Full Text of SB2419 94th General Assembly
SB2419 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 SB2419
Introduced 1/18/2006, by Sen. James F. Clayborne, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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220 ILCS 5/8-403.1 |
from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-403.1 |
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Amends the Public Utilities Act. Makes a technical change in a Section
concerning tax credits related to qualified solid waste energy facilities.
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A BILL FOR
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SB2419 |
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LRB094 18745 MKM 54123 b |
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 8-403.1 as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/8-403.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-403.1)
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| Sec. 8-403.1. Electricity purchased from qualified solid | 8 |
| waste energy
facility; tax credit; distributions for economic | 9 |
| development.
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| (a) It is hereby declared to be the
the policy of this | 11 |
| State to encourage the
development of alternate energy | 12 |
| production facilities in order to conserve our
energy resources | 13 |
| and to provide for their most efficient use. | 14 |
| (b) For the purpose of this Section and Section 9-215.1, | 15 |
| "qualified
solid waste energy facility" means a facility | 16 |
| determined by the
Illinois Commerce Commission to qualify as | 17 |
| such under the Local Solid
Waste Disposal Act, to use methane | 18 |
| gas generated from landfills as its
primary fuel, and to | 19 |
| possess characteristics that would enable it to qualify
as a | 20 |
| cogeneration or small power production facility under federal | 21 |
| law.
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| (c) In furtherance of the policy declared in this Section, | 23 |
| the
Illinois Commerce Commission shall require electric | 24 |
| utilities to enter into
long-term contracts to purchase | 25 |
| electricity from qualified solid waste
energy facilities | 26 |
| located in the electric utility's service area, for a
period | 27 |
| beginning on the date that the facility begins generating
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| electricity and having a duration of not less than 10 years
in | 29 |
| the case of facilities fueled by landfill-generated methane, or | 30 |
| 20
years in the case of facilities fueled by methane generated | 31 |
| from a landfill
owned by a forest preserve district. The | 32 |
| purchase rate contained in such
contracts shall be equal to the |
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| average amount per kilowatt-hour paid from
time to time by the | 2 |
| unit or units of local government in which the
electricity | 3 |
| generating facilities are located, excluding amounts paid for
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| street lighting and pumping service.
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| (d) Whenever a public utility is required to purchase | 6 |
| electricity
pursuant to subsection (c) above, it shall be | 7 |
| entitled to credits in
respect of its obligations to remit to | 8 |
| the State taxes it has
collected under the Electricity Excise | 9 |
| Tax Law equal to the amounts,
if any, by which payments for | 10 |
| such electricity
exceed (i) the then current rate at which the | 11 |
| utility must purchase the
output of qualified facilities | 12 |
| pursuant to the federal Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act | 13 |
| of 1978, less (ii) any costs, expenses, losses,
damages or | 14 |
| other amounts incurred by the utility, or for which it becomes
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| liable, arising out of its failure to obtain such electricity | 16 |
| from such other
sources. The amount of any such
credit shall, | 17 |
| in the first instance, be
determined by the utility, which | 18 |
| shall make a monthly report of such credits
to the Illinois | 19 |
| Commerce Commission and, on its monthly tax return, to the
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| Illinois Department of Revenue. Under no circumstances shall a | 21 |
| utility be
required to purchase electricity from a qualified | 22 |
| solid waste energy facility
at the rate prescribed in | 23 |
| subsection (c) of this Section if such purchase would
result in | 24 |
| estimated tax credits that exceed, on a monthly basis, the | 25 |
| utility's
estimated obligation to remit to the State taxes it | 26 |
| has
collected under the Electricity Excise Tax Law. The
owner | 27 |
| or operator shall negotiate facility operating conditions with | 28 |
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purchasing utility in accordance with that utility's posted | 29 |
| standard terms and
conditions for small power producers. If the | 30 |
| Department of Revenue disputes the
amount of any such credit, | 31 |
| such dispute shall be decided by the Illinois
Commerce | 32 |
| Commission. Whenever a qualified solid waste energy facility | 33 |
| has paid
or otherwise
satisfied in full the capital costs or | 34 |
| indebtedness incurred in developing
and implementing the | 35 |
| qualified facility, the qualified facility shall
reimburse the | 36 |
| Public Utility Fund and the General Revenue
Fund in the State |
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| treasury for the actual
reduction in payments to those Funds | 2 |
| caused by this
subsection (d) in a
manner to be determined by | 3 |
| the Illinois Commerce Commission and based on
the manner in | 4 |
| which revenues for those Funds were reduced.
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| (e) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall not require an | 6 |
| electric
utility to purchase electricity from any qualified | 7 |
| solid waste energy facility
which is owned or operated by an | 8 |
| entity that is primarily engaged in the
business of producing | 9 |
| or selling electricity, gas, or useful thermal energy
from a | 10 |
| source other than one or more qualified solid waste energy | 11 |
| facilities.
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| (f) This Section does not require an electric utility to | 13 |
| construct
additional facilities unless those facilities are | 14 |
| paid for by the owner or
operator of the affected qualified | 15 |
| solid waste energy facility.
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| (g) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall require that: | 17 |
| (1) electric
utilities use the electricity purchased from a | 18 |
| qualified solid waste
energy facility to displace electricity | 19 |
| generated from nuclear power or
coal mined and purchased | 20 |
| outside the boundaries of the State of Illinois
before | 21 |
| displacing electricity generated from coal mined and purchased
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| within the State of Illinois, to the extent possible, and (2) | 23 |
| electric
utilities report annually to the Commission on the | 24 |
| extent of such
displacements.
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| (h) Nothing in this Section is intended to cause an | 26 |
| electric utility
that is required to purchase power hereunder | 27 |
| to incur any economic loss as
a result of its purchase. All | 28 |
| amounts paid for power which a utility is
required to purchase | 29 |
| pursuant to subparagraph (c) shall be deemed to be
costs | 30 |
| prudently incurred for purposes of computing charges under | 31 |
| rates
authorized by Section 9-220 of this Act. Tax credits | 32 |
| provided for herein
shall be reflected in charges made pursuant | 33 |
| to rates so authorized to the
extent such credits are based | 34 |
| upon a cost which is also reflected in such
charges.
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| (i) Beginning in February 1999 and through January 2009, | 36 |
| each qualified
solid waste energy facility that sells |
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| electricity to an electric utility at
the purchase rate | 2 |
| described in subsection (c) shall file with the Department
of | 3 |
| Revenue on or before the 15th of each month a form, prescribed | 4 |
| by the
Department of Revenue, that states the number of | 5 |
| kilowatt hours of electricity
for which payment was received at | 6 |
| that purchase rate from electric utilities
in Illinois during | 7 |
| the immediately
preceding month. This form shall be accompanied | 8 |
| by a payment from the
qualified solid waste energy facility in | 9 |
| an amount equal to six-tenths of a
mill ($0.0006) per kilowatt | 10 |
| hour of electricity stated on the form. Beginning
on the | 11 |
| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General
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| Assembly, a qualified solid waste energy facility must file the | 13 |
| form required
under this subsection (i) before the 15th of each | 14 |
| month regardless of whether
the facility received any payment | 15 |
| in the previous month. Payments received by
the Department of | 16 |
| Revenue shall be deposited into the Municipal Economic
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| Development Fund, a trust fund created outside the State | 18 |
| treasury.
The State Treasurer may invest the moneys in the Fund | 19 |
| in any investment
authorized by the Public Funds Investment | 20 |
| Act, and investment income shall be
deposited into and become | 21 |
| part of the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used
by the State | 22 |
| Treasurer as provided in subsection (j). The obligation of a
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| qualified solid waste energy facility to make payments into the | 24 |
| Municipal
Economic Development Fund shall terminate upon | 25 |
| either: (1) expiration or
termination of a facility's contract | 26 |
| to sell electricity to an electric
utility at the purchase rate | 27 |
| described in subsection (c); or (2) entry
of an enforceable, | 28 |
| final, and non-appealable order by a court of competent
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| jurisdiction that Public Act 89-448 is invalid. Payments by a
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| qualified solid waste energy facility into the Municipal | 31 |
| Economic Development
Fund do not relieve the qualified solid | 32 |
| waste energy facility of its
obligation to reimburse the Public | 33 |
| Utility Fund and the General Revenue Fund
for the actual | 34 |
| reduction in payments
to those Funds as a result of credits | 35 |
| received by electric utilities under
subsection (d).
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| A qualified solid waste energy facility that fails to |
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| timely file the
requisite form and payment as required by this | 2 |
| subsection (i) shall be subject
to penalties and interest in | 3 |
| conformance with the provisions of the Illinois
Uniform Penalty | 4 |
| and Interest Act.
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| Every qualified solid waste energy facility subject to the | 6 |
| provisions of this
subsection (i) shall keep and maintain | 7 |
| records and books of its sales pursuant
to subsection (c), | 8 |
| including payments received from those sales and the
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| corresponding tax payments made in accordance with this | 10 |
| subsection (i), and for
purposes of enforcement of this | 11 |
| subsection (i) all such books and records shall
be subject to | 12 |
| inspection by the Department of Revenue or its duly authorized
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| agents or employees.
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| When a qualified solid waste energy facility fails to file | 15 |
| the form or make
the payment required under this subsection | 16 |
| (i), the Department of Revenue, to
the extent that it is | 17 |
| practical, may enforce the payment obligation in a manner
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| consistent with Section 5 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, | 19 |
| and if
necessary may impose and enforce a tax lien in a manner | 20 |
| consistent with
Sections 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f,
5g, and 5i of | 21 |
| the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. No tax lien may be imposed
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| or enforced, however, unless a qualified solid waste energy | 23 |
| facility fails to
make the payment required under this | 24 |
| subsection (i). Only to the extent
necessary and for the | 25 |
| purpose of enforcing this subsection (i), the Department
of | 26 |
| Revenue may secure necessary information from a qualified solid | 27 |
| waste energy
facility in a manner consistent with Section 10 of
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| the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.
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| All information received by the Department of Revenue in | 30 |
| its administration
and enforcement of this subsection (i) shall | 31 |
| be confidential in a manner
consistent with Section 11 of the | 32 |
| Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. The
Department of Revenue may | 33 |
| adopt rules to implement the provisions of this
subsection (i).
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| For purposes of implementing the maximum aggregate | 35 |
| distribution provisions in
subsections (j) and (k), when a | 36 |
| qualified solid waste energy facility makes a
late payment to |
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| the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Municipal
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| Economic Development Fund, that payment and deposit shall be | 3 |
| attributed to the
month and corresponding quarter in which the | 4 |
| payment should have been made, and
the Treasurer shall make | 5 |
| retroactive distributions or refunds, as the case may
be, | 6 |
| whenever such late payments so require.
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| (j) The State Treasurer, without appropriation, must make | 8 |
| distributions
immediately after January 15, April 15, July 15, | 9 |
| and October 15 of each
year, up to maximum aggregate | 10 |
| distributions of $500,000 for the distributions
made in the 4 | 11 |
| quarters beginning with the April distribution and ending with
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| the January distribution,
from the Municipal Economic | 13 |
| Development Fund to each city, village, or
incorporated town | 14 |
| that has within its boundaries an incinerator
that: (1) uses
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| or, on the effective date of Public Act 90-813, used
municipal | 16 |
| waste as its primary fuel to generate electricity;
(2) was | 17 |
| determined by the Illinois Commerce Commission to qualify as a
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| qualified solid
waste energy facility prior to the effective | 19 |
| date of Public Act 89-448; and (3)
commenced operation prior to | 20 |
| January 1, 1998. Total distributions in the
aggregate to all | 21 |
| qualified cities, villages, and incorporated towns in the 4
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| quarters beginning with the April distribution and ending with | 23 |
| the January
distribution shall not exceed $500,000. The amount
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| of each distribution shall be determined pro rata based on the | 25 |
| population of
the city, village, or incorporated town compared | 26 |
| to the total population of all
cities, villages, and | 27 |
| incorporated towns eligible to receive a distribution.
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| Distributions received by a city, village, or incorporated town | 29 |
| must be held in
a separate account and may
be used only to | 30 |
| promote and enhance industrial, commercial, residential,
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| service, transportation, and recreational activities and | 32 |
| facilities within its
boundaries, thereby enhancing the | 33 |
| employment opportunities, public health and
general welfare, | 34 |
| and
economic development within the community, including | 35 |
| administrative
expenditures exclusively to further these | 36 |
| activities. These
funds, however, shall not be used by the |
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| city, village, or incorporated town,
directly or
indirectly, to | 2 |
| purchase, lease, operate, or in any way subsidize the operation
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| of any incinerator, and these funds shall not be paid, directly
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| or indirectly, by the city, village, or incorporated town to | 5 |
| the owner,
operator, lessee, shareholder, or bondholder of any | 6 |
| incinerator.
Moreover, these funds shall not be used to pay | 7 |
| attorneys fees in any litigation
relating to the validity of | 8 |
| Public Act 89-448. Nothing in
this Section prevents a city, | 9 |
| village, or incorporated town from using other
corporate funds | 10 |
| for any legitimate purpose. For purposes of this subsection,
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| the term "municipal waste" has the meaning ascribed to it in | 12 |
| Section 3.290 of the Environmental Protection Act.
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| (k) If maximum aggregate distributions of $500,000 under | 14 |
| subsection (j)
have been made after the January distribution | 15 |
| from the Municipal Economic
Development Fund, then the balance | 16 |
| in the Fund shall be refunded to the
qualified
solid waste | 17 |
| energy facilities that made payments that were deposited into | 18 |
| the
Fund during the previous 12-month period. The refunds shall | 19 |
| be prorated based
upon the facility's payments in relation to | 20 |
| total payments for that 12-month
period.
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| (l) Beginning January 1, 2000, and each January 1 | 22 |
| thereafter, each city,
village, or incorporated town that | 23 |
| received distributions from the Municipal
Economic Development | 24 |
| Fund, continued to hold any of those distributions, or
made | 25 |
| expenditures from those distributions during the immediately | 26 |
| preceding
year shall submit to
a financial and compliance and | 27 |
| program audit of those distributions performed
by the Auditor | 28 |
| General at no cost to the city, village, or incorporated town
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| that received the distributions. The audit should be completed | 30 |
| by June 30 or
as soon thereafter as possible. The audit shall | 31 |
| be submitted to the State
Treasurer and those officers | 32 |
| enumerated in Section 3-14 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act.
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| If the Auditor General finds that distributions have been | 34 |
| expended in violation
of this Section, the Auditor General | 35 |
| shall refer the matter to the Attorney
General. The Attorney | 36 |
| General may recover, in a civil action, 3 times the
amount of |
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| any distributions illegally expended.
For purposes of this | 2 |
| subsection, the terms "financial audit," "compliance
audit", | 3 |
| and "program audit" have the meanings ascribed to them in | 4 |
| Sections 1-13
and 1-15 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-901, eff. 1-1-01; 92-435, eff. 8-17-01; | 6 |
| 92-574, eff. 6-26-02.)
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