JUNE 2024 3 such victory. Due to the collabora tion of Senator DeWitte and the Illi nois Chamber Tax Institute, Illinois will now be in line with the rest of the country in how these leases are treated by IDOR. However, the Chamber has sig nificant concerns about the revenue bill (HB4951) that passed in that it will ultimately be balanced on the backs of the taxpayers and business es of Illinois. With an increase of more than $1B in revenue without commensurate cuts, it poses substan tial problems moving forward with ARPA funds expiring in 2025 and pending transportation funding gaps going unaddressed. Growing our revenue base is a worthwhile effort, however, growth efforts will be for naught unless we apply fiscal balance and retain opportunities to help existing businesses grow. We look forward to being part of that conver sation. Please view the Tax Institute update beginning on page 41 of this report for an in-depth look at major tax legislation for the business com munity that was considered through out the entire Spring. General Assembly Acknowledges Need for BIPA Reform, SB 2979 Passes Both Houses Senator President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham has been involved in discussions to make changes to Illi nois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) for several years. He is the Senate sponsor of SB2979 which is the first BIPA-related reform bill to make its way through the full leg islative process passing the Senate 46- 13-0 and the House 81-30-0. The bill now heads to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk where it is expected to be signed shortly. The Illinois Supreme Court effec tively directed the General Assem bly to clarify the intent of damages calculations in BIPA so judges for many existing cases have not award ed damages while waiting for the conclusion of the legislative process. To that end, the business community has been seeking retroactivity as part of any BIPA reform. In addition, many companies are requesting a security exception which would exempt specific sit uations from BIPA. Current BIPA language prevents the use of facial recognition technology that could be used to improve personal security for individuals as well as in the trans portation environment. Without the security exemption, the opportunity for further tech investment in Illinois could dissipate. For this reason, the Illinois Chamber opposed SB2979 along with the great majority of the business Quick review of what the bill does and does not do: The bill includes a damage cap based on a “per person” basis rather than a “per instance” or “per swipe” approach. The current version of SB2979 also allows for electronic opt-in rather than a paper-based requirement. Both of these measures are signifi cant improvements and are especially END OF SESSION REPORT If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of these legislative matters, please feel free to reach out to our team.
View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.