101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4054

 

Introduced 1/13/2020, by Rep. Michael Halpin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 31/20

    Amends the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act. Provides that the State Historic Preservation Office may not award more than $45,000,000 (currently, $15,000,000) in total annual tax credits under the Act.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act is
5amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 31/20)
7    Sec. 20. Limitations, reporting, and monitoring.
8    (a) The Division shall award not more than an aggregate of
9$45,000,000 $15,000,000 in total annual tax credits pursuant to
10qualified rehabilitation plans for qualified historic
11structures. The Division shall award not more than $3,000,000
12in tax credits with regard to a single qualified rehabilitation
13plan. In awarding tax credits under this Act, the Division must
14prioritize projects that meet one or more of the following:
15        (1) the qualified historic structure is located in a
16    county that borders a State with a historic property
17    rehabilitation credit;
18        (2) the qualified historic structure was previously
19    owned by a federal, state, or local governmental entity;
20        (3) the qualified historic structure is located in a
21    census tract that has a median family income at or below
22    the State median family income; data from the most recent
23    5-year estimate from the American Community Survey (ACS),

 

 

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1    published by the U.S. Census Bureau, shall be used to
2    determine eligibility;
3        (4) the qualified rehabilitation plan includes in the
4    development partnership a Community Development Entity or
5    a low-profit (B Corporation) or not-for-profit
6    organization, as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the
7    Internal Revenue Code; or
8        (5) the qualified historic structure is located in an
9    area declared under an Emergency Declaration or Major
10    Disaster Declaration under the federal Robert T. Stafford
11    Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
12    (b) The annual aggregate program allocation of $45,000,000
13$15,000,000 set forth in subsection (a) shall be allocated by
14the Division, in such proportion as determined by the
15Department, on a per calendar basis twice in each year that the
16program is in effect, provided that: (i) the amount initially
17allocated by the Division for any one calendar application
18period shall not exceed 65% of the total allowable amount and
19(ii) any portion of the allocated allowable amount remaining
20unused as of the end of any of the second calendar application
21period of a given calendar year shall be rolled into and added
22to the total allocated amount for the next available calendar
23year. The qualified rehabilitation plan must meet a readiness
24test, as defined in the rules created by the Division, in order
25for the Applicant to qualify. Applicants that qualify under
26this Act will be placed in a queue based on the date and time

 

 

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1the application is received until such time as the application
2period total allowable amount is reached. Applicants must
3reapply for each application period.
4    (c) On or before December 31, 2019, and on or before
5December 31 of each odd-numbered year thereafter through 2023,
6subject to appropriation and prior to equal disbursement to the
7Division, moneys in the Historic Property Administrative Fund
8shall be used, beginning at the end of the first fiscal year
9after the effective date of this Act, to hire a qualified third
10party to prepare a biennial report to assess the overall
11effectiveness of this Act from the qualified rehabilitation
12projects under this Act completed in that year and in previous
13years. Baseline data of the metrics in the report shall be
14collected at the initiation of a qualified rehabilitation
15project. The overall economic impact shall include at least:
16        (1) the number of applications, project locations, and
17    proposed use of qualified historic structures;
18        (2) the amount of credits awarded and the number and
19    location of projects receiving credit allocations;
20        (3) the status of ongoing projects and projected
21    qualifying expenditures for ongoing projects;
22        (4) for completed projects, the total amount of
23    qualifying rehabilitation expenditures and non-qualifying
24    expenditures, the number of housing units created and the
25    number of housing units that qualify as affordable, and the
26    total square footage rehabilitated and developed;

 

 

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1        (5) direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts;
2        (6) temporary, permanent, and construction jobs
3    created; and
4        (7) sales, income, and property tax generation before
5    construction, during construction, and after completion.
6    The report to the General Assembly shall be filed with the
7Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
8Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk
9and the Secretary shall direct.
10    (d) Any time prior to issuance of a tax credit certificate,
11the Director of the Division, the State Historic Preservation
12Officer, or staff of the Division may, upon reasonable notice
13to the project owner of not less than 3 business days, conduct
14a site visit to the project to inspect and evaluate the
15project.
16    (e) Any time prior to the issuance of a tax credit
17certificate and for a period of 4 years following the effective
18date of a project tax credit certificate, the Director may,
19upon reasonable notice of not less than 30 calendar days,
20request a status report from the Applicant consisting of
21information and updates relevant to the status of the project.
22Status reports shall not be requested more than twice yearly.
23    (f) In order to demonstrate sufficient evidence of
24reviewable progress within 12 months after the date the
25Applicant received notification of approval from the Division,
26the Applicant shall provide all of the following:

 

 

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1        (1) a viable financial plan which demonstrates by way
2    of an executed agreement that all financing has been
3    secured for the project; such financing shall include, but
4    not be limited to, equity investment as demonstrated by
5    letters of commitment from the owner of the property,
6    investment partners, and equity investors;
7        (2) final construction drawings or approved building
8    permits that demonstrate the complete rehabilitation of
9    the full scope of the application; and
10        (3) all historic approvals, including all federal and
11    State rehabilitation documents required by the Division.
12    The Director shall review the submitted evidence and may
13request additional documentation from the Applicant if
14necessary. The Applicant will have 30 calendar days to provide
15the information requested, otherwise the approval may be
16rescinded at the discretion of the Director.
17    (g) In order to demonstrate sufficient evidence of
18reviewable progress within 18 months after the date the
19application received notification of approval from the
20Division, the Applicant is required to provide detailed
21evidence that the Applicant has secured and closed on financing
22for the complete scope of rehabilitation for the project. To
23demonstrate evidence that the Applicant has secured and closed
24on financing, the Applicant will need to provide signed and
25processed loan agreements, bank financing documents or other
26legal and contractual evidence to demonstrate that adequate

 

 

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1financing is available to complete the project. The Director
2shall review the submitted evidence and may request additional
3documentation from the Applicant if necessary. The Applicant
4will have 30 calendar days to provide the information
5requested, otherwise the approval may be rescinded at the
6discretion of the Director.
7    If the Applicant fails to document reviewable progress
8within 18 months of approval, the Director may notify the
9Applicant that the application is rescinded. However, should
10financing and construction be imminent, the Director may elect
11to grant the Applicant no more than 5 months to close on
12financing and commence construction. If the Applicant fails to
13meet these conditions in the required timeframe, the Director
14shall notify the Applicant that the application is rescinded.
15Any such rescinded allocation shall be added to the aggregate
16amount of credits available for allocation for the year in
17which the forfeiture occurred.
18    The amount of the qualified expenditures identified in the
19Applicant's certification of completion and reflected on the
20Historic Preservation Tax Credit certificate issued by the
21Director is subject to inspection, examination, and audit by
22the Department of Revenue.
23    The Applicant shall establish and maintain for a period of
244 years following the effective date on a project tax credit
25certificate such records as required by the Director. Such
26records include, but are not limited to, records documenting

 

 

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1project expenditures and compliance with the U.S. Secretary of
2the Interior's Standards. The Applicant shall make such records
3available for review and verification by the Director, the
4State Historic Preservation Officer, the Department of
5Revenue, or appropriate staff, as well as other appropriate
6State agencies. In the event the Director determines an
7Applicant has submitted an annual report containing erroneous
8information or data not supported by records established and
9maintained under this Act, the Director may, after providing
10notice, require the Applicant to resubmit corrected reports.
11(Source: P.A. 100-629, eff. 1-1-19.)