20 ILCS 1105/8

(20 ILCS 1105/8) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 7408)

Sec. 8. Illinois Coal Development Board.

(a) There may be established as an advisory board to the Department, the Illinois Coal Development Board, hereinafter in this Section called the Board. The Board shall be composed of the following voting members: the Director of the Department, who shall be Chairman thereof; the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Business Development within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; the President of the University of Illinois or his or her designee; the Director of Natural Resources or that Director's designee; the Director of the Office of Mines and Minerals within the Department of Natural Resources; 4 members of the General Assembly (one each appointed by the President of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the House Minority Leader); and 8 persons appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, including representatives of Illinois industries that are involved in the extraction, utilization or transportation of Illinois coal, persons representing financial or banking interests in the State, and persons experienced in international business and economic development. These members shall be chosen from persons of recognized ability and experience in their designated field. The members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of 4 years, unless otherwise provided in this subsection. The initial terms of the original appointees shall expire on July 1, 1985, except that the Governor shall designate 3 of the original appointees to serve initial terms that shall expire on July 1, 1983. The initial term of the member appointed by the Governor to fill the office created after July 1, 1985 shall expire on July 1, 1989. The initial terms of the members appointed by the Governor to fill the offices created by this amendatory Act of 1993 shall expire on July 1, 1995, and July 1, 1997, as determined by the Governor. A member appointed by a Legislative Leader shall serve for the duration of the General Assembly for which he or she is appointed, so long as the member remains a member of that General Assembly.

The Board may meet at least annually or at the call of the Chairman. At any time the majority of the Board may petition the Chairman for a meeting of the Board. Nine members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Members of the Board shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing their duties as members of the Board from funds appropriated to the Department for such purpose.

(b) The Board shall provide advice and make recommendations on the following Department powers and duties:

(1) To develop an annual agenda which may include but is not limited to research and methodologies conducted for the purpose of increasing the utilization of Illinois' coal and other fossil fuel resources, with emphasis on high sulfur coal, in the following areas: coal extraction, preparation and characterization; coal technologies (combustion, gasification, liquefaction, and related processes); marketing; public awareness and education, as those terms are used in the Illinois Coal Technology Development Assistance Act; transportation; procurement of sites and issuance of permits; and environmental impacts.

(2) To support and coordinate Illinois coal research, and to approve projects consistent with the annual agenda and budget for coal research and the purposes of this Act and to approve the annual budget and operating plan for administration of the Board.

(3) To promote the coordination of available research information on the production, preparation, distribution and uses of Illinois coal. The Board shall advise the existing research institutions within the State on areas where research may be necessary.

(4) To cooperate to the fullest extent possible with State and federal agencies and departments, independent organizations, and other interested groups, public and private, for the purposes of promoting Illinois coal resources.

(5) To submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly outlining the progress and accomplishments made in the year, providing an accounting of funds received and disbursed, reviewing the status of research contracts, and furnishing other relevant information.

(6) To focus on existing coal research efforts in carrying out its mission; to make use of existing research facilities in Illinois or other institutions carrying out research on Illinois coal; as far as practicable, to make maximum use of the research facilities available at the Illinois State Geological Survey of the University of Illinois, the Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center, the Illinois Coal Development Park and universities and colleges located within the State of Illinois; and to create a consortium or center which conducts, coordinates and supports coal research activities in the State of Illinois. Programmatic activities of such a consortium or center shall be subject to approval by the Department and shall be consistent with the purposes of this Act. The Department may authorize expenditure of funds in support of the administrative and programmatic operations of such a center or consortium consistent with its statutory authority. Administrative actions undertaken by or for such a center or consortium shall be subject to the approval of the Department.

(7) To make a reasonable attempt, before initiating any research under this Act, to avoid duplication of effort and expense by coordinating the research efforts among various agencies, departments, universities or organizations, as the case may be.

(8) To adopt, amend and repeal rules, regulations and bylaws governing the Board's organization and conduct of business.

(9) To authorize the expenditure of monies from the Coal Technology Development Assistance Fund, the Public Utility Fund and other funds in the State Treasury appropriated to the Department, consistent with the purposes of this Act.

(10) To seek, accept, and expend gifts or grants in any form, from any public agency or from any other source. Such gifts and grants may be held in trust by the Department and expended at the direction of the Department and in the exercise of the Department's powers and performance of the Department's duties.

(11) To publish, from time to time, the results of Illinois coal research projects funded through the Department.

(12) To authorize loans from appropriations from the Build Illinois Bond Purposes Fund, the Build Illinois Bond Fund and the Illinois Industrial Coal Utilization Fund.

(13) To authorize expenditures of monies for coal development projects under the authority of Section 13 of the General Obligation Bond Act.

(c) The Board shall also provide advice and make recommendations on the following Department powers and duties:

(1) To create and maintain thorough, current and accurate records on all markets for and actual uses of coal mined in Illinois, and to make such records available to the public upon request.

(2) To identify all current and anticipated future technical, economic, institutional, market, environmental, regulatory and other impediments to the utilization of Illinois coal.

(3) To monitor and evaluate all proposals and plans of public utilities related to compliance with the requirements of Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, or with any other law which might affect the use of Illinois coal, for the purposes of (i) determining the effects of such proposals or plans on the use of Illinois coal, and (ii) identifying alternative plans or actions which would maintain or increase the use of Illinois coal.

(4) To develop strategies and to propose policies to promote environmentally responsible uses of Illinois coal for meeting electric power supply requirements and for other purposes.

(5) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 95-728, eff. 7-1-08 - See Sec. 999; 96-739, eff. 1-1-10.)