Midwest Freight Forwarding Co. v. Lewis
| Decision Date | 27 May 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 43412,43412 |
| Citation | 49 Ill.2d 441,275 N.E.2d 388 |
| Parties | MIDWEST FREIGHT FORWARDING COMPANY, Inc., et al., Appellees, v. John W. LEWIS, Secretary of State et al., Appellants. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
William J. Scott, Atty. Gen., Chicago , for appellants.
Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr., Aurora, for appellees.
Defendants, Secretary of State and State Treasurer, appeal from the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County, entered upon allowance of plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, holding unconstitutional certain provisions of the Illinois Vehicle Law, now the Illinois Vehicle Code. Ill.Rev.Stat.1969, ch. 95 1/2.
This action was filed by ten motor carriers, individually and in a representative capacity on behalf of each member of the class who have registered vehicles of the second division (Ill.Rev.Stat.1969, ch. 95 1/2, par. 1--217) under apportionment, pursuant to the provisions of sections 3-- 402, subd. B and 3--412 of the Illinois Vehicle Law (Ill.Rev.Stat.1969, ch. 95 1/2). It is alleged in the complaint that section 3--412 of the Illinois Vehicle Law provided that, effective July 1, 1969, registration of vehicles of the second division shall be for a fiscal year period commencing on July 1st; that because apportionment of registration fees from fleets of vehicles is made on a calendar year basis for purposes of proration, and Illinois was the only State which did not register vehicles on an annual basis, section 3--412 was amended effective May 27, 1969, authorizing the defendant Secretary of State to provide for the registration on a calendar year basis of vehicles operating under apportionment, and providing that the fees and taxes to be paid on a calendar year basis shall be identical to those specified for a fiscal year registration; that amendments to enumerated sections of the Illinois Vehicle Law, effective July 1, 1969, increased the license fees and taxes for vehicles of the second division and provided that as to the fees and taxes on vehicles registered on a calendar year basis the increases are effective for the year 1970 and thereafter, and as to those vehicles registered on a fiscal year basis, the increases are effective for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1970, and thereafter; that applications for renewals of registration for vehicles registered on a calendar year must be made not later than December 15, and for those on a fiscal year not later than June 15, of each year; defendant Secretary of State demands that vehicles operating under apportionment or proration be registered on a calendar year basis and will not accept the registrations and issue the necessary license plates unless the increased fees are paid, but continues to accept the renewal applications and issue the plates for vehicles registered on a fiscal year basis at the lower rates of license fees and taxes which were in effect prior to the amendments. Plaintiffs allege that the statute as applied by the defendant Secretary of State is unconstitutional, deprives plaintiffs and the class they represent of their property without due process of law contrary to the fourteenth amendment of the comstitution of the United States and section 2 of article II of the constitution of Illinois, S.H.A. It prays that the statute complained of be held unconstitutional, and for other relief which will be discussed insofar as necessary to this opinion.
Upon motion of plaintiffs, the circuit court isssued a temporary writ of injunction enjoining the defendant Secretary of State from turning over to the defendant State Treasurer the increased license and tax fees collected and enjoining commingling of the moneys so collected with other State funds.
Defendants answered the complaint and plaintiffs and defendants, respectively, moved for summary judgment. The circuit court found that the provisions of the Illinois Vehicle Act making the increases effective on January 1, 1970, only as to those vehicles registered under proration was unconstitutional allowed plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and enjoined defendant Secretary of State from collecting the 'illegal and void increased fees and taxes' for the first six months of 1970 on vehicles operating under proration, enjoined the defendant State Treasurer from commingling any of said funds so collected with other State funds, and ordered, but classification for tax purposes, that the the funds illegally collected be paid over to a trustee directed to determine the sums due and disburse to the members of the class affected the sums found to be due them.
On appeal defendants contend that there is a presumption that the statute is valid, that the burden of establishing that it is unconstitutional is on plaintiffs, that the General Assembly has broad powers of classification for tax purpose, that the basis for the classification is reasonable, and that it was created for the benefit of the plaintiff carriers and their class.
Plaintiffs contend that the statute, in providing an effective date of January 1, 1970, for the increased fees for registration of the vehicles under proration, and a July 1, 1970, effective date for the increased fees with respect to other vehicles of the second division, creates an arbitrary and discriminatory classification. They argue that section 3--412 of the Illinois Vehicle Law (now section 3--414 of the Illinois Vehicle Code) plainly provides that the license fees imposed upon registration of second division vehicles be identical and cannot be nullified by the provision of section 2 of the 1969 amendatory law (see P.A. 76--370 approved July 1, 1969) that the increase in license fees becomes effective for registrations for the year 1970 (January 1, 1970) for vehicles registered on a calendar basis and for fiscal 1970 (July 1, 1970) for those registered on a fiscal year basis.
It is settled law that the uniformity required with respect to taxes and franchise or license fees is Grenier & Co. v. Stevenson, 42 Ill.2d 289, 291, 247 N.E.2d 606, 608.
The legislature may define a class and then specifically remove a subclass, subject to the limitation that there be real and substantial differences between the classifications thus created. Klein v. Hulman, 34 Ill.2d 343, 215 N.E.2d 268.
The statute authorizing the Secretary of State to enter into reciprocity and proration agreements ) is designed to enable Illinois to participate in a method of licensing trucks proportionately among several States. (See Instructions for Vehicle Proration compiled by Secretary of State.) The provisions of section 3--412 of the Illinois Vehicle Law were intended to aid the implementation of the reciprocity agreements by authorizing the registration of the vehicles...
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...provide a sufficient justification and a reasonable basis for exempting employers of less than 15 employees (Midwest Fright Forwarding Co. v. Lewis, 49 Ill.2d 441, 275 N.E.2d 388), and that the exemption provided is neither unreasonable nor We have considered plaintiffs' argument that secti......
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