Sen. Mike Halpin

Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning definitions.

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Code does not apply to the leasing of State-owned facilities by a wireless carrier. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates credit for the cost of equipment and materials used in the business of providing broadband services in a county in the State with a population of fewer than 40,000 people or a township in the State with a population density of less than 50 households per square mile in a county with a population of less than 300,000 people. Provides that the credit does not apply to equipment and materials placed in service after December 31, 2026. Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act to exempt equipment and materials used to provide broadband services in a county in the State with a population of fewer than 40,000 people or a township in the State with a population density of less than 50 households per square mile in a county with a population of less than 300,000 people. Effective immediately.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Governor shall visit the institutions, facilities, and programs of the Department of Corrections as often as the Governor deems fit, for the purpose of enquiring (rather than examining) into the affairs and conditions of the Department. Provides that a member of the General Assembly may visit the institutions, facilities, and programs of the Department of Corrections, upon request of the member, for the purpose of enquiring into the affairs and conditions of the Department.

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the energy transition assistance charge shall not exceed 1.3% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by eligible retail customers during the year ending May 31, 2009.

Creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act. Creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Program to be administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Creates various tax incentives for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips, or semiconductor or microchip component parts, subject to an agreement with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act, the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the Property Tax Code, the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, the Electricity Excise Tax Law, and the Public Utilities Act. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 35 ILCS 105/12 from Ch. 120, par. 439.12 35 ILCS 110/12 from Ch. 120, par. 439.42 35 ILCS 115/12 from Ch. 120, par. 439.112 Makes changes to the introduced bill as follows: (1) provides that credits awarded under the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act apply for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025 (in the introduced bill, January 1, 2026 in certain places); (2) in the Illinois Income Tax Act, makes changes concerning applicability of the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act to pass-through entities; and (3) makes conforming changes in the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, and the Service Occupation Tax Act concerning the building materials exemption for microchip and semiconductor manufacturing created in the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.

Amends the Illinois Highway Code. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if a municipality maintains a list of entities deemed by the municipality to be nonresponsible bidders and the municipality has its bidding process conducted by the Department of Transportation, the Department may not award all or part of any contract for work to be performed within that municipality to an entity deemed by that municipality to be a nonresponsible bidder. Excludes Department projects on State routes that pass through such a municipality. Effective June 1, 2021.

Amends the Forest Preserve Zoological Parks Act. Provides that a zoological park shall be open to the public without charge for at least one day for every 30 days (rather than every 7 days) the zoological park is open. Removes provisions which required a zoological park to be open to the public without charge for at least one day for every 14 days from June 12, 2020 through June 30, 2022. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Highway Code. Allows, under certain circumstances, the Department of Transportation to sell certain real property related to the Interstate 74 Iowa-Illinois Corridor Project and declared excess. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. In provisions concerning the renewable portfolio standards, specifies the goals for procurement of renewable energy credits and cost-effective renewable energy resources that shall be included in the long-term renewable resources procurement plan and makes other changes concerning these procurements and provides for the calculation of the cost of equity for the purposes of recovering all reasonable and prudently incurred costs of energy efficiency measures from retail customers. Provides that savings of fuels other than electricity achieved by measures that educate about, incentivize, encourage, or otherwise support the use of electricity to power vehicles shall count towards the applicable annual incremental goal and shall not be included in determining certain limits. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 customers in this State may plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate photovoltaic electricity production facilities and any energy storage facilities that are planned for, constructed, installed, controlled, owned, managed, or operated in connection with photovoltaic electricity production facilities without obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity subject to specified terms and conditions. Provides that a public utility that provided electric service to at least 1,000,000 retail customers in Illinois and gas service to at least 500,000 retail customers in Illinois may elect to recover its natural gas delivery services costs through a performance-based rate. Provides that, beginning in 2022, without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required, a participating utility that is a combination utility shall pay $1,000,000 per year for 10 years to the energy low-income and support program. Adds provisions authorizing certain utilities to plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Amends the Prevailing Wage Act to include specified facilities financed in whole or in part with renewable energy resources in the definition of "public works". Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. In the definition of "member", provides that in the case of a survivor, if the deceased employee was a member under the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois, the State Universities Retirement System, or the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois and died as a result of homicide during the course of his or her employment under one of those retirement systems, the deceased employee need not have met the minimum vesting requirements for the survivor to be eligible for group insurance benefits under the applicable retirement system. Provides that the changes made to the definition by the amendatory Act apply retroactively to January 13, 2012 (the effective date of Public Act 97-668). Effective immediately.