The House returned to Springfield on Tuesday and was in session through Thursday. The Senate was not in session in Springfield this week, although it did hold some Appropriations committee hearings remotely.

The House and Senate are scheduled to be in session in Springfield next week Tuesday through Friday.

The House Revenue committee met on Thursday this week.

The following bills were approved by the committee and moved to the floor:

SB 62 - Williams - As introduced - Amends the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Provides that an apparent owner's interest in property includes a deposit into or withdrawal from an account at a financial organization, including (rather than except for) a recurring Automated Clearing House debit or credit previously authorized by the apparent owner, except for (rather than or) an automatic reinvestment of dividends or interest.

As amended - Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Provides that for an amount held on a payroll card, an indication of owner interest includes wages from an employer under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act in the form of a recurring Automated Clearing House credit previously authorized by the apparent owner. Provides that an Automated Clearing House credit is not an indication of owner interest if the holder assesses fees for account inactivity on the payroll card account.

SB 3174 - Kifowit - Amends the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Allows the administrator to deliver property or pay the amount owing to a person without the person filing a claim if the value of the property that is owed the person is $5,000 (rather than $2,000) or less. Allows the administrator to waive a specific requirement and pay or deliver property directly to a person if the property has a value of less than $2,000 (rather than $500). Allows an heir or agent who files an unclaimed property claim in which the decedent's property does not exceed $250 (rather than $100) to submit an affidavit attesting to the heir's or agent's capacity to claim in lieu of submitting a certified copy of the will to verify a claim. Provides that an affidavit is not required to include a copy of the decedent's death certificate if other evidence of the death of the owner is available. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.

SB 3215 - Stava-Murray - As introduced - Amends the Property Tax Code, the Community Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, the Counties Code, and the Community Mental Health Act. Contains provisions validating certain tax levies for community mental health boards. Effective immediately.

SB 3685 - Zalewski - Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that courses and training for the Certified Illinois Assessing Officer certificate shall be held in a manner and format deemed appropriate by the Department of Revenue (currently, required to be held at various convenient locations throughout the State). Removes a requirement that the hearing concerning the tentative equalization factor shall be held in either Chicago or Springfield. Effective January 1, 2023.

SB 3895 - Zalewski - As introduced - Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that to receive a reduction in assessed value, an owner, for the purpose of the initial application and only until the building is put in service, may provide proof of either a deed restriction or participation in a government program that includes legally enforceable affordability requirements comparable to the requirements of this Code and the chief county assessment officer shall furnish a letter of intent to the applicant indicating that a preliminary assessment of the new construction or qualifying rehabilitation indicates that it will meet all eligibility requirements. Modifies "assessed value for the residential real property in the base year" to mean the assessed value used to calculate the tax bill, as certified by the Board of Review, for the tax year immediately prior to the tax year in which the building permit is issued; for property assessed as other than residential property, the "assessed value for the residential real property in the base year" means the assessed value that would have been obtained had the property been classified as residential as derived from the Board of Review's certified market value (currently, the value in effect at the end of the taxable year prior to the latter of: (1) the date of initial application; or (2) the date on which 20% of the total number of units in the property are occupied by eligible tenants paying eligible rent). Modifies "maximum income limits" to include when a property may be deemed to have satisfied the maximum income limits with a weighted average if municipal, state, or federal laws, ordinances, rules or regulations requires the use of a weighted average of no more than 60% of area median income for that property. Modifies "maximum rent" to include that a property may be deemed to have satisfied the maximum rent with a weighted average if municipal, state, or federal laws, ordinances, rules or regulations requires the use of a weighted average of no more than 60% of area median income for that property.

The committee held subject matter hearings on two bills. Here are the bills for which subject matter hearings were held:

SB 3917 - Halpin - As introduced - Creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act. Creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Program to be administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Creates various tax incentives for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips, or semiconductor or microchip component parts, subject to an agreement with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act, the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the Property Tax Code, the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, the Electricity Excise Tax Law, and the Public Utilities Act. Effective immediately.

HB 4583 - Buckner - Amends the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law in the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that, for purposes of the Law, a municipality is "in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants" if any portion of the territory of the municipality is located in such a county. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of the Law to the contrary, a municipality whose territory lies partially in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants and partially outside such a county may, in the alternative, impose the tax authorized under the Law in only that portion of the municipality that lies in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants. Effective immediately.

The House Revenue committee is scheduled to meet next Thursday. Here is a link to the bills posted for the hearing next week. Remember that the Revenue committee generally posts everything assigned to the committee. We won't know what bills will actually be considered until shortly before the Thursday hearing.

The Senate Revenue committee did not meet this week.

The Senate Revenue committee is scheduled to meet next week. Here is a link to the bills that have been posted for committee consideration as of this morning.

One new tax-related bill was introduced in the House this week:

HB 5723 - Batnick - Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, beginning 30 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, the cents per gallon rate established by the Department of Revenue for the prepayment of tax by motor fuel retailers may not exceed $0.18 per gallon for motor fuel and 80% of that amount for gasohol and biodiesel blends. Provides that the rate of tax imposed under the Acts for motor fuel, gasohol, majority blended ethanol fuel, and biodiesel and biodiesel blends may not exceed that prepayment amount set by the Department of Revenue. Effective immediately. This bill is identical to SB 4915 introduced last week.

SB 1975 - Mussman - Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the engrossed bill with changes. Further amends the Property Tax Code to provide that the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption may be cited as the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption. Provides that a homeowner who is enrolled in the Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled (AABD) Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) may be presumed to have household income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation for that tax year. Effective immediately.

Tax-related bills that passed the Senate: None this week

Tax-related bills that passed the House: None this week

The March 18 edition of the Illinois Register contained no new proposed or adopted rulemakings by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and adopted rulemakings by the Department of Revenue.

The Department of Revenue proposed two new rulemakings in today's Illinois Register. The Department is amending its Energy Assistance Charge rules to implement rate changes in P.A. 102-0671 and P.A. 102-673.

The Department also proposed new rules to implement the Secure Choice Savings Program Act. Included in the rules is the manner in which the Department will assess and administer penalties for failure to comply with the Act.

No new cases this week.

No new decisions have been posted by the Tribunal this week.

Only one new case was filed this week. The case is an income tax residency case. The Department is making, what appears to be from a review of the petition, a baseless claim that the petitioner remained an Illinois resident for calendar year 2020. The taxpayer is represented by David Kupiec of Tax Institute member law firm Kupiec & Martin.