Sen. Michael E. Hastings

Filed: 3/30/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1101

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1101 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is
5amended by adding Section 5-45.8 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 100/5-45.8 new)
7    Sec. 5-45.8. Emergency rulemaking; Public Utilities Act.
8To provide for the expeditious and timely implementation of
9changes made to the Public Utilities Act by this amendatory
10Act of the 102nd General Assembly, emergency rules
11implementing the changes made to the Public Utilities Act by
12this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly may be
13adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by the Illinois
14Commerce Commission. The adoption of emergency rules
15authorized by Section 5-45 and this Section is deemed to be
16necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.

 

 

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1    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2026.
 
2    Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding
3Sections 4-701, 4-702, 9-228, and 16-131 as follows:
 
4    (220 ILCS 5/4-701 new)
5    Sec. 4-701. Electric Utility Independent Monitor.
6    (a) It is the policy of this State to ensure public
7utilities adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct.
8Recent events have demonstrated that at least one public
9utility in this State has not adhered to the standards of
10conduct expected by the State, and as such, has breached the
11public trust. The General Assembly finds this offensive
12conduct warrants a response that ensures transparency and
13ethical standards are adhered to. The General Assembly
14therefore declares its intent to impose heightened scrutiny
15and rigorous standards to increase transparency and ensure
16ethics compliance. Further, it is the intent of the General
17Assembly to remediate public utility wrongdoing and penalize
18impropriety.
19    (b) This Section applies to electric public utilities
20serving more than 3,000,000 retail customers in the State for
21the duration of any deferred prosecution agreement, pending
22criminal charges, ongoing criminal investigation, and term of
23criminal penalties against the public utility or any of its
24officers or former officers.

 

 

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1    (c) Within 60 days after the effective date of this
2amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission
3shall begin the process of creating the position of Electric
4Utility Independent Monitor. The responsibilities of the
5Electric Utility Independent Monitor shall include the
6following:
7        (1) developing and publishing annual ethics audits of
8    electric public utilities serving more than 3,000,000
9    retail customers in the State;
10        (2) hiring additional staff or contract entities as
11    necessary to fulfill the obligations of this Section;
12        (3) developing a public reporting system to record
13    each and every communication, including who was present,
14    the subject matter discussed, materials provided or
15    discussed, whether the meeting was in-person, via video,
16    or telephonic, and the date and time of the communication,
17    between a representative, employee, officer, or executive
18    of an electric public utility and a Commissioner,
19    representative, employee, or staff of the Commission;
20        (4) overseeing an electric public utility's compliance
21    with the standards described by statute, rule, or court
22    order regarding standards of ethical conduct;
23        (5) working in coordination with an electric public
24    utility's highest officer responsible for compliance and
25    ethics, such as a Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, to
26    ensure the utility complies with ethics standards provided

 

 

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1    by law, rule, and any other applicable authority, through
2    investigation, enforcement, reporting, and disciplinary
3    activities, including fines;
4        (6) documenting violations of statutes, rules, court
5    order, internal controls, Commission orders, or other
6    applicable authority regarding ethics and transparency and
7    ensure appropriate internal disciplinary actions are taken
8    and the violation is reported to the Commission when
9    appropriate;
10        (7) filing reports with the Commission of each and
11    every event where an electric public utility has not taken
12    disciplinary action for a violation of statutes, rules,
13    court order, internal controls, Commission orders, or
14    other applicable authority regarding ethics and
15    transparency, or where the public utility does not take a
16    disciplinary action that aligns with the recommendation of
17    the Electric Utility Independent Monitor;
18        (8) recommending to the Commission that it adopt new
19    internal controls, policies, practices, or procedures to
20    apply to an electric public utility to ensure compliance
21    with statute, rule, court order, or other applicable
22    authority;
23        (9) publishing an annual ethics audit for an electric
24    public utility subject to this Section describing the
25    electric public utility's internal controls, policies,
26    practices, and procedures to comply with statutes, rules,

 

 

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1    court orders, or other applicable authority; this report
2    should also include a record of any disciplinary actions
3    taken related to unethical conduct as well as any
4    recommendations the Electric Utility Independent Monitor
5    has made and the public utility's response;
6        (10) detailing deficiencies in a report to the
7    Commission and the General Assembly that shall include a
8    recommendation for Commission action if the Electric
9    Utility Independent Monitor finds that an electric public
10    utility has not complied with standards set forth by law,
11    rules, or by other applicable authority; and
12        (11) monitoring, auditing, and subpoenaing all records
13    necessary for the Electric Utility Independent Monitor to
14    meet the responsibilities described in this Section and
15    related rules, including, but not limited to, contracts
16    with third party entities, accounting records,
17    communication with public officials or their staff,
18    lobbying activities, expenses on lobbyists and
19    consultants, legal expenses, and internal compliance
20    policies.
21    (d) An electric public utility subject to this Section
22shall remit amounts necessary for the Commission to pay the
23wages, overhead, travel expenses, and other costs of the
24Electric Utility Independent Monitor and staff as determined
25by the Commission.
26    (e) An electric public utility's cost of compliance with

 

 

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1this Section is not a cost of service and shall not be
2recoverable in rates.
3    (f) Where an electric public utility is the subject of a
4federal or State criminal investigation or where the
5Commission initiates an investigation of an ethics violation,
6the utility's costs related to such investigation are not a
7cost of service and shall not be recoverable in rates.
8    (g) The Commission shall have the authority to retain an
9independent third party to serve as the Electric Utility
10Independent Monitor pursuant to this Section.
11    (h) The Commission shall have the authority to create
12rules and emergency rules where applicable to implement this
13Section.
 
14    (220 ILCS 5/4-702 new)
15    Sec. 4-702. Electric utility audit.
16    (a) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
17amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Commission
18may begin the process of contracting with a third party or
19hiring additional personnel as needed to conduct an audit
20pursuant to this Section.
21    (b) The Commission shall conduct an audit of all electric
22systems investments made by a participating utility, other
23than a combination utility. This audit shall include a review
24of:
25        (1) system upgrade costs and intended benefits;

 

 

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1        (2) whether the investment was part of the
2    participating utility's investment obligations under
3    subsection (b) of Section 16-108.5 of this Act;
4        (3) benefits to ratepayers;
5        (4) efficiencies gained as a result of investments
6    made by the participating utility;
7        (5) steps taken to minimize costs to consumers; and
8        (6) any other information the Commission determines is
9    necessary to analyze the costs and benefits of these smart
10    grid electric systems upgrades.
11    (c) The Commission must prepare and file a final report
12with the General Assembly analyzing the costs and benefits of
13the smart meter program and other smart grid electric systems
14upgrades no later than 2 years after the effective date of this
15amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
16    (d) The Commission is authorized to monitor, audit, and
17subpoena all records necessary to meet responsibilities
18described in this Section.
19    (e) An electric public utility subject to this Section
20shall remit amounts necessary for the Commission to pay the
21wages, contract costs, overhead, travel expenses, and other
22costs incurred to meet the responsibilities of this Section.
23The electric public utility's cost of compliance with this
24Section is not a cost of service shall not be recoverable in
25rates.
 

 

 

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1    (220 ILCS 5/9-228 new)
2    Sec. 9-228. Limits on public utility expenses. The
3Commission shall not consider any of the following as an
4expense of any public utility company, including any
5allocation of those costs to the public utility from an
6affiliate or corporate parent for the purpose of determining
7any rate or charge, any amount expended for:
8        (1) the pension or other post-employment benefits for
9    an employee convicted of committing a criminal act in the
10    course of his or her work with the utility;
11        (2) any severance or post-employment costs for an
12    employee convicted of committing a criminal act in the
13    course of his or her work with the utility; and
14        (3) criminal penalties, fines, fees, and costs related
15    to criminal charges, criminal investigations, or deferred
16    prosecution agreements.
 
17    (220 ILCS 5/16-131 new)
18    Sec. 16-131. Criminal penalty electric utility rebate.
19    (a) It is the policy of this State that ethical and
20criminal misconduct by electric utilities harms ratepayers by
21destroying public trust. The General Assembly finds it
22necessary to remediate harm caused by electric utilities by
23requiring that criminal penalties, or an amount equal to the
24criminal penalty paid by an electric utility, be rebated to
25ratepayers as restitution for the breach of public trust.

 

 

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1    (b) Electric utilities shall rebate to ratepayers an
2amount equal to the total amount of penalties or fines paid to
3the State or federal government in the preceding 12 months as a
4result of a criminal investigation, criminal charge, or
5deferred prosecution agreement beginning in the year
6subsequent to the remittance of the penalty or fine. This
7rebate shall be amortized in the rates over a period of 3
8years.
9    (c) The rebate amount is not a cost of service and shall
10not be recoverable through rates.
11    (d) The utility must file a rebate rider tariff with the
12Commission and any bill adjustment resulting from such rebate
13rider shall appear as a separate line item on the customer's
14bill.
15    (e) An electric utility must submit all information
16regarding criminal fines, fees, and penalties annually to the
17Commission.
18    (f) The Commission shall have emergency rulemaking
19authority to implement this Section.
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.".