HB5893 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 19082 MJR 45280 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5893

Introduced , by Rep. Renée Kosel

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
815 ILCS 505/2Z	from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z

Creates the Foreclosure Protection Act. Sets forth the findings of the General Assembly. Sets forth the requirements for foreclosure consulting contracts. Provides for a right of cancellation of foreclosure consulting contracts. Sets forth prohibited acts by foreclosure consultants and criminal penalties. Sets forth standards of unconscionability and specific language requirements for foreclosure consulting contracts. Sets forth certain requirements for equity purchase contracts, including a home owner's right to cancel an equity purchase contract. Provides that a transaction in which a home owner purports to grant a residence in foreclosure to an equity purchaser by an instrument that appears to be an absolute conveyance and reserves to the home owner or is given by the equity purchaser an option to repurchase shall be permitted only when certain conditions have been met. Sets forth prohibited conduct of equity purchasers and criminal penalties. Provides that violations of the Act constitute unfair trade practices subject to penalty under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to include the violations.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Foreclosure Protection Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that home ownership and the accumulation of equity in one's home provide significant social and economic benefits to this State and its citizens. Unfortunately, too many home owners in financial distress, especially the poor, elderly, and financially unsophisticated, are vulnerable to a variety of deceptive and unconscionable business practices designed to dispossess them or otherwise strip the equity from their homes. There is a compelling need to curtail and to prevent the most deceptive and unconscionable of these business practices, to provide each home owner with information necessary to make an informed and intelligent decision regarding transactions with certain foreclosure consultants and equity purchases, to provide certain minimum requirements for contracts between such parties, including statutory rights to cancel such contracts, and to ensure and foster fair dealing in the sale and purchase of homes in foreclosure. Therefore, it is the intent of the General Assembly that all violations of this Act have a significant public impact and that the terms of the Act be liberally construed to achieve these purposes.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Associate" means a partner, subsidiary, affiliate, agent, or any other person working in association with a foreclosure consultant or an equity purchaser. "Associate" does not include a person who is excluded from the definition of "equity purchaser" or a "foreclosure consultant".

"Equity purchaser" means a person who, in the course of the person's business, vocation, or occupation, acquires title to a residence in foreclosure, except that the term does not include a person who acquires such title:

(1) for the purpose of using the property as his or her personal residence for at least one year;

(2) by a deed in lieu of foreclosure to the holder of an evidence of debt, or an associate of the holder of an evidence, of a consensual lien, or encumbrance of record if such consensual lien or encumbrance is recorded in the real property records of the recorder of the county where the residence in foreclosure is located prior to the recording of the notice of election and demand for sale;

(3) by a deed from the county sheriff as a result of a foreclosure sale;

(4) at a sale of property by statute;

(5) by order or judgment of any court;

(6) from the person's spouse, relative, or relative of a spouse, but the half or whole blood or by adoption, or from a guardian, conservator, or personal representative of a person identified in this paragraph; or

(7) while performing services as part of a person's normal business activities under any law of this State or the United States that regulates banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, credit unions, insurance companies, title insurers, insurance producers, or escrow companies authorized to conduct business in this State, an affiliate or subsidiary of such person, or an employee or agent acting on behalf of such person.

"Foreclosure consultant" means a person who does not, directly or through an associate, take or acquire any interest in or title to the residence in foreclosure and who, in the course of such person's business, vocation, or occupation, makes a solicitation, representation, or offer to a home owner to perform, in exchange for compensation from the home owner or from the proceeds of any loan or advance of funds, a service that the person represents will do any of the following:

(1) stop or postpone a foreclosure sale;

(2) obtain a forbearance from a beneficiary under a deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien;

(3) assist the home owner in exercising a right to cure a default;

(4) obtain an extension of the period within which the home owner may cure a default;

(5) obtain a waiver of an acceleration clause contained in an evidence of debt secured by a deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien on a residence in foreclosure or contained in such deed of trust, mortgage, or other lien;

(6) assist the home owner to obtain a loan or advance of funds;

(7) avoid or reduce the impairment of the home owner's credit resulting from the recording of a notice of election and demand for sale, commencement of a judicial foreclosure action, or due to any foreclosure sale or the granting of a deed in lieu of foreclosure or resulting from any late payment or other failure to pay or perform under the evidence of debt, the deed of trust, or other lien securing such evidence of debt;

(8) in any way delay, hinder, or prevent the foreclosure upon the home owner's residence; or

(9) assist the home owner in obtaining from the beneficiary, mortgagee, or grantee of the lien in foreclosure or from counsel for such beneficiary, mortgagee, or grantee the remaining or excess proceeds from the foreclosure sale of the residence in foreclosure.

The term "foreclosure consultant" does not include:

(1) a person licensed to practice law in this State while performing any activity related to the person's attorney-client relationship with a home owner or any activity related to the person's attorney-client relationship with the beneficiary, mortgagee, grantee, or holder of any lien being enforced by way of foreclosure;

(2) a holder or servicer of an evidence of debt or the attorney for the holder or servicer of an evidence of debt secured by a deed of trust or other lien on any residence in foreclosure while the person performs services in connection with the evidence of debt, lien, deed of trust, or other lien securing such debt;

(3) a person doing business under any law of this State or the United States, which law regulates banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, credit unions, insurance companies, title insurers, insurance producers, or escrow companies authorized to conduct business in this State, while the person performs services as part of the person's normal business activities, an affiliate or subsidiary of any of the foregoing, or an employee or agent acting on behalf of any of the foregoing;

(4) a person originating or closing a loan in a person's normal course of business if, as to that loan:

(A) the loan is subject to the requirements of the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act; or

(B) with respect to any second mortgage or home equity line of credit, the loan is subordinate to and closed simultaneously with a qualified first mortgage loan under the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or is initially payable on the face of the note or contract to an entity included in subsection (3) of this definition;

(5) a judgment creditor of the home owner, if the judgment is recorded in the real property records of the recorder of the county where the residence in foreclosure is located and the legal action giving rise to the judgment was commenced before the notice of election and demand for sale;

(6) a title insurance company or title insurance agent authorized to conduct business in this State, while performing title insurance and settlement services;

(7) a person licensed as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson, while the person engaged in any activity for which the person is licensed; or

(8) a nonprofit organization that solely offers counseling or advice to home owners in foreclosure or loan default, unless the organization is an associate of the foreclosure consultant.

"Foreclosure consulting contract" means any agreement between a foreclosure consultant and a home owner.

"Home owner" means the owner of a residence in foreclosure, including a vendee under contract for deed to real property.

"Residence in foreclosure" means a residence or dwelling that is occupied as the home owner's principal place of residence and against which any type of foreclosure action has been commenced.

Section 15. Foreclosure consulting contract.

(a) A foreclosure consulting contract shall:

(1) be in writing and provided to and retained by the home owner, without changes, alterations, or modifications, for review at least 24 hours before it is signed by the home owner;

(2) be printed in at least 12-point type and shall include the name and address of the foreclosure consultant to which a notice of cancellation can be mailed and the date the home owner signed the contract;

(3) fully disclose the exact nature of the foreclosure consulting services to be provided and the total amount and terms of any compensation to be received by the foreclosure consultant or associate;

(4) be dated and personally signed, with each page being initialed, by each home owner of the residence in foreclosure and the foreclosure consultant and shall be acknowledged by a notary public in the presence of the home owner at the time the contract is signed by the home owner; and

(5) shall be printed in at least 14-point bold-faced type, completed with the name of the foreclosure consultant, and located in immediate proximity to the space reserved for the home owner's signature. A completed form in duplicate, captioned "Notice of Cancellation" shall accompany the foreclosure consulting contract. The notice of cancellation shall: (i) be on a separate sheet of paper attached to the contract; (ii) be easily detachable; and (iii) be printed in at least 14-point type.

(b) The foreclosure consultant shall provide to the home owner a signed, dated, and acknowledged copy of the foreclosure consulting contract and the attached notice of cancellation immediately upon execution of the contract. The time during which the home owner may cancel the foreclosure consulting contract does not begin to run until the foreclosure consultant has complied with this Section.

Section 20. Foreclosure consulting contract; right of cancellation.

(a) In addition to any right or rescission available under State or federal law, the home owner has the right to cancel a foreclosure consulting contract at any time. Cancellation occurs when the home owner gives written notice of cancellation of the foreclosure consulting contract to the foreclosure consultant at the address specified in the contract or through any facsimile or electronic mail address identified in the contract or other materials provided to the home owner by the foreclosure consultant.

(b) Notice of cancellation, if given by mail, is effective when deposited in the United State mail, properly addressed, with postage prepaid. Notice of cancellation need not be in the form provided with the contract and is effective, however expressed, if it indicated the intention of the home owner to cancel the foreclosure consulting contract. As part of the cancellation of a foreclosure consulting contract, the home owner shall repay, with 60 days after the date of cancellation, all funds paid or advanced in good faith prior to the receipt of notice of cancellation by the foreclosure consultant or associate under the terms of the foreclosure consulting contract, together with interest at the prime rate published by the Federal Reserve, plus 2 percentage points, with the total interest rate not to exceed 8% per year, from the date of expenditure until repaid by the home owner.

(c) The right to cancel may not be condition on the repayment of any funds.

Section 25. Foreclosure consulting contract; waiver of rights. A provision in a foreclosure consulting contract is void as against public policy if the provision attempts or purports to:

(a) waive any rights specified in Sections 15 though 45 of this Act or the right to jury trial;

(b) consent to jurisdiction for litigation or choice of law in a state other than this State;

(c) consent to venue in a county other than the county in which the property is located; or

(d) impose any costs or fees greater than the actual costs and fees.

Section 30. Prohibited acts. A foreclosure consultant may not:

(a) claim, demand, charge, collect, or receive any compensation until after the foreclosure consultant has fully performed each and every service the foreclosure consultant contracted to perform or represented that the foreclosure consultant would perform.

(b) claim, demand, charge, collect, or receive any interest or any other compensation for a loan that the foreclosure consultant makes to the home owner that exceeds the prime rate published by the Federal Reserve at the time of any loan plus 2 percentage points, with the total interest rate not to exceed 8% per year;

(c) take a wage assignment, lien of any type on real or personal property, or other security to secure the payment of compensation;

(d) receive any consideration from a third party in connection with foreclosure consulting services provided to a home owner with whom the foreclosure consultant has contracted;

(e) acquire an interest, directly, indirectly, or through an associate, in the real or personal property of a home owner with whom the foreclosure consultant has contracted;

(f) obtain a power of attorney from a home owner for any purpose other than to inspect documents as provided by law; or

(g) induce or attempt to induce a home owner to enter into a foreclosure consulting contract that does not comply in all respects with this Section.

Section 35. Foreclosure consulting contract; criminal penalties. A person who violates Section 30 of this Act is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and, in addition to any term of imprisonment that may be imposed by the court, may be fined up to $25,000.

Section 40. Foreclosure consulting contract; unconscionability.

(a) A foreclosure consultant or associate may not facilitate or engage in any transaction that is unconscionable given the terms and circumstances of the transaction.

(b) If a court, as a matter of law, finds a foreclosure consultant contract or any clause of such contract to have been unconscionable at the time it was made, the court may refuse to enforce the contract, enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or so limit the application of any unconscionable clause as to avoid an unconscionable result.

(c) When it is claimed or appears to the court that a foreclosure consultant contract or any clause of such contract may be unconscionable, the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its commercial setting, purpose, and effect, to aid the court in making the determination.

(d) In order to support a finding of unconscionability, there must be evidence of some bad faith overreaching on the part of the foreclosure consultant or associate such as that which results from an unreasonable inequality of bargaining power or other circumstance in which there is an absence of meaningful choice for one of the parties, together with contract terms that are, under standard industry practices, unreasonably favorable to the foreclosure consultant or associate.

Section 45. Foreclosure consulting contract language. A foreclosure consulting contract and all notices of cancellation shall be written in English and shall be accompanied by a written translation from English into any other language principally spoken by the home owner, certified by the person making the translation as a true and correct translation of the English version. The translated version shall be presumed to have equal status and credibility as the English version.

Section 50. Equity purchases; written contract required. Every contract shall be written in at least 12-point bold-faced type and fully completed, signed, and dated by the home owner and equity purchaser prior to the execution of any instrument quit-claiming, assigning, transferring, conveying, or encumbering an interest in the residence in foreclosure.

Section 55. Equity purchases; contents; notice. Every contract shall contain the entire agreement of the parties and shall include the following terms:

(a) the name, business address, and telephone number of the equity purchaser;

(b) the street address and full legal description of the residence in foreclosure

(c) clear and conspicuous disclosure of any financial or legal obligations of the home owner that will be assumed by the equity purchaser. If the equity purchaser will not be assuming any financial or legal obligations of the home owner, the equity purchaser shall provide to the home owner a separate written disclosure that substantially complies with applicable State law.

(d) the total consideration to be paid by the equity purchaser in connection with or incident to the acquisition by the equity purchaser of the residence in foreclosure;

(e) the terms of payment or other consideration, including, but not limited to, any services of any nature that the equity purchaser represents will be performed for the home owner before or after the sale;

(f) the date and time when possession of the residence in foreclosure is to be transferred to the equity purchaser;

(g) the terms of any rental agreement or lease;

(h) the specifications of any option or right to repurchase the residence in foreclosure, including the specific amounts of any escrow deposit, down payment, purchase price, closing costs, commissions, or other fees or costs;

(i) a notice of cancellation as provided in Section 65 of this Act; and

(j) the following notice, in at least 14-point bold-faced type and completed with the name of the equity purchaser, immediately above the statement required by Section 65 of this Act.

Section 60. Equity purchase; right to cancel contract.

(a) In addition to any right of recission available under State or federal law, the home owner has the right to cancel a contract with an equity purchaser until 12 midnight of the third business day following the day on which the home owner signs a contract that complies with this Section or until 12 noon on the day before the foreclosure sale of the residence in foreclosure, whichever occurs first. Cancellation occurs when the home owner personally delivers written notice of cancellation to the address specified in the contract or upon deposit of such notice in the United States mail, properly addressed, with postage prepaid.

(b) Notice of cancellation given by the home owner need not take the particular form as provided with the contract and, however expressed, is effective if it indicates the intention of the home owner not to be bound by the contract. In the absence of any written notice of cancellation from the home owner, the execution by the home owner of a deed or other instrument of conveyance of an interest in the residence in foreclosure to the equity purchaser after the expiration of the rescission period creates a rebuttable presumption that the home owner did not cancel the contract with the equity purchaser.

Section 65. Equity purchase contract; notice of cancellation.

(a) The contract shall contain, as the last provision before the space reserved for the home owner's signature, a conspicuous statement in at least 12-point bold-faced type, stating the time when the home owner may cancel the equity purchase contract with out penalty.

(b) The equity purchaser shall accurately specify the date and time of day on which the cancellation rights ends. The contract shall be accompanied by duplicate completed forms, captioned "notice of cancellation" in at least twelve-point bold-faced type if the contract is printed or in capital letters if the contract is typed, followed by a space in which the equity purchaser shall enter the date on which the home owner executed the contract. Such form shall be attached to the contract and be easily detachable. The equity purchaser shall provide the home owner with a copy of the contract and attached notice of cancellation. Until the equity purchaser has complied with this Section, the home owner may cancel the contract.

Section 70. Options through reconveyances.

(a) A transaction in which a home owner purports to grant a residence in foreclosure to an equity purchaser by an instrument that appears to be an absolute conveyance and reserves to the home owner or is given by the equity purchaser an option to repurchase shall be permitted only where all of the following conditions have been met:

(1) the reconveyance contract complies in all respects with Section 55 of this Act

(2) the reconveyance contract provides the home owner with a nonwaivable 30-day right to cure any default of said reconveyance contract and specifies that the home owner may exercise this right to cure on at least 3 separate occasions during such reconveyance contract;

(3) the equity purchaser fully assumes or discharges the lien in foreclosure as well as any prior liens that will not be extinguished by such foreclosure, which assumption or discharge shall be accomplished without violation of the terms and conditions of the liens being assumed or discharged.

(4) the equity purchaser verifies and can demonstrate that the home owner has or will have a reasonable ability to make the lease payments and to repurchase the residence in foreclosure within the term of the option to repurchase under the reconveyance contract. For purposes of this Section, there is a rebuttable presumption that the home owner has a reasonable ability to make lease payments and to repurchase the residence in foreclosure if the home owner's payments for primary housing expenses and regular principal and interest payments on other personal debt do not exceed 60% of the home owner's monthly gross income; and

(5) the price the home owner must pay to exercise the option to repurchase the residence in foreclosure is not unconscionable.

(b) Without limitation on available claims under Section 90 of this Act, a repurchase price exceeding 25% of the price at which the equity purchaser acquired the residence in foreclosure creates a rebuttable presumption that the reconveyance contract is unconscionable. The acquisition price paid by the equity purchaser may include any actual costs incurred by the equity purchaser in acquiring the residence in foreclosure.

Section 75. Waiver of rights in contracts between equity purchasers and home owners. A provision in a contract between an equity purchaser and home owner is void against public policy if it attempts or purports to:

(a) waive any of the rights specified in Sections 50 through 95 of this Act or the right to a jury trial;

(b) consent to jurisdiction for litigation or choice of law in a state other than this State;

(c) consent to venue in a county other than the county in which the property is located; or

(d) impose any costs or fees greater than the actual costs and fees.

Section 80. Prohibited conduct of equity purchasers.

(a) The contract provisions required by Sections 50 through 14 of this Act shall be provided and completed in conformity with such Sections by the equity purchaser.

(b) Until the time within which the home owner may cancel the transaction has fully elapsed, the equity purchaser shall not do any of the following:

(1) accept from a home owner an execution of, or induce a home owner to execute, an instrument of conveyance of any interest in the residence in foreclosure;

(2) record with the county recorder any document, including, but not limited to, the contract or any lease, lien, or instrument of conveyance, that has be signed by the home owner;

(3) transfer or encumber or purport to transfer or encumber an interest in the residence in foreclosure to a third party; or

(4) pay the home owner any consideration.

(b) Within 10 days following receipt of a notice of cancellation given in accordance with Section 60 and 65 of this Act, the equity purchaser shall return without condition the original contract and any other documents signed by the home owner.

(c) An equity purchaser shall make no untrue or misleading statements of material fact regarding the value of the residence in foreclosure, the amount of proceeds the home owner will receive after a foreclosure sale, any contract term, the home owner's rights or obligations incident to or arising out of the sale transaction, the nature of any document that the equity purchaser induces the home owner to sigh, or any other untrue or misleading statement concerning the sale of the residence in foreclosure to the equity purchaser.

Section 85. Penalties. A person who violates Section 80 of this Act is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and, in addition to any term of imprisonment that may be imposed by the court, may be fined up to $25,000.

Section 90. Unconscionable behavior; equity purchasers.

(a) An equity purchaser or associate may not facilitate or engage in any transaction that is unconscionable given the terms and circumstances of the transaction.

(b) If a court, as a matter of law, finds an equity purchaser contract or any clause of such contract to have be unconscionable at the time it was made, the court may refuse to enforce the contract, enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable clause, or so limit the application of any unconscionable clause as to avoid an unconscionable result.

When it is claimed or appears to the court that the contract or any clause thereof may be unconscionable, the parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to its commercial setting, purpose, and effect to aid the court in making the determination.

(c) In order to support a finding of unconscionability, there must be evidence of some bad faith overreaching on the part of the equity purchaser or associate, such as that which results from an unreasonable inequality of bargaining power or under other circumstances in which there is an absence of meaningful choices for one of the parties, together with contract terms that are, under standard industry practices, unreasonably favorable to the equity purchaser or associate.

Section 95. Language of equity purchase contracts. Any contract, rental agreement, lease, option, or right to repurchase, and any notice, conveyance, lien, encumbrance, consent, or other document or instrument signed by a home owner, shall be written in English and shall be accompanied by a written translation from English into any other language principally spoken by the home owner, certified by the person making the translation as a true and correct translation of the English version. The translated version shall be presumed to have equal status and credibility as the English version.

Section 100. Unfair trade practices. A person engages in an unfair trade practice when, in the course of the person's business, vocation, or occupation, the person violates any provision of this Act.

Section 900. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by changing Section 2Z as follows:

(815 ILCS 505/2Z) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 262Z)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 95-562)

Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly violates the Automotive Repair Act, the Automotive Collision Repair Act, the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, the Dance Studio Act, the Physical Fitness Services Act, the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act, the Illinois Union Label Act, the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer Protection Act, the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Services Organizations Act, the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection Act, the Telephone Solicitations Act, the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act, the Cemetery Care Act, the Safe and Hygienic Bed Act, the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act, the High Risk Home Loan Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Tax Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic Mail Act, the Internet Caller Identification Act, paragraph (6) of subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, the Foreclosure Protection Act, the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, or the Personal Information Protection Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 94-13, eff. 12-6-05; 94-36, eff. 1-1-06; 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-292, eff. 1-1-06; 94-822, eff. 1-1-07; 95-413, eff. 1-1-08.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 95-562)

Sec. 2Z. Violations of other Acts. Any person who knowingly violates the Automotive Repair Act, the Automotive Collision Repair Act, the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, the Dance Studio Act, the Physical Fitness Services Act, the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act, the Illinois Union Label Act, the Job Referral and Job Listing Services Consumer Protection Act, the Travel Promotion Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Services Organizations Act, the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, the Pay-Per-Call Services Consumer Protection Act, the Telephone Solicitations Act, the Illinois Funeral or Burial Funds Act, the Cemetery Care Act, the Safe and Hygienic Bed Act, the Pre-Need Cemetery Sales Act, the High Risk Home Loan Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Tax Act, the Payday Loan Reform Act, subsection (a) or (b) of Section 3-10 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Electronic Mail Act, the Internet Caller Identification Act, paragraph (6) of subsection (k) of Section 6-305 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, Section 18d-115, 18d-120, 18d-125, 18d-135, or 18d-150 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, the Foreclosure Protection Act, the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, or the Personal Information Protection Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 94-13, eff. 12-6-05; 94-36, eff. 1-1-06; 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-292, eff. 1-1-06; 94-822, eff. 1-1-07; 95-413, eff. 1-1-08; 95-562, eff. 7-1-08; revised 10-17-07.)

Section 995. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.