SB0219 amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to create a state income tax deduction for law enforcement officers equal to the amount of overtime compensation they receive during the taxable year for service as a law enforcement officer, to the extent that overtime pay is included in federal adjusted gross income. The bill defines “law enforcement officer” broadly to include persons employed by the State, a county, or a municipality as a policeman, peace officer, or in a similar law-enforcement/public-protection role, and it ties “overtime compensation” to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The bill is drafted as an immediate effective-date measure, though the operative text in the amendment section also references taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
In practical terms, the bill would reduce Illinois taxable income for eligible police and other law-enforcement personnel by excluding qualifying overtime pay from state income tax. That would lower state tax liability for affected workers and reduce state revenue to the extent the deduction is claimed. The change would be made within Section 203 of the Income Tax Act, which governs base income calculations for individuals, and would add a new subtraction modification specific to law enforcement overtime.
The available legislative record shows no committee transcript, no recorded votes, and no formal action history in the materials provided. As a result, there is no documented debate to indicate support or opposition from lawmakers in the supplied record. The bill’s caption and structure suggest it is intended as a targeted tax benefit for police and related public-safety personnel.
Because there is no hearing transcript or vote history, there are no identified points of contention in the provided materials. Potential policy issues inherent in the bill, however, include the revenue impact on the state, whether the deduction should apply only to law enforcement officers rather than other public employees who work overtime, and how broadly the term “law enforcement officer” should be interpreted for eligibility purposes.
Impact
SB0219 would amend Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act to add a new individual income tax subtraction for qualifying overtime compensation earned by law enforcement officers. This would directly affect the calculation of Illinois base income for eligible taxpayers by excluding overtime pay from state taxable income, thereby reducing income tax liability for those officers and decreasing state revenue associated with the deduction. The bill does not alter corporate, partnership, or trust tax rules; its effect is limited to individual taxpayers who meet the bill’s definition of law enforcement officer and receive qualifying overtime compensation.
Sentiment
The bill appears to be framed positively toward law enforcement, with the caption indicating a tax benefit for police overtime and the text providing a targeted deduction for officers. However, the provided record contains no committee discussion and no votes, so there is no documented legislative sentiment beyond the bill’s introduction. Based on the text alone, the measure seems intended as supportive of law enforcement compensation and retention, but the absence of recorded debate means support or opposition cannot be confirmed from the supplied history.
Contention
No specific contention is documented in the provided transcripts or voting history because none were supplied. The main likely policy questions are whether Illinois should forgo tax revenue to subsidize law-enforcement overtime, whether the benefit should be limited to sworn police officers or extended to other public-safety personnel, and how to administer the definition of “law enforcement officer” and “overtime compensation.” Those issues would primarily concern fiscal policymakers, tax administrators, and stakeholders comparing this deduction to other tax preferences.