Full Text of HB3411 102nd General Assembly
HB3411 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB3411 Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Blaine Wilhour SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 35 ILCS 40/5 | | 35 ILCS 40/7.5 new | | 35 ILCS 40/10 | | 35 ILCS 40/40 | | 35 ILCS 40/45 | | 35 ILCS 40/65 rep. | | 35 ILCS 40/995 rep. | |
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Amends the Invest in Kids Act. Provides that the amount of the credit shall be 100% (currently, 75%) of the total amount of qualified contributions made by the taxpayer during the taxable year. Provides that the annual aggregate credit cap shall be $100,000,000 per calendar year (currently, $75,000,000). Provides that the individual credit cap shall be $1,333,333 per taxpayer (currently, $1,000,000). Removes a limitation that prevent contributions from being directed to a particular subset of schools or a particular school. Provides that, in granting scholarships, first priority shall be given to eligible students who received a scholarship from a scholarship granting organization during the previous school year. Contains provisions concerning technical academies.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning revenue.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 105-10. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 5, 10, 40, and 45 and by adding Section 7.5 | 6 | | as follows: | 7 | | (35 ILCS 40/5) | 8 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
| 9 | | Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 10 | | "Authorized contribution" means the contribution amount | 11 | | that is listed on the contribution authorization certificate | 12 | | issued to the taxpayer.
| 13 | | "Board" means the State Board of Education.
| 14 | | "Contribution" means a donation made by the taxpayer | 15 | | during the taxable year for providing scholarships as provided | 16 | | in this Act. | 17 | | "Custodian" means, with respect to eligible students, an | 18 | | Illinois resident who is a parent or legal guardian of the | 19 | | eligible student or students.
| 20 | | "Department" means the Department of Revenue. | 21 | | "Eligible student" means a child who:
| 22 | | (1) is a member of a household whose federal adjusted | 23 | | gross income the year before he or she
initially receives |
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| 1 | | a scholarship under this program, as determined by the | 2 | | Department, does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty
| 3 | | level and, once the child receives a scholarship, does not | 4 | | exceed 400% of the federal poverty
level;
| 5 | | (2) is eligible to attend a public elementary school | 6 | | or high school in Illinois in the semester immediately | 7 | | preceding the semester for which he or she first receives | 8 | | a scholarship or is
starting school in Illinois for the | 9 | | first time when he or she first receives a scholarship; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | (3) resides in Illinois while receiving a scholarship. | 12 | | "Family member" means a parent, child, or sibling, whether | 13 | | by whole blood, half blood, or adoption; spouse; or stepchild. | 14 | | "Focus district" means a school district which has a | 15 | | school that is either (i) a school that has one or more | 16 | | subgroups in which the average student performance is at or | 17 | | below the State average for the lowest 10% of student | 18 | | performance in that subgroup or (ii) a school with an average | 19 | | graduation rate of less than 60% and not identified for | 20 | | priority.
| 21 | | "Jointly-administered CTE program" means a program or set | 22 | | of programs within a non-public school located in Illinois, as | 23 | | determined by the Department of Labor pursuant to Section 7.5 | 24 | | of this Act. | 25 | | "Necessary costs and fees" includes the customary charge | 26 | | for instruction and use of facilities in general
and the |
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| 1 | | additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are | 2 | | required generally of non-scholarship recipients for each | 3 | | academic period for which the scholarship applicant actually | 4 | | enrolls, including costs associated with student assessments, | 5 | | but does not
include fees payable only once and other | 6 | | contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. | 7 | | The Board may prescribe, by rules consistent with this Act, | 8 | | detailed provisions concerning the computation of necessary | 9 | | costs and fees.
| 10 | | "Scholarship granting organization" means an entity that:
| 11 | | (1) is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of | 12 | | the Internal Revenue Code;
| 13 | | (2) uses at least 95% of the qualified contributions | 14 | | received during a taxable year for scholarships;
| 15 | | (3) provides scholarships to students according to the | 16 | | guidelines of this Act;
| 17 | | (4) deposits and holds qualified contributions and any | 18 | | income derived from qualified contributions
in an account | 19 | | that is separate from the organization's operating fund or | 20 | | other funds until such qualified contributions or income | 21 | | are withdrawn for use; and
| 22 | | (5) is approved to issue certificates of receipt.
| 23 | | "Qualified contribution" means the authorized contribution | 24 | | made by a taxpayer to a scholarship granting organization for | 25 | | which the taxpayer has received a certificate of receipt from | 26 | | such organization.
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| 1 | | "Qualified school" means a non-public school located in | 2 | | Illinois and recognized by the Board pursuant to Section | 3 | | 2-3.25o of the School Code.
| 4 | | "Scholarship" means an educational scholarship awarded to | 5 | | an eligible student to attend a qualified school
of their | 6 | | custodians' choice in an amount not exceeding the necessary | 7 | | costs and fees to attend that school.
| 8 | | "Taxpayer" means any individual, corporation, partnership, | 9 | | trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois income tax. For | 10 | | the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing a joint return | 11 | | shall be considered one taxpayer.
| 12 | | "Technical academy" means a non-public school located in | 13 | | Illinois that (i) registers with the Board pursuant to Section | 14 | | 2-3.25o of the School Code and (ii) operates or will operate a | 15 | | jointly-administered CTE program as the primary focus of the | 16 | | school. To maintain its status as a technical academy, the | 17 | | non-public school must obtain recognition from the Board | 18 | | pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code within 2 | 19 | | calendar years of its registration with the Board. | 20 | | (Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.) | 21 | | (35 ILCS 40/7.5 new) | 22 | | Sec. 7.5. Determination of jointly-administered CTE | 23 | | programs. | 24 | | (a) Upon its own motion, or petition from a qualified | 25 | | school or technical academy, the Department of Labor shall |
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| 1 | | determine whether a program or set of programs offered or | 2 | | proposed by a qualified school or technical academy provides | 3 | | coursework and training in career and technical education | 4 | | pathways aligned to industry-recognized certifications and | 5 | | credentials. The Department of Labor shall make that | 6 | | determination based upon whether the industry-recognized | 7 | | certifications or credentials that are the focus of a | 8 | | qualified school or technical academy's coursework and | 9 | | training program or set of programs (i) are associated with an | 10 | | occupation determined to fall under the LEADING or EMERGING | 11 | | priority sectors as determined through Illinois' Workforce | 12 | | Innovation and Opportunity Act Unified State Plan, and (ii) | 13 | | provide wages that are at least 70% of the average annual wage | 14 | | in the State as determined by the United States Bureau of Labor | 15 | | Statistics. | 16 | | The Department of Labor shall publish a list of approved | 17 | | jointly-administered programs on its website and otherwise | 18 | | make such list available to the public. | 19 | | (b) A qualified school or technical academy may petition | 20 | | the Department of Labor to obtain a determination that a | 21 | | proposed program or set of programs that it seeks to offer | 22 | | qualifies as a jointly-administered CTE program under | 23 | | subsection (a) of this Section. A petitioner shall file one | 24 | | original petition in the format provided by the Department of | 25 | | Labor and in the manner specified by the Department of Labor. | 26 | | The petitioner may withdraw his or her petition by submitting |
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| 1 | | a written statement to the Department indicating withdrawal. | 2 | | The Department shall approve or deny a petition within 180 | 3 | | days of its submission, and, upon approval, shall proceed to | 4 | | add the program or set of programs to the list of approved | 5 | | jointly-administered CTE programs. The approval or denial of | 6 | | any petition is a final decision of the Department, subject to | 7 | | judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. | 8 | | Jurisdiction and venue are vested in the circuit court. | 9 | | (c) The Department of Labor shall evaluate the approved | 10 | | jointly-administered CTE programs under this Section once | 11 | | every 5 years. At this time, the Department shall determine | 12 | | whether these programs continue to meet the requirements set | 13 | | forth in subsection (a) of this Section. | 14 | | (35 ILCS 40/10) | 15 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
| 16 | | Sec. 10. Credit awards. | 17 | | (a) The Department shall award credits against the tax | 18 | | imposed under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of the | 19 | | Illinois Income Tax Act to taxpayers who make qualified | 20 | | contributions. For contributions made under this Act, the | 21 | | credit shall be equal to 100% 75% of the total amount of
| 22 | | qualified contributions made by the taxpayer during a taxable | 23 | | year, not to exceed a credit of $1,333,333 $1,000,000 per | 24 | | taxpayer.
| 25 | | (b) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may |
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| 1 | | award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed | 2 | | $100,000,000 $75,000,000 . The aggregate credit cap under this | 3 | | subsection (b) shall be increased by 20% beginning on the | 4 | | first day of a calendar year if, in at least 2 of the previous | 5 | | 3 calendar years, the applicable aggregate credit cap was | 6 | | reached. | 7 | | (c) Contributions made by corporations (including | 8 | | Subchapter S corporations), partnerships, and trusts under | 9 | | this Act may not be directed to a particular subset of schools | 10 | | or , a particular school, but may not be directed to a | 11 | | particular group of students , or a particular student.
| 12 | | Contributions made by individuals under this Act may be | 13 | | directed to a particular subset of schools or a particular | 14 | | school but may not be directed to a particular group of | 15 | | students or a particular student. | 16 | | (d) No credit shall be taken under this Act for any | 17 | | qualified contribution for which the taxpayer claims a federal | 18 | | income tax deduction. | 19 | | (e) Credits shall be awarded in a manner, as determined by | 20 | | the Department, that is geographically proportionate to | 21 | | enrollment in recognized non-public schools in Illinois. If | 22 | | the cap on the aggregate credits that may be awarded by the | 23 | | Department is not reached by April 1 June 1 of a given year, | 24 | | the Department shall award remaining credits on a first-come, | 25 | | first-served basis, without regard to the limitation of this | 26 | | subsection.
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| 1 | | (f) Credits awarded for donations made to a technical | 2 | | academy shall be awarded without regard to subsection (e), but | 3 | | shall not exceed 15% of the annual statewide program cap. For | 4 | | the purposes of this subsection, "technical academy" means a | 5 | | technical academy that is registered with the Board within 30 | 6 | | days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 7 | | 102nd General Assembly. | 8 | | (Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.) | 9 | | (35 ILCS 40/40) | 10 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
| 11 | | Sec. 40. Scholarship granting organization | 12 | | responsibilities. | 13 | | (a) Before granting a scholarship for an academic year, | 14 | | all scholarship granting organizations shall assess and | 15 | | document each student's eligibility for the academic year.
| 16 | | (b) A scholarship granting organization shall grant | 17 | | scholarships only to eligible students.
| 18 | | (c) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an | 19 | | eligible student to attend any qualified school of the | 20 | | student's choosing, subject to the availability of funds.
| 21 | | (d) In granting scholarships, beginning in the 2022-2023 | 22 | | school year and each school year thereafter, a scholarship | 23 | | granting organization shall give first priority to eligible | 24 | | students who received a scholarship from a scholarship | 25 | | granting organization during the previous school year. Second |
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| 1 | | priority shall be given to the following priority groups: | 2 | | (1) (blank); eligible students who received a | 3 | | scholarship from a scholarship granting organization | 4 | | during the previous school year;
| 5 | | (2) eligible students who are members of a household | 6 | | whose previous year's total annual income does not exceed | 7 | | 185% of the federal poverty level;
| 8 | | (3) eligible students who reside within a focus | 9 | | district; and
| 10 | | (4) eligible students who are siblings of students | 11 | | currently receiving a scholarship.
| 12 | | (d-5) A scholarship granting organization shall begin | 13 | | granting scholarships no later than February 1 preceding the | 14 | | school year for which the scholarship is sought. Each The | 15 | | priority group groups identified in subsection (d) of this | 16 | | Section shall be eligible to receive scholarships on a | 17 | | first-come, first-served basis until the April 1 immediately | 18 | | preceding the school year for which the scholarship is sought | 19 | | starting with the first priority group identified in | 20 | | subsection (d) of this Section . Applications for scholarships | 21 | | for eligible students meeting the qualifications of one or | 22 | | more priority groups that are received before April 1 must be | 23 | | either approved or denied within 10 business days after | 24 | | receipt. Beginning April 1, all eligible students shall be | 25 | | eligible to receive scholarships without regard to the | 26 | | priority groups identified in subsection (d) of this Section. |
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| 1 | | (e) Except as provided in subsection (e-5) of this | 2 | | Section, scholarships shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the | 3 | | statewide average operational expense per
student among public | 4 | | schools or (ii) the necessary costs and fees for attendance at | 5 | | the qualified school.
Scholarships shall be prorated as | 6 | | follows: | 7 | | (1) for eligible students whose household income is | 8 | | less than 185% of the federal poverty level, the | 9 | | scholarship shall be 100% of the amount determined | 10 | | pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of | 11 | | this Section; | 12 | | (2) for eligible students whose household income is | 13 | | 185% or more of the federal poverty level but less than | 14 | | 250% of the federal poverty level, the average of | 15 | | scholarships shall be 75% of the amount determined | 16 | | pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of | 17 | | this Section; and | 18 | | (3) for eligible students whose household income is | 19 | | 250% or more of the federal poverty level, the average of | 20 | | scholarships shall be 50% of the amount determined | 21 | | pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of | 22 | | this Section. | 23 | | (e-5) The statewide average operational expense per | 24 | | student among public schools shall be multiplied by the | 25 | | following factors: | 26 | | (1) for students determined eligible to receive |
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| 1 | | services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities | 2 | | Education Act, 2; | 3 | | (2) for students who are English learners, as defined | 4 | | in subsection (d) of Section 14C-2 of the School Code, | 5 | | 1.2; and | 6 | | (3) for students who are gifted and talented children, | 7 | | as defined in Section 14A-20 of the School Code, 1.1 ; and . | 8 | | (4) for students enrolled in a jointly-administered | 9 | | CTE program, 1.5. | 10 | | (f) A scholarship granting organization shall distribute | 11 | | scholarship payments to the participating school where the | 12 | | student is enrolled.
| 13 | | (g) Beginning in For the 2018-2019 school year through the | 14 | | 2021-2022 school year , each scholarship granting organization | 15 | | shall expend no less than 75% of the qualified contributions | 16 | | received during the calendar year in which the qualified | 17 | | contributions were received. No more than 25% of the
qualified | 18 | | contributions may be carried forward to the following calendar | 19 | | year.
| 20 | | (h) In determining compliance with subsection (g), a | 21 | | scholarship granting organization may exempt a portion of | 22 | | donations directed to a technical academy operating in the | 23 | | first two calendar years in which the school is eligible to | 24 | | receive donations. For purposes of determining compliance with | 25 | | subsection (g) the sum of exempted donations per technical | 26 | | academy shall not exceed $3,000,000 over the 2-calendar year |
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| 1 | | period. Not more than one scholarship granting organization | 2 | | shall exempt a portion of directed donations per technical | 3 | | academy. For the 2022-2023 school year, each scholarship | 4 | | granting organization shall expend all qualified contributions | 5 | | received during the calendar year in which the qualified | 6 | | contributions were
received. No qualified contributions may be | 7 | | carried forward to the following calendar year.
| 8 | | (i) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an | 9 | | eligible student to transfer a scholarship during a school | 10 | | year to any other participating school of the custodian's | 11 | | choice. Such scholarships shall be prorated.
| 12 | | (j) With the prior approval of the Department, a | 13 | | scholarship granting organization may transfer funds to | 14 | | another scholarship granting organization if additional funds | 15 | | are required to meet scholarship demands at the receiving | 16 | | scholarship granting organization. All transferred funds must | 17 | | be
deposited by the receiving scholarship granting | 18 | | organization into its scholarship accounts. All transferred | 19 | | amounts received by any scholarship granting organization must | 20 | | be separately
disclosed to the Department.
| 21 | | (k) If the approval of a scholarship granting organization | 22 | | is revoked as provided in Section 20 of this Act or the | 23 | | scholarship granting organization is dissolved, all remaining | 24 | | qualified contributions of the scholarship granting | 25 | | organization shall be transferred to another scholarship | 26 | | granting organization. All transferred funds must be deposited |
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| 1 | | by the receiving scholarship granting organization into its | 2 | | scholarship accounts. | 3 | | (l) Scholarship granting organizations shall make | 4 | | reasonable efforts to advertise the availability of | 5 | | scholarships to eligible students.
| 6 | | (Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.) | 7 | | (35 ILCS 40/45) | 8 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
| 9 | | Sec. 45. State Board responsibilities. | 10 | | (a) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, students who | 11 | | have been granted a scholarship under this Act shall be | 12 | | annually assessed at the qualified school where the student | 13 | | attends school in the same manner in which students that | 14 | | attend public schools are annually assessed pursuant to | 15 | | Section 2-3.64a-5 of the School Code. Such qualified school | 16 | | shall pay costs associated with this requirement. | 17 | | (b) The Board shall select an independent research | 18 | | organization, which may be a public or private entity or | 19 | | university, to which participating qualified schools must | 20 | | report the scores of students who are receiving scholarships | 21 | | and are assessed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section. | 22 | | Costs associated with the independent research organization | 23 | | shall be paid by the scholarship granting organizations on a | 24 | | per-pupil basis or by gifts, grants, or donations received by | 25 | | the Board under subsection (d) of this Section, as determined |
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| 1 | | by the Board. The independent research organization must | 2 | | annually report to the Board on the year-to-year learning | 3 | | gains of students receiving scholarships on a statewide basis. | 4 | | The report shall also include, to the extent possible, a | 5 | | comparison of these learning gains to the statewide learning | 6 | | gains of public school students with socioeconomic backgrounds | 7 | | similar to those of students receiving scholarships. The | 8 | | annual report shall be delivered to the Board and published on | 9 | | its website. | 10 | | (c) Beginning within 120 days after the Board first | 11 | | receives the annual report by the independent research | 12 | | organization as provided in subsection (b) of this Section and | 13 | | on an annual basis thereafter, the Board shall submit a | 14 | | written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, | 15 | | the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority | 16 | | Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of | 17 | | Representatives regarding this Act. Such report shall include | 18 | | an evaluation of the academic performance of students | 19 | | receiving scholarships and recommendations for improving | 20 | | student performance. | 21 | | (d) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics | 22 | | Act, the Board may receive and expend gifts, grants, and | 23 | | donations of any kind from any public or private entity to | 24 | | carry out the purposes of this Section, subject to the terms | 25 | | and conditions under which the gifts are given, provided that | 26 | | all such terms and conditions are permissible under law. |
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| 1 | | (e) The sharing and reporting of student assessment | 2 | | learning gain data under this Section must be in accordance | 3 | | with requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy | 4 | | Act and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties | 5 | | must preserve the confidentiality of such information as | 6 | | required by law. The annual report must not disaggregate data | 7 | | to a level that will disclose the academic level of individual | 8 | | students.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.) | 10 | | (35 ILCS 40/65 rep.) | 11 | | (35 ILCS 40/995 rep.) | 12 | | Section 105-15. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by | 13 | | repealing Sections 65 and 995.
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