HB1744 Engrossed LRB094 03239 BDD 33240 b

1     AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing
5 Section 13 and by adding Section 15 as follows:
 
6     (305 ILCS 20/13)
7     Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
8     (a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
9 hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
10 Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
11 to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
12 foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
13 pursuant to Section 15, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
14 collected pursuant to this Section. Subject to appropriation,
15 the Department shall use moneys from the Supplemental
16 Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for payments to electric or
17 gas public utilities, municipal electric or gas utilities, and
18 electric cooperatives on behalf of their customers who are
19 participants in the program authorized by Section 4 of this
20 Act, for the provision of weatherization services and for
21 administration of the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
22 Assistance Fund. The yearly expenditures for weatherization
23 may not exceed 10% of the amount collected during the year
24 pursuant to this Section. The yearly administrative expenses of
25 the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund may not
26 exceed 10% of the amount collected during that year pursuant to
27 this Section.
28     (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
29 Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
30 Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
31 in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
32 utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities

 

 

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1 Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
2 distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
3 effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
4 a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
5 Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
6 utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
7 cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
8 the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly
9 charge shall be as follows:
10         (1) $0.40 per month on each account for residential
11     electric service;
12         (2) $0.40 per month on each account for residential gas
13     service;
14         (3) $4 per month on each account for non-residential
15     electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
16     demand during the previous calendar year;
17         (4) $4 per month on each account for non-residential
18     gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
19     therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
20         (5) $300 per month on each account for non-residential
21     electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
22     demand during the previous calendar year; and
23         (6) $300 per month on each account for non-residential
24     gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
25     distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
26     (c) For purposes of this Section:
27         (1) "residential electric service" means electric
28     utility service for household purposes delivered to a
29     dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
30     residential rate, or electric utility service for
31     household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
32     which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
33     by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
34         (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
35     service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
36     2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,

 

 

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1     or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
2     to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
3     residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
4     each dwelling unit;
5         (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
6     utility service which is not residential electric service;
7     and
8         (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
9     service which is not residential gas service.
10     (d) At least 45 days prior to the date on which it must
11 begin assessing Energy Assistance Charges, each public utility
12 engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of
13 natural gas shall file with the Illinois Commerce Commission
14 tariffs incorporating the Energy Assistance Charge in other
15 charges stated in such tariffs.
16     (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
17 gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
18 utility service.
19     (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
20 which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
21 public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
22 shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
23 payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed
24 and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such
25 information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
26 require. If a customer makes a partial payment, a public
27 utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may elect
28 either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to amounts
29 owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and then to
30 payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to apply such
31 partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts owed to
32 the utility or cooperative for its services and to payment for
33 the Energy Assistance Charge.
34     (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
35 Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
36 remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this

 

 

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1 Section.
2     (h) (Blank).
3     On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
4 prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
5 funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
6 Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
7 Act.
8     (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
9 it deems necessary to implement this Section.
10     (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
11 Community Affairs may establish such rules as it deems
12 necessary to implement this Section.
13     (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
14 customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
15 or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
16 electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
17 impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
18 electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
19 the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
20 gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
21 of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose
22 the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric
23 or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
24 may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
25 Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
26 program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
27     In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
28 may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
29 to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
30 provided by this Section.
31     This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2007 unless
32 renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
33 shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
34 Section 8 in its deliberations.
35 (Source: P.A. 92-690, eff. 7-18-02; revised 12-6-03.)
 

 

 

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1     (305 ILCS 20/15 new)
2     Sec. 15. Transfer into Supplemental Low-Income Energy
3 Assistance Fund. No later than February 15, 2006, the Treasurer
4 of the State of Illinois shall transfer into the Supplemental
5 Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund $5,201,055, which is
6 equivalent to 50% of the average amount of Gas Revenue Tax paid
7 per residential gas utility customer in State fiscal year 2005
8 multiplied by the number of residential gas utility customers
9 that received assistance from the Low Income Home Energy
10 Assistance Program during the State fiscal year 2005 winter
11 heating season.
 
12     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13 becoming law.