State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB2574

 
                                               LRB9202453LDpr

 1        AN ACT in relation to coal.

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

 4        Section  5.  The Energy Conservation and Coal Development
 5    Act is amended by changing Section 8 as follows:

 6        (20 ILCS 1105/8) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7408)
 7        Sec. 8.  Illinois Coal Development Board.
 8        (a)  There is shall be established as an  advisory  board
 9    to  the  Department,  the  Illinois  Coal  Development Board,
10    hereinafter in this Section  called  the  Board.   The  Board
11    shall  be  composed  of  the  following  voting  members: the
12    Director of the Department, who shall  be  Chairman  thereof;
13    the  Deputy  Director  of  the Bureau of Business Development
14    within the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs;  the
15    Director  of  Natural  Resources or that Director's designee;
16    the Director of the Office of Mines and Minerals  within  the
17    Department  of  Natural  Resources;  4 members of the General
18    Assembly (one each appointed by the President of the  Senate,
19    the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the
20    House  Minority  Leader);  and  8  persons  appointed  by the
21    Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the   Senate,
22    including  representatives  of  Illinois  industries that are
23    involved in the extraction, utilization or transportation  of
24    Illinois  coal,  persons  representing  financial  or banking
25    interests  in  the  State,   and   persons   experienced   in
26    international   business  and  economic  development.   These
27    members shall be chosen from persons  of  recognized  ability
28    and  experience  in  their  designated  field.   The  members
29    appointed  by  the Governor shall serve for terms of 4 years,
30    unless otherwise provided in this  subsection.   The  initial
31    terms  of  the  original  appointees  shall expire on July 1,
 
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 1    1985, except that the  Governor  shall  designate  3  of  the
 2    original  appointees to serve initial terms that shall expire
 3    on July 1, 1983.  The initial term of the member appointed by
 4    the Governor to fill the office created after  July  1,  1985
 5    shall  expire  on  July  1,  1989.   The initial terms of the
 6    members appointed by the Governor to fill the offices created
 7    by this amendatory Act of 1993 shall expire on July 1,  1995,
 8    and  July  1,  1997,  as determined by the Governor. A member
 9    appointed  by  a  Legislative  Leader  shall  serve  for  the
10    duration of the General Assembly  for  which  he  or  she  is
11    appointed,  so  long  as  the member remains a member of that
12    General Assembly.
13        The Board shall meet at least annually or at the call  of
14    the  Chairman.    At  any  time the majority of the Board may
15    petition the Chairman for  a  meeting  of  the  Board.   Nine
16    members  of  the Board shall constitute a quorum.  Members of
17    the Board  shall  be  reimbursed  for  actual  and  necessary
18    expenses incurred while performing their duties as members of
19    the  Board from funds appropriated to the Department for such
20    purpose.
21        (b)  The   Board   shall   provide   advice   and    make
22    recommendations   on  the  following  Department  powers  and
23    duties:
24             (1)  To develop an annual agenda which  may  include
25        but   is   not  limited  to  research  and  methodologies
26        conducted for the purpose of increasing  the  utilization
27        of  Illinois'  coal and other fossil fuel resources, with
28        emphasis on high sulfur coal,  in  the  following  areas:
29        coal  extraction,  preparation and characterization; coal
30        technologies (combustion, gasification, liquefaction, and
31        related  processes);  marketing;  public  awareness   and
32        education,  as  those terms are used in the Illinois Coal
33        Technology Development  Assistance  Act;  transportation;
34        procurement   of  sites  and  issuance  of  permits;  and
 
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 1        environmental impacts.
 2             (2)  To  support  and   coordinate   Illinois   coal
 3        research,  and  to  approve  projects consistent with the
 4        annual agenda  and  budget  for  coal  research  and  the
 5        purposes of this Act and to approve the annual budget and
 6        operating plan for administration of the Board.
 7             (3)  To   promote   the  coordination  of  available
 8        research  information  on  the  production,  preparation,
 9        distribution and uses of Illinois coal.  The Board  shall
10        advise  the  existing  research  institutions  within the
11        State on areas where research may be necessary.
12             (4)  To cooperate to  the  fullest  extent  possible
13        with   State   and   federal  agencies  and  departments,
14        independent organizations, and other  interested  groups,
15        public   and  private,  for  the  purposes  of  promoting
16        Illinois coal resources.
17             (5)  To submit an annual report to the Governor  and
18        the   General   Assembly   outlining   the  progress  and
19        accomplishments made in the year, providing an accounting
20        of funds received and disbursed, reviewing the status  of
21        research   contracts,   and   furnishing  other  relevant
22        information.
23             (6)  To focus on existing coal research  efforts  in
24        carrying  out  its  mission;  to  make  use  of  existing
25        research  facilities  in  Illinois  or other institutions
26        carrying  out  research  on  Illinois  coal;  as  far  as
27        practicable,  to  make  maximum  use  of   the   research
28        facilities  available  at  the  Illinois State Geological
29        Survey, the  Coal  Extraction  and  Utilization  Research
30        Center,   the   Illinois   Coal   Development   Park  and
31        universities and colleges located  within  the  State  of
32        Illinois;  and  to  create  a  consortium or center which
33        conducts,  coordinates   and   supports   coal   research
34        activities   in  the  State  of  Illinois.   Programmatic
 
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 1        activities of  such  a  consortium  or  center  shall  be
 2        subject  to  approval  by  the  Department  and  shall be
 3        consistent with the purposes of this Act.  The Department
 4        may authorize expenditure of  funds  in  support  of  the
 5        administrative  and  programmatic  operations  of  such a
 6        center  or  consortium  consistent  with  its   statutory
 7        authority.   Administrative  actions undertaken by or for
 8        such a center or  consortium  shall  be  subject  to  the
 9        approval of the Department.
10             (7)  To make a reasonable attempt, before initiating
11        any  research  under  this  Act,  to avoid duplication of
12        effort and expense by coordinating the  research  efforts
13        among  various  agencies,  departments,  universities  or
14        organizations, as the case may be.
15             (8)  To  adopt,  amend and repeal rules, regulations
16        and bylaws governing the Board's organization and conduct
17        of business.
18             (9)  To authorize the expenditure of monies from the
19        Coal Technology Development Assistance Fund,  the  Public
20        Utility  Fund  and  other  funds  in  the  State Treasury
21        appropriated  to  the  Department,  consistent  with  the
22        purposes of this Act.
23             (10)  To seek, accept, and expend gifts or grants in
24        any form, from  any  public  agency  or  from  any  other
25        source.   Such  gifts  and grants may be held in trust by
26        the Department and  expended  at  the  direction  of  the
27        Department and in the exercise of the Department's powers
28        and performance of the Department's duties.
29             (11)  To  publish, from time to time, the results of
30        Illinois  coal  research  projects  funded  through   the
31        Department.
32             (12)  To  authorize  loans  from appropriations from
33        the Build Illinois Bond Purposes Fund, the Build Illinois
34        Bond Fund and the Illinois  Industrial  Coal  Utilization
 
                            -5-                LRB9202453LDpr
 1        Fund.
 2             (13)  To  authorize  expenditures of monies for coal
 3        development projects under the authority of Section 13 of
 4        the General Obligation Bond Act.
 5        (c)  The  Board  shall  also  provide  advice  and   make
 6    recommendations   on  the  following  Department  powers  and
 7    duties:
 8             (1)  To create and maintain  thorough,  current  and
 9        accurate  records  on  all markets for and actual uses of
10        coal  mined  in  Illinois,  and  to  make  such   records
11        available to the public upon request.
12             (2)  To  identify all current and anticipated future
13        technical,     economic,      institutional,      market,
14        environmental,  regulatory  and  other impediments to the
15        utilization of Illinois coal.
16             (3)  To monitor and evaluate all proposals and plans
17        of  public  utilities  related  to  compliance  with  the
18        requirements of Title IV of the  federal  Clean  Air  Act
19        Amendments  of  1990,  or  with any other law which might
20        affect the use of Illinois coal, for the purposes of  (i)
21        determining the effects of such proposals or plans on the
22        use  of  Illinois  coal, and (ii) identifying alternative
23        plans or actions which would maintain or increase the use
24        of Illinois coal.
25             (4)  To develop strategies and to  propose  policies
26        to  promote  environmentally responsible uses of Illinois
27        coal for meeting electric power supply  requirements  and
28        for other purposes.
29             (5)  (Blank).
30    (Source:  P.A.  89-445,  eff.  2-7-96;  90-348,  eff. 1-1-98;
31    90-454, eff. 8-16-97.)

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