IAR Commercial State Legislative Report

ILLINOIS REALTORS – COMMERCIAL STATE LEGISLATIVE REPORT – 2016 Spring Session of the Illinois General Assembly  The following are bills that are presently being considered in the General Assembly. Property Tax Assessment of Large Retail Stores.  Senate Bill 2367, Senate Amendment #1 (Stadelman) seeks to establish a new method of assessing the taxable value of a particular subset of commercial property.  That subset would be: buildings that are 50,000 square feet or more and the owner or tenant is primarily engaged in retail sales.  The proposed new method would prohibit the use of comparables in the valuation of these properties.  We OPPOSE.  STATUS:  The sponsor did NOT call SB 2367 in the Senate Revenue Committee during the week of April 4.  The sponsor plans to meet with Illinois REALTORS and other opponents in the weeks to come to discuss this bill. Limitation on Retainage Provisions.  House Bill 4670 (Thapedi), amending the Contractor Prompt Payment Act, provides that construction contracts cannot withhold more than 5% retainage on payments to contractors and subcontractors.  We OPPOSE.  STATUS:  HB 4670 was also approved in the House Judiciary Civil Law Committee on a roll call vote of 7-4-0 and the bill is pending final approval on the House floor.  We will continue to actively oppose this bill.  Similar measures have been rejected in prior sessions. “Criminal Building Management.”  House Bill 6036 (Willis, Cavaletto, Moffitt, Daniel Burke, Scherer) creates the offense of criminal building management.  The bill provides that a person commits the offense when, having personal or professional management or control of commercial real estate, whether as a legal or equitable owner or as a managing agent or otherwise, he or she recklessly permits or causes the physical condition or facilities of the commercial real estate to become or remain in any condition which endangers the health or safety of a first responder and: (1) the condition endangering the health or safety of a first responder was a building code violation or resulted from work done without a proper permit; (2) the condition endangering the health or safety of a first responder is determined to be a contributing factor in the injury or death of that first responder; and (3) the person recklessly conceals or attempts to conceal the condition that endangered the health or safety of the first responder that is found to be a contributing factor in that injury or death. Provides that criminal building management is a Class 4 felony.  The REALTORS® currently OPPOSE HB 6036, but are negotiating with the sponsor and proponents to see if we can put further protection for inadvertent, minor, or unknowing violations of this new Act.  STATUS:  HB 6036 was not called in Committee on April 5th by the sponsor, but is expected to be called in the near future. “Green SSAs.”  The House Revenue and Finance Committee had a subject matter hearing on April 6th on the issue of Special Service Areas (SSAs).  The Illinois REALTORS® has tracked this issue and been involved in reforms over the past several years.  Our concerns have typically focused on the need to enhance knowledge of the property owners and transparency of the taxes.  One SSA-related bill is  Senate Bill 116 (Biss/Lang) which would allow the creation of a green SSA for providing special services that are energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy improvements, water use improvements or a combination of those elements in any multi-family residential, commercial or industrial building, structure or other facility.  A municipality or a county would be authorized to establish multiple green special service areas pursuant to a single ordinance and can include multiple buildings, structures, facilities, improvements or lots/parcels in a single green SSA.  A property can ONLY be included where the owner of record has executed a contract or agreement consenting to the inclusion of the property within the green SSA.   STATUS:  This bill passed out of the Senate in 2015 and is currently pending in Committee in the House.  Illinois REALTORS is neutral on this bill. Broader Lien Authority for Municipalities.  Illinois REALTORS oppose Senate Bill 3038 (Jones) which amends the sections of the Municipal Code dealing with certain property nuisance liens.  This bill would grant all municipalities the authority to seek a judgment lien against ALL the real estate of the owner, rather than just against the offending property.  STATUS:  This bill is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Submitted by Michael Scobey, Staff Liaison to the Illinois REALTORS’ Commercial/Industrial/Investment Committee