Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1744
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Full Text of HB1744  94th General Assembly

HB1744sam001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Kwame Raoul

Filed: 3/8/2006

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1744

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1744 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
5 changing 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

 

 

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1 the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund may not
2 exceed 10% of the amount collected during that year pursuant to
3 this Section.
4     (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
5 Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
6 Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
7 in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
8 utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
9 Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
10 distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
11 effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
12 a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
13 Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
14 utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
15 cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
16 the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly
17 charge shall be as follows:
18         (1) $0.40 per month on each account for residential
19     electric service;
20         (2) $0.40 per month on each account for residential gas
21     service;
22         (3) $4 per month on each account for non-residential
23     electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
24     demand during the previous calendar year;
25         (4) $4 per month on each account for non-residential
26     gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
27     therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
28         (5) $300 per month on each account for non-residential
29     electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
30     demand during the previous calendar year; and
31         (6) $300 per month on each account for non-residential
32     gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
33     distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
34     (c) For purposes of this Section:

 

 

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1         (1) "residential electric service" means electric
2     utility service for household purposes delivered to a
3     dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
4     residential rate, or electric utility service for
5     household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
6     which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
7     by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
8         (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
9     service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
10     2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
11     or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
12     to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
13     residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
14     each dwelling unit;
15         (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
16     utility service which is not residential electric service;
17     and
18         (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
19     service which is not residential gas service.
20     (d) At least 45 days prior to the date on which it must
21 begin assessing Energy Assistance Charges, each public utility
22 engaged in the delivery of electricity or the distribution of
23 natural gas shall file with the Illinois Commerce Commission
24 tariffs incorporating the Energy Assistance Charge in other
25 charges stated in such tariffs.
26     (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
27 gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
28 utility service.
29     (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
30 which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
31 public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
32 shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
33 payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed
34 and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such

 

 

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1 information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
2 require. If a customer makes a partial payment, a public
3 utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may elect
4 either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to amounts
5 owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and then to
6 payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to apply such
7 partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts owed to
8 the utility or cooperative for its services and to payment for
9 the Energy Assistance Charge.
10     (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
11 Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
12 remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
13 Section.
14     (h) (Blank).
15     On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
16 prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
17 funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
18 Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
19 Act.
20     (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
21 it deems necessary to implement this Section.
22     (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
23 Community Affairs may establish such rules as it deems
24 necessary to implement this Section.
25     (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
26 customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
27 or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
28 electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
29 impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
30 electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
31 the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
32 gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
33 of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose
34 the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric

 

 

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1 or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
2 may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
3 Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
4 program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
5     In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
6 may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
7 to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
8 provided by this Section.
9     This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2007 unless
10 renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
11 shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
12 Section 8 in its deliberations.
13 (Source: P.A. 92-690, eff. 7-18-02; revised 12-6-03.)
 
14     (305 ILCS 20/15 new)
15     Sec. 15. Transfer into Supplemental Low-Income Energy
16 Assistance Fund. Immediately upon the effective date of this
17 amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, but no later than
18 5 business days after that effective date, the Treasurer of the
19 State of Illinois shall transfer into the Supplemental
20 Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund $5,201,055, which is
21 equivalent to 50% of the average amount of Gas Revenue Tax paid
22 per residential gas utility customer in State fiscal year 2005
23 multiplied by the number of residential gas utility customers
24 that received assistance from the Low Income Home Energy
25 Assistance Program during the State fiscal year 2005 winter
26 heating season.
 
27     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
28 becoming law.".