Budget & Taxes

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall create a small business financing program to provide low-interest financing to small businesses that secure State contracts to assist with the fulfilment of those contracts. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Department of Central Management Services shall, in consultation with State agencies, develop a scorecard for the assessment of bids from businesses that have annual gross sales of less than $15,000,000 as evidenced by the federal income tax return of the business. Makes changes in provisions concerning the advertisement of bids to small businesses.

Makes various appropriations from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services and the Illinois Housing Development Authority for housing programs and related services for formerly incarcerated individuals. Effective July 1, 2025.

Makes appropriations for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, as follows: General Funds $11,990,000; Other State Funds $15,606,000; Total $27,596,000.

Appropriates $10,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Agency for grants to Community Resource Healing Centers (CHRC)for their operational expenses. Effective July 1, 2025.

Makes appropriations for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Eastern Illinois University for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, as follows: General Funds $49,395,200; Other State Funds $7,000; Total $49,402,200.

Appropriates $50,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for a grant to NORC at the University of Chicago for the purposes of data collection of supply and demand. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Makes certain changes concerning estates that contain qualified farm property. Provides that, for the purposes of calculating the State Death Tax Credit, those estates are subject to an exemption of $6,000,000 (rather than an exclusion amount of $4,000,000), which shall be deducted from the net estate value after the net estate value is computed in accordance with the Act. Provides that the exemption shall be adjusted each year according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index. Makes changes concerning the calculation of the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for those estates. Provides for a special use valuation to provide that the value of the qualified farm property shall be calculated without regard to certain limitations under the Internal Revenue Code. Makes changes concerning the definition of "qualified heir".

Amends the Film Production Services Tax Credit Act of 2008. Provides that accredited productions shall be considered Category 1 productions or Category 2 productions. Provides that a Category 1 production is an accredited production that meets the following criteria: (1) at least 75% of all principal filming or taping days of the accredited production that occur at any soundstage facility within or without Illinois occur at a qualified production facility; and (2) at least 20% of the total expenditures for the accredited production are for (i) tangible property that will be used at a qualified production facility or for the use of the qualified production facility; (ii) the performance of services at a qualified production facility; or (iii) any combination of (i) and (ii). Makes changes concerning the amount of the credit. Makes changes concerning the number of nonresident employees whose wages may be considered Illinois labor expenditures. Makes changes concerning the definition of "qualified production facility". Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make changes concerning withholdings for loan out company employees. Effective immediately.

Creates the Illinois Rust Belt to Green Belt Pilot Program Act. Creates the Illinois Rust Belt to Green Belt Fund as a special fund in the State treasury and makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Provides that the Fund shall be used by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to encourage and facilitate the employment of construction workforces located in underrepresented populations. Provides that applicants that are applying for a new utility-scale offshore wind project with the Illinois Power Agency shall file with the Department, as part of the applicant's application, an equity and inclusion plan. Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. In provisions concerning the procurement of renewable energy credits, provides that in addition to the amount of renewable energy credits to be procured from wind projects, the Illinois Power Agency shall procure at least 700,000 renewable energy credits, delivered annually for at least 20 years, from one new utility-scale offshore wind project. In provisions concerning the development of a long-term renewable resources procurement plan, provides that the total of renewable energy resources procured under the procurement plan shall be reduced for all retail customers based on the amount necessary to limit the annual estimated average net increase due to the costs of these resources included in the amounts paid by eligible retail customers in connection with electric service to no more than 4.25% of the amount paid per kilowatthour by those customers during the year ending May 31, 2009, and to no more than 4.5% of that amount as of the billing month following the expected date that a new utility-scale offshore wind project commences commercial operations and is expected to begin delivering power to the PJM Interconnection, LLC transmission grid. Provides that the Agency shall conduct at least one new utility-scale offshore wind procurement within 360 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Defines terms. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Creates the State Agency and Grantee Bonus Prohibition Act. Provides that no State agency or hospital shall pay from State funds, in whole or in part, and no employee of a State agency or hospital may receive a bonus as all or part of his or her compensation, including such bonuses as may be received for work on capital projects. Provides that no grantee shall pay, and no employee or contract worker of a grantee may receive, a bonus paid from grant funds awarded for operational expenses as all or part of his or her compensation, including such bonuses as may be received for work on capital projects. Provides that State agencies who use bonuses paid to State employees shall provide an annual report to the General Assembly itemizing each bonus awarded, including the amount of the bonuses awarded, the purpose of the bonus, the position of the employees to whom bonuses were awarded, and the overall agency fiscal impact for the bonuses awarded in the prior fiscal year. Effective immediately.