HB5315ham002 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Daniel Didech

Filed: 4/16/2024

10300HB5315ham002 LRB103 34870 JRC 72445 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5315

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5315, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Division 5-46 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/Div. 5-46 heading new)

Division 5-46. Solar Bill of Rights

(55 ILCS 5/5-46005 new)

Sec. 5-46005. Definitions. As used in this Division:

"Low voltage solar powered device" means a piece of equipment designed for a particular purpose, including, but not limited to, doorbells, security systems and illumination equipment, powered by a solar collector operating at less than 50 volts and located:

(1) entirely within the lot or parcel owned by the property owner; or

(2) within a common area without being permanently attached to common property.

"Solar energy" means radiant energy received from the sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic use, or photovoltaic use.

"Solar collector" means:

(1) an assembly, structure, or design, including passive elements, used for gathering, concentrating, or absorbing direct and indirect solar energy, specially designed for holding a substantial amount of useful thermal energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or liquid or to use that energy directly; or

(2) a mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts it into electricity; or

(3) a mechanism or process used for gathering solar energy through wind or thermal gradients; or

(4) a component used to transfer thermal energy to a gas, solid, or liquid, or to convert it into electricity.

"Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements (such as piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat exchangers, batteries, or controls thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or combinations thereof) that are utilized for storing solar energy, gathered by a solar collector, for subsequent use.

"Solar energy system" means:

(1) a complete assembly, structure, or design of solar collector or a solar storage mechanism that uses solar energy for generating electricity or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids, or other materials; and

(2) the design, materials, or elements of a system and its maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the necessary components, if any, of supplemental conventional energy systems designed or constructed to interface with a solar energy system.

(55 ILCS 5/5-46010 new)

Sec. 5-46010. Prohibitions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Code or other provision of law, the adoption of any ordinance or resolution, or exercise of any power, by a county which prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of a solar energy system or low voltage solar powered device is expressly prohibited.

(55 ILCS 5/5-46015 new)

Sec. 5-46015. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate the Solar Bill of Rights in a manner more restrictive than the regulation by the State under this Division. 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.

(55 ILCS 5/5-46020 new)

Sec. 5-46020. Costs; attorney's fees. In any litigation arising under this Division or involving the application of this Division, the prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by adding Division 15.5 to Article 11 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/ Art. 11 Div. 15.5 heading new)

Division 15.5. SOLAR BILL OF RIGHTS

(65 ILCS 5/11-15.5-5 new)

Sec. 11-15.5-5. Definitions. As used in this Division:

"Low voltage solar powered device" means a piece of equipment designed for a particular purpose, including, but not limited to, doorbells, security systems and illumination equipment, powered by a solar collector operating at less than 50 volts and located:

(1) entirely within the lot or parcel owned by the property owner; or

(2) within a common area without being permanently attached to common property.

"Solar energy" means radiant energy received from the sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic use, or photovoltaic use.

"Solar collector" means:

(1) an assembly, structure, or design, including passive elements, used for gathering, concentrating, or absorbing direct and indirect solar energy, specially designed for holding a substantial amount of useful thermal energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or liquid or to use that energy directly; or

(2) a mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts it into electricity; or

(3) a mechanism or process used for gathering solar energy through wind or thermal gradients; or

(4) a component used to transfer thermal energy to a gas, solid, or liquid, or to convert it into electricity.

"Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements (such as piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat exchangers, batteries, or controls thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or combinations thereof) that are utilized for storing solar energy, gathered by a solar collector, for subsequent use.

"Solar energy system" means:

(1) a complete assembly, structure, or design of solar collector or a solar storage mechanism that uses solar energy for generating electricity or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids, or other materials; and

(2) the design, materials, or elements of a system and its maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the necessary components, if any, of supplemental conventional energy systems designed or constructed to interface with a solar energy system.

(65 ILCS 5/11-15.5-10 new)

Sec. 11-15.5-10. Prohibitions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Code or other provision of law, the adoption of any ordinance or resolution, or exercise of any power, by a municipality that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of a solar energy system or low voltage solar powered device is expressly prohibited; provided, however, that municipalities that own local electric distribution systems may adopt and implement reasonable policies, not inconsistent with Section 17-900 of the Public Utilities Act, regarding the interconnection and use of solar energy systems.

(65 ILCS 5/11-15.5-15 new)

Sec. 11-15.5-15. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate the Solar Bill of Rights in a manner more restrictive than the regulation by the State under this Division. 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.

(65 ILCS 5/11-15.5-20 new)

Sec. 11-15.5-20. Costs; attorney's fees. In any litigation arising under this Division or involving the application of this Division, the prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Section 15. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 17-900 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/17-900)

Sec. 17-900. Customer self-generation of electricity.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that municipal systems and electric cooperatives shall continue to be governed by their respective governing bodies, but that such governing bodies should recognize and implement policies to provide the opportunity for their residential and small commercial customers who wish to self-generate electricity and for reasonable credits to customers for excess electricity, balanced against the rights of the other non-self-generating customers. This includes creating consistent, fair policies that are accessible to all customers and transparent, fair processes for raising and addressing any concerns.

(b) Customers have the right to install renewable generating facilities to be located on the customer's premises or customer's side of the billing meter and that are intended primarily to offset the customer's own electrical requirements and produce, consume, and store their own renewable energy without discriminatory repercussions from an electric cooperative or municipal system. This includes a customer's rights to:

(1) generate, consume, and deliver excess renewable energy to the distribution grid and reduce his or her use of electricity obtained from the grid;

(2) use technology to store energy at his or her residence;

(3) interconnect his or her electrical system that generates renewable energy, stores energy, or any combination thereof, with the electricity meter on the customer's premises that is provided by an electric cooperative or municipal system:

(A) in a timely manner;

(B) in accordance with requirements established by the electric cooperative or municipal utility to ensure the safety of utility workers; and

(C) after providing written notice to the electric cooperative or municipal utility system providing service in the service territory, installing a nomenclature plate on the electrical meter panel and meeting all applicable State and local safety and electrical code requirements associated with installing a parallel distributed generation system; and

(4) receive fair credit for excess energy delivered to the distribution grid.

(c) The policies of municipal systems and electric cooperatives regarding self-generation and credits for excess electricity may reasonably differ from those required of other entities by Article XVI of the Public Utilities Act or other Acts. The credits must recognize the value of self-generation to the distribution grid and benefits to other customers.

(c-1) The aggregate value of the credit in total shall be at least equal to a kilowatt-hour supply charge for energy calculated at the retail rate of the municipal system or electric cooperative for energy, in cents per kilowatt-hour, applicable to the customer, including any purchased energy adjustment.

(c-2) The billing periods for crediting purposes must be monthly. The municipal system or electric cooperative shall:

(1) carry over any unused credits earned by the customer and apply those credits to subsequent billing periods to offset usage based electric energy charges on the customer's subsequent bills until all credits are used or until the end of the annual period, which ends each year in March or October as chosen by the customer, at which time the customer shall receive a direct payment for any remaining credit balance; or

(2) compensate customers for excess credits each billing period when earned through either direct payment or allowing the credit to offset other charges on the bill, including allowing the bill to go negative.

(c-3) The policies of municipal systems and electric cooperatives regarding self-generation shall include the following requirements concerning system sizing and additional insured liability limits:

(1) Self-generation is intended primarily to offset a customer's own current or future electrical requirements. The municipal system or electric cooperative shall allow the customer to install renewable generating facilities with system sizing that is based on the alternating current rather than direct current.

(2) The municipal system or electric cooperative shall not require residential or small commercial customers to name the municipal utility or electric cooperative as an additional insured on the customer's insurance policies or have any set liability limit requirement for the homeowner or resident in connection with the installation and operation of the renewable generating facilities, provided that the renewable generating facilities meet the safety standards listed in the applicable interconnection agreement and the contractor used to install the facilities is licensed and possesses commercial general liability insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in aggregate per year.

(d) By June 1, 2025 Within 180 days after this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, each electric cooperative and municipal system shall review and update its policies and billing systems for the interconnection and fair crediting of customer self-generation and storage, if necessary, to comply with the standards of subsections (c-1) through (c-2) subsection (b) of this Section. Each electric cooperative and municipal system shall post its updated policies to a public-facing area of its website.

(e) An electric cooperative or municipal system customer who produces, consumes, and stores his or her own renewable energy shall not face discriminatory rate design, fees or charges, treatment, or excessive compliance requirements that would unreasonably affect that customer's right to self-generate electricity as provided for in this Section.

(f) An electric cooperative or municipal utility system customer shall have a right to appeal any decision related to self-generation and storage that violates these rights to self-generation and non-discrimination pursuant to the provisions of this Section through a complaint under the Administrative Review Law or similar legal process.

(Source: P.A. 102-662, eff. 9-15-21.)

Section 20. The Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 20, and 45 as follows:

(765 ILCS 165/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Low voltage solar powered device" means a piece of equipment designed for a particular purpose, including, but not limited to, doorbells, security systems and illumination equipment, powered by a solar collector operating at less than 50 volts and located:

(1) entirely within the lot or parcel owned by the property owner; or

(2) within a common area without being permanently attached to common property.

"Solar energy" means radiant energy received from the sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic use, or photovoltaic use.

"Solar collector" means:

(1) an assembly, structure, or design, including passive elements, used for gathering, concentrating, or absorbing direct and indirect solar energy, specially designed for holding a substantial amount of useful thermal energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or liquid or to use that energy directly; or

(2) a mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts it into electricity; or

(3) a mechanism or process used for gathering solar energy through wind or thermal gradients; or

(4) a component used to transfer thermal energy to a gas, solid, or liquid, or to convert it into electricity.

"Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements (such as piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat exchangers, batteries, or controls thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or combinations thereof) that are utilized for storing solar energy, gathered by a solar collector, for subsequent use.

"Solar energy system" means:

(1) a complete assembly, structure, or design of solar collector, or a solar storage mechanism, which uses solar energy for generating electricity or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids, or other materials; and

(2) the design, materials, or elements of a system and its maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the necessary components, if any, of supplemental conventional energy systems designed or constructed to interface with a solar energy system.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21.)

(765 ILCS 165/15)

Sec. 15. Associations; prohibitions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Act or other provision of law, the adoption of a bylaw or exercise of any power by the governing entity of a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association which prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of a solar energy system or low voltage solar powered device is expressly prohibited.

(Source: P.A. 96-1436, eff. 1-1-11.)

(765 ILCS 165/20)

Sec. 20. Deed restrictions; covenants.

(a) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting a solar energy system or low voltage solar powered device from being installed on a lot or parcel or on a building erected on a lot or parcel covered by the deed restrictions, covenants, or binding agreements, if the building is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association. A property owner may not be denied permission to install a low voltage solar powered device or solar energy system, or be required to utilize specific technology, including, but not limited to, solar shingles rather than traditional solar panels, by any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property. However, for purposes of this Act, the entity may determine the specific configuration of the elements of a solar energy system on a given lot or parcel or roof face, provided that it may not prohibit elements of the system from being installed on any roof face and that any such determination may not reduce the production of the solar energy system by more than 10%. For the purposes of this Section, "production" means the estimated annual electrical production of the solar energy system.

(b) Within 90 days after a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association receives a request for a policy statement or an application from an association member, the association shall adopt a written energy policy statement. Any energy policy statement, regardless of when adopted, shall explicitly include as the minimum standards the terms of this Section but may also include standards regarding: (i) the location, design, and architectural requirements of solar energy systems; and (ii) whether a wind energy collection, rain water collection, or composting system is allowed, and, if so, the location, design, and architectural requirements of those systems. A written energy policy statement may not condition approval of an application on approval by adjacent property owners. An association may not inquire into a property owner's energy usage, impose conditions impairing the operation of a solar energy system, impose conditions negatively impacting any component industry standard warranty, or require post-installation reporting. Nor may a property owner be denied permission to install a solar energy system based on system ownership or financing method chosen by the property owner. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an association's written energy policy statement may impose reasonable conditions concerning the maintenance, repair, replacement, and ultimate removal of damaged or inoperable systems so long as such conditions are not more onerous than the association's analogous conditions for nonsolar projects. An association shall disclose, upon request, its written energy policy statement and shall include the statement in its homeowners' common interest community, or condominium unit owners' association declaration.

(c) Any provision of a homeowners' common interest community or condominium unit owners' declaration or energy policy statement that conflicts with this Act shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21; 103-296, eff. 7-28-23.)

(765 ILCS 165/45)

Sec. 45. Inapplicability; applicability.

(a) This Act shall not apply to any building that:

(1) is greater than 60 feet in height; or

(2) has a shared roof and is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, condominium unit owners' association.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, this Act shall apply to any building with a shared roof:

(1) where the solar energy system is located entirely within that portion of the shared roof owned and maintained by the property owner;

(2) where all property owners sharing the shared roof are in agreement to install a solar energy system; or

(3) to the extent this Act applies to low voltage solar powered devices.

(c) As used in this Section, "shared roof" means any roof that (i) serves more than one unit, including, but not limited to, a contiguous roof serving adjacent units, or (ii) is part of the common elements or common area.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21.)".