Governor Signs DeLuca’s Good Government Reform of the Municipal Audit of Public Utilities Process

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a good government proposal spearheaded by state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, that will help to resolve and prevent auditing discrepancies between utility companies and municipalities that are owed tax dollars through remittance.

“Instead of having local governments waste taxpayer time, money and staff on unnecessary legal proceedings, we’re creating additional transparency and accountability with both utilities and governments under this negotiated reform,” DeLuca said. “It will help local governments access the resources they are rightfully owed, while eliminating waste and better enabling taxpayer money to go toward community services that residents care about.”

DeLuca led passage of Senate Bill 1794, which addresses concerns from municipalities that are owed thousands or millions from utility companies due to errors in tax remittance. Under existing practice, when a municipality levies a local tax on utilities – such as phone or electric – the utility collects the tax via a consumer’s monthly bill and then distributes the money to relevant municipalities. Recently, discrepancies between utilities and municipalities – such as possessing different addresses of applicable residences and businesses – has prevented tax dollars from reaching the appropriate government body.

Now signed into law, Senate Bill 1794 will help target this issue by:

• Enabling better communication between municipalities and utility companies,
• Extending the statute of limitations so that local governments can more effectively reclaim taxes from utilities,
• Increasing transparency in the auditing process by enabling more frequent audits, and
• Putting penalties in place to ensure utilities provide requested information or remit taxes owed to municipalities.

Senate Bill 1794 passed the General Assembly without opposition.

“With this reform now in place, I look forward to seeing these issues cleared up,” DeLuca said. “I am appreciative of the governor’s signature on this needed legislation, and of the advocacy and fair negotiation from stakeholders to make this a reality.”