HB3538eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3538 Engrossed LRB100 05680 RJF 15698 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Keep Illinois Business Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to encourage businesses with primary business operations in the State of Illinois to remain in this State by removing and recouping any economic development assistance or benefit provided to those businesses by the State should those businesses decide to relocate jobs out-of-State.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Economic development assistance" means (1) tax credits and tax exemptions given as an incentive to a recipient business organization under an initial certification or an initial designation made by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, and the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, including the High Impact Business program; (2) grants or loans given to a recipient as an incentive to a business organization under the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program; (3) the State Treasurer's Economic Program Loans; (4) the Illinois Department of Transportation Economic Development Program; (5) all successor and subsequent programs and tax credits designed to promote business relocations and expansions; (6) any assistance provided by the Illinois Emergency Employment Program under the Illinois Emergency Development Act; and (7) any other economic incentive, benefit, assistance, credit, loan, or grant provided by a State granting agency to a recipient business with primary business operations in this State.

"Recipient business" means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, association, sole proprietorship, or other legally recognized entity with primary business operations in this State that receives economic development assistance.

"State agency" has the meaning provided in Section 1-7 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.

"State granting agency" means any State department or State agency that provides economic development assistance to a recipient business.

Section 15. Recovery of economic development assistance.

(a) Subject to the procedures outlined in this Section, any recipient business that chooses to move all or part of its business operations and the jobs created by its business out-of-State shall be deemed to no longer qualify for State economic development assistance, and shall be required to pay to the relevant State granting agency the full amount of any economic development assistance it received.

(b) Whenever a State granting agency believes that the economic development assistance it provided to a recipient business is subject to recovery, the State granting agency shall provide the recipient business the opportunity for at least one informal hearing to determine the facts and issues, and to resolve any conflicts as amicably as possible before taking any formal recovery actions.

(c) If a State granting agency determines that economic development assistance is to be recovered, then, prior to taking any action to recover, the State granting agency shall provide the recipient business with a written notice of the intended recovery. This notice shall identify the funds and the amount to be recovered and the specific facts which permit recovery.

(d) A recipient business shall have 35 days from the receipt of the notice required in subsection (c) of this Section to request a hearing to show why recovery is not justified or proper. If a recipient business requests a hearing under this subsection (d), then:

(1) the State granting agency shall hold a hearing before the Director of that agency, or his or her designee, at which a representative of the recipient business may present an argument for why recovery should not be permitted; and

(2) after the conclusion of the hearing, the Director of the State granting agency, or his or her designee, shall issue a written final recovery order and send a copy of the order to the recipient business.

(e) A recipient business may seek judicial review of any final recovery order under the provisions of the Administrative Review Law.

(f) If a recipient business requests a hearing under subsection (d) of this Section, then the State granting agency may not take any action of recovery until at least 35 days after the State granting agency has issued a final recovery order under the requirements of subsection (d) of this Section. If a recipient business does not request a hearing as permitted in subsection (d) of this Section, then the State granting agency may proceed with recovery of the economic development assistance amount specified in the notice issued under the requirements of subsection (c) of this Section, at any time after the expiration of the 35-day request period established in subsection (d) of this Section.

(g) Any notice or mailing required or permitted by this Section shall be deemed received 5 days after the notice or mailing is deposited in the United States mail, properly addressed with the current business address of the recipient business and with sufficient U.S. postage affixed.