Bill Text: IL SB1296 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act. Makes changes adding residential property to the scope of the Act. Modifies the requirements of a report needed to establish a PACE area and requirements before entering into an assessment contract. For program administrators and contracts that finance residential properties of 4 or fewer units: provides for contractor oversight and training for residential properties inside PACE areas; prohibits specified soliciting, advertising, and direct or indirect cash payments or other things of value to property owners; requires a local unit of government and third-party program administrators to develop a disclosure form for homeowners and a right to cancel within 3 business days assessment contracts; and requires an oral confirmation call to property owners with specified minimum requirements for the call. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB1296 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SB1296-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning local government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Property Assessed Clean Energy Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | amended by changing Sections 5, 20, and 25 and by adding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Sections 45, 50, and 55 as follows:
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7 | (50 ILCS 50/5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | "Alternative energy improvement" means the installation or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | upgrade of electrical wiring, outlets, or charging stations to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | charge a motor vehicle that is fully or partially powered by | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | electricity. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | "Assessment contract" means a voluntary written contract | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | between the local unit
of government (or a permitted assignee) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | and record owner governing the terms and conditions of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | financing and
assessment under a program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | "Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | "PACE area" means an area within the jurisdictional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | boundaries of a local unit of government created by an | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | ordinance or resolution of the local unit of government to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | provide financing for energy projects under a property assessed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | clean energy
program. A local unit of government may create | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | more than one PACE area under
the program, and PACE areas may |
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1 | be separate, overlapping, or coterminous. | ||||||
2 | "Energy efficiency improvement" means equipment, devices, | ||||||
3 | or materials
intended to decrease energy consumption or promote | ||||||
4 | a more efficient use of electricity, natural gas,
propane, or | ||||||
5 | other forms of energy on property, including, but not limited | ||||||
6 | to, all of the
following: | ||||||
7 | (1) insulation in walls, roofs, floors, foundations, | ||||||
8 | or heating and
cooling distribution systems; | ||||||
9 | (2) storm windows and doors, multi-glazed windows and | ||||||
10 | doors, heat-absorbing
or heat-reflective glazed and coated | ||||||
11 | window and door systems, and additional glazing, | ||||||
12 | reductions in glass area, and other window and
door system | ||||||
13 | modifications that reduce energy consumption; | ||||||
14 | (3) automated energy control systems; | ||||||
15 | (4) high efficiency heating, ventilating, or | ||||||
16 | air-conditioning and
distribution system modifications or | ||||||
17 | replacements; | ||||||
18 | (5) caulking, weather-stripping, and air sealing; | ||||||
19 | (6) replacement or modification of lighting fixtures | ||||||
20 | to reduce the
energy use of the lighting system; | ||||||
21 | (7) energy controls or recovery systems; | ||||||
22 | (8) day lighting systems; | ||||||
23 | (8.1) any energy efficiency project, as defined in | ||||||
24 | Section 825-65 of the
Illinois Finance Authority Act; and | ||||||
25 | (9) any other installation or modification of | ||||||
26 | equipment, devices, or
materials approved as a utility |
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1 | cost-savings measure by the governing
body. | ||||||
2 | "Energy project" means the installation or modification of | ||||||
3 | an alternative energy improvement, energy
efficiency | ||||||
4 | improvement, or water use improvement, or the acquisition, | ||||||
5 | installation, or improvement of a renewable energy
system that | ||||||
6 | is affixed to a stabilized existing property (including new | ||||||
7 | construction). | ||||||
8 | "Governing body" means the county board or board of county | ||||||
9 | commissioners of a county, the city council of a city, or the | ||||||
10 | board of trustees of a village. | ||||||
11 | "Local unit of government" means a county, city, or | ||||||
12 | village. | ||||||
13 | "Permitted assignee" means (i) any body politic and | ||||||
14 | corporate, (ii) any bond trustee, or (iii) any warehouse | ||||||
15 | lender, or any other assignee of a local unit of government | ||||||
16 | designated in an assessment contract. | ||||||
17 | "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, | ||||||
18 | association, corporation,
limited liability company, | ||||||
19 | unincorporated joint venture, trust, or any other type of | ||||||
20 | entity that is recognized by law and has the title to or | ||||||
21 | interest in property. "Person" does not include a local unit of | ||||||
22 | government or a homeowner's or condominium association, but | ||||||
23 | does include other governmental entities that
are not local | ||||||
24 | units of government. | ||||||
25 | "Program administrator" means a for-profit entity or | ||||||
26 | not-for-profit not-for profit entity that will administer a |
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1 | program on behalf of or at the discretion of the local unit of | ||||||
2 | government. It or its affiliates, consultants, or advisors | ||||||
3 | shall have done business as a program administrator or capital | ||||||
4 | provider for a minimum of 18 months and shall be responsible | ||||||
5 | for arranging capital for the acquisition of bonds issued by | ||||||
6 | the local unit of government or the Authority to finance energy | ||||||
7 | projects. | ||||||
8 | "Property" means privately-owned residential, commercial, | ||||||
9 | industrial, non-residential agricultural, or multi-family (of | ||||||
10 | 5 or more units) real property
located within the local unit of | ||||||
11 | government, but does not include property owned by a local unit | ||||||
12 | of government or a homeowner's or condominium association. | ||||||
13 | "Property assessed clean energy program" or "program" | ||||||
14 | means a
program as described in Section 10. | ||||||
15 | "Record owner" means the person who is the titleholder or | ||||||
16 | owner of the beneficial interest in property. | ||||||
17 | "Renewable energy resource" includes energy and its | ||||||
18 | associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits | ||||||
19 | from wind energy, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and | ||||||
20 | panels, biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, and hydropower that | ||||||
21 | does not involve new construction or significant expansion of | ||||||
22 | hydropower dams. For purposes of this Act, landfill gas | ||||||
23 | produced in the State is considered a renewable energy | ||||||
24 | resource. The term "renewable energy resources" does not | ||||||
25 | include the incineration or burning of any solid material. | ||||||
26 | "Renewable energy system" means a fixture, product, |
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1 | device, or
interacting group of fixtures, products, or devices | ||||||
2 | on the customer's side of the meter that use one or more | ||||||
3 | renewable energy resources to generate electricity, and | ||||||
4 | specifically includes any renewable energy
project, as defined | ||||||
5 | in Section 825-65 of the Illinois Finance Authority Act. | ||||||
6 | "Warehouse fund" means any fund established by a local unit | ||||||
7 | of government, body politic and corporate, or warehouse lender. | ||||||
8 | "Warehouse lender" means any financial institution | ||||||
9 | participating in a PACE area that finances an energy project | ||||||
10 | from lawfully available funds in anticipation of issuing bonds | ||||||
11 | as described in Section 35. | ||||||
12 | "Water use improvement" means any fixture, product, | ||||||
13 | system, device, or interacting group thereof for or serving any | ||||||
14 | property that has the effect of conserving water resources | ||||||
15 | through improved water management or efficiency.
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16 | (Source: P.A. 100-77, eff. 8-11-17; 100-980, eff. 1-1-19; | ||||||
17 | revised 9-28-18.)
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18 | (50 ILCS 50/20) | ||||||
19 | Sec. 20. Report. The report on the proposed program | ||||||
20 | required under Section 15 shall include all of the following: | ||||||
21 | (1) a form of assessment contract between the local | ||||||
22 | unit of government and
record owner governing the terms and | ||||||
23 | conditions of financing and assessment under the
program. | ||||||
24 | (2) identification of an official authorized to enter | ||||||
25 | into an assessment contract
on behalf of the local unit of |
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1 | government; | ||||||
2 | (3) a maximum aggregate annual dollar amount for all | ||||||
3 | financing to be
provided by the applicable program | ||||||
4 | administrator under the program; | ||||||
5 | (4) an application process and eligibility | ||||||
6 | requirements for financing energy
projects under the | ||||||
7 | program; | ||||||
8 | (5) a method for determining interest rates on | ||||||
9 | assessment installments,
repayment periods, and the | ||||||
10 | maximum amount of an assessment; | ||||||
11 | (6) an explanation of how assessments will be made and | ||||||
12 | collected; | ||||||
13 | (7) a plan to raise capital to finance improvements | ||||||
14 | under the program
pursuant to the sale of bonds, subject to | ||||||
15 | this Act or the Special Assessment Supplemental Bond and
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16 | Procedures Act, or alternatively, through the sale of
bonds | ||||||
17 | by the Authority pursuant to subsection (d) of Section | ||||||
18 | 825-65 of the Illinois Finance Authority
Act; | ||||||
19 | (8) information regarding all of the following, to the | ||||||
20 | extent known, or
procedures to determine the following in | ||||||
21 | the future: | ||||||
22 | (A) any revenue source or reserve fund or funds to | ||||||
23 | be used as security for bonds described
in paragraph | ||||||
24 | (7); and | ||||||
25 | (B) any application, administration, or other | ||||||
26 | program fees to be charged
to record owners |
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1 | participating in the program that will be used to
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2 | finance costs incurred by the local unit of government | ||||||
3 | as a result of the
program; | ||||||
4 | (9) a requirement that the term of an assessment not | ||||||
5 | exceed the useful life of
the energy project paid for by | ||||||
6 | the assessment; provided that the local unit of government | ||||||
7 | may allow projects that consist of multiple improvements | ||||||
8 | with varying lengths of useful life to have a term that is | ||||||
9 | no greater than the improvement with the longest useful | ||||||
10 | life; | ||||||
11 | (10) a requirement for an appropriate ratio of the | ||||||
12 | amount of the assessment
to the assessed value of the | ||||||
13 | property or market value of the property as determined by | ||||||
14 | an automated valuation model provided by a third-party | ||||||
15 | vendor or by a recent
appraisal no older than 12 months; | ||||||
16 | (11) a requirement that the record owner of property | ||||||
17 | subject to a mortgage
obtain written consent from the | ||||||
18 | mortgage holder before participating in the program; | ||||||
19 | (11) (12) provisions for marketing and participant | ||||||
20 | education; | ||||||
21 | (12) (13) provisions for an adequate debt service | ||||||
22 | reserve fund, if any; and | ||||||
23 | (13) (14) quality assurance and antifraud measures.
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24 | (Source: P.A. 100-77, eff. 8-11-17; 100-980, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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25 | (50 ILCS 50/25) |
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1 | Sec. 25. Contracts with record owners of property. | ||||||
2 | (a) After creation of a program and PACE area, a record | ||||||
3 | owner of property within the PACE area may apply with the local | ||||||
4 | unit of government or its program administrator or | ||||||
5 | administrators for funding to finance an energy project. | ||||||
6 | (b) A local unit of government may impose an assessment | ||||||
7 | under a property
assessed clean energy program only pursuant to | ||||||
8 | the terms of a recorded assessment contract with the
record | ||||||
9 | owner of the property to be assessed. | ||||||
10 | (c) Before entering into an assessment contract with a | ||||||
11 | record owner under
a program, the local unit of government | ||||||
12 | shall verify all of the following: | ||||||
13 | (1) that the property is within the PACE area; | ||||||
14 | (2) that there are no delinquent taxes, special | ||||||
15 | assessments, or
water or sewer charges on the property; | ||||||
16 | (3) that there are no delinquent assessments on the | ||||||
17 | property under
a property assessed clean energy program; | ||||||
18 | (4) there are no involuntary liens on the property, | ||||||
19 | including, but
not limited to, construction or mechanics | ||||||
20 | liens, lis pendens or judgments against the
record owner, | ||||||
21 | environmental proceedings, or eminent domain
proceedings; | ||||||
22 | (5) that no notices of default or other evidence of | ||||||
23 | property-based
debt delinquency have been recorded and not | ||||||
24 | cured; | ||||||
25 | (6) that the record owner is current on all mortgage | ||||||
26 | debt on the
property, the record owner has not filed for |
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1 | bankruptcy in the last 2 years, and the property is not an | ||||||
2 | asset to a current bankruptcy. | ||||||
3 | (7) all work requiring a license under any applicable | ||||||
4 | law to make a
qualifying improvement shall be performed by | ||||||
5 | a registered contractor that has agreed to adhere to a set | ||||||
6 | of terms and conditions through a process established by | ||||||
7 | the local unit of government. | ||||||
8 | (8) the contractors to be used have signed a written | ||||||
9 | acknowledgement that the local unit of government will not | ||||||
10 | authorize final payment to the contractor until the local | ||||||
11 | unit of government has received written confirmation from | ||||||
12 | the record owner that the improvement was properly | ||||||
13 | installed and is operating as intended; provided, however, | ||||||
14 | that the contractor retains all legal rights and remedies | ||||||
15 | in the event there is a disagreement with the owner; | ||||||
16 | (9) that the amount of the assessment in relation to | ||||||
17 | the greater of the assessed value of the property or the | ||||||
18 | appraised value of the property, as determined by a | ||||||
19 | licensed appraiser, does not exceed 25%; and | ||||||
20 | (10) a requirement that an assessment of the existing | ||||||
21 | water or energy use and a modeling of expected monetary | ||||||
22 | savings have been conducted for any proposed project on | ||||||
23 | non-residential real property . | ||||||
24 | (d) At least 30 days before entering into an assessment | ||||||
25 | contract with
the local unit of government, the record owner | ||||||
26 | shall provide to the holders or
loan servicers of any existing |
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1 | mortgages encumbering or otherwise
secured by the property a | ||||||
2 | notice of the record owner's intent to enter
into an assessment | ||||||
3 | contract with the local unit of government, together with the | ||||||
4 | maximum principal amount to be financed and the
maximum annual | ||||||
5 | assessment necessary to repay that amount . , along
with a | ||||||
6 | If the record owner is of a commercial property, an | ||||||
7 | additional request that the holders or loan servicers of any | ||||||
8 | existing
mortgages consent to the record owner subjecting the | ||||||
9 | property to the
program must be included . A verified copy or | ||||||
10 | other proof of those notices and the written
consent of the | ||||||
11 | existing mortgage holder for the record owner to enter
into the | ||||||
12 | assessment contract and acknowledging that the existing
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13 | mortgage will be subordinate to the financing and assessment
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14 | agreement and that the local unit of government or its | ||||||
15 | permitted assignee can foreclose the
property if the assessment | ||||||
16 | is not paid shall be provided to the local
unit of government. | ||||||
17 | (e) A provision in any agreement between a local unit of
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18 | government and a public or private power or energy provider or | ||||||
19 | other
utility provider is not enforceable to limit or prohibit | ||||||
20 | any local unit of
government from exercising its authority | ||||||
21 | under this Section. | ||||||
22 | (f) The record owner has signed a certification that the | ||||||
23 | local unit of government has complied with the provisions of | ||||||
24 | this Section, which shall be conclusive evidence as to | ||||||
25 | compliance with these provisions, but shall not relieve any | ||||||
26 | contractor, or local unit of government, from any potential |
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1 | liability. | ||||||
2 | (g) This Section is additional and supplemental to county | ||||||
3 | and
municipal home rule authority and not in derogation of such | ||||||
4 | authority
or limitation upon such authority.
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5 | (h) The imposition of any assessment pursuant to this Act | ||||||
6 | shall be exempt from any
other statutory procedures or | ||||||
7 | requirements that condition the imposition of assessments or | ||||||
8 | other
taxes against a property, except as set forth in this | ||||||
9 | Act. | ||||||
10 | (Source: P.A. 100-77, eff. 8-11-17; 100-980, eff. 1-1-19 .)
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11 | (50 ILCS 50/45 new) | ||||||
12 | Sec. 45. Contractor oversight and training for residential | ||||||
13 | property. | ||||||
14 | (a) A program administrator shall not permit contractors or | ||||||
15 | other third parties to advertise the availability of assessment | ||||||
16 | contracts that are administered by the program administrator or | ||||||
17 | to solicit property owners on behalf of the program | ||||||
18 | administrator unless: | ||||||
19 | (1) the contractor maintains a permit, license, or | ||||||
20 | registration required for engaging in its business in the | ||||||
21 | jurisdiction where it operates and maintains the required | ||||||
22 | bond and insurance coverage for engaging in its business; | ||||||
23 | and | ||||||
24 | (2) the program administrator obtains the contractor's | ||||||
25 | written agreement that the contractor or third party will |
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1 | act in accordance with applicable advertising and | ||||||
2 | marketing laws and regulations and all other applicable | ||||||
3 | laws. | ||||||
4 | (b) A program administrator shall not provide any direct or | ||||||
5 | indirect cash payment or other thing of material value to a | ||||||
6 | contractor or third party in excess of the actual price charged | ||||||
7 | by that contractor or third party to the property owner for one | ||||||
8 | or more qualified improvements financed by an assessment | ||||||
9 | contract. | ||||||
10 | (c) A program administrator shall not provide to a | ||||||
11 | contractor engaged in soliciting financing agreements on its | ||||||
12 | behalf any information that discloses the maximum amount of | ||||||
13 | funds for which a property owner may be eligible for qualifying | ||||||
14 | improvements or the amount of equity in a property. | ||||||
15 | (d) A program administrator shall not reimburse a | ||||||
16 | contractor or third party for expenses for advertising and | ||||||
17 | marketing campaigns and collateral which solely benefit the | ||||||
18 | contractor. A program administrator may reimburse a | ||||||
19 | contractor's bona fide and reasonable training expenses | ||||||
20 | related to PACE area financing if: | ||||||
21 | (1) the training
expenses are actually incurred by the | ||||||
22 | contractor; and | ||||||
23 | (2) the reimbursement is paid directly to the | ||||||
24 | contractor and is not paid to its salespersons or agents. | ||||||
25 | (e) A program administrator shall not provide any direct or | ||||||
26 | indirect cash payment or other thing of value to a property |
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1 | owner conditioned upon that property owner entering into an | ||||||
2 | assessment contract. Programs or promotions that offer reduced | ||||||
3 | fees or interest rates to property owners are not a "direct or | ||||||
4 | indirect cash payment or other thing of value" if the reduced | ||||||
5 | fee or interest rate is reflected in the assessment contract | ||||||
6 | and the program or promotion is not provided to the property | ||||||
7 | owner as a cash consideration. | ||||||
8 | (f) A contractor shall not provide a different price for a | ||||||
9 | project financed under this Section than the contractor would | ||||||
10 | provide if paid in cash by the property owner. | ||||||
11 | (g) A program administrator shall establish and maintain a | ||||||
12 | training program for contractors that includes, but is not | ||||||
13 | limited to, the following topics: | ||||||
14 | (1) Programs
and assessment contracts. | ||||||
15 | (2) Disclosures. | ||||||
16 | (3) Ethics. | ||||||
17 | (4) Fraud prevention. | ||||||
18 | (5) Nondiscrimination. | ||||||
19 | (6) Senior financial abuse. | ||||||
20 | (h) This Section only applies to program administrators and | ||||||
21 | contractors that finance residential properties of 4 or fewer | ||||||
22 | units. This Section does not apply to commercial, industrial, | ||||||
23 | multi-family (5 or more units), or agricultural properties.
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24 | (50 ILCS 50/50 new) | ||||||
25 | Sec. 50. Disclosure form. |
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1 | (a) Every local unit of government or third-party program | ||||||
2 | administrator shall develop a disclosure form for homeowners | ||||||
3 | that shall disclose all key financing terms of the assessment | ||||||
4 | contract, including, but not limited to: | ||||||
5 | (1) the total amount funded, including the cost of the | ||||||
6 | installed improvements, program fees, and capitalized | ||||||
7 | interest, if any; | ||||||
8 | (2) the annual tax obligation process and schedule; | ||||||
9 | (3) the annual payment amounts; | ||||||
10 | (4) the term of the assessment; | ||||||
11 | (5) the
fixed rate of interest charged; | ||||||
12 | (6) the annual percentage rate; | ||||||
13 | (7) a payment schedule that fully amortizes the amount | ||||||
14 | financed; | ||||||
15 | (8) the improvements to be installed; | ||||||
16 | (9) that if the property owners sell or refinance their | ||||||
17 | property, then they may be required by a mortgage lender to | ||||||
18 | pay off the assessment as a condition of sale or refinance; | ||||||
19 | (10) the penalty that shall be assessed or collected | ||||||
20 | for prepayment of the assessment, if a prepayment penalty | ||||||
21 | exists, and the form shall disclose if there is no | ||||||
22 | pre-payment penalty for the assessment; | ||||||
23 | (11) that any potential utility savings are not | ||||||
24 | guaranteed and will not reduce the assessment payments or | ||||||
25 | total assessment amount; | ||||||
26 | (12) that the assessment will be collected along with |
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1 | their property taxes and will result in a lien on their | ||||||
2 | property from the date of the assessment contract; | ||||||
3 | (13) that the payments will be added to their property | ||||||
4 | tax bill, and if they pay their property taxes through | ||||||
5 | their mortgage payment, using an impound account, the | ||||||
6 | property owners should notify their mortgage lender so that | ||||||
7 | their monthly mortgage payment can be adjusted to cover | ||||||
8 | their increased property tax bill; | ||||||
9 | (14) that failure to pay the property assessment may | ||||||
10 | result in penalties and fees and issuance of a tax sale or | ||||||
11 | foreclosure that could result in the property owners losing | ||||||
12 | their home; and | ||||||
13 | (15) that the property owners should seek professional | ||||||
14 | tax advice if they have questions regarding tax credits, | ||||||
15 | tax deductibility, or of the tax impact on the assessment | ||||||
16 | contract or financing agreement. | ||||||
17 | (b) A program administrator shall present the disclosure | ||||||
18 | form to property owners for acknowledgment prior to the | ||||||
19 | execution of an assessment contract. | ||||||
20 | (c) A program administrator shall, as a part of its | ||||||
21 | assessment contract, provide a 3-day right to cancel the | ||||||
22 | qualifying improvements financing. The 3-day right to cancel | ||||||
23 | expires on midnight of the fourth day, not including weekends | ||||||
24 | or holidays, after a property owner signs the assessment | ||||||
25 | contract. A program administrator shall provide a printed form | ||||||
26 | for the right to cancel that is presented to the property |
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1 | owners no later than the time of signing of the assessment | ||||||
2 | contract. | ||||||
3 | (d) The local unit of government shall develop a form to | ||||||
4 | notify the property owner in writing and to include in the call | ||||||
5 | procedure in Section 55 that the owner may rescind any | ||||||
6 | assessment contract entered into pursuant to this Section not | ||||||
7 | later than 3 days, not including weekends and holidays, after | ||||||
8 | entering into the agreement. All local units of governments or | ||||||
9 | third-party program administrators shall provide the form at | ||||||
10 | the same time as the disclosure form above. The notification | ||||||
11 | shall be provided to the property owner as a printed copy | ||||||
12 | unless the property owner agrees to an electronic copy. | ||||||
13 | (e) This Section only applies to program administrators and | ||||||
14 | contractors that finance residential properties of 4 or fewer | ||||||
15 | units. This Section does not apply to commercial, industrial, | ||||||
16 | multi-family (5 or more units), or agricultural properties.
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17 | (50 ILCS 50/55 new) | ||||||
18 | Sec. 55. Oral confirmation call. | ||||||
19 | (a) Before a property owner executes an assessment | ||||||
20 | contract, the local unit of government or third-party program | ||||||
21 | administrator shall: | ||||||
22 | (1) make an oral confirmation that at least one owner | ||||||
23 | of the property has a copy of the assessment contract | ||||||
24 | documents with all the key terms completed, the financing | ||||||
25 | estimate and disclosure form, and the right-to-cancel form |
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1 | with a hard copy available upon request; and | ||||||
2 | (2) make an oral confirmation, in plain language, of | ||||||
3 | the key terms of the assessment contract with the property | ||||||
4 | owner on the call or to a verified authorized | ||||||
5 | representative of the owner on the call and shall obtain | ||||||
6 | acknowledgment from the property owner on the call to whom | ||||||
7 | the oral confirmation is given. | ||||||
8 | (b) The oral confirmation shall include, but is not limited | ||||||
9 | to, all of the following information: | ||||||
10 | (1) At the onset of the call after the determination of | ||||||
11 | the preferred language of communication, that the property | ||||||
12 | owner on the call has the right to have other persons | ||||||
13 | present for the call and an inquiry as to whether the | ||||||
14 | property owner would like to exercise the right to include | ||||||
15 | anyone else on the call. This shall occur. | ||||||
16 | (2) The property owner on the call is informed that | ||||||
17 | they should review the assessment contract, financing | ||||||
18 | estimate, and disclosure form with all other owners of the | ||||||
19 | property. | ||||||
20 | (3) The qualified improvement being installed is being | ||||||
21 | financed by an assessment contract. | ||||||
22 | (4) The total estimated annual costs the property owner | ||||||
23 | will have to pay under the assessment contract, including | ||||||
24 | applicable fees. | ||||||
25 | (5) The total estimated average monthly amount of funds | ||||||
26 | the property owner would have to save in order to pay the |
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1 | annual costs under the assessment contract, including | ||||||
2 | applicable fees. | ||||||
3 | (6) The term of the assessment contract. | ||||||
4 | (7) That payments on the assessment contract will be | ||||||
5 | made through an additional annual assessment on the | ||||||
6 | property and paid either directly to the county tax | ||||||
7 | collector's office as part of the total annual secured | ||||||
8 | property tax bill or through the property owner's mortgage | ||||||
9 | impound account, and that if the property owner pays his or | ||||||
10 | her taxes through an impound account, he or she should | ||||||
11 | notify their mortgage lender to discuss adjusting his or | ||||||
12 | her monthly mortgage payment by the estimated monthly cost | ||||||
13 | of the assessment contract. | ||||||
14 | (8) That the property will be subject to a lien during | ||||||
15 | the term of the assessment contract and that the | ||||||
16 | obligations under the assessment contract may be required | ||||||
17 | by a mortgage lender to be paid in full before the property | ||||||
18 | owner sells or refinances the property. | ||||||
19 | (9) That the property owner has disclosed whether the | ||||||
20 | property has received or is seeking additional PACE area | ||||||
21 | assessments and has disclosed all other PACE area | ||||||
22 | assessments or special taxes that are or about to be placed | ||||||
23 | on the property if known to and understood by the property | ||||||
24 | owner. | ||||||
25 | (10) That any potential utility savings are not | ||||||
26 | guaranteed and may not reduce the assessment payments or |
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1 | total assessment amount. | ||||||
2 | (11) That the local unit of government, third-party | ||||||
3 | program administrator, or contractor do not provide tax | ||||||
4 | advice, and that the property owner should seek | ||||||
5 | professional tax advice if he or she has questions | ||||||
6 | regarding tax credits, tax deductibility, or of other tax | ||||||
7 | impacts on the PACE area assessment or assessment contract. | ||||||
8 | (12) That the property owner has a 3-day right to | ||||||
9 | cancel the assessment contract. | ||||||
10 | (13) The estimated date that the first payment will be | ||||||
11 | due. | ||||||
12 | (c) The program administrator shall comply with the | ||||||
13 | following when giving the oral confirmation described in | ||||||
14 | subsections (a) and (b): | ||||||
15 | (1) The program administrator shall record the oral | ||||||
16 | confirmation in an audio format in accordance with | ||||||
17 | applicable laws. | ||||||
18 | (2) The program administrator may not comply with the | ||||||
19 | requirements in subsections (a) and (b) solely through the | ||||||
20 | use of a prerecorded message or other similar device or | ||||||
21 | method. | ||||||
22 | (3) Recording of an oral confirmation shall be retained | ||||||
23 | by the program administrator for at least 5 years from the | ||||||
24 | time of the recording. | ||||||
25 | (d) The program administrator shall develop additional | ||||||
26 | procedures to address the needs and concerns of elderly |
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1 | persons. | ||||||
2 | (e) This Section only applies to program administrators and | ||||||
3 | contractors that finance residential properties of 4 or fewer | ||||||
4 | units. This Section does not apply to commercial, industrial, | ||||||
5 | multi-family (5 or more units), or agricultural properties.
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6 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
7 | becoming law.
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