Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 3/1/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 486

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 486 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding
5Division 20 to Article 10 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 20 heading new)
7
Division 20. Commercial solar energy systems

 
8    (35 ILCS 200/10-720 new)
9    Sec. 10-720. Definitions. For the purposes of this Division
1020:
11    "Allowance for physical depreciation" means (i) the actual
12age in years of the commercial solar energy system on the
13assessment date divided by 20 years multiplied by (ii) its
14trended real property cost basis. The physical depreciation,
15however, may not reduce the value of the commercial solar

 

 

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1energy system to less than 30% of its trended real property
2cost basis.
3    "Commercial solar energy system" means any device or
4assembly of devices that (i) is ground installed and (ii) uses
5solar energy from the sun for generating electricity for the
6primary purpose of wholesale or retail sale and not primarily
7for consumption on the property on which the device or devices
8reside.
9    "Commercial solar energy system real property cost basis"
10represents both the freehold estate and the leasehold estate.
11The leasehold estate shall have a real property cost basis of
12$194,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity. The freehold
13estate shall have a real property cost basis of $5,000 per
14megawatt of nameplate capacity. For the purposes of this
15Section, "nameplate capacity" has the same definition as found
16in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.
17    "Freehold estate" means the land upon which the commercial
18solar energy system is installed.
19    "Ground installed" means the installation of a commercial
20solar energy system, with the primary purpose of solar energy
21generation for wholesale or retail sale, on a parcel or tract
22of land.
23    "Leasehold estate" means the real property improvements of
24a commercial solar energy system.
25    "Trended real property cost basis" means the commercial
26solar energy system real property cost basis multiplied by the

 

 

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1trending factor.
2    "Trending factor" means a number equal to the Consumer
3Price Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the
4Bureau of Labor Statistics for the December immediately
5preceding the assessment date, divided by the Consumer Price
6Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the Bureau of
7Labor Statistics for December of 2017.
 
8    (35 ILCS 200/10-725 new)
9    Sec. 10-725. Improvement valuation of commercial solar
10energy systems in counties with fewer than 3,000,000
11inhabitants. Beginning in assessment year 2018, the fair cash
12value of commercial solar energy system improvements in
13counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be
14determined by subtracting the allowance for physical
15depreciation from the trended real property cost basis.
16Functional obsolescence and external obsolescence of the solar
17energy device may further reduce the fair cash value of the
18commercial solar energy system improvements, to the extent they
19are proved by the taxpayer by clear and convincing evidence.
 
20    (35 ILCS 200/10-730 new)
21    Sec. 10-730. Exempt properties. The provisions of this
22Division do not apply to commercial solar energy systems that
23are owned by any person or entity that is otherwise exempt from
24taxation under this Code.
 

 

 

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1    (35 ILCS 200/10-735 new)
2    Sec. 10-735. Commercial solar energy systems not subject to
3equalization. Commercial solar energy systems assessable under
4this Division are not subject to equalization factors applied
5by the Department or any board of review, assessor, or chief
6county assessment officer.
 
7    (35 ILCS 200/10-740 new)
8    Sec. 10-740. Survey for ground installed commercial solar
9energy systems; parcel identification numbers. Notwithstanding
10any other provision of law, the owner of the ground installed
11commercial solar energy system shall commission a metes and
12bounds survey description of the area immediately surrounding
13the commercial solar energy system, including access routes,
14over which the owner of the commercial solar energy system has
15exclusive control. The owner of the ground installed commercial
16solar energy system shall, at his or her own expense, use an
17Illinois-registered land surveyor to prepare the survey. The
18owner of the ground installed commercial solar energy system
19shall deliver a copy of the survey to the chief county
20assessment officer and to the owner of the land upon which the
21ground installed commercial solar energy system is
22constructed. Upon receiving a copy of the survey, the chief
23county assessment officer shall issue a separate parcel
24identification number or numbers for the property containing

 

 

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1the ground installed commercial solar energy system to be used
2only for the purposes of property assessment for taxation. A
3plat prepared under this Section shall not be construed as a
4violation of the Plat Act.
 
5    (35 ILCS 200/10-745 new)
6    Sec. 10-745. Unpaid taxes and liens. Except as otherwise
7provided in this Section, despite the combined assessment
8valuation of the leasehold estate and freehold estate, recourse
9for unpaid taxes or liens for any commercial solar energy
10system shall be limited to the leasehold estate with no
11recourse against the freehold estate. The leasehold estate
12shall not be responsible for: unpaid taxes or liens on the
13freehold estate from periods before or after the term of the
14leasehold estate; or liens on the freehold estate unrelated to
15the leasehold estate.
 
16    (35 ILCS 200/10-750 new)
17    Sec. 10-750. Farmland. Notwithstanding any other provision
18of law, a portion of the freehold estate that was assessed as
19farmland in accordance with Section 10-110 of this Act in the
20assessment year prior to valuation under this Division shall
21return to being assessed as farmland in accordance with Section
2210-110 of this Act in the year following completion of the
23removal of the commercial solar energy system as long as the
24property is returned to a farm use as defined in Section 1-60

 

 

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1of this Act, notwithstanding that the land was not used for
2farming for the 2 preceding years.
 
3    (35 ILCS 200/10-755 new)
4    Sec. 10-755. Incentive agreements. Notwithstanding
5anything in this Division, the governing body of a municipality
6or county and the owner of a commercial solar energy system may
7enter into a voluntary agreement to make payments in lieu of
8taxes. If such agreement is entered into, the agreement will be
9in lieu of property taxes otherwise assessed by the
10municipality or county against the commercial solar energy
11system as set forth in this Code.
 
12    (35 ILCS 200/10-760 new)
13    Sec. 10-760. Applicability. The provisions of this
14Division apply for assessment years 2018 through 2033.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.".