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1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
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
5Renewable Energy Production District Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definition. "Renewable energy facility" means a
7generator powered by solar electric energy, wind, dedicated
8crops grown for electricity generation, anaerobic digestion of
9livestock or food processing waste, fuel cells or microturbines
10powered by renewable fuels, or hydroelectric energy.
 
11    Section 10. Renewable energy production district. An area
12within the boundaries of a single county, provided that the
13county includes a municipal electric utility that owns electric
14generation, may incorporate a renewable energy production
15district within the home county.
16    Fifty or more of the legal voters resident within the
17limits of the proposed district, or a majority if there are
18fewer than 100 legal voters, may petition the circuit court for
19the county in which the proposed district is located to cause
20the question to be submitted to the legal voters of the
21proposed district whether the proposed territory shall be
22organized as a renewable energy production district under this

 

 

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1Act. The petition shall be addressed to the court and shall
2contain a definite description of the boundaries of the
3territory to be embraced in the proposed district and the name
4of the proposed district. The territory incorporated in any
5district formed under this Act shall be contiguous and may
6contain any territory not previously included in any renewable
7energy production district.
8    Upon filing a petition, in the office of the circuit clerk
9of the county in which the petition is made, the court shall
10consider the boundaries of the renewable energy production
11district whether the same shall be those stated in the petition
12or otherwise.
13    Notice shall be given by the court of the time and place of
14a hearing upon the subject of the petition. The notice shall be
15inserted in one or more daily or weekly papers published within
16the proposed renewable energy production district or, if no
17daily or weekly newspaper is published within the proposed
18renewable energy production district, then by posting at least
1910 copies in the proposed district at least 20 days before the
20meeting in conspicuous places as far separated from each other
21as consistently possible.
22    At the hearing, all persons in the proposed renewable
23energy production district shall have an opportunity to be
24heard touching the location and boundary of the proposed
25district and make suggestions regarding the same, and the
26court, after hearing statements, evidence, and suggestions,

 

 

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1shall fix and determine the limits and boundaries of the
2proposed district, and for that purpose and to that extent, may
3alter and amend the petition. After the determination by the
4court the limits and boundaries shall be incorporated in an
5order, and the order shall be filed in the records of the
6court. Upon the entering of the order, the court shall certify
7the order and the proposition to the proper election officials,
8who shall submit the proposition to the voters at an election
9in accordance with the general election law. In addition to the
10requirements of the general election law, notice of the
11referendum shall include a description of the proposed district
12and the name of the proposed district.
13    The proposition shall be in substantially the following
14form:
15        Shall a renewable energy production district be
16    incorporated?
17    Votes shall be recorded as "YES" or "NO".
18    The court shall cause a statement of the results of the
19election to be filed in the records of the court. If a majority
20of the votes cast upon the question are in favor of the
21incorporation of the proposed renewable energy production
22district, the district shall thenceforth be an organized
23renewable energy production district under this Act, and the
24court shall enter an order accordingly and cause the same to be
25filed in the records of the court and shall also cause to be
26sent to the county clerk a certified copy of the order

 

 

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1organizing the district.
 
2    Section 15. Board of trustees. A renewable energy
3production district shall be governed by a board of trustees.
4The board of trustees shall consist of 5 members. Within 90
5days after the order is entered organizing the district, the
6county board in which the renewable energy production district
7is located shall appoint the members of the board. The members
8of the board shall serve for a period of 5 years. Vacancies
9shall be filled in the same manner as appointments. The members
10of the board shall annually elect one member to serve as the
11chairperson. Members of the board shall serve without
12compensation but may receive the reasonable cost of their
13travel expenses.
 
14    Section 20. Powers. The board shall exercise all of the
15powers and control all the affairs of a renewable energy
16production district.
17    (a) The board may:
18        (1) construct, operate, and maintain a renewable
19    energy facility;
20        (2) contract with private or public entities to
21    construct, operate, or maintain a renewable energy
22    facility for or on behalf of the district;
23        (3) solicit and accept moneys from any legal source;
24    and

 

 

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1        (4) sell the renewable energy produced by a renewable
2    energy facility owned, operated, or maintained by the
3    renewable energy production district.
4    (b) The board must remit all money collected from a
5renewable energy facility owned, operated, or maintained by the
6renewable energy production district to the county in which the
7district is located.
8    (c) The provisions of this Act apply only to renewable
9energy facilities owned, operated, or maintained by or on
10behalf of a renewable energy production district. Nothing in
11this Act shall be construed as:
12        (1) providing a renewable energy production district
13    with control over or authority to regulate or tax a
14    privately owned entity or privately owned renewable energy
15    generation facility;
16        (2) requiring any privately owned entity or privately
17    owned renewable energy facility to obtain any permission or
18    approval from the renewable energy production district
19    before purchasing, leasing, or otherwise acquiring rights
20    to use land or property to build, construct, operate, or
21    maintain a renewable energy facility within the
22    geographical territory of the renewable energy production
23    district; or
24        (3) requiring any privately owned entity or privately
25    owned renewable energy facility to (i) sell the energy it
26    produces to the renewable energy production district, (ii)

 

 

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1    pay a fee or tax to generate, sell, or transmit energy, or
2    (iii) provide any of the revenues to the renewable energy
3    production district or the county in which the district is
4    located.
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.