101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2095

 

Introduced , by Rep. Bob Morgan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Environmental Impact Note Act. Provides that every bill and proposed rule, the purpose or effect of which may impact the environment or natural resources, shall have prepared for it a brief explanatory statement or note that shall include a reliable estimate of the anticipated environmental impact. Provides for the preparation of environmental impact notes. Provides for votes on the necessity of environmental impact notes. Provides for the requisites and contents of environmental impact notes. Provides that no comment or opinion shall be included in the environmental impact note with regard to the merits of the measure for which the environmental impact note is prepared, but allows technical or mechanical defects to be noted. Provides that the preparation of an environmental impact note for a bill or proposed rule does not preclude the appearance of State officials and employees in support or opposition of a measure. Provides requirements concerning amendments to a bill or proposed rule for which an environmental impact note has been prepared.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Environmental Impact Note Act.
 
6    Section 5. Applicability.
7    (a) Every bill, except those making a direct appropriation,
8the purpose or effect of which may impact the environment or
9natural resources, shall have prepared for it, before second
10reading in the house of introduction, a brief explanatory
11statement or note that shall include a reliable estimate of the
12anticipated environmental impact.
13    (b) Every proposed rule of an agency, the purpose or effect
14of which may impact the environment or natural resources, shall
15have prepared for it, before approval by the Joint Committee on
16Administrative Rules under the Illinois Administrative
17Procedure Act, a brief explanatory statement or note that shall
18include a reliable estimate of the anticipated environmental
19impact. As used in this Act, "rule" and "agency" have the same
20meanings as in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
21    (c) These statements or notes shall be known as
22environmental impact notes.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Preparation. The sponsor of each bill, or the
2agency proposing a rule, to which Section 5 applies, shall
3present a copy of the bill or proposed rule, with the request
4for an environmental impact note, to the Illinois Environmental
5Protection Agency. The environmental impact note shall be
6prepared by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and
7submitted to the sponsor of the bill or the agency within 5
8calendar days, except that whenever, because of the complexity
9of the measure, additional time is required for the preparation
10of the note, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency may
11inform the sponsor of the bill or the agency, and the sponsor
12or agency may approve an extension of the time within which the
13note is to be submitted, not to extend, however, beyond June
1415, following the date of the request. The Illinois
15Environmental Protection Agency may seek assistance from a
16statewide environmental organization representing the
17environmental issue in the preparation of a housing
18affordability impact note. If, in the opinion of the Illinois
19Environmental Protection Agency, there is insufficient
20information to prepare a reliable estimate of the anticipated
21impact, a statement to that effect can be filed and shall meet
22the requirements of this Act.
 
23    Section 15. Vote on necessity of environmental impact
24notes. Whenever the sponsor of any bill is of the opinion that
25no environmental impact note is required, any member of either

 

 

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1house may request that a note be obtained, and in that case the
2applicability of this Act shall be decided by the majority of
3those present and voting in the house of which the sponsor is a
4member.
 
5    Section 20. Requisites and contents. The note shall be
6factual in nature, as brief and concise as necessary to include
7the required contents, and shall provide a reliable estimate in
8dollars of the monetary impact caused by the environmental
9impact, if any, and it shall include both a description of the
10immediate environmental impact and, if determinable or
11reasonably foreseeable, the long range environmental impact of
12the measure. If, after careful investigation, it is determined
13that no dollar estimate is possible, the note shall contain a
14statement to that effect, setting forth the reasons why no
15dollar estimate can be given. A brief summary or work sheet of
16computations and resources used in arriving at environmental
17impact note figures and conclusions shall be included.
 
18    Section 25. Comment or opinion; technical or mechanical
19defects. No comment or opinion shall be included in the
20environmental impact note with regard to the merits of the
21measure for which the environmental impact note is prepared;
22however, technical or mechanical defects may be noted.
 
23    Section 30. Appearance of State officials and employees in

 

 

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1support or opposition of measure. The fact that an
2environmental impact note is prepared for any bill or proposed
3rule shall not preclude or restrict the appearance before any
4committee of the General Assembly, or before the Joint
5Committee on Administrative Rules, of any official or
6authorized employee of the Illinois Environmental Protection
7Agency who desires to be heard in support of or in opposition
8to the measure.
 
9    Section 35. Amendment of bill necessitating statement of
10environmental impact of proposed amendment. Whenever any
11committee of either house reports any bill with an amendment
12that will substantially affect the facts or figures stated in
13the environmental impact note attached to the measure at the
14time of its referral to the committee, there shall be included
15with the report of the committee a statement of the effect of
16the change proposed by the amendment reported if desired by a
17majority of the committee. Whenever any bill is amended on the
18floor of either house to substantially affect the facts or
19figures as stated in the environmental impact note attached to
20the bill before the amendment, a majority of the members of
21that house may propose that no action shall be taken on the
22amendment until the sponsor of the amendment presents to the
23members a statement of the environmental impact of the proposed
24amendment.