Public Act 103-0291

HB2068 Enrolled LRB103 05203 SPS 50219 b

AN ACT concerning business.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the

Transportation Benefits Program Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Covered employee" means any person who performs an

average of at least 35 hours of work per week for compensation

on a full-time basis.

"Covered employer" means any individual, partnership,

association, corporation, limited liability company,

government, non-profit organization, or business trust that

directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other

person, employs or exercises control over wages, hours, or

working conditions of an employee, and that:

(1) is located in: Cook County; Warren Township in

Lake County; Grant Township in Lake County; Frankfort

Township in Will County; Wheatland Township in Will

County; Addison Township; Bloomingdale Township; York

Township; Milton Township; Winfield Township; Downers

Grove Township; Lisle Township; Naperville Township;

Dundee Township; Elgin Township; St. Charles Township;

Geneva Township; Batavia Township; Aurora Township; Zion

Township; Benton Township; Waukegan Township; Avon

Township; Libertyville Township; Shields Township; Vernon

Township; West Deerfield Township; Deerfield Township;

McHenry Township; Nunda Township; Algonquin Township;

DuPage Township; Homer Township; Lockport Township;

Plainfield Township; New Lenox Township; Joliet Township;

or Troy Township; and

(2) employs 50 or more covered employees in a

geographic area specified in paragraph (1) at an address

that is located within one mile of fixed-route transit

service.

"Public transit" means any transportation system within

the authority and jurisdiction of the Regional Transportation

Authority.

"Transit pass" means any pass, token, fare card, voucher,

or similar item entitling a person to transportation on public

transit.

Section 10. Transportation benefits program. All covered

employers shall provide a pre-tax commuter benefit to covered

employees. The pre-tax commuter benefit shall allow employees

to use pre-tax dollars for the purchase of a transit pass, via

payroll deduction, such that the costs for such purchases may

be excluded from the employee's taxable wages and compensation

up to the maximum amount permitted by federal tax law,

consistent with 26 U.S.C. 132(f) and the rules and regulations

promulgated thereunder. A covered employer may comply with

this Section by participating in a program offered by the

Chicago Transit Authority or the Regional Transportation

Authority.

This benefit must be offered to all employees starting on

the employees' first full pay period after 120 days of

employment. All transit agencies shall market the existence of

this program and this Act to their riders in order to inform

affected employees and their employers.

Section 15. Regional Transit Authority map. The Regional

Transportation Authority shall make publicly available a

searchable map of addresses that are located within one mile

of fixed-route transit service.

Section 20. Application of Act. Nothing in this Act shall

be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the

right of employees to bargain collectively with their

employers through representatives of their own choosing in

order to establish wages or other conditions of work in excess

of the applicable minimum standards of the provisions of this

Act. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the validity

or change the terms of bona fide collective bargaining

agreements in force on the effective date of this Act. After

the effective date of this Act, requirements of this Act may be

waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, but

only if the waiver is set forth explicitly in such agreement in

clear and unambiguous terms.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January

1, 2024.