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| 1 | AN ACT concerning regulation. | ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly: | ||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | ||||||
| 5 | Section 8-101.1 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (220 ILCS 5/8-101.1 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 8-101.1. Duties of public utilities; labor force. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) As used in this Section: | ||||||
| 9 | "Labor force" means the employees hired directly by a | ||||||
| 10 | public utility and all employees of any and all suppliers and | ||||||
| 11 | subcontractors of the public utility tasked with the | ||||||
| 12 | construction, maintenance, and repair of the public utility's | ||||||
| 13 | infrastructure. | ||||||
| 14 | "Substantial change in labor force" means either: (i) a | ||||||
| 15 | greater than 5% reduction in the total labor force of a public | ||||||
| 16 | utility; or (ii) a greater than 5% decrease in the ratio of | ||||||
| 17 | labor force spending compared to capital spending of a public | ||||||
| 18 | utility. | ||||||
| 19 | (b) A public utility shall ensure that it has the | ||||||
| 20 | necessary labor force in order to furnish, provide, and | ||||||
| 21 | maintain such service instrumentalities, equipment, and | ||||||
| 22 | facilities to promote the safety, health, comfort, and | ||||||
| 23 | convenience of its patrons and employees and the public and to | ||||||
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| 1 | be in all respects adequate, efficient, just, and reasonable. | ||||||
| 2 | (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Section or | ||||||
| 3 | pursuant to orders from the Commission, no substantial change | ||||||
| 4 | shall be made by any public utility in its labor force unless | ||||||
| 5 | the public utility provides notice to the Commission at least | ||||||
| 6 | 45 days before the implementation of the change. A public | ||||||
| 7 | utility shall include a report that provides the following in | ||||||
| 8 | addition to the notice: | ||||||
| 9 | (1) a detailed analysis and explanation of how and why | ||||||
| 10 | a change in a specific law, regulation, or market factor | ||||||
| 11 | requires the public utility to make the substantial change | ||||||
| 12 | in its labor force; and | ||||||
| 13 | (2) whether the substantial change in the public | ||||||
| 14 | utility's labor force meets the following factors: | ||||||
| 15 | (A) the substantial change is in the public | ||||||
| 16 | interest; | ||||||
| 17 | (B) the substantial change will not endanger the | ||||||
| 18 | quality and availability of public utility services; | ||||||
| 19 | (C) the substantial change will not have a | ||||||
| 20 | negative impact on the safety or reliability of public | ||||||
| 21 | utility services; and | ||||||
| 22 | (D) the substantial change is designed to minimize | ||||||
| 23 | the financial hardship on the members of the public | ||||||
| 24 | utility's labor force that are impacted by the | ||||||
| 25 | substantial change. | ||||||
| 26 | (d) The Commission may conduct an audit or investigation | ||||||
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| 1 | under Section 8-102 of this Act of any public utility report | ||||||
| 2 | filed pursuant to this Section. If, after notice and hearing, | ||||||
| 3 | the Commission finds that a report was insufficient to justify | ||||||
| 4 | the substantial change in labor force, then the cost of any | ||||||
| 5 | independent audit conducted by the Commission shall not be | ||||||
| 6 | recoverable as an expense from the ratepayers of the public | ||||||
| 7 | utility. | ||||||