Illinois Administrative Code › Title 14 - COMMERCE › Part 521 - DATA CENTER INVESTMENT PROGRAM › Section 521.90 - Data Centers Memorandum of Understanding

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) The Department and each qualifying data
			 center seeking a certificate of exemption or tax credits shall enter into an
			 MOU. The MOU shall specify the terms and conditions of the exemptions or
			 credits. It shall define the rights and responsibilities of the Department and
			 of the data center owner or operator (and, if applicable, its tenants).
			 Provisions with which the data center owner/operator/tenants will be
			 contractually bound to comply include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) a detailed description of the project that
			 is the subject of the MOU, including the location and amount of the investment
			 and jobs created above the current project or statewide baselines;
2) the duration of the exemptions or
			 credits;
3)
the details for
			 determining the amount of capital investment to be made
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(d) ];
4)
the number of new jobs
			 created,
including a specific method for determining the number of new
			 employees and any relevant baseline headcount numbers;
5) a provision that the certified data center
			 provide an agreed upon procedures audit performed by an independent, licensed
			 certified public accounting firm attesting that the certified data center has
			 made the capital investment, hired the new employees specified in the MOU, and
			 entered into a project labor agreement with respect to the project;
6)
the timeline for achieving the
			 capital investment and new job goals
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(d) ];
7) a provision that
the contractor
			 and all subcontractors shall comply with the requirements of the Illinois
			 Procurement Code as they apply to responsible bidders and to present
			 satisfactory evidence of that compliance to the Department
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(f) ];
8) a provision that
new and existing
			 data centers seeking a certificate of exemption for the rehabilitation or
			 construction of data centers in the State shall require the contractor to enter
			 into a project labor agreement approved by the Department
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(g) ]; provided, however,
			 that, for an existing data center for which construction began prior to June
			 28, 2019, the applicant shall provide evidence, as required by the Department,
			 in the form of affidavits and other supporting documentation from the
			 contractor and the applicant demonstrating compliance with the standard
			 provisions of a project labor agreement. Proof of project labor agreements must
			 be accompanied by evidentiary materials from the labor organization affirming
			 participation in the project;
9)
repayment obligations, should those goals not be achieved, and any
			 conditions under which repayment by the qualifying data center or data center
			 tenant claiming the exemption
or credit
will be
			 required
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(d) ];
10) a requirement that the qualifying data
			 center or data center tenant claiming the exemption or credit shall annually
			 report to the Department the number of new employees, including those
			 specifically associated with the operation or maintenance of the data center,
			 the total overall headcount associated with the data center, estimated value of
			 taxes avoided due to the exemptions and credits received, and any other
			 information the Department requires to ensure compliance with the Statute, the
			 MOU, or other applicable law;
11) a
			 requirement that the Director of the Department is authorized to verify with
			 the appropriate State agencies information required to be reported by the
			 qualifying data center or data center tenant;
12) a requirement that the qualifying data
			 center shall provide written notification to the Department not more than 30
			 days after it makes or receives a proposal that would transfer the qualifying
			 data center's State tax liability to a successor entity;
13) a requirement that the qualifying data
			 center shall provide written notification to the Department not more than 30
			 days after the qualifying data center determines that the minimum job creation
			 or retention, employment payroll, or investment no longer is being or will be
			 achieved or maintained as set forth in the MOU;
14) a provision that, if the total number of
			 new employees or baseline employment falls a specified level, the allowance of
			 the exemptions or credits shall be suspended until the number of new employees
			 or baseline employment equals or exceeds the amounts set forth in the MOU;
			 and
15)
other provisions as
			 deemed necessary by the Department
[20 ILCS
			 605/605-1025(d) ].