SB0020 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 07307 RCE 27446 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB0020

Introduced 1/31/2007, by Sen. Emil Jones, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 5/917	from Ch. 120, par. 9-917
705 ILCS 305/1	from Ch. 78, par. 1
705 ILCS 305/1b	from Ch. 78, par. 1b
705 ILCS 310/2	from Ch. 78, par. 25
705 ILCS 310/2a	from Ch. 78, par. 25a
30 ILCS 805/8.31 new

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that the Director of Revenue shall make available to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, county boards, jury administrators, and jury commissions information concerning persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Act. Amends the Jury Act and the Jury Commission Act. Adds persons claiming an earned income tax credit to the list of persons that may be on a jury list. Requires the jury administrator or jury commissioners in Cook County to compile a jury list every year (now, every 4 years). Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning juries.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by changing Section 917 as follows:

(35 ILCS 5/917) (from Ch. 120, par. 9-917)

Sec. 917. Confidentiality and information sharing.

(a) Confidentiality. Except as provided in this Section, all information received by the Department from returns filed under this Act, or from any investigation conducted under the provisions of this Act, shall be confidential, except for official purposes within the Department or pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State tax or pursuant to an investigation or audit by the Illinois State Scholarship Commission of a delinquent student loan or monetary award or enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or sanction imposed by this Act or by another statute imposing a State tax, and any person who divulges any such information in any manner, except for such purposes and pursuant to order of the Director or in accordance with a proper judicial order, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. However, the provisions of this paragraph are not applicable to information furnished to (i) the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly Department of Public Aid), State's Attorneys, and the Attorney General for child support enforcement purposes and (ii) a licensed attorney representing the taxpayer where an appeal or a protest has been filed on behalf of the taxpayer. If it is necessary to file information obtained pursuant to this Act in a child support enforcement proceeding, the information shall be filed under seal.

(b) Public information. Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director from publishing or making available to the public the names and addresses of persons filing returns under this Act, or from publishing or making available reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the tax wherein the contents of returns are grouped into aggregates in such a way that the information contained in any individual return shall not be disclosed.

(c) Governmental agencies. The Director may make available to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States or his delegate, or the proper officer or his delegate of any other state imposing a tax upon or measured by income, for exclusively official purposes, information received by the Department in the administration of this Act, but such permission shall be granted only if the United States or such other state, as the case may be, grants the Department substantially similar privileges. The Director may exchange information with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human Services Act) for the purpose of verifying sources and amounts of income and for other purposes directly connected with the administration of this Act and the Illinois Public Aid Code. The Director may exchange information with the Director of the Department of Employment Security for the purpose of verifying sources and amounts of income and for other purposes directly connected with the administration of this Act and Acts administered by the Department of Employment Security. The Director may make available to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission information regarding employers for the purpose of verifying the insurance coverage required under the Workers' Compensation Act and Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. The Director may exchange information with the Illinois Department on Aging for the purpose of verifying sources and amounts of income for purposes directly related to confirming eligibility for participation in the programs of benefits authorized by the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act.

The Director may make available to any State agency, including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons to engage in any occupation, information that a person licensed by such agency has failed to file returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. The Director may make available to any State agency, including the Illinois Supreme Court, information regarding whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or contractor has failed to file returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under this Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor certifications. For purposes of this Section, the term "affiliate" means any entity that (1) directly, indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity. For purposes of this subsection (a), an entity controls another entity if it owns, directly or individually, more than 10% of the voting securities of that entity. As used in this subsection (a), the term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the board of directors or similar governing body of the business or (2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon its exercise, a security that confers such a right to vote. A general partnership interest is a voting security.

The Director may make available to any State agency, including the Illinois Supreme Court, units of local government, and school districts, information regarding whether a bidder or contractor is an affiliate of a person who is not collecting and remitting Illinois Use taxes, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor certifications.

The Director may also make available to the Secretary of State information that a corporation which has been issued a certificate of incorporation by the Secretary of State has failed to file returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. An assessment is final when all proceedings in court for review of such assessment have terminated or the time for the taking thereof has expired without such proceedings being instituted. For taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1987, the Director may make available to the Director or principal officer of any Department of the State of Illinois, information that a person employed by such Department has failed to file returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein. For purposes of this paragraph, the word "Department" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 3 of the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971.

The Director shall make information available to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, county boards, jury administrators, and jury commissions concerning persons claiming an earned income tax credit in order to allow compilation of jury lists under the Jury Act and the Jury Commission Act.

(d) The Director shall make available for public inspection in the Department's principal office and for publication, at cost, administrative decisions issued on or after January 1, 1995. These decisions are to be made available in a manner so that the following taxpayer information is not disclosed:

(1) The names, addresses, and identification numbers of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees.

(2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade secrets or other confidential information identified as such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt of an administrative decision, by such means as the Department shall provide by rule.

The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of the deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the taxpayer does not submit deletions, the Director shall make only the deletions specified in paragraph (1).

The Director shall make available for public inspection and publication an administrative decision within 180 days after the issuance of the administrative decision. The term "administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure. Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund.

(e) Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director from divulging information to any person pursuant to a request or authorization made by the taxpayer, by an authorized representative of the taxpayer, or, in the case of information related to a joint return, by the spouse filing the joint return with the taxpayer.

(Source: P.A. 93-25, eff. 6-20-03; 93-721, eff. 1-1-05; 93-835; 93-841, eff. 7-30-04; 94-1074, eff. 12-26-06.)

Section 10. The Jury Act is amended by changing Sections 1 and 1b as follows:

(705 ILCS 305/1) (from Ch. 78, par. 1)

Sec. 1. The county board of each county, except those counties which have a jury administrator or jury commissioners as provided in the Jury Commission Act, shall, at or before the time of its meeting, in September, in each year, or at any time thereafter, when necessary for the purpose of this Act, make a list of the legal voters, the persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act, and the Illinois driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders of the county, giving the place of residence of each name on the list, to be known as a jury list. The list shall be made by choosing every tenth name, or other whole number rate necessary to obtain the number required, from the latest voter registration, and drivers license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders lists, and the list of persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act of the county. In compiling the jury list, duplication of names shall be avoided to the extent practicable.

As used in this Act, "jury administrator" is defined as under Section 0.05 of the Jury Commission Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-482, eff. 1-1-98.)

(705 ILCS 305/1b) (from Ch. 78, par. 1b)

Sec. 1b. The combination of the lists of registered voters, persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act, and driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, or Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders and the preparation of jury lists under this Act shall, when requested by the Chief Judge or his designee, be accomplished through the services of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

(Source: P.A. 88-27.)

Section 15. The Jury Commission Act is amended by changing Sections 2 and 2a as follows:

(705 ILCS 310/2) (from Ch. 78, par. 25)

Sec. 2. In a county with a population of at least 3,000,000 in which a jury administrator or jury commissioners have been appointed, the jury administrator or commissioners, upon entering upon the duties of their office, and every year 4 years thereafter, shall prepare a list of all legal voters, all persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act, and all Illinois driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders of each town or precinct of the county possessing the necessary legal qualifications for jury duty, to be known as the jury list. In a county with a population of less than 3,000,000 in which a jury administrator or jury commissioners have been appointed, the jury administrator or jury commissioners upon entering upon the duties of their office, and each year thereafter, shall prepare a list of all Illinois driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders, and all registered voters, and all persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act of the county to be known as the jury list.

The jury list may be revised and amended annually in the discretion of the commissioners or jury administrator. Any record kept by the jury commissioners or jury administrator for over 4 years may be destroyed at their discretion. The name of each person on the list shall be entered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose, and opposite the name shall be entered his or her age and place of residence, giving street and number, if any.

The jury administrator, jury commissioners, or the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall receive an up-to-date list of Illinois driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders from the Secretary of State as provided in Section 1a of the Jury Act. In compiling the jury list, duplication of names shall be avoided to the extent practicable.

Whenever the name of a registered voter, or an Illinois driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, or Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holder, or a person claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act appearing upon this jury list is transferred to the active jury list in the manner prescribed by Section 8 of this Act, the following additional information shall be recorded after the name of the voter: the age of the voter, his or her occupation, if any, whether or not he or she is a resident residing with his or her family and whether or not he or she is an owner or life tenant of real estate in the county.

(Source: P.A. 90-482, eff. 1-1-98.)

(705 ILCS 310/2a) (from Ch. 78, par. 25a)

Sec. 2a. The combination of the lists of registered voters, driver's license, Illinois Identification Card, and Illinois Disabled Person Identification Card holders, and those persons claiming an earned income tax credit under the Illinois Income Tax Act and the preparation of jury lists under this Act shall, when requested by the Chief Judge or his designee, be accomplished through the services of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

(Source: P.A. 88-27.)

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.31 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)

Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.