Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 101-0044
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Public Act 101-0044


 

Public Act 0044 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 101-0044
 
HB0840 EnrolledLRB101 04966 JRG 49975 b

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

Effective Date: 1/1/2020