HB2496ham004 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. John E. Bradley

Filed: 4/16/2013

09800HB2496ham004 LRB098 10739 HLH 44691 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2496

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2496, AS AMENDED, immediately above the enacting clause, by inserting the following:

"WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a strategic interest in the operations of the Illinois International Port District and its Board, whose function is to develop the District's port and harbor facilities, issue construction permits, regulate the District's facilities and waterways, establish and operate foreign trade zones, and govern and administer all the District area within Chicago's corporate limits; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois International Port District is a very significant driver of freight movement and economic activity throughout the State of Illinois, including the downstate waterways and especially the Mississippi River and the Illinois River; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, cargo shipments at the Port of Chicago directly or indirectly supported 6,930 jobs and generated $425,000,000 in revenue for Illinois firms, according to the Washington D.C.-based American Great Lakes Ports Association; and

WHEREAS, The Port of Chicago links rail and trucking lines with barges and ships supplying the Great Lakes and nearby rivers and handles an estimated 26,000,000 cargo tons annually throughout its 1,500 acre complex on the far south side, according to a recent estimate by a consortium of Great Lakes shipping interests; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, the Capital Development Board provided funds to the Illinois International Port District as authorized by Section 13 of the Capital Development Board Act, which provides for repayment by the Illinois International Port District using a flexible formula based on specified levels of revenues and profits; and

WHEREAS, In the over 30 years since that payment from the Capital Development Board, the Illinois International Port District has never been required to make a single payment to the Capital Development Board because it has never reached the levels of revenues and profits that would require such payment; and

WHEREAS, The Capital Development Board annually certifies to the Illinois International Port District that it owes no payment for the year to the Capital Development Board; and

WHEREAS, It is virtually impossible that the Illinois International Port District will ever reach the level of revenues and profits that would require it to make a payment to the Capital Development Board; and

WHEREAS, In its financial statements for each year since at least 2005, the Capital Development Board has "reserved" the entire amount lent to the Illinois International Port District, indicating that it does not expect any payments under the loan, and that non-payment of the loan would not require any future or present cash outlay by the Capital Development Board or the State; and

WHEREAS, For the reasons discussed above, the existence of this debt is of no value whatsoever to the State and serves only to limit the investment in the Port of Chicago and the amount of economic activity throughout Illinois water and rail lines; and

WHEREAS, Official forgiveness of the obligation from the Illinois International Port District to the Capital Development Board would benefit the entire State of Illinois by allowing greater investment in the State's waterways and freight facilities; therefore"; and

by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Enterprise Zone Act is amended by changing Section 5.5 as follows:

(20 ILCS 655/5.5) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 609.1)

Sec. 5.5. High Impact Business.

(a) In order to respond to unique opportunities to assist in the encouragement, development, growth and expansion of the private sector through large scale investment and development projects, the Department is authorized to receive and approve applications for the designation of "High Impact Businesses" in Illinois subject to the following conditions:

(1) such applications may be submitted at any time during the year;

(2) such business is not located, at the time of designation, in an enterprise zone designated pursuant to this Act;

(3) the business intends to do one or more of the following:

(A) the business intends to make a minimum investment of $12,000,000 which will be placed in service in qualified property and intends to create 500 full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in Illinois or intends to make a minimum investment of $30,000,000 which will be placed in service in qualified property and intends to retain 1,500 full-time retained jobs at a designated location in Illinois. The business must certify in writing that the investments would not be placed in service in qualified property and the job creation or job retention would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b) of this Section. The terms "placed in service" and "qualified property" have the same meanings as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or

(B) the business intends to establish a new electric generating facility at a designated location in Illinois. "New electric generating facility", for purposes of this Section, means a newly-constructed electric generation plant or a newly-constructed generation capacity expansion at an existing electric generation plant, including the transmission lines and associated equipment that transfers electricity from points of supply to points of delivery, and for which such new foundation construction commenced not sooner than July 1, 2001. Such facility shall be designed to provide baseload electric generation and shall operate on a continuous basis throughout the year; and (i) shall have an aggregate rated generating capacity of at least 1,000 megawatts for all new units at one site if it uses natural gas as its primary fuel and foundation construction of the facility is commenced on or before December 31, 2004, or shall have an aggregate rated generating capacity of at least 400 megawatts for all new units at one site if it uses coal or gases derived from coal as its primary fuel and shall support the creation of at least 150 new Illinois coal mining jobs, or (ii) shall be funded through a federal Department of Energy grant before December 31, 2010 and shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining jobs, or (iii) shall use coal gasification or integrated gasification-combined cycle units that generate electricity or chemicals, or both, and shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining jobs. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to establish a new electric generating facility would not be placed in service and the job creation in the case of a coal-fueled plant would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or

(B-5) the business intends to establish a new gasification facility at a designated location in Illinois. As used in this Section, "new gasification facility" means a newly constructed coal gasification facility that generates chemical feedstocks or transportation fuels derived from coal (which may include, but are not limited to, methane, methanol, and nitrogen fertilizer), that supports the creation or retention of Illinois coal-mining jobs, and that qualifies for financial assistance from the Department before December 31, 2010. A new gasification facility does not include a pilot project located within Jefferson County or within a county adjacent to Jefferson County for synthetic natural gas from coal; or

(C) the business intends to establish production operations at a new coal mine, re-establish production operations at a closed coal mine, or expand production at an existing coal mine at a designated location in Illinois not sooner than July 1, 2001; provided that the production operations result in the creation of 150 new Illinois coal mining jobs as described in subdivision (a)(3)(B) of this Section, and further provided that the coal extracted from such mine is utilized as the predominant source for a new electric generating facility. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to establish a new, expanded, or reopened coal mine would not be placed in service and the job creation would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or

(D) the business intends to construct new transmission facilities or upgrade existing transmission facilities at designated locations in Illinois, for which construction commenced not sooner than July 1, 2001. For the purposes of this Section, "transmission facilities" means transmission lines with a voltage rating of 115 kilovolts or above, including associated equipment, that transfer electricity from points of supply to points of delivery and that transmit a majority of the electricity generated by a new electric generating facility designated as a High Impact Business in accordance with this Section. The business must certify in writing that the investments necessary to construct new transmission facilities or upgrade existing transmission facilities would not be placed in service without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in service" has the same meaning as described in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or

(E) the business intends to establish a new wind power facility at a designated location in Illinois. For purposes of this Section, "new wind power facility" means a newly constructed electric generation facility, or a newly constructed expansion of an existing electric generation facility, placed in service on or after July 1, 2009, that generates electricity using wind energy devices, and such facility shall be deemed to include all associated transmission lines, substations, and other equipment related to the generation of electricity from wind energy devices. For purposes of this Section, "wind energy device" means any device, with a nameplate capacity of at least 0.5 megawatts, that is used in the process of converting kinetic energy from the wind to generate electricity; or and

(F) the business intends to (i) make a minimum investment of $500,000,000, which will be placed in service in a qualified property, (ii) create 125 full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in Illinois, and (iii) establish a fertilizer plant at a designated location in Illinois; for the purposes of this Section, "fertilizer plant" means a newly constructed or upgraded plant facilitating gas used in the production of anhydrous ammonia and downstream nitrogen fertilizer products for resale; this paragraph (F) applies only to businesses that submit an application to the Department within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly; and

(4) no later than 90 days after an application is submitted, the Department shall notify the applicant of the Department's determination of the qualification of the proposed High Impact Business under this Section.

(b) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section shall qualify for the credits and exemptions described in the following Acts: Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, and Section 1d of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act; provided that these credits and exemptions described in these Acts shall not be authorized until the minimum investments set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section have been placed in service in qualified properties and, in the case of the exemptions described in the Public Utilities Act and Section 1d of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the minimum full-time equivalent jobs or full-time retained jobs set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section have been created or retained. Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses under this Section shall also qualify for the exemption described in Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. The credit provided in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall be applicable to investments in qualified property as set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section.

(b-5) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivisions (a)(3)(B), (a)(3)(B-5), (a)(3)(C), and (a)(3)(D) of this Section shall qualify for the credits and exemptions described in the following Acts: Section 51 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; however, the credits and exemptions authorized under Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall not be authorized until the new electric generating facility, the new gasification facility, the new transmission facility, or the new, expanded, or reopened coal mine is operational, except that a new electric generating facility whose primary fuel source is natural gas is eligible only for the exemption under Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.

(b-6) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section shall qualify for the exemptions described in Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act; any business so designated as a High Impact Business being, for purposes of this Section, a "Wind Energy Business".

(c) High Impact Businesses located in federally designated foreign trade zones or sub-zones are also eligible for additional credits, exemptions and deductions as described in the following Acts: Section 9-221 and Section 9-222.1 of the Public Utilities Act; and subsection (g) of Section 201, and Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.

(d) Except for businesses contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, existing Illinois businesses which apply for designation as a High Impact Business must provide the Department with the prospective plan for which 1,500 full-time retained jobs would be eliminated in the event that the business is not designated.

(e) Except for new wind power facilities contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, new proposed facilities which apply for designation as High Impact Business must provide the Department with proof of alternative non-Illinois sites which would receive the proposed investment and job creation in the event that the business is not designated as a High Impact Business.

(f) Except for businesses contemplated under subdivision (a)(3)(E) of this Section, in the event that a business is designated a High Impact Business and it is later determined after reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing as provided under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, that the business would have placed in service in qualified property the investments and created or retained the requisite number of jobs without the benefits of the High Impact Business designation, the Department shall be required to immediately revoke the designation and notify the Director of the Department of Revenue who shall begin proceedings to recover all wrongfully exempted State taxes with interest. The business shall also be ineligible for all State funded Department programs for a period of 10 years.

(g) The Department shall revoke a High Impact Business designation if the participating business fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the designation. However, the penalties for new wind power facilities or Wind Energy Businesses for failure to comply with any of the terms or conditions of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act shall be only those penalties identified in the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, and the Department shall not revoke a High Impact Business designation as a result of the failure to comply with any of the terms or conditions of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act in relation to a new wind power facility or a Wind Energy Business.

(h) Prior to designating a business, the Department shall provide the members of the General Assembly and Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability with a report setting forth the terms and conditions of the designation and guarantees that have been received by the Department in relation to the proposed business being designated.

(Source: P.A. 96-28, eff. 7-1-09; 97-905, eff. 8-7-12.)

Section 10. The Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act is amended by changing Section 25 as follows:

(20 ILCS 715/25)

Sec. 25. Recapture.

(a) All development assistance agreements shall contain, at a minimum, the following recapture provisions:

(1) The recipient must (i) make the level of capital investment in the economic development project specified in the development assistance agreement; (ii) create or retain, or both, the requisite number of jobs, paying not less than specified wages for the created and retained jobs, within and for the duration of the time period specified in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement.

(2) If the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs within and for the time period specified, in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be deemed to no longer qualify for the State economic assistance and the applicable recapture provisions shall take effect.

(3) If the recipient receives State economic assistance in the form of a High Impact Business designation pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act and the business receives the benefit of the exemption authorized under Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (for the sale of building materials incorporated into a High Impact Business location) or the utility tax exemption authorized under Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs, as determined by the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, within the requisite period of time, the recipient shall be required to pay to the State the full amount of both the State tax exemption and the utility tax exemption that it received as a result of the High Impact Business designation.

(4) If the recipient receives a grant or loan pursuant to the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs for the requisite time period, as provided in the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, or in the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be required to repay to the State a pro rata amount of the grant; that amount shall reflect the percentage of the deficiency between the requisite number of jobs to be created or retained by the recipient and the actual number of such jobs in existence as of the date the Department determines the recipient is in breach of the job creation or retention covenants contained in the development assistance agreement. If the recipient of development assistance under the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program ceases operations at the specific project site, during the 5-year period commencing on the date of assistance, the recipient shall be required to repay the entire amount of the grant or to accelerate repayment of the loan back to the State.

(5) If the recipient receives a tax credit under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program, the development assistance agreement must provide that (i) if the number of new or retained employees falls below the requisite number set forth in the development assistance agreement, the allowance of the credit shall be automatically suspended until the number of new and retained employees equals or exceeds the requisite number in the development assistance agreement; (ii) if the recipient discontinues operations at the specific project site during the 5-year period after the beginning of the first tax year for which the Department issues a tax credit certificate, the recipient shall forfeit all credits taken by the recipient during such 5-year period; and (iii) in the event of a revocation or suspension of the credit, the Department shall contact the Director of Revenue to initiate proceedings against the recipient to recover wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes. The forfeited amount of credits shall be deemed assessed on the date the Department contacts the Department of Revenue and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes.

(b) The Director may elect to waive enforcement of any contractual provision arising out of the development assistance agreement required by this Act based on a finding that the waiver is necessary to avert an imminent and demonstrable hardship to the recipient that may result in such recipient's insolvency or discharge of workers. If a waiver is granted, the recipient must agree to a contractual modification, including recapture provisions, to the development assistance agreement. The existence of any waiver granted pursuant to this subsection (b) (c), the date of the granting of such waiver, and a brief summary of the reasons supporting the granting of such waiver shall be disclosed consistent with the provisions of Section 25 of this Act.

(b-5) The Department shall post, on its website, (i) the identity of each recipient from whom amounts were recaptured under this Section on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, (ii) the date of the recapture, (iii) a summary of the reasons supporting the recapture, and (iv) the amount recaptured from those recipients.

(c) Beginning June 1, 2004, the Department shall annually compile a report on the outcomes and effectiveness of recapture provisions by program, including but not limited to: (i) the total number of companies that receive development assistance as defined in this Act; (ii) the total number of recipients in violation of development agreements with the Department; (iii) the total number of completed recapture efforts; (iv) the total number of recapture efforts initiated; and (v) the number of waivers granted. This report shall be disclosed consistent with the provisions of Section 20 of this Act.

(d) For the purposes of this Act, recapture provisions do not include the Illinois Department of Transportation Economic Development Program, any grants under the Industrial Training Program that are not given as an incentive to a recipient business organization, or any successor programs as described in the term "development assistance" in Section 5 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 97-2, eff. 5-6-11; 97-721, eff. 6-29-12; revised 10-10-12.)

Section 15. The Capital Development Board Act is amended by changing Section 13 as follows:

(20 ILCS 3105/13) (from Ch. 127, par. 783)

Sec. 13. The Board may provide cargo handling facilities and facilities designed for the movement of cargo to or from cargo handling facilities for the use of regional port districts. Pursuant to appropriations setting forth specific projects and regional port districts, the Board shall contract with the regional port district named in the Act making the appropriation for cargo handling facilities. Such contract shall provide that the regional port district shall remit to the State of Illinois an amount equal to not more than 20% of the gross receipts attributable to those facilities, and not less than 20% of the profit attributable to those facilities, whether collected by the regional port district or through an operator or other intermediary, until the full amount appropriated and expended by the State of Illinois has been remitted to the State. The exact amount of, the manner of, the method of and the time for such remittances shall be agreed upon by the particular port district and the Board acting through its Executive Director, and such agreement may, from time to time, be amended by the parties so as to alter or modify the amount of, manner of, method of and time for the remittance, including, but not limited to, the temporary forgiveness, suspension or delay of the remittances not to exceed 24 months for any single suspension or delay. The payback is subordinate solely to any outstanding public bond agreements existing at the time of the contract and solely for the period of time of the running of those bond agreements. For any contract entered into under this Section, if, for a period of 25 years, a regional port district has not been required to remit any amount because the regional port district has failed to achieve the required level of profit, then the regional port district shall not be required to remit any amount under the contract.

This Section shall apply to all regional port district facilities to be constructed by the Board, including projects for which appropriations or reappropriations have been made prior to June 30, 1976, and to all contracts existing prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985 as well as contracts entered into on or after such date.

(Source: P.A. 84-781.)".

Section 20. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing Section 18-165 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/18-165)

Sec. 18-165. Abatement of taxes.

(a) Any taxing district, upon a majority vote of its governing authority, may, after the determination of the assessed valuation of its property, order the clerk of that county to abate any portion of its taxes on the following types of property:

(1) Commercial and industrial.

(A) The property of any commercial or industrial firm, including but not limited to the property of (i) any firm that is used for collecting, separating, storing, or processing recyclable materials, locating within the taxing district during the immediately preceding year from another state, territory, or country, or having been newly created within this State during the immediately preceding year, or expanding an existing facility, or (ii) any firm that is used for the generation and transmission of electricity locating within the taxing district during the immediately preceding year or expanding its presence within the taxing district during the immediately preceding year by construction of a new electric generating facility that uses natural gas as its fuel, or any firm that is used for production operations at a new, expanded, or reopened coal mine within the taxing district, that has been certified as a High Impact Business by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The property of any firm used for the generation and transmission of electricity shall include all property of the firm used for transmission facilities as defined in Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts combined shall not exceed $4,000,000.

(A-5) Any property in the taxing district of a new electric generating facility, as defined in Section 605-332 of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years. The abatement shall be subject to the following limitations:

(i) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $25,000,000 but less than $50,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 5% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 20% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility;

(ii) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $50,000,000 but less than $75,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 10% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 35% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility;

(iii) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $75,000,000 but less than $100,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 20% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 50% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility;

(iv) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $100,000,000 but less than $125,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 30% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 60% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility;

(v) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $125,000,000 but less than $150,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 40% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 60% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility;

(vi) if the equalized assessed valuation of the new electric generating facility is equal to or greater than $150,000,000, then the abatement may not exceed (i) over the entire term of the abatement, 50% of the taxing district's aggregate taxes from the new electric generating facility and (ii) in any one year of abatement, 60% of the taxing district's taxes from the new electric generating facility.

The abatement is not effective unless the owner of the new electric generating facility agrees to repay to the taxing district all amounts previously abated, together with interest computed at the rate and in the manner provided for delinquent taxes, in the event that the owner of the new electric generating facility closes the new electric generating facility before the expiration of the entire term of the abatement.

The authorization of taxing districts to abate taxes under this subdivision (a)(1)(A-5) expires on January 1, 2010.

(B) The property of any commercial or industrial development of at least (i) 500 acres or (ii) 225 acres in the case of a commercial or industrial development that applies for and is granted designation as a High Impact Business under paragraph (F) of item (3) of subsection (a) of Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, having been created within the taxing district. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 20 years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts combined shall not exceed $12,000,000.

(C) The property of any commercial or industrial firm currently located in the taxing district that expands a facility or its number of employees. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts combined shall not exceed $4,000,000. The abatement period may be renewed at the option of the taxing districts.

(2) Horse racing. Any property in the taxing district which is used for the racing of horses and upon which capital improvements consisting of expansion, improvement or replacement of existing facilities have been made since July 1, 1987. The combined abatements for such property from all taxing districts in any county shall not exceed $5,000,000 annually and shall not exceed a period of 10 years.

(3) Auto racing. Any property designed exclusively for the racing of motor vehicles. Such abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years.

(4) Academic or research institute. The property of any academic or research institute in the taxing district that (i) is an exempt organization under paragraph (3) of Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, (ii) operates for the benefit of the public by actually and exclusively performing scientific research and making the results of the research available to the interested public on a non-discriminatory basis, and (iii) employs more than 100 employees. An abatement granted under this paragraph shall be for at least 15 years and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts combined shall not exceed $5,000,000.

(5) Housing for older persons. Any property in the taxing district that is devoted exclusively to affordable housing for older households. For purposes of this paragraph, "older households" means those households (i) living in housing provided under any State or federal program that the Department of Human Rights determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons and is solely occupied by persons 55 years of age or older and (ii) whose annual income does not exceed 80% of the area gross median income, adjusted for family size, as such gross income and median income are determined from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 15 years, and the aggregate amount of abated taxes for all taxing districts shall not exceed $3,000,000.

(6) Historical society. For assessment years 1998 through 2018, the property of an historical society qualifying as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code.

(7) Recreational facilities. Any property in the taxing district (i) that is used for a municipal airport, (ii) that is subject to a leasehold assessment under Section 9-195 of this Code and (iii) which is sublet from a park district that is leasing the property from a municipality, but only if the property is used exclusively for recreational facilities or for parking lots used exclusively for those facilities. The abatement shall not exceed a period of 10 years.

(8) Relocated corporate headquarters. If approval occurs within 5 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, any property or a portion of any property in a taxing district that is used by an eligible business for a corporate headquarters as defined in the Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act. Instead of an abatement under this paragraph (8), a taxing district may enter into an agreement with an eligible business to make annual payments to that eligible business in an amount not to exceed the property taxes paid directly or indirectly by that eligible business to the taxing district and any other taxing districts for premises occupied pursuant to a written lease and may make those payments without the need for an annual appropriation. No school district, however, may enter into an agreement with, or abate taxes for, an eligible business unless the municipality in which the corporate headquarters is located agrees to provide funding to the school district in an amount equal to the amount abated or paid by the school district as provided in this paragraph (8). Any abatement ordered or agreement entered into under this paragraph (8) may be effective for the entire term specified by the taxing district, except the term of the abatement or annual payments may not exceed 20 years.

(9) United States Military Public/Private Residential Developments. Each building, structure, or other improvement designed, financed, constructed, renovated, managed, operated, or maintained after January 1, 2006 under a "PPV Lease", as set forth under Division 14 of Article 10, and any such PPV Lease.

(10) Property located in a business corridor that qualifies for an abatement under Section 18-184.10.

(b) Upon a majority vote of its governing authority, any municipality may, after the determination of the assessed valuation of its property, order the county clerk to abate any portion of its taxes on any property that is located within the corporate limits of the municipality in accordance with Section 8-3-18 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(Source: P.A. 96-1136, eff. 7-21-10; 97-577, eff. 1-1-12; 97-636, eff. 6-1-12.)

Section 25. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 9-222.1A as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/9-222.1A)

Sec. 9-222.1A. High impact business. Beginning on August 1, 1998 and thereafter, a business enterprise that is certified as a High Impact Business by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (formerly Department of Commerce and Community Affairs) is exempt from the tax imposed by Section 2-4 of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, if the High Impact Business is registered to self-assess that tax, and is exempt from any additional charges added to the business enterprise's utility bills as a pass-on of State utility taxes under Section 9-222 of this Act, to the extent the tax or charges are exempted by the percentage specified by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for State utility taxes, provided the business enterprise meets the following criteria:

(1) (A) it intends either (i) to make a minimum eligible investment of $12,000,000 that will be placed in service in qualified property in Illinois and is intended to create at least 500 full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in Illinois; or (ii) to make a minimum eligible investment of $30,000,000 that will be placed in service in qualified property in Illinois and is intended to retain at least 1,500 full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in Illinois; or

(B) it meets the criteria of subdivision (a)(3)(B), (a)(3)(C), or (a)(3)(D), or (a)(3)(F) of Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act;

(2) it is designated as a High Impact Business by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; and

(3) it is certified by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as complying with the requirements specified in clauses (1) and (2) of this Section.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall determine the period during which the exemption from the Electricity Excise Tax Law and the charges imposed under Section 9-222 are in effect, which shall not exceed 20 years from the date of initial certification, and shall specify the percentage of the exemption from those taxes or additional charges.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Section, including procedures for complying with the requirements specified in clauses (1) and (2) of this Section and procedures for applying for the exemptions authorized under this Section; to define the amounts and types of eligible investments that business enterprises must make in order to receive State utility tax exemptions or exemptions from the additional charges imposed under Section 9-222 and this Section; to approve such utility tax exemptions for business enterprises whose investments are not yet placed in service; and to require that business enterprises granted tax exemptions or exemptions from additional charges under Section 9-222 repay the exempted amount if the business enterprise fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the certification.

Upon certification of the business enterprises by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall notify the Department of Revenue of the certification. The Department of Revenue shall notify the public utilities of the exemption status of business enterprises from the tax or pass-on charges of State utility taxes. The exemption status shall take effect within 3 months after certification of the business enterprise.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)

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