Legislative Efforts

The Illinois General Assembly passed a Capital Bill that will significantly have an impact on the trucking industry, most notable is the repeal of the Commercial Distribution Fee on trucks which will actually reduce fees on large trucks over time.

Thanks to the work of the Illinois Trucking Association, license fees on large trucks will actually be going down. ITA would like to thank Governor JB Pritzker and Legislative Leaders in the House and Senate for working with the ITA to reduce license plate fees on trucking.

The Illinois Trucking Association has been fighting to repeal the CDF since it was imposed during the Rod Blagojevich administration in 2004. The fee, a hidden 14.35% sales tax on truck license plates, has cost the trucking industry nearly $1 billion and ITA is pleased to report that we led a coalition of businesses and organization who were successful in repealing the CDF. The CDF Repeal will ultimately save large truck owners millions of dollars.

Along with the CDF, the legislature approved changes to the motor fuel tax and license plate fees, however these increases are now Constitutionally protected for transportation thanks to the Lock Box Amendment that was passed in 2016. In fact, all of the new revenue sources approved in the Capital Bill are protected by the Lock Box Amendment. Please see below for more details on the Capital Bill.

Truck License Plates & CDF

ITA fought to keep truck license plate fees to a minimum while also repealing the Commercial Distribution Fee. The CDF is repealed effective July 1, 2020. Following a flat $100 per truck increase to registration fees for vehicles over 8,000-pounds, truck owners can expect to see a net decrease in their license plate fees for base plates in the summer of 2020 because of the CDF Repeal. You can expect to see a decrease in IRP fees in Spring 2021 because of the CDF Repeal.

For an 80,000-pound license plate, the fee today is $3,190: $2,790 for the license plate and $400 for the CDF which is swept into the General Revenue Fund.

For semi-trucks, beginning in July 2020, an 80,000-pound plate will cost $2,890, all of which will now be going to the Secretary of State and ultimately into the road fund.

Nationwide, Illinois will go from having the 5th highest truck license plate in the country to having the 9th highest fee.

Diesel Fuel Tax

The Capital Bill does increase diesel fuel taxes in Illinois as of July 1, 2019. The current motor fuel tax rate on diesel fuel is 21.5 cents per gallon, plus sales tax. On July 1, the diesel fuel tax rate increases to 45.5 cents per gallon, an increase of 24 cents per gallon. Thanks to the Lock Box Amendment passed in 2016, all of the state's motor fuel taxes must be used for transportation so there is no opportunity for lawmakers to sweep the road fund for general revenue purposes.

In addition, the Capital Bill will gradually end the practice of collecting sales tax on motor fuel for non-transportation purposes. From 2021 to 2026, the sales tax on fuel, which previously went into the General Revenue Fund, will be gradually paid into the Road Fund.

While the increase in motor fuel tax is significant, the new revenue will be reinvested into the state's highways and bridges which are in desperate need of repair and expansion. Nationally, the new diesel tax rate takes us from having the 10th highest fuel tax back to having the 3rd highest. The number three spot is exactly where Illinois was in 2013 before other states began to raise their fuel taxes.

ITA would like to thank all of our members who reached out to their State Representative and State Senator to ensure that the CDF Repeal stayed in the Capital Bill. ITA is proud to fight for the trucking industry each year during the Illinois Legislative Session.