[ Search ] [ Legislation ] [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
90_SR0173
LRB9011735CBcb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Illinois is dependent for about 50% of its oil
3 supplies on imports, a significant portion of which is from
4 distant foreign sources, and faces increasing dependence on
5 such suppliers as North American supplies decline, it is
6 desirable to displace some foreign oil supplies with in-state
7 supplies; and
8 WHEREAS, Five barrels of crude oil can be recovered from
9 each ton of coal, and the idle high-sulfur Illinois coal
10 deposits represent a reservoir of billions of barrels of oil,
11 equivalent to the reservoirs of most foreign suppliers, which
12 can be converted to high-quality gasoline, diesel oil, and
13 clean utility fuels for conventional power plants and
14 combined cycle power systems; and
15 WHEREAS, Illinois coal was used in the test programs over
16 the past fifteen years which have shown technical and
17 economic viability, with the sulfur and nitrogen contaminants
18 captured as valuable fertilizer matters; and
19 WHEREAS, Clean coal fuels from Illinois high-sulfur coal
20 will result in more efficient power generation than the
21 current use of out-of-state low sulfur coals, whereby a
22 reduction is made in the emissions that are causing global
23 warming; and
24 WHEREAS, Processing plants are in operation in other
25 countries upgrading low-grade materials; and
26 WHEREAS, Such plants are large generators of jobs and
27 taxes, i.e. one modest-sized plant of 20,000 bbls per day
28 with a 20-year life span can generate $10 billion in taxes,
29 creates 477 permanent jobs and many more in construction, and
30 displaces $2.5 billion of imported oil, while the internal
31 demand of Illinois is manyfold that size; therefore, be it
-2- LRB9011735CBcb
1 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we seek to have the necessary
3 fiscal incentives, which are economically justified on the
4 benefits that accrue to Illinois, be put in place to provide
5 for construction of such plants, these being:
6 (1) a request to the Illinois Congressional delegation
7 to have extended the federal qualifying period under the
8 Small Business Act of 1996, in which coal synfuels would
9 qualify for Internal Revenue Code Section 29 tax credit,
10 from July 1, 1998, for at least ten years, as such
11 projects cannot be constructed and in operation under the
12 current practice of extending the qualifying period only
13 one year at a time;
14 (2) an investment tax credit of 25% be enacted
15 applicable to such projects;
16 (3) that 75% of the State's fuel tax, on fuels derived
17 from Illinois coal, be allocated to the projects for the
18 first three years of a plant's operation and 50% be
19 allocated for the next two years, provided that the fuel
20 contains 50% of coal liquids from Illinois coal;
21 (4) that the State use its good offices to facilitate
22 environmental permitting; and
23 (5) that the State proclaim its desire to preferentially
24 contract for fuels derived from local high-sulfur coals
25 for its motive stock and institutions; and be it further
26 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
27 presented to the Governor of the State of Illinois, the
28 Illinois Congressional delegation, the Illinois State Senate,
29 the Director of Natural Resources, and the appropriate
30 environmental agencies.