Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2814
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Full Text of SB2814  99th General Assembly

SB2814ham005 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Robert Rita

Filed: 11/30/2016

 

 


 

 


 
09900SB2814ham005LRB099 19990 RJF 51914 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2814

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2814, AS AMENDED,
3by inserting the following Section in its proper numeric
4sequence as follows:
 
5    "Section 85. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6changing Section 2-202 as follows:
 
7    (220 ILCS 5/2-202)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
8    Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.
9    (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State
10that in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation
11of public utilities under this Act in the interests of the
12People of the State of Illinois and the public utilities as
13well, the public utilities subject to regulation under this Act
14and which enjoy the privilege of operating as public utilities
15in this State, shall bear the expense of administering this Act
16by means of a tax on such privilege measured by the annual

 

 

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1gross revenue of such public utilities in the manner provided
2in this Section. For purposes of this Section, "expense of
3administering this Act" includes any costs incident to studies,
4whether made by the Commission or under contract entered into
5by the Commission, concerning environmental pollution problems
6caused or contributed to by public utilities and the means for
7eliminating or abating those problems. Such proceeds shall be
8deposited in the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.
9    (b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
10Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be
11paid out of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of
12the members of the Commission which shall be paid from the
13General Revenue Fund. Notwithstanding other provisions of this
14Act to the contrary, the ordinary and contingent expenses of
15the Commission incident to the administration of the Illinois
16Commercial Transportation Law may be paid from appropriations
17from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal year
181986.
19    (c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to
20the provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue
21for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year
22beginning January 1, 1982, except that the Commission may, by
23rule, establish a different rate no greater than 0.1%. For
24purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include
25revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale,
26delivery, or furnishing of electricity. "Gross revenue" shall

 

 

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1not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers under
2the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
3    (d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in
4accordance with paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
5        (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this
6    subsection (d), on or before January 10 of each year each
7    public utility subject to the provisions of this Act shall
8    file with the Commission an estimated annual gross revenue
9    return containing an estimate of the amount of its gross
10    revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said
11    year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said
12    calendar year on the basis of that estimate. Public
13    utilities may also file revised returns containing updated
14    estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the
15    calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form
16    the basis for quarterly payments due during the remainder
17    of the calendar year. In addition, on or before March 31 of
18    each year, each public utility shall file an amended return
19    showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown by the
20    company's books and records as of December 31 of the
21    previous year. Forms and instructions for such estimated,
22    revised, and amended returns shall be devised and supplied
23    by the Commission.
24        (2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002,
25    the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection (d)
26    shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year

 

 

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1    for which the total tax the public utility owes under this
2    Section is less than $10,000. For such public utilities
3    with respect to such years, the public utility shall file
4    with the Commission, on or before March 31 of the following
5    year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a
6    statement of the amount of tax due for that year on the
7    basis of such a return. Forms and instructions for such
8    returns and corrected returns shall be devised and supplied
9    by the Commission.
10    (e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public
11utility as provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d) of
12this Section shall contain or be verified by a written
13declaration by an appropriate officer of the public utility
14that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The
15Commission may audit each such return submitted and may, under
16the provisions of Section 5-101 of this Act, take such measures
17as are necessary to ascertain the correctness of the returns
18submitted. The Commission has the power to direct the filing of
19a corrected return by any utility which has filed an incorrect
20return and to direct the filing of a return by any utility
21which has failed to submit a return. A taxpayer's signing a
22fraudulent return under this Section is perjury, as defined in
23Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
24    (f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1)
25of subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of
26tax due under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on

 

 

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1or before the tenth day of January, April, July, and October of
2the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an
3adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
4result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under
5subsection (d) or subsection (e) of this Section, the amount of
6any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility together
7with the amended or corrected return and the amount of any
8excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the
9public utility, be returned to the public utility in the form
10of a credit memorandum in the amount of such excess or be
11refunded to the public utility in accordance with the
12provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such
13deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility
14need not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.
15    (2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of
16subsection (d) shall pay the amount of tax due under subsection
17(c) on or before March 31 next following the end of the
18calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an adjustment
19in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a result of the
20filing of a corrected return under subsection (e), the amount
21of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility at the
22time the corrected return is filed. Any excess tax payment by
23the public utility shall be returned to it after the filing of
24a claim for credit, in the form of a credit memorandum in the
25amount of the excess. However, if such deficiency or excess is
26less than $1, the public utility need not pay the deficiency

 

 

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1and may not claim a credit.
2    (g) Each installment or required payment of the tax imposed
3by subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of the date
4that it is due. Failure to make a payment as required by this
5Section shall result in the imposition of a late payment
6penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both, as provided by
7this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be the greater
8of:
9        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the
10    installment or required payment is unpaid or
11        (2) an amount equal to the difference between what
12    should have been paid on the due date, based upon the most
13    recently filed estimated, annual, or amended return, and
14    what was actually paid, times 1%, for each month or portion
15    of a month that the installment or required payment goes
16    unpaid. This penalty may be assessed as soon as the
17    installment or required payment becomes delinquent.
18    The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public
19utilities subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall
20be calculated after the filing of the amended return. It shall
21be imposed if the amount actually paid on any of the dates
22specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least one-fourth
23of the amount actually due for the year, and shall equal the
24greater of:
25        (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the
26    amount due is unpaid or

 

 

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1        (2) an amount equal to the difference between what
2    should have been paid, based on the amended return, and
3    what was actually paid as of the date specified in
4    subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the sum
5    of 10% and the percentage most recently established by the
6    Commission for interest to be paid on customer deposits
7    under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70(e)(1), for each month or
8    portion of a month that the amount due goes unpaid, except
9    that no underestimation penalty shall be assessed if the
10    amount actually paid on or before each of the dates
11    specified in subsection (f) was based on an estimate of
12    gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross revenues
13    for the previous year. The Commission may enforce the
14    collection of any delinquent installment or payment, or
15    portion thereof by legal action or in any other manner by
16    which the collection of debts due the State of Illinois may
17    be enforced under the laws of this State. The executive
18    director or his designee may excuse the payment of an
19    assessed penalty or a portion of an assessed penalty if he
20    determines that enforced collection of the penalty as
21    assessed would be unjust.
22    (h) All sums collected by the Commission under the
23provisions of this Section shall be paid promptly after the
24receipt of the same, accompanied by a detailed statement
25thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.
26    (i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year

 

 

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1the Commission shall:
2        (1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in the
3    Public Utility Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium
4    plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the beginning of
5    that biennium;
6        (2) determine the sum total of the following items: (A)
7    all moneys expended or obligated against appropriations
8    made from the Public Utility Fund during the preceding
9    fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the credit memoranda
10    then outstanding against the Public Utility Fund, if any;
11    and
12        (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum
13    determined as provided in item (1) exceeds the amount
14    determined as provided in item (2).
15    If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this
16subsection exceeds 50% of the previous fiscal year's
17appropriation level, the Commission shall then compute the
18proportionate amount, if any, which (x) the tax paid hereunder
19by each utility during the preceding biennium, and (y) the
20amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the preceding
21biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Sections 2-9
22and 2-11 of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears to the
23difference between the amount determined as provided in item
24(3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal
25year's appropriation level. The Commission shall cause the
26proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made

 

 

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1under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be transferred into the
2General Revenue Fund in the State Treasury, and notify each
3public utility that it may file during the 3 month period after
4the date of notification a claim for credit for the
5proportionate amount determined with respect to payments made
6hereunder by the public utility. If the proportionate amount is
7less than $10, no notification will be sent by the Commission,
8and no right to a claim exists as to that amount. Upon the
9filing of a claim for credit within the period provided, the
10Commission shall issue a credit memorandum in such amount to
11such public utility. Any claim for credit filed after the
12period provided for in this Section is void.
13    (i-5) During the month of October of each year the
14Commission shall:
15        (1) determine the amount of all moneys expected to be
16    deposited in the Public Utility Fund during the current
17    fiscal year, plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the
18    beginning of that year;
19        (2) determine the total of all moneys expected to be
20    expended or obligated against appropriations made from the
21    Public Utility Fund during the current fiscal year; and
22        (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the amount
23    determined in paragraph (2) exceeds the amount determined
24    as provided in paragraph (1).
25    If the amount determined as provided in paragraph (3) of
26this subsection (i-5) results in a deficit, the Commission may

 

 

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1assess electric utilities and gas utilities for the difference
2between the amount appropriated for the ordinary and contingent
3expenses of the Commission and the amount derived under
4paragraph (1) of this subsection (i-5). Such proceeds shall be
5deposited in the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury. The
6Commission shall apportion that difference among those public
7utilities on the basis of each utility's share of the total
8intrastate gross revenues of the utilities subject to this
9subsection (i-5). Payments required under this subsection
10(i-5) shall be made in the time and manner directed by the
11Commission. The Commission shall permit utilities to recover
12Illinois Commerce Commission assessments effective pursuant to
13this subsection through an automatic adjustment mechanism that
14is incorporated into an existing tariff that recovers costs
15associated with this Section, or through a supplemental
16customer charge.
17    Within 6 months after the first time assessments are made
18under this subsection (i-5), the Commission shall initiate a
19docketed proceeding in which it shall consider, in addition to
20assessments from electric and gas utilities subject to this
21subsection, the raising of assessments from, or the payment of
22fees by, water and sewer utilities, entities possessing
23certificates of service authority as alternative retail
24electric suppliers under Section 16-115 of this Act, entities
25possessing certificates of service authority as alternative
26gas suppliers under Section 19-110 of this Act, and

 

 

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1telecommunications carriers providing local exchange
2telecommunications service or interexchange telecommunications
3service under sections 13-204 or 13-205 of this Act. The
4amounts so determined shall be based on the costs to the agency
5of the exercise of its regulatory and supervisory functions
6with regard to the different industries and service providers
7subject to the proceeding. No less often than every 3 years
8after the end of a proceeding under this subsection (i-5), the
9Commission shall initiate another proceeding for that purpose.
10    The Commission may use this apportionment method until the
11docketed proceeding in which the Commission considers the
12raising of assessments from other entities subject to its
13jurisdiction under this Act has concluded. No credit memoranda
14shall be issued pursuant to subsection (i) if the amount
15determined as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection
16(i-5) results in a deficit.
17    (j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f) and
18credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant
19to subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the
20date of issuance, against the payment of any amount due during
21that period under the tax imposed by subsection (c), or,
22subject to reasonable rule of the Commission including
23requirement of notification, may be assigned to any other
24public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any
25application of credit memoranda after the period provided for
26in this Section is void.

 

 

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1    (k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of
2fees, taxes or other charges whenever he shall determine that
3the person or public utility will not be liable for payment of
4such fees, taxes or charges during the next 24 months and he
5determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum would be
6unjust.
7(Source: P.A. 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)".