Rep. Arthur Turner

Filed: 5/20/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 418

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 418 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
5changing Section 13 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 20/13)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018)
8    Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
9    (a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
10hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
11Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
12to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
13foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
14pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
15collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized
16to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations,

 

 

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1corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made
2in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax
3Act. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys
4from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for
5payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal
6electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf
7of their customers who are participants in the program
8authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision
9of weatherization services and for administration of the
10Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The yearly
11expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the
12amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The
13yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income
14Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 10% of the amount
15collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except
16when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
17Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any
18unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be
19utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are
20reallocated.
21    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
22Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
23Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
24in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
25utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
26Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the

 

 

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1distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
2effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
3a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
4Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
5utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
6cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
7the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly
8charge shall be as follows:
9        (1) $0.48 per month on each account for residential
10    electric service;
11        (2) $0.48 per month on each account for residential gas
12    service;
13        (3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
14    electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
15    demand during the previous calendar year;
16        (4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
17    gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
18    therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
19        (5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
20    electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
21    demand during the previous calendar year; and
22        (6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
23    gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
24    distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
25    The incremental change to such charges imposed by this
26amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be

 

 

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1used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers
2and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000
3customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009.
4    In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and
5shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the
6Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs
7established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the
8Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of
9implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this
10amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage
11Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs
12described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a
13utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the
14effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
15Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made
16no later than February 1, 2010.
17    (c) For purposes of this Section:
18        (1) "residential electric service" means electric
19    utility service for household purposes delivered to a
20    dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
21    residential rate, or electric utility service for
22    household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
23    which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
24    by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
25        (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
26    service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of

 

 

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1    2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
2    or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
3    to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
4    residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
5    each dwelling unit;
6        (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
7    utility service which is not residential electric service;
8    and
9        (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
10    service which is not residential gas service.
11    (d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
12amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
13utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
14distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
15Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
16Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs,
17which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the
18first billing cycle following such filing.
19    (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
20gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
21utility service.
22    (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
23which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
24public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
25shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
26payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed

 

 

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1and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such
2information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
3require; provided, however, that a utility offering an
4Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act
5shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and
6recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section
7that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy
8Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th
9General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a
10public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may
11elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to
12amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and
13then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to
14apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts
15owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to
16payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.
17    (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
18Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
19remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
20Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each
21utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's
22customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department
23to establish an equitable and practical methodology for
24implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010
25program year.
26    (h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall

 

 

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1prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
2funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
3Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
4Act.
5    (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
6it deems necessary to implement this Section.
7    (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may
8establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this
9Section.
10    (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
11customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
12or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
13electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
14impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
15electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
16the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
17gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
18of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose
19the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric
20or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
21may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
22Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
23program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
24    In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
25may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
26to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge

 

 

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1provided by this Section.
2    This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018 unless
3renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
4shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
5Section 8 in its deliberations.
6(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13.)".