101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3423

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Melinda Bush

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.930 new
55 ILCS 5/5-1186 new
65 ILCS 5/11-42-17 new

    Creates the Carryout Bag Fee Act. Provides that a carryout bag fee of $0.10 is imposed on each carryout bag used by a customer at retail establishments, except in municipalities with a population greater than 1,000,000, with $0.03 being returned to the retail establishment, $0.04 into the Carryout Bag Fee Fund, $0.01 to the Prairie Research Institute of the University of Illinois, $0.01 into the Solid Waste Management Fund, and $0.01 into the Partners for Conservation Fund. Provides that the carryout bag fee does not apply to the retail sale or use of carryout bags that are used to carry items purchased under specified governmental food assistance programs. Repeals the new Act on January 1, 2026. Amends the State Finance Act making conforming changes. Amends the Counties Code and Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that a county or municipality may not ban, place a fee or tax on, or regulate in any other manner the use, disposition, content, taxation, or sale of carryout bags. Limits the applicability of the provisions as they relate to a county or municipality that charged a fee or tax on carryout bags on May 1, 2020 and specified recycling programs. Limits home rule powers.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3423LRB101 17232 AWJ 66636 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
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
5Carryout Bag Fee Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definition. As used in this Act, "carryout bag"
7has the meaning given to that term in subsection (a) of Section
85-1184 of the Counties Code.
 
9    Section 10. Carryout Bag Fee Fund.
10    (a) The Carryout Bag Fee Fund is created as a new fund in
11the State treasury. Moneys in the Fund shall be used as
12provided in this Act.
13    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
14Carryout Bag Fee Fund is not subject to sweeps, administrative
15charges or chargebacks, or any other fiscal or budgetary
16maneuver that would in any way transfer any funds from the
17Carryout Bag Fee Fund into any other fund of the State.
 
18    Section 15. Payment of carryout bag fee required. A
19carryout bag fee of $0.10 is imposed on each carryout bag used
20by a customer at retail establishments located within Illinois,
21except in municipalities with a population greater than

 

 

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11,000,000, that shall be paid by the customer. The ultimate
2incidence and liability for payment of the fee is to be borne
3by the customer. The fee shall be separately stated on the
4receipt provided to the customer at the time of sale and shall
5be identified as the Carryout Bag Fee. It is a violation of
6this Section for the store to fail to separately itemize the
7fee on a customer's purchase of such a bag, or to otherwise
8absorb the fee on such sale. The retail establishment shall
9retain $0.03 of the fee. The retail establishment shall remit
10the remaining $0.07 of the fee to the Department of Revenue on
11form ST-1. The Department shall deposit $0.04 into the Carryout
12Bag Fee Fund, $0.01 to the Prairie Research Institute of the
13University of Illinois, $0.01 into the Solid Waste Management
14Fund, and $0.01 into Partners for Conservation Fund. The
15Department of Revenue shall monthly remit the $0.03 of the fee
16from the Carryout Bag Fee Fund to the county where the retail
17establishment is located, except that if a municipal joint
18action agency is located within the county where the retail
19establishment is located, the Department of Revenue shall
20monthly remit to the municipal joint action agency a portion of
21the fee to the municipal joint action agency based on the
22location of retail establishments within the municipal joint
23action agency.
 
24    Section 20. Use of the carryout bag fee by counties and
25municipal joint action agencies. The county or municipal joint

 

 

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1action agency shall use the revenue received from the carryout
2bag fee to fund:
3        (1) household hazardous waste collection one-day
4    events;
5        (2) collection centers, as defined in Section 3 of the
6    Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program Act;
7        (3) education programs to reduce contamination and
8    increase participation in recycling and composting
9    programs;
10        (4) programs to increase the collection and recycling
11    or composting of auxiliary containers;
12        (5) grants to encourage market development or
13    infrastructure development for recycling and composting;
14    and
15        (6) the implementation of solid waste management plans
16    developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Planning and
17    Recycling Act.
18    At least 25% of the revenue received from the carryout bag
19fee shall be used as specified in items (1) and (2).
 
20    Section 25. Exemption. The carryout bag fee does not apply
21to the retail sale or use of carryout bags that are used to
22carry items purchased pursuant to the Supplemental Nutrition
23Assistance Program or a similar governmental food assistance
24program.
 

 

 

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1    Section 30. Incorporation by reference. All of the
2provisions of Sections 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5j, 6,
36a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of the Retailers'
4Occupation Tax Act that are not inconsistent with this Act, and
5all provisions of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act shall
6apply, as far as practicable, to the subject matter of this Act
7to the same extent as if such provisions were included in this
8Act.
 
9    Section 35. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
102026.
 
11    Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
12Section 5.930 as follows:
 
13    (30 ILCS 105/5.930 new)
14    Sec. 5.930. The Carryout Bag Fee Fund.
 
15    Section 905. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section
165-1186 as follows:
 
17    (55 ILCS 5/5-1186 new)
18    Sec. 5-1186. Carryout bags.
19    (a) As used in this Section:
20    "Carryout bag" means a plastic, paper, or compostable bag
21that is provided by a retail establishment at the checkout,

 

 

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1cash register, point of sale, or other point of departure to a
2customer for the purpose of transporting goods out of the
3retail establishment.
4    "Restaurant" means any business having sales of
5ready-to-eat food for immediate consumption comprising at
6least 51% of total sales excluding the sale of liquor.
7    "Retail establishment" means any person, corporation,
8partnership, business venture, public sports or entertainment
9facility, government agency, or organization that sells or
10provides merchandise, goods, or materials, including, but not
11limited to, clothing, food, beverages, household goods, or
12personal items of any kind directly to a customer. "Retail
13establishment" includes, but is not limited to, department
14stores, clothing stores, jewelry stores, grocery stores,
15pharmacies, home improvement stores, liquor stores,
16convenience stores, gas stations, and farmers markets. "Retail
17establishment" does not include food banks and other food
18assistance programs, mobile food delivery, or restaurants.
19    (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county
20may not ban, place a fee or tax on, or regulate in any other
21manner the use, disposition, content, taxation, or sale of
22carryout bags.
23    (c) Subsection (b) may not be construed to prohibit or
24restrict any of the following:
25        (1) A curbside recycling program.
26        (2) A designated residential or commercial recycling

 

 

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1    location.
2        (3) A commercial recycling program.
3    (d) A county that charged a fee or tax on carryout bags on
4May 1, 2020 may continue to charge the fee or tax. The county
5is prohibited from further regulating carryout bags and from
6making further changes to the bag fee or bag tax ordinance in
7effect on May 1, 2020. However, the county may change its
8regulations to be consistent with this Section.
9    (e) No mistakes by the employee or retailer regarding the
10charging of fees under this Section shall be the basis for
11filing an action by a private person under the Illinois False
12Claims Act.
13    (f) A home rule county may not ban, place a fee or tax on,
14or regulate in any other manner the use, disposition, content,
15taxation, or sale of carryout bags, except as provided for in
16this Section. This Section is a denial and limitation of home
17rule powers and functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of
18Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
 
19    Section 910. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
20adding Section 11-42-17 as follows:
 
21    (65 ILCS 5/11-42-17 new)
22    Sec. 11-42-17. Carryout bags.
23    (a) As used in this Section:
24    "Carryout bag" means a plastic, paper, or compostable bag

 

 

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1that is provided by a retail establishment at the checkout,
2cash register, point of sale, or other point of departure to a
3customer for the purpose of transporting goods out of the
4retail establishment.
5    "Restaurant" means any business having sales of
6ready-to-eat food for immediate consumption comprising at
7least 51% of total sales excluding the sale of liquor.
8    "Retail establishment" means any person, corporation,
9partnership, business venture, public sports, or entertainment
10facility, government agency, or organization that sells or
11provides merchandise, goods, or materials including, but not
12limited to, clothing, food, beverages, household goods, or
13personal items of any kind directly to a customer. "Retail
14establishment" includes, but is not limited to, department
15stores, clothing stores, jewelry stores, grocery stores,
16pharmacies, home improvement stores, liquor stores,
17convenience stores, gas stations, and farmers markets. "Retail
18establishment" does not include food banks and other food
19assistance programs, mobile food delivery, or restaurants.
20    (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a
21municipality may not ban, place a fee or tax on, or regulate in
22any other manner the use, disposition, content, taxation, or
23sale of carryout bags.
24    (c) Subsection (b) may not be construed to prohibit or
25restrict any of the following:
26        (1) A curbside recycling program.

 

 

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1        (2) A designated residential or commercial recycling
2    location.
3        (3) A commercial recycling program.
4    (d) A municipality that charged a fee or tax on carryout
5bags on May 1, 2020 may continue to charge the fee or tax. The
6municipality is prohibited from further regulating carryout
7bags and from making further changes to the bag fee or bag tax
8ordinance in effect on May 1, 2020. However, the municipality
9may change its regulations to be consistent with this Section.
10    (e) No mistakes by the employee or retailer regarding the
11charging of fees under this Section shall be the basis for
12filing an action by a private person under the Illinois False
13Claims Act.
14    (f) Except in municipalities with a population greater than
151,000,000, a home rule municipality may not ban, place a fee or
16tax on, or regulate in any other manner the use, disposition,
17content, taxation, or sale of carryout bags, except as provided
18for in this Section. This Section is a denial and limitation of
19home rule powers and functions under subsection (g) of Section
206 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.