20 ILCS 686/20

(20 ILCS 686/20)

Sec. 20. REV Illinois Program; project applications.

(a) The Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) Program is hereby established and shall be administered by the Department. The Program will provide financial incentives to any one or more of the following: (1) eligible manufacturers of electric vehicles, electric vehicle component parts, and electric vehicle power supply equipment; (2) battery recycling and reuse manufacturers; (3) battery raw materials refining service providers; or (4) renewable energy manufacturers.

(b) Any taxpayer planning a project to be located in Illinois may request consideration for designation of its project as a REV Illinois Project, by formal written letter of request or by formal application to the Department, in which the applicant states its intent to make at least a specified level of investment and intends to hire a specified number of full-time employees at a designated location in Illinois. As circumstances require, the Department shall require a formal application from an applicant and a formal letter of request for assistance.

(c) In order to qualify for credits under the REV Illinois Program, an applicant must:

(1) if the applicant is an electric vehicle manufacturer:

(A) make an investment of at least $1,500,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) to be placed in service within the State within a 60-month period after approval of the application; and

(C) create at least 500 new full-time employee jobs; or

(2) if the applicant is an electric vehicle component parts manufacturer or a renewable energy manufacturer:

(A) make an investment of at least $300,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) manufacture one or more parts that are primarily used for electric vehicle manufacturing;

(C) to be placed in service within the State within a 60-month period after approval of the application; and

(D) create at least 150 new full-time employee jobs; or

(3) if the agreement is entered into before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and the applicant is an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturer, an electric vehicle component part manufacturer that does not qualify under paragraph (2) above, a battery recycling and reuse manufacturer, or a battery raw materials refining service provider:

(A) make an investment of at least $20,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) for electric vehicle component part manufacturers, manufacture one or more parts that are primarily used for electric vehicle manufacturing;

(C) to be placed in service within the State within a 48-month period after approval of the application; and

(D) create at least 50 new full-time employee jobs; or

(3.1) if the agreement is entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and the applicant is an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturer, an electric vehicle component part manufacturer that does not qualify under paragraph (2) above, a renewable energy manufacturer that does not qualify under paragraph (2) above, a battery recycling and reuse manufacturer, or a battery raw materials refining service provider:

(A) make an investment of at least $2,500,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) in the case of electric vehicle component part manufacturers, manufacture one or more parts that are used for electric vehicle manufacturing;

(C) to be placed in service within the State within a 48-month period after approval of the application; and

(D) create the lesser of 50 new full-time employee jobs or new full-time employee jobs equivalent to 10% of the Statewide baseline applicable to the taxpayer and any related member at the time of application; or

(4) if the agreement is entered into before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and the applicant is an electric vehicle manufacturer or electric vehicle component parts manufacturer with existing operations within Illinois that intends to convert or expand, in whole or in part, the existing facility from traditional manufacturing to primarily electric vehicle manufacturing, electric vehicle component parts manufacturing, or electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturing:

(A) make an investment of at least $100,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) to be placed in service within the State within a 60-month period after approval of the application; and

(C) create the lesser of 75 new full-time employee jobs or new full-time employee jobs equivalent to 10% of the Statewide baseline applicable to the taxpayer and any related member at the time of application;

(4.1) if the agreement is entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and the applicant (i) is an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle component parts manufacturer, or a renewable energy manufacturer and (ii) has existing operations within Illinois that the applicant intends to convert or expand, in whole or in part, from traditional manufacturing to electric vehicle manufacturing, electric vehicle component parts manufacturing, renewable energy manufacturing, or electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturing:

(A) make an investment of at least $100,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) to be placed in service within the State within a 60-month period after approval of the application; and

(C) create the lesser of 50 new full-time employee jobs or new full-time employee jobs equivalent to 10% of the Statewide baseline applicable to the taxpayer and any related member at the time of application; or

(5) if the agreement is entered into on or after the effective date of the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and before June 1, 2024 and the applicant (i) is an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle component parts manufacturer, or a renewable energy manufacturer or (ii) has existing operations within Illinois that the applicant intends to convert or expand, in whole or in part, from traditional manufacturing to electric vehicle manufacturing, electric vehicle component parts manufacturing, renewable energy manufacturing, or electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturing:

(A) make an investment of at least $500,000,000 in capital improvements at the project site;

(B) to be placed in service within the State within a 60-month period after approval of the application; and

(C) retain at least 800 full-time employee jobs at the project.

(d) For agreements entered into prior to April 19, 2022 (the effective date of Public Act 102-700), for any applicant creating the full-time employee jobs noted in subsection (c), those jobs must have a total compensation equal to or greater than 120% of the average wage paid to full-time employees in the county where the project is located, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For agreements entered into on or after April 19, 2022 (the effective date of Public Act 102-700), for any applicant creating the full-time employee jobs noted in subsection (c), those jobs must have a compensation equal to or greater than 120% of the average wage paid to full-time employees in a similar position within an occupational group in the county where the project is located, as determined by the Department.

(e) For any applicant, within 24 months after being placed in service, it must certify to the Department that it is carbon neutral or has attained certification under one of more of the following green building standards:

(1) BREEAM for New Construction or BREEAM In-Use;

(2) ENERGY STAR;

(3) Envision;

(4) ISO 50001 - energy management;

(5) LEED for Building Design and Construction or LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance;

(6) Green Globes for New Construction or Green Globes for Existing Buildings; or

(7) UL 3223.

(f) Each applicant must outline its hiring plan and commitment to recruit and hire full-time employee positions at the project site. The hiring plan may include a partnership with an institution of higher education to provide internships, including, but not limited to, internships supported by the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program, or full-time permanent employment for students at the project site. Additionally, the applicant may create or utilize participants from apprenticeship programs that are approved by and registered with the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. The applicant may apply for apprenticeship education expense credits in accordance with the provisions set forth in 14 Ill. Adm. Code 522. Each applicant is required to report annually, on or before April 15, on the diversity of its workforce in accordance with Section 50 of this Act. For existing facilities of applicants under paragraph (3) of subsection (b) above, if the taxpayer expects a reduction in force due to its transition to manufacturing electric vehicle, electric vehicle component parts, or electric vehicle power supply equipment, the plan submitted under this Section must outline the taxpayer's plan to assist with retraining its workforce aligned with the taxpayer's adoption of new technologies and anticipated efforts to retrain employees through employment opportunities within the taxpayer's workforce.

(g) Each applicant must demonstrate a contractual or other relationship with a recycling facility, or demonstrate its own recycling capabilities, at the time of application and report annually a continuing contractual or other relationship with a recycling facility and the percentage of batteries used in electric vehicles recycled throughout the term of the agreement.

(h) A taxpayer may not enter into more than one agreement under this Act with respect to a single address or location for the same period of time. Also, a taxpayer may not enter into an agreement under this Act with respect to a single address or location for the same period of time for which the taxpayer currently holds an active agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act. This provision does not preclude the applicant from entering into an additional agreement after the expiration or voluntary termination of an earlier agreement under this Act or under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act to the extent that the taxpayer's application otherwise satisfies the terms and conditions of this Act and is approved by the Department. An applicant with an existing agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act may submit an application for an agreement under this Act after it terminates any existing agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act with respect to the same address or location. If a project that is subject to an existing agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act meets the requirements to be designated as a REV Illinois project under this Act, including for actions undertaken prior to the effective date of this Act, the taxpayer that is subject to that existing agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act may apply to the Department to amend the agreement to allow the project to become a designated REV Illinois project. Following the amendment, time accrued during which the project was eligible for credits under the existing agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act shall count toward the duration of the credit subject to limitations described in Section 40 of this Act.

(i) If, at any time following the designation of a project as a REV Illinois Project by the Department and prior to the termination or expiration of an agreement under this Act, the project ceases to qualify as a REV Illinois project because the taxpayer is no longer an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle component manufacturer, an electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturer, a battery recycling and reuse manufacturer, or a battery raw materials refining service provider, that project may receive tax credit awards as described in Section 5-15 and Section 5-51 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, as long as the project continues to meet requirements to obtain those credits as described in the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act and remains compliant with terms contained in the Agreement under this Act not related to their status as an electric vehicle manufacturer, an electric vehicle component manufacturer, an electric vehicle power supply equipment manufacturer, a battery recycling and reuse manufacturer, or a battery raw materials refining service provider. Time accrued during which the project was eligible for credits under an agreement under this Act shall count toward the duration of the credit subject to limitations described in Section 5-45 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-669, eff. 11-16-21; 102-700, eff. 4-19-22; 102-1112, eff. 12-21-22; 102-1125, eff. 2-3-23; 103-9, eff. 6-7-23.)