Public Act 096-0716
 
SB1448 Enrolled LRB096 08884 MJR 19019 b

    AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
Section 9-222.1 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/9-222.1)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 9-222.1)
    Sec. 9-222.1. A business enterprise which is located within
an area designated by a county or municipality as an enterprise
zone pursuant to the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act or located in
a federally designated Foreign Trade Zone or Sub-Zone shall be
exempt from the additional charges added to the business
enterprise's utility bills as a pass-on of municipal and State
utility taxes under Sections 9-221 and 9-222 of this Act, to
the extent such charges are exempted by ordinance adopted in
accordance with paragraph (e) of Section 8-11-2 of the Illinois
Municipal Code in the case of municipal utility taxes, and to
the extent such charges are exempted by the percentage
specified by the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity in the case of State utility taxes, provided such
business enterprise meets the following criteria:
        (1) it either (i) makes investments which cause the
    creation of a minimum of 200 full-time equivalent jobs in
    Illinois; (ii) makes investments of at least $175,000,000
    which cause the creation of a minimum of 150 full-time
    equivalent jobs in Illinois; or (iii) makes investments
    that cause the retention of a minimum of 300 full-time
    equivalent jobs in the manufacturing sector, as defined by
    the North American Industry Classification System, in an
    area in Illinois in which the unemployment rate is above 9%
    and makes an application to the Department within 3 months
    after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th
    General Assembly and certifies relocation of the 300
    full-time equivalent jobs within 36 months after the
    application; or (iv) makes investments which cause the
    retention of a minimum of 1,000 full-time jobs in Illinois;
    and
        (2) it is either (i) located in an Enterprise Zone
    established pursuant to the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act or
    (ii) it is located in a federally designated Foreign Trade
    Zone or Sub-Zone and is designated a High Impact Business
    by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; and
        (3) it is certified by the Department of Commerce and
    Economic Opportunity as complying with the requirements
    specified in clauses (1) and (2) of this Section.
    The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall
determine the period during which such exemption from the
charges imposed under Section 9-222 is in effect which shall
not exceed 30 years or the certified term of the enterprise
zone, whichever period is shorter, except that the exemption
period for a business enterprise qualifying under item (iii) of
clause (1) of this Section shall not exceed 30 years.
    The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall
have the power to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out
the provisions of this Section including procedures for
complying with the requirements specified in clauses (1) and
(2) of this Section and procedures for applying for the
exemptions authorized under this Section; to define the amounts
and types of eligible investments which business enterprises
must make in order to receive State utility tax exemptions
pursuant to Sections 9-222 and 9-222.1 of this Act; to approve
such utility tax exemptions for business enterprises whose
investments are not yet placed in service; and to require that
business enterprises granted tax exemptions repay the exempted
tax should the business enterprise fail to comply with the
terms and conditions of the certification. However, no business
enterprise shall be required, as a condition for certification
under clause (3) of this Section, to attest that its decision
to invest under clause (1) of this Section and to locate under
clause (2) of this Section is predicated upon the availability
of the exemptions authorized by this Section.
    A business enterprise shall be exempt, in whole or in part,
from the pass-on charges of municipal utility taxes imposed
under Section 9-221, only if it meets the criteria specified in
clauses (1) through (3) of this Section and the municipality
has adopted an ordinance authorizing the exemption under
paragraph (e) of Section 8-11-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
Upon certification of the business enterprises by the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall notify
the Department of Revenue of such certification. The Department
of Revenue shall notify the public utilities of the exemption
status of business enterprises from the pass-on charges of
State and municipal utility taxes. Such exemption status shall
be effective within 3 months after certification of the
business enterprise.
(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.