HB3725 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 10905 RTM 20987 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3725

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Joe C. Sosnowski

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Local Government Billing Act. Provides that the corporate authorities of a unit of local government shall bill for any utility service, including previously unbilled service, within 12 months (for residential customers) or 24 months (for non-residential customers) after the provision of the utility service. Provides exceptions to the time limits for billing when the customer prevented the utility from accurately reading the meter. Provides that the corporate authorities shall not intentionally delay billing beyond the normal billing cycle, shall label amounts attributed to previously unbilled service as such, shall prorate previously unbilled service amounts to reflect varying rates during the unbilled time, and shall provide the customer with a payment arrangement option for previously unbilled service amounts. Provides that customers may be billed for unpaid amounts that were billed to a customer before the effective date of the Act for service that was supplied to the customer before January 1, 2026. Provides that customers may be billed for unpaid amounts if the customer was notified that there is an unpaid amount before the effective date of the Act for service that was supplied to the customer before January 1, 2026. Provides that there is no time limit for the corporate authorities of a unit of local government to collect previously unbilled service attributed to tampering, theft of service, fraud, or the customer preventing the utility's recorded efforts to obtain an accurate reading of the meter.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local Government Billing Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Corporate authorities" includes, but is not limited to:

(1) the county board of a county;

(2) the corporate of a municipality;

(3) the township officials of a township; and

(4) the board of trustees of a special district.

Section 10. Billing for services.

(a) On or after the effective date of the Act of the 104th General Assembly, the corporate authorities of any unit of local government operating a waterworks, sewerage system, combined waterworks and sewerage system, or electric utility:

(1) shall bill for any utility service, including previously unbilled service: (A) within 12 months after the provision of that service to the customer if the service is supplied to a residential customer; or (B) within 24 months after the provision of that service to that customer if the service is supplied to a non-residential customer; however, the corporate authorities of the unit of government may bill for unpaid amounts that were billed to a customer or if the customer was notified that there is an unpaid amount before the effective date of this Act for service that was supplied to the customer before January 1, 2026;

(2) shall not intentionally delay billing beyond the normal billing cycle;

(3) shall label any amount attributed to previously unbilled service as such on the customer's bill and include the beginning and ending dates for the period during which the previously unbilled amount accrued;

(4) shall issue the makeup billing amount calculated on a prorated basis to reflect the varying rates for previously unbilled service accrued over a period of time when the rates for service have varied; and

(5) shall provide the customer with the option of a payment arrangement to retire the makeup bill for previously unbilled service by periodic payments, without interest or late fees, over a time equal to the amount of time the billing was delayed.

(b) The time limit of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall not apply to previously unbilled service attributed to tampering, theft of service, fraud, or the customer preventing the utility's recorded efforts to obtain an accurate reading of the meter.

Section 15. Home rule. A home rule unit of local government may not regulate utilities in a manner inconsistent with this Act. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.