Bill Text: IL HB4657 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that provisions creating a housing opportunity abatement program apply through tax year 2034 (currently, 2024). Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-11 - Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi [HB4657 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4657-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4657 Introduced , by Rep. Margaret Croke SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 200/18-173
Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that provisions creating a housing opportunity abatement program apply through tax year 2034 (currently, 2024). Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 18-173 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/18-173)
Sec. 18-173. Housing opportunity area abatement program.
(a) For the purpose of promoting access to housing near
work and in order to promote economic diversity throughout
Illinois and to alleviate the concentration of low-income
households in areas of high poverty, a housing opportunity
area tax abatement program is created.
(b) As used in this Section:
"Housing authority" means either a housing authority
created under the Housing Authorities Act or other government
agency that is authorized by the United States government
under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to administer a
housing choice voucher program, or the authorized agent of
such a housing authority that is authorized to act upon that
authority's behalf.
"Housing choice voucher" means a tenant voucher issued by
a housing authority under Section 8 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 and a tenant voucher converted to a

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project-based voucher by a housing authority.
"Housing opportunity area" means a census tract where less
than 10% of the residents live below the poverty level, as
defined by the United States government and determined by the
most recent United States census, that is located within a
qualified township, except for census tracts located within
any township that is located wholly within a municipality with
1,000,000 or more inhabitants. A census tract that is located
within a township that is located wholly within a municipality
with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants is considered a housing
opportunity area if less than 12% of the residents of the
census tract live below the poverty level.
"Housing opportunity unit" means a dwelling unit located
in residential property that is located in a housing
opportunity area, that is owned by the applicant, and that is
rented to and occupied by a tenant who is participating in a
housing choice voucher program administered by a housing
authority as of January 1st of the tax year for which the
application is made.
"Qualified units" means the number of housing opportunity
units located in the property with the limitation that no more
than 2 units or 20% of the total units contained within the
property, whichever is greater, may be considered qualified
units. Further, no unit may be considered qualified unless the
property in which it is contained is in substantial compliance
with local building codes, and, moreover, no unit may be

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considered qualified unless it meets the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development's housing quality
standards as of the most recent housing authority inspection.
"Qualified township" means a township located within a
county with 200,000 or more inhabitants whose tax capacity
exceeds 80% of the average tax capacity of the county in which
it is located, except for townships located within a county
with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, where a qualified township
means a township whose tax capacity exceeds 115% of the
average tax capacity of the county except for townships
located wholly within a municipality with 1,000,000 or more
inhabitants. All townships located wholly within a
municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants are considered
qualified townships.
"Tax capacity" means the equalized assessed value of all
taxable real estate located within a township or county
divided by the total population of that township or county.
(c) The owner of property located within a housing
opportunity area who has a housing choice voucher contract
with a housing authority may apply for a housing opportunity
area tax abatement by annually submitting an application to
the housing authority that administers the housing choice
voucher contract. The application must include the number of
housing opportunity units as well as the total number of
dwelling units contained within the property. The owner must,
under oath, self-certify as to the total number of dwelling

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units in the property and must self-certify that the property
is in substantial compliance with local building codes. The
housing authority shall annually determine the number of
qualified units located within each property for which an
application is made.
The housing authority shall establish rules and procedures
governing the application processes and may charge an
application fee. The county clerk may audit the applications
to determine that the properties subject to the tax abatement
meet the requirements of this Section. The determination of
eligibility of a property for the housing opportunity area
abatement shall be made annually; however, no property may
receive an abatement for more than 10 tax years.
(d) The housing authority shall determine housing
opportunity areas within its service area and annually deliver
to the county clerk, in a manner determined by the county
clerk, a list of all properties containing qualified units
within that service area by December 31st of the tax year for
which the property is eligible for abatement; the list shall
include the number of qualified units and the total number of
dwelling units for each property.
The county clerk shall deliver annually to a housing
authority, upon that housing authority's request, the most
recent available equalized assessed value for the county as a
whole and for those taxing districts and townships so
specified by the requesting housing authority.

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(e) The county clerk shall abate the tax attributed to a
portion of the property determined to be eligible for a
housing opportunity area abatement. The portion eligible for
abatement shall be determined by reducing the equalized
assessment value by a percentage calculated using the
following formula: 19% of the equalized assessed value of the
property multiplied by a fraction where the numerator is the
number of qualified units and denominator is the total number
of dwelling units located within the property.
(f) Any municipality, except for municipalities with
1,000,000 or more inhabitants, may annually petition the
county clerk to be excluded from a housing opportunity area if
it is able to demonstrate that more than 2.5% of the total
residential units located within that municipality are
occupied by tenants under the housing choice voucher program.
Properties located within an excluded municipality shall not
be eligible for the housing opportunity area abatement for the
tax year in which the petition is made.
(g) Applicability. This Section applies to tax years 2004
through 2034 2024, unless extended by law.
(Source: P.A. 98-957, eff. 8-15-14.)