101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2533

 

Introduced , by Rep. Theresa Mah

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.886 new

    Creates the Transportation Benefit Program Act. Provides that an employer that is situated in Cook County and for which an average of 20 or more full-time employees work for compensation shall offer a program that allows a covered employee to elect to exclude from taxable wages and compensation the employee's commuting costs incurred for the purchase of a transit pass to use public transit up to a maximum level allowed by federal tax law. Provides that a covered employer may comply by participating in a program offered by the Chicago Transit Authority or the Regional Transit Authority. Provides that all transit agencies shall market the existence of the program to their riders. Establishes penalties for violations of the Act. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Transportation Benefits Program Fund. Effective January 1, 2020.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Transportation Benefit Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Covered employee" means any person who performs an average
8of at least 35 hours of work per week for compensation on a
9full-time basis.
10    "Covered employer" means an employer that is situated in
11Cook County for which an average of 20 or more full-time
12employees work for compensation in the geographic area.
13    "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association,
14corporation, limited liability company, government, non-profit
15organization, or business trust that directly or indirectly, or
16through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises
17control over wages, hours, or working conditions of an
18employee.
19    "Public transit" means any transportation system within
20the authority and jurisdiction of the Regional Transportation
21Authority.
22    "Transit pass" means any pass, token, fare card, voucher,
23or similar item entitling a person to transportation on public

 

 

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1transit.
2    "Transportation benefit program" means any of the
3following provided by an employer to an employee:
4        (1) Any transit pass.
5        (2) Cash reimbursement by an employer to an employee
6    for a benefit described in item (1).
 
7    Section 10. Transportation benefit program. A covered
8employer shall provide a transportation benefit program that
9allows a covered employee to elect to exclude from taxable
10wages and compensation the employee's commuting costs incurred
11for the purchase of a transit pass to use public transit up to
12the maximum exclusion or deduction allowed to an employee by
13federal tax law. A covered employer may comply with this
14Section by participating in a program offered by the Chicago
15Transit Authority or the Regional Transportation Authority.
16    This benefit must be offered to all employees starting on
17the employees' first full pay period after 120 days of
18employment. All transit agencies shall market the existence of
19this program and this Act to their riders in order to inform
20affected employees and their employers.
 
21    Section 15. Penalties.
22    (a) A covered employer that fails to offer a transportation
23benefit program to covered employees as required by this Act is
24subject to: (i) a civil penalty of not more than $100 for a

 

 

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1first violation; (ii) a civil penalty of not more than $200 for
2a second violation within the same year; and (iii) a civil
3penalty of not more than $500 for each additional violation
4within the same year.
5    (b) The Department of Labor shall enforce this Act and
6shall adopt rules concerning: (i) the issuance of citations to
7any covered employer that fails to provide a transportation
8benefits program to covered employees as required by this Act;
9(ii) the amount of penalties; and (iii) the procedure for the
10imposition, collection, and administrative review of citations
11issued and penalties imposed to enforce this Act.
12    (c) Penalties collected under this Section, which may
13include recovery of enforcement costs, shall be deposited into
14the Transportation Benefits Program Fund created under Section
1520.
 
16    Section 20. Transportation Benefits Program Fund. The
17Transportation Benefits Program Fund is created as a special
18fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of any
19moneys deposited into the Fund as provided in subsection (c) of
20Section 15. Moneys in the Fund shall be used for the
21administration of this Act and for no other purpose. All
22interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into
23the Fund.
 
24    Section 25. Application of Act. Nothing in this Act shall

 

 

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1be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the
2right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers
3through representatives of their own choosing in order to
4establish wages or other conditions of work in excess of the
5applicable minimum standards of the provisions of this Act.
6Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the validity or
7change the terms of bona fide collective bargaining agreements
8in force on the effective date of this Act. After the effective
9date of this Act, requirements of this Act may be waived in a
10bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but only if the
11waiver is set forth explicitly in such agreement in clear and
12unambiguous terms.
 
13    Section 35. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
14Section 5.886 as follows:
 
15    (30 ILCS 105/5.886 new)
16    Sec. 5.886. The Transportation Benefits Program Fund.
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
181, 2020.