Full Text of HB3884 97th General Assembly
HB3884ham001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Jack D. Franks Filed: 2/28/2012
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3884
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3884 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Overhead Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly recognizes that | 7 | | it is a goal of this State to provide residents with safe and | 8 | | reliable electric service. The General Assembly finds that | 9 | | certain vegetation poses serious hazards to electric utility | 10 | | power lines. Specifically, the General Assembly finds that | 11 | | electric power outages related to the interference of | 12 | | vegetation are often caused by the planting of tall-growing | 13 | | tree species near electric utility power lines. As a result, | 14 | | the General Assembly finds that it is necessary to impose | 15 | | regulations regarding the placement of these trees when | 16 | | planting these trees and to provide procedures for the electric |
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| 1 | | utilities' maintenance and removal of such trees, which will | 2 | | reduce power outages and increase reliability of electric | 3 | | service. | 4 | | Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act: | 5 | | "Approved vegetation" means any tree with a mature height | 6 | | that is less than 25 feet as identified in the most recent | 7 | | version of "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" by Michael Dirr. | 8 | | "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission. | 9 | | "Electric utility" has the same meaning as set forth in | 10 | | Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act. | 11 | | Section 15. Approved vegetation. It shall be lawful for any | 12 | | person to plant approved vegetation within 20 feet of an | 13 | | electric utility pole or overhead electrical conductor with a | 14 | | nominal voltage rating of 100 kilovolts or less, excluding | 15 | | single customer overhead service wires, located within the | 16 | | State. Any vegetation that is not approved vegetation planted, | 17 | | whether by a person or by natural means, within 20 lateral feet | 18 | | of an electric utility pole or overhead electrical conductor | 19 | | with a nominal voltage rating of 100 kilovolts or less, | 20 | | excluding single customer overhead service wires, located | 21 | | within the State shall be subject to the removal procedures | 22 | | established pursuant to the rulemaking proceeding conducted in | 23 | | accordance with Section 25 of this Act. |
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| 1 | | Section 20. Notice regarding approved vegetation. Each | 2 | | electric utility shall provide on its website educational | 3 | | material that encourages the planting of approved vegetation | 4 | | near utility poles and overhead electrical conductors. Twice a | 5 | | year, in May and September, each electric utility shall include | 6 | | with its billing statements an insert that provides a notice | 7 | | and shall also cause the notice to appear in newspapers of | 8 | | general circulation adequate to cover the utility's service | 9 | | area. The notice shall provide: | 10 | | "It is only lawful for a person to plant any tree with | 11 | | a mature height that is less than 25 feet within 20 lateral | 12 | | feet of an electric utility pole or overhead electrical | 13 | | conductor with a nominal voltage rating of 100 kilovolts or | 14 | | less, excluding single customer overhead service wires, | 15 | | located within Illinois. Violators may be subject to the | 16 | | removal of the non-approved vegetation pursuant to the | 17 | | removal procedures established under Section 25 of the | 18 | | Overhead Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act.". | 19 | | Section 25. Rulemaking to establish removal procedures. | 20 | | Within 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act | 21 | | of the 97th General Assembly, the Commission shall initiate a | 22 | | rulemaking proceeding to establish rules regarding: | 23 | | (1) an electric utility's removal of non-approved | 24 | | vegetation planted after the effective date of this | 25 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, including, but |
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| 1 | | not limited to, permitting the electric utility to remove | 2 | | the non-approved vegetation without replacement; | 3 | | (2) an electric utility's removal of non-approved | 4 | | vegetation planted prior to the effective date of this | 5 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, provided that | 6 | | in the electric utility's judgment the electric utility's | 7 | | standard pruning to ANSI A300 standards does not adequately | 8 | | mitigate the risk that the vegetation poses to reliable | 9 | | electric service; | 10 | | (3) an electric utility's removal of non-approved | 11 | | vegetation planted by natural means both before and after | 12 | | the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th | 13 | | General Assembly, including, but not limited to, | 14 | | permitting the electric utility to remove the non-approved | 15 | | vegetation without replacement; and | 16 | | (4) an electric utility's removal of non-approved | 17 | | vegetation planted by natural means prior to the effective | 18 | | date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, | 19 | | provided that in the electric utility's judgment the | 20 | | electric utility's standard pruning to ANSI A300 standards | 21 | | does not adequately mitigate the risk that the vegetation | 22 | | poses to reliable electric service. | 23 | | Section 30. Interference with utility maintenance and | 24 | | removal of vegetation. It shall be unlawful for any person to | 25 | | interfere with an electric utility, including, but not limited |
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| 1 | | to, its employees and contractors, while the electric utility | 2 | | is performing vegetation management and removal activities | 3 | | pursuant to this Act or Section 8-505.1 of the Public Utilities | 4 | | Act, including, but not limited to, tree trimming and tree | 5 | | removal activities. | 6 | | Section 35. Commission enforcement. The Commission shall | 7 | | have the power and jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of | 8 | | this Act by including in the rules adopted under Section 25 of | 9 | | this Act a schedule of charges that an electric utility may | 10 | | assess for the removal of non-approved vegetation planted after | 11 | | the effective date of this Act.
| 12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 13 | | becoming law.".
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