Bill Amendment: IL SB0486 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: PROP TX-SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

Status: 2018-08-10 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0781 [SB0486 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SB0486-Senate_Amendment_002.html

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Sen. Don Harmon

Filed: 5/1/2018

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 486
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 486, AS AMENDED, by
replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
following:
"Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 10-5 and by adding Division 20 of Article 10 as
follows:
(35 ILCS 200/10-5)
Sec. 10-5. Solar energy systems; definitions. It is the
policy of this State that the use of solar energy systems
should be encouraged because they conserve nonrenewable
resources, reduce pollution and promote the health and
well-being of the people of this State, and should be valued in
relation to these benefits.
(a) "Solar energy" means radiant energy received from the
sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic

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use, or photovoltaic use.
(b) "Solar collector" means
(1) An assembly, structure, or design, including
passive elements, used for gathering, concentrating, or
absorbing direct and indirect solar energy, specially
designed for holding a substantial amount of useful thermal
energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or
liquid or to use that energy directly; or
(2) A mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts
it into electricity; or
(3) A mechanism or process used for gathering solar
energy through wind or thermal gradients; or
(4) A component used to transfer thermal energy to a
gas, solid, or liquid, or to convert it into electricity.
(c) "Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements
(such as piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat
exchangers, or controls thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or
combinations thereof) that are utilized for storing solar
energy, gathered by a solar collector, for subsequent use.
(d) "Solar energy system" means
(1)(A) A complete assembly, structure, or design of
solar collector, or a solar storage mechanism, which uses
solar energy for generating electricity that is primarily
consumed on the property on which the solar energy system
resides, or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids,
or other materials for the primary benefit of the property

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on which the solar energy system resides;
(B) The design, materials, or elements of a system and
its maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the
necessary components, if any, of supplemental conventional
energy systems designed or constructed to interface with a
solar energy system; and
(C) Any legal, financial, or institutional orders,
certificates, or mechanisms, including easements, leases,
and agreements, required to ensure continued access to
solar energy, its source, or its use in a solar energy
system, and including monitoring and educational elements
of a demonstration project.
(2) "Solar energy system" does not include
(A) Distribution equipment that is equally usable
in a conventional energy system except for those
components of the equipment that are necessary for
meeting the requirements of efficient solar energy
utilization; and
(B) Components of a solar energy system that serve
structural, insulating, protective, shading,
aesthetic, or other non-solar energy utilization
purposes, as defined in the regulations of the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; and .
(C) A commercial solar energy system, as defined by
this Code, in counties with fewer than 3,000,000
inhabitants.

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(3) The solar energy system shall conform to the
standards for those systems established by regulation of
the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)
(35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 20 heading new)
Division 20. Commercial Solar Energy Systems
(35 ILCS 200/10-720 new)
Sec. 10-720. Definitions. For the purpose of this Division
20:
"Allowance for physical depreciation" means (i) the actual
age in years of the commercial solar energy system on the
assessment date divided by 25 years, multiplied by (ii) its
trended real property cost basis. The physical depreciation,
however, may not reduce the value of the commercial solar
energy system to less than 30% of its trended real property
cost basis.
"Commercial solar energy system" means any device or
assembly of devices that (i) is ground installed and (ii) uses
solar energy from the sun for generating electricity for the
primary purpose of wholesale or retail sale and not primarily
for consumption on the property on which the device or devices
reside.
"Commercial solar energy system real property cost basis"
means the owner of a commercial solar energy system's interest

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in the land within the project boundaries and real property
improvements and shall be calculated at $199,000 per megawatt
of nameplate capacity. For the purposes of this Section,
"nameplate capacity" has the same definition as found in
Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act.
"Ground installed" means the installation of a commercial
solar energy system, with the primary purpose of solar energy
generation for wholesale or retail sale, on a parcel or tract
of land.
"Trended real property cost basis" means the commercial
solar energy system real property cost basis multiplied by the
trending factor.
"Trending factor" means a number equal to the Consumer
Price Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for the December immediately
preceding the assessment date, divided by the Consumer Price
Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics for December of 2017.
(35 ILCS 200/10-725 new)
Sec. 10-725. Improvement valuation of commercial solar
energy systems in counties with fewer than 3,000,000
inhabitants. Beginning in assessment year 2018, the fair cash
value of commercial solar energy system improvements in
counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be
determined by subtracting the allowance for physical

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depreciation from the trended real property cost basis.
Functional obsolescence and external obsolescence of the solar
energy device may further reduce the fair cash value of the
commercial solar energy system improvements, to the extent they
are proved by the taxpayer by clear and convincing evidence.
(35 ILCS 200/10-730 new)
Sec. 10-730. Exempt properties. The provisions of this
Division do not apply to commercial solar energy systems that
are owned by any person or entity that is otherwise exempt from
taxation under this Code.
(35 ILCS 200/10-735 new)
Sec. 10-735. Commercial solar energy systems not subject to
equalization. Commercial solar energy systems assessable under
this Division are not subject to equalization factors applied
by the Department or any board of review, assessor, or chief
county assessment officer.
(35 ILCS 200/10-740 new)
Sec. 10-740. Survey for ground installed commercial solar
energy systems; parcel identification numbers for property
improved with a ground installed commercial solar energy
system. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner
of the ground installed commercial solar energy system shall
commission a metes and bounds survey description of the land

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upon which the commercial solar energy system is installed,
including access routes, over which the owner of the commercial
solar energy system has exclusive control. The owner of the
ground installed commercial solar energy system shall, at his
or her own expense, use an Illinois-registered land surveyor to
prepare the survey. The owner of the ground installed
commercial solar energy system shall deliver a copy of the
survey to the chief county assessment officer and to the owner
of the land upon which the ground installed commercial solar
energy system is constructed. Upon receiving a copy of the
survey, the chief county assessment officer shall issue
separate parcel identification numbers for the real property
improvements and the land containing the ground installed
commercial solar energy system to be used only for the purposes
of property assessment for taxation. The property records shall
contain the legal description of the commercial solar energy
system parcel and describe any leasehold interest or other
interest of the owner of the commercial solar energy system in
the property. A plat prepared under this Section shall not be
construed as a violation of the Plat Act.
(35 ILCS 200/10-745 new)
Sec. 10-745. Real estate taxes. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 9-175 of this Code, the owner of the
commercial solar energy system shall be liable for the real
estate taxes for the land and real property improvements of a

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ground installed commercial solar energy system.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, the owner of the land upon which
a commercial solar energy system is installed may pay any
unpaid tax of the commercial solar energy system parcel prior
to the initiation of any tax sale proceedings.
(35 ILCS 200/10-750 new)
Sec. 10-750. Property assessed as farmland.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, real property
assessed as farmland in accordance with Section 10-110 in the
assessment year prior to valuation under this Division shall
return to being assessed as farmland in accordance with Section
10-110 in the year following completion of the removal of the
commercial solar energy system as long as the property is
returned to a farm use as defined in Section 1-60 of this Act,
notwithstanding that the land was not used for farming for the
2 preceding years.
(35 ILCS 200/10-755 new)
Sec. 10-755. Abatements. Any taxing district, upon a
majority vote of its governing authority, may, after the
determination of the assessed valuation as set forth in this
Code, order the clerk of the appropriate municipality or county
to abate any portion of real property taxes otherwise levied or
extended by the taxing district on a commercial solar energy
system.

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(35 ILCS 200/10-760 new)
Sec. 10-760. Applicability. The provisions of this
Division apply for assessment years 2018 through 2033.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".