Public Act 103-1007
 
SB3501 EnrolledLRB103 36511 AWJ 66617 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
        (1) Article XI of the Illinois Constitution states the
    public policy of the State and the duty of each person is
    to provide and maintain a healthful environment for the
    benefit of this and future generations and that the
    General Assembly shall provide by law for the
    implementation and enforcement of this policy.
        (2) The House of Representatives has resolved in House
    Resolution 884 of the 96th General Assembly to (i) express
    its support for improved night preservation practices in
    Illinois, (ii) encourage State agencies to adopt suitable
    outdoor lighting practices based on the principles of
    applying artificial light only where it is needed, when it
    is needed, and to only the levels needed using the best
    safety and energy-efficient standards available, and (iii)
    encourage the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center of
    the University of Illinois to provide artificial outdoor
    illumination engineering assistance to State agencies,
    municipalities, and businesses that seek to implement
    responsible outdoor lighting to conserve and preserve the
    important natural phenomenon of night.
        (3) The Senate has resolved in Senate Resolution 64 of
    the 103rd General Assembly that local governments in
    Illinois should abide by the International Dark-Sky
    Association (now known as Dark Sky International)
    guidelines and lighting principles to help mitigate the
    effects of light pollution produced by outdoor lighting.
        (4) The State should promote responsible outdoor
    lighting.
        (5) Government structures, facilities, places, and
    spaces should serve as models of best practices for
    private structures, facilities, places, and spaces. These
    government structures, facilities, places, and spaces
    should encourage residents, business owners, and others to
    join in transitioning to responsible lighting.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "ANSI/IES standards" means the American National Standards
Institute and Illuminating Engineering Society's lighting
guidelines, also known as the IES Lighting Library Standards
Collection.
    "Correlated color temperature" means the measure of the
approximate spectrum of the color of light of an object as
perceived by the eye, measured in degrees Kelvin.
    "Fully shielded" means a luminaire that is constructed in
such a manner that all light emitted, either directly from the
lamp or indirectly by reflection or refraction from any part
of the luminaire, is projected below the horizontal plane
aligned with the bottom of the luminaire aperture, where no
part of the lamp protrudes outside of the luminaire or shield.
    "Glare" means light emitted by a luminaire that causes
visual discomfort, reduced visibility of objects, or produces
momentary blindness.
    "Illuminating Engineering Society Backlight, Uplight, and
Glare rating" or "IES BUG rating" means the luminaire
classification system developed by the Illuminating
Engineering Society that ranks and defines how many lumens of
light a luminaire emits backwards, upwards, and in glare.
    "Lamp" means the component of a luminaire that produces
light.
    "Light pollution" means the scattering of artificial light
into the nighttime environment caused by excessive or
improperly positioned artificial outdoor lighting resulting in
sky glow, light trespass, or glare.
    "Light trespass" means light emitted by a luminaire that
shines beyond the boundaries of the property the luminaire is
intended to illuminate.
    "Luminaire" means a complete installed or portable
illuminating device, including a lamp, together with the parts
designed to distribute the light, such as a reflector or
refractor, parts to position and protect the lamps, and parts
to connect the lamps to a power supply.
    "Lumen" means a standard unit of measurement of luminous
flux.
    "Lux" means a standard unit of luminous flux expressed in
lumens per square meter.
    "Nadir" means the point on the ground that is directly
below the center of a luminaire.
    "Ornamental lighting" means a luminaire that has a
historical or seasonal holiday purpose and that serves a
historical or seasonal holiday purpose only.
    "Outdoor luminaire" means installed or portable outdoor
artificial illuminating devices used for flood lighting,
roadway and area lighting, general illumination, or
advertisement.
    "Permanent outdoor luminaire" means exterior lighting or a
system of lighting that is used in place for 7 or more days.
    "Reflective roadway markings" means lines and markers with
reflective properties intended to promote vehicular and
pedestrian safety.
    "Reflective signage" means roadway and informational
signage that has reflective properties to aid with vehicular
and pedestrian safety.
    "Responsible lighting principles" means the use of modern
lighting technologies, including shielding, an upper limit on
color temperature (2,700 Kelvin), on-off controls, dimming
controls, and motion sensors.
    "Roadway lighting" means permanent outdoor luminaires that
are specifically intended to illuminate roadways for safe
vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
    "Sky glow" means the brightening of the night sky due to
inefficiently and improperly lit areas.
 
    Section 15. Outdoor lighting control. All new luminaires
purchased with State funds after the effective date of this
Act or installed after the effective date of this Act on a
structure or land that is owned and managed by the Department
of Natural Resources, including roadways, facilities,
properties, nonhabitable structures, monuments, and public
right-of-way spaces, including sidewalks, with the intended
purpose of outdoor illumination must follow the following
outdoor lighting control requirements:
        (1) Permanent outdoor luminaires must be fully
    shielded with an IES BUG rating and produce less than 1% of
    its emitted light above 80 degrees from the downward
    vertical direction of nadir. Light should not be emitted
    at an angle above 60 degrees from the downward vertical
    direction of nadir.
        (2) Luminaires must avoid light trespass by not
    exceeding an illuminance of one lux as measured at ground
    level both horizontally and vertically at the property
    boundary.
        (3) Luminaires must have a correlated color
    temperature less than or equal to 2,700 Kelvin. In
    residential areas, dark sky locations, or environmentally
    sensitive areas, such as State parks and outdoor
    recreation facilities, correlated color temperature should
    be no more than 2,200 Kelvin.
        (4) Outdoor lighting must be minimized to no more than
    25% above ANSI/IES standards or United States Department
    of Transportation recommendations.
        (5) Facade lighting must be minimized to no more than
    25% above ANSI/IES standards, must project downward, and
    must not violate the light trespass limits in paragraph
    (2).
        (6) When the installation or replacement of roadway
    lighting is planned, the appropriate authority must
    determine whether reflective roadway markings or
    reflective signage is appropriate and safe for the
    situation in lieu of outdoor lighting. Reflectorized
    roadway markings, lines, warning signs, informational
    signs or other passive means must be used for roadway
    lighting, except at intersections of 2 or more streets or
    highways, unless it is determined that adequate safety
    cannot be achieved by reflective means.
        (7) No artificial lighting above one lux, as measured
    at ground level both horizontally and vertically, may
    trespass onto land or waterways designated or managed as
    habitat, reserve, natural area, open space, or wilderness.
 
    Section 20. Exceptions. This Act does not apply if:
        (1) the luminaires are on a structure or land that is
    owned, supported, funded, leased, or managed by the State
    in a county or municipality that, by ordinance or
    resolution, has adopted provisions that are equal to or
    more stringent than the provisions of this Act;
        (2) a federal law or regulation preempts this Act;
        (3) a State agency determines a safety or security
    need exists that cannot be addressed by any other method;
        (4) fire, police, rescue, or repair personnel need
    light for temporary emergencies or road repair work;
        (5) it has been determined that a reasonable safety
    and security interest exists at correctional or hospital
    facilities that cannot be addressed by another method as
    long as it complies with existing standards,
    specifications, or policies;
        (6) navigational lighting systems and other lighting
    are necessary to comply with Federal Aviation
    Administration airside operations or nautical safety;
        (7) lamps greater than 2,700 Kelvin are used on active
    sports grounds or show grounds, but only for the duration
    of a practice, match, or event. Lamps emitting greater
    than 2,700 Kelvin under this paragraph must be positioned,
    angled, or shielded to prevent direct glare and light
    trespass onto neighboring property or properties, and the
    positioning, angling, or shielding must limit upward light
    emission to only the amount necessary to light the
    sporting or grounds activity;
        (8) flagpoles installed after the effective date of
    this Act are lit by means of a downward-facing lamp and
    using a lamp of 2,700 Kelvin or lower;
        (9) flagpoles installed on or before the effective
    date of this Act are upward-lit by partially shielded or
    unshielded luminaires using a lamp of 2,200 Kelvin or
    lower to minimize the impact of glare, light trespass, and
    sky glow and are converted to conform to requirements upon
    retrofitting;
        (10) the luminaries are existing decorative and
    ornamental lighting that serve historical purposes, but
    replacement luminaries for the existing decorative and
    ornamental lighting must meet the standards of this Act;
    or
        (11) the luminaries are temporary seasonal holiday
    lighting lasting no longer than 45 days surrounding the
    holiday season.
 
    Section 25. Other laws. If this Act conflicts with any
other federal law, State law, or local ordinance controlling
lighting, outdoor luminaries, signage, outdoor advertising,
displays, or devices that is more stringent than the Act, then
the federal law, State law, or local ordinance controls to the
extent it is more stringent than the Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2025.

Effective Date: 1/1/2025