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Public Act 92-0207
SB1285 Enrolled LRB9207332SMtm
AN ACT concerning economic development.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act.
Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly has determined
that the relocation of the international headquarters of
large, multinational corporations from outside of Illinois to
a location within Illinois creates a substantial public
benefit and will foster economic growth and development
within the State. Specifically, these relocations will
foster a positive image of the State of Illinois and its
human and natural resources throughout the United States and
the world; contribute to a strong residential housing market;
directly and indirectly create jobs and additional taxes
within the State; encourage the relocation of other similar
businesses to the State; and otherwise foster the development
of commerce and industry within the State of Illinois. These
relocations should be encouraged through the use of
incentives that encourage long-term commitments by business
and industry to Illinois and that would otherwise not be
available through existing incentives programs.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Corporate headquarters" means the building or buildings
that the principal executive officers of an eligible business
have designated as their principal offices and that has at
least 250 employees who are principally located in that
building or those buildings. The principal executive
officers may include, by way of example and not of
limitation, the chief executive officer, the chief operating
officer, and other senior officer-level employees of the
eligible business. "Corporate headquarters" may also include
ancillary transportation facilities owned or leased by the
eligible business whether or not physically adjacent to the
principal office building or buildings used by the principal
executive officers. The ancillary transportation facilities
may include, but are not limited to, airplane hangars,
helipads or heliports, fixed base operations, maintenance
facilities, and other aviation-related facilities. All
employees of the eligible business may count toward the
satisfaction of the numeric requirement of this definition,
including but not limited to support staff and other
personnel who work in or from the office building or
buildings or transportation facilities.
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and
Community Affairs.
"Director" means the Director of Commerce and Community
Affairs.
"Eligible business" means a business that: (i) is engaged
in interstate or intrastate commerce; (ii) maintains its
corporate headquarters in a state other than Illinois as of
the effective date of this Act; (iii) had annual worldwide
revenues of at least $25,000,000,000 for the year immediately
preceding its application to the Department for the benefits
authorized by this Act; and (iv) is prepared to commit
contractually to relocating its corporate headquarters to the
State of Illinois in consideration of the benefits authorized
by this Act.
"Fund" means the Corporate Headquarters Relocation
Assistance Fund.
"Qualifying project" means the relocation of the
corporate headquarters of an eligible business from a
location outside of Illinois to a location within Illinois,
whether to an existing structure or otherwise. When the
relocation involves an initial interim facility within
Illinois and a subsequent further relocation within 5 years
after the effective date of this Act to a permanent facility
also within Illinois, all those activities collectively
constitute a "qualifying project" under this Act.
"Relocation costs" means the expenses incurred by an
eligible business for a qualifying project, including, but
not limited to, the following: moving costs and related
expenses; purchase of new or replacement equipment; outside
professional fees and commissions; premiums for property and
casualty insurance coverage; capital investment costs;
financing costs; property assembly and development costs,
including, but not limited to, the purchase, lease, and
construction of equipment, buildings, and land,
infrastructure improvements and site development costs,
leasehold improvements costs, rehabilitation costs, and costs
of studies, surveys, development of plans, and professional
services costs such as architectural, engineering, legal,
financial, planning, or other related services; "relocation
costs", however, does not include moving costs associated
with the relocation of the personal residences of the
employees of the eligible business and does not include any
costs that do not directly result from the relocation of the
business to a location within Illinois. In determining
whether costs directly result from the relocation of the
business, the Department shall consider whether the costs
would likely have been incurred by the business if it had not
relocated from its original location.
Section 15. Powers of the Department. The Department,
in addition to the powers granted under the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois, has all the powers necessary
and convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and
provisions of this Act, including, but not limited to, the
power to:
(1) promulgate rules and establish procedures
deemed necessary and appropriate for the administration
of this Act;
(2) negotiate and execute any term, agreement, or
other document with any person, entity, or body politic
necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of
this Act;
(3) fix, determine, charge, and collect premiums,
fees, charges, costs, and expenses from eligible
businesses, including, without limitation, application
fees, commitment fees, program fees, financing charges,
or publication fees as deemed appropriate to pay expenses
necessary or incident to the administration of the
Department's activities and duties under this Act,
including the preparation and enforcement of any
agreement, or for consultation services, legal services,
or other costs;
(4) require eligible businesses, upon written
request, to issue any necessary authorization to the
appropriate federal, state, or local authority for the
release of information concerning a qualifying project;
and
(5) take whatever actions are necessary or
appropriate to protect the State's interest in the event
of bankruptcy, default, foreclosure, or noncompliance
with the terms and conditions of any agreement entered
into pursuant to this Act, including the power to sell,
dispose, lease, or rent, upon terms and conditions
determined by the Director to be appropriate, real or
personal property that the Department may receive as a
result of these actions.
Section 20. Reimbursement for relocation costs.
(a) The initial application of an eligible business
proposing a qualifying project must be filed with the
Department no later than July 1, 2004.
(b) Upon receipt and approval of an application from an
eligible business proposing a qualifying project, the
Department may enter into an agreement with the eligible
business wherein the Department agrees to reimburse the
eligible business for its relocation costs subject to the
following terms, conditions, and limitations:
(1) The eligible business must apply to the
Department for reimbursement of its relocation costs.
(2) The application submitted by the eligible
business must identify with specificity the relocation
costs for which reimbursement is sought, and the eligible
business must provide the Department with all supporting
documentation as requested by the Department. The
eligible business may amend its application for
reimbursement from time to time in order to cover
additional relocation costs incurred after the submission
of an initial application.
(3) The Department reserves the right to approve or
disapprove specific items and categories of relocation
costs.
(4) The eligible business must in fact relocate its
corporate headquarters to the State of Illinois within a
time frame specified by the Department.
(5) The eligible business may receive reimbursement
for not greater than 50% of its documented relocation
costs.
(6) The agreement between the Department and the
eligible business must provide that reimbursement will be
provided by means of one or more grants that shall be
issued annually by the Department for a period not to
exceed 10 years or until 50% of the eligible business'
relocation costs are reimbursed, whichever occurs first.
(7) The amount of the annual grant that may be
issued to the eligible business by the Department may not
exceed 50% of the total amount withheld from employees of
the eligible business employed at the corporate
headquarters during the preceding calendar year under
Article 7 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
(8) In applying to the Department for
reimbursement, the eligible business must certify the
total amount withheld during the preceding calendar year
under Article 7 of the Illinois Income Tax Act from its
employees employed at the corporate headquarters.
(9) The Department may issue grants from the
Corporate Headquarters Relocation Assistance Fund to
eligible businesses for reimbursement of relocation costs
as provided by this Act.
Section 25. Review of application for reimbursement. No
eligible business is eligible for reimbursement of relocation
costs under this Act unless the Department determines at the
time of the eligible business' initial application that, if
not for that reimbursement, the eligible business would not
have determined to relocate its corporate headquarters to
Illinois. The eligible business may satisfy this requirement
by, among other means, presenting evidence to the Department
that the eligible business has or had multi-state location
options and could reasonably and efficiently have located its
corporate headquarters to a state other than Illinois; by a
demonstration that at least one other state is or was being
considered for the location of its corporate headquarters; or
through evidence that receipt of the benefits authorized by
this Act is an important factor in the eligible business'
decision to locate its corporate headquarters to Illinois,
and that without that assistance, the eligible business
likely would not establish its corporate headquarters in
Illinois.
Section 30. Transfers to Corporate Headquarters
Relocation Assistance Fund. Upon receipt of a certification
by the eligible business of the aggregate amount withheld
from its employees employed at the corporate headquarters
during the preceding calendar year under Article 7 of the
Illinois Income Tax Act, the Department shall then certify to
the State Treasurer that 50% of that amount is eligible to be
transferred from the General Revenue Fund to the Corporate
Headquarters Relocation Assistance Fund. This amount shall
be referred to as the "certified transfer amount". Upon
receipt of the certification from the Department, the
Treasurer shall transfer the certified transfer amount within
30 days from the General Revenue Fund to the Corporate
Headquarters Relocation Assistance Fund.
Section 35. Corporate Headquarters Relocation Assistance
Fund; creation. The Corporate Headquarters Relocation
Assistance Fund is created as a separate fund within the
State treasury. From the Fund and pursuant to the provisions
of this Act, the Department may issue grants to reimburse
eligible businesses for relocation costs incurred in
connection with the relocation of a corporate headquarters to
the State of Illinois.
Section 40. Other incentives. Nothing in this Act
precludes an eligible business with respect to a qualifying
project from applying for or receiving any other federal,
State, or local assistance or incentives in connection with
the relocation of its corporate headquarters to the State of
Illinois.
Section 905. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.545 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.545 new)
Sec. 5.545. The Corporate Headquarters Relocation
Assistance Fund.
Section 910. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by
changing Section 211 as follows:
(35 ILCS 5/211)
Sec. 211. Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax
Credit. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1999,
a Taxpayer who has entered into an Agreement under the
Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act is
entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed under
subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of this Act in an
amount to be determined in the Agreement. If the Taxpayer is
a partnership or Subchapter S corporation, the credit shall
be allowed to the partners or shareholders in accordance with
the determination of income and distributive share of income
under Sections 702 and 704 and subchapter S of the Internal
Revenue Code. The Department, in cooperation with the
Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, shall prescribe
rules to enforce and administer the provisions of this
Section. This Section is exempt from the provisions of
Section 250 of this Act.
The credit shall be subject to the conditions set forth
in the Agreement and the following limitations:
(1) The tax credit shall not exceed the Incremental
Income Tax (as defined in Section 5-5 of the Economic
Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act) with
respect to the project.
(2) The amount of the credit allowed during the tax
year plus the sum of all amounts allowed in prior years
shall not exceed 100% of the aggregate amount expended by
the Taxpayer during all prior tax years on approved costs
defined by Agreement.
(3) The amount of the credit shall be determined on
an annual basis. Except as applied in a carryover year
pursuant to Section 211(4) of this Act; however, the
credit may not be applied against any State income tax
liability in more than may not extend beyond 10 taxable
years; provided, however, that (i) an eligible business
certified by the Department of Commerce and Community
Affairs under the Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act
may not apply the credit against any of its State income
tax liability in more than 15 taxable years and (ii)
credits allowed to that eligible business are subject to
the conditions and requirements set forth in Sections
5-35 and 5-45 of the Economic Development for a Growing
Economy Tax Credit Act after the project is first
approved and may not extend beyond the expiration of the
Agreement.
(4) The credit may not exceed the amount of taxes
imposed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of Section
201 of this Act. Any credit that is unused in the year
the credit is computed may be carried forward and applied
to the tax liability of the 5 taxable years following the
excess credit year. The credit shall be applied to the
earliest year for which there is a tax liability. If
there are credits from more than one tax year that are
available to offset a liability, the earlier credit shall
be applied first.
(5) No credit shall be allowed with respect to any
Agreement for any taxable year ending after the
Noncompliance Date. Upon receiving notification by the
Department of Commerce and Community Affairs of the
noncompliance of a Taxpayer with an Agreement, the
Department shall notify the Taxpayer that no credit is
allowed with respect to that Agreement for any taxable
year ending after the Noncompliance Date, as stated in
such notification. If any credit has been allowed with
respect to an Agreement for a taxable year ending after
the Noncompliance Date for that Agreement, any refund
paid to the Taxpayer for that taxable year shall, to the
extent of that credit allowed, be an erroneous refund
within the meaning of Section 912 of this Act.
(6) For purposes of this Section, the terms
"Agreement", "Incremental Income Tax", and
"Noncompliance Date" have the same meaning as when used
in the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax
Credit Act.
(Source: P.A. 91-476, eff. 8-11-99.)
Section 915. The Economic Development for a Growing
Economy Tax Credit Act is amended by changing Sections 5-35
and 5-45 as follows:
(35 ILCS 10/5-35)
Sec. 5-35. Relocation of jobs in Illinois. A taxpayer
is not entitled to claim the credit provided by this Act with
respect to any jobs that the taxpayer relocates from one
site in Illinois to another site in Illinois. A taxpayer with
respect to a qualifying project certified under the Corporate
Headquarters Relocation Act, however, is not subject to the
requirements of this Section but is nevertheless considered
an applicant for purposes of this Act. Moreover, any
full-time employee of an eligible business relocated to
Illinois in connection with that qualifying project is deemed
to be a new employee for purposes of this Act. Determinations
under this Section shall be made by the Department.
(Source: P.A. 91-476, eff. 8-11-99.)
(35 ILCS 10/5-45)
Sec. 5-45. Amount and duration of the credit.
(a) The Department shall determine the amount and
duration of the credit awarded under this Act. The duration
of the credit may not exceed 10 taxable years. The credit may
be stated as a percentage of the Incremental Income Tax
attributable to the applicant's project and may include a
fixed dollar limitation.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), and except as the
credit may be applied in a carryover year pursuant to Section
211(4) of the Illinois Income Tax Act, the credit may be
applied against the State income tax liability in more than
10 taxable years but not in more than 15 taxable years for an
eligible business that (i) qualifies under this Act and the
Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act and has in fact
undertaken a qualifying project within the time frame
specified by the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
under that Act, and (ii) applies against its State income tax
liability, during the entire 15-year period, no more than 60%
of the maximum credit per year that would otherwise be
available under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 91-476, eff. 8-11-99.)
Section 920. The Property Tax Code is amended by
changing Section 18-165 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/18-165)
Sec. 18-165. Abatement of taxes.
(a) Any taxing district, upon a majority vote of its
governing authority, may, after the determination of the
assessed valuation of its property, order the clerk of that
county to abate any portion of its taxes on the following
types of property:
(1) Commercial and industrial.
(A) The property of any commercial or
industrial firm, including but not limited to the
property of any firm that is used for collecting,
separating, storing, or processing recycable
materials, locating within the taxing district
during the immediately preceding year from another
state, territory, or country, or having been newly
created within this State during the immediately
preceding year, or expanding an existing facility.
The abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years
and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all
taxing districts combined shall not exceed
$4,000,000; or
(B) The property of any commercial or
industrial development of at least 500 acres having
been created within the taxing district. The
abatement shall not exceed a period of 20 years and
the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing
districts combined shall not exceed $12,000,000.
(C) The property of any commercial or
industrial firm currently located in the taxing
district that expands a facility or its number of
employees. The abatement shall not exceed a period
of 10 years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes
for all taxing districts combined shall not exceed
$4,000,000. The abatement period may be renewed at
the option of the taxing districts.
(2) Horse racing. Any property in the taxing
district which is used for the racing of horses and upon
which capital improvements consisting of expansion,
improvement or replacement of existing facilities have
been made since July 1, 1987. The combined abatements
for such property from all taxing districts in any county
shall not exceed $5,000,000 annually and shall not exceed
a period of 10 years.
(3) Auto racing. Any property designed exclusively
for the racing of motor vehicles. Such abatement shall
not exceed a period of 10 years.
(4) Academic or research institute. The property
of any academic or research institute in the taxing
district that (i) is an exempt organization under
paragraph (3) of Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
Code, (ii) operates for the benefit of the public by
actually and exclusively performing scientific research
and making the results of the research available to the
interested public on a non-discriminatory basis, and
(iii) employs more than 100 employees. An abatement
granted under this paragraph shall be for at least 15
years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all
taxing districts combined shall not exceed $5,000,000.
(5) Housing for older persons. Any property in the
taxing district that is devoted exclusively to affordable
housing for older households. For purposes of this
paragraph, "older households" means those households (i)
living in housing provided under any State or federal
program that the Department of Human Rights determines is
specifically designed and operated to assist elderly
persons and is solely occupied by persons 55 years of age
or older and (ii) whose annual income does not exceed 80%
of the area gross median income, adjusted for family
size, as such gross income and median income are
determined from time to time by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development. The
abatement shall not exceed a period of 15 years, and the
aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts
shall not exceed $3,000,000.
(6) Historical society. For assessment years 1998
through 2000, the property of an historical society
qualifying as an exempt organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
(7) Recreational facilities. Any property in the
taxing district (i) that is used for a municipal airport,
(ii) that is subject to a leasehold assessment under
Section 9-195 of this Code and (iii) which is sublet from
a park district that is leasing the property from a
municipality, but only if the property is used
exclusively for recreational facilities or for parking
lots used exclusively for those facilities. The
abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years.
(8) Relocated corporate headquarters. If approval
occurs within 5 years after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, any property
or a portion of any property in a taxing district that is
used by an eligible business for a corporate headquarters
as defined in the Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act.
Instead of an abatement under this paragraph (8), a
taxing district may enter into an agreement with an
eligible business to make annual payments to that
eligible business in an amount not to exceed the property
taxes paid directly or indirectly by that eligible
business to the taxing district and any other taxing
districts for premises occupied pursuant to a written
lease and may make those payments without the need for an
annual appropriation. No school district, however, may
enter into an agreement with, or abate taxes for, an
eligible business unless the municipality in which the
corporate headquarters is located agrees to provide
funding to the school district in an amount equal to the
amount abated or paid by the school district as provided
in this paragraph (8). Any abatement ordered or
agreement entered into under this paragraph (8) may be
effective for the entire term specified by the taxing
district, except the term of the abatement or annual
payments may not exceed 20 years.
(b) Upon a majority vote of its governing authority, any
municipality may, after the determination of the assessed
valuation of its property, order the county clerk to abate
any portion of its taxes on any property that is located
within the corporate limits of the municipality in accordance
with Section 8-3-18 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
(Source: P.A. 90-46, eff. 7-3-97; 90-415, eff. 8-15-97;
90-568, eff. 1-1-99; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 91-644, eff.
8-20-99; 91-885, eff. 7-6-00.)
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
Passed in the General Assembly May 31, 2001.
Approved August 01, 2001.
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