy | ||
Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels
shall | ||
be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and | ||
energy costs. In promulgating rules for the
administration of | ||
this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 | ||
of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with the | ||
lowest incomes and that elderly and
disabled households are | ||
offered a priority application
period.
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(c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an | ||
energy provider for
energy services or an applicant for such | ||
service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy | ||
assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department | ||
for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that
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such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater | ||
than 30% of
household income.
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(c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) | ||
the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider | ||
because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit | ||
as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing | ||
subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental | ||
Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded | ||
rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a | ||
rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly rent | ||
is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher | ||
Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and | ||
(3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of | ||
household income. In such cases, the household may apply for an | ||
energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of the | ||
housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by providing | ||
documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any | ||
compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy | ||
services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner | ||
of the housing unit providing energy services to the household. | ||
The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly on | ||
the number of households receiving energy assistance under this | ||
subsection and the cost of such assistance. The provisions of | ||
this subsection (c-1), other than this sentence, are | ||
inoperative after August 31, 2012. | ||
(d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, | ||
such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount | ||
established by the
Department for all such applicants under | ||
this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the | ||
energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such | ||
applicant. Such applicant shall:
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(i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other | ||
appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and
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(ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive | ||
income
information from any public or private agency | ||
providing income or energy
assistance and from any | ||
employer, whether public or private.
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(e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may | ||
receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency | ||
assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access to | ||
winter energy services. Any such
payments shall be made in | ||
accordance with regulations of the Department.
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(f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, | ||
provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
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(i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to | ||
energy providers;
and
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(ii) to assist the household in responding to | ||
excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. | ||
Households containing elderly members, children,
a person | ||
with a disability, or a person with a medical need for | ||
conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such | ||
benefits.
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(Source: P.A. 96-154, eff. 1-1-10; 96-157, eff. 9-1-09; | ||
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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