101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3786

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Mattie Hunter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
35 ILCS 5/232 new

    Creates the Recovery and Mental Health Tax Credit Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall establish and administer a recovery tax credit program to provide tax incentives to qualified employers who employ eligible individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness in part-time and full-time positions within Illinois. Creates the Advisory Council on Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities within Minority Communities. Sets forth the membership of the Council. Provides that the Council shall advise the Department of Human Services regarding employment of persons with mental illnesses and substance use disorders in minority communities. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make conforming changes.


LRB101 17904 HLH 67340 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3786LRB101 17904 HLH 67340 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Recovery and Mental Health Tax Credit Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings.
7    (a) In the interest of reducing stigma, the General
8Assembly finds and declares that those residents of Illinois
9diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorders
10should be eligible for and encouraged to seek gainful
11employment.
12    (b) The General Assembly finds and declares that minority
13communities in the State have been more negatively impacted in
14employment opportunities for minority residents diagnosed with
15mental illness and substance use disorders and should receive
16additional employment opportunities and incentives for
17employing minority residents diagnosed with mental illness or
18substance use disorders.
19    (c) In the interest of providing additional employment
20opportunities for those residents of Illinois diagnosed with
21mental illness or substance use disorders, the General Assembly
22finds and declares that certain qualified employers who employ
23eligible individuals should be eligible for a tax credit.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
2    "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
3    "Eligible individual" means an individual with a substance
4use disorder, as that term is defined under Section 1-10 of the
5Substance Use Disorder Act, or an individual with a mental
6illness as that term is defined under Section 1-129 of the
7Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, who is in a
8state of wellness and recovery where there is an abatement of
9signs and symptoms that characterize active substance use
10disorder or mental illness and has demonstrated to the
11qualified employer's satisfaction, pursuant to regulations
12promulgated by the Department, that he or she has completed a
13course of treatment or is currently in receipt of treatment for
14such substance use disorder or mental illness. A relapse in an
15individual's state of wellness shall not make the individual
16ineligible, so long as the individual shows a continued
17commitment to recovery that aligns with an individual's relapse
18prevention plan discharge plan or recovery plan.
19    "Qualified employer" means an employer operating within
20the State that has received a certificate of tax credit from
21the Department after the Department has determined that the
22employer:
23        (1) provides a recovery supportive environment for
24    their employees evidenced by a formal working relationship
25    with a substance use disorder treatment provider or

 

 

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1    facility or mental health provider or facility, each as may
2    be licensed or certified within the State of Illinois, and
3    providing reasonable accommodation to the employees to
4    address their substance use disorder or mental illness, all
5    at no cost or expense to the eligible individual; and
6        (2) satisfies all other criteria in this Section and
7    established by the Department to participate in the
8    recovery tax program created hereunder.
9    "Taxpayer" means any individual, corporation, partnership,
10trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois income tax. For
11the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing a joint return
12shall be considered one taxpayer.
 
13    Section 15. Authorization of tax credit program for
14individuals in recovery from substance use disorders or mental
15illness.
16    (a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
172021, the Department is authorized to and shall establish and
18administer a recovery tax credit program to provide tax
19incentives to qualified employers who employ eligible
20individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental
21illness in part-time and full-time positions within Illinois.
22The Department shall award the tax credit by issuance of a
23certificate of tax credit to the qualified employer, who will
24present the certificate of tax credit to the Department of
25Revenue as a credit against the qualified employer's tax

 

 

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1obligation in accordance with this Act.
2    (b) To be a qualified employer, an employer must apply
3annually to the Department to claim a credit based upon
4eligible individuals employed during the preceding calendar
5year, using the forms prescribed by the Department. To be
6approved for a credit under this Act, the employer must:
7        (1) agree to provide to the Department the information
8    necessary to demonstrate that the employer has satisfied
9    program eligibility requirements and provided all
10    information requested or needed by the Department,
11    including the number of hours worked by the eligible
12    individual and other information necessary for the
13    Department to calculate the amount of credit permitted; and
14        (2) agree to provide names, employer identification
15    numbers, amounts that the employer may claim, and other
16    information necessary for the Department to calculate any
17    tax credit.
18    (c) To be an eligible individual, the individual must be
19diagnosed with or have been diagnosed with a substance use
20disorder or mental illness. Disclosure by the eligible
21individual of his or her mental illness or substance use
22disorder shall be completely voluntary and his or her health
23information may not be shared or disclosed under this Act
24without the eligible individual's express written consent. The
25eligible individual must have been employed by the qualified
26employer in the State for a minimum of 500 hours during the

 

 

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1applicable calendar year and the tax credit may only begin on
2the date the eligible individual is hired by the qualified
3employer and ending on December 31 of that calendar year or the
4date that the eligible individual's employment with the
5qualified employer ends, whichever occurs first. Only one tax
6credit may be awarded for any eligible individual while
7employed by the same or related qualified employer. The hours
8of employment of 2 or more eligible individuals may not be
9aggregated to reach the minimum number of hours. If an eligible
10individual has worked in excess of 500 hours between the date
11of hiring and December 31 of that year, a qualified employer
12can elect to compute and claim a credit for such eligible
13individual in that year based on the hours worked by December
1431. Alternatively, the qualified employer may elect to include
15such individual in the computation of the credit in the year
16immediately succeeding the year in which the eligible
17individual was hired. In that case, the credit shall be
18computed on the basis of all hours worked by the eligible
19individual from the date of hire to the earlier of the last day
20of employment or December 31 of the succeeding year.
21    (d) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may
22award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed
23$2,000,000.
24    (e) If the qualified employer's taxable year is a calendar
25year, the employer shall be entitled to claim the credit as
26shown on the certificate of tax credit on the calendar year

 

 

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1return for which the certificate of tax credit was issued. If
2the certified employer's taxable year is a fiscal year, the
3qualified employer shall be entitled to claim the credit as
4shown on the certificate of tax credit on the return for the
5fiscal year that includes the last day of the calendar year
6covered by the certificate of tax credit.
7    (f) If Department criteria and all other requirements are
8met, a qualified employer shall be entitled to a tax credit
9equal to the product of $1 and the number of hours worked by
10each eligible individual during the eligible individual's
11period of employment with the qualified employer. The tax
12credit awarded hereunder may not exceed $2,000 per eligible
13individual employed by the qualified employer in the State. In
14determining the amount of tax credit that any qualified
15employer may claim, the Department shall review all claims
16submitted for credit by all employers and, to the extent that
17the total amount claimed by employers exceeds the amount
18allocated for this program in that calendar year, shall issue
19tax credits on a pro-rata basis corresponding to each qualified
20employer's share of the total amount claimed.
21    (g) No credit shall be taken under this Act if the taxpayer
22claims a federal income tax deduction for the employment of the
23eligible individual by a qualified employer.
24    (h) No tax credit awarded under this Act may reduce a
25qualified employer's tax obligation to less than zero.
26    (i) The Department of Revenue shall review and accept the

 

 

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1tax credit certificates issued by the Department and apply the
2tax credit towards the qualified employer's income tax
3obligation. A taxpayer that is a qualified employer that has
4received a certificate of tax credit from the Department shall
5be allowed a credit against the tax imposed equal to the amount
6shown on such certificate of tax credit. If the taxpayer is (i)
7a corporation having an election in effect under Subchapter S
8of the federal Internal Revenue Code, (ii) a partnership, or
9(iii) a limited liability company, the credit provided under
10this Act may be claimed by the shareholders of the corporation,
11the partners of the partnership, or the members of the limited
12liability company in the same manner as those shareholders,
13partners, or members account for their proportionate shares of
14the income or losses of the corporation, partnership, or
15limited liability company, or as provided in the bylaws or
16other executed agreement of the corporation, partnership, or
17limited liability company. In carrying out this Act, no
18patient-specific information shall be shared or disclosed. Any
19information collected by the Department or the Department of
20Revenue shall not be subject to public disclosure or Freedom of
21Information Act requests.
22    (j) The credit under this Act is exempt from the provisions
23of Section 250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
 
24    Section 20. Advisory Council on Mental Illness and
25Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities

 

 

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1within Minority Communities. The Secretary of the Department
2shall appoint the Advisory Council on Mental Illness and
3Substance Use Disorder Impacts on Employment Opportunities
4within Minority Communities, to be composed of 15 members,
5which shall include a balanced representation of recipients,
6services providers, employers, local governmental units,
7community and welfare advocacy groups, academia, and the
8general public. The Advisory Council shall advise the
9Department regarding all aspects of employment impacts
10resulting from mental illnesses and substance use disorders
11within minority communities, tax credits, outreach, marketing,
12and education about the tax credit and employment
13opportunities, and other areas as deemed appropriate by the
14Secretary. In appointing the first Council, the Secretary shall
15name 8 members to 2-year terms and 7 members to serve 4-year
16terms, all of whom shall be appointed within 6 months of the
17effective date of this Act. All members appointed thereafter
18shall serve 4 year terms. Members shall serve without
19compensation other than reimbursement of expenses actually
20incurred in the performance of their official duties. At its
21first meeting, the Advisory Council shall select a chair from
22among its members. The Advisory Council shall meet at least
23quarterly and at other times at the call of the chair.
 
24    Section 25. Powers. The Department shall adopt rules for
25the administration of this Act. The Department may enter into

 

 

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1an intergovernmental agreement with the Department of Revenue
2for the administration of this Act.
 
3    Section 90. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by
4adding Section 232 as follows:
 
5    (35 ILCS 5/232 new)
6    Sec. 232. Recovery and Mental Health Tax Credit Act. A
7taxpayer who has been awarded a credit under the Recovery and
8Mental Health Tax Credit Act is entitled to a credit against
9the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 as
10provided in that Act. This Section is exempt from the
11provisions of Section 250.