New Madigan-backed laws for 2013
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[January 02, 2013]
SPRINGFIELD -- New laws that
protect phone customers against bogus charges, crack down on tax
cheats and strengthen child sex offender registration requirements
are among measures that were initiated by Attorney General Lisa
Madigan in the 2012 legislative session and took effect Jan. 1.
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"My office's legislative agenda this past year aimed to
strengthen the law in many areas," Madigan said. "With our efforts,
Illinois became only the second state in the country to ban phone
cramming, establishing the state as a national model. We also
enhanced penalties for tax cheats and expanded the crimes for which
a child sex offender must register and comply with the statewide
registry."
Ban on cramming
House Bill 5211 bans "cramming," a practice whereby third-party
vendors add charges to phone bills for products or services that
consumers or businesses never requested -- and never used. In recent
years, cramming has moved online as consumers provided their phone
number, among other personal information, for supposed online prize
drawings, surveys or free offers. Weeks or months later, consumers
would often find charges on their phone bill for unauthorized
services. Reports have shown that telephone companies place at least
300 million third-party charges on their customers' bills each year.
According to a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee report, third-party
billing generates at least $2 billion annually. With Madigan's
measure going into effect, Illinois becomes only the second state in
the nation to ban phone bill cramming on landlines.
Sales tax evasion
House Bill 5289 adds a tool to the fight against tax fraud in
Illinois by creating the crime of sales tax evasion. The new law is
the result of an ongoing investigation of gas stations undertaken by
Madigan and the Illinois Department of Revenue to recoup sales taxes
from hundreds of gas stations statewide that underreported revenues
to avoid paying taxes. The measure sets strong penalties and allows
for increased prosecutions of Illinois businesses and retailers that
willfully evade paying Illinois sales tax. The graduated penalties
are based on the amounts of sales taxes that were not paid: For
sales tax evasion involving less than $500, the law provides for a
Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison; for
amounts less than $10,000, a Class 3 felony punishable by two to
five years; for amounts less than $100,000, a Class 2 felony
punishable by three to seven years; and for more than $100,000, a
Class 1 felony punishable by four to 15 years in prison.
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Child luring
House Bill 5280 expands the list of crimes that require an
offender to register with the statewide sex offender registry. The
new measure requires a convicted criminal to register as a sexual
predator upon a first conviction for the charge "luring of a minor."
Prior to House Bill 5280, registration was not required until after
the person was convicted of the charge a second time.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan]
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