Illinois legislators are flooding the General Assembly with bills to overturn the recently imposed Commercial Distribution Fee and the tax on rolling stock.
At the same time, the state, which has been hit by numerous complaints over the Commercial Distribution Fee, has extended the deadline for in-state truckers to pay the fee, which is a 36 percent increase over current registration costs.
SB841 was passed earlier this year and became effective July 1. It eliminated the sales tax exemption on truck purchases and parts – called the rolling stock exemption – for any truck that drives 50 percent or more of its miles in-state. The bill also established the Commercial Distribution Fee, and imposed it immediately on intrastate truckers, whose plates were due the same day the bill became effective.
For trucks that run all of their miles in the state, last year’s fee of $2,790 was increased by $1,005 to a new total of $3,795. Some in-state truckers found out earlier this year that they would have to pay the fee by Nov. 1 or lose plates they already paid for this year.
The governor signed the bill into law June 20.
The new fee and elimination of the rolling stock exemption have created a firestorm in the state. A number of truckers have told Land Line and other media outlets that they are either closing their doors or moving out of Illinois, and truckers in Chicago have been holding meetings attended by hundreds of owner-operators to discuss how to get the bill overturned.
Some action has already been taken to alleviate the effects of the fee.
A spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Officetold Land Line Oct. 28 that Illinois has extended the deadline for in-state truckers to pay the fee till Dec. 31, 60 days after the original deadline, Nov. 1. Mike Klemens, a spokesman with the Department of Revenue, said the extension was the result of negotiations between trucking industry officials and Brian Hamer, the state’s director of revenue.
"The industry said, we don't have enough time, and Brian listened to them and tried to be reasonable," Klemens said.
Despite such actions, calls for the repeal of SB841 started almost immediately after its passage. Lawmakers have responded to those calls, introducing several bills in preparation for the General Assembly’s veto session, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 4.
Here are some of those bills:
HB3860, introduced by Rep. Mary K. O’Brien, D-Coal City, would give any trucker who paid the Commercial Distribution Fee is fiscal 2004 a full refund. The bill was introduced Oct. 24, but has not yet been sent to a committee. Fiscal year 2004 in Illinois started July 1, 2003, and ends June 30, 2004.
HB3851 was introduced by Rep. William Black, R-Danville, would end the Commercial Distribution Fee after 1 year. The bill, introduced Oct. 15, has already picked up 16 co-sponsors and is now before the Rules Committee.
HB3854, introduced by Reps. Timothy Schmitz, R-Geneva, and John Millner, R-Carol Stream, would allow truckers to pay the Commercial Distribution Fee in six monthly installments each year, from Dec. 1 through May 1. The bill, filed Oct. 17, is now before the House Rules Committee.
SB2101, introduced by Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, would restore the rolling stock exemption as it existed before the passage of SB841. The bill, which has picked up 21 co-sponsors, was introduced Oct. 23 and is now before the Senate Rules Committee.
Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Charleston, a co-sponsor of HB3851, said it was unlikely that Gov. Rod Blagojevich would support or sign a measure that changed SB841, despite the damage critics contend the bill will wreak on Illinois economy.
"The fact is we're losing trucking jobs in Illinois," Rose said. "Something is causing small businesses to leave."
--by Mark H. Reddig, associate editor
Mark Reddig can be reached at mark_reddig@landlinemag.com.
