SB0243enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0243 Enrolled LRB096 03507 RLC 13532 b

AN ACT concerning vehicles.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 12-612 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/12-612)

Sec. 12-612. False or secret compartment in a motor vehicle.

(a) Offenses. It is unlawful for any person:

(1) to own or operate with criminal intent any motor vehicle he or she knows to contain a false or secret compartment that is used or has been used to conceal a firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 or paragraph (a)(1) of Section 24-1.6 of the Criminal Code of 1961, or controlled substance as prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; or . It is unlawful for any person to knowingly

(2) to install, create, build, or fabricate in any motor vehicle a false or secret compartment knowing that another person intends to use the compartment to conceal a firearm as prohibited by paragraph (a)(4) of Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961, or controlled substance as prohibited by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this Section: , a "false

(1) "False or secret compartment" means an enclosure integrated into a vehicle that is a modification of the vehicle as built by the original manufacturer.

(2) "Vehicle" means any of the following vehicles without regard to whether the vehicles are private or commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, buses, aircraft, and watercraft any enclosure that is intended and designed to be used to conceal, hide, and prevent discovery by law enforcement officers of the false or secret compartment, or its contents, and which is integrated into a vehicle. For purpose of this Section, a person's intention to use a false or secret compartment to conceal the contents of the compartment from a law enforcement officer may be inferred from factors including, but not limited to, the discovery of a person, firearm, controlled substance, or other contraband within the false or secret compartment, or from the discovery of evidence of the previous placement of a person, firearm, controlled substance, or other contraband within the false or secret compartment.

(c) Forfeiture. Any motor vehicle containing a false or secret compartment used in violation of this Section, as well as any items within that compartment, shall be subject to seizure by the Department of State Police or by any municipal or other local law enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction that property is found as provided in Sections 36-1 and 36-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/36-1 and 5/36-2). The removal of the false or secret compartment from the motor vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to forfeiture of the motor vehicle under Section 36-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 and shall not be the basis for the court to release the vehicle to the owner.

(d) Sentence. A violation of this Section is a Class 4 felony. The sentence imposed for violation of this Section shall be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed in connection with the firearm, controlled substance, or other contraband concealed in the false or secret compartment.

(e) For purposes of this Section, a new owner is not responsible for any conduct that occurred or knowledge of conduct that occurred prior to transfer of title.

(Source: P.A. 93-276, eff. 1-1-04.)