103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4268

 

Introduced 1/16/2024, by Rep. Kimberly du Buclet

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Climate Corporate Accountability Act. Provides that, on or before July 1, 2024, the Secretary of State shall develop and adopt rules to require a reporting entity to annually disclose to the emissions registry, and verify, all of the reporting entity's scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions, and scope 3 emissions. Provides that a reporting entity, starting on January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, publicly disclose to the emissions registry all of the reporting entity's scope 1 emissions and scope 2 emissions for the prior calendar year, and its scope 3 emissions for that same calendar year no later than 180 days after that date. Provides that the Secretary of State shall contract with an emissions registry to develop a reporting and registry program to receive and make publicly available disclosures. Provides that, on or before January 1, 2025, the Secretary of State shall contract with the University of Illinois, a national laboratory, or another equivalent academic institution to prepare a report on the public disclosures made by reporting entities to the emissions registry. Provides that the emissions registry, on or before January 1, 2025, shall create a digital platform, which shall be accessible to the public, that will house all disclosures submitted by reporting entities to the emissions registry. Provides for enforcement of the Act. Effective immediately.


LRB103 34148 SPS 63966 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4268LRB103 34148 SPS 63966 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Climate Corporate Accountability Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Emissions registry" means a nonprofit emissions registry
8organization contracted by the Secretary of State that:
9        (1) currently operates a voluntary greenhouse gas
10    emission registry for organizations operating in the
11    United States; and
12        (2) has experience with voluntary greenhouse gas
13    emissions disclosure by entities operating in Illinois.
14    "Reporting entity" means a partnership, corporation,
15limited liability company, or other business entity formed
16under the laws of this State, the laws of any other state of
17the United States or the District of Columbia, or under an act
18of the Congress of the United States with total annual
19revenues in excess of $1,000,000,000 and that does business in
20Illinois.
21    "Scope 1 emissions" means all direct greenhouse gas
22emissions that stem from sources that a reporting entity owns
23or directly controls, regardless of location, including, but

 

 

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1not limited to, fuel combustion activities.
2    "Scope 2 emissions" means indirect greenhouse gas
3emissions from electricity purchased and used by a reporting
4entity, regardless of location.
5    "Scope 3 emissions" means indirect greenhouse gas
6emissions, other than scope 2 emissions, from activities of a
7reporting entity that stem from sources that the reporting
8entity does not own or directly control and may include, but
9are not limited to, emissions associated with the reporting
10entity's supply chain, business travel, employee commutes,
11procurement, waste, and water usage, regardless of location.
 
12    Section 10. Emissions reporting.
13    (a) On or before July 1, 2024, the Secretary of State shall
14develop and adopt rules to require a reporting entity to
15annually disclose to the emissions registry, and verify, all
16of the reporting entity's scope 1 emissions, scope 2
17emissions, and scope 3 emissions. The Secretary of State shall
18ensure that the rules adopted under this subsection require,
19at a minimum, all of the following:
20        (1) That a reporting entity, starting on January 1,
21    2025, and annually thereafter, publicly disclose to the
22    emissions registry all of the reporting entity's scope 1
23    emissions and scope 2 emissions for the prior calendar
24    year, and its scope 3 emissions for that same calendar
25    year no later than 180 days after that date, using the

 

 

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1    Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting
2    Standard and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value
3    Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard
4    developed by the World Resources Institute and the World
5    Business Council for Sustainable Development, including
6    guidance for scope 3 emissions calculations that detail
7    acceptable use of both primary and secondary data sources,
8    including the use of industry average data, proxy data,
9    and other generic data in its scope 3 emissions
10    calculations. On or before July 1, 2029, the Secretary of
11    State shall review, and update as necessary, the public
12    disclosure deadlines to evaluate trends in scope 3
13    emissions reporting and consider changes to the disclosure
14    deadlines to ensure that scope 3 emissions data is
15    disclosed to the emissions registry as close in time as
16    practicable to the deadline for reporting entities to
17    disclose scope 1 emissions and scope 2 emissions data. The
18    reporting timelines shall consider industry stakeholder
19    input and shall take into account the timelines by which
20    reporting entities typically receive scope 1, scope 2, and
21    scope 3 emissions data, as well as the capacity for
22    independent verification to be performed by a third-party
23    auditor, as approved by the Secretary of State.
24        (2) That a reporting entity's public disclosure is
25    made in a manner that is easily understandable and
26    accessible to residents of the State.

 

 

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1        (3) That a reporting entity's public disclosure
2    includes the name of the reporting entity and any
3    fictitious names, trade names, assumed names, and logos
4    used by the reporting entity.
5        (4) That a reporting entity's public disclosure is
6    structured in ways that maximize and streamline reporting
7    and ease of use in meeting the requirements of national
8    and international disclosure programs and standards,
9    including, but not limited to, adopted rules from the
10    United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
11    international standards, such as those established by CDP
12    Global.
13        (5) That a reporting entity's public disclosure is
14    independently verified by the emissions registry or a
15    third-party auditor, that is approved by the Secretary of
16    State, with expertise in greenhouse gas emissions
17    accounting. The reporting entity shall ensure that a copy
18    of the complete, audited greenhouse gas emissions
19    inventory, including the name of the approved third-party
20    auditor, is provided to the emissions registry as part of
21    or in connection with the reporting entity's public
22    disclosure. The Secretary of State shall establish auditor
23    qualifications and a process for approval of auditors that
24    ensures sufficient auditor capacity, as well as timely
25    reporting implementation as required under paragraph (1).
26    (b) The Secretary of State shall contract with an

 

 

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1emissions registry to develop a reporting and registry program
2to receive and make publicly available disclosures as
3described in paragraph (1).
4    (c) The Secretary of State may adopt any rules that it
5deems necessary and appropriate to implement this Section.
6    (d) In developing the rules required under this Section,
7the Secretary of State shall consult with all of the
8following:
9        (1) the Attorney General;
10        (2) other government stakeholders, including, but not
11    limited to, experts in climate science and corporate
12    carbon emissions accounting;
13        (3) stakeholders representing consumer and
14    environmental justice interests; and
15        (4) reporting entities that have demonstrated
16    leadership in full-scope greenhouse gas emissions
17    accounting and public disclosure and greenhouse gas
18    emissions reductions.
 
19    Section 15. Report on public emissions disclosures.
20    (a) On or before January 1, 2025, the Secretary of State
21shall contract with the University of Illinois, a national
22laboratory, or another equivalent academic institution to
23prepare a report on the public disclosures made by reporting
24entities to the emissions registry as described in Section 10
25and the rules adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to

 

 

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1that Section. In preparing the report, consideration shall be
2given to, at a minimum, greenhouse gas emissions from
3reporting entities in the context of State greenhouse gas
4emissions reduction and climate goals. The entity preparing
5the report shall not require reporting entities to report any
6information beyond what is required under Section 10 or the
7rules adopted by the Secretary of State under that Section.
8    (b) The Secretary of State shall submit the report
9required by this Section to the emissions registry to be made
10publicly available on the digital platform required to be
11created by the emissions registry as described in Section 20.
 
12    Section 20. Emissions registry.
13    (a) The emissions registry, on or before January 1, 2025,
14shall create a digital platform, which shall be accessible to
15the public, that shall house all disclosures submitted by
16reporting entities to the emissions registry under the rules
17adopted by the Secretary of State under Section 10 and the
18report prepared for the Secretary of State as described in
19Section 15. The emissions registry shall make the reporting
20entities' disclosures and the Secretary of State's report
21available on the digital platform within 30 days after
22receipt.
23    (b) The digital platform shall be capable of featuring
24individual reporting entity disclosures, and shall allow
25consumers to view reported data elements aggregated in a

 

 

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1variety of ways, including multiyear data, in a manner that is
2easily understandable and accessible to residents of the
3State. All data sets and customized views shall be available
4in electronic format for access and use by the public.
5    (c) Within 30 days after receipt, the emissions registry
6shall submit the report prepared for the Secretary of State as
7described in Section 15 to the General Assembly.
 
8    Section 25. Violations. If the Attorney General finds that
9a reporting entity has violated or is violating this Act, or
10upon a complaint received from the Secretary of State, the
11Attorney General may bring a civil action against that
12reporting entity seeking civil penalties for violations of
13this Act.
 
14    Section 30. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
15severable. If any provision of this Act or its application is
16held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other
17provisions or applications that can be given effect without
18the invalid provision or application.
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.