Full Text of SB1987 95th General Assembly
SB1987 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB1987
Introduced 2/7/2008, by Sen. Donne E. Trotter SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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220 ILCS 5/2-202 |
from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202 |
625 ILCS 5/18c-1503 |
from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1503 |
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Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that if the amount determined as provided in specified provisions exceeds
50% of the previous fiscal year's appropriation level (instead of $5,000,000), the Illinois Commerce Commission shall then compute the
proportionate amount, if
any, which (x) the tax paid hereunder by each utility during the preceding
biennium, and (y) the amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the
preceding biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Sections 2-9 and
2-11
of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears to the difference between the amount
determined as
provided in specified provisions. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the Commission
shall administer fees and taxes under specified provisions in such a manner
as to insure that any surplus generated or accumulated in the
Transportation Regulatory Fund does not exceed 50% of the previous fiscal year's appropriation (instead of the surplus
accumulated in the Motor Vehicle Fund during fiscal year 1984), and
shall adjust the level of such fees and taxes to insure
compliance with this provision. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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SB1987 |
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LRB095 14199 MJR 40067 b |
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 2-202 as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
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| Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.
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| (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State | 9 |
| that
in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation | 10 |
| of public
utilities under this Act in the interests of the | 11 |
| People of the State of
Illinois and the public utilities as | 12 |
| well, the public utilities subject
to regulation under this Act | 13 |
| and which enjoy the privilege of operating
as public utilities | 14 |
| in this State, shall bear the expense of
administering this Act | 15 |
| by means of a tax on such privilege measured by the
annual | 16 |
| gross revenue of such public utilities in the manner provided | 17 |
| in
this Section. For purposes of this Section, "expense of
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| administering this Act" includes any costs incident to studies, | 19 |
| whether
made by the Commission or under contract entered into | 20 |
| by the Commission,
concerning environmental pollution problems | 21 |
| caused or contributed to by
public utilities and the means for | 22 |
| eliminating or abating those
problems. Such proceeds shall be | 23 |
| deposited in the Public Utility Fund in
the State treasury.
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| (b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
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| Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be | 3 |
| paid out
of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of | 4 |
| the members of the
Commission which shall be paid from the | 5 |
| General Revenue Fund.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this | 6 |
| Act to the contrary, the
ordinary and contingent expenses of | 7 |
| the Commission incident to the
administration of the Illinois | 8 |
| Commercial Transportation Law may be paid
from appropriations | 9 |
| from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal
year | 10 |
| 1986.
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| (c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to | 12 |
| the
provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue | 13 |
| for each
calendar year commencing with the calendar year | 14 |
| beginning January 1, 1982,
except that the Commission may, by | 15 |
| rule, establish a different rate no
greater than 0.1%.
For | 16 |
| purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include
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| revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale,
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| delivery, or furnishing of electricity.
"Gross revenue" shall | 19 |
| not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers
under | 20 |
| the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
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| (d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in | 22 |
| accordance with
paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
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| (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this | 24 |
| subsection (d), on
or before January 10 of each year each | 25 |
| public utility
subject to the provisions of this Act shall | 26 |
| file with the Commission an
estimated annual gross revenue |
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| return containing an estimate of the amount
of its gross | 2 |
| revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said
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| year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said | 4 |
| calendar year on the
basis of that estimate. Public | 5 |
| utilities may also file revised returns
containing updated | 6 |
| estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the
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| calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form | 8 |
| the basis for
quarterly payments due during the remainder | 9 |
| of the calendar year. In
addition, on or before March 31 of | 10 |
| each year, each public
utility shall
file an amended return | 11 |
| showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown by
the | 12 |
| company's books and records as of December 31 of the | 13 |
| previous year.
Forms and instructions for such estimated, | 14 |
| revised, and amended returns
shall be devised and supplied | 15 |
| by the Commission.
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| (2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002, | 17 |
| the
requirements of paragraph (1) of
this subsection (d) | 18 |
| shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year
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| for which the total tax the public utility owes under this | 20 |
| Section is less than
$10,000. For such public utilities | 21 |
| with respect to such years,
the public
utility shall file | 22 |
| with the Commission, on or before March 31
of the
following | 23 |
| year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a | 24 |
| statement of
the amount of tax due for that year on the | 25 |
| basis of such a return. Forms and
instructions for such | 26 |
| returns and corrected returns shall be devised and
supplied |
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| by the Commission.
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| (e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public | 3 |
| utility as
provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d) of | 4 |
| this Section shall contain
or be verified by a written | 5 |
| declaration by an appropriate officer of the public
utility | 6 |
| that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The | 7 |
| Commission
may audit each such return submitted and may, under | 8 |
| the provisions of Section
5-101 of this Act, take such measures | 9 |
| as are necessary to ascertain the
correctness of the returns | 10 |
| submitted. The Commission has the power to direct
the filing of | 11 |
| a corrected return by any utility which has filed an incorrect
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| return and to direct the filing of a return by any utility | 13 |
| which has failed to
submit a return. A taxpayer's signing a | 14 |
| fraudulent return under this Section
is perjury, as defined in | 15 |
| Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
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| (f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1) | 17 |
| of
subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of | 18 |
| tax due
under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on | 19 |
| or before the tenth day
of January, April, July, and October of | 20 |
| the calendar year subject to tax. In
the event that an | 21 |
| adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
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| result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under | 23 |
| subsection (d) or
subsection (e) of this Section, the amount of | 24 |
| any deficiency shall be paid by
the public utility together | 25 |
| with the amended or corrected return and the amount
of any | 26 |
| excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the |
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| public
utility, be returned to the public utility in the form | 2 |
| of a credit memorandum
in the amount of such excess or be | 3 |
| refunded to the public utility in accordance
with the | 4 |
| provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such
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| deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility | 6 |
| need not pay the
deficiency and may not claim a credit.
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| (2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of | 8 |
| subsection (d)
shall pay the amount of tax due under subsection | 9 |
| (c) on or before March
31 next following the end of the | 10 |
| calendar year subject to tax. In the
event that an adjustment | 11 |
| in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
result of the | 12 |
| filing of a corrected return under subsection (e), the amount
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| of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility at the | 14 |
| time the
corrected return is filed. Any excess tax payment by | 15 |
| the public utility shall
be returned to it after the filing of | 16 |
| a claim for credit, in the form of a
credit memorandum in the | 17 |
| amount of the excess. However, if such deficiency or
excess is | 18 |
| less than $1, the public utility need not pay the deficiency | 19 |
| and may
not claim a credit.
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| (g) Each installment or required payment of the tax imposed | 21 |
| by
subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of the date | 22 |
| that it is due.
Failure to make a payment as required by this | 23 |
| Section shall result in the
imposition of a late payment | 24 |
| penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both,
as provided by | 25 |
| this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be the
greater | 26 |
| of:
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| (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | 2 |
| installment or
required payment is unpaid or
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| (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | 4 |
| should have been paid
on the due date, based upon the most | 5 |
| recently filed estimated, annual, or
amended return, and | 6 |
| what was
actually paid, times 1%, for each month or portion | 7 |
| of a
month that
the installment or required payment goes | 8 |
| unpaid. This penalty may be
assessed as soon as the | 9 |
| installment or required payment becomes delinquent.
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| The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public | 11 |
| utilities
subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall | 12 |
| be calculated after
the filing of the amended return. It shall | 13 |
| be imposed if the amount actually
paid on any of the dates | 14 |
| specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least
one-fourth | 15 |
| of the amount actually due for the year, and shall equal the | 16 |
| greater
of:
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| (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | 18 |
| amount due is unpaid
or
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| (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | 20 |
| should have been
paid, based on the amended return, and | 21 |
| what was actually paid as of the
date specified in | 22 |
| subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the
sum | 23 |
| of 10% and the percentage most recently established by the | 24 |
| Commission
for interest to be paid on customer deposits | 25 |
| under 83 Ill. Adm. Code
280.70(e)(1), for each month or | 26 |
| portion of a month that the amount due goes
unpaid, except |
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| that no underestimation penalty shall be assessed if the
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| amount actually paid on or before each of the dates | 3 |
| specified in subsection
(f) was
based on an estimate of | 4 |
| gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross
revenues | 5 |
| for the previous year. The Commission may enforce the | 6 |
| collection
of any delinquent installment or payment, or | 7 |
| portion thereof by legal
action or in any other manner by | 8 |
| which the collection of debts due the
State of Illinois may | 9 |
| be enforced under the laws of this State. The
executive | 10 |
| director or his designee may excuse the payment of an
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| assessed penalty or a portion of an assessed penalty if he | 12 |
| determines that
enforced collection of the penalty as | 13 |
| assessed
would be unjust.
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| (h) All sums collected by the Commission under the | 15 |
| provisions of
this Section shall be paid promptly after the | 16 |
| receipt of the same, accompanied
by a detailed statement | 17 |
| thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State
treasury.
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| (i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year | 19 |
| the
Commission shall:
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| (1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in the | 21 |
| Public Utility
Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium | 22 |
| plus the balance, if any, in that
fund at the beginning of | 23 |
| that biennium;
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| (2) determine the sum total of the following items: (A) | 25 |
| all moneys
expended or obligated against appropriations | 26 |
| made from the Public Utility
Fund during the preceding |
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| fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the credit
memoranda | 2 |
| then outstanding against the Public Utility Fund, if any; | 3 |
| and
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| (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum | 5 |
| determined as
provided in item (1) exceeds the amount | 6 |
| determined as provided in item (2).
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| If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this | 8 |
| subsection exceeds
50% of the previous fiscal year's | 9 |
| appropriation level $5,000,000 , the Commission shall then | 10 |
| compute the
proportionate amount, if
any, which (x) the tax | 11 |
| paid hereunder by each utility during the preceding
biennium, | 12 |
| and (y) the amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the
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| preceding biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to | 14 |
| Sections 2-9 and
2-11
of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears | 15 |
| to the difference between the amount
determined as
provided in | 16 |
| item (3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal | 17 |
| year's appropriation level $5,000,000 .
The
Commission
shall | 18 |
| cause the proportionate amount determined with respect to | 19 |
| payments
made under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be | 20 |
| transferred into the General
Revenue Fund in the State | 21 |
| Treasury, and notify each
public utility that it may file | 22 |
| during the 3 month period after the date of
notification a | 23 |
| claim for credit for the proportionate amount
determined with | 24 |
| respect to payments made hereunder by the public utility.
If | 25 |
| the
proportionate amount is less than $10, no notification will | 26 |
| be sent by the
Commission, and no right to a claim exists as to |
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| that amount. Upon the
filing of a claim for credit within the | 2 |
| period provided, the Commission
shall issue a credit memorandum | 3 |
| in such amount to such public utility. Any
claim for credit | 4 |
| filed after the period provided for in this Section is void.
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| (j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f)
and | 6 |
| credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant | 7 |
| to
subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the | 8 |
| date of issuance,
against the payment of any amount due during | 9 |
| that period under
the tax imposed by subsection (c), or, | 10 |
| subject to reasonable rule of the
Commission including | 11 |
| requirement of notification, may be assigned to any
other | 12 |
| public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any | 13 |
| application
of credit memoranda after the period provided for | 14 |
| in this Section is void.
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| (k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of | 16 |
| fees, taxes or
other charges whenever he shall determine that | 17 |
| the person or public utility
will not be liable for payment of | 18 |
| such fees, taxes or charges during the
next 24 months and he | 19 |
| determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum
would be | 20 |
| unjust.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-11, eff. 6-11-01; 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 92-526, | 22 |
| eff.
1-1-03.)
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| Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by | 24 |
| changing Section 18c-1503 as follows:
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| (625 ILCS 5/18c-1503) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1503)
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| Sec. 18c-1503. Legislative Intent. It is the intent of the | 3 |
| Legislature that the exercise of powers
under Sections 18c-1501 | 4 |
| and 18c-1502 of this Chapter shall not
diminish revenues to the | 5 |
| Commission, and that any surplus or
deficit of revenues in the | 6 |
| Transportation Regulatory Fund,
together with any projected | 7 |
| changes in the cost of administering
and enforcing this | 8 |
| Chapter, should be considered in establishing or
adjusting fees | 9 |
| and taxes in succeeding years. The Commission
shall administer | 10 |
| fees and taxes under this Chapter in such a manner
as to insure | 11 |
| that any surplus generated or accumulated in the
Transportation | 12 |
| Regulatory Fund does not exceed 50% of the previous fiscal | 13 |
| year's appropriation the surplus
accumulated in the Motor | 14 |
| Vehicle Fund during fiscal year 1984, and
shall adjust the | 15 |
| level of such fees and taxes to insure
compliance with this | 16 |
| provision.
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| (Source: P.A. 84-796.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 19 |
| becoming law.
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