Illinois Legislative News: May 13, 2024
Session Update
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate were in session last week, following opposite chamber committee deadline on May 3. A few remaining bills in both chambers had their opposite chamber committee deadlines and initial chamber third reading deadlines extended to last Friday. The Senate passed seven bills to be sent to the House for future consideration. The House passed eight bills which have now passed both houses and await Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature.
Both chambers will be in session again this week, and Friday, May 17 is the opposite chamber third reading deadline in both the House and Senate. The 2024 Illinois General Assembly session is scheduled to adjourn on May 24, with contingent session days from May 25 to 31, if needed.
$827M Rivian Incentive Agreement
On May 2, Gov. J.B Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced an $827M incentive package for electric vehicle company Rivian. The incentive funds will go toward expanding operations at Rivian’s plant in Normal, Illinois to allow for production of its new, smaller R2 SUV. Specific uses of funds include the expansion of the plant itself, improvements to public infrastructure, development of a new manufacturing training academy, creation of a dual credit apprenticeship program for high school students, and further job training support from the Employer Training Investment Program (EITP). Upon completion of the planned expansion, Rivian’s facility will be able to produce up to 215,000 units per year. The company plans to create over 550 new jobs in Illinois over the next five years and must maintain at least 6,000 jobs in Illinois to receive incentives. The incentive agreement estimates a minimum salary of $51,174 for new employees.
Rivian will receive $827M in state incentives over the next 30 years on a $1.5B investment in its Normal facility. The EV company previously received Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits. Since they acquired the Normal facility in 2017, the state added a variety of new economic development tools to help promote investment in Illinois. Rivian’s facility expansion will allow them to take advantage of these new tools, such as the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles (REV) tax credit designed to recruit electric vehicle and EV component parts manufacturers to Illinois and the governor’s discretionary Large Business Attraction Fund (closing fund). $634M of the state incentive funds will come from the REV credit and another $75M from the closing fund. The closing fund has $288M remaining as of May 9 from an initial appropriation of $400M at the beginning of 2023. Remaining incentive funds will come from EITP grants to support new employee training.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
May 17 – Opposite Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 24 – Adjournment
May 25-31 – Contingent Session Days for Budget
November 5 – 2024 General Election
