HB5479ham002 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Brandon W. Phelps

Filed: 3/26/2012

09700HB5479ham002 LRB097 20142 HLH 67461 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5479

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5479 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Sections 5-1008.6, 5-1008.7, 5-1008.8, and 5-1008.9 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/5-1008.6 new)

Sec. 5-1008.6. Small county amusement tax.

(a) Subject to referendum approval, the corporate authorities of a county having a population of less than 35,000 may, by resolution, impose a tax upon the patrons of amusements that take place within the county and may require the owner of the amusement to collect the tax and to collect information regarding the number of attendees at an amusement within a reasonable margin. The tax may not exceed 6.5% of the admission fee or other charge paid for the privilege of entering, witnessing, or viewing the amusement. If a county board passes a resolution authorizing a tax under this Section, the county board shall certify the resolution and the proposition to the proper election officials, who shall submit the proposition at the next election in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

"Shall...County impose a tax not to exceed 6.5% of the admission fee or other charge paid for the privilege of entering, witnessing, or viewing an amusement for which the county is likely to incur additional costs?"

If a majority of all the votes cast upon the proposition are for the levy of the tax, the county board may thereafter impose the tax.

(b) A county may not impose a tax under this Section upon the patrons of an amusement unless the county board finds that the county is likely to incur additional costs as a result of the amusement, including, but not limited to, extra law enforcement costs, court costs for prosecutions related to the amusement, and costs associated with protecting the public health, safety, and welfare. Not-for-profit charitable organizations or religious, educational, or government entities are exempt from the tax.

(c) The owner of any amusement proposed to be held within the corporate limits of any county that imposes a tax under this Section shall, not less than 60 days prior to the first day during which the amusement will be held in the county, notify the county board in writing of the owner's intent to operate an amusement. That notification shall include, without limitation: (1) a written statement of the kind, character, or type of amusement that the owner proposes to operate, maintain, or conduct; (2) the address or legal description of the place where the proposed amusement is to be operated, maintained, or conducted; (3) the dates and hours during which the amusement is to be operated, maintained, or conducted; (4) an estimate of the number of customers, spectators, participants, and other persons expected to attend the amusement for each day it is operated, maintained, or conducted; (4) a detailed written explanation of the applicant's plans to provide security and fire protection, water supply and facilities, food supply and facilities, sanitation facilities, medical facilities and services, vehicle parking space, vehicle access and onsite traffic control, illumination, and cleanup; and (5) any other information the county board may require. Upon receipt of the notification, the county board shall hold a public hearing on the question of whether a tax shall be imposed under this Section. That hearing shall be held not less than 15 nor more than 60 days prior to the first day of the amusement, and may be held at any regular meeting of the county board. Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not less than 5 nor more than 10 days prior to the hearing. If, after that public hearing, the county board determines, by a majority vote, that the amusement is subject to the tax under this Section, the tax shall be imposed. The county board shall notify the owner of the amusement of its decision in writing not less than 15 days prior to the first day the amusement is held in the county.

(d) For the purposes of this Section:

"Amusement" means a performance with an anticipated attendance of more than 1,000 persons on any day during which the amusement is held. The term "amusement" shall not include raffles, as defined in the Raffles Act, inter-track wagering, as defined in the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975, or automatic amusement devices such as jukeboxes, marble machines, pinball machines, video games, movie or video booths or stands, or similar games, operations, or transactions. For purposes of this Section, the term "amusement" does not include the Illinois State Fair, the DuQuoin State Fair, or any event held under the Agricultural Fair Act.

"Owner" means (i) any person who has an ownership or leasehold interest in a building, structure, vehicle, boat, campground, area, or other place where an amusement is held and who presents, conducts, or operates an amusement in that place, or who allows, by agreement or otherwise, another person to present, conduct, or operate an amusement in that place, and (ii) any person who has a proprietary interest in the amusement that entitles the person to all or a portion of the proceeds, after payment of reasonable expenses, from the operation, conduct, or presentation of the amusement, excluding proceeds from non-amusement services and from sales of tangible personal property.

The term "performance" shall be defined by the county board in the ordinance or resolution imposing the tax.

(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to authorize the county to impose a tax upon the privilege of engaging in any business that, under the Constitution of the United States, may not be made the subject of taxation by the State.

(55 ILCS 5/5-1008.7 new)

Sec. 5-1008.7. Order levying execution of amusement tax. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the corporate authorities described in Section 5-1008.6 to make out and deliver a copy of the order levying execution of a tax imposed under Section 5-1008.6 to the sheriff of the county. The copy, duly certified, shall have the force and effect of an execution against the property exhibited or persons or owners, as defined under Section 5-1008.6, exhibiting the amusement. The sheriff shall be liable on his official bond for any default or neglect in collecting the tax.

(55 ILCS 5/5-1008.8 new)

Sec. 5-1008.8. Proceeds to go into county treasury general fund. The money collected from the tax imposed by Section 5-1008.6 shall be paid into the county treasury and shall go to and form a part of the general fund of the county. The treasurer of the county to whom the money is paid shall give the sheriff who pays it duplicate receipts, one of which shall be deposited with the clerk of the county commission, and shall discharge the sheriff. The funds shall be used for the benefit of the county, but in particular the funds shall first be directed to costs arising from the amusement, including but not limited to extra law enforcement costs, court costs for prosecutions related to the amusement, and costs related to the protection of public health, safety, and welfare.

(55 ILCS 5/5-1008.9 new)

Sec. 5-1008.9. Penalty for delinquent payment of amusement tax. Any person, association, owner, company, corporation, or co-partnership of persons who fails to pay a tax imposed in accordance with Section 5-1008.6, on conviction thereof, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.".