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Public Act 096-0103
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| SB1906 Enrolled |
LRB096 09999 RCE 20163 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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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 Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended by |
changing Sections 825-65, 825-70, 825-75, and 830-25 as |
follows:
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(20 ILCS 3501/825-65)
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Sec. 825-65. Clean Coal, Coal, and Renewable Energy Project |
Financing.
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(a) Findings and declaration of policy. |
(i) It is hereby found and declared that
Illinois has |
abundant coal resources and, in some areas of Illinois, the |
demand
for power exceeds the generating capacity. |
Incentives to encourage the
construction of coal-fueled |
coal-fired electric generating plants in Illinois to |
ensure
power generating capacity into the future and to |
advance clean coal technology and the use of Illinois coal |
are in the best interests of all of
the citizens of |
Illinois. |
(ii) It is further found and declared that Illinois has |
abundant potential and resources to develop renewable |
energy resource projects. The development of those |
projects will create jobs and investment as well as |
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decrease environmental impacts and promote energy |
independence in Illinois. Accordingly, the development of |
those projects is in the best interests of all of the |
citizens of Illinois. |
(iii) The Authority is authorized to issue bonds to |
help
finance Clean Coal, Coal, and Renewable Energy |
projects pursuant to this
Section.
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(b) Definitions. Definition. |
(i) "Clean Coal Project and Energy projects" means (A) |
"clean coal facility", as defined in Section 1-10 of the |
Illinois Power Agency Act; (B) "clean coal SNG facility", |
as defined in Section 1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency |
Act; (C) transmission lines and associated equipment that |
transfer electricity from points of supply to points of |
delivery for projects described in this subsection (b); (D) |
pipelines or other methods to transfer carbon dioxide from |
the point of production to the point of storage or |
sequestration for projects described in this subsection |
(b); or (E) projects to provide carbon abatement technology |
for existing generating facilities. |
(ii) "Coal Project" means new electric
generating |
facilities or new gasification facilities, as defined in
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Section 605-332 of the Department of Commerce and
Economic |
Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of |
Illinois, which
may
include mine-mouth power plants, |
projects that employ the use of clean coal
technology, |
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projects to provide scrubber technology for existing |
energy
generating plants, or projects to provide electric |
transmission facilities or new gasification facilities.
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(iii) "Renewable Energy Project" means (A) a project |
that uses renewable energy resources, as defined in Section |
1-10 of the Illinois Power Agency Act; (B) a project that |
uses environmentally preferable technologies and practices |
that result in improvements to the production of renewable |
fuels, including but not limited to, cellulosic |
conversion, water and energy conservation, fractionation, |
alternative feedstocks, or reduced green house gas |
emissions; (C) transmission lines and associated equipment |
that transfer electricity from points of supply to points |
of delivery for projects described in this subsection (b); |
or (D) projects that use technology for the storage of |
renewable energy, including, without limitation, the use |
of battery or electrochemical storage technology for |
mobile or stationary applications. |
(c) Creation of reserve funds. The Authority may establish |
and maintain one
or more reserve funds to enhance bonds issued |
by the Authority for a Clean Coal Project, a Coal Project, or a |
Renewable
and
Energy Project projects.
There may be one or more |
accounts in these reserve funds in which there may be
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deposited:
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(1) any proceeds of the bonds issued by the Authority |
required to
be deposited therein by the terms of any |
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contract between the Authority and its
bondholders or any |
resolution of the Authority;
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(2) any other moneys or funds of the Authority that it |
may
determine to deposit therein from any other source; and
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(3) any other moneys or funds made available to the |
Authority.
Subject to the terms of any pledge to the owners |
of any bonds, moneys in any
reserve fund may be held and |
applied to the payment of principal, premium, if
any, and |
interest of such bonds.
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(d) Powers and duties. The Authority has the power:
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(1) To issue bonds in one or more series pursuant to |
one or more
resolutions of the Authority for any Clean Coal |
Project, Coal Project, or Renewable and Energy Project |
projects authorized
under this Section, within the |
authorization set forth in subsection subsections (e)
and |
(f).
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(2) To provide for the funding of any reserves or other |
funds or
accounts deemed necessary by the Authority in |
connection with any bonds issued
by the Authority.
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(3) To pledge any funds of the Authority or funds made |
available to
the Authority that may be applied to such |
purpose as security for any bonds or
any guarantees, |
letters of credit, insurance contracts or similar credit
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support
or liquidity instruments securing the bonds.
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(4) To enter into agreements or contracts with third |
parties,
whether public or private, including, without |
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limitation, the United States of
America, the State or any |
department or agency thereof, to obtain any
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appropriations, grants, loans or guarantees that are |
deemed necessary or
desirable by the Authority. Any such |
guarantee, agreement or contract may
contain terms and |
provisions necessary or desirable in connection with the
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program, subject to the requirements established by the |
Act.
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(5) To exercise such other powers as are necessary or |
incidental to
the foregoing.
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(e) Clean Coal Project, Coal Project, and Renewable Energy |
Project bond authorization and financing limits. In
addition
to |
any other bonds authorized to be issued under
Sections |
801-40(w), 825-60, 830-25
and 845-5, the Authority may have |
outstanding, at any time, bonds for the
purpose
enumerated in |
this
Section 825-65 in an aggregate principal amount that shall |
not
exceed $3,000,000,000 $2,700,000,000, subject to the |
following limitations: (i) up to of which no more than |
$300,000,000 may be issued to
finance projects, as described in |
clause (C) of subsection (b)(i) and clause (C) of subsection |
(b)(iii) of this Section 825-65; (ii) up to transmission |
facilities, no more than $500,000,000 may be issued to
finance |
projects, as described in clauses (D) and (E) of subsection |
(b)(i) of this Section 825-65; (iii) up to $2,000,000,000 |
scrubbers at existing generating plants, no more than |
$500,000,000 may
be issued to finance Clean Coal Projects, as |
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described in clauses (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(i) of this |
Section 825-65 and Coal Projects, as described in subsection |
(b)(ii) of this Section 825-65; and (iv) up to $2,000,000,000 |
may be issued to finance Renewable Energy Projects, as |
described in clauses (A), (B), and (D) of subsection (b)(iii) |
of this Section 825-65 alternative energy sources, including |
renewable energy
projects and no more than $1,400,000,000 may |
be issued to finance new electric
generating
facilities or new |
gasification facilities, as defined in
Section 605-332 of the |
Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the |
Civil Administrative Code of
Illinois. An application for a |
loan
financed from bond proceeds from a borrower or its |
affiliates for a Clean Coal Project, a Coal Project, or a |
Renewable
and Energy Project project may not be approved by the |
Authority for an amount in excess
of $450,000,000 for any |
borrower or its affiliates. These bonds shall not
constitute an |
indebtedness or obligation of the State of Illinois and it |
shall
be plainly stated on the face of each bond that it does |
not constitute an
indebtedness or obligation of the State of |
Illinois, but is payable solely from
the revenues, income or |
other assets of the Authority pledged therefor.
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(f) The bonding authority granted under this Section is in |
addition to and not limited by the provisions of Section 845-5. |
Additional Clean Coal and Energy bond authorization and |
financing
limits.
In addition to any other bonds authorized to |
be issued under this Act, the
Authority may issue bonds for the |
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purpose enumerated in this
Section 825-65 in an
aggregate |
principal amount that shall not exceed $300,000,000.
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(Source: P.A. 95-470, eff. 8-27-07.)
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(20 ILCS 3501/825-70)
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Sec. 825-70. Criteria for participation in the program. |
Applications to
the
Authority for financing of any Clean Coal, |
Coal, or Renewable and Energy Project project shall be reviewed
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by the Authority. Upon submission of any such application, the |
Authority staff
shall review the application for its |
completeness and may, at the discretion of
the Authority staff, |
request such additional information as it deems necessary
or |
advisable to aid in review. If the Authority receives |
applications for
financing for Clean Coal, Coal, or and |
Renewable Energy Projects projects in excess of the bond
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authorization
available for such financing at any one time, it |
shall consider applications in
the order of priority as it |
shall determine, in consultation with other State
agencies, and |
consistent with State policy to promote environmentally |
preferable technology and energy independence.
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(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
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(20 ILCS 3501/825-75)
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Sec. 825-75. Additional Security. In the event that the |
Authority
determines
that monies of the Authority will not be |
sufficient for the payment of the
principal of and interest on |
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any bonds issued by the Authority under
Sections
825-65 through |
825-75 of this Act for Clean Coal Projects, Coal Projects, or |
Renewable Energy Projects new electric generating facilities |
or new gasification facilities
during the next State fiscal
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year, the Chairperson, as soon as practicable, shall certify to |
the Governor
the
amount required by the Authority to enable it |
to pay such principal, premium,
if
any, and interest on such |
bonds. The Governor shall submit the amount so
certified to the |
General Assembly as soon as practicable, but no later than the
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end of the current State fiscal year. This subsection shall
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apply to any
bonds or notes as to which the Authority shall |
have determined, in the
resolution authorizing the issuance of |
the bonds or notes, that this subsection
shall apply. Whenever |
the Authority makes such a determination, that fact
shall be |
plainly stated on the face of the bonds or notes and that fact |
should
also be reported to the Governor.
In the event of a |
withdrawal of moneys from a reserve fund established with
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respect to any issue or issues of bonds of the Authority to pay |
principal,
premium, if any, and interest on such bonds, the |
Chairman of the Authority, as
soon as practicable, shall |
certify to the Governor the amount required to
restore the |
reserve fund to the level required in the resolution or |
indenture
securing those bonds. The Governor shall submit the |
amount so certified to the
General Assembly as soon as |
practicable, but no later than the end of the
current State |
fiscal year. The Authority shall obtain written approval from |
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the
Governor for any bonds and notes to be issued under this |
Section.
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(Source: P.A. 95-470, eff. 8-27-07.)
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(20 ILCS 3501/830-25)
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Sec. 830-25. Bonded indebtedness limitation. The Authority |
shall not have
outstanding at any one time State Guarantees |
under
Section 830-30 in an aggregate
principal amount exceeding |
$160,000,000. The Authority shall not have
outstanding at any |
one time State Guarantees under
Sections 830-35, 830-45 and |
830-50 in an aggregate principal amount exceeding
$225,000,000 |
$75,000,000. The Guarantees in this Section may be used to |
support Renewable Energy Projects as described in clauses (A) |
and (B) of subsection (b)(iii) of Section 825-65 of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)
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