August 11, 2023

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois Senate,

103rd General Assembly:

Today, at the request of the leadership team of the Speaker of the House and advocates, I will veto Senate Bill 76 from the 103rd General Assembly. The bill removes the moratorium on new construction of nuclear power plants to allow for the construction of both advanced and traditional large-scale nuclear reactors in Illinois.

There appears to be real potential for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which could, in the future, safely provide power for large energy consuming businesses in areas where their energy needs cannot currently be met. However, this bill provides no regulatory protections for the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors. My hope is that future legislation in Illinois regarding SMRs would address this regulation gap, and that Illinois will adopt standards that will have been reviewed by experts in the field along with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission or another similar review panel.

Unfortunately, the vague definitions in the bill, including the overly broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the door to proliferation of large scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts, such as the recent one totaling over $3 billion for Constellation Energy Corp., a part of Exelon’s former power generation and competitive energy business.

My administration appreciates the hard work of the sponsors in the House and Senate. I look forward to working together to promote energy solutions that will not require additional rate-payer funded bailouts and will not allow under-regulated energy sources.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 76, entitled “UTILITY-MODULAR NUCLEAR REACT,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,                                                                                                             

JB Pritzker

Governor, State of Illinois