ISACo News and Views Newsletter for January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

ISACo News and Views

This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly News and Views e-newsletter provides information about the return of the General Assembly this week, announces the availability of ISACo's 2020 tracked bill list, alerts counties to a bill proposing to reduce county taxing authority over recreational cannabis sales, reports on a new law intending to assist local governments to ensure they are receiving the full amount of sales taxes owed, makes counties aware that some cannabis dispensaries are charging improper tax rates, urges county officials to save the date for ISACo's 2020 Lobby Day, asks county officials to follow ISACo on social media and invites counties to join ISACo.

ISACo is pleased to welcome Calhoun and Lawrence Counties as our newest members.

2020 ISACo Legislative Agenda

ISACo's 2020 Illinois County Action Program (ICAP) is available via this link.

ISACo's 2020 County Platform is available via this link.

ISACo's 2020 Policy Resolutions are available via this link.

Please visit our website (www.isacoil.org) for additional resources and information.

COUNTIES COUNT!

General Assembly Convenes this Week

Legislators arrive in Springfield this week to begin the second year of the 101st General Assembly.

On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, the Illinois House and Senate will meet in the House chamber to hear Governor J.B. Pritzker's "State of the State" address.

Spring Session Schedule

The Illinois House of Representatives has a total of 60 scheduled session days in 2020. Eight of these session days are "perfunctory," meaning legislators will not actually convene on these days.

The Illinois Senate has 53 scheduled session days in 2020. Three of these days are perfunctory session days.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020, is the first day legislators in both chambers will be in Springfield for an active session day.

The session schedules for the House and Senate are available via the respective links.

ISACo Launches 2020 Tracked Bill List

ISACo maintains an updated list of legislation of interest to counties. This list is organized by category and available within the legislative section of our website and via this link.

Throughout the 2020 session, ISACo will update this list to reflect new bills and amendments. Our tracked bill list includes the following information: (1) ISACo bill positions; (2) whether a bill proposes an unfunded state mandate; and (3) if the bill would result in a revenue reduction to counties.

In addition to our list of tracked bills by category, ISACo publishes a separate list containing only those bills on which we have taken a position. This list, available via this link, will be updated as necessary.

Legislation Filed to Reduce County Cannabis Tax

Legislation was filed on January 17, 2020, to cap the taxing authority possessed by counties on recreational cannabis sales when the sales occur within a library district. ISACo opposes this legislation.

HB 4135 (Representative Didech, D-Buffalo Grove) is intended to generate a revenue stream for library districts at the expense of a portion of the taxing authority bestowed to counties within the new recreational cannabis law. The bill proposes that, if a recreational cannabis retailer is located within a library district imposing a tax not to exceed 1% on cannabis sales, the county would see its own taxing authority reduced by 1% on sales within the library district.

The legislation proposes that only counties lose some taxing authority and does not reduce the taxing authority of municipalities.

It must be remembered that counties were granted taxing authority on recreational cannabis sales to defray the anticipated additional cost burden confronting public safety, health and human services. These cost impacts are not experienced by library districts. HB 4135 is therefore a revenue grab to divert money from counties to libraries. By decoupling the relationship between the taxing authority and newly-imposed social costs, the bill opens the door for other taxing districts to argue for a share of county revenue. ISACo Opposes

Governor Signs Local Government Revenue Recapture Act into Law

On January 24, 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB 1881 into law as P.A. 101-0628.

The new law ( available via this link ) creates the Local Government Revenue Recapture Act to provide that a municipality or county that receives a disbursement of sales tax proceeds from the Department of Revenue (IDOR) may contract with a third party for the purpose of ensuring that the municipality or county receives the amount to which it is entitled. The bill establishes requirements that must be met by third party entities contracting with local governments to provide the audit service.

IDOR: Dispensaries Charging Incorrect Tax Rates on Cannabis Sales

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is aware that some cannabis dispensaries are incorrectly calculating the taxes due on cannabis sales, resulting in an overcollection of taxes.

IDOR released a compliance alert instructing dispensaries to collect only those taxes authorized by law. Some dispensaries have been collecting taxes using incorrect rates, collecting county and municipal taxes earlier than permitted and charging adult-use rates and medical rates on a single sale.

Any improperly collected taxes must be remitted to purchasers or sent to IDOR.

The IDOR compliance report is available via this link.

Save the Date! ISACo Lobby Day Scheduled for April 29, 2020

ISACo will host its first Lobby Day event on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, in Springfield. The day will include a morning legislative briefing, an opportunity for attendees to lobby their legislators at the Statehouse and an early evening reception to conclude the day's activities.

Additional information will be provided about this event in the future. We look forward to seeing you there!

Follow ISACo on Social Media

A great way to stay current on issues affecting or of interest to counties is by following ISACo on social media. Please follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed and join the conversation!

Click here to visit our Facebook page.

@Isacoil

Click here to visit our Twitter feed.

@IsacoTweets

The Key to ISACo's Success is YOU!

Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?

ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.

ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.

Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.

If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at (217) 679-3368 or jmccoy@isacoil.org. Thank you for your consideration.

News and Views is a service provided by ISACo for county officials and staff. Please feel welcome to share with interested parties. You can contact ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy at jmccoy@isacoil.org or (217) 679-3368 if we can be of service. Thank you for your support of ISACo.