Pub. 9 2019 Issue 3

8 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com End of Session Report – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly D uring the closing days of the 2019 Spring Legislative Session, Il- linois lawmakers passed several bills that will affect the bottom lines of virtually every taxpayer in Illinois. On the operating budget side, the General Assembly approved a $40 Billion State Budget. Part of that budget included a proposal to amend the State Constitution to authorize a graduated rate for the state income tax. The authority for a graduated rate would need voter approval in the November 2020 election before it could take effect. If approved by voters, the current 4.95% flat rate would be replaced by a graduated rate ranging from4.75%to 7.99%. With the Governor and the four legislative leaders leading the charge, the General Assembly also passed a series of bills to fund a $45 billion infrastructure program to pay for deferred maintenance of Illinois' roads, bridges, public transit system, and public buildings. This is easily the largest public works program in Illinois history. The infrastructure legislative package included a proposal to more effectively collect state and local sales taxes from remote retailers doing business in Illinois (Zappos, Wayfair, etc.), legalization and taxation of marijuana for recreational use, legalization of sports betting at casinos and race tracks, slot machine gaming at O'Hare and Midway airports, authorization for slot machine and video gambling at horse racing tracks, the addition of 6 new casinos (Chicago, Danville, Waukegan, South Suburbs, Rockford, andWilliamson County), a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase (to $2.98 per pack), a parking facility tax of 6% for daily parking and 9% for weekly and monthly parking. The infrastructure package also included legislation that will directly impact motor vehicle dealers after the Governor signs them into law. Below is a short description of legislation that will have the biggest impact on dealers. The Good Senate Bill 690 raises the cap on the maximum documentary service fee that a dealer can charge for performing services related to closing the sale of a vehicle from $179.81 to $300 starting January 1, 2020. The doc fee will remain subject to annual Consumer Price Index adjustments. This increase in the doc fee reflects the cost to dealers of complying with the increasing number of federal and state laws regulating the sale of motor vehicles such as the Red Flags Rule, amendments to the Risk Based Pricing