Public Act 100-0452
 
SB1577 EnrolledLRB100 06362 HEP 16401 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois False Claims Act is amended by
changing Section 3 as follows:
 
    (740 ILCS 175/3)  (from Ch. 127, par. 4103)
    Sec. 3. False claims.
    (a) Liability for certain acts.
        (1) In general, any person who:
            (A) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented,
        a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
            (B) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or
        used, a false record or statement material to a false
        or fraudulent claim;
            (C) conspires to commit a violation of
        subparagraph (A), (B), (D), (E), (F), or (G);
            (D) has possession, custody, or control of
        property or money used, or to be used, by the State and
        knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less
        than all the money or property;
            (E) is authorized to make or deliver a document
        certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by
        the State and, intending to defraud the State, makes or
        delivers the receipt without completely knowing that
        the information on the receipt is true;
             (F) knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an
        obligation or debt, public property from an officer or
        employee of the State, or a member of the Guard, who
        lawfully may not sell or pledge property; or
            (G) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or
        used, a false record or statement material to an
        obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the
        State, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and
        improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or
        transmit money or property to the State,
    is liable to the State for a civil penalty of not less than
    the minimum amount and not more than the maximum amount
    allowed for a civil penalty for a violation of the federal
    False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729 et seq.) as adjusted by
    the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of
    1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461) $5,500 and not more than $11,000,
    plus 3 times the amount of damages which the State sustains
    because of the act of that person. Notwithstanding any
    other provision, a person is liable to the State for a
    civil penalty of not less than $5,500 and not more than
    $11,000, plus 3 times the amount of damages which the State
    sustains because of the act of that person, when: (i) the
    civil action was brought by a private person pursuant to
    paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 4; (ii) the
    State did not elect to intervene pursuant to paragraph (2)
    of subsection (b) of Section 4; (iii) the actual amount of
    the tax owed to the State is equal to or less than $50,000,
    which does not include interest, penalties, attorney's
    fees, costs, or any other amounts owed or paid pursuant to
    this Act; and (iv) the violation of this Act relates to or
    involves a false claim regarding a tax administered by the
    Department of Revenue, excluding claims, records, or
    statements made under the Property Tax Code. The penalties
    in this Section are intended to be remedial rather than
    punitive, and shall not preclude, nor be precluded by, a
    criminal prosecution for the same conduct.
        (2) A person violating this subsection shall also be
    liable to the State for the costs of a civil action brought
    to recover any such penalty or damages.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
        (1) The terms "knowing" and "knowingly":
            (A) mean that a person, with respect to
        information:
                (i) has actual knowledge of the information;
                (ii) acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth
            or falsity of the information; or
                (iii) acts in reckless disregard of the truth
            or falsity of the information, and
            (B) require no proof of specific intent to defraud.
        (2) The term "claim":
            (A) means any request or demand, whether under a
        contract or otherwise, for money or property and
        whether or not the State has title to the money or
        property, that
                (i) is presented to an officer, employee, or
            agent of the State; or
                (ii) is made to a contractor, grantee, or other
            recipient, if the money or property is to be spent
            or used on the State's behalf or to advance a State
            program or interest, and if the State:
                    (I) provides or has provided any portion
                of the money or property requested or demanded;
                or
                    (II) will reimburse such contractor,
                grantee, or other recipient for any portion of
                the money or property which is requested or
                demanded; and
            (B) does not include requests or demands for money
        or property that the State has paid to an individual as
        compensation for State employment or as an income
        subsidy with no restrictions on that individual's use
        of the money or property.
        (3) The term "obligation" means an established duty,
    whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied
    contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee
    relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship,
    from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any
    overpayment.
        (4) The term "material" means having a natural tendency
    to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or
    receipt of money or property.
    (c) Exclusion. This Section does not apply to claims,
records, or statements made under the Illinois Income Tax Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-128, eff. 1-1-08; 96-1304, eff. 7-27-10.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.