Bill Text: IL SB0486 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Enrolled
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning legislative intent.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-6)
Status: (Passed) 2018-08-10 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0781 [SB0486 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SB0486-Enrolled.html
Bill Title: Amends the Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning legislative intent.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-6)
Status: (Passed) 2018-08-10 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0781 [SB0486 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-SB0486-Enrolled.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning revenue.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Section 10-5 and by adding Division 20 of Article 10 as | ||||||
6 | follows:
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7 | (35 ILCS 200/10-5)
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8 | Sec. 10-5. Solar energy systems; definitions. It is the | ||||||
9 | policy of this
State that the use of solar energy systems | ||||||
10 | should be encouraged because they
conserve nonrenewable | ||||||
11 | resources, reduce pollution and promote the health and
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12 | well-being of the people of this State, and should be valued in | ||||||
13 | relation to
these benefits.
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14 | (a) "Solar energy" means radiant energy received from
the | ||||||
15 | sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic | ||||||
16 | use,
or photovoltaic use.
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17 | (b) "Solar collector" means
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18 | (1) An assembly, structure, or design, including | ||||||
19 | passive elements,
used for gathering, concentrating, or | ||||||
20 | absorbing direct and indirect
solar energy, specially | ||||||
21 | designed for holding a substantial amount of
useful thermal | ||||||
22 | energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or
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23 | liquid or to use that energy directly; or
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1 | (2) A mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts | ||||||
2 | it into
electricity; or
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3 | (3) A mechanism or process used for gathering solar | ||||||
4 | energy through
wind or thermal gradients; or
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5 | (4) A component used to transfer thermal energy to a | ||||||
6 | gas, solid, or
liquid, or to convert it into electricity.
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7 | (c) "Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements | ||||||
8 | (such as
piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat | ||||||
9 | exchangers, or controls
thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or | ||||||
10 | combinations thereof) that are
utilized for storing solar | ||||||
11 | energy, gathered by a solar collector, for
subsequent use.
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12 | (d) "Solar energy system" means
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13 | (1)(A) A complete assembly, structure, or design of | ||||||
14 | solar
collector, or a solar storage mechanism, which uses | ||||||
15 | solar energy for
generating electricity that is primarily
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16 | consumed on the property on which the solar energy system
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17 | resides, or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids,
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18 | or other materials for the primary benefit of the property
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19 | on which the solar energy system resides ;
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20 | (B) The design, materials, or elements of a system and | ||||||
21 | its
maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the | ||||||
22 | necessary
components, if any, of supplemental conventional | ||||||
23 | energy systems designed
or constructed to interface with a | ||||||
24 | solar energy system; and
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25 | (C) Any legal, financial, or institutional orders, | ||||||
26 | certificates, or
mechanisms, including easements, leases, |
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1 | and agreements, required to
ensure continued access to | ||||||
2 | solar energy, its source, or its use in a
solar energy | ||||||
3 | system, and including monitoring and educational elements
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4 | of a demonstration project.
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5 | (2) "Solar energy system" does not include
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6 | (A) Distribution equipment that is equally usable | ||||||
7 | in a conventional
energy system except for those | ||||||
8 | components of the equipment that are
necessary for | ||||||
9 | meeting the requirements of efficient solar energy | ||||||
10 | utilization;
and
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11 | (B) Components of a solar energy system that serve | ||||||
12 | structural,
insulating, protective, shading, | ||||||
13 | aesthetic, or other non-solar energy
utilization | ||||||
14 | purposes, as defined in the regulations of the | ||||||
15 | Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity ; and .
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16 | (C) A commercial solar energy system, as defined
by | ||||||
17 | this Code, in counties with fewer than 3,000,000
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18 | inhabitants.
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19 | (3) The solar energy system shall conform to the | ||||||
20 | standards for those
systems established by regulation of | ||||||
21 | the Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity.
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22 | (Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)
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23 | (35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 20 heading new) | ||||||
24 | Division 20. Commercial Solar Energy Systems |
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1 | (35 ILCS 200/10-720 new) | ||||||
2 | Sec. 10-720. Definitions. For the purpose of this Division
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3 | 20: | ||||||
4 | "Allowance for physical depreciation" means (i) the actual | ||||||
5 | age
in years of the commercial solar energy system on the | ||||||
6 | assessment
date divided by 25 years, multiplied by (ii) its | ||||||
7 | trended real property
cost basis. The physical depreciation, | ||||||
8 | however, may not reduce
the value of the commercial solar | ||||||
9 | energy system to less than 30%
of its trended real property | ||||||
10 | cost basis. | ||||||
11 | "Commercial solar energy system" means any device or
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12 | assembly of devices that (i) is ground installed and (ii) uses
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13 | solar energy from the sun for generating electricity for the
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14 | primary purpose of wholesale or retail sale and not primarily
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15 | for consumption on the property on which the device or devices
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16 | reside. | ||||||
17 | "Commercial solar energy system real property cost basis"
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18 | means the owner of a commercial solar energy system's
interest | ||||||
19 | in the land within the project boundaries and real
property | ||||||
20 | improvements and shall be calculated at $218,000 per megawatt | ||||||
21 | of
nameplate capacity. For the purposes of this Section,
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22 | "nameplate capacity" has the same definition as found in | ||||||
23 | Section
1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act. | ||||||
24 | "Ground installed" means the installation of a commercial
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25 | solar energy system, with the primary purpose of solar energy
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26 | generation for wholesale or retail sale, on a parcel or tract |
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1 | of
land. | ||||||
2 | "Trended real property cost basis" means the commercial
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3 | solar energy system real property cost basis multiplied by the
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4 | trending factor. | ||||||
5 | "Trending factor" means a number equal to the Consumer
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6 | Price Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the
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7 | Bureau of Labor Statistics for the December immediately
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8 | preceding the assessment date, divided by the Consumer Price
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9 | Index (U.S. city average all items) published by the Bureau of
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10 | Labor Statistics for December of 2017.
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11 | (35 ILCS 200/10-725 new) | ||||||
12 | Sec. 10-725. Improvement valuation of commercial solar
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13 | energy systems in counties with fewer than 3,000,000
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14 | inhabitants. Beginning in assessment year 2018, the fair cash
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15 | value of commercial solar energy system improvements in | ||||||
16 | counties
with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be | ||||||
17 | determined by
subtracting the allowance for physical | ||||||
18 | depreciation from the
trended real property cost basis. | ||||||
19 | Functional obsolescence and
external obsolescence of the solar | ||||||
20 | energy device may further
reduce the fair cash value of the | ||||||
21 | commercial solar energy system
improvements, to the extent they | ||||||
22 | are proved by the taxpayer by
clear and convincing evidence.
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23 | (35 ILCS 200/10-735 new) | ||||||
24 | Sec. 10-735. Commercial solar energy systems not subject to
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1 | equalization. Commercial solar energy systems assessable under
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2 | this Division are not subject to equalization factors applied | ||||||
3 | by
the Department or any board of review, assessor, or chief | ||||||
4 | county
assessment officer.
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5 | (35 ILCS 200/10-740 new) | ||||||
6 | Sec. 10-740. Survey for ground installed commercial solar
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7 | energy systems; parcel identification numbers for property
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8 | improved with a ground installed commercial solar energy | ||||||
9 | system.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner | ||||||
10 | of the
ground installed commercial solar energy system shall | ||||||
11 | commission
a metes and bounds survey description of the land | ||||||
12 | upon which the
commercial solar energy system is installed, | ||||||
13 | including access
routes, over which the owner of the commercial | ||||||
14 | solar energy
system has exclusive control. The owner of the | ||||||
15 | ground installed
commercial solar energy system shall, at his | ||||||
16 | or her own expense,
use an Illinois-registered land surveyor to | ||||||
17 | prepare the survey.
The owner of the ground installed | ||||||
18 | commercial solar energy system
shall deliver a copy of the | ||||||
19 | survey to the chief county
assessment officer and to the owner | ||||||
20 | of the land upon which the
ground installed commercial solar | ||||||
21 | energy system is constructed. Upon receiving a copy of the | ||||||
22 | survey and an agreed acknowledgement to the separate parcel | ||||||
23 | identification number by the owner of the land upon which the | ||||||
24 | ground installed commercial solar energy system is | ||||||
25 | constructed, the chief county assessment officer shall issue a |
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1 | separate parcel identification for the real property | ||||||
2 | improvements, including the land containing the ground | ||||||
3 | installed commercial solar energy system, to be used only for | ||||||
4 | the purposes of property assessment for taxation. The property | ||||||
5 | records shall contain the legal description of the
commercial | ||||||
6 | solar energy system parcel and describe any leasehold
interest | ||||||
7 | or other interest of the owner of the commercial solar
energy | ||||||
8 | system in the property. A plat prepared under this
Section | ||||||
9 | shall not be construed as a violation of the Plat Act.
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10 | (35 ILCS 200/10-745 new) | ||||||
11 | Sec. 10-745. Real estate taxes. Notwithstanding the
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12 | provisions of Section 9-175 of this Code, the owner of the
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13 | commercial solar energy system shall be liable for the real
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14 | estate taxes for the land and real property improvements of a
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15 | ground installed commercial solar energy system.
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16 | Notwithstanding the forgoing, the owner of the land upon which | ||||||
17 | a
commercial solar energy system is installed may pay any | ||||||
18 | unpaid
tax of the commercial solar energy system parcel prior | ||||||
19 | to the
initiation of any tax sale proceedings.
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20 | (35 ILCS 200/10-750 new) | ||||||
21 | Sec. 10-750. Property assessed as farmland. | ||||||
22 | Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, real property | ||||||
23 | assessed as farmland
in accordance with Section 10-110 in the | ||||||
24 | assessment year prior
to valuation under this Division shall |
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1 | return to being assessed
as farmland in accordance with Section | ||||||
2 | 10-110 in the year
following completion of the removal of the | ||||||
3 | commercial solar
energy system as long as the property is | ||||||
4 | returned to a farm use
as defined in Section 1-60 of this Act, | ||||||
5 | notwithstanding that the
land was not used for farming for the | ||||||
6 | 2 preceding years.
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7 | (35 ILCS 200/10-755 new) | ||||||
8 | Sec. 10-755. Abatements. Any taxing district, upon a
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9 | majority vote of its governing authority, may, after the
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10 | determination of the assessed valuation as set forth in this
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11 | Code, order the clerk of the appropriate municipality or county
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12 | to abate any portion of real property taxes otherwise levied or
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13 | extended by the taxing district on a commercial solar energy
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14 | system.
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15 | (35 ILCS 200/10-760 new) | ||||||
16 | Sec. 10-760. Applicability. The provisions of this | ||||||
17 | Division
apply for assessment years 2018 through 2033.
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18 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
19 | becoming law.
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