103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2763

 

Introduced 1/16/2024, by Sen. Laura Ellman

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act. Restricts State money from being used to install or replace permanent outdoor lighting units unless certain conditions are met. Provides that specified lighting units that were installed prior to the effective date of the Act and that produce light pollution need not be replaced until the end of the life of the lamp. Provides that these requirements apply to all lighting on or in all newly constructed, renovated, and retrofitted State-owned, State-supported, State-funded, or State-related rights-of-way, roadways and sidewalks, spaces, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and flagpoles. Sets forth exemptions. Effective January 1, 2025.


LRB103 36055 LNS 66142 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2763LRB103 36055 LNS 66142 b

1    AN ACT concerning lighting.
 
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
5Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7        (1) Article XI of the Illinois Constitution states
8    that the public policy of the State and the duty of each
9    person is to provide and maintain a healthful environment
10    for the benefit of this and future generations and that
11    the General Assembly shall provide by law for the
12    implementation and enforcement of this public policy.
13        (2) The House of Representatives of the State of
14    Illinois has resolved to:
15            (A) express its support for improved night
16        preservation practices in the State;
17            (B) encourage State agencies to adopt suitable
18        outdoor lighting practices based on the principles of
19        applying artificial light only where it is needed,
20        when it is needed, and to the levels it is needed,
21        using the best safety and energy-efficient standards
22        available; and
23            (C) encourage the Illinois Sustainable Technology

 

 

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1        Center to provide artificial outdoor illumination
2        engineering assistance to State agencies,
3        municipalities, and businesses that seek to implement
4        responsible outdoor lighting in order to conserve and
5        preserve the important natural phenomenon of night.
6        (3) The Illinois Senate has resolved that local
7    governments in the State should abide by guidelines and
8    lighting principles of the International Dark-Sky
9    Association (now known as Dark Sky International) to help
10    mitigate the effects of light pollution produced by
11    outdoor lighting.
 
12    Section 10. Intent. It is the intent of the General
13Assembly that governmental structures, governmental
14facilities, governmental places, and governmental spaces serve
15as models of best practices for private structures, private
16facilities, private places, and private spaces, in order to
17encourage residents, business owners, and others to implement
18responsible lighting principles.
 
19    Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act:
20    "BUG rating" means a luminaire classification system that
21was developed by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES)
22and that ranks and defines how many lumens of light a lighting
23unit emits backward, upward, and in glare.
24    "Correlated color temperature" or "CCT" means the color of

 

 

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1light perceived by the eye as measured in kelvin (k) units,
2with warmer colors appearing toward the red end of the
3spectrum and having lower kelvin temperatures and cooler
4colors appearing toward the blue end of the spectrum and
5having higher kelvin temperatures.
6    "Foot-candle" or "fc" means a measurement that is
7expressed in lumens per square foot.
8    "Fully shielded" means, when used to describe a lighting
9unit, that the lighting unit is constructed in such a manner
10that all light emitted, either directly from the lamp or
11indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part of the
12lighting unit, is projected below the horizontal plane, with
13the downward-pointing beam of light casting within an angle of
1460 degrees from the vertical, and with no part of the lamp
15protruding outside of the lighting unit or shield.
16    "Glare" means light emitted by a lighting unit that causes
17visual discomfort, reduced visibility of objects, or momentary
18blindness and reduced safety and security.
19    "Lamp" means the component of a lighting unit that
20produces light.
21    "Light pollution" means the scattering of artificial light
22into the nighttime sky, caused by excessive or improperly
23positioned artificial outdoor lighting, resulting in sky glow,
24light trespass, and glare.
25    "Light trespass" means an occurrence in which light that
26is emitted by a lighting unit shines beyond the boundaries of

 

 

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1the property that the lighting unit is intended to illuminate.
2    "Lighting unit" means a complete artificial illuminating
3device, installed or portable, including a lamp, together with
4the parts designed to distribute the light, such as a
5reflector or refractor, parts to position and protect the
6lamps, and parts to connect the lamps to the power supply.
7    "Lumen" means a specific standard unit of measurement of
8luminous flux.
9    "Lux" means a unit of luminous flux on a surface
10orientated toward a light source that is expressed in lumens
11per square meter.
12    "Ornamental lighting" means a lighting unit that serves a
13historical or seasonal holiday purpose only.
14    "Outdoor lighting units" means an outdoor artificial
15illuminating device, installed or portable, used for
16floodlighting, roadway and area lighting, general
17illumination, or advertisement.
18    "Partially shielded lighting unit" means a lighting unit
19that projects or directs its light parallel to or above the
20horizontal plane that may be emitted either directly from the
21lamp or indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part
22of the lighting unit, producing significant light pollution.
23    "Permanent outdoor lighting unit" means any lighting unit
24or system of lighting units that is outdoors and that is used
25for 7 days or more.
26    "Reflective roadway markings" means the lines and markers

 

 

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1with reflective properties intended to promote vehicular and
2pedestrian safety.
3    "Reflective signage" means the roadway and informational
4signage that has reflective properties to aid with vehicular
5and pedestrian safety.
6    "Responsible lighting principle" means the principle of
7using the best available advanced lighting technologies,
8including shielding, an upper limit on correlated color
9temperature of 2,700 K, on-off controls, dimming controls, and
10motion sensors.
11    "Roadway lighting" means permanent outdoor lighting units
12that are specifically intended to illuminate roadways for
13vehicular traffic.
14    "Sky glow" means the brightening of the night sky over
15inefficiently and improperly lit areas.
16    "Wall pack lights" means the lighting units that are fixed
17to a building's exterior, usually on a wall that faces outward
18from a building.
 
19    Section 20. Outdoor lighting control.
20    (a) State money may not be used to install or replace
21permanent outdoor lighting units unless all of the following
22conditions are met:
23        (1) The permanent outdoor lighting unit must be fully
24    shielded and:
25            (A) have an IES rating of B0 and G0 on the BUG

 

 

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1        rating system and emit no light above an angle of 60
2        degrees from the downward vertical direction; and
3            (B) have an IES rating of U0 on the BUG rating
4        system and emit zero lumens upward.
5        (2) Outdoor lighting units must be placed to avoid
6    light trespass and must not exceed illuminance of 0.05 fc
7    or 0.5 lux at the property boundary.
8        (3) Any wall pack lights must be fully shielded to an
9    angle of no more than 60 degrees from the downward
10    vertical direction to eliminate glare and light trespass.
11        (4) The lighting units must have a correlated color
12    temperature of less than or equal to 2,700 K. In
13    residential areas, the CCT of the lighting unit should not
14    exceed 2,200 K. In dark sky locations or environmentally
15    sensitive areas, such as Department of Natural Resource
16    State parks and outdoor recreation facilities, the CCT
17    should not exceed more than 2,200 K. No lighting units
18    shall have a correlated color temperature that exceeds
19    2,700 K.
20        (5) The use of outdoor lighting must be minimized to
21    only that which is needed for comfort and safety while
22    still maintaining compliance with responsible lighting
23    principles. Low-intensity facade lighting is permitted as
24    long as the light projects downward and no lighting spills
25    beyond the facade being lit. Between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.,
26    lighting units must be turned off or dimmed.

 

 

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1        (6) The lighting units in locations that are not in
2    use after 11 p.m., including in environmentally sensitive
3    areas, such as State parks, must use timers that are set to
4    turn off after 11 p.m. or must use motion sensors.
5        (7) Light trespass from the interior of a building or
6    structure must be minimized by lowering window shades
7    after sunset or by turning off lighting when not in use.
8        (8) At the time of installation or replacement, the
9    appropriate authority must determine whether reflective
10    roadway markings or reflective signage is appropriate and
11    safe for the situation in lieu of outdoor lighting.
12    Reflective roadway markings, lines, warning signs,
13    informational signs, or other passive means must be used
14    for roadway lighting, except at intersections of 2 or more
15    streets or highways, unless it is determined that adequate
16    lighting cannot be achieved by reflective means.
17    (b) A lighting unit with a lamp that has a correlated color
18temperature that is greater than 2,700 K, that is installed
19prior to the effective date of this Act, and that produces
20light pollution does not need not be replaced until the end of
21the life of the lamp but must comply with subsection (c).
22    At the end of the life of an existing lamp, partially
23shielded lighting units must be fitted with a new lamp that
24complies with paragraph (4) of subsection (a) and must be
25remediated, either by repositioning or by full shielding, so
26that the lighting unit complies with paragraphs (1) through

 

 

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1(3) of subsection (a).
2    If a State-funded entity possesses unshielded or partially
3shielded lighting units on the effective date of this Act, the
4unshielded or partially shielded lighting units shall be:
5        (1) immediately remediated upon the end of the life of
6    the lamp with a new lamp that complies with paragraph (4)
7    of subsection (a); and
8        (2) remediated either by repositioning the lighting
9    unit or by fully shielding the lamp so that it complies
10    with paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a).
11    If the State-funded entity chooses to replace current,
12unshielded or partially shielded lighting units before the end
13of the life of the lamp, the entity may not purchase new,
14unshielded or partially shielded lighting units as
15replacements. If the entity does purchase new, unshielded or
16partially shielded lighting units as replacements, the entity
17may not receive State assistance for the cost of the new
18lighting units.
19    (c) Wherever possible, existing partially shielded and
20unshielded lighting units shall be repositioned to minimize
21upward-directed light, glare, and light trespass.
22    (d) The requirements of subsection (a) shall apply to all
23lighting units on or in all newly constructed, renovated, and
24retrofitted State-owned, State-supported, State-funded, or
25State-related rights-of-way, roadways and sidewalks, spaces,
26facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments,

 

 

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1and flagpoles.
2    (e) The requirements of subsection (a) do not apply:
3        (1) If federal laws, rules, or regulations preempt
4    State laws, rules, or regulations.
5        (2) If fire, police, rescue, or repair personnel need
6    light for temporary emergencies or road repair work.
7        (3) If it has been determined that a reasonable safety
8    and security interest exists at correctional and hospital
9    facilities that cannot be addressed by another method
10    without increasing the cost or reducing the effectiveness
11    of the lighting as long as it complies with existing
12    standard specifications or policies.
13        (4) To navigational and other lighting systems
14    necessary for aviation and nautical safety.
15        (5) To municipalities that already comply with this
16    Section.
17        (6) To lighting units on active sports or show grounds
18    may use lamps greater than 2,700 K, but only for the
19    duration of a specific practice, match, or event. Lighting
20    units shall be positioned, angled, or shielded to prevent
21    direct glare and light trespass onto neighboring property
22    or properties. The shielding shall limit upward light
23    emission to only the amount necessary to light the
24    sporting or grounds activity.
25        (7) To new flagpoles that are lit by means of a
26    downward-facing lamp and shall use a lamp of 2,200 K or

 

 

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1    lower. Existing flagpoles that are upward-lighted by
2    partially shielded or unshielded lighting units shall use
3    a lamp of 2,200 K or lower to minimize the impact of glare,
4    light trespass, and sky glow. When appropriate, existing
5    flagpoles shall be converted to new flagpole requirements.
6        (8) To existing ornamental lighting that serves
7    historical purposes and seasonal holiday lighting that is
8    temporary to the season. New ornamental lighting shall
9    strive to comply with the restrictions of this Section
10    regarding shielding and must comply with the requirements
11    of this Section regarding lamps. To the extent that it is
12    available and feasible, ornamental lighting that serves a
13    seasonal holiday purpose should be use lamps of 2,700 K or
14    lower.
 
15    Section 25. Resources. The Department of Central
16Management Services shall make available a resource guide for
17the public to add compliant lighting to homes and businesses.
18The guide shall include references to publicly accessible
19Internet websites of advocacy groups approved by the State
20that provide education, guidance, and specifications relating
21to the implementation of responsible lighting principles.
 
22    Section 30. Other laws. This Act shall not supersede any
23other federal or State law controlling lighting; outdoor
24lighting units or signage; or outdoor advertising, displays,

 

 

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1or devices.
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
31, 2025.