Full Text of HB0840 101st General Assembly
HB0840enr 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HB0840 Enrolled | | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 8-508.1 as follows:
| 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/8-508.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-508.1)
| 7 | | Sec. 8-508.1. (a) As used in this Section:
| 8 | | (1) "Decommissioning" means the series of activities | 9 | | undertaken at the
time a nuclear power plant is permanently | 10 | | retired from service to ensure
that the final entombment, | 11 | | decontamination, dismantlement, removal and
disposal of | 12 | | the plant, including the plant site, and of any radioactive
| 13 | | components and materials associated with the plant, is | 14 | | accomplished in
compliance with all applicable Illinois | 15 | | and federal laws, and to ensure
that such final disposition | 16 | | does not pose any threat to the public health
and safety.
| 17 | | (2) "Decommissioning costs" means all reasonable costs | 18 | | and expenses
incurred in connection with the entombment, | 19 | | decontamination, dismantlement,
removal and disposal of | 20 | | the structures, systems and components of a nuclear
power | 21 | | plant at the time of decommissioning, including all | 22 | | expenses to be
incurred in connection with the preparation | 23 | | for decommissioning, such as
engineering and other |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 2 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | planning expenses, and to be incurred after the
actual | 2 | | decommissioning occurs, such as physical security and | 3 | | radiation
monitoring expenses, less proceeds of insurance, | 4 | | salvage or resale of
machinery, construction equipment or | 5 | | apparatus the cost of which was
charged as a | 6 | | decommissioning expense.
| 7 | | (3) "Decommissioning trust" or "trust" means a | 8 | | fiduciary account in a
bank or other financial institution | 9 | | established to hold the decommissioning
funds provided | 10 | | pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this Section for the
| 11 | | eventual purpose of paying decommissioning costs, which | 12 | | shall be separate
from all other accounts and assets of the | 13 | | public utility establishing the trust.
| 14 | | (4) "Nuclear power plant" or "plant" means a nuclear | 15 | | fission thermal
power plant. Each unit of a multi-unit site | 16 | | shall be considered a separate plant.
| 17 | | (b) By 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory | 18 | | Act of 1988,
or by the date that the unit satisfies the | 19 | | criteria used by the Internal
Revenue Service for determining | 20 | | when depreciation commences for federal
income tax purposes on | 21 | | a new generating unit, whichever is later, every
public utility | 22 | | that owns or operates, in whole or in part, a nuclear
power | 23 | | plant shall:
| 24 | | (1) establish 2 decommissioning trusts, which shall be | 25 | | a "tax qualified"
decommissioning trust and a "non-tax | 26 | | qualified" decommissioning trust and
shall hold the |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 3 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | decommissioning funds established by the public utility | 2 | | for
all nuclear power plants pursuant to subsection (b)(2) | 3 | | of this Section;
| 4 | | (2) establish 2 decommissioning funds for each such | 5 | | plant, each of which
shall be held for a plant as a | 6 | | separate account in a decommissioning trust; and
| 7 | | (3) designate an independent trustee, subject to the | 8 | | approval of the
Commission, to administer each of the | 9 | | decommissioning trusts.
| 10 | | (c) The 2 decommissioning trusts shall be known as the "tax | 11 | | qualified"
decommissioning trust and the "non-tax qualified" | 12 | | decommissioning trust
respectively. Each trust shall be | 13 | | established and maintained as follows:
| 14 | | (1) The "tax qualified" trust shall be established and | 15 | | maintained in
accordance with Section 468A of the Internal | 16 | | Revenue Code of 1986 or any
successor thereto and shall be | 17 | | funded by the public utility for each such
power plant | 18 | | through annual payments by the public utility that shall | 19 | | not
exceed the maximum amount allowable as a deduction for | 20 | | federal income tax
purposes for the year for which the | 21 | | payments were made, in accordance with
Section 468A of the | 22 | | Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor thereto.
| 23 | | (2) The "non-tax qualified" decommissioning trust | 24 | | shall be funded by
the public utility for each such power | 25 | | plant through annual payments by the
public utility that | 26 | | shall consist of the difference between the total
amounts |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 4 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | of decommissioning expenses collected after the effective | 2 | | date of
this amendatory Act of 1988 through rates and | 3 | | charges from the public
utility's customers as provided by | 4 | | the Commission minus the amounts
contributed to the "tax | 5 | | qualified" trust as provided by subsection (c)(1)
of this | 6 | | Section and deductible for federal income tax purposes in
| 7 | | accordance with Section 468A of the Internal Revenue Code | 8 | | of 1986 or any
successor thereto.
| 9 | | (3) The following restrictions shall apply in regard to | 10 | | administration
of each decommissioning trust:
| 11 | | (i) Distributions may be made from a nuclear | 12 | | decommissioning trust only
to satisfy the liabilities | 13 | | of the public utility for nuclear
decommissioning | 14 | | costs relating to the nuclear power plant for which the
| 15 | | decommissioning fund was established and to pay | 16 | | administrative costs,
income taxes and other | 17 | | incidental expenses of the trust.
| 18 | | (ii) Any assets in a nuclear decommissioning trust | 19 | | that exceed the
amount necessary to pay the nuclear | 20 | | decommissioning costs of the nuclear
power plant for | 21 | | which the decommissioning fund was established shall | 22 | | be
refunded to the public utility that established the | 23 | | fund for the purpose of
refunds or credits, as soon as | 24 | | practicable, to the utility's customers.
| 25 | | (iii) In the event a public utility sells or | 26 | | otherwise disposes of its
direct ownership interest, |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 5 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | or any part thereof, in a nuclear power plant
with | 2 | | respect to which a nuclear decommissioning fund has | 3 | | been established,
the assets of the fund shall be | 4 | | distributed to the public utility to the
extent of the | 5 | | reductions in its liability for future decommissioning | 6 | | after
taking into account the liabilities of the public | 7 | | utility for future
decommissioning of such nuclear | 8 | | power plant and the liabilities that have
been assumed | 9 | | by another entity. The public utility shall, as soon as
| 10 | | practicable, provide refunds or credits to its | 11 | | customers representing the
full amount of the | 12 | | reductions in its liability for future | 13 | | decommissioning.
| 14 | | (iv) The trustee shall invest the "tax qualified" | 15 | | trust assets only in
secure assets that are prudent | 16 | | investments for assets held in trust and in
such a way | 17 | | as to attempt to maximize the after-tax return on funds
| 18 | | invested, subject to the limitations specified in | 19 | | Section 468A of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or | 20 | | any successor thereto.
| 21 | | (v) The trustee shall invest the "non-tax | 22 | | qualified" trust assets only
in secure assets that are | 23 | | prudent investments for assets held in trust and
in | 24 | | such a way as to attempt to maximize the after-tax | 25 | | return on funds
invested. However the trustee shall not | 26 | | invest any portion of the "non-tax
qualified" trust's |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 6 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | funds in the securities or assets of any operator of a
| 2 | | nuclear power plant.
| 3 | | (vi) The "non-tax qualified" trust shall be | 4 | | subject to the prohibitions
against self-dealing | 5 | | applicable to the "tax qualified" trust as specified
in | 6 | | Section 468A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or | 7 | | any successor thereto.
| 8 | | (vii) All income earned by the trust's funds shall | 9 | | become a part of the
trust's funds and subject to the | 10 | | provisions of this Section.
| 11 | | (viii) The Commission may adopt by rule or | 12 | | regulation such further
restrictions as it deems | 13 | | necessary for the sound management of the trust's
| 14 | | funds, consistent with the purposes of this Section.
| 15 | | (d) By 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory | 16 | | Act of 1988,
the Commission shall determine an appropriate | 17 | | method to segregate, either
internally or externally, all | 18 | | decommissioning funds collected prior to the
effective date of | 19 | | this amendatory Act of 1988 by the utility from its
customers, | 20 | | and shall order any change in past decommissioning funding
| 21 | | methods that the Commission finds necessary. In making its | 22 | | determination
of the appropriate funding method, the | 23 | | Commission shall give consideration
to, but not be limited by, | 24 | | all applicable federal regulations. The change
in funding | 25 | | method shall be phased-in over an appropriate period of time.
| 26 | | (e) The trustee of a trust shall report annually to the |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 7 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | Commission, or
more frequently if ordered by the Commission. | 2 | | The report shall include:
| 3 | | (1) the trust's State and federal tax returns;
| 4 | | (2) a report on the trust's portfolio of investments | 5 | | and the return thereon;
| 6 | | (3) the date and amount of payments received by the | 7 | | trust from the public utility;
| 8 | | (4) a copy of all correspondence between the trust and | 9 | | the Internal Revenue Service; and
| 10 | | (5) any other information the Commission orders the | 11 | | trust to provide.
| 12 | | (f) A nuclear decommissioning trust established pursuant | 13 | | to this Section
shall be exempt from taxation in Illinois.
| 14 | | (g) Beginning on or before May 1, 2020, and every 2 years | 15 | | thereafter, the owner or operator of each nuclear power plant | 16 | | in this State shall provide the Commission with a copy of the | 17 | | nuclear decommissioning funding assurance status report | 18 | | submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and, as | 19 | | applicable, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. | 20 | | Beginning June 1, 2020, and every 2 years thereafter, the | 21 | | Commission shall provide the General Assembly with a copy of | 22 | | the nuclear decommissioning funding assurance status report | 23 | | for shutdown units as submitted by the owner or operator of a | 24 | | nuclear power plant in this State to the Nuclear Regulatory | 25 | | Commission and, as applicable, to the Federal Energy Regulatory | 26 | | Commission. |
| | | HB0840 Enrolled | - 8 - | LRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b |
|
| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 85-1400.)
|
|