HB4803ham001 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Dave Vella

Filed: 3/13/2026

10400HB4803ham001 LRB104 16923 AAS 35314 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4803

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4803 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Electric Transmission Colocation and Siting Priority Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Section:

"Authority" means the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

"Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Electric transmission facility" means an electrical transmission system designed and constructed with the capability of being safely and reliably energized at 69 kilovolts or more, including transmission lines, transmission towers, conductors, insulators, foundations, grounding systems, access roads, and all associated transmission facilities, including transmission substations. "Electric transmission facility" does not include a project located on the electric generating side of a facility's point of interconnection.

"Highway" has the meaning given to that term in Section 2-202 of the Illinois Highway Code.

"High-voltage transmission line" means any line for the transmission of electric current with a nominal voltage of at least 115 kilovolts that is colocated longitudinally in a public right-of-way or a corridor, including all supporting structures and accessories necessary for such line. "High-voltage transmission line" does not include any line for the transmission of electric current that crosses through but is not wholly contained within a State highway right-of-way.

"Public utility" has the meaning given to that term in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.

"Public utility corridor" means the land, or interest therein, acquired for or devoted to a public utility to place and maintain infrastructure for electricity, water, gas, or Internet service.

"Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation.

"State highway corridor" means the land, or interest therein, acquired for or devoted to a State highway.

"Transmission developer" means any company that (i) has been issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity in this State that authorizes the company to own and operate an electric transmission line and (ii) is a State electric utility, as defined in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act, or an affiliate of a State electric utility through a common ownership structure.

Section 10. Electric transmission siting priorities.

(a) In the siting of new electric transmission facilities, including high-voltage transmission lines, available corridors shall be considered in the following order of priority:

(1) Existing public utility corridors.

(2) State highway corridors.

(3) New corridors.

(b) Consideration of the corridors listed in subsection (a) shall be done, to the greatest extent possible, in a manner that accounts for economic and engineering considerations, the reliability of the electric system, and the protection of the environment. The order of priority under subsection (a) shall not apply to projects that have been sited on or before the effective date of this Act.

Section 15. High-voltage transmission line colocation requests.

(a) A public utility or transmission developer may construct, place, or maintain a high-voltage transmission line on a public right-of-way or along a highway if (i) the public utility or transmission developer submits to the Secretary or the Authority a colocation request for the high-voltage transmission line and (ii) the Secretary or the Authority reviews and approves the colocation request.

(b) The Secretary or the Authority may deny a colocation request under this Section if the Secretary or the Authority determines that the construction, placement, or maintenance of a high-voltage transmission line on a public right-of-way or along a highway would endanger public safety or would interfere with the proper function of the highway.

(c) If the Secretary or the Authority denies a colocation request under this Section, the Secretary or the Authority shall submit the reasons for the denial to the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Executive Director of the Commission, and the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity within 90 days after the issuance of the denial.

Section 20. Consultation and constructability report.

(a) A public utility or transmission developer may submit a written request to the Department or the Authority for an evaluation of the corridors described in subsection (a) of Section 10 for possible locations for a high-voltage transmission line. Within 30 days after receipt of a written request under this subsection (a), the Secretary or the Authority shall assign a project coordinator to the request. A project coordinator, upon assignment to a request, shall begin the evaluation in coordination with the applicable public utility or transmission developer.

(b) The Department or the Authority shall inform a public utility or transmission developer about any of the Department's or the Authority's current plans or projects that could impact the public utility's or transmission developer's potential construction or placement of a high-voltage transmission line within a corridor.

(c) After an evaluation under subsection (a) identifies an acceptable location within a corridor, a public utility or transmission developer, in consultation with the Department or the Authority, shall develop a constructability report. The constructability report shall include (i) the terms and conditions for the siting of the high-voltage transmission line and (ii) an agreed-upon time frame during which the Department or the Authority may not request the relocation of the high-voltage transmission line. The Department or the Authority shall issue a permit to the public utility or transmission developer for the use of a public right-of-way within the corridor for the siting of a high-voltage transmission line only after a constructability report is approved by both the Department or the Authority and the public utility or transmission developer.

(d) A public utility or transmission developer and the Department or the Authority shall follow the terms and conditions of the approved constructability report during the planning and approval process for the siting of a high-voltage transmission line. If the Department or the Authority requires the relocation of a high-voltage transmission line on a public right-of-way by a specific date, the Department or the Authority shall give the applicable public utility or transmission developer notice of the required relocation at the time the Department or the Authority becomes aware of the need for the relocation.

Section 25. Project labor agreements. Electric transmission facilities constructed or placed on a public right-of-way or along a highway in accordance with this Act shall be built by general contractors who have entered into a project labor agreement prior to construction.

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