Public Act 099-0004
 
HB0220 EnrolledLRB099 03556 AWJ 23564 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 3. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section
5-1006.5 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-1006.5)
    Sec. 5-1006.5. Special County Retailers' Occupation Tax
For Public Safety, Public Facilities, or Transportation.
    (a) The county board of any county may impose a tax upon
all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible
personal property, other than personal property titled or
registered with an agency of this State's government, at retail
in the county on the gross receipts from the sales made in the
course of business to provide revenue to be used exclusively
for public safety, public facility, or transportation purposes
in that county, if a proposition for the tax has been submitted
to the electors of that county and approved by a majority of
those voting on the question. If imposed, this tax shall be
imposed only in one-quarter percent increments. By resolution,
the county board may order the proposition to be submitted at
any election. If the tax is imposed for transportation purposes
for expenditures for public highways or as authorized under the
Illinois Highway Code, the county board must publish notice of
the existence of its long-range highway transportation plan as
required or described in Section 5-301 of the Illinois Highway
Code and must make the plan publicly available prior to
approval of the ordinance or resolution imposing the tax. If
the tax is imposed for transportation purposes for expenditures
for passenger rail transportation, the county board must
publish notice of the existence of its long-range passenger
rail transportation plan and must make the plan publicly
available prior to approval of the ordinance or resolution
imposing the tax.
    If a tax is imposed for public facilities purposes, then
the name of the project may be included in the proposition at
the discretion of the county board as determined in the
enabling resolution. For example, the "XXX Nursing Home" or the
"YYY Museum".
    The county clerk shall certify the question to the proper
election authority, who shall submit the proposition at an
election in accordance with the general election law.
        (1) The proposition for public safety purposes shall be
    in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public safety purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of
    local sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
    provision at which time the additional sales tax would
    cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote
    of the county board. If the county board votes to include a
    sunset provision, the proposition for public safety
    purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public safety purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of
    local sales taxes by (insert rate) for a period not to
    exceed (insert number of years)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed,
    the additional tax would cease being collected at the end
    of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a
    vote of the county board."
        For the purposes of the paragraph, "public safety
    purposes" means crime prevention, detention, fire
    fighting, police, medical, ambulance, or other emergency
    services.
        Votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
    Beginning on the January 1 or July 1, whichever is first,
that occurs not less than 30 days after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, Adams County
may impose a public safety retailers' occupation tax and
service occupation tax at the rate of 0.25%, as provided in the
referendum approved by the voters on April 7, 2015,
notwithstanding the omission of the additional information
that is otherwise required to be printed on the ballot below
the question pursuant to this item (1).
        (2) The proposition for transportation purposes shall
    be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for improvements to roads and other
    transportation purposes, shall (name of county) be
    authorized to impose an increase on its share of local
    sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
    provision at which time the additional sales tax would
    cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote
    of the county board. If the county board votes to include a
    sunset provision, the proposition for transportation
    purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for road improvements and other transportation
    purposes, shall (name of county) be authorized to impose an
    increase on its share of local sales taxes by (insert rate)
    for a period not to exceed (insert number of years)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed,
    the additional tax would cease being collected at the end
    of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a
    vote of the county board."
        For the purposes of this paragraph, transportation
    purposes means construction, maintenance, operation, and
    improvement of public highways, any other purpose for which
    a county may expend funds under the Illinois Highway Code,
    and passenger rail transportation.
        The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
        (3) The proposition for public facilities purposes
    shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public facilities purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of
    local sales taxes by (insert rate)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail."
        The county board may also opt to establish a sunset
    provision at which time the additional sales tax would
    cease being collected, if not terminated earlier by a vote
    of the county board. If the county board votes to include a
    sunset provision, the proposition for public facilities
    purposes shall be in substantially the following form:
        "To pay for public facilities purposes, shall (name of
    county) be authorized to impose an increase on its share of
    local sales taxes by (insert rate) for a period not to
    exceed (insert number of years)?"
        As additional information on the ballot below the
    question shall appear the following:
        "This would mean that a consumer would pay an
    additional (insert amount) in sales tax for every $100 of
    tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed,
    the additional tax would cease being collected at the end
    of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a
    vote of the county board."
        For purposes of this Section, "public facilities
    purposes" means the acquisition, development,
    construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement,
    financing, architectural planning, and installation of
    capital facilities consisting of buildings, structures,
    and durable equipment and for the acquisition and
    improvement of real property and interest in real property
    required, or expected to be required, in connection with
    the public facilities, for use by the county for the
    furnishing of governmental services to its citizens,
    including but not limited to museums and nursing homes.
        The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
    If a majority of the electors voting on the proposition
vote in favor of it, the county may impose the tax. A county
may not submit more than one proposition authorized by this
Section to the electors at any one time.
    This additional tax may not be imposed on the sales of food
for human consumption that is to be consumed off the premises
where it is sold (other than alcoholic beverages, soft drinks,
and food which has been prepared for immediate consumption) and
prescription and non-prescription medicines, drugs, medical
appliances and insulin, urine testing materials, syringes, and
needles used by diabetics. The tax imposed by a county under
this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an
incident of the tax shall be collected and enforced by the
Illinois Department of Revenue and deposited into a special
fund created for that purpose. The certificate of registration
that is issued by the Department to a retailer under the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act shall permit the retailer to
engage in a business that is taxable without registering
separately with the Department under an ordinance or resolution
under this Section. The Department has full power to administer
and enforce this Section, to collect all taxes and penalties
due under this Section, to dispose of taxes and penalties so
collected in the manner provided in this Section, and to
determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account of
the erroneous payment of a tax or penalty under this Section.
In the administration of and compliance with this Section, the
Department and persons who are subject to this Section shall
(i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities,
powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions,
restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of
terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of procedure as are
prescribed in Sections 1, 1a, 1a-1, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1i, 1j, 1k, 1m,
1n, 2 through 2-70 (in respect to all provisions contained in
those Sections other than the State rate of tax), 2a, 2b, 2c, 3
(except provisions relating to transaction returns and quarter
monthly payments), 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5h, 5i,
5j, 5k, 5l, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11a, 12, and 13 of
the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and Section 3-7 of the
Uniform Penalty and Interest Act as if those provisions were
set forth in this Section.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this Section may reimburse themselves for their
sellers' tax liability by separately stating the tax as an
additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination,
in a single amount, with State tax which sellers are required
to collect under the Use Tax Act, pursuant to such bracketed
schedules as the Department may prescribe.
    Whenever the Department determines that a refund should be
made under this Section to a claimant instead of issuing a
credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State
Comptroller, who shall cause the order to be drawn for the
amount specified and to the person named in the notification
from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the State
Treasurer out of the County Public Safety or Transportation
Retailers' Occupation Tax Fund.
    (b) If a tax has been imposed under subsection (a), a
service occupation tax shall also be imposed at the same rate
upon all persons engaged, in the county, in the business of
making sales of service, who, as an incident to making those
sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within
the county as an incident to a sale of service. This tax may
not be imposed on sales of food for human consumption that is
to be consumed off the premises where it is sold (other than
alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and food prepared for
immediate consumption) and prescription and non-prescription
medicines, drugs, medical appliances and insulin, urine
testing materials, syringes, and needles used by diabetics. The
tax imposed under this subsection and all civil penalties that
may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and
enforced by the Department of Revenue. The Department has full
power to administer and enforce this subsection; to collect all
taxes and penalties due hereunder; to dispose of taxes and
penalties so collected in the manner hereinafter provided; and
to determine all rights to credit memoranda arising on account
of the erroneous payment of tax or penalty hereunder. In the
administration of, and compliance with this subsection, the
Department and persons who are subject to this paragraph shall
(i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities,
powers, and duties, (ii) be subject to the same conditions,
restrictions, limitations, penalties, exclusions, exemptions,
and definitions of terms, and (iii) employ the same modes of
procedure as are prescribed in Sections 2 (except that the
reference to State in the definition of supplier maintaining a
place of business in this State shall mean the county), 2a, 2b,
2c, 3 through 3-50 (in respect to all provisions therein other
than the State rate of tax), 4 (except that the reference to
the State shall be to the county), 5, 7, 8 (except that the
jurisdiction to which the tax shall be a debt to the extent
indicated in that Section 8 shall be the county), 9 (except as
to the disposition of taxes and penalties collected), 10, 11,
12 (except the reference therein to Section 2b of the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act), 13 (except that any reference
to the State shall mean the county), Section 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
and 20 of the Service Occupation Tax Act and Section 3-7 of the
Uniform Penalty and Interest Act, as fully as if those
provisions were set forth herein.
    Persons subject to any tax imposed under the authority
granted in this subsection may reimburse themselves for their
serviceman's tax liability by separately stating the tax as an
additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination,
in a single amount, with State tax that servicemen are
authorized to collect under the Service Use Tax Act, in
accordance with such bracket schedules as the Department may
prescribe.
    Whenever the Department determines that a refund should be
made under this subsection to a claimant instead of issuing a
credit memorandum, the Department shall notify the State
Comptroller, who shall cause the warrant to be drawn for the
amount specified, and to the person named, in the notification
from the Department. The refund shall be paid by the State
Treasurer out of the County Public Safety or Transportation
Retailers' Occupation Fund.
    Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize
the county to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in
any business which under the Constitution of the United States
may not be made the subject of taxation by the State.
    (c) The Department shall immediately pay over to the State
Treasurer, ex officio, as trustee, all taxes and penalties
collected under this Section to be deposited into the County
Public Safety or Transportation Retailers' Occupation Tax
Fund, which shall be an unappropriated trust fund held outside
of the State treasury.
    As soon as possible after the first day of each month,
beginning January 1, 2011, upon certification of the Department
of Revenue, the Comptroller shall order transferred, and the
Treasurer shall transfer, to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund the
local sales tax increment, as defined in the Innovation
Development and Economy Act, collected under this Section
during the second preceding calendar month for sales within a
STAR bond district.
    After the monthly transfer to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund,
on or before the 25th day of each calendar month, the
Department shall prepare and certify to the Comptroller the
disbursement of stated sums of money to the counties from which
retailers have paid taxes or penalties to the Department during
the second preceding calendar month. The amount to be paid to
each county, and deposited by the county into its special fund
created for the purposes of this Section, shall be the amount
(not including credit memoranda) collected under this Section
during the second preceding calendar month by the Department
plus an amount the Department determines is necessary to offset
any amounts that were erroneously paid to a different taxing
body, and not including (i) an amount equal to the amount of
refunds made during the second preceding calendar month by the
Department on behalf of the county, (ii) any amount that the
Department determines is necessary to offset any amounts that
were payable to a different taxing body but were erroneously
paid to the county, and (iii) any amounts that are transferred
to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund. Within 10 days after receipt by
the Comptroller of the disbursement certification to the
counties provided for in this Section to be given to the
Comptroller by the Department, the Comptroller shall cause the
orders to be drawn for the respective amounts in accordance
with directions contained in the certification.
    In addition to the disbursement required by the preceding
paragraph, an allocation shall be made in March of each year to
each county that received more than $500,000 in disbursements
under the preceding paragraph in the preceding calendar year.
The allocation shall be in an amount equal to the average
monthly distribution made to each such county under the
preceding paragraph during the preceding calendar year
(excluding the 2 months of highest receipts). The distribution
made in March of each year subsequent to the year in which an
allocation was made pursuant to this paragraph and the
preceding paragraph shall be reduced by the amount allocated
and disbursed under this paragraph in the preceding calendar
year. The Department shall prepare and certify to the
Comptroller for disbursement the allocations made in
accordance with this paragraph.
    A county may direct, by ordinance, that all or a portion of
the taxes and penalties collected under the Special County
Retailers' Occupation Tax For Public Safety or Transportation
be deposited into the Transportation Development Partnership
Trust Fund.
    (d) For the purpose of determining the local governmental
unit whose tax is applicable, a retail sale by a producer of
coal or another mineral mined in Illinois is a sale at retail
at the place where the coal or other mineral mined in Illinois
is extracted from the earth. This paragraph does not apply to
coal or another mineral when it is delivered or shipped by the
seller to the purchaser at a point outside Illinois so that the
sale is exempt under the United States Constitution as a sale
in interstate or foreign commerce.
    (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize
a county to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any
business that under the Constitution of the United States may
not be made the subject of taxation by this State.
    (e-5) If a county imposes a tax under this Section, the
county board may, by ordinance, discontinue or lower the rate
of the tax. If the county board lowers the tax rate or
discontinues the tax, a referendum must be held in accordance
with subsection (a) of this Section in order to increase the
rate of the tax or to reimpose the discontinued tax.
    (f) Beginning April 1, 1998 and through December 31, 2013,
the results of any election authorizing a proposition to impose
a tax under this Section or effecting a change in the rate of
tax, or any ordinance lowering the rate or discontinuing the
tax, shall be certified by the county clerk and filed with the
Illinois Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of July next
following the filing; or (ii) on or before the first day of
October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer
and enforce the tax as of the first day of January next
following the filing.
    Beginning January 1, 2014, the results of any election
authorizing a proposition to impose a tax under this Section or
effecting an increase in the rate of tax, along with the
ordinance adopted to impose the tax or increase the rate of the
tax, or any ordinance adopted to lower the rate or discontinue
the tax, shall be certified by the county clerk and filed with
the Illinois Department of Revenue either (i) on or before the
first day of May, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of July next
following the adoption and filing; or (ii) on or before the
first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to
administer and enforce the tax as of the first day of January
next following the adoption and filing.
    (g) When certifying the amount of a monthly disbursement to
a county under this Section, the Department shall increase or
decrease the amounts by an amount necessary to offset any
miscalculation of previous disbursements. The offset amount
shall be the amount erroneously disbursed within the previous 6
months from the time a miscalculation is discovered.
    (h) This Section may be cited as the "Special County
Occupation Tax For Public Safety, Public Facilities, or
Transportation Law".
    (i) For purposes of this Section, "public safety" includes,
but is not limited to, crime prevention, detention, fire
fighting, police, medical, ambulance, or other emergency
services. The county may share tax proceeds received under this
Section for public safety purposes, including proceeds
received before August 4, 2009 (the effective date of Public
Act 96-124), with any fire protection district located in the
county. For the purposes of this Section, "transportation"
includes, but is not limited to, the construction, maintenance,
operation, and improvement of public highways, any other
purpose for which a county may expend funds under the Illinois
Highway Code, and passenger rail transportation. For the
purposes of this Section, "public facilities purposes"
includes, but is not limited to, the acquisition, development,
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement,
financing, architectural planning, and installation of capital
facilities consisting of buildings, structures, and durable
equipment and for the acquisition and improvement of real
property and interest in real property required, or expected to
be required, in connection with the public facilities, for use
by the county for the furnishing of governmental services to
its citizens, including but not limited to museums and nursing
homes.
    (j) The Department may promulgate rules to implement Public
Act 95-1002 only to the extent necessary to apply the existing
rules for the Special County Retailers' Occupation Tax for
Public Safety to this new purpose for public facilities.
(Source: P.A. 98-584, eff. 8-27-13.)
 
    Section 5. The Fire Protection District Act is amended by
changing Section 24 as follows:
 
    (70 ILCS 705/24)  (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 38.7)
    Sec. 24. (a) In addition to any other tax authorized by
law, the board of trustees of a fire protection district may,
subject to the requirements of subsections subsection (b) and
(c), by ordinance levy a special annual tax at a rate not
exceeding .10% .05% of the value, as equalized or assessed by
the Department of Revenue, of all taxable property within the
district, for the purpose of obtaining funds to pay for the
costs of emergency and rescue crews and equipment.
    (b) Whenever the board of trustees of a fire protection
district desires to levy a special tax under this Section, it
shall certify the question to the proper election officials,
who shall submit that question at an election to the voters of
the district in accordance with the general election law. The
result of such referendum shall be entered upon the records of
the district. If a majority of the votes on the proposition are
in favor of such proposition, the board of trustees may
thereafter levy a special tax under this Section at a rate not
to exceed .05% of the value of all taxable property within the
district as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue.
The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
-------------------------------------------------------------
    Shall the ....... Fire Protection
District levy a special tax at a rate
not to exceed .05% of the value of           YES
all taxable property within the
district as equalized or assessed       ---------------------
by the Department of Revenue for
the purpose of providing funds               NO
to pay for the costs of emergency
and rescue crews and equipment?
-------------------------------------------------------------
    (c) Whenever the board of trustees of a fire protection
district which levies a tax under this Section desires to
increase the tax rate limit set forth under subsection (b), it
shall certify the question to the proper election officials,
who shall submit that question at an election to the voters of
the district in accordance with the general election law. The
result of such referendum shall be entered upon the records of
the district. If a majority of the votes on the proposition are
in favor of such proposition, the board of trustees may
thereafter levy a special tax under this Section at a rate not
to exceed .10% of the value of all taxable property within the
district as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue.
The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
------------------------------------------------------------- 
    Shall the rate of the
special tax levied by the .......
Fire Protection District for the            YES
purpose of providing funds to pay
the costs of emergency and rescue    -------------------------------------------------------------
crews and equipment be increased to
not more than .10% of the value of
all taxable property within the             NO
district as equalized or assessed
by the Department of Revenue?
-------------------------------------------------------------
(Source: P.A. 85-652.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 5/31/2015