Full Text of SB1987 95th General Assembly
SB1987eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 2-202 as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
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| Sec. 2-202. Policy; Public Utility Fund; tax.
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| (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State | 9 |
| that
in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation | 10 |
| of public
utilities under this Act in the interests of the | 11 |
| People of the State of
Illinois and the public utilities as | 12 |
| well, the public utilities subject
to regulation under this Act | 13 |
| and which enjoy the privilege of operating
as public utilities | 14 |
| in this State, shall bear the expense of
administering this Act | 15 |
| by means of a tax on such privilege measured by the
annual | 16 |
| gross revenue of such public utilities in the manner provided | 17 |
| in
this Section. For purposes of this Section, "expense of
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| administering this Act" includes any costs incident to studies, | 19 |
| whether
made by the Commission or under contract entered into | 20 |
| by the Commission,
concerning environmental pollution problems | 21 |
| caused or contributed to by
public utilities and the means for | 22 |
| eliminating or abating those
problems. Such proceeds shall be | 23 |
| deposited in the Public Utility Fund in
the State treasury.
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| (b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
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| Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall be | 3 |
| paid out
of the Public Utility Fund except the compensation of | 4 |
| the members of the
Commission which shall be paid from the | 5 |
| General Revenue Fund.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this | 6 |
| Act to the contrary, the
ordinary and contingent expenses of | 7 |
| the Commission incident to the
administration of the Illinois | 8 |
| Commercial Transportation Law may be paid
from appropriations | 9 |
| from the Public Utility Fund through the end of fiscal
year | 10 |
| 1986.
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| (c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to | 12 |
| the
provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue | 13 |
| for each
calendar year commencing with the calendar year | 14 |
| beginning January 1, 1982,
except that the Commission may, by | 15 |
| rule, establish a different rate no
greater than 0.1%.
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| purposes of this Section, "gross revenue" shall not include
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| revenue from the production, transmission, distribution, sale,
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| delivery, or furnishing of electricity.
"Gross revenue" shall | 19 |
| not include amounts paid by telecommunications retailers
under | 20 |
| the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
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| (d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in | 22 |
| accordance with
paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
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| (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this | 24 |
| subsection (d), on
or before January 10 of each year each | 25 |
| public utility
subject to the provisions of this Act shall | 26 |
| file with the Commission an
estimated annual gross revenue |
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| return containing an estimate of the amount
of its gross | 2 |
| revenue for the calendar year commencing January 1 of said
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| year and a statement of the amount of tax due for said | 4 |
| calendar year on the
basis of that estimate. Public | 5 |
| utilities may also file revised returns
containing updated | 6 |
| estimates and updated amounts of tax due during the
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| calendar year. These revised returns, if filed, shall form | 8 |
| the basis for
quarterly payments due during the remainder | 9 |
| of the calendar year. In
addition, on or before March 31 of | 10 |
| each year, each public
utility shall
file an amended return | 11 |
| showing the actual amount of gross revenues shown by
the | 12 |
| company's books and records as of December 31 of the | 13 |
| previous year.
Forms and instructions for such estimated, | 14 |
| revised, and amended returns
shall be devised and supplied | 15 |
| by the Commission.
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| (2) Beginning with returns due after January 1, 2002, | 17 |
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requirements of paragraph (1) of
this subsection (d) | 18 |
| shall not apply to any public utility in any calendar year
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| for which the total tax the public utility owes under this | 20 |
| Section is less than
$10,000. For such public utilities | 21 |
| with respect to such years,
the public
utility shall file | 22 |
| with the Commission, on or before March 31
of the
following | 23 |
| year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a | 24 |
| statement of
the amount of tax due for that year on the | 25 |
| basis of such a return. Forms and
instructions for such | 26 |
| returns and corrected returns shall be devised and
supplied |
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| by the Commission.
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| (e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public | 3 |
| utility as
provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d) of | 4 |
| this Section shall contain
or be verified by a written | 5 |
| declaration by an appropriate officer of the public
utility | 6 |
| that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The | 7 |
| Commission
may audit each such return submitted and may, under | 8 |
| the provisions of Section
5-101 of this Act, take such measures | 9 |
| as are necessary to ascertain the
correctness of the returns | 10 |
| submitted. The Commission has the power to direct
the filing of | 11 |
| a corrected return by any utility which has filed an incorrect
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| return and to direct the filing of a return by any utility | 13 |
| which has failed to
submit a return. A taxpayer's signing a | 14 |
| fraudulent return under this Section
is perjury, as defined in | 15 |
| Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
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| (f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph (1) | 17 |
| of
subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual amount of | 18 |
| tax due
under subsection (c) shall be paid to the Commission on | 19 |
| or before the tenth day
of January, April, July, and October of | 20 |
| the calendar year subject to tax. In
the event that an | 21 |
| adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
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| result of the filing of an amended or corrected return under | 23 |
| subsection (d) or
subsection (e) of this Section, the amount of | 24 |
| any deficiency shall be paid by
the public utility together | 25 |
| with the amended or corrected return and the amount
of any | 26 |
| excess shall, after the filing of a claim for credit by the |
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| public
utility, be returned to the public utility in the form | 2 |
| of a credit memorandum
in the amount of such excess or be | 3 |
| refunded to the public utility in accordance
with the | 4 |
| provisions of subsection (k) of this Section. However, if such
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| deficiency or excess is less than $1, then the public utility | 6 |
| need not pay the
deficiency and may not claim a credit.
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| (2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of | 8 |
| subsection (d)
shall pay the amount of tax due under subsection | 9 |
| (c) on or before March
31 next following the end of the | 10 |
| calendar year subject to tax. In the
event that an adjustment | 11 |
| in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
result of the | 12 |
| filing of a corrected return under subsection (e), the amount
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| of any deficiency shall be paid by the public utility at the | 14 |
| time the
corrected return is filed. Any excess tax payment by | 15 |
| the public utility shall
be returned to it after the filing of | 16 |
| a claim for credit, in the form of a
credit memorandum in the | 17 |
| amount of the excess. However, if such deficiency or
excess is | 18 |
| less than $1, the public utility need not pay the deficiency | 19 |
| and may
not claim a credit.
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| (g) Each installment or required payment of the tax imposed | 21 |
| by
subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of the date | 22 |
| that it is due.
Failure to make a payment as required by this | 23 |
| Section shall result in the
imposition of a late payment | 24 |
| penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both,
as provided by | 25 |
| this subsection. The late payment penalty shall be the
greater | 26 |
| of:
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| (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | 2 |
| installment or
required payment is unpaid or
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| (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | 4 |
| should have been paid
on the due date, based upon the most | 5 |
| recently filed estimated, annual, or
amended return, and | 6 |
| what was
actually paid, times 1%, for each month or portion | 7 |
| of a
month that
the installment or required payment goes | 8 |
| unpaid. This penalty may be
assessed as soon as the | 9 |
| installment or required payment becomes delinquent.
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| The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public | 11 |
| utilities
subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and shall | 12 |
| be calculated after
the filing of the amended return. It shall | 13 |
| be imposed if the amount actually
paid on any of the dates | 14 |
| specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least
one-fourth | 15 |
| of the amount actually due for the year, and shall equal the | 16 |
| greater
of:
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| (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that the | 18 |
| amount due is unpaid
or
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| (2) an amount equal to the difference between what | 20 |
| should have been
paid, based on the amended return, and | 21 |
| what was actually paid as of the
date specified in | 22 |
| subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the
sum | 23 |
| of 10% and the percentage most recently established by the | 24 |
| Commission
for interest to be paid on customer deposits | 25 |
| under 83 Ill. Adm. Code
280.70(e)(1), for each month or | 26 |
| portion of a month that the amount due goes
unpaid, except |
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| that no underestimation penalty shall be assessed if the
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| amount actually paid on or before each of the dates | 3 |
| specified in subsection
(f) was
based on an estimate of | 4 |
| gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross
revenues | 5 |
| for the previous year. The Commission may enforce the | 6 |
| collection
of any delinquent installment or payment, or | 7 |
| portion thereof by legal
action or in any other manner by | 8 |
| which the collection of debts due the
State of Illinois may | 9 |
| be enforced under the laws of this State. The
executive | 10 |
| director or his designee may excuse the payment of an
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| assessed penalty or a portion of an assessed penalty if he | 12 |
| determines that
enforced collection of the penalty as | 13 |
| assessed
would be unjust.
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| (h) All sums collected by the Commission under the | 15 |
| provisions of
this Section shall be paid promptly after the | 16 |
| receipt of the same, accompanied
by a detailed statement | 17 |
| thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State
treasury.
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| (i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered year | 19 |
| the
Commission shall:
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| (1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in the | 21 |
| Public Utility
Fund during the preceding fiscal biennium | 22 |
| plus the balance, if any, in that
fund at the beginning of | 23 |
| that biennium;
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| (2) determine the sum total of the following items: (A) | 25 |
| all moneys
expended or obligated against appropriations | 26 |
| made from the Public Utility
Fund during the preceding |
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| fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the credit
memoranda | 2 |
| then outstanding against the Public Utility Fund, if any; | 3 |
| and
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| (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum | 5 |
| determined as
provided in item (1) exceeds the amount | 6 |
| determined as provided in item (2).
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| If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this | 8 |
| subsection exceeds
50% of the previous fiscal year's | 9 |
| appropriation level $5,000,000 , the Commission shall then | 10 |
| compute the
proportionate amount, if
any, which (x) the tax | 11 |
| paid hereunder by each utility during the preceding
biennium, | 12 |
| and (y) the amount paid into the Public Utility Fund during the
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| preceding biennium by the Department of Revenue pursuant to | 14 |
| Sections 2-9 and
2-11
of the Electricity Excise Tax Law, bears | 15 |
| to the difference between the amount
determined as
provided in | 16 |
| item (3) of this subsection (i) and 50% of the previous fiscal | 17 |
| year's appropriation level $5,000,000 .
The
Commission
shall | 18 |
| cause the proportionate amount determined with respect to | 19 |
| payments
made under the Electricity Excise Tax Law to be | 20 |
| transferred into the General
Revenue Fund in the State | 21 |
| Treasury, and notify each
public utility that it may file | 22 |
| during the 3 month period after the date of
notification a | 23 |
| claim for credit for the proportionate amount
determined with | 24 |
| respect to payments made hereunder by the public utility.
If | 25 |
| the
proportionate amount is less than $10, no notification will | 26 |
| be sent by the
Commission, and no right to a claim exists as to |
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| that amount. Upon the
filing of a claim for credit within the | 2 |
| period provided, the Commission
shall issue a credit memorandum | 3 |
| in such amount to such public utility. Any
claim for credit | 4 |
| filed after the period provided for in this Section is void.
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| (j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f)
and | 6 |
| credit memoranda issued after notification and filing pursuant | 7 |
| to
subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year period from the | 8 |
| date of issuance,
against the payment of any amount due during | 9 |
| that period under
the tax imposed by subsection (c), or, | 10 |
| subject to reasonable rule of the
Commission including | 11 |
| requirement of notification, may be assigned to any
other | 12 |
| public utility subject to regulation under this Act. Any | 13 |
| application
of credit memoranda after the period provided for | 14 |
| in this Section is void.
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| (k) The chairman or executive director may make refund of | 16 |
| fees, taxes or
other charges whenever he shall determine that | 17 |
| the person or public utility
will not be liable for payment of | 18 |
| such fees, taxes or charges during the
next 24 months and he | 19 |
| determines that the issuance of a credit memorandum
would be | 20 |
| unjust.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-11, eff. 6-11-01; 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 92-526, | 22 |
| eff.
1-1-03.)
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| Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by | 24 |
| changing Section 18c-1503 as follows:
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| (625 ILCS 5/18c-1503) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-1503)
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| Sec. 18c-1503. Legislative Intent. It is the intent of the | 3 |
| Legislature that the exercise of powers
under Sections 18c-1501 | 4 |
| and 18c-1502 of this Chapter shall not
diminish revenues to the | 5 |
| Commission, and that any surplus or
deficit of revenues in the | 6 |
| Transportation Regulatory Fund,
together with any projected | 7 |
| changes in the cost of administering
and enforcing this | 8 |
| Chapter, should be considered in establishing or
adjusting fees | 9 |
| and taxes in succeeding years. The Commission
shall administer | 10 |
| fees and taxes under this Chapter in such a manner
as to insure | 11 |
| that any surplus generated or accumulated in the
Transportation | 12 |
| Regulatory Fund does not exceed 50% of the previous fiscal | 13 |
| year's appropriation the surplus
accumulated in the Motor | 14 |
| Vehicle Fund during fiscal year 1984, and
shall adjust the | 15 |
| level of such fees and taxes to insure
compliance with this | 16 |
| provision.
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| (Source: P.A. 84-796.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 19 |
| becoming law.
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