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91_SB0548eng SB548 Engrossed LRB9104845PTpk 1 AN ACT in relation to the sharing of information between 2 governmental agencies involved in the collection of State 3 receivables. 4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 5 represented in the General Assembly: 6 Section 5. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by 7 changing Section 917 as follows: 8 (35 ILCS 5/917) (from Ch. 120, par. 9-917) 9 Sec. 917. Confidentiality and information sharing. 10 (a) Confidentiality. Except as provided in this Section, 11 all information received by the Department from returns filed 12 under this Act, or from any investigation conducted under the 13 provisions of this Act, shall be confidential, except for 14 official purposes within the Department or pursuant to 15 official procedures for collection of any State tax or 16 pursuant to an investigation or audit by the Illinois State 17 Scholarship Commission of a delinquent student loan or 18 monetary award or enforcement of any civil or criminal 19 penalty or sanction imposed by this Act or by another statute 20 imposing a State tax, and any person who divulges any such 21 information in any manner, except for such purposes and 22 pursuant to order of the Director or in accordance with a 23 proper judicial order, shall be guilty of a Class A 24 misdemeanor. However, the provisions of this paragraph are 25 not applicable to information furnished to a licensed 26 attorney representing the taxpayer where an appeal or a 27 protest has been filed on behalf of the taxpayer. 28 (b) Public information. Nothing contained in this Act 29 shall prevent the Director from publishing or making 30 available to the public the names and addresses of persons 31 filing returns under this Act, or from publishing or making SB548 Engrossed -2- LRB9104845PTpk 1 available reasonable statistics concerning the operation of 2 the tax wherein the contents of returns are grouped into 3 aggregates in such a way that the information contained in 4 any individual return shall not be disclosed. 5 (c) Governmental agencies. The Director may make 6 available to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United 7 States or his delegate, or the proper officer or his delegate 8 of any other state imposing a tax upon or measured by income, 9 for exclusively official purposes, information received by 10 the Department in the administration of this Act, but such 11 permission shall be granted only if the United States or such 12 other state, as the case may be, grants the Department 13 substantially similar privileges. The Director may exchange 14 information with the Illinois Department of Public Aid and 15 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the 16 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human 17 Services Act) for the purpose of verifying sources and 18 amounts of income and for other purposes directly connected 19 with the administration of this Act and the Illinois Public 20 Aid Code. The Director may exchange information with the 21 Director of the Department of Employment Security for the 22 purpose of verifying sources and amounts of income and for 23 other purposes directly connected with the administration of 24 this Act and Acts administered by the Department of 25 Employment Security. The Director may make available to the 26 Illinois Industrial Commission information regarding 27 employers for the purpose of verifying the insurance coverage 28 required under the Workers' Compensation Act and Workers' 29 Occupational Diseases Act. 30 The Director may make available to any State agency, 31 including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons 32 to engage in any occupation, information that a person 33 licensed by such agency has failed to file returns under this 34 Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or SB548 Engrossed -3- LRB9104845PTpk 1 has failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or 2 interest due under this Act. The Director may also make 3 available to the Secretary of State information that a 4 corporation which has been issued a certificate of 5 incorporation by the Secretary of State has failed to file 6 returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest 7 shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of 8 tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. An assessment is 9 final when all proceedings in court for review of such 10 assessment have terminated or the time for the taking thereof 11 has expired without such proceedings being instituted. For 12 taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1987, the 13 Director may make available to the Director or principal 14 officer of any Department of the State of Illinois, 15 information that a person employed by such Department has 16 failed to file returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty 17 and interest shown therein. For purposes of this paragraph, 18 the word "Department" shall have the same meaning as provided 19 in Section 3 of the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 20 1971. In addition, the Director may make available to another 21 State agency information regarding a taxpayer's place of 22 employment, bank accounts, or other financial information 23 contained in the Department's records if the taxpayer owes a 24 debt to the State agency making the request for information. 25 The Director may also make such employment and financial 26 information on a taxpayer available to the Attorney General 27 when the Attorney General is seeking the recovery of any debt 28 due the State or any of its agencies from that taxpayer. 29 (d) The Director shall make available for public 30 inspection in the Department's principal office and for 31 publication, at cost, administrative decisions issued on or 32 after January 1, 1995. These decisions are to be made 33 available in a manner so that the following taxpayer 34 information is not disclosed: SB548 Engrossed -4- LRB9104845PTpk 1 (1) The names, addresses, and identification 2 numbers of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees. 3 (2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade 4 secrets or other confidential information identified as 5 such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt 6 of an administrative decision, by such means as the 7 Department shall provide by rule. 8 The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of 9 the deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the 10 taxpayer does not submit deletions, the Director shall make 11 only the deletions specified in paragraph (1). 12 The Director shall make available for public inspection 13 and publication an administrative decision within 180 days 14 after the issuance of the administrative decision. The term 15 "administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in 16 Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure. 17 Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax 18 Compliance and Administration Fund. 19 (e) Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the 20 Director from divulging information to any person pursuant to 21 a request or authorization made by the taxpayer, by an 22 authorized representative of the taxpayer, or, in the case of 23 information related to a joint return, by the spouse filing 24 the joint return with the taxpayer. 25 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-491, eff. 1-1-98.) 26 Section 10. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended 27 by changing Section 11 as follows: 28 (35 ILCS 120/11) (from Ch. 120, par. 450) 29 Sec. 11. All information received by the Department from 30 returns filed under this Act, or from any investigation 31 conducted under this Act, shall be confidential, except for 32 official purposes, and any person who divulges any such SB548 Engrossed -5- LRB9104845PTpk 1 information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper 2 judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, shall be 3 guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. 4 Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from 5 publishing or making available to the public the names and 6 addresses of persons filing returns under this Act, or 7 reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the tax by 8 grouping the contents of returns so the information in any 9 individual return is not disclosed. 10 Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from 11 divulging to the United States Government or the government 12 of any other state, or any village that does not levy any 13 real property taxes for village operations and that receives 14 more than 60% of its general corporate revenue from taxes 15 under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service 16 Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, or 17 any officer or agency thereof, for exclusively official 18 purposes, information received by the Department in 19 administering this Act, provided that such other governmental 20 agency agrees to divulge requested tax information to the 21 Department. 22 The Department's furnishing of information derived from a 23 taxpayer's return or from an investigation conducted under 24 this Act to the surety on a taxpayer's bond that has been 25 furnished to the Department under this Act, either to provide 26 notice to such surety of its potential liability under the 27 bond or, in order to support the Department's demand for 28 payment from such surety under the bond, is an official 29 purpose within the meaning of this Section. 30 The furnishing upon request of information obtained by 31 the Department from returns filed under this Act or 32 investigations conducted under this Act to the Illinois 33 Liquor Control Commission for official use is deemed to be an 34 official purpose within the meaning of this Section. SB548 Engrossed -6- LRB9104845PTpk 1 Notice to a surety of potential liability shall not be 2 given unless the taxpayer has first been notified, not less 3 than 10 days prior thereto, of the Department's intent to so 4 notify the surety. 5 The furnishing upon request of the Auditor General, or 6 his authorized agents, for official use, of returns filed and 7 information related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an 8 official purpose within the meaning of this Section. 9 Where an appeal or a protest has been filed on behalf of 10 a taxpayer, the furnishing upon request of the attorney for 11 the taxpayer of returns filed by the taxpayer and information 12 related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an official 13 purpose within the meaning of this Section. 14 The furnishing of financial information to a home rule 15 unit that has imposed a tax similar to that imposed by this 16 Act pursuant to its home rule powers, or to any village that 17 does not levy any real property taxes for village operations 18 and that receives more than 60% of its general corporate 19 revenue from taxes under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax 20 Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' 21 Occupation Tax Act, upon request of the Chief Executive 22 thereof, is an official purpose within the meaning of this 23 Section, provided the home rule unit or village that does 24 not levy any real property taxes for village operations and 25 that receives more than 60% of its general corporate revenue 26 from taxes under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, 27 the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation 28 Tax Act agrees in writing to the requirements of this 29 Section. 30 For a village that does not levy any real property taxes 31 for village operations and that receives more than 60% of its 32 general corporate revenue from taxes under the Use Tax Act, 33 Service Use Tax Act, Service Occupation Tax Act, and 34 Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the officers eligible to SB548 Engrossed -7- LRB9104845PTpk 1 receive information from the Department of Revenue under this 2 Section are the village manager and the chief financial 3 officer of the village. 4 Information so provided shall be subject to all 5 confidentiality provisions of this Section. The written 6 agreement shall provide for reciprocity, limitations on 7 access, disclosure, and procedures for requesting 8 information. 9 The Director may make available to any State agency, 10 including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons 11 to engage in any occupation, information that a person 12 licensed by such agency has failed to file returns under this 13 Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or 14 has failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or 15 interest due under this Act. The Director may also make 16 available to the Secretary of State information that a 17 limited liability company, which has filed articles of 18 organization with the Secretary of State, or corporation 19 which has been issued a certificate of incorporation by the 20 Secretary of State has failed to file returns under this Act 21 or pay the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has 22 failed to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or 23 interest due under this Act. An assessment is final when all 24 proceedings in court for review of such assessment have 25 terminated or the time for the taking thereof has expired 26 without such proceedings being instituted. In addition, the 27 Director may make available to another State agency 28 information regarding a taxpayer's place of employment, bank 29 accounts, or other financial information contained in the 30 Department's records if the taxpayer owes a debt to the State 31 agency making the request for information. The Director may 32 also make such employment and financial information on a 33 taxpayer available to the Attorney General when the Attorney 34 General is seeking the recovery of any debt due the State or SB548 Engrossed -8- LRB9104845PTpk 1 any of its agencies from that taxpayer. 2 The Director shall make available for public inspection 3 in the Department's principal office and for publication, at 4 cost, administrative decisions issued on or after January 1, 5 1995. These decisions are to be made available in a manner so 6 that the following taxpayer information is not disclosed: 7 (1) The names, addresses, and identification 8 numbers of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees. 9 (2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade 10 secrets or other confidential information identified as 11 such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt 12 of an administrative decision, by such means as the 13 Department shall provide by rule. 14 The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of 15 the deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the 16 taxpayer does not submit deletions, the Director shall make 17 only the deletions specified in paragraph (1). 18 The Director shall make available for public inspection 19 and publication an administrative decision within 180 days 20 after the issuance of the administrative decision. The term 21 "administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in 22 Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure. 23 Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax 24 Compliance and Administration Fund. 25 Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director 26 from divulging information to any person pursuant to a 27 request or authorization made by the taxpayer or by an 28 authorized representative of the taxpayer. 29 (Source: P.A. 89-89, eff. 6-30-95; 90-491, eff. 1-1-98.) 30 Section 15. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by 31 changing Section 1900 as follows: 32 (820 ILCS 405/1900) (from Ch. 48, par. 640) SB548 Engrossed -9- LRB9104845PTpk 1 Sec. 1900. Disclosure of information. 2 A. Except as provided in this Section, information 3 obtained from any individual or employing unit during the 4 administration of this Act shall: 5 1. be confidential, 6 2. not be published or open to public inspection, 7 3. not be used in any court in any pending action 8 or proceeding, 9 4. not be admissible in evidence in any action or 10 proceeding other than one arising out of this Act. 11 B. No finding, determination, decision, ruling or order 12 (including any finding of fact, statement or conclusion made 13 therein) issued pursuant to this Act shall be admissible or 14 used in evidence in any action other than one arising out of 15 this Act, nor shall it be binding or conclusive except as 16 provided in this Act, nor shall it constitute res judicata, 17 regardless of whether the actions were between the same or 18 related parties or involved the same facts. 19 C. Any officer or employee of this State, any officer or 20 employee of any entity authorized to obtain information 21 pursuant to this Section, and any agent of this State or of 22 such entity who, except with authority of the Director under 23 this Section, shall disclose information shall be guilty of a 24 Class B misdemeanor and shall be disqualified from holding 25 any appointment or employment by the State. 26 D. An individual or his duly authorized agent may be 27 supplied with information from records only to the extent 28 necessary for the proper presentation of his claim for 29 benefits or with his existing or prospective rights to 30 benefits. Discretion to disclose this information belongs 31 solely to the Director and is not subject to a release or 32 waiver by the individual. 33 E. An employing unit may be furnished with information, 34 only if deemed by the Director as necessary to enable it to SB548 Engrossed -10- LRB9104845PTpk 1 fully discharge its obligations or safeguard its rights under 2 the Act. Discretion to disclose this information belongs 3 solely to the Director and is not subject to a release or 4 waiver by the employing unit. 5 F. The Director may furnish any information that he may 6 deem proper to any public officer or public agency of this or 7 any other State or of the federal government dealing with: 8 1. the administration of relief, 9 2. public assistance, 10 3. unemployment compensation, 11 4. a system of public employment offices, 12 5. wages and hours of employment, or 13 6. a public works program. 14 The Director may make available to the Illinois 15 Industrial Commission information regarding employers for the 16 purpose of verifying the insurance coverage required under 17 the Workers' Compensation Act and Workers' Occupational 18 Diseases Act. 19 G. The Director may disclose information submitted by 20 the State or any of its political subdivisions, municipal 21 corporations, instrumentalities, or school or community 22 college districts, except for information which specifically 23 identifies an individual claimant. 24 H. The Director shall disclose only that information 25 required to be disclosed under Section 303 of the Social 26 Security Act, as amended, including: 27 1. any information required to be given the United 28 States Department of Labor under Section 303(a)(6); and 29 2. the making available upon request to any agency 30 of the United States charged with the administration of 31 public works or assistance through public employment, the 32 name, address, ordinary occupation and employment status 33 of each recipient of unemployment compensation, and a 34 statement of such recipient's right to further SB548 Engrossed -11- LRB9104845PTpk 1 compensation under such law as required by Section 2 303(a)(7); and 3 3. records to make available to the Railroad 4 Retirement Board as required by Section 303(c)(1); and 5 4. information that will assure reasonable 6 cooperation with every agency of the United States 7 charged with the administration of any unemployment 8 compensation law as required by Section 303(c)(2); and 9 5. information upon request and on a reimbursable 10 basis to the United States Department of Agriculture and 11 to any State food stamp agency concerning any information 12 required to be furnished by Section 303(d); and 13 6. any wage information upon request and on a 14 reimbursable basis to any State or local child support 15 enforcement agency required by Section 303(e); and 16 7. any information required under the income 17 eligibility and verification system as required by 18 Section 303(f); and 19 8. information that might be useful in locating an 20 absent parent or that parent's employer, establishing 21 paternity or establishing, modifying, or enforcing child 22 support orders for the purpose of a child support 23 enforcement program under Title IV of the Social Security 24 Act upon the request of and on a reimbursable basis to 25 the public agency administering the Federal Parent 26 Locator Service as required by Section 303(h); and 27 9. information, upon request, to representatives of 28 any federal, State or local governmental public housing 29 agency with respect to individuals who have signed the 30 appropriate consent form approved by the Secretary of 31 Housing and Urban Development and who are applying for or 32 participating in any housing assistance program 33 administered by the United States Department of Housing 34 and Urban Development as required by Section 303(i). SB548 Engrossed -12- LRB9104845PTpk 1 I. The Director, upon the request of a public agency of 2 Illinois, of the federal government or of any other state 3 charged with the investigation or enforcement of Section 10-5 4 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (or a similar federal law or 5 similar law of another State), may furnish the public agency 6 information regarding the individual specified in the request 7 as to: 8 1. the current or most recent home address of the 9 individual, and 10 2. the names and addresses of the individual's 11 employers. 12 J. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to interfere 13 with the disclosure of certain records as provided for in 14 Section 1706 or with the right to make available to the 15 Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of 16 the Treasury, or the Department of Revenue of the State of 17 Illinois, information obtained under this Act. 18 K. The Department shall make available to the Illinois 19 Student Assistance Commission, upon request, information in 20 the possession of the Department that may be necessary or 21 useful to the Commission in the collection of defaulted or 22 delinquent student loans which the Commission administers. 23 L. The Department shall make available to the State 24 Employees' Retirement System, the State Universities 25 Retirement System, and the Teachers' Retirement System of the 26 State of Illinois, upon request, information in the 27 possession of the Department that may be necessary or useful 28 to the System for the purpose of determining whether any 29 recipient of a disability benefit from the System is 30 gainfully employed. 31 M. This Section shall be applicable to the information 32 obtained in the administration of the State employment 33 service, except that the Director may publish or release 34 general labor market information and may furnish information SB548 Engrossed -13- LRB9104845PTpk 1 that he may deem proper to an individual, public officer or 2 public agency of this or any other State or the federal 3 government (in addition to those public officers or public 4 agencies specified in this Section) as he prescribes by Rule. 5 N. The Director may require such safeguards as he deems 6 proper to insure that information disclosed pursuant to this 7 Section is used only for the purposes set forth in this 8 Section. 9 O. (Blank). 10 P. Within 30 days after the effective date of this 11 amendatory Act of 1993 and annually thereafter, the 12 Department shall provide to the Department of Financial 13 Institutions a list of individuals or entities that, for the 14 most recently completed calendar year, report to the 15 Department as paying wages to workers. The lists shall be 16 deemed confidential and may not be disclosed to any other 17 person. 18 Q. The Director shall make available to an elected 19 federal official the name and address of an individual or 20 entity that is located within the jurisdiction from which the 21 official was elected and that, for the most recently 22 completed calendar year, has reported to the Department as 23 paying wages to workers, where the information will be used 24 in connection with the official duties of the official and 25 the official requests the information in writing, specifying 26 the purposes for which it will be used. For purposes of this 27 subsection, the use of information in connection with the 28 official duties of an official does not include use of the 29 information in connection with the solicitation of 30 contributions or expenditures, in money or in kind, to or on 31 behalf of a candidate for public or political office or a 32 political party or with respect to a public question, as 33 defined in Section 1-3 of the Election Code, or in connection 34 with any commercial solicitation. Any elected federal SB548 Engrossed -14- LRB9104845PTpk 1 official who, in submitting a request for information covered 2 by this subsection, knowingly makes a false statement or 3 fails to disclose a material fact, with the intent to obtain 4 the information for a purpose not authorized by this 5 subsection, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. 6 R. The Director may provide to any State or local child 7 support agency, upon request and on a reimbursable basis, 8 information that might be useful in locating an absent parent 9 or that parent's employer, establishing paternity, or 10 establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders. 11 S. The Department shall make available to any State 12 agency, upon request that it may be necessary or useful to 13 the State agency in the collection of delinquent accounts 14 receivable due that agency, information limited to the names 15 and addresses of a debtor's employers. The Director shall 16 also make such employment information available to the 17 Attorney General when the Attorney General is seeking the 18 recovery of any debt due the State or any of its agencies. 19 (Source: P.A. 89-446, eff. 2-8-96; 89-493, eff. 1-1-97; 20 90-425, eff. 8-15-97; 90-488, eff. 8-17-97; 90-655, eff. 21 7-30-98.) 22 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 23 becoming law.