Bill Text: IL HB4489 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the format of the referendum question for counties seeking to impose a school facility occupation tax to include a brief description of the project for which the revenue from the tax will be used and a definite period of time during which the tax will be imposed. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB4489 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB4489-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB4489 Introduced , by Rep. John M. Cabello SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-1006.7
Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the format of the referendum question for counties seeking to impose a school facility occupation tax to include a brief description of the project for which the revenue from the tax will be used and a definite period of time during which the tax will be imposed. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section
5-1006.7 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/5-1006.7)
Sec. 5-1006.7. School facility occupation taxes.
(a) In any county, a tax shall be imposed upon all persons
engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property,
other than personal property titled or registered with an
agency of this State's government, at retail in the county on
the gross receipts from the sales made in the course of
business to provide revenue to be used exclusively for school
facility purposes if a proposition for the tax has been
submitted to the electors of that county and approved by a
majority of those voting on the question as provided in
subsection (c). The tax under this Section shall be imposed
only in one-quarter percent increments and may not exceed 1%.
This additional tax may not be imposed on the sale of food
for human consumption that is to be consumed off the premises
where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks,
and food that has been prepared for immediate consumption) and
prescription and non-prescription medicines, drugs, medical

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appliances and insulin, urine testing materials, syringes and
needles used by diabetics. The Department of Revenue has full
power to administer and enforce this subsection, to collect all
taxes and penalties due under this subsection, to dispose of
taxes and penalties so collected in the manner provided in this
subsection, and to determine all rights to credit memoranda
arising on account of the erroneous payment of a tax or penalty
under this subsection. The Department shall deposit all taxes
and penalties collected under this subsection into a special
fund created for that purpose.
In the administration of and compliance with this
subsection, the Department and persons who are subject to this
subsection (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges,
immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) are subject to the same
conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, and
definitions of terms, and (iii) shall employ the same modes of
procedure as are set forth in Sections 1 through 1o, 2 through
2-70 (in respect to all provisions contained in those Sections
other than the State rate of tax), 2a through 2h, 3 (except as
to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 4, 5, 5a,
5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i, 5j, 5k, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the Retailers' Occupation
Tax Act and all provisions of the Uniform Penalty and Interest
Act as if those provisions were set forth in this subsection.
The certificate of registration that is issued by the
Department to a retailer under the Retailers' Occupation Tax

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Act permits the retailer to engage in a business that is
taxable without registering separately with the Department
under an ordinance or resolution under this subsection.
Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their
seller's tax liability by separately stating that tax as an
additional charge, which may be stated in combination, in a
single amount, with State tax that sellers are required to
collect under the Use Tax Act, pursuant to any bracketed
schedules set forth by the Department.
(b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), then a
service occupation tax must also be imposed at the same rate
upon all persons engaged, in the county, in the business of
making sales of service, who, as an incident to making those
sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within
the county as an incident to a sale of service.
This tax may not be imposed on sales of food for human
consumption that is to be consumed off the premises where it is
sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food
prepared for immediate consumption) and prescription and
non-prescription medicines, drugs, medical appliances and
insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and needles used by
diabetics.
The tax imposed under this subsection and all civil
penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be
collected and enforced by the Department and deposited into a

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special fund created for that purpose. The Department has full
power to administer and enforce this subsection, to collect all
taxes and penalties due under this subsection, to dispose of
taxes and penalties so collected in the manner provided in this
subsection, and to determine all rights to credit memoranda
arising on account of the erroneous payment of a tax or penalty
under this subsection.
In the administration of and compliance with this
subsection, the Department and persons who are subject to this
subsection shall (i) have the same rights, remedies,
privileges, immunities, powers and duties, (ii) be subject to
the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties and
definition of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of
procedure as are set forth in Sections 2 (except that that
reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining a
place of business in this State means the county), 2a through
2d, 3 through 3-50 (in respect to all provisions contained in
those Sections other than the State rate of tax), 4 (except
that the reference to the State shall be to the county), 5, 7,
8 (except that the jurisdiction to which the tax is a debt to
the extent indicated in that Section 8 is the county), 9
(except as to the disposition of taxes and penalties
collected), 10, 11, 12 (except the reference therein to Section
2b of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act), 13 (except that any
reference to the State means the county), Section 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, and 20 of the Service Occupation Tax Act and all

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provisions of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as
if those provisions were set forth herein.
Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their
serviceman's tax liability by separately stating the tax as an
additional charge, which may be stated in combination, in a
single amount, with State tax that servicemen are authorized to
collect under the Service Use Tax Act, pursuant to any
bracketed schedules set forth by the Department.
(c) The tax under this Section may not be imposed until the
question of imposing the tax has been submitted to the electors
of the county at a regular election and approved by a majority
of the electors voting on the question. For all regular
elections held prior to August 23, 2011 (the effective date of
Public Act 97-542), upon a resolution by the county board or a
resolution by school district boards that represent at least
51% of the student enrollment within the county, the county
board must certify the question to the proper election
authority in accordance with the Election Code.
For all regular elections held prior to August 23, 2011
(the effective date of Public Act 97-542), the election
authority must submit the question in substantially the
following form:
Shall (name of county) be authorized to impose a
retailers' occupation tax and a service occupation tax
(commonly referred to as a "sales tax") at a rate of

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(insert rate) to be used exclusively for school facility
purposes?
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then the county may, thereafter, impose the
tax.
For all regular elections held on or after August 23, 2011
(the effective date of Public Act 97-542), the regional
superintendent of schools for the county must, upon receipt of
a resolution or resolutions of school district boards that
represent more than 50% of the student enrollment within the
county, certify the question to the proper election authority
for submission to the electors of the county at the next
regular election at which the question lawfully may be
submitted to the electors, all in accordance with the Election
Code.
For all regular elections held on or after August 23, 2011
(the effective date of Public Act 97-542) and until the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General
Assembly, the election authority must submit the question in
substantially the following form:
Shall a retailers' occupation tax and a service
occupation tax (commonly referred to as a "sales tax") be
imposed in (name of county) at a rate of (insert rate) to
be used exclusively for school facility purposes?
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".

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If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then the tax shall be imposed at the rate
set forth in the question.
For all regular elections held on or after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the
election authority must submit the question in substantially
the following form:
Shall a retailers' occupation tax and a service
occupation tax (commonly referred to as a "sales tax") be
imposed in [name of county] at a rate of [insert rate] to
be used exclusively for [description of school facility
project or projects] for a period of [insert number] years?
The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or
"No".
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
in the affirmative, then the tax shall be imposed at the rate
set forth in the question for a period not to exceed the time
stated.
For the purposes of this subsection (c), "enrollment" means
the head count of the students residing in the county on the
last school day of September of each year, which must be
reported on the Illinois State Board of Education Public School
Fall Enrollment/Housing Report.
(d) The Department shall immediately pay over to the State
Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and penalties
collected under this Section to be deposited into the School

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Facility Occupation Tax Fund, which shall be an unappropriated
trust fund held outside the State treasury.
On or before the 25th day of each calendar month, the
Department shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller the
disbursement of stated sums of money to the regional
superintendents of schools in counties from which retailers or
servicemen have paid taxes or penalties to the Department
during the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be
paid to each regional superintendent of schools and disbursed
to him or her in accordance with Section 3-14.31 of the School
Code, is equal to the amount (not including credit memoranda)
collected from the county under this Section during the second
preceding calendar month by the Department, (i) less 2% of that
amount, which shall be deposited into the Tax Compliance and
Administration Fund and shall be used by the Department,
subject to appropriation, to cover the costs of the Department
in administering and enforcing the provisions of this Section,
on behalf of the county, (ii) plus an amount that the
Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that
were erroneously paid to a different taxing body; (iii) less an
amount equal to the amount of refunds made during the second
preceding calendar month by the Department on behalf of the
county; and (iv) less any amount that the Department determines
is necessary to offset any amounts that were payable to a
different taxing body but were erroneously paid to the county.
When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement to a

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regional superintendent of schools under this Section, the
Department shall increase or decrease the amounts by an amount
necessary to offset any miscalculation of previous
disbursements within the previous 6 months from the time a
miscalculation is discovered.
Within 10 days after receipt by the Comptroller from the
Department of the disbursement certification to the regional
superintendents of the schools provided for in this Section,
the Comptroller shall cause the orders to be drawn for the
respective amounts in accordance with directions contained in
the certification.
If the Department determines that a refund should be made
under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a credit
memorandum, then the Department shall notify the Comptroller,
who shall cause the order to be drawn for the amount specified
and to the person named in the notification from the
Department. The refund shall be paid by the Treasurer out of
the School Facility Occupation Tax Fund.
(e) For the purposes of determining the local governmental
unit whose tax is applicable, a retail sale by a producer of
coal or another mineral mined in Illinois is a sale at retail
at the place where the coal or other mineral mined in Illinois
is extracted from the earth. This subsection does not apply to
coal or another mineral when it is delivered or shipped by the
seller to the purchaser at a point outside Illinois so that the
sale is exempt under the United States Constitution as a sale

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in interstate or foreign commerce.
(f) Nothing in this Section may be construed to authorize a
tax to be imposed upon the privilege of engaging in any
business that under the Constitution of the United States may
not be made the subject of taxation by this State.
(g) If a county board imposes a tax under this Section
pursuant to a referendum held before August 23, 2011 (the
effective date of Public Act 97-542) at a rate below the rate
set forth in the question approved by a majority of electors of
that county voting on the question as provided in subsection
(c), then the county board may, by ordinance, increase the rate
of the tax up to the rate set forth in the question approved by
a majority of electors of that county voting on the question as
provided in subsection (c). If a county board imposes a tax
under this Section pursuant to a referendum held before August
23, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-542), then the
board may, by ordinance, discontinue or reduce the rate of the
tax. If a tax is imposed under this Section pursuant to a
referendum held on or after August 23, 2011 (the effective date
of Public Act 97-542), then the county board may reduce or
discontinue the tax, but only in accordance with subsection
(h-5) of this Section. If, however, a school board issues bonds
that are secured by the proceeds of the tax under this Section,
then the county board may not reduce the tax rate or
discontinue the tax if that rate reduction or discontinuance
would adversely affect the school board's ability to pay the

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principal and interest on those bonds as they become due or
necessitate the extension of additional property taxes to pay
the principal and interest on those bonds. If the county board
reduces the tax rate or discontinues the tax, then a referendum
must be held in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section
in order to increase the rate of the tax or to reimpose the
discontinued tax.
Until January 1, 2014, the results of any election that
imposes, reduces, or discontinues a tax under this Section must
be certified by the election authority, and any ordinance that
increases or lowers the rate or discontinues the tax must be
certified by the county clerk and, in each case, filed with the
Illinois Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate as of the
first day of July next following the filing; or (ii) on or
before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall
proceed to administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate
as of the first day of January next following the filing.
Beginning January 1, 2014, the results of any election that
imposes, reduces, or discontinues a tax under this Section must
be certified by the election authority, and any ordinance that
increases or lowers the rate or discontinues the tax must be
certified by the county clerk and, in each case, filed with the
Illinois Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
first day of May, whereupon the Department shall proceed to

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administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate as of the
first day of July next following the filing; or (ii) on or
before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall
proceed to administer and enforce the tax or change in the rate
as of the first day of January next following the filing.
(h) For purposes of this Section, "school facility
purposes" means (i) the acquisition, development,
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement,
financing, architectural planning, and installation of capital
facilities consisting of buildings, structures, and durable
equipment and for the acquisition and improvement of real
property and interest in real property required, or expected to
be required, in connection with the capital facilities and (ii)
the payment of bonds or other obligations heretofore or
hereafter issued, including bonds or other obligations
heretofore or hereafter issued to refund or to continue to
refund bonds or other obligations issued, for school facility
purposes, provided that the taxes levied to pay those bonds are
abated by the amount of the taxes imposed under this Section
that are used to pay those bonds. "School-facility purposes"
also includes fire prevention, safety, energy conservation,
accessibility, school security, and specified repair purposes
set forth under Section 17-2.11 of the School Code.
(h-5) A county board in a county where a tax has been
imposed under this Section pursuant to a referendum held on or
after August 23, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-542)

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may, by ordinance or resolution, submit to the voters of the
county the question of reducing or discontinuing the tax. In
the ordinance or resolution, the county board shall certify the
question to the proper election authority in accordance with
the Election Code. The election authority must submit the
question in substantially the following form:
Shall the school facility retailers' occupation tax
and service occupation tax (commonly referred to as the
"school facility sales tax") currently imposed in (name of
county) at a rate of (insert rate) be (reduced to (insert
rate))(discontinued)?
If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote in
the affirmative, then, subject to the provisions of subsection
(g) of this Section, the tax shall be reduced or discontinued
as set forth in the question.
(i) This Section does not apply to Cook County.
(j) This Section may be cited as the County School Facility
Occupation Tax Law.
(Source: P.A. 98-584, eff. 8-27-13; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15;
99-217, eff. 7-31-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.