HB2336ham003 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Jay Hoffman

Filed: 4/9/2019

10100HB2336ham003 LRB101 08833 TAE 59345 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2336

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2336, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. It is the intent of the General Assembly that all references made to vehicle license plates and license plate stickers be construed to include electronic vehicle license plates and vehicle stickers as approved by the Secretary of State. It is the policy of this State to encourage the issuance of a combination of metal and electronic license plates and vehicle stickers.

Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Sections 1-171, 1-190.1, 6-305, and by adding Sections 3-401.5 and 3-401.6 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/1-171) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 1-171)

Sec. 1-171. Registration - Registration Sticker. Registration. The registration certificate or certificates, registration plates and registration stickers issued under the laws of this State pertaining to the registration of vehicles.

Registration Sticker or Stickers. A device or devices to be attached to a rear registration plate that will renew the registration and registration plate or plates for a pre-determined period not to exceed one registration year except as provided in subsection (1) of Section 3-414 of this Code. Should the Secretary of State determine it is advisable to require a registration sticker to be attached to a front registration plate, he may require such action and provide the necessary additional sticker. Such determination shall be publicly announced at least 30 days in advance of a new annual registration year.

"Registration" and "registration sticker or stickers" include digital registration plates and digital registration stickers issued by the Secretary of State under Section 3-401.5 or 3-401.6.

(Source: P.A. 80-1185.)

(625 ILCS 5/1-190.1)

Sec. 1-190.1. Special license plate. Registration plates issued by the Secretary of State that by statute require, in addition to the applicable registration fee, an additional fee that is to be deposited into the Secretary of State Special License Plate Fund. "Special license plate" includes digital registration plates that by statute require, in addition to the applicable registration fee, an additional fee that is to be deposited into the Secretary of State Special License Plate Fund.

(Source: P.A. 89-282, eff. 8-10-95.)

(625 ILCS 5/3-401.5 new)

Sec. 3-401.5. Digital registration plates and renewals.

(a) The Secretary of State may authorize the issuance of a digital registration plate to a vehicle, in lieu of a set of static, metal registration plates, if the vehicle owner separately purchases the digital registration plate for a particular vehicle. The Secretary shall work with the vehicle owner and the distributor of the digital registration plates to coordinate the appropriate plate image and registration expiration to appear on the digital registration plate. One metal plate shall still be issued to the vehicle owner for the front end of the vehicle.

(b) The Secretary, for any vehicle owner that purchases a digital registration plate, may electronically renew the digital registration plate upon receiving the appropriate renewal registration fee as set forth in this Code. The Secretary may also authorize the image to be suspended or revoked and replaced with an alternative image or blank screen upon violation of any provision of this Code or the failure to renew the digital registration plate.

(c) Before a digital registration plate may be issued in lieu of a special plate authorized under Article VI of this Chapter, the Secretary shall seek approval from the originating organization, when possible, to authorize a digital version of the static, metal plates issued to a vehicle owner.

(d) The owner of a digital registration plate is responsible for any costs associated with using the digital registration plate, including, but not limited to, the initial purchase price and any replacement costs.

(e) The Secretary of State may adopt any rules necessary to implement and develop a digital registration plate program.

(625 ILCS 5/3-401.6 new)

Sec. 3-401.6. Commercial digital registration plates.

(a) The Secretary of State shall implement a pilot program for the creation of commercial digital registration plates for the purpose of (i) providing accurate and reliable information to law enforcement regarding specific uses of commercial vehicles; (ii) reducing abuse and increasing compliance with the use and transfer of commercial license plates; (iii) providing for dual-number commercial digital registration plates and a dynamic plate numbering system with dynamic expiration for commercial digital registration plates; (iv) providing commercial digital registration plates for commercial vehicle sharing, car-sharing platforms, and non-owned commercial vehicle usage; (v) providing temporary and dynamic license plate numbering for temporary operational uses of commercial trucks, including U.S. Department of Transportation numbers and placards; and (vi) generating revenue for the State by and through in-state and out-of-state licensing for utilization across all states. The pilot program may be used for unplated, unregistered, and temporary vehicles. The program shall only be available to no more than 1,000 motor vehicles that are used commercially, used for hire, or owned by a commercial business. The program is not available to providers of transportation network company services, as that term is defined in Section 5 of the Transportation Network Providers Act.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Commercial digital registration plate" means an electronic display that is mounted on the back or side of a vehicle in place of a license plate issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to this Code or in place of numbers or placards issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

"Commercial vehicle" means any vehicle operated for the transportation of persons or property in the furtherance of any commercial or industrial enterprise by a business or commercial entity that owns at least 25 other such vehicles.

"Dual-number digital license plate" means a digital electronic license place that displays both the license number for the registered owner of a commercial vehicle and a temporary license number for the nonowner user of a commercial vehicle during an operational use.

"Dynamic expiration" means the time of expiration of a dynamic license plate number.

"Dynamic license plate number" means a temporary digital license number assigned to a nonowner user of a commercial vehicle during a limited, defined operational use period.

"Operational use" means the temporary use by a nonowner of a commercial vehicle with a dual-number digital license plate to transport a commercial vehicle from one location to another location or during the rental period by a nonowner of a commercial vehicle while renting a car from a rental car company or business or a car-sharing company or business. An operational use may be approved for hourly increments.

(c) The registered owner of a vehicle interested in participating in the program shall sign an informed consent agreement designed by the Secretary of State. The form and fee shall be submitted to the Secretary of State for processing.

(d) For the purposes of developing and evaluating the use of a digital electronic license plate, the State may enter into any of the following:

(1) A request for proposals.

(2) A memorandum of understanding.

(3) A letter of intent.

(4) Other instruments deemed appropriate by the Secretary.

(e) The Secretary shall, at a date determined by the Secretary, enter into a 12-month contract with a private vendor for the purposes of researching, reporting, developing, acquiring, and implementing the utilization of a commercial digital registration plate for operational uses of commercial vehicles. The contract shall not allow data collection for a period longer than 12 months. The contract shall include a requirement that the private vendor pay for the costs of all relevant activities incurred by the Secretary for implementation of the program pursuant to this Section. The contract shall permit the vendor to charge a fee for each operational use of a commercial digital registration plate. The contract shall also include a confidentiality provision sufficient to provide protection for the vendor's proprietary information and methods. In no event shall the Secretary of State receive a lesser registration fee for a vehicle registered under this Section than would otherwise be received as a normal annual registration fee.

All commercial digital registration plates used in this State shall be capable of clearly displaying digital numbering and must be capable of detection by equipment owned and operated by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority or a municipal government or law enforcement agency in this State. The plates shall be capable of displaying messages, as determined by the Secretary, at and past the date of dynamic expiration.

(f) Each operational use of a dynamic license plate number shall require the vendor to utilize a variety of driver data, including, but not limited to, cross-checking motor vehicle records and the Global Terrorist Watch List database before issuing and authorizing the dynamic license plate number and operational use. The application process for an operational use may only be initiated by the scan of a valid driver's license. In no event shall any dynamic license plate number be issued until after an applicant selects and purchases temporary operational use insurance as made available through the vendor. Such insurance shall be effective for the duration of the operational use and all properly licensed insurance providers may participate in the program. Each operational use shall be subject to dynamic expiration at the termination of the operational use.

(g) Personal information derived from the application process for an operational use shall be retained by the Secretary and made available to law enforcement as consistent with this Code.

(h) On or before the repeal date of this Section under subsection (j), the Secretary shall submit a report to the General Assembly concerning the operation of the program, including, but not limited to, the prospect of increased revenues to the State by expanding the program, the nature and cost savings associated with the program, the security and reliability of the digital electronic license plates, options for the driver of the vehicle to display and to change the messages displayed on the digital electronic license plate, and any recommendations on the future use of commercial digital registration plates that the Secretary deems appropriate.

(i) This Section specifically grants authority to the Secretary of State to issue commercial digital registration plates. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the Secretary of State from creating or implementing any other digital registration plate program for vehicles.

(j) This Section is repealed 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly.

(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.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".