Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 094-0065
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Public Act 094-0065


 

Public Act 0065 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 094-0065
 
SB1814 Enrolled LRB094 09233 JAM 39467 b

    AN ACT concerning finance.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
amended by changing Section 605-332 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 605/605-332)
    Sec. 605-332. Financial assistance to energy generation
facilities.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "New electric generating facility" means a
newly-constructed electric generation plant or a newly
constructed generation capacity expansion at an existing
facility, including the transmission lines and associated
equipment that transfers electricity from points of supply to
points of delivery, and for which foundation construction
commenced not sooner than July 1, 2001, which is designed to
provide baseload electric generation operating on a continuous
basis throughout the year and:
        (1) has an aggregate rated generating capacity of at
    least 400 megawatts for all new units at one site, uses
    coal or gases derived from coal as its primary fuel source,
    and supports the creation of at least 150 new Illinois coal
    mining jobs; or
        (2) is (i) funded through a federal Department of
    Energy grant before July 1, 2006 and supports the creation
    of Illinois coal-mining jobs; or 2005, and (ii)
        (3) uses coal gasification or integrated
    gasification-combined cycle units that generate
    electricity or chemicals, or both, and that supports the
    creation of Illinois coal-mining jobs.
    "New gasification facility" means a newly constructed coal
gasification facility that generates chemical feedstocks or
transportation fuels derived from coal (which may include, but
are not limited to, methane, methanol, and nitrogen
fertilizer), that supports the creation or retention of
Illinois coal-mining jobs, and that qualifies for financial
assistance from the Department before December 31, 2006. A new
gasification facility does not include a pilot project located
within Jefferson County or within a county adjacent to
Jefferson County for synthetic natural gas from coal.
    "New facility" means a new electric generating facility or
a new gasification facility. A new facility does not include a
pilot project located within Jefferson County or within a
county adjacent to Jefferson County for synthetic natural gas
from coal.
    "Eligible business" means an entity that proposes to
construct a new electric generating facility and that has
applied to the Department to receive financial assistance
pursuant to this Section. With respect to use and occupation
taxes, wherever there is a reference to taxes, that reference
means only those taxes paid on Illinois-mined coal used in a
new electric generating facility.
    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity.
    (b) The Department is authorized to provide financial
assistance to eligible businesses for new electric generating
facilities from funds appropriated by the General Assembly as
further provided in this Section.
    An eligible business seeking qualification for financial
assistance for a new electric generating facility, for purposes
of this Section only, shall apply to the Department in the
manner specified by the Department. Any projections provided by
an eligible business as part of the application shall be
independently verified in a manner as set forth by the
Department. An application shall include, but not be limited
to:
        (1) the projected or actual completion date of the new
    electric generating facility for which financial
    assistance is sought;
        (2) copies of documentation deemed acceptable by the
    Department establishing either (i) the total State
    occupation and use taxes paid on Illinois-mined coal used
    at the new electric generating facility for a minimum of 4
    preceding calendar quarters or (ii) the projected amount of
    State occupation and use taxes paid on Illinois-mined coal
    used at the new electric generating facility in 4 calendar
    year quarters after completion of the new electric
    generating facility. Bond proceeds subject to this Section
    shall not be allocated to an eligible business until the
    eligible business has demonstrated the revenue stream
    sufficient to service the debt on the bonds; and
        (3) the actual or projected amount of capital
    investment by the eligible business in the new electric
    generating facility.
    The Department shall determine the maximum amount of
financial assistance for eligible businesses in accordance
with this paragraph. The Department shall not provide financial
assistance from general obligation bond funds to any eligible
business unless it receives a written certification from the
Director of the Bureau of the Budget (now Governor's Office of
Management and Budget) that 80% of the State occupation and use
tax receipts for a minimum of the preceding 4 calendar quarters
for all eligible businesses or as included in projections on
approved applications by eligible businesses equal or exceed
110% of the maximum annual debt service required with respect
to general obligation bonds issued for that purpose. The
Department may provide financial assistance not to exceed the
amount of State general obligation debt calculated as above,
the amount of actual or projected capital investment in the
energy generation facility, or $100,000,000, whichever is
less. Financial assistance received pursuant to this Section
may be used for capital facilities consisting of buildings,
structures, durable equipment, and land at the new electric
generating facility. Subject to the provisions of the agreement
covering the financial assistance, a portion of the financial
assistance may be required to be repaid to the State if certain
conditions for the governmental purpose of the assistance were
not met.
    An eligible business shall file a monthly report with the
Illinois Department of Revenue stating the amount of
Illinois-mined coal purchased during the previous month for use
in the new electric generating facility, the purchase price of
that coal, the amount of State occupation and use taxes paid on
that purchase to the seller of the Illinois-mined coal, and
such other information as that Department may reasonably
require. In sales of Illinois-mined coal between related
parties, the purchase price of the coal must have been
determined in an arms-length transaction. The report shall be
filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue on or before the
20th day of each month on a form provided by that Department.
However, no report need be filed by an eligible business in a
month when it made no reportable purchases of coal in the
previous month. The Illinois Department of Revenue shall
provide a summary of such reports to the Governor's Office of
Management and Budget.
    Upon granting financial assistance to an eligible
business, the Department shall certify the name of the eligible
business to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Beginning with
the receipt of the first report of State occupation and use
taxes paid by an eligible business and continuing for a 25-year
period, the Illinois Department of Revenue shall each month pay
into the Energy Infrastructure Fund 80% of the net revenue
realized from the 6.25% general rate on the selling price of
Illinois-mined coal that was sold to an eligible business.
(Source: P.A. 92-12, eff. 7-1-01; 93-167, eff. 7-10-03;
93-1064, eff. 1-13-05.)
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Enterprise Zone Act is amended by
changing Section 5.5 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 655/5.5)   (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 609.1)
    Sec. 5.5. High Impact Business.
    (a) In order to respond to unique opportunities to assist
in the encouragement, development, growth and expansion of the
private sector through large scale investment and development
projects, the Department is authorized to receive and approve
applications for the designation of "High Impact Businesses" in
Illinois subject to the following conditions:
        (1) such applications may be submitted at any time
    during the year;
        (2) such business is not located, at the time of
    designation, in an enterprise zone designated pursuant to
    this Act;
        (3) the business intends to do one or more of the
    following:
            (A) the business intends to make a minimum
        investment of $12,000,000 which will be placed in
        service in qualified property and intends to create 500
        full-time equivalent jobs at a designated location in
        Illinois or intends to make a minimum investment of
        $30,000,000 which will be placed in service in
        qualified property and intends to retain 1,500
        full-time jobs at a designated location in Illinois.
        The business must certify in writing that the
        investments would not be placed in service in qualified
        property and the job creation or job retention would
        not occur without the tax credits and exemptions set
        forth in subsection (b) of this Section. The terms
        "placed in service" and "qualified property" have the
        same meanings as described in subsection (h) of Section
        201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; or
            (B) the business intends to establish a new
        electric generating facility at a designated location
        in Illinois. "New electric generating facility", for
        purposes of this Section, means a newly-constructed
        electric generation plant or a newly-constructed
        generation capacity expansion at an existing electric
        generation plant, including the transmission lines and
        associated equipment that transfers electricity from
        points of supply to points of delivery, and for which
        such new foundation construction commenced not sooner
        than July 1, 2001. Such facility shall be designed to
        provide baseload electric generation and shall operate
        on a continuous basis throughout the year; and (i)
        shall have an aggregate rated generating capacity of at
        least 1,000 megawatts for all new units at one site if
        it uses natural gas as its primary fuel and foundation
        construction of the facility is commenced on or before
        December 31, 2004, or shall have an aggregate rated
        generating capacity of at least 400 megawatts for all
        new units at one site if it uses coal or gases derived
        from coal as its primary fuel and shall support the
        creation of at least 150 new Illinois coal mining jobs,
        or, (ii) shall be is (i) funded through a federal
        Department of Energy grant before July 1, 2006 and
        shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining
        jobs, or (iii) shall use 2005, and (ii) uses coal
        gasification or integrated gasification-combined cycle
        units that generate electricity or chemicals, or both,
        and shall support the creation of Illinois coal-mining
        jobs. The business must certify in writing that the
        investments necessary to establish a new electric
        generating facility would not be placed in service and
        the job creation in the case of a coal-fueled plant
        would not occur without the tax credits and exemptions
        set forth in subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term
        "placed in service" has the same meaning as described
        in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income
        Tax Act; or
            (B-5) the business intends to establish a new
        gasification facility at a designated location in
        Illinois. As used in this Section, "new gasification
        facility" means a newly constructed coal gasification
        facility that generates chemical feedstocks or
        transportation fuels derived from coal (which may
        include, but are not limited to, methane, methanol, and
        nitrogen fertilizer), that supports the creation or
        retention of Illinois coal-mining jobs, and that
        qualifies for financial assistance from the Department
        before December 31, 2006. A new gasification facility
        does not include a pilot project located within
        Jefferson County or within a county adjacent to
        Jefferson County for synthetic natural gas from coal;
        or
            (C) the business intends to establish production
        operations at a new coal mine, re-establish production
        operations at a closed coal mine, or expand production
        at an existing coal mine at a designated location in
        Illinois not sooner than July 1, 2001; provided that
        the production operations result in the creation of 150
        new Illinois coal mining jobs as described in
        subdivision (a)(3)(B) of this Section, and further
        provided that the coal extracted from such mine is
        utilized as the predominant source for a new electric
        generating facility. The business must certify in
        writing that the investments necessary to establish a
        new, expanded, or reopened coal mine would not be
        placed in service and the job creation would not occur
        without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in
        subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in
        service" has the same meaning as described in
        subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income
        Tax Act; or
            (D) the business intends to construct new
        transmission facilities or upgrade existing
        transmission facilities at designated locations in
        Illinois, for which construction commenced not sooner
        than July 1, 2001. For the purposes of this Section,
        "transmission facilities" means transmission lines
        with a voltage rating of 115 kilovolts or above,
        including associated equipment, that transfer
        electricity from points of supply to points of delivery
        and that transmit a majority of the electricity
        generated by a new electric generating facility
        designated as a High Impact Business in accordance with
        this Section. The business must certify in writing that
        the investments necessary to construct new
        transmission facilities or upgrade existing
        transmission facilities would not be placed in service
        without the tax credits and exemptions set forth in
        subsection (b-5) of this Section. The term "placed in
        service" has the same meaning as described in
        subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income
        Tax Act; and
        (4) no later than 90 days after an application is
    submitted, the Department shall notify the applicant of the
    Department's determination of the qualification of the
    proposed High Impact Business under this Section.
    (b) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses
pursuant to subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section shall qualify
for the credits and exemptions described in the following Acts:
Section 9-222 and Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act,
subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
and Section 1d of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act; provided
that these credits and exemptions described in these Acts shall
not be authorized until the minimum investments set forth in
subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section have been placed in
service in qualified properties and, in the case of the
exemptions described in the Public Utilities Act and Section 1d
of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the minimum full-time
equivalent jobs or full-time jobs set forth in subdivision
(a)(3)(A) of this Section have been created or retained.
Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses under this
Section shall also qualify for the exemption described in
Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. The credit
provided in subsection (h) of Section 201 of the Illinois
Income Tax Act shall be applicable to investments in qualified
property as set forth in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this Section.
    (b-5) Businesses designated as High Impact Businesses
pursuant to subdivisions (a)(3)(B), (a)(3)(B-5), (a)(3)(C),
and (a)(3)(D) of this Section shall qualify for the credits and
exemptions described in the following Acts: Section 51 of the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, Section 9-222 and Section
9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection (h) of
Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act; however, the
credits and exemptions authorized under Section 9-222 and
Section 9-222.1A of the Public Utilities Act, and subsection
(h) of Section 201 of the Illinois Income Tax Act shall not be
authorized until the new electric generating facility, the new
gasification facility, the new transmission facility, or the
new, expanded, or reopened coal mine is operational, except
that a new electric generating facility whose primary fuel
source is natural gas is eligible only for the exemption under
Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.
    (c) High Impact Businesses located in federally designated
foreign trade zones or sub-zones are also eligible for
additional credits, exemptions and deductions as described in
the following Acts: Section 9-221 and Section 9-222.1 of the
Public Utilities Act; and subsection (g) of Section 201, and
Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
    (d) Existing Illinois businesses which apply for
designation as a High Impact Business must provide the
Department with the prospective plan for which 1,500 full-time
jobs would be eliminated in the event that the business is not
designated.
    (e) New proposed facilities which apply for designation as
High Impact Business must provide the Department with proof of
alternative non-Illinois sites which would receive the
proposed investment and job creation in the event that the
business is not designated as a High Impact Business.
    (f) In the event that a business is designated a High
Impact Business and it is later determined after reasonable
notice and an opportunity for a hearing as provided under the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, that the business would
have placed in service in qualified property the investments
and created or retained the requisite number of jobs without
the benefits of the High Impact Business designation, the
Department shall be required to immediately revoke the
designation and notify the Director of the Department of
Revenue who shall begin proceedings to recover all wrongfully
exempted State taxes with interest. The business shall also be
ineligible for all State funded Department programs for a
period of 10 years.
    (g) The Department shall revoke a High Impact Business
designation if the participating business fails to comply with
the terms and conditions of the designation.
    (h) Prior to designating a business, the Department shall
provide the members of the General Assembly and Commission on
Government Forecasting and Accountability with a report
setting forth the terms and conditions of the designation and
guarantees that have been received by the Department in
relation to the proposed business being designated.
(Source: P.A. 92-12, eff. 7-1-01; 93-1064, eff. 1-13-05;
93-1067, eff. 1-15-05; revised 1-25-05.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 6/21/2005