Bill Text: IL SB0225 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Invest in Kids Act. Provides that qualified contributions made on or after June 1, 2024 may be used only to provide scholarships to eligible students who attend a technical academy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-01-31 - Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Linda Holmes [SB0225 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB0225-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0225

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Sen. Cristina Castro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 40/5
35 ILCS 40/10

Amends the Invest in Kids Act. Provides that qualified contributions made on or after June 1, 2024 may be used only to provide scholarships to eligible students who attend a technical academy.
LRB103 25959 HLH 52311 b

A BILL FOR

SB0225LRB103 25959 HLH 52311 b
1 AN ACT concerning revenue.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by changing
5Sections 5 and 10 as follows:
6 (35 ILCS 40/5)
7 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)
8 Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
9 "Authorized contribution" means the contribution amount
10that is listed on the contribution authorization certificate
11issued to the taxpayer.
12 "Board" means the State Board of Education.
13 "Contribution" means a donation made by the taxpayer
14during the taxable year for providing scholarships as provided
15in this Act.
16 "Custodian" means, with respect to eligible students, an
17Illinois resident who is a parent or legal guardian of the
18eligible student or students.
19 "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
20 "Eligible student" means a child who:
21 (1) is a member of a household whose federal adjusted
22 gross income the year before he or she initially receives
23 a scholarship under this program, as determined by the

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1 Department, does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty
2 level and, once the child receives a scholarship, does not
3 exceed 400% of the federal poverty level;
4 (2) is eligible to attend a public elementary school
5 or high school in Illinois in the semester immediately
6 preceding the semester for which he or she first receives
7 a scholarship or is starting school in Illinois for the
8 first time when he or she first receives a scholarship;
9 and
10 (3) resides in Illinois while receiving a scholarship.
11 "Family member" means a parent, child, or sibling, whether
12by whole blood, half blood, or adoption; spouse; or stepchild.
13 "Focus district" means a school district which has a
14school that is either (i) a school that has one or more
15subgroups in which the average student performance is at or
16below the State average for the lowest 10% of student
17performance in that subgroup or (ii) a school with an average
18graduation rate of less than 60% and not identified for
19priority.
20 "Jointly administered CTE program" means a program or set
21of programs within a non-public school located in Illinois, as
22determined by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
237.5 of this Act.
24 "Necessary costs and fees" includes the customary charge
25for instruction and use of facilities in general and the
26additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are

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1required generally of non-scholarship recipients for each
2academic period for which the scholarship applicant actually
3enrolls, including costs associated with student assessments,
4but does not include fees payable only once and other
5contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part.
6The Board may prescribe, by rules consistent with this Act,
7detailed provisions concerning the computation of necessary
8costs and fees.
9 "Scholarship granting organization" means an entity that:
10 (1) is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of
11 the Internal Revenue Code;
12 (2) uses at least 95% of the qualified contributions
13 received during a taxable year for scholarships;
14 (3) provides scholarships to students according to the
15 guidelines of this Act;
16 (4) deposits and holds qualified contributions and any
17 income derived from qualified contributions in an account
18 that is separate from the organization's operating fund or
19 other funds until such qualified contributions or income
20 are withdrawn for use; and
21 (5) is approved to issue certificates of receipt.
22 "Technical academy" means a non-public school located in
23Illinois that: (1) registers with the Board pursuant to
24Section 2-3.25 of the School Code; and (2) operates or will
25operate a jointly administered CTE program as the primary
26focus of the school. To maintain its status as a technical

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1academy, the non-public school must obtain recognition from
2the Board pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code
3within 2 calendar years of its registration with the Board.
4 "Qualified contribution" means the authorized contribution
5made by a taxpayer to a scholarship granting organization for
6which the taxpayer has received a certificate of receipt from
7such organization. Qualified contributions made on or after
8June 1, 2024 may be used only to provide scholarships to
9eligible students who attend a technical academy.
10 "Qualified school", for contributions made prior to June
111, 2024, means a non-public school located in Illinois and
12recognized by the Board pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the
13School Code. On and after June 1, 2024, "qualified school"
14means a technical academy located in Illinois and recognized
15by the Board pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code.
16 "Scholarship" means an educational scholarship awarded to
17an eligible student to attend a qualified school of their
18custodians' choice in an amount not exceeding the necessary
19costs and fees to attend that school.
20 "Taxpayer" means any individual, corporation, partnership,
21trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois income tax. For
22the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing a joint return
23shall be considered one taxpayer.
24(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)
25 (35 ILCS 40/10)

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1 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)
2 Sec. 10. Credit awards.
3 (a) The Department shall award credits against the tax
4imposed under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of the
5Illinois Income Tax Act to taxpayers who make qualified
6contributions. For contributions made under this Act, the
7credit shall be equal to 75% of the total amount of qualified
8contributions made by the taxpayer during a taxable year, not
9to exceed a credit of $1,000,000 per taxpayer.
10 (b) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may
11award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed
12$75,000,000.
13 (c) Contributions made by corporations (including
14Subchapter S corporations), partnerships, and trusts under
15this Act may not be directed to a particular subset of schools,
16a particular school, a particular group of students, or a
17particular student. Contributions made by individuals under
18this Act may be directed to a particular subset of schools or a
19particular school but may not be directed to a particular
20group of students or a particular student.
21 (d) No credit shall be taken under this Act for any
22qualified contribution for which the taxpayer claims a federal
23income tax deduction.
24 (e) Credits shall be awarded in a manner, as determined by
25the Department, that is geographically proportionate to
26enrollment in recognized non-public schools in Illinois. If

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1the cap on the aggregate credits that may be awarded by the
2Department is not reached by June 1 of a given year, the
3Department shall award remaining credits on a first-come,
4first-served basis, without regard to the limitation of this
5subsection.
6 (f) Prior to June 1, 2024, credits Credits awarded for
7donations made to a technical academy shall be awarded without
8regard to subsection (e), but shall not exceed 15% of the
9annual statewide program cap. For the purposes of this
10subsection, "technical academy" means a technical academy that
11is registered with the Board within 30 days after the
12effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
13Assembly.
14(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)
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