Full Text of HB2071 95th General Assembly
HB2071eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | 5 |
| Section 16-128.1 as follows: | 6 |
| (220 ILCS 5/16-128.1 new) | 7 |
| Sec. 16-128.1. Electric utility employees; labor | 8 |
| displacement or reductions. | 9 |
| (a) The General Assembly finds the following: | 10 |
| (1) Since the enactment of the Electric Service | 11 |
| Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997, Illinois' | 12 |
| electric utilities have reduced their in-house workforce | 13 |
| between 20% and 40% through workforce reductions, | 14 |
| attrition, and terminations. | 15 |
| (2) The reductions have resulted in the electric | 16 |
| utilities not maintaining adequate staffing levels to | 17 |
| provide safe and reliable electric service to retail | 18 |
| customers. | 19 |
| (3) It is necessary to prevent additional staffing | 20 |
| level reductions in order to protect system reliability and | 21 |
| the health and safety of electric utility employees, retail | 22 |
| customers, and the public.
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| (b) For purposes of this Section, "labor displacement or |
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| reduction" means any decrease in the staffing levels for one or | 2 |
| more job classifications, including, but not limited to, | 3 |
| layoffs, attrition, voluntary severance, and termination. | 4 |
| (c) No electric utility shall be allowed to engage in any | 5 |
| labor displacement or reductions below the staffing levels for | 6 |
| each job classification in existence on January 1, 2007, unless | 7 |
| the electric utility submits a petition to the Commission that | 8 |
| sets forth the requested labor displacement or reductions and | 9 |
| obtains approval from the Commission in a contested proceeding. | 10 |
| The electric utility shall bear the burden of proof and must | 11 |
| demonstrate to the Commission based upon clear and convincing | 12 |
| evidence that the staffing reductions will not in any manner | 13 |
| disrupt or impair the ability of the electric utility to | 14 |
| provide safe and reliable electric service that protects and | 15 |
| promotes the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its | 16 |
| patrons, employees, and the public. | 17 |
| (d) Nothing in this Section shall prevent a labor | 18 |
| displacement or reduction due to attrition so long as the | 19 |
| electric utility fills the vacancy or vacancies within a | 20 |
| reasonable period of time, which in no case shall be greater | 21 |
| than 6 months. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an | 22 |
| electric utility from terminating an employee pursuant to the | 23 |
| terms of a collective bargaining agreement or other agreement | 24 |
| with employees or employee representatives provided that the | 25 |
| electric utility shall fill the vacancy or vacancies within a | 26 |
| reasonable period of time, which in no case shall be greater |
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| than 6 months. | 2 |
| (e) The employees of an electric utility, including the | 3 |
| collective bargaining representative or representatives of the | 4 |
| employees, shall have an independent statutory cause of action | 5 |
| under State law to file a complaint against an electric utility | 6 |
| in circuit court for alleged violations of this Section. | 7 |
| The employees of an electric utility, including the | 8 |
| collective bargaining representative or representatives of | 9 |
| such employees, may file a complaint in the circuit court of | 10 |
| Cook, Sangamon, or Madison County or any other circuit court in | 11 |
| order to prevent or stop the violation of this Section either | 12 |
| by mandamus or injunction. The circuit court shall specify a | 13 |
| time, not exceeding 21 days after the service of the copy of | 14 |
| the complaint for mandamus or injunction for the filing of any | 15 |
| answer, and in the meantime the named defendant shall be | 16 |
| restrained from continuing an alleged violation pending a | 17 |
| hearing before the court. In the event of default, or after | 18 |
| answer, the circuit court shall immediately inquire into the | 19 |
| facts and circumstances of the case and enter an appropriate | 20 |
| order with respect to the matters in the complaint. An appeal | 21 |
| may be taken from the final judgment in the same manner and | 22 |
| with the same effect as appeals are taken from judgments of the | 23 |
| circuit court in other actions for mandamus or injunction. | 24 |
| Nothing in this subsection (e) shall limit the rights of | 25 |
| employees of an electric utility, including the collective | 26 |
| bargaining representative or representatives of such |
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| employees, to file a complaint against the electric utility | 2 |
| with the Commission for alleged violations of this Section. | 3 |
| (f) In any case in which an employee of an electric | 4 |
| utility, including the collective bargaining representative or | 5 |
| representatives of such employees, demonstrates that an | 6 |
| electric utility has violated or is about to violate this | 7 |
| Section, the circuit court shall permanently restrain or order | 8 |
| the defendant or defendants from continuing the alleged | 9 |
| violation and award the party bringing the action the | 10 |
| reasonable expenses of the litigation, including all | 11 |
| reasonable attorney's fees.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 13 |
| becoming law.
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