Full Text of SB3627 96th General Assembly
SB3627sam002 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Sen. James F. Clayborne, Jr.
Filed: 3/2/2010
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| AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3627
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3627 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 16-115C as follows: | 6 |
| (220 ILCS 5/16-115C) | 7 |
| Sec. 16-115C. Licensure of agents, brokers, and | 8 |
| consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | 9 |
| electricity supply for third parties. | 10 |
| (a) The purpose of this Section is to adopt licensing and | 11 |
| code of conduct rules in a competitive retail electricity | 12 |
| market to protect Illinois consumers from unfair or deceptive | 13 |
| acts or practices and to provide persons acting as agents, | 14 |
| brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of | 15 |
| retail electricity supply for third parties with notice of the | 16 |
| illegality of those acts or practices. |
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| All third-party agents, brokers, and consultants engaged | 2 |
| in the marketing of retail electricity supply, including both | 3 |
| exclusive and non-exclusive agents, must disclose in writing to | 4 |
| any person they solicit that they are not employed by or | 5 |
| affiliated with the electric utility operating in that service | 6 |
| territory and that they are compensated in whole or in part on | 7 |
| a commission basis, if applicable, prior to the execution of | 8 |
| any contract. For telephonic solicitations, the disclosure | 9 |
| under this paragraph only may initially be made orally prior to | 10 |
| the customer receiving a contract for execution. | 11 |
| (b) For purposes of this Section, "agents, brokers, and | 12 |
| consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | 13 |
| electricity supply for third parties" means any person or | 14 |
| entity that attempts to procure on behalf of or sell retail | 15 |
| electric service to an electric customer in the State. "Agents, | 16 |
| brokers, and consultants engaged in the procurement or sale of | 17 |
| retail electricity supply for third parties" does not include | 18 |
| the Illinois Power Agency or any of its employees acting in | 19 |
| their official capacity as such, any entity licensed as an | 20 |
| alternative retail electric supplier pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. | 21 |
| Code 451 offering retail electric service on its own behalf, | 22 |
| any person acting exclusively on behalf of a single alternative | 23 |
| retail electric supplier on condition that exclusivity is | 24 |
| disclosed to any third party contracted in such agent capacity, | 25 |
| any person or entity representing a municipal power agency, as | 26 |
| defined in Section 11-119.1-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code, |
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| or any person or entity that is attempting to procure on behalf | 2 |
| of or sell retail electric service to a third party that has | 3 |
| aggregate billing demand of all of its affiliated electric | 4 |
| service accounts in Illinois of greater than 1,500 kW. | 5 |
| (c) No person or entity shall act as an agent, broker, or | 6 |
| consultant engaged in the procurement or sale of retail | 7 |
| electricity supply for third parties unless that person or | 8 |
| entity is licensed by the Commission under this Section or is | 9 |
| offering services on their own behalf under 83 Ill. Adm. Code | 10 |
| 451. | 11 |
| (d) The Commission shall create requirements for licensure | 12 |
| as an agent, broker, or consultant engaged in the procurement | 13 |
| or sale of retail electricity supply for third parties, which | 14 |
| shall include all of the following criteria: | 15 |
| (1) Technical competence. | 16 |
| (2) Managerial competence. | 17 |
| (3) Financial responsibility, including the posting of | 18 |
| an appropriate performance bond. | 19 |
| (4) Annual reporting requirements. | 20 |
| (e) Any person or entity required to be licensed under this | 21 |
| Section must: | 22 |
| (1) disclose in plain language in writing to all | 23 |
| persons it solicits the total anticipated remuneration to | 24 |
| be paid to it by any third party over the period of the | 25 |
| proposed underlying customer contract; | 26 |
| (2) not hold itself out as independent or unaffiliated |
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| with any supplier, or both, or use words reasonably | 2 |
| calculated to give that impression, unless the person | 3 |
| offering service under this Section has no contractual | 4 |
| relationship with any retail electricity supplier or its | 5 |
| affiliates regarding retail electric service in Illinois; | 6 |
| (3) not utilize false, misleading, materially | 7 |
| inaccurate, defamatory, or otherwise deceptive language or | 8 |
| materials in the soliciting or providing of its services; | 9 |
| (4) maintain copies of all marketing materials | 10 |
| disseminated to third parties for a period of not less than | 11 |
| 3 years; | 12 |
| (5) not present electricity pricing information in a | 13 |
| manner that favors one supplier over another, unless a | 14 |
| valid pricing comparison is made utilizing all relevant | 15 |
| costs and terms; and | 16 |
| (6) comply with the requirements of Sections 2EE, 2FF, | 17 |
| 2GG, and 2HH of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business | 18 |
| Practices Act. | 19 |
| (f) Any person or entity licensed under this Section shall | 20 |
| file with the Commission all of the following information no | 21 |
| later than March of each year: | 22 |
| (1) A verified report detailing any and all contractual | 23 |
| relationships that it has with certified electricity | 24 |
| suppliers in the State regarding retail electric service in | 25 |
| Illinois. | 26 |
| (2) A verified report detailing the distribution of its |
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| customers with the various certified electricity suppliers | 2 |
| in Illinois during the prior calendar year. A report under | 3 |
| this Section shall not be required to contain | 4 |
| customer-identifying information. | 5 |
| (3) (Blank) A copy of its verified financial statement . | 6 |
| (4) A verified statement of any changes to the original | 7 |
| licensure qualifications and notice of continuing | 8 |
| compliance with all requirements. | 9 |
| (g) The Commission shall have jurisdiction over | 10 |
| disciplinary proceedings and complaints for violations of this | 11 |
| Section. The findings of a violation of this Section by the | 12 |
| Commission shall result in a progressive disciplinary scale. | 13 |
| For a first violation, the Commission shall suspend the license | 14 |
| of the person so disciplined for a period of no less than one | 15 |
| month. For a second violation within a 5-year period, the | 16 |
| Commission shall suspend the license for the person so | 17 |
| disciplined for a period of not less than 6 months. For a third | 18 |
| or subsequent violation within a 5-year period, the Commission | 19 |
| shall suspend the license of the disciplined person for a | 20 |
| period of not less than 2 years. | 21 |
| The Commission shall display on its website a list of all | 22 |
| entities licensed under this Section, including current and | 23 |
| historical license information. Such information shall be | 24 |
| presented in a such a manner to facilitate ease of use by the | 25 |
| general public. | 26 |
| (h) This Section shall not apply to a retail customer that |
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| operates or manages either directly or indirectly any | 2 |
| facilities, equipment, or property used or contemplated to be | 3 |
| used to distribute electric power or energy if that retail | 4 |
| customer is a political subdivision or public institution of | 5 |
| higher education of this State, or any corporation, company, | 6 |
| limited liability company, association, joint-stock company or | 7 |
| association, firm, partnership, or individual, or their | 8 |
| lessees, trusts, or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever | 9 |
| that are owned or controlled by the political subdivision, | 10 |
| public institution of higher education, or operated by any of | 11 |
| its lessees or operating agents. | 12 |
| (Source: P.A. 95-679, eff. 10-11-07.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 |
| becoming law.".
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