Full Text of SB2406 101st General Assembly
SB2406sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. David Koehler Filed: 3/5/2020
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2406
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2406 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 6 and 18 as follows:
| 6 | | (305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
| 7 | | Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and | 8 | | Energy Assistance.
| 9 | | (a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois | 10 | | and whose
household income is not greater than an amount | 11 | | determined annually by the
Department, in consultation with the | 12 | | Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance pursuant to | 13 | | this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the | 14 | | Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
| 15 | | Department shall consider the amount of available funding and | 16 | | may not set a
limit higher than 200% 150% of the federal |
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| 1 | | nonfarm poverty level as established by
the federal Office of | 2 | | Management and Budget ; except that for the period ending June | 3 | | 30, 2013, the Department may not establish limits higher than | 4 | | 200% of that poverty level or the maximum level provided for by | 5 | | federal guidelines .
| 6 | | (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to | 7 | | subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation | 8 | | from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds | 9 | | to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by | 10 | | this Act. The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized | 11 | | pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds | 12 | | for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
| 13 | | Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be | 14 | | provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the | 15 | | Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance | 16 | | go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to | 17 | | household income. The Department shall include
factors such as | 18 | | energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of | 19 | | the State when determining individual household benefits. In | 20 | | setting
assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to | 21 | | provide assistance to
approximately the same number of | 22 | | households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy | 23 | | Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels
shall | 24 | | be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and | 25 | | energy costs. In promulgating rules for the
administration of | 26 | | this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 |
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| 1 | | of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with the | 2 | | lowest incomes and that elderly households and households with | 3 | | persons with disabilities are offered a priority application
| 4 | | period.
| 5 | | (c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an | 6 | | energy provider for
energy services or an applicant for such | 7 | | service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy | 8 | | assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department | 9 | | for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that
| 10 | | such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater | 11 | | than 30% of
household income.
| 12 | | (c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) | 13 | | the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider | 14 | | because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit | 15 | | as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing | 16 | | subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental | 17 | | Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded | 18 | | rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a | 19 | | rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly rent | 20 | | is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher | 21 | | Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and | 22 | | (3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of | 23 | | household income. In such cases, the household may apply for an | 24 | | energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of the | 25 | | housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by providing | 26 | | documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any |
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| 1 | | compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy | 2 | | services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner | 3 | | of the housing unit providing energy services to the household. | 4 | | The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly on | 5 | | the number of households receiving energy assistance under this | 6 | | subsection and the cost of such assistance. The provisions of | 7 | | this subsection (c-1), other than this sentence, are | 8 | | inoperative after August 31, 2012. | 9 | | (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, | 10 | | such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount | 11 | | established by the
Department for all such applicants under | 12 | | this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the | 13 | | energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such | 14 | | applicant. Such applicant shall:
| 15 | | (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other | 16 | | appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and
| 17 | | (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive | 18 | | income
information from any public or private agency | 19 | | providing income or energy
assistance and from any | 20 | | employer, whether public or private.
| 21 | | (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may | 22 | | receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency | 23 | | assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access to | 24 | | winter energy services. Any such
payments shall be made in | 25 | | accordance with regulations of the Department.
| 26 | | (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, |
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| 1 | | provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
| 2 | | (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to | 3 | | energy providers;
and
| 4 | | (ii) to assist the household in responding to | 5 | | excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. | 6 | | Households containing elderly members, children,
a person | 7 | | with a disability, or a person with a medical need for | 8 | | conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such | 9 | | benefits.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
| 11 | | (305 ILCS 20/18) | 12 | | Sec. 18. Financial assistance; payment plans. | 13 | | (a) The Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP or PIP | 14 | | Plan) is hereby created as a mandatory bill payment assistance | 15 | | program for low-income residential customers of utilities | 16 | | serving more than 100,000 retail customers as of January 1, | 17 | | 2009. The PIP Plan will: | 18 | | (1) bring participants' gas and electric bills into the | 19 | | range of affordability; | 20 | | (2) provide incentives for participants to make timely | 21 | | payments; | 22 | | (3) encourage participants to reduce usage and | 23 | | participate in conservation and energy efficiency measures | 24 | | that reduce the customer's bill and payment requirements; | 25 | | and |
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| 1 | | (4) identify participants whose homes are most in need | 2 | | of weatherization. | 3 | | (b) For purposes of this Section: | 4 | | (1) "LIHEAP" means the energy assistance program | 5 | | established under the Illinois Energy Assistance Act and | 6 | | the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. | 7 | | (2) "Plan participant" is an eligible participant who | 8 | | is also eligible for the PIPP and who will receive either a | 9 | | percentage of income payment credit under the PIPP criteria | 10 | | set forth in this Act or a benefit pursuant to Section 4 of | 11 | | this Act. Plan participants are a subset of eligible | 12 | | participants. | 13 | | (3) "Pre-program arrears" means the amount a plan | 14 | | participant owes for gas or electric service at the time | 15 | | the participant is determined to be eligible for the PIPP | 16 | | or the program set forth in Section 4 of this Act. | 17 | | (4) "Eligible participant" means any person who has | 18 | | applied for, been accepted and is receiving residential | 19 | | service from a gas or electric utility and who is also | 20 | | eligible for LIHEAP. | 21 | | (c) The PIP Plan shall be administered as follows: | 22 | | (1) The Department shall coordinate with Local | 23 | | Administrative Agencies (LAAs), to determine eligibility | 24 | | for the Illinois Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program | 25 | | (LIHEAP) pursuant to the Energy Assistance Act, provided | 26 | | that eligible income shall be no more than 200% 150% of the |
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| 1 | | poverty level. Applicants will be screened to determine | 2 | | whether the applicant's projected payments for electric | 3 | | service or natural gas service over a 12-month period | 4 | | exceed the criteria established in this Section. To | 5 | | maintain the financial integrity of the program, the | 6 | | Department may limit eligibility to households with income | 7 | | below 125% of the poverty level. | 8 | | (2) The Department shall establish the percentage of | 9 | | income formula to determine the amount of a monthly credit, | 10 | | not to exceed $150 per month per household, not to exceed | 11 | | $1,800 annually, that will be applied to PIP Plan | 12 | | participants' utility bills based on the portion of the | 13 | | bill that is the responsibility of the participant provided | 14 | | that the percentage shall be no more than a total of 6% of | 15 | | the relevant income for gas and electric utility bills | 16 | | combined, but in any event no less than $10 per month, | 17 | | unless the household does not pay directly for heat, in | 18 | | which case its payment shall be 2.4% of income but in any | 19 | | event no less than $5 per month. The Department may | 20 | | establish a minimum credit amount based on the cost of | 21 | | administering the program and may deny credits to otherwise | 22 | | eligible participants if the cost of administering the | 23 | | credit exceeds the actual amount of any monthly credit to a | 24 | | participant. If the participant takes both gas and electric | 25 | | service, 66.67% of the credit shall be allocated to the | 26 | | entity that provides the participant's primary energy |
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| 1 | | supply for heating. Each participant shall enter into a | 2 | | levelized payment plan for, as applicable, gas and electric | 3 | | service and such plans shall be implemented by the utility | 4 | | so that a participant's usage and required payments are | 5 | | reviewed and adjusted regularly, but no more frequently | 6 | | than quarterly.
Nothing in this Section is intended to | 7 | | prohibit a customer, who is otherwise eligible for LIHEAP, | 8 | | from participating in the program described in Section 4 of | 9 | | this Act. Eligible participants who receive such a benefit | 10 | | shall be considered plan participants and shall be eligible | 11 | | to participate in the Arrearage Reduction Program | 12 | | described in item (5) of this subsection (c). | 13 | | (3) The Department shall remit, through the LAAs, to | 14 | | the utility or participating alternative supplier that | 15 | | portion of the plan participant's bill that is not the | 16 | | responsibility of the participant. In the event that the | 17 | | Department fails to timely remit payment to the utility, | 18 | | the utility shall be entitled to recover all costs related | 19 | | to such nonpayment through the automatic adjustment clause | 20 | | tariffs established pursuant to Section 16-111.8 and | 21 | | Section 19-145 of the Public Utilities Act. For purposes of | 22 | | this item (3) of this subsection (c), payment is due on the | 23 | | date specified on the participant's bill. The Department, | 24 | | the Department of Revenue and LAAs shall adopt processes | 25 | | that provide for the timely payment required by this item | 26 | | (3) of this subsection (c). |
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| 1 | | (4) A plan participant is responsible for all actual | 2 | | charges for utility service in excess of the PIPP credit. | 3 | | Pre-program arrears that are included in the Arrearage | 4 | | Reduction Program described in item (5) of this subsection | 5 | | (c) shall not be included in the calculation of the | 6 | | levelized payment plan. Emergency or crisis assistance | 7 | | payments shall not affect the amount of any PIPP credit to | 8 | | which a participant is entitled. | 9 | | (5) Electric and gas utilities subject to this Section | 10 | | shall implement an Arrearage Reduction Program (ARP) for | 11 | | plan participants as follows: for each month that a plan | 12 | | participant timely pays his or her utility bill, the | 13 | | utility shall apply a credit to a portion of the | 14 | | participant's pre-program arrears, if any, equal to | 15 | | one-twelfth of such arrearage provided that the total | 16 | | amount of arrearage credits shall equal no more than $1,000 | 17 | | annually for each participant for gas and no more than | 18 | | $1,000 annually for each participant for electricity. In | 19 | | the third year of the PIPP, the Department, in consultation | 20 | | with the Policy Advisory Council established pursuant to | 21 | | Section 5 of this Act, shall determine by rule an | 22 | | appropriate per participant total cap on such amounts, if | 23 | | any. Those plan participants participating in the ARP shall | 24 | | not be subject to the imposition of any additional late | 25 | | payment fees on pre-program arrears covered by the ARP. In | 26 | | all other respects, the utility shall bill and collect the |
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| 1 | | monthly bill of a plan participant pursuant to the same | 2 | | rules, regulations, programs and policies as applicable to | 3 | | residential customers generally. Participation in the | 4 | | Arrearage Reduction Program shall be limited to the maximum | 5 | | amount of funds available as set forth in subsection (f) of | 6 | | Section 13 of this Act. In the event any donated funds | 7 | | under Section 13 of this Act are specifically designated | 8 | | for the purpose of funding the ARP, the Department shall | 9 | | remit such amounts to the utilities upon verification that | 10 | | such funds are needed to fund the ARP. Nothing in this | 11 | | Section shall preclude a utility from continuing to | 12 | | implement, and apply credits under, an ARP in the event | 13 | | that the PIPP or LIHEAP is suspended due to lack of funding | 14 | | such that the plan participant does not receive a benefit | 15 | | under either the PIPP or LIHEAP. | 16 | | (5.5) In addition to the ARP described in paragraph (5) | 17 | | of this subsection (c), utilities may also implement a | 18 | | Supplemental Arrearage Reduction Program (SARP) for | 19 | | eligible participants who are not able to become plan | 20 | | participants due to PIPP timing or funding constraints. If | 21 | | a utility elects to implement a SARP, it shall be | 22 | | administered as follows: for each month that a SARP | 23 | | participant timely pays his or her utility bill, the | 24 | | utility shall apply a credit to a portion of the | 25 | | participant's pre-program arrears, if any, equal to | 26 | | one-twelfth of such arrearage, provided that the utility |
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| 1 | | may limit the total amount of arrearage credits to no more | 2 | | than $1,000 annually for each participant for gas and no | 3 | | more than $1,000 annually for each participant for | 4 | | electricity. SARP participants shall not be subject to the | 5 | | imposition of any additional late payment fees on | 6 | | pre-program arrears covered by the SARP. In all other | 7 | | respects, the utility shall bill and collect the monthly | 8 | | bill of a SARP participant under the same rules, | 9 | | regulations, programs, and policies as applicable to | 10 | | residential customers generally. Participation in the SARP | 11 | | shall be limited to the maximum amount of funds available | 12 | | as set forth in subsection (f) of Section 13 of this Act. | 13 | | In the event any donated funds under Section 13 of this Act | 14 | | are specifically designated for the purpose of funding the | 15 | | SARP, the Department shall remit such amounts to the | 16 | | utilities upon verification that such funds are needed to | 17 | | fund the SARP. | 18 | | (6) The Department may terminate a plan participant's | 19 | | eligibility for the PIP Plan upon notification by the | 20 | | utility that the participant's monthly utility payment is | 21 | | more than 45 days past due. | 22 | | (7) The Department, in consultation with the Policy | 23 | | Advisory Council, may adjust the number of PIP Plan | 24 | | participants annually, if necessary, to match the | 25 | | availability of funds. Any plan participant who qualifies | 26 | | for a PIPP credit under a utility's PIPP shall be entitled |
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| 1 | | to participate in and receive a credit under such utility's | 2 | | ARP for so long as such utility has ARP funds available, | 3 | | regardless of whether the customer's participation under | 4 | | another utility's PIPP or ARP has been curtailed or limited | 5 | | because of a lack of funds. | 6 | | (8) The Department shall fully implement the PIPP at | 7 | | the earliest possible date it is able to effectively | 8 | | administer the PIPP. Within 90 days of the effective date | 9 | | of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the | 10 | | Department shall, in consultation with utility companies, | 11 | | participating alternative suppliers, LAAs and the Illinois | 12 | | Commerce Commission (Commission), issue a detailed | 13 | | implementation plan which shall include detailed testing | 14 | | protocols and analysis of the capacity for implementation | 15 | | by the LAAs and utilities. Such consultation process also | 16 | | shall address how to implement the PIPP in the most | 17 | | cost-effective and timely manner, and shall identify | 18 | | opportunities for relying on the expertise of utilities, | 19 | | LAAs and the Commission. Following the implementation of | 20 | | the testing protocols, the Department shall issue a written | 21 | | report on the feasibility of full or gradual | 22 | | implementation. The PIPP shall be fully implemented by | 23 | | September 1, 2011, but may be phased in prior to that date. | 24 | | (9) As part of the screening process established under | 25 | | item (1) of this subsection (c), the Department and LAAs | 26 | | shall assess whether any energy efficiency or demand |
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| 1 | | response measures are available to the plan participant at | 2 | | no cost, and if so, the participant shall enroll in any | 3 | | such program for which he or she is eligible. The LAAs | 4 | | shall assist the participant in the applicable enrollment | 5 | | or application process. | 6 | | (10) Each alternative retail electric and gas supplier | 7 | | serving residential customers shall elect whether to | 8 | | participate in the PIPP or ARP described in this Section. | 9 | | Any such supplier electing to participate in the PIPP shall | 10 | | provide to the Department such information as the | 11 | | Department may require, including, without limitation, | 12 | | information sufficient for the Department to determine the | 13 | | proportionate allocation of credits between the | 14 | | alternative supplier and the utility. If a utility in whose | 15 | | service territory an alternative supplier serves customers | 16 | | contributes money to the ARP fund which is not recovered | 17 | | from ratepayers, then an alternative supplier which | 18 | | participates in ARP in that utility's service territory | 19 | | shall also contribute to the ARP fund in an amount that is | 20 | | commensurate with the number of alternative supplier | 21 | | customers who elect to participate in the program. | 22 | | (d) The Department, in consultation with the Policy | 23 | | Advisory Council, shall develop and implement a program to | 24 | | educate customers about the PIP Plan and about their rights and | 25 | | responsibilities under the percentage of income component. The | 26 | | Department, in consultation with the Policy Advisory Council, |
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| 1 | | shall establish a process that LAAs shall use to contact | 2 | | customers in jeopardy of losing eligibility due to late | 3 | | payments. The Department shall ensure that LAAs are adequately | 4 | | funded to perform all necessary educational tasks. | 5 | | (e) The PIPP shall be administered in a manner which | 6 | | ensures that credits to plan participants will not be counted | 7 | | as income or as a resource in other means-tested assistance | 8 | | programs for low-income households or otherwise result in the | 9 | | loss of federal or State assistance dollars for low-income | 10 | | households. | 11 | | (f) In order to ensure that implementation costs are | 12 | | minimized, the Department and utilities shall work together to | 13 | | identify cost-effective ways to transfer information | 14 | | electronically and to employ available protocols that will | 15 | | minimize their respective administrative costs as follows: | 16 | | (1) The Commission may require utilities to provide | 17 | | such information on customer usage and billing and payment | 18 | | information as required by the Department to implement the | 19 | | PIP Plan and to provide written notices and communications | 20 | | to plan participants. | 21 | | (2) Each utility and participating alternative | 22 | | supplier shall file annual reports with the Department and | 23 | | the Commission that cumulatively summarize and update | 24 | | program information as required by the Commission's rules. | 25 | | The reports shall track implementation costs and contain | 26 | | such information as is necessary to evaluate the success of |
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| 1 | | the PIPP. | 2 | | (3) The Department and the Commission shall have the | 3 | | authority to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to | 4 | | execute and administer the provisions of this Section. | 5 | | (g) Each utility shall be entitled to recover reasonable | 6 | | administrative and operational costs incurred to comply with | 7 | | this Section from the Supplemental Low Income Energy Assistance | 8 | | Fund. The utility may net such costs against monies it would | 9 | | otherwise remit to the Funds, and each utility shall include in | 10 | | the annual report required under subsection (f) of this Section | 11 | | an accounting for the funds collected.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17 .)
| 13 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 | | becoming law.".
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