Full Text of HB3215 102nd General Assembly
HB3215ham002 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Justin Slaughter Filed: 2/22/2022
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3215
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3215 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Securing All Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in | 6 | | Communities Pilot Program Act. | 7 | | Section 5. Intent. The intent of this Act is to facilitate | 8 | | the re-entry into society of formerly incarcerated individuals | 9 | | by creating financial incentives, in the form of wage | 10 | | subsidies, for employers that hire formerly incarcerated | 11 | | individuals. | 12 | | Section 10. Findings and purpose. In order to reverse the | 13 | | trend of high unemployment among formerly incarcerated | 14 | | individuals and to help spur the economy to recovery, it is | 15 | | necessary to assist individuals in accessing self-supporting, |
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| 1 | | full-time work. | 2 | | Section 15. Definitions. In this Act: | 3 | | "Applicant" means a person who is operating a business | 4 | | located within this State that: | 5 | | (1) is engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce; | 6 | | and | 7 | | (2) hires a participant for a position under a union | 8 | | contract, or for a position that offers a basic wage | 9 | | and benefits package as compensation. In the case of | 10 | | any person who is a member of a unitary business group | 11 | | within the meaning of paragraph (27) of subsection (a) | 12 | | of Section 1501 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, | 13 | | "applicant" refers to the unitary business group. | 14 | | "Basic wage" means a minimum of $20 per hour as | 15 | | compensation. | 16 | | "Benefits package" means the new full-time employee's | 17 | | benefits outside of the employee's basic wage including: | 18 | | (1) a minimum of 5 days of earned sick leave; and | 19 | | (2) a minimum of 5 days of paid vacation. | 20 | | "Certificate of eligibility" means the certificate issued | 21 | | by the Department under Section 30 of this Act.
| 22 | | "Date of hire" means the first day upon which the | 23 | | participant begins providing services as an employee of the | 24 | | applicant under a union contract or for a basic wage and | 25 | | benefits package as compensation.
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| 1 | | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | 2 | | Opportunity, unless the text specifies another particular | 3 | | Department.
| 4 | | "Director" means the Director of Commerce and Economic | 5 | | Opportunity.
| 6 | | "Disproportionately impacted area" means a census tract or | 7 | | comparable geographic area that has high rates of arrest, | 8 | | conviction, and incarceration among residents, as determined | 9 | | by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
| 10 | | "Full-time employee" means an individual who has a | 11 | | position under union contract or is employed for a basic wage | 12 | | for at least 35 hours each week and receives a benefits package | 13 | | as compensation.
| 14 | | "Incentive period" means the period beginning on March 1, | 15 | | 2023 and ending on February 28, 2028.
| 16 | | "Noncompliance date" means, in the case of an applicant | 17 | | that is not complying with the requirements of the provisions | 18 | | of this Act, the date upon which the applicant became | 19 | | noncompliant with the requirements of the provisions of this | 20 | | Act, as determined by the Director under Section 60.
| 21 | | "Participant" means a full-time employee who:
| 22 | | (1) was unemployed or making less than the basic wage | 23 | | referred to in this Section before being hired by an | 24 | | applicant;
| 25 | | (2) served a sentence of incarceration;
| 26 | | (3) is registered for the pilot program described in |
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| 1 | | Section 25; and
| 2 | | (4) is subsequently hired during the incentive period | 3 | | by an applicant for a position under union contract or for | 4 | | a position that offers a basic wage and benefits package | 5 | | as compensation.
| 6 | | "Participant" does not include a person who was employed | 7 | | prior to the onset of the incentive period as a full-time | 8 | | employee by the applicant or a related member of the applicant | 9 | | that has more than 15 total employees.
| 10 | | "Re-entering person" means any individual who is in | 11 | | physical custody of the Department of Corrections and is | 12 | | scheduled to be released from custody within 12 months.
| 13 | | "Wage subsidy" means the amount awarded by the Department | 14 | | to an applicant by issuance of a certificate under Section 35 | 15 | | for each participant hired.
| 16 | | Section 20. Powers of the Department. The Department, in | 17 | | addition to those powers granted under the Department of | 18 | | Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law, is granted and shall | 19 | | have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and | 20 | | effectuate the purposes and provisions of this Act, including, | 21 | | but not limited to, power and authority to: | 22 | | (1) adopt rules deemed necessary and appropriate for | 23 | | the administration of this Act; establish forms for | 24 | | applications, notifications, contracts, or any other | 25 | | agreements; and accept applications at any time during the |
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| 1 | | year and require that all applications be submitted via | 2 | | the Internet. The Department shall require that | 3 | | applications be submitted in electronic form; | 4 | | (2) provide guidance and assistance to an applicant | 5 | | pursuant to the provisions of this Act, and cooperate with | 6 | | applicants to promote, foster, and support job creation | 7 | | within the State; | 8 | | (3) enter into agreements and memoranda of | 9 | | understanding for participation of and cooperation with | 10 | | agencies of the federal government, units of local | 11 | | government, universities, research foundations or | 12 | | institutions, regional economic development corporations, | 13 | | or other organizations for the purposes of this Act; | 14 | | (4) gather information and conduct inquiries, in the | 15 | | manner and by the methods it deems desirable, including, | 16 | | but not limited to, gathering information with respect to | 17 | | applicants for the purpose of making any designations or | 18 | | certifications necessary or desirable or to gather | 19 | | information in furtherance of the purposes of this Act; | 20 | | (5) establish, negotiate, and effectuate any term, | 21 | | agreement, or other document with any person necessary or | 22 | | appropriate to accomplish the purposes of this Act; and | 23 | | consent, subject to the provisions of any agreement with | 24 | | another party, to the modification or restructuring of any | 25 | | agreement to which the Department is a party; | 26 | | (6) provide for sufficient personnel to permit |
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| 1 | | administration, staffing, operation, and related support | 2 | | required to adequately discharge its duties and | 3 | | responsibilities described in this Act from funds made | 4 | | available through charges to applicants or from funds as | 5 | | may be appropriated by the General Assembly for the | 6 | | administration of this Act; | 7 | | (7) require applicants, upon written request, to issue | 8 | | any necessary authorization to the appropriate federal, | 9 | | State, or local authority or any other person for the | 10 | | release to the Department of information requested by the | 11 | | Department, with the information requested to include, but | 12 | | not limited to, financial reports, returns, or records | 13 | | relating to the applicant or to the amount of wage subsidy | 14 | | allowable under this Act; | 15 | | (8) require that an applicant shall, at all times, | 16 | | keep proper books of record and account in accordance with | 17 | | generally accepted accounting principles consistently | 18 | | applied with the books, records, or papers related to the | 19 | | agreement in the custody or control of the applicant open | 20 | | for reasonable Department inspection and audits, and | 21 | | including, but not limited to, the making of copies of the | 22 | | books, records, or papers; and | 23 | | (9) take whatever actions are necessary or appropriate | 24 | | to protect the State's interest in the event of | 25 | | bankruptcy, default, foreclosure, or noncompliance with | 26 | | the terms and conditions of financial assistance or |
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| 1 | | participation required under this Act, including the power | 2 | | to sell, dispose of, lease, or rent, upon terms and | 3 | | conditions determined by the Director to be appropriate, | 4 | | real or personal property that the Department may recover | 5 | | as a result of these actions.
| 6 | | Section 25. Pilot program. | 7 | | (a) The wage subsidy shall only apply to a maximum of | 8 | | 20,000 participants for the duration of the incentive period. | 9 | | A maximum of 10,000 participants shall consist of persons | 10 | | released from prison on or after January 1, 2022. A maximum of | 11 | | 10,000 participants shall consist of persons released from | 12 | | prison between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2021.
| 13 | | (b) The Department shall maintain a database of all | 14 | | participants for the duration of the incentive period.
| 15 | | (1) Individuals seeking to participate in the pilot | 16 | | program shall register with the Department on or after | 17 | | January 1, 2023.
| 18 | | (2) The Department shall verify individuals' | 19 | | eligibility to participate in the program by checking | 20 | | their employment and incarceration history.
| 21 | | (3) The Department shall mail a written letter | 22 | | containing a denial or confirmation of the individual's | 23 | | eligibility to participate in the program to the primary | 24 | | address of the individual. The Department shall also send | 25 | | an email with an electronic version of the letter attached |
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| 1 | | to the primary email address of the individual.
| 2 | | (A) The denial letter shall state the reason why | 3 | | the individual is being denied.
| 4 | | (B) The confirmation letter shall state the | 5 | | identifying number assigned to the individual.
| 6 | | (c) The Department shall maintain a record of the | 7 | | participants and the corresponding applicant. | 8 | | (1) Each applicant shall, on a monthly basis starting | 9 | | from receipt of the certificate of eligibility for the | 10 | | wage subsidy, submit a year-to-date report of the | 11 | | employment of participants to remain in good standing to | 12 | | receive the wage subsidy.
| 13 | | (2) The reports shall be submitted in the form and | 14 | | manner required by the Department.
| 15 | | Section 30. Certificate of eligibility for wage subsidy. | 16 | | (a) An applicant who hires a participant as a full-time | 17 | | employee during the incentive period may apply for a | 18 | | certificate of eligibility for the wage subsidy on or after | 19 | | the date of hire.
| 20 | | (b) An applicant may apply for a certificate of | 21 | | eligibility for the wage subsidy for more than one participant | 22 | | on or after the date of hire of each qualifying participant. | 23 | | The application shall include the following:
| 24 | | (1) the name, social security number or individual | 25 | | taxpayer identification number, job description, salary or |
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| 1 | | wage rate, and date of hire of each participant with | 2 | | respect to whom the wage subsidy is being requested, and | 3 | | whether each participant is registered in the pilot | 4 | | program described in Section 25;
| 5 | | (2) the number of participants hired by the applicant | 6 | | during the incentive period; | 7 | | (3) an agreement that the Director is authorized to | 8 | | verify with the appropriate State agencies the information | 9 | | contained in the request before issuing a certificate to | 10 | | the applicant;
| 11 | | (4) the physical address of the workplace to which the | 12 | | participant reports for work; and
| 13 | | (5) any other information the Department determines to | 14 | | be appropriate.
| 15 | | (c) After receipt of an application and approval of | 16 | | eligibility under this Section, the Department shall issue a | 17 | | certificate of eligibility to all qualified applicants, | 18 | | stating:
| 19 | | (1) the date and time on which the application was | 20 | | received by the Department and an identifying number | 21 | | assigned to the applicant by the Department;
and | 22 | | (2) the monthly amount of wage subsidy the applicant | 23 | | would receive under this Act with respect to the new | 24 | | employees listed on the application.
| 25 | | (d) After the initial certificate of eligibility is | 26 | | issued, the applicant must submit a monthly
report of |
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| 1 | | employment of all participants to the Department. The | 2 | | Department shall review the report on a monthly basis and | 3 | | determine the applicant's eligibility for a monthly wage | 4 | | subsidy under this Act.
| 5 | | Section 35. Wage subsidy. | 6 | | (a) Subject to the conditions set forth in this Act, an | 7 | | applicant with a certificate of eligibility is entitled to a | 8 | | monthly wage subsidy for each participant who was employed for | 9 | | a full calendar month by the applicant, provided that the | 10 | | following conditions are met: | 11 | | (1)
the participant was continuously employed under a | 12 | | union contract or for a basic wage and benefits package; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | (2) starting from the date of hire of the participant, | 15 | | the applicant maintained or increased the total number of | 16 | | full-time Illinois employees.
| 17 | | (b) The Department shall make monthly wage subsidy | 18 | | payments to qualified applicants with a certificate of | 19 | | eligibility who are in compliance with the requirements of the | 20 | | provisions of this Act.
| 21 | | (c) The Department shall issue a wage subsidy payment to | 22 | | the applicant for each participant who was continuously | 23 | | employed for an entire calendar month after the date on which | 24 | | the certificate is issued by the Department, and each month | 25 | | thereafter during the incentive period for as long as the |
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| 1 | | participant's employment with the applicant is continuously | 2 | | maintained and the Department determines the applicant is in | 3 | | compliance with the requirements of the provisions of this | 4 | | Act.
| 5 | | (d) The monetary amount of each monthly wage subsidy | 6 | | payment awarded to an applicant for each participant who was | 7 | | continuously employed for an entire calendar month shall | 8 | | equal:
| 9 | | (1) $1,250 for all applicants whose workplaces are | 10 | | located in disproportionately impacted areas as defined in | 11 | | Section 15; and
| 12 | | (2) $850 for all other applicants. | 13 | | Section 40. Maximum amount of wage subsidies allowed. To | 14 | | the extent authorized by Section 35 of this Act, during the | 15 | | incentive period the Department shall limit the total monetary | 16 | | amount of wage subsidies awarded under this Act to no more than | 17 | | $1,500,000,000. If applications for a greater amount are | 18 | | received, wage subsidies shall be allowed on a | 19 | | first-come-first-served basis, based on the date on which each | 20 | | properly completed application for a certificate of | 21 | | eligibility is received by the Department. If more than one | 22 | | certificate of eligibility is received on the same day, the | 23 | | wage subsidies will be awarded based on the time of submission | 24 | | for that particular day. |
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| 1 | | Section 45. Noncompliance. | 2 | | (a) If the Director determines that an applicant who has | 3 | | received a wage subsidy under this Act is not complying with | 4 | | the requirements of the provisions of this Act, the Director | 5 | | shall provide notice to the applicant of the alleged | 6 | | noncompliance, and allow the applicant a hearing under the | 7 | | provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. | 8 | | (b) If, after such notice and any hearing, the Director | 9 | | determines that noncompliance exists, the Director shall issue | 10 | | notice to the applicant to that effect stating the | 11 | | noncompliance date. | 12 | | Section 50. Awareness promotion of the pilot program. From | 13 | | January 1, 2023 through the end of the incentive period, the | 14 | | Department of Corrections shall implement procedures to | 15 | | promote awareness and participation in the Securing All | 16 | | Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in Communities Pilot | 17 | | Program among re-entering persons, including but not limited | 18 | | to the following: | 19 | | (1) the Department of Corrections shall ensure that the | 20 | | wardens or superintendents of all correctional institutions | 21 | | and facilities visibly post information about the availability | 22 | | and registration process for the Securing All Futures through | 23 | | Equitable Reinvestment in Communities Pilot Program in all | 24 | | common areas of their respective institutions, and shall | 25 | | broadcast the same via in-house institutional information |
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| 1 | | television channels. The Department of Corrections shall | 2 | | ensure that updated information is distributed in a timely, | 3 | | visible, and accessible manner;
| 4 | | (2) the Department of Corrections shall ensure that upon | 5 | | release as a committed person on parole, mandatory supervised | 6 | | release, aftercare release, final discharge, or pardon, a | 7 | | re-entering individual shall be provided with written | 8 | | information about the availability and registration process | 9 | | for the Securing All Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in | 10 | | Communities Pilot Program;
| 11 | | (3) the Department of Corrections shall provide direction | 12 | | to each parole office within this State, information about the | 13 | | availability and registration process for the Securing All | 14 | | Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in Communities Pilot | 15 | | Program is posted in a visible and accessible manner; and | 16 | | (4) the Department of Corrections shall distribute written | 17 | | information about the availability and registration process | 18 | | for the Securing All Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in | 19 | | Communities Pilot Program to the Community Support Advisory | 20 | | Councils of the Department of Corrections for use in re-entry | 21 | | programs across this State. | 22 | | Section 55. Subject to appropriations. The Securing | 23 | | All Futures through Equitable Reinvestment in Communities | 24 | | Pilot Program described in this Act is subject to | 25 | | appropriations to the Department. The Department may use State |
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| 1 | | or federal funding to administer the program. | 2 | | Section 60. Rulemaking authority. | 3 | | (a) The Department may adopt rules necessary to implement | 4 | | this Act. The rules may provide for recipients of wage | 5 | | subsidies under this Act to be charged fees to cover | 6 | | administrative costs of the Securing All Futures through | 7 | | Equitable Reinvestment in Communities Pilot Program. Any | 8 | | administrative rules necessary to implement this Act shall be | 9 | | filed by the Department within 6 months following the | 10 | | effective date of this Act. | 11 | | (b) The Department of Corrections shall adopt rules to | 12 | | carry out this Act within 6 months after the effective date of | 13 | | this Act.
| 14 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 15 | | becoming law.".
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