96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB2484

 

Introduced 2/20/2009, by Rep. Karen May

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Student Referendum All-American Energy Act. Provides that students at a public institution of higher education may, by a majority vote of the students participating in a referendum, authorize the imposition of an All-American Energy Fee on students. Provides that the revenues of an All-American Energy Fee must be used for energy conservation measures in student residence halls or purchasing renewable energy resources to provide power for student residence halls or both. Provides that the referendum for an All-American Energy Fee must be submitted to a vote of the student body if a petition for such a vote is signed by no fewer than 300 students currently enrolled. If approved, the fee, which must not exceed $10 per full-time student per term, must be imposed on students at the start of the next following term. Requires the Board of Higher Education to report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than 2 years following the effective date of the Act concerning the fee.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Student Referendum All-American Energy Act.
 
6     Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7     "Energy conservation measure" means an "energy
8 conservation measure" as defined in the Public University
9 Energy Conservation Act.
10     "Full-time student" means a student enrolled for at least
11 12 hours per term or as otherwise determined by the public
12 institution of higher education.
13     "Part-time student" means a person who is enrolled for at
14 least one-third of the number of hours required per term by a
15 public institution of higher education for its full-time
16 students.
17     "President" means the President, Chancellor, or other lead
18 official of the public institution of higher education.
19     "Public institution of higher education" means an
20 institution that is included in the definition of "public
21 institutions of higher education" under the Board of Higher
22 Education Act.
23     "Renewable energy resources" means those resources

 

 

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1 included in the definition of "renewable energy resources"
2 under Section 6-3 of the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency
3 and Coal Resources Development Law of 1997. In addition,
4 "renewable energy resources" includes renewable energy
5 certificates issued with respect to renewable energy resources
6 located in this State. However, energy produced by methane
7 recovered from landfills in this State may be counted as a
8 renewable energy resource for up to, but no more than, 27.5% of
9 the amount of the total acquired renewable energy resources.
10     "Term" means a semester, quarter, or trimester, as
11 appropriate to the public institution of higher education.
 
12     Section 10. Student-initiated referendum for an
13 All-American Energy Fee.
14     (a) The governing body of each public institution of higher
15 education shall establish procedures providing for a
16 student-initiated referendum as provided in this Section.
17     (b) Students at a public institution of higher education
18 may, by a majority vote of the students participating in the
19 referendum, authorize the imposition of an All-American Energy
20 Fee on students.
21     (c) The revenues of an All-American Energy Fee must be used
22 for energy conservation measures in student residence halls or
23 purchasing renewable energy resources to provide power for
24 student residence halls or both.
25     (d) A referendum for an All-American Energy Fee must be

 

 

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1 submitted to a vote of the student body if a petition for such
2 a vote is signed by no fewer than 300 students currently
3 enrolled at the public institution of higher education.
4     (e) The President shall establish reasonable procedures
5 for the submission of a referendum for an All-American Energy
6 Fee, the scheduling of the referendum, and the collection of
7 the fee.
8     (f) An All-American Energy Fee referendum petition shall
9 clearly identify the amount of the fee per student being
10 authorized by the referendum. This amount must not exceed $10
11 per full-time student per term.
12     (g) The amount authorized in subsection (f) of this Section
13 and approved by referendum must be imposed on each full-time
14 student enrolled in the public institution of higher education
15 at the start of the next following term. Part-time students
16 shall pay a pro-rata share of the fee based on the number of
17 instructional hours they are registered for.
 
18     Section 15. Report. The Board of Higher Education shall
19 report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than 2
20 years following the effective date of this Act. The report
21 shall include, at a minimum, (i) identification of each public
22 institution of higher education that has approved an
23 All-American Energy Fee, (ii) the amount of money raised by the
24 fee, per institution, and (iii) a description of the projects
25 funded by the fee, per institution.