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House sponsors:
Senate sponsor: Christine Radogno (R-Dist.24).
Creates the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Enforcement Act. Or as our membership can relate to, the bill the was about 105 pages long. Our many concerns about this bill is mainly in the first 15 pages of this bill. To list all our concerns would take up a whole website in itself. There will be more in our next newsletter and if not yet up, in the board notes portion of our website. MHOAI feels strongly that all should pay their fair share of taxes.
However we felt those involved in writing this bill did not understand the issues of a dual ownership, meaning the home owner and landlord. MHOAI also feels that more involvement with home owner rights should be addressed if such a bill would be passed in Illinois. We felt in a big picture that with the other tax related bills that were stopped this session, and if this one had passed, the manufactured home owner had no say, or consideration in how taxation was affecting their lives. We did not feel the fair balance of being taxed and taxes collected as real property that is already active in other states, allowed the home owner the protection that real property owners (such as standard homes and condos) receive. Illinois can benefit from the positive effects of such a bill and so can the home owner if done correctly. But we need to look more closely, via future task forces or committees that include the voice of the home owners, and allowing us the rights of real property owners.
This bill was first presented in the house. A MHOAI director had just finished testifying in front of the house revenue committee and was walking out of the room when she saw an IMHA director and stopped to speak to him. This is when we discovered the bill was being introduced. The bill was not called at that time, but MHOAI then started following the bill and looking for bills which already passed like this one in other states.
Meanwhile in the house we saw the bill had been gutted and later rewritten. All board members and interested parties felt at this time the bill was not defined enough, along with many other opinions. The bill then passed the house and Senator Radogno was asked to sponsor the bill in the senate. By this time we put membership on alert again that we oppose this bill if or when passed into a senate committee. MHOAI spoke with Senator Radogno and other senate members that would have been on the hearing committee involved. The bill did not make it that far, it was stopped with major support from Senator Radogono who agreed that more research and home owner rights was needed before such a bill should be applied in Illinois. If we are finally going to legally be taxed and taxes collected in a form of real property, than we should have the same rights as others that are taxed as real property. Examples being the homestead act. The state of Illinois should not treat manufactured home owners in the same way they deal with cars, which is what laws in Illinois now do, if they are going to deal with our tax issues as real property.
It is our hope that this summer we can meet with all interested parties and work this out. If done right a fair balance for all, the state, counties, home owner, and landlord can be achieved.