Rep. Arthur Turner

Filed: 4/7/2016

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 649

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 649 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
5changing Sections 10 and 13 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 20/10)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1410)
7    Sec. 10. Energy Assistance Funds.
8    (a) The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund is hereby created as a
9special fund in the State Treasury.
10    The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund is authorized to receive
11whether by appropriation, transfer, statutory deposit or fund
12transfer, all amounts appropriated from State funds to the
13Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
14Illinois Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
15Services Act) specifically for energy assistance payments for
16persons and families receiving assistance pursuant to Section

 

 

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14-1 of the Illinois Public Aid Code and subsection (c) of
2Section 6 of this Act, and any administrative expense related
3thereto.
4    (b) Subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, the
5Department is authorized to expend monies from the AFDC Energy
6Assistance Fund for the following purposes:
7        (1) for energy assistance payments to or on behalf of
8    individuals or families who receive assistance pursuant to
9    Section 4-1 of The Illinois Public Aid Code in accordance
10    with the provisions of Section 6 of this Act; and
11        (2) for the necessary and contingent expenses of the
12    Department incurred in the administration of that portion
13    of the Act described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
14    (c) The AFDC Energy Assistance Fund shall be inoperative
15after September 30, 1991.
16    (d) The Subject to appropriations made by the General
17Assembly, the Department is authorized to expend monies from
18the Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund for the
19purpose of providing assistance pursuant to Section 6 of this
20Act. Absent an enacted appropriation from the Low Income Energy
21Assistance Block Grant Fund in any State fiscal year, this
22subsection shall constitute a continuing appropriation to the
23Department of all amounts necessary for the purposes set forth
24in this subsection (d). The continuing appropriation under this
25subsection (d) shall be no less than the total aggregate
26appropriations made available from the Low Income Energy

 

 

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1Assistance Block Grant Fund for the immediately preceding State
2fiscal year. If an appropriation to the Department from the Low
3Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Fund is enacted on or
4after July 1 of any calendar year, then the continuing
5appropriation shall discontinue for that State fiscal year, and
6the enacted appropriation shall supersede.
7(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
 
8    (305 ILCS 20/13)
9    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018)
10    Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
11    (a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
12hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
13Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
14to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
15foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
16pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
17collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized
18to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations,
19corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made
20in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax
21Act. The Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use
22moneys from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund
23for payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal
24electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf
25of their customers who are participants in the program

 

 

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1authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision
2of weatherization services and for administration of the
3Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The yearly
4expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the
5amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The
6yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income
7Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 10% of the amount
8collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except
9when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
10Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any
11unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be
12utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are
13reallocated.
14    (a-5) Absent an enacted appropriation from the
15Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund in any State
16fiscal year, this subsection shall constitute a continuing
17appropriation to the Department of Commerce and Economic
18Opportunity of all amounts necessary for the purposes set forth
19in subsection (a). The continuing appropriation under this
20subsection (a-5) shall be no less than the total aggregate
21appropriations made available from the Supplemental Low-Income
22Energy Assistance Fund for the immediately preceding State
23fiscal year. If an appropriation to the Department of Commerce
24and Economic Opportunity from the Supplemental Low-Income
25Energy Assistance Fund is enacted on or after July 1 of any
26calendar year, then the continuing appropriation shall

 

 

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1discontinue for that State fiscal year, and the enacted
2appropriation shall supersede.
3    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
4Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
5Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
6in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
7utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
8Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
9distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
10effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
11a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
12Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
13utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
14cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
15the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly
16charge shall be as follows:
17        (1) $0.48 per month on each account for residential
18    electric service;
19        (2) $0.48 per month on each account for residential gas
20    service;
21        (3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
22    electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
23    demand during the previous calendar year;
24        (4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
25    gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
26    therms of gas during the previous calendar year;

 

 

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1        (5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
2    electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
3    demand during the previous calendar year; and
4        (6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
5    gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
6    distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
7    The incremental change to such charges imposed by this
8amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be
9used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers
10and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000
11customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009.
12    In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and
13shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the
14Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs
15established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the
16Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of
17implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this
18amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage
19Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs
20described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a
21utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the
22effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
23Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made
24no later than February 1, 2010.
25    (c) For purposes of this Section:
26        (1) "residential electric service" means electric

 

 

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1    utility service for household purposes delivered to a
2    dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
3    residential rate, or electric utility service for
4    household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
5    which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
6    by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
7        (2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
8    service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
9    2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
10    or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
11    to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
12    residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
13    each dwelling unit;
14        (3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
15    utility service which is not residential electric service;
16    and
17        (4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
18    service which is not residential gas service.
19    (d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
20amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
21utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
22distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
23Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
24Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs,
25which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the
26first billing cycle following such filing.

 

 

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1    (e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
2gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
3utility service.
4    (f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
5which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
6public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
7shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
8payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed
9and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such
10information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
11require; provided, however, that a utility offering an
12Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act
13shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and
14recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section
15that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy
16Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th
17General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a
18public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may
19elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to
20amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and
21then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to
22apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts
23owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to
24payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.
25    (g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
26Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys

 

 

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1remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
2Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each
3utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's
4customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department
5to establish an equitable and practical methodology for
6implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010
7program year.
8    (h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
9prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
10funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
11Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
12Act.
13    (i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
14it deems necessary to implement this Section.
15    (j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may
16establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this
17Section.
18    (k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
19customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
20or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
21electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
22impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
23electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
24the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
25gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
26of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose

 

 

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1the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric
2or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
3may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
4Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
5program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
6    In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
7may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
8to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
9provided by this Section.
10    This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018 unless
11renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
12shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
13Section 8 in its deliberations.
14(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13; 99-457, eff. 1-1-16.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.".