Public Act 103-0681
 
HB4719 EnrolledLRB103 36560 SPS 66667 b

    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act 
is amended by changing Sections 60 and 85 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 80/60)
    Sec. 60. Program implementation and enrollment.  Except as 
otherwise provided in Section 93 of this Act, the Program 
shall be implemented, and enrollment of employees shall begin 
in 2018. The Board shall establish an implementation timeline 
under which employers shall enroll their employees in the 
Program. The timeline shall include the date by which an 
employer must begin enrollment of its employees in the Program 
and the date by which enrollment must be complete. The Board 
shall adopt the implementation timeline at a public meeting of 
the Board and shall publicize the implementation timeline. The 
Board shall provide advance notice to employers of their 
enrollment date and the amount of time to complete enrollment. 
The enrollment deadline for employers with fewer than 25 
employees and more than 15 employees shall be no sooner than 
September 1, 2022. The enrollment deadline for employers with 
at least 5 employees but not more than 15 employees shall be no 
sooner than September 1, 2023. The provisions of this Section 
shall be in force after the Board opens the Program for 
enrollment.
    (a) Each employer shall establish a payroll deposit 
retirement savings arrangement to allow each employee to 
participate in the Program within the timeline set by the 
Board after the Program opens for enrollment.
    (b) Employers shall automatically enroll in the Program 
each of their employees who has not opted out of participation 
in the Program in the manner using the form described in 
subsection (c) of Section 55 of this Act and shall provide 
payroll deduction retirement savings arrangements for such 
employees and deposit, on behalf of such employees, these 
funds into the Program. Small employers may, but are not 
required to, provide payroll deduction retirement savings 
arrangements for each employee who elects to participate in 
the Program. Utilization of automatic enrollment by small 
employers may be allowed only if it does not create employer 
liability under the federal Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act.
    (c) Enrollees shall have the ability to select a 
contribution level into the Fund. This level may be expressed 
as a percentage of wages or as a dollar amount up to the 
deductible amount for the enrollee's taxable year under 
Section 219(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code. Enrollees 
may change their contribution level at any time, subject to 
rules promulgated by the Board. If an enrollee fails to select 
a contribution level using the form described in subsection 
(c) of Section 55 of this Act, then he or she shall contribute 
the default contribution rate of his or her wages to the 
Program, provided that such contributions shall not cause the 
enrollee's total contributions to IRAs for the year to exceed 
the deductible amount for the enrollee's taxable year under 
Section 219(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code.
    (d) Enrollees may select an investment option from the 
permitted investment options listed in Section 45 of this Act. 
Enrollees may change their investment option at any time, 
subject to rules promulgated by the Board. In the event that an 
enrollee fails to select an investment option, that enrollee 
shall be placed in the investment option selected by the Board 
as the default under subsection (c) of Section 45 of this Act. 
If the Board has not selected a default investment option 
under subsection (c) of Section 45 of this Act, then an 
enrollee who fails to select an investment option shall be 
placed in the life-cycle fund investment option.
    (e) Following initial implementation of the Program 
pursuant to this Section, at least once every year, 
participating employers may shall designate an open enrollment 
period during which employees who previously opted out of the 
Program may enroll in the Program.
    (f) (Blank). An employee who opts out of the Program who 
subsequently wants to participate through the participating 
employer's payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement may 
only enroll during the participating employer's designated 
open enrollment period or if permitted by the participating 
employer at an earlier time.
    (g) Employers shall retain the option at all times to set 
up a qualified retirement plan, including, but not limited to, 
any type of employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 
defined benefit plan or a 401(k), a Simplified Employee 
Pension (SEP) plan, or a Savings Incentive Match Plan for 
Employees (SIMPLE) plan, or to offer an automatic enrollment 
payroll deduction IRA, instead of facilitating their 
employees' having a payroll deposit retirement savings 
arrangement to allow employee participation in the Program.
    (h) An employee may terminate his or her participation in 
the Program at any time in a manner prescribed by the Board.
    (i) The Board shall establish and maintain an Internet 
website designed to assist employers in identifying private 
sector providers of retirement arrangements that can be set up 
by the employer rather than allowing employee participation in 
the Program under this Act; however, the Board shall only 
establish and maintain an Internet website under this 
subsection if there is sufficient interest in such an Internet 
website by private sector providers and if the private sector 
providers furnish the funding necessary to establish and 
maintain the Internet website. The Board must provide public 
notice of the availability of and the process for inclusion on 
the Internet website before it becomes publicly available. 
This Internet website must be available to the public before 
the Board opens the Program for enrollment, and the Internet 
website address must be included on any Internet website 
posting or other materials regarding the Program offered to 
the public by the Board.
(Source: P.A. 102-179, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
    (820 ILCS 80/85)
    Sec. 85. Penalties. 
    (a) An employer who fails without reasonable cause to 
enroll an employee in the Program within the time prescribed 
under Section 60 of this Act shall be subject to a penalty 
equal to: 
        (1) $250 per employee for the first calendar year the 
    employer is noncompliant; or 
        (2) $500 per employee for each subsequent calendar 
    year the employer is noncompliant; noncompliance does not 
    need to be consecutive to qualify for the $500 penalty. 
    The Department shall determine total employee count using 
the annual average from employer-reported quarterly data. 
    (b) After determining that an employer is subject to a 
penalty under this Section for a calendar year, the Department 
shall issue a notice of proposed assessment to such employer, 
stating the number of employees for which the penalty is 
proposed under item (1) of subsection (a) of this Section or 
the number of employees for which the penalty is proposed 
under item (2) of subsection (a) of this Section for such 
calendar year, and the total amount of penalties proposed. 
    Upon the expiration of 120 days after the date on which a 
notice of proposed assessment was issued, the penalties 
specified therein shall be deemed assessed, unless the 
employer had filed a protest with the Department under 
subsection (c) of this Section or come into full compliance 
with the Program as required under Section 60 of this Act. 
    If, within 120 days after the date on which it was issued, 
a protest of a notice of proposed assessment is filed under 
subsection (c) of this Section, the penalties specified 
therein shall be deemed assessed upon the date when the 
decision of the Department with respect to the protest becomes 
final.
    (c) A written protest against the proposed assessment 
shall be filed with the Department in such form as the 
Department may by rule prescribe, setting forth the grounds on 
which such protest is based. If such a protest is filed within 
120 days after the date the notice of proposed assessment is 
issued, the Department shall reconsider the proposed 
assessment and shall grant the employer a hearing. As soon as 
practicable after such reconsideration and hearing, the 
Department shall issue a notice of decision to the employer, 
setting forth the Department's findings of fact and the basis 
of decision. The decision of the Department shall become 
final:
        (1) if no action for review of the decision is 
    commenced under the Administrative Review Law, on the date 
    on which the time for commencement of such review has 
    expired; or 
        (2) if a timely action for review of the decision is 
    commenced under the Administrative Review Law, on the date 
    all proceedings in court for the review of such assessment 
    have terminated or the time for the taking thereof has 
    expired without such proceedings being instituted. 
    (d) As soon as practicable after the penalties specified 
in a notice of proposed assessment are deemed assessed, the 
Department shall give notice to the employer liable for any 
unpaid portion of such assessment, stating the amount due and 
demanding payment. If an employer neglects or refuses to pay 
the entire liability shown on the notice and demand within 10 
days after the notice and demand is issued, the unpaid amount 
of the liability shall be a lien in favor of the State of 
Illinois upon all property and rights to property, whether 
real or personal, belonging to the employer, and the 
provisions in the Illinois Income Tax Act regarding liens, 
levies and collection actions with regard to assessed and 
unpaid liabilities under that Act, including the periods for 
taking any action, shall apply. 
    (e) An employer who has overpaid a penalty assessed under 
this Section may file a claim for refund with the Department. A 
claim shall be in writing in such form as the Department may by 
rule prescribe and shall state the specific grounds upon which 
it is founded. As soon as practicable after a claim for refund 
is filed, the Department shall examine it and either issue a 
refund or issue a notice of denial. If such a protest is filed, 
the Department shall reconsider the denial and grant the 
employer a hearing. As soon as practicable after such 
reconsideration and hearing, the Department shall issue a 
notice of decision to the employer. The notice shall set forth 
briefly the Department's findings of fact and the basis of 
decision in each case decided in whole or in part adversely to 
the employer. A denial of a claim for refund becomes final 120 
days after the date of issuance of the notice of the denial 
except for such amounts denied as to which the employer has 
filed a protest with the Department. If a protest has been 
timely filed, the decision of the Department shall become 
final: 
        (1) if no action for review of the decision is 
    commenced under the Administrative Review Law, on the date 
    on which the time for commencement of such review has 
    expired; or 
        (2) if a timely action for review of the decision is 
    commenced under the Administrative Review Law, on the date 
    all proceedings in court for the review of such assessment 
    have terminated or the time for the taking thereof has 
    expired without such proceedings being instituted. 
    (f) No notice of proposed assessment may be issued with 
respect to a calendar year after June 30 of the fourth 
subsequent calendar year. No claim for refund may be filed 
more than 1 year after the date of payment of the amount to be 
refunded. 
    (g) The provisions of the Administrative Review Law and 
the rules adopted pursuant to it shall apply to and govern all 
proceedings for the judicial review of final decisions of the 
Department in response to a protest filed by the employer 
under subsections (c) and (e) of this Section. Final decisions 
of the Department shall constitute "administrative decisions" 
as defined in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The 
Department may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its 
duties pursuant to this Section. 
    (h) Whenever notice is required by this Section, it may be 
given or issued by mailing it by first-class mail addressed to 
the person concerned at his or her last known address or in an 
electronic format as determined by the Department. 
    (i) All books and records and other papers and documents 
relevant to the determination of any penalty due under this 
Section shall, at all times during business hours of the day, 
be subject to inspection by the Department or its duly 
authorized agents and employees. 
    (j) The Department may require employers to report 
information relevant to their compliance with this Act on 
returns otherwise due from the employers under Section 704A of 
the Illinois Income Tax Act and failure to provide the 
requested information on a return shall cause such return to 
be treated as unprocessable. 
    (k) For purposes of any provision of State law allowing 
the Department or any other agency of this State to offset an 
amount owed to a taxpayer against a tax liability of that 
taxpayer or allowing the Department to offset an overpayment 
of tax against any liability owed to the State, a penalty 
assessed under this Section shall be deemed to be a tax 
liability of the employer and any refund due to an employer 
shall be deemed to be an overpayment of tax of the employer. 
    (l) Except as provided in this subsection, all information 
received by the Department from returns filed by an employer 
or from any investigation conducted under the provisions of 
this Act shall be confidential, except for official purposes 
within the Department or pursuant to official procedures for 
collection of penalties assessed under this Act. Nothing 
contained in this subsection shall prevent the Director from 
publishing or making available to the public reasonable 
statistics concerning the operation of this Act wherein the 
contents of returns are grouped into aggregates in such a way 
that the specific information of any employer shall not be 
disclosed. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prevent 
the Director from divulging information to an authorized 
representative of the employer or to any person pursuant to a 
request or authorization made by the employer or by an 
authorized representative of the employer. 
    (m) Civil penalties collected under this Act and fees 
collected pursuant to subsection (n) of this Section shall be 
deposited into the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund. The 
Department may, subject to appropriation, use moneys in the 
fund to cover expenses it incurs in the performance of its 
duties under this Act. Interest attributable to moneys in the 
Tax Compliance and Administration Fund shall be credited to 
the Tax Compliance and Administration Fund.
    (n) The Department may charge the Board a reasonable fee 
for its costs in performing its duties under this Section to 
the extent that such costs have not been recovered from 
penalties imposed under this Section. 
    (o) The Department shall post on its Internet website a 
notice stating that this Section is operative and the date 
that it is first operative. This notice shall include a 
statement that rather than enrolling employees in the Program 
under this Act, employers may set up a qualified retirement 
plan sponsor an alternative arrangement, including, but not 
limited to, a defined benefit plan, 401(k) plan
, a Simplified 
Employee Pension (SEP) plan, or a Savings Incentive Match Plan 
for Employees (SIMPLE) plan, or an automatic enrollment 
payroll deduction IRA offered through a private provider. The 
Board shall provide a link to the vendor Internet website 
described in subsection (i) of Section 60 of this Act, if 
applicable.
(Source: P.A. 102-179, eff. 1-1-22.)