Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB3037

LRB104 16836 BDA 30245 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3037

Introduced 1/28/2026, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 200/1
415 ILCS 200/10
415 ILCS 200/15
415 ILCS 200/20
415 ILCS 200/22 new
415 ILCS 200/25

Amends the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Dark Sky Act. Provides that, beginning December 1, 2026, except for any lighting that a State agency has installed or is using on the effective date of the amendatory Act, all new or renovated luminaires that are purchased or rented with State funds for the purpose of outdoor illumination and any lighting that is installed on land or easements owned, leased, or managed by the State for the purpose of outdoor illumination, including, but not limited to, on roadways, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public right-of-way spaces shall comply with specified responsible outdoor lighting requirements. Makes exceptions to the requirements. Provides that a State agency may send a request to the Department of Central Management Services to seek an exemption when planning to install, purchase, or rent lighting under one or more of the listed exceptions to the requirements in the Act. Requires the Department of Central Management Services, within 30 days of receipt, to (i) grant the exemption by memorandum, (ii) deny the exemption by memorandum, or (iii) grant the exemption by failing to issue a memorandum. Makes conforming changes to provisions that apply to the Department of Natural Resources. Changes a definition. Makes technical changes. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 10, 15, 20, and 25 and by adding Section 22 as follows:

(415 ILCS 200/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Dark Sky Act Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-1007, eff. 1-1-25.)

(415 ILCS 200/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"ANSI/IES standards" means the American National Standards Institute and Illuminating Engineering Society's lighting guidelines, also known as the IES Lighting Library Standards Collection.

"ANSI/IES standards" includes, but is not limited to:

(1) RP-6, which covers outdoor sports and recreational areas;

(2) RP-7, which covers outdoor industrial areas;

(3) RP-8, which covers roadway and parking facilities;

(4) RP-40, which covers port terminals; and

(5) RP-43, which covers outdoor pedestrian areas.

"Correlated color temperature" means the measure of the approximate spectrum of the color of light of an object as perceived by the eye, measured in degrees Kelvin.

"Fully shielded" means a luminaire that is constructed in such a manner that all light emitted, either directly from the lamp or indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part of the luminaire, is projected below the horizontal plane aligned with the bottom of the luminaire aperture, where no part of the lamp protrudes outside of the luminaire or shield.

"Glare" means light emitted by a luminaire that causes visual discomfort, reduced visibility of objects, or produces momentary blindness.

"Illuminating Engineering Society Backlight, Uplight, and Glare rating" or "IES BUG rating" means the luminaire classification system developed by the Illuminating Engineering Society that ranks and defines how many lumens of light a luminaire emits backwards, upwards, and in glare.

"Lamp" means the component of a luminaire that produces light.

"Light pollution" means the scattering of artificial light into the nighttime environment caused by excessive or improperly positioned artificial outdoor lighting resulting in sky glow, light trespass, or glare.

"Light trespass" means light emitted by a luminaire that shines beyond the boundaries of the property the luminaire is intended to illuminate.

"Luminaire" means a complete installed or portable illuminating device, including a lamp, together with the parts designed to distribute the light, such as a reflector or refractor, parts to position and protect the lamps, and parts to connect the lamps to a power supply.

"Lumen" means a standard unit of measurement of luminous flux.

"Lux" means a standard unit of luminous flux expressed in lumens per square meter.

"Nadir" means the point on the ground that is directly below the center of a luminaire.

"Ornamental lighting" means a luminaire that has a historical or seasonal holiday purpose and that serves a historical or seasonal holiday purpose only.

"Outdoor luminaire" means installed or portable outdoor artificial illuminating devices used for flood lighting, roadway and area lighting, general illumination, or advertisement.

"Permanent outdoor luminaire" means exterior lighting or a system of lighting that is used in place for 7 or more days.

"Reflective roadway markings" means lines and markers with reflective properties intended to promote vehicular and pedestrian safety.

"Reflective signage" means roadway and informational signage that has reflective properties to aid with vehicular and pedestrian safety.

"Responsible lighting principles" means the use of modern lighting technologies, including shielding, an upper limit on color temperature (2,700 Kelvin), on-off controls, dimming controls, and motion sensors.

"Roadway lighting" means permanent outdoor luminaires that are specifically intended to illuminate roadways for safe vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

"Sky glow" means the brightening of the night sky due to inefficiently and improperly lit areas.

(Source: P.A. 103-1007, eff. 1-1-25.)

(415 ILCS 200/15)

Sec. 15. Department of Natural Resources outdoor Outdoor lighting control. All new luminaires purchased with State funds after the effective date of this Act or installed after the effective date of this Act on a structure or land that is owned and managed by the Department of Natural Resources, including roadways, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public right-of-way spaces, including sidewalks, with the intended purpose of outdoor illumination must follow, at a minimum, the following Department of Natural Resources outdoor lighting control requirements:

(1) Permanent outdoor luminaires must be fully shielded with an IES BUG rating and produce less than 1% of its emitted light above 80 degrees from the downward vertical direction of nadir. Light shall should not be emitted at an angle above 60 degrees from the downward vertical direction of nadir.

(2) Luminaires must avoid light trespass by not exceeding an illuminance of one lux as measured at ground level both horizontally and vertically at the property boundary.

(3) Luminaires must have a correlated color temperature less than or equal to 2,700 Kelvin. In residential areas, dark sky locations, or environmentally sensitive areas, such as State parks and outdoor recreation facilities, correlated color temperature shall should be no more than 2,200 Kelvin.

(4) Outdoor lighting must be minimized to no more than 25% above ANSI/IES standards or United States Department of Transportation recommendations.

(5) Facade lighting must be minimized to no more than 25% above ANSI/IES standards, must project downward, and must not violate the light trespass limits in paragraph (2).

(6) When the installation or replacement of roadway lighting is planned, the appropriate authority must determine whether reflective roadway markings or reflective signage is appropriate and safe for the situation in lieu of outdoor lighting. Reflectorized roadway markings, lines, warning signs, informational signs or other passive means must be used for roadway lighting, except at intersections of 2 or more streets or highways, unless it is determined that adequate safety cannot be achieved by reflective means.

(7) No artificial lighting above one lux, as measured at ground level both horizontally and vertically, may trespass onto land or waterways designated or managed as habitat, reserve, natural area, open space, or wilderness.

Beginning December 1, 2026, if any outdoor lighting control requirement listed under Section 22 establishes a greater or more stringent requirement than any requirement described in this Section, then the outdoor lighting control requirement listed under Section 22 shall prevail.

(Source: P.A. 103-1007, eff. 1-1-25.)

(415 ILCS 200/20)

Sec. 20. Department of Natural Resources outdoor lighting control exceptions. Exceptions. Section 15 of this Act This Act does not apply if:

(1) the luminaires are on a structure or land that is owned, supported, funded, leased, or managed by the State in a county or municipality that, by ordinance or resolution, has adopted provisions that are equal to or more stringent than the provisions of this Act;

(2) a federal law or regulation preempts this Act;

(3) a State agency determines a safety or security need exists that cannot be addressed by any other method;

(4) fire, police, rescue, or repair personnel need light for temporary emergencies or road repair work;

(5) it has been determined that a reasonable safety and security interest exists at correctional or hospital facilities that cannot be addressed by another method as long as it complies with existing standards, specifications, or policies;

(6) navigational lighting systems and other lighting are necessary to comply with Federal Aviation Administration airside operations or nautical safety;

(7) lamps greater than 2,700 Kelvin are used on active sports grounds or show grounds, but only for the duration of a practice, match, or event. Lamps emitting greater than 2,700 Kelvin under this paragraph must be positioned, angled, or shielded to prevent direct glare and light trespass onto neighboring property or properties, and the positioning, angling, or shielding must limit upward light emission to only the amount necessary to light the sporting or grounds activity;

(8) flagpoles installed after the effective date of this Act are lit by means of a downward-facing lamp and using a lamp of 2,700 Kelvin or lower;

(9) flagpoles installed on or before the effective date of this Act are upward-lit by partially shielded or unshielded luminaires using a lamp of 2,200 Kelvin or lower to minimize the impact of glare, light trespass, and sky glow and are converted to conform to requirements upon retrofitting;

(10) the luminaires luminaries are existing decorative and ornamental lighting that serve historical purposes, but replacement luminaires luminaries for the existing decorative and ornamental lighting must meet the standards of this Act; or

(11) the luminaires luminaries are temporary seasonal holiday lighting lasting no longer than 45 days surrounding the holiday season.

This Section shall not be construed to affect the application of Section 22 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-1007, eff. 1-1-25.)

(415 ILCS 200/22 new)

Sec. 22. State agency outdoor lighting control; exceptions; enforcement; rulemaking.

(a) Beginning December 1, 2026, except for any lighting that a State agency has installed or is using on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly, all new or renovated luminaires that are purchased or rented with State funds for the purpose of outdoor illumination and any lighting that is installed on land or easements owned, leased, or managed by the State for the purpose of outdoor illumination, including, but not limited to, on roadways, facilities, properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public right-of-way spaces shall comply with the following State agency responsible outdoor lighting requirements:

(1) Outdoor lighting must be minimized to no more than 25% above ANSI/IES standards.

(2) Luminaire light sources shall not be visible from a federal or State designated wilderness, natural area, habitat, or reserve, and related light trespass shall measure no greater than 0.1 lux.

(3) Luminaires emitting more than 1,000 lumens shall be designed or shielded in such a manner that no light is emitted, either directly or indirectly, at or above a horizontal plane running through the lowest light-emitting part of the luminaire, and shall emit no more than 5% of their total lumen output above 80 degrees from nadir.

(4) Nonessential outdoor lighting, including, but not limited to, landscape and decorative lighting elements, shall be extinguished between 10 p.m. and sunrise or 7 a.m., whichever comes earlier, except that for businesses and events with operating hours later than 10 p.m., nonessential outdoor lighting shall be extinguished between one hour after closing and sunrise or 7 a.m., whichever comes earlier.

(5) The maximum correlated color temperature of outdoor luminaires is 3,000 Kelvin.

(6) 85% of lumens generated by sports lighting outdoor luminaires shall be confined to within 33 feet or a distance equal to one pole height, whichever is greater, of the playing field or the spectator track or bleacher area, whichever is greater.

(7) Outdoor aerial sports lighting applications shall have a maximum of 8% total lumen output above 80 degrees from nadir.

(8) Outdoor sports lighting shall use the lowest possible correlated color temperature for the sport, class of play, and viewing audience but shall never exceed 5,700 Kelvin.

(b) This Section shall not apply to the following:

(1) lighting with outdoor lighting requirements that preempt State law under a federal law or regulation;

(2) lighting with alternative outdoor lighting requirements that are necessary for the safety of any person, as determined by the State agency or a unit of local government with jurisdiction;

(3) lighting with alternative outdoor lighting requirements that are necessary to protect people, property, or infrastructure from criminal threat, as determined by the State agency or a unit of local government with jurisdiction;

(4) temporary lighting used by law enforcement and authorized first responders during emergency procedures;

(5) luminaires replicating time period historical character and lighting effect that are protected by historical registration or that are otherwise permitted by the State agency or a unit of local government with jurisdiction for that purpose;

(6) special event lighting approved by the State agency or a unit of local government with jurisdiction, provided the permitted lighting meets light trespass requirements under this Act and does not add further disruption to ecological migration or habitat; or

(7) outdoor or site lighting that is portable, temporary, decorative, used in connection with holidays and traditions, and not intended for general illumination, including, but not limited to, string lighting, icicle lighting, and lighted inflatables that meet the requirements under this paragraph.

(c) Any State agency may send a request to the Department of Central Management Services to seek exemption under this Act when planning to install, purchase, or rent lighting. The request must contain one or more of the reasons under subsection (b) of this Section for any State agency or under Section 20 for the Department of Natural Resources. The Department of Central Management Services, within 30 days of its receipt of the request, shall (i) grant the exemption by memorandum, (ii) deny the exemption by memorandum, or (iii) grant the exemption by failing to issue a memorandum.

(d) The Department of Central Management Services shall adopt rules to implement, administer, and enforce this Section.

(415 ILCS 200/25)

Sec. 25. Other laws. If this Act conflicts with any other federal law, State law, or local ordinance controlling lighting, outdoor luminaires luminaries, signage, outdoor advertising, displays, or devices that is more stringent than the Act, then the federal law, State law, or local ordinance controls to the extent it is more stringent than the Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-1007, eff. 1-1-25.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.