Public Act 101-0611
 
HB0188 EnrolledLRB101 04816 TAE 49825 b

    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Sections 3-421 and 6-305 as follows:
 
    (625 ILCS 5/3-421)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 3-421)
    Sec. 3-421. Right of reassignment.
    (a) Every natural person shall have the right of
reassignment of the license number issued to him during the
current registration plate term, for the ensuing registration
plate term, provided his application for reassignment is
received in the Office of the Secretary of State on or before
September 30 of the final year of the registration plate term
as to a vehicle registered on a calendar year, and on or before
March 31 as to a vehicle registered on a fiscal year. The right
of reassignment shall apply to every natural person under the
staggered registration system provided the application for
reassignment is received in the Office of the Secretary of
State by the 1st day of the month immediately preceding the
applicant's month of expiration.
    In addition, every natural person shall have the right of
reassignment of the license number issued to him for a two-year
registration, for the ensuing two-year period. Where the
two-year period is for two calendar years, the application for
reassignment must be received by the Secretary of State on or
before September 30th of the year preceding commencement of the
two-year period. Where the two-year period is for two fiscal
years commencing on July 1, the application for reassignment
must be received by the Secretary of State on or before April
30th immediately preceding commencement of the two-year
period.
    (b) Notwithstanding the above provision, the Secretary of
State shall, subject to the existing right of reassignment,
have the authority to designate new specific combinations of
numerical, alpha-numerical, and numerical-alpha licenses for
vehicles registered on a calendar year or on a fiscal year,
whether the license be issued for one or more years. The new
combinations so specified shall not be subject to the right of
reassignment, and no right of reassignment thereto may at any
future time be acquired.
    (c) If a person has a registration plate in his or her name
and seeks to reassign the registration plate to his or her
spouse, the Secretary shall waive any transfer fee or vanity or
personalized registration plate fee upon both spouses signing a
form authorizing the reassignment of registration.
    (c-1) If a person that has a registration plate in his or
her name seeks to reassign the registration plate to his or her
child, the Secretary shall waive any transfer fee or vanity or
personalized registration plate fee.
(Source: P.A. 80-230; 80-1185.)
 
    (625 ILCS 5/6-305)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-305)
    Sec. 6-305. Renting motor vehicle to another.
    (a) No person shall rent a motor vehicle to any other
person unless the latter person, or a driver designated by a
nondriver with disabilities and meeting any minimum age and
driver's record requirements that are uniformly applied by the
person renting a motor vehicle, is then duly licensed hereunder
or, in the case of a nonresident, then duly licensed under the
laws of the State or country of his residence unless the State
or country of his residence does not require that a driver be
licensed.
    (b) No person shall rent a motor vehicle to another until
he has inspected, including through electronic or digital
means, the driver's drivers license of the person to whom the
vehicle is to be rented, or by whom it is to be driven, and
compared and verified the license is unexpired signature
thereon with the signature of such person written in his
presence unless, in the case of a nonresident, the State or
country wherein the nonresident resides does not require that a
driver be licensed.
    (c) No person shall rent a motorcycle to another unless the
latter person is then duly licensed hereunder as a motorcycle
operator, and in the case of a nonresident, then duly licensed
under the laws of the State or country of his residence, unless
the State or country of his residence does not require that a
driver be licensed.
    (c-1) A rental car company that rents a motor vehicle shall
ensure that the renter is provided with an emergency telephone
number to personnel capable of fielding roadside assistance and
other customer service inquiries, including the ability to
provide the caller with the telephone number of the location
from which the vehicle was rented, if requested by the caller.
If an owner's manual is not available in the vehicle at the
time of the rental, an owner's manual for that vehicle or a
similar model shall be accessible by the personnel answering
the emergency telephone number for assistance with inquiries
about the operation of the vehicle.
    (d) (Blank).
    (e) (Blank).
    (f) Subject to subsection (l), any person who rents a motor
vehicle to another shall only advertise, quote, and charge a
rental rate that includes the entire amount except taxes, a
mileage charge, and airport concession charge, if any, which a
renter must pay to hire or lease the vehicle for the period of
time to which the rental rate applies. The person must provide,
on the request of the renter, based on the available
information, an estimated total of the daily rental rate,
including all applicable taxes, fees, and other charges, or an
estimated total rental charge, based on the return date of the
vehicle noted on the rental agreement. Further, if the rental
agreement does not already provide an estimated total rental
charge, the following statement must be included in the rental
agreement:
    "NOTICE: UNDER ILLINOIS LAW, YOU MAY REQUEST, BASED ON
    AVAILABLE INFORMATION, AN ESTIMATED TOTAL DAILY RENTAL
    RATE, INCLUDING TAXES, FEES, AND OTHER CHARGES, OR AN
    ESTIMATED TOTAL RENTAL CHARGE, BASED ON THE VEHICLE RETURN
    DATE NOTED ON THIS AGREEMENT."
    Such person shall not charge in addition to the rental
rate, taxes, mileage charge, and airport concession charge, if
any, any fee which must be paid by the renter as a condition of
hiring or leasing the vehicle, such as, but not limited to,
required fuel or airport surcharges, nor any fee for
transporting the renter to the location where the rented
vehicle will be delivered to the renter. In addition to the
rental rate, taxes, mileage charge, and airport concession
charge, if any, such person may charge for an item or service
provided in connection with a particular rental transaction if
the renter can avoid incurring the charge by choosing not to
obtain or utilize the optional item or service. Items and
services for which such person may impose an additional charge
include, but are not limited to, optional insurance and
accessories requested by the renter, service charges incident
to the renter's optional return of the vehicle to a location
other than the location where the vehicle was hired or leased,
and charges for refueling the vehicle at the conclusion of the
rental transaction in the event the renter did not return the
vehicle with as much fuel as was in the fuel tank at the
beginning of the rental. "Airport concession charge" means a
charge or fee imposed and collected from a renter to reimburse
the motor vehicle rental company for the concession fee it is
required to pay to a local government corporate authority or
airport authority to rent motor vehicles at the airport
facility. The airport concession charge is in addition to any
customer facility charge or any other charge.
    (f-5) A rental car company that offers a renter the
opportunity to use a transponder or other electronic tolling
device shall notify the renter of the opportunity to use the
device at or before the beginning of the rental agreement.
    If a vehicle offered by a rental car company is equipped
with a transponder or other electronic tolling device and the
company fails to notify the renter of the option to use the
device, the rental car company shall not:
        (1) charge a renter a fee of more than $2 each day for
    the use of a transponder or other electronic tolling
    device; however, the company may recoup the actual cost
    incurred for any toll; and
        (2) charge a renter a daily fee on any day the renter
    does not drive through an electronic toll or only drives
    through an electronic toll collection system for which no
    alternative payment option exists.
    (g) Every person renting a motor vehicle to another shall
keep a record of the registration number of the motor vehicle
so rented, the name and address of the person to whom the
vehicle is rented, the number of the license, if any, of said
latter person, and the date and place when and where the
license, if any, was issued. Such record may be maintained in
an electronic or digital format, and shall be open to
inspection by any police officer or designated agent of the
Secretary of State.
    (h) A person licensed as a new car dealer under Section
5-101 of this Code shall not be subject to the provisions of
this Section regarding the rental of private passenger motor
vehicles when providing, free of charge, temporary substitute
vehicles for customers to operate during a period when a
customer's vehicle, which is either leased or owned by that
customer, is being repaired, serviced, replaced or otherwise
made unavailable to the customer in accordance with an
agreement with the licensed new car dealer or vehicle
manufacturer, so long as the customer orally or in writing is
made aware that the temporary substitute vehicle will be
covered by his or her insurance policy and the customer shall
only be liable to the extent of any amount deductible from such
insurance coverage in accordance with the terms of the policy.
    (i) This Section, except the requirements of subsection
(g), also applies to rental agreements of 30 continuous days or
less involving a motor vehicle that was delivered by an out of
State person or business to a renter in this State.
    (j) A public airport may, if approved by its local
government corporate authorities or its airport authority,
impose a customer facility charge upon customers of rental car
companies for the purposes of financing, designing,
constructing, operating, and maintaining consolidated car
rental facilities and common use transportation equipment and
facilities, which are used to transport the customer,
connecting consolidated car rental facilities with other
airport facilities.
    Notwithstanding subsection (f) of this Section, the
customer facility charge shall be collected by the rental car
company as a separate charge, and clearly indicated as a
separate charge on the rental agreement and invoice. Facility
charges shall be immediately deposited into a trust account for
the benefit of the airport and remitted at the direction of the
airport, but not more often than once per month. The charge
shall be uniformly calculated on a per-contract or per-day
basis. Facility charges imposed by the airport may not exceed
the reasonable costs of financing, designing, constructing,
operating, and maintaining the consolidated car rental
facilities and common use transportation equipment and
facilities and may not be used for any other purpose.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the charges
collected under this Section are not subject to retailer
occupation, sales, use, or transaction taxes.
    (k) When a rental car company states a rental rate in any
of its rate advertisements, its proprietary computer
reservation systems, or its in-person quotations intended to
apply to an airport rental, a company that collects from its
customers a customer facility charge for that rental under
subsection (j) shall do all of the following:
        (1) Clearly and conspicuously disclose in any radio,
    television, or other electronic media advertisements the
    existence and amount of the charge if the advertisement is
    intended for rentals at an airport imposing the charge or,
    if the advertisement covers an area with multiple airports
    with different charges, a range of amounts of customer
    facility charges if the advertisement is intended for
    rentals at an airport imposing the charge.
        (2) Clearly and conspicuously disclose in any print
    rate advertising the existence and amount of the charge if
    the advertisement is intended for rentals at an airport
    imposing the charge or, if the print rate advertisement
    covers an area with multiple airports with different
    charges, a range of amounts of customer facility charges if
    the advertisement is intended for rentals at an airport
    imposing the charge.
        (3) Clearly and conspicuously disclose the existence
    and amount of the charge in any telephonic, in-person, or
    computer-transmitted quotation from the rental car
    company's proprietary computer reservation system at the
    time of making an initial quotation of a rental rate if the
    quotation is made by a rental car company location at an
    airport imposing the charge and at the time of making a
    reservation of a rental car if the reservation is made by a
    rental car company location at an airport imposing the
    charge.
        (4) Clearly and conspicuously display the charge in any
    proprietary computer-assisted reservation or transaction
    directly between the rental car company and the customer,
    shown or referenced on the same page on the computer screen
    viewed by the customer as the displayed rental rate and in
    a print size not smaller than the print size of the rental
    rate.
        (5) Clearly and conspicuously disclose and separately
    identify the existence and amount of the charge on its
    rental agreement.
        (6) A rental car company that collects from its
    customers a customer facility charge under subsection (j)
    and engages in a practice which does not comply with
    subsections (f), (j), and (k) commits an unlawful practice
    within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
    Business Practices Act.
    (l) Notwithstanding subsection (f), any person who rents a
motor vehicle to another may, in connection with the rental of
a motor vehicle to (i) a business renter or (ii) a business
program sponsor under the sponsor's business program, do the
following:
        (1) separately quote, by telephone, in person, or by
    computer transmission, additional charges for the rental;
    and
        (2) separately impose additional charges for the
    rental.
    (l-5) A person licensed under Section 5-101, 5-101.2, or
5-102 of this Code shall not participate in a rental-purchase
agreement vehicle program unless the licensee retains the
vehicle in his or her name and retains proof of proper vehicle
registration under Chapter 3 of this Code and liability
insurance under Section 7-601 of this Code. The licensee shall
transfer ownership of the vehicle to the renter within 20
calendar days of the agreed-upon date of completion of the
rental-purchase agreement. If the licensee fails to transfer
ownership of the vehicle to the renter within the 20 calendar
days, then the renter may apply for the vehicle's title to the
Secretary of State by providing the Secretary the
rental-purchase agreement, an application for title, the
required title fee, and any other documentation the Secretary
deems necessary to determine ownership of the vehicle. For
purposes of this subsection (l-5), "rental-purchase agreement"
has the meaning set forth in Section 1 of the Rental-Purchase
Agreement Act.
    (m) As used in this Section:
        (1) "Additional charges" means charges other than: (i)
    a per period base rental rate; (ii) a mileage charge; (iii)
    taxes; or (iv) a customer facility charge.
        (2) "Business program" means:
            (A) a contract between a person who rents motor
        vehicles and a business program sponsor that
        establishes rental rates at which the person will rent
        motor vehicles to persons authorized by the sponsor; or
            (B) a plan, program, or other arrangement
        established by a person who rents motor vehicles at the
        request of, or with the consent of, a business program
        sponsor under which the person offers to rent motor
        vehicles to persons authorized by the sponsor on terms
        that are not the same as those generally offered by the
        rental company to the public.
        (3) "Business program sponsor" means any legal entity
    other than a natural person, including a corporation,
    limited liability company, partnership, government,
    municipality or agency, or a natural person operating a
    business as a sole proprietor.
        (4) "Business renter" means any person renting a motor
    vehicle for business purposes or, for any business program
    sponsor, a person who is authorized by the sponsor to enter
    into a rental contract under the sponsor's business
    program. "Business renter" does not include a person
    renting as:
            (A) a non-employee member of a not-for-profit
        organization;
            (B) the purchaser of a voucher or other prepaid
        rental arrangement from a person, including a tour
        operator, engaged in the business of reselling those
        vouchers or prepaid rental arrangements to the general
        public;
            (C) an individual whose car rental is eligible for
        reimbursement in whole or in part as a result of the
        person being insured or provided coverage under a
        policy of insurance issued by an insurance company; or
            (D) an individual whose car rental is eligible for
        reimbursement in whole or in part as a result of the
        person purchasing motor vehicle repair services from a
        person licensed to perform those services.
(Source: P.A. 100-450, eff. 1-1-18; 100-878, eff. 1-1-19.)