SB3281 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 18760 HLH 43144 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB3281

Introduced 2/19/2016, by Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

305 ILCS 20/10	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1410
305 ILCS 20/13

Amends the Energy Assistance Act. Provides that the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund and the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund are subject to continuing appropriation. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning finance.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 13 as follows:

(305 ILCS 20/10) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1410)

Sec. 10. Energy Assistance Funds.

(a) The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury.

The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund is authorized to receive whether by appropriation, transfer, statutory deposit or fund transfer, all amounts appropriated from State funds to the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the Illinois Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human Services Act) specifically for energy assistance payments for persons and families receiving assistance pursuant to Section 4-1 of the Illinois Public Aid Code and subsection (c) of Section 6 of this Act, and any administrative expense related thereto.

(b) Subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, the Department is authorized to expend monies from the AFDC Energy Assistance Fund for the following purposes:

(1) for energy assistance payments to or on behalf of individuals or families who receive assistance pursuant to Section 4-1 of The Illinois Public Aid Code in accordance with the provisions of Section 6 of this Act; and

(2) for the necessary and contingent expenses of the Department incurred in the administration of that portion of the Act described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(c) The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund shall be inoperative after September 30, 1991.

(d) The Subject to appropriations made by the General Assembly, the Department is authorized to expend monies from the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund for the purpose of providing assistance pursuant to Section 6 of this Act. Absent an enacted appropriation from the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund in any State fiscal year, this subsection shall constitute a continuing appropriation to the Department of all amounts necessary for the purposes set forth in this subsection (d). The continuing appropriation under this subsection (d) shall be no less than the total aggregate appropriations made available from the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund for the immediately preceding State fiscal year. If an appropriation to the Department from the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund is enacted on or after July 1 of any calendar year, then the continuing appropriation shall discontinue for that State fiscal year, and the enacted appropriation shall supersede.

(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)

(305 ILCS 20/13)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018)

Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.

(a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax Act. The Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf of their customers who are participants in the program authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision of weatherization services and for administration of the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The yearly expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 10% of the amount collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are reallocated.

(a-5) Absent an enacted appropriation from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund in any State fiscal year, this subsection shall constitute a continuing appropriation to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity of all amounts necessary for the purposes set forth in subsection (a). The continuing appropriation under this subsection (a-5) shall be no less than the total aggregate appropriations made available from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for the immediately preceding State fiscal year. If an appropriation to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is enacted on or after July 1 of any calendar year, then the continuing appropriation shall discontinue for that State fiscal year, and the enacted appropriation shall supersede.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall, effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly charge shall be as follows:

(1) $0.48 per month on each account for residential electric service;

(2) $0.48 per month on each account for residential gas service;

(3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak demand during the previous calendar year;

(4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000 therms of gas during the previous calendar year;

(5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak demand during the previous calendar year; and

(6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas distributed to it during the previous calendar year.

The incremental change to such charges imposed by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000 customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009.

In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made no later than February 1, 2010.

(c) For purposes of this Section:

(1) "residential electric service" means electric utility service for household purposes delivered to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate, or electric utility service for household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;

(2) "residential gas service" means gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate, or gas utility service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;

(3) "non-residential electric service" means electric utility service which is not residential electric service; and

(4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility service which is not residential gas service.

(d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs, which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the first billing cycle following such filing.

(e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public utility service.

(f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably require; provided, however, that a utility offering an Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.

(g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department to establish an equitable and practical methodology for implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010 program year.

(h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this Act.

(i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this Section.

(k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.

In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge provided by this Section.

This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018 unless renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall consider the results of the evaluations described in Section 8 in its deliberations.

(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13; 99-457, eff. 1-1-16.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.