Bill Text: IL HB4988 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a municipality with a population over 1,000,000 may provide by ordinance for a program of vehicle immobilization to facilitate enforcement of municipal vehicle tax liability. Contains additional provisions governing notice and procedural matters involving implementation of the new Section. Provides that payment in full of any fine or penalty resulting from a vehicle tax violation shall constitute a final disposition of that violation. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Passed) 2012-08-10 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0937 [HB4988 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB4988-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 097-0937
HB4988 Enrolled LRB097 19182 HEP 64424 b
AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 3-704.1 and adding Section 11-1430.1 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/3-704.1)
Sec. 3-704.1. Municipal vehicle tax liability; suspension
of registration.
(a) As used in this Section:
(1) "Municipality" means a city, village or
incorporated town with a population over 1,000,000.
(2) "Vehicle tax" means a motor vehicle tax and any
related late fees or charges imposed by a municipality
under Section 8-11-4 or the Illinois Municipal Code or
under the municipality's home rule powers.
(3) "Vehicle owner" means the registered owner or
owners of a vehicle who are residents of the municipality.
(b) A municipality that imposes a vehicle tax may, by
ordinance adopted under this Section, establish a system
whereby the municipality notifies the Secretary of State of
vehicle tax liability and the Secretary of State suspends the
registration of vehicles for which the tax has not been paid.
An ordinance establishing a system must provide for the

following:
(1) A first notice for failure to pay a vehicle tax
shall be sent by first class mail to the vehicle owner at
the owner's address recorded with the Secretary of State
whenever the municipality has reasonable cause to believe
that the vehicle owner has failed to pay a vehicle tax as
required by ordinance. The notice shall include at least
the following:
(A) The name and address of the vehicle owner.
(B) The registration plate number of the vehicle.
(C) The period for which the vehicle tax is due.
(D) The amount of vehicle tax that is due.
(E) A statement that the vehicle owner's
registration for the vehicle will be subject to
suspension proceedings unless the vehicle owner pays
the vehicle tax or successfully contests the owner's
alleged liability within 30 days of the date of the
notice.
(F) An explanation of the vehicle owner's
opportunity to be heard under subsection (c).
(2) If a vehicle owner fails to pay the vehicle tax or
to contest successfully the owner's alleged liability
within the period specified in the first notice, a second
notice of impending registration suspension shall be sent
by first class mail to the vehicle owner at the owner's
address recorded with the Secretary of State. The notice

shall contain the same information as the first notice, but
shall also state that the failure to pay the amount owing,
or to contest successfully the alleged liability within 45
days of the date of the second notice, will result in the
municipality's notification of the Secretary of State that
the vehicle owner is eligible for initiation of suspension
proceedings under this Section.
(c) An ordinance adopted under this Section must also give
the vehicle owner an opportunity to be heard upon the filing of
a timely petition with the municipality. A vehicle owner may
contest the alleged tax liability either through an
adjudication by mail or at an administrative hearing, at the
option of the vehicle owner. The grounds upon which the
liability may be contested may be limited to the following:
(1) The alleged vehicle owner does not own the vehicle.
(2) The vehicle is not subject to the vehicle tax by
law.
(3) The vehicle tax for the period in question has been
paid.
At an administrative hearing, the formal or technical rules
of evidence shall not apply. The hearing shall be recorded. The
person conducting the hearing shall have the power to
administer oaths and to secure by subpoena the attendance and
testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant
documents.
(d) If a vehicle owner who has been sent a first notice of

failure to pay a vehicle tax and a second notice of impending
registration suspension fails to pay the vehicle tax or to
contest successfully the vehicle owner's liability within the
periods specified in the notices, the appropriate official
shall cause a certified report to be sent to the Secretary of
State under subsection (e).
(e) A report of a municipality notifying the Secretary of
State of a vehicle owner's failure to pay a vehicle tax or
related fines or penalties under this Section shall be
certified by the appropriate official and shall contain the
following:
(1) The name, last known address and registration plate
number of the vehicle of the person who failed to pay the
vehicle tax.
(2) The name of the municipality making the report.
(3) A statement that the municipality sent notices as
required by subsection (b); the date on which the notices
were sent; the address to which the notices were sent; and
the date of the hearing, if any.
(f) Following receipt of the certified report under this
Section, the Secretary of State shall notify the vehicle owner
that the vehicle's registration will be suspended at the end of
a reasonable specified period of time unless the Secretary of
State is presented with a notice from the municipality
certifying that the person has paid the necessary vehicle tax,
or that inclusion of that person's name or registration number

on the certified report was in error. The Secretary's notice
shall state in substance the information contained in the
certified report from the municipality to the Secretary, and
shall be effective as specified by subsection (c) of Section
6-211 of this Code. The notice shall also inform the person of
the person's right to a hearing under subsection (g).
(g) An administrative hearing with the Office of the
Secretary of State to contest an impending suspension or a
suspension made under this Section may be had upon filing a
written request with the Secretary of State. The filing fee for
this hearing shall be $20 to be paid at the time the request is
made.
(1) The scope of any administrative hearing with the
Secretary of State to contest an impending suspension under
this Section shall be limited to the following issues:
(A) Whether the report of the appropriate official
of the municipality was certified and contained the
information required by this Section.
(B) Whether the municipality making the certified
report to the Secretary of State established
procedures by ordinance for persons to challenge the
accuracy of the certified report.
(C) Whether the Secretary of State notified the
vehicle owner that the vehicle's registration would be
suspended at the end of the specified time period
unless the Secretary of State was presented with a

notice from the municipality certifying that the
person has purchased the necessary vehicle tax sticker
or that inclusion of that person's name or registration
number on the certified report was in error.
A municipality that files a certified report with the
Secretary of State under this Section shall reimburse the
Secretary for all reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary as
a result of the filing of the report, including but not limited
to the costs of providing the notice required under subsection
(f) and the costs incurred by the Secretary in any hearing
conducted with respect to the report under this subsection and
any appeal from that hearing.
(h) After the expiration of the time specified under
subsection (g), the Secretary of State shall, unless the
suspension is successfully contested, suspend the registration
of the vehicle until the Secretary receives notice under
subsection (i).
(i) Any municipality making a certified report to the
Secretary of State under this subsection shall notify the
Secretary of State, in a form prescribed by the Secretary,
whenever a person named in the certified report has
subsequently paid a vehicle tax or whenever the municipality
determines that the original report was in error. A certified
copy of the notification shall also be given upon request and
at no additional charge to the person named in the report. Upon
receipt of the notification or presentation of a certified copy

of the notification by the municipality, the Secretary of State
shall terminate the suspension.
(j) To facilitate enforcement of municipal vehicle tax
liability, a municipality may provide by ordinance for a
program of vehicle immobilization as provided by Section
11-1430.1 of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 87-1225.)
(625 ILCS 5/11-1430.1 new)
Sec. 11-1430.1. Vehicle immobilization for failure to pay
municipal vehicle tax violation liability.
(a) A municipality may provide by ordinance for a program
of vehicle immobilization to facilitate enforcement of
municipal vehicle tax liability. The program of vehicle
immobilization shall provide for immobilizing an eligible
vehicle upon the public way by presence of a restraint in a
manner to prevent operation of the vehicle. An ordinance
establishing a program of vehicle immobilization under this
Section shall include the following provisions:
(1) A vehicle shall be eligible for immobilization when
the registered owner of the vehicle has accumulated the
number of unpaid final determinations of vehicle tax
violation liability or other violation liability under
subsection (c) of Section 11-208.3 of this Code, or both.
(2) The vehicle owner shall be provided with notice of
the impending vehicle immobilization and the right to a

hearing to challenge the validity of the action by
disproving liability for unpaid final determinations of
vehicle tax or other violation liability under subsection
(c) of Section 11-208.3 of this Code.
(3) The vehicle owner shall have the right to a prompt
hearing after a vehicle has been immobilized or
subsequently towed for nonpayment of outstanding fines and
penalties for which final determinations have been issued.
An order issued after the hearing is a final administrative
decision within the meaning of Section 3-101 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(4) A post-immobilization and post-towing notice shall
be provided to the registered owner of the vehicle advising
the registered owner of the right to a hearing to challenge
the validity of the impoundment.
(b) Judicial review of final determinations of vehicle tax
violations and final administrative decisions issued after
hearings regarding vehicle immobilization and impoundment made
under this Section shall be subject to the Administrative
Review Law.
(c) A fine, penalty, or part thereof, remaining unpaid
after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust,
administrative remedies and the conclusion of judicial review
procedures shall be a debt due and owing the municipality and,
as such, may be collected in accordance with applicable law.
Payment in full of any fine or penalty resulting from a vehicle

tax violation shall constitute a final disposition of that
violation.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.