Public Act 90-0486 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0486
SB529 Enrolled LRB9002425THcw
AN ACT relating to higher education.
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
Public University Energy Conservation Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act words and phrases
have the meanings set forth in the following Sections
preceding Section 10.
Section 5.5. Public university. "Public university"
means any of the the following institutions of higher
learning: the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois
University, Northern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois
University, Western Illinois University, Northeastern
Illinois University, Chicago State University, Governors
State University, or Illinois State University, acting in
each case through its board of trustees or through a designee
of that board.
Section 5-10. Energy conservation measure. "Energy
conservation measure" means any improvement, repair,
alteration, or betterment of any building or facility owned
or operated by a public university or any equipment, fixture,
or furnishing to be added to or used in any such building or
facility that is designed to reduce energy consumption or
operating costs, and may include, without limitation, one or
more of the following:
(1) Insulation of the building structure or systems
within the building.
(2) Storm windows or doors, caulking or
weatherstripping, multiglazed windows or doors, heat
absorbing or heat reflective glazed and coated window or
door systems, additional glazing, reductions in glass
area, or other window and door system modifications that
reduce energy consumption.
(3) Automated or computerized energy control
systems.
(4) Heating, ventilating, or air conditioning
system modifications or replacements.
(5) Replacement or modification of lighting
fixtures to increase the energy efficiency of the
lighting system without increasing the overall
illumination of a facility, unless an increase in
illumination is necessary to conform to the applicable
State or local building code for the lighting system
after the proposed modifications are made.
(6) Energy recovery systems.
(7) Energy conservation measures that provide
long-term operating cost reductions.
Section 5-15. Guaranteed energy savings contract.
"Guaranteed energy savings contract" means a contract for:
(i) the implementation of an energy audit, data collection,
and other related analyses preliminary to the undertaking of
energy conservation measures; (ii) the evaluation and
recommendation of energy conservation measures; (iii) the
implementation of one or more energy conservation measures;
and (iv) the implementation of project monitoring and data
collection to verify post-installation energy consumption and
energy-related operating costs. The contract shall provide
that all payments, except obligations on termination of the
contract before its expiration, are to be made over time and
that the savings are guaranteed to the extent necessary to
pay the costs of the energy conservation measures.
Section 5-20. Qualified provider. "Qualified provider"
means a person or business whose employees are experienced
and trained in the design, implementation, or installation of
energy conservation measures. The minimum training required
for any person or employee under this Section shall be the
satisfactory completion of at least 40 hours of course
instruction dealing with energy conservation measures. A
qualified provider to whom the contract is awarded shall give
a sufficient bond to the public university for its faithful
performance.
Section 5-25. Request for proposals. "Request for
proposals" means a negotiated procurement. The request for
proposals shall be announced by the public university that
will administer the program through at least one public
notice, at least 10 days before the request date, in a
newspaper published in the county in which that public
university is located, or if no newspaper is published in
that county, in a newspaper of general circulation in the
area of that county, requesting innovative solutions and
proposals for energy conservation measures. Proposals
submitted shall be sealed. The request for proposals shall
include all of the following:
(1) The name and address of the public university
that will administer the program.
(2) The name, address, title, and phone number of a
contact person.
(3) Notice indicating that the public university is
requesting qualified providers to propose energy
conservation measures through a guaranteed energy savings
contract.
(4) The date, time, and place where proposals must
be received.
(5) The evaluation criteria for assessing the
proposals.
(6) Any other stipulations and clarifications the
public university may require.
Section 10. Evaluation of proposal. Before entering
into a guaranteed energy savings contract under Section 15, a
public university shall submit a request for proposals. The
public university shall evaluate any sealed proposal from a
qualified provider. The evaluation shall analyze the
estimates of all costs of installations, modifications or
remodeling, including, without limitation, costs of a
pre-installation energy audit or analysis, design,
engineering, installation, maintenance, repairs, debt
service, conversions to a different energy or fuel source, or
post-installation project monitoring, data collection, and
reporting. The evaluation shall include a detailed analysis
of whether either the energy consumed or the operating costs,
or both, will be reduced. If technical assistance is not
available by a licensed architect or registered professional
engineer on the staff of the public university, then the
evaluation of the proposal shall be done by a registered
professional engineer or architect, who is retained by the
public university. The public university may pay a
reasonable fee for evaluation of the proposal or include the
fee as part of the payments made under Section 20.
Section 15. Award of guaranteed energy savings contract.
Sealed proposals must be opened by the public university's
board of trustees or a designee of that board at a public
opening at which the contents of the proposals must be
announced. Each person or entity submitting a sealed
proposal must receive at least 10 days notice of the time and
place of the opening. The public university shall select the
qualified provider that best meets the needs of the district.
The public university shall provide public notice of the
meeting at which it proposes to award a guaranteed energy
savings contract and of the names of the parties to the
proposed contract and the purpose of the contract. The
public notice shall be made at least 10 days prior to the
meeting. After evaluating the proposals under Section 10, a
public university may enter into a guaranteed energy savings
contract with a qualified provider if it finds that the
amount it would spend on the energy conservation measures
recommended in the proposal would not exceed the amount to be
saved in either energy or operational costs, or both, within
a 10 year period from the date of installation, if the
recommendations in the proposal are followed.
Section 20. Guarantee. The guaranteed energy savings
contract shall include a written guarantee of the qualified
provider that either the energy or operational cost savings,
or both, will meet or exceed within 10 years the costs of the
energy conservation measures. The qualified provider shall
reimburse the public university for any shortfall of
guaranteed energy savings projected in the contract. A
qualified provider shall provide a sufficient bond to the
public university for the installation and the faithful
performance of all the measures included in the contract.
The guaranteed energy savings contract may provide for
payments over a period of time, not to exceed 10 years from
the date of final installation of the measures.
Section 25. Installment payment; lease purchase. A
public university or 2 or more public universities in
combination may enter into an installment payment contract or
lease purchase agreement with a qualified provider for the
purchase and installation of energy conservation measures.
Each public university may issue certificates evidencing the
indebtedness incurred pursuant to the contracts or
agreements. Any such contract or agreement shall be valid
whether or not an appropriation with respect thereto is first
included in any annual or additional or supplemental budget
proposal, request, or recommendation submitted by or made
with respect to a public university under Section 8 of the
Board of Higher Education Act or as otherwise provided by
law. Each contract or agreement entered into by a public
university pursuant to this Section shall be authorized by
resolution of the board of trustees of that university.
Section 30. Term; budget and appropriations. Guaranteed
energy savings contracts may extend beyond the fiscal year in
which they become effective. The public university shall
include in its annual budget request and the Board of Higher
Education shall recommend an appropriation for each
subsequent fiscal year that is sufficient to pay and
discharge any amounts payable under guaranteed energy savings
contracts during that fiscal year.
Section 35. Operational and energy cost savings. The
public university shall document the operational and energy
cost savings specified in the guaranteed energy savings
contract and designate and reserve that amount for an annual
payment of the contract. If the annual energy savings are
less than projected under the guaranteed energy savings
contract the qualified provider shall pay the difference as
provided in Section 20.
Sec. 40. Available funds. A public university may use
funds designated for operating or capital expenditures for
any guaranteed energy savings contract, including purchases
using installment payment contracts or lease purchase
agreements. A public university that enters into such a
contract or agreement may covenant in such contract or
agreement that payments made thereunder shall be payable from
the first funds legally available in each fiscal year.
Section 45. Funding. No grants or other funds or amounts
appropriated to a public university for any purpose shall be
reduced as a result of energy savings realized from a
guaranteed energy savings contract or a lease purchase
agreement for the purchase and installation of energy
conservation measures.
Section 70. The Public Community College Act is amended
by changing Section 2-16.02 as follows:
(110 ILCS 805/2-16.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 102-16.02)
Sec. 2-16.02. Any community college district that
maintains a community college recognized by the State Board
shall receive, when eligible, grants enumerated in this
Section. Funded semester credit hours or other measures as
specified by the State Board shall be used to distribute
grants to community colleges. Except for equalization grants,
retirees health insurance grants, grants to districts
established pursuant to Section 6-6.1, and grants for special
initiatives, all grants specified in this Section shall be
based on funded semester credit hours. Funded semester
credit hours shall be defined, for purposes of this Section,
as the greater of (1) the number of semester credit hours, or
equivalent, in all funded instructional categories of
students who have been certified as being in attendance at
midterm during the respective terms of the base fiscal year
or (2) the average of semester credit hours, or equivalent,
in all funded instructional categories of students who have
been certified as being in attendance at midterm during the
respective terms of the base fiscal year and the 2 prior
fiscal years. For purposes of this Section, "base fiscal
year" means the fiscal year 2 years prior to the fiscal year
for which the grants are appropriated. Such students shall
have been residents of Illinois and shall have been enrolled
in courses that are part of instructional program categories
approved by the State Board and that are applicable toward an
associate degree or certificate. Courses are not eligible
for reimbursement where the district receives federal or
State financing or both, except financing through the State
Board, for 50% or more of the program costs with the
exception of courses offered by contract with the Department
of Corrections in correctional institutions. After
distributing a grant of up to one-tenth of 1% of the total
available credit hour grant funding to each district with
less than 75,000 funded semester credit hours exclusive of
Department of Corrections credit hours, the remaining Credit
hour grants shall be paid based on rates per funded semester
credit hour or equivalent calculated by the State Board for
funded instructional categories using cost of instruction,
enrollment, inflation, and other relevant factors. Small
district grants, in an amount to be determined by the State
Board, shall be made to each district with less than 75,000
funded semester credit hours, exclusive of Department of
Corrections credit hours.
Grants for Equalization grants shall be distributed to
each district that falls below a statewide threshold
calculated by the State Board by determining a local revenue
factor for each district by: (A) adding (1) each district's
the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Fund allocations
from the base fiscal year or the average of the base fiscal
year and prior year, whichever is less, divided by the
applicable statewide average tax rate to (2) the district's
most recently audited year's equalized assessed valuation or
the average of the most recently audited year and prior year,
whichever is less, (B) then dividing by the district's number
of audited full-time equivalent resident students for the
base fiscal year or the average for the base fiscal year and
the 2 prior fiscal years, whichever is greater, and (C) then
multiplying by the applicable statewide average tax rate.
The State Board shall calculate a statewide weighted average
threshold by applying use the same methodology to the totals
of all districts' Corporate Personal Property Tax Replacement
Fund allocations, equalized assessed valuations, and audited
full-time equivalent district resident students and
multiplying by the applicable statewide average tax rate
calculate a local revenue factor for each district. The
difference between the statewide weighted average threshold
and the local revenue factor, multiplied by the number of
full-time equivalent resident students, shall determine the
amount of equalization funding that each district is eligible
to receive. A percentage factor, as determined by the State
Board, may be applied to the statewide threshold as a method
for allocating equalization funding. A minimum equalization
grant of an amount per district as determined by the State
Board shall be established for any community college district
which qualifies for an equalization grant based upon the
preceding criteria, but becomes ineligible for equalization
funding, or would have received a grant of less than the
minimum equalization grant, due to threshold prorations
applied to reduce equalization funding. As of July 1, 1997,
community college districts must maintain a minimum required
in-district tuition rate per semester credit hour as
determined by the State Board. For each fiscal year between
July 1, 1997 and June 30, 2001, districts not meeting the
minimum required rate will be subject to a percent reduction
of equalization funding as determined by the State Board. As
of July 1, 2001, districts must meet the required minimum
in-district tuition rate to qualify for equalization funding.
A special populations grant of a base amount as
determined by the State Board $20,000 per community college
shall be distributed to each community college district., and
Any remaining appropriated funds for special populations
purposes shall be distributed based on factors as determined
by the State Board programs with the exception of moneys
appropriated as grants for unique special populations
initiatives created by the State Board shall be distributed
proportionately to each community college district on the
basis of each district's share of the State total funded
semester credit hours, or equivalent, in
remedial/developmental and adult basic education/adult
secondary education courses. Each community college
district's expenditures of funds from those grants shall be
limited to courses and services related to programs for
educationally disadvantaged and minority students as
specified by the State Board.
A workforce preparation grant of a base grant amount as
determined by the State Board $35,000 shall be distributed to
each community college district., and Any remaining
appropriated funds for workforce preparation programs with
the exception of monies appropriated as grants for special
workforce preparation initiatives created by the State Board
shall be distributed based on factors as determined by the
State Board proportionately to each community college
district on the basis of each district's share of the State
total funded semester credit hours, or equivalent, in
business occupational, technical occupational, and health
occupational courses. Each community college district's
expenditures of funds from those grants shall be limited to
workforce preparation activities and services as specified by
the State Board.
An advanced technology equipment grant shall be
distributed proportionately to each community college
district based on each district's share of the State total
funded semester credit hours, or equivalent, in business
occupational, technical occupational, and health occupational
courses or other measures as determined by the State Board.
Each community college district's expenditures of funds from
those grants shall be limited to procurement of equipment for
curricula impacted by technological advances as specified by
the State Board.
A retirees health insurance grant shall be distributed
proportionately to each community college district or entity
created pursuant to Section 3-55 based on each district's
share of the total number of community college retirees in
the State on July 1 of the fiscal year prior to the fiscal
year for which the grants are appropriated, as determined by
the State Board. Each community college district's
Expenditures of funds from those grants shall be limited to
payment of costs associated with the provision of retirees'
health insurance.
A deferred maintenance grant shall be distributed to each
community college district based upon criteria as determined
by the State Board. Each community college district's
expenditures of funds from those grants shall be limited to
deferred maintenance activities specified by the State Board.
A grant shall be provided to the Illinois Occupational
Information Coordinating Committee for the purpose of
providing the State Board with labor market information by
updating the Occupational Information System and HORIZONS
Career Information System and by providing labor market
information and technical assistance, that grant to be
provided in its entirety during the first quarter of the
fiscal year.
A grant shall be provided to Community College District
#540, that district having been formed under the provisions
of Section 6-6.1, for the purpose of providing funds for the
district to meet operating expenses. The State Board shall
certify, prepare, and submit to the State Comptroller during
August of the fiscal year a voucher setting forth a one-time
payment of any Education Assistance Fund appropriation, and
during November, February, and May of the fiscal year a
voucher setting forth equal payments of General Revenue Fund
appropriations. The Comptroller shall cause a warrant to be
drawn for the amount due, payable to Community College
District #540, within 15 days following the receipt of each
such voucher.
The State Board shall distribute such other special
grants as may be authorized or appropriated by the General
Assembly.
Each community college district entitled to State grants
under this Section must submit a report of its enrollment to
the State Board not later than 30 days following the end of
each semester, quarter, or term in a format prescribed by the
State Board. These semester credit hours, or equivalent,
shall be certified by each district on forms provided by the
State Board. Each district's certified semester credit
hours, or equivalent, are subject to audit pursuant to
Section 3-22.1.
The State Board shall certify, prepare, and submit to the
State Comptroller during August, November, February, and May
of each fiscal year vouchers setting forth an amount equal to
25% of the districts' total grants approved by the State
Board for credit hour grants, small district grants, special
populations grants, workforce preparation grants,
equalization grants, advanced technology equipment grants,
deferred maintenance grants, and retirees health insurance
grants. The State Board shall prepare and submit to the State
Comptroller vouchers for special initiatives grant payments
as set forth in the contracts executed pursuant to
appropriations received for special initiatives. The
Comptroller shall cause his warrants to be drawn for the
respective amounts due, payable to each community college
district, within 15 days following the receipt of such
vouchers. If the amount appropriated for grants is different
from the amount provided for such grants under this Act, the
grants shall be proportionately reduced or increased
accordingly.
For the purposes of this Section, "resident student"
means a student in a community college district who maintains
residency in that district or meets other residency
definitions established by the State Board, and who was
enrolled either in one of the approved instructional program
categories in that district, or in another community college
district to which the resident's district is paying tuition
under Section 6-2 or with which the resident's district has
entered into a cooperative agreement in lieu of such tuition.
For the purposes of this Section, a "full-time
equivalent" student is equal to 30 semester credit hours.
The Illinois Community College Board Contracts and Grants
Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. Items of
income to this fund shall include any grants, awards,
endowments, or like proceeds, and where appropriate, other
funds made available through contracts with governmental,
public, and private agencies or persons. The General
Assembly shall from time to time make appropriations payable
from such fund for the support, improvement, and expenses of
the State Board and Illinois community college districts.
(Source: P.A. 88-103; 88-553; 89-141, eff. 7-14-95; 89-281,
eff. 8-10-95; 89-473, eff. 6-18-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
Section 75. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
is amended by adding Section 38 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/38 new)
Sec. 38. Monetary award program accountability. The
Illinois Student Assistance Commission is directed to assess
the educational persistence of monetary award program
recipients. An assessment under this Section shall include
an analysis of such factors as undergraduate educational
goals, chosen field of study, retention rates, and expected
time to complete a degree. The assessment also shall include
an analysis of the academic success of monetary award program
recipients through a review of measures that are typically
associated with academic success, such as grade point
average, satisfactory academic progress, and credit hours
earned. Each analysis should take into consideration student
class level, dependency types, and the type of higher
education institution at which each monetary award program
recipient is enrolled. The Commission shall report its
findings to the General Assembly and the Board of Higher
Education by February 1, 1999 and at least every 2 years
thereafter.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
1, 1997.