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91_HB1691
LRB9101736JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 7-102.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 7-102 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/7-102) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 7-102)
8 Sec. 7-102. Transactions requiring Commission approval.
9 (A) Unless the consent and approval of the Commission is
10 first obtained or unless such approval is waived by the
11 Commission or is exempted in accordance with the provisions
12 of this Section or of any other Section of this Act:
13 (a) No 2 or more public utilities may enter into
14 contracts with each other that will enable such public
15 utilities to operate their lines or plants in connection
16 with each other.;
17 (b) No public utility may purchase, lease, or in
18 any other manner acquire control, direct or indirect,
19 over the franchises, licenses, permits, plants,
20 equipment, business or other property of any other public
21 utility.;
22 (c) No public utility may assign, transfer, lease,
23 mortgage, sell (by option or otherwise), or otherwise
24 dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of its
25 franchises, licenses, permits, plant, equipment,
26 business, or other property, but the consent and approval
27 of the Commission shall not be required for the sale,
28 lease, assignment or transfer (1) by any public utility
29 of any tangible personal property which is not necessary
30 or useful in the performance of its duties to the public,
31 or (2) by any railroad of any real or tangible personal
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1 property.;
2 (d) No public utility may by any means, direct or
3 indirect, merge or consolidate its franchises, licenses,
4 permits, plants, equipment, business or other property
5 with that of any other public utility.;
6 (e) No public utility may purchase, acquire, take
7 or receive any stock, stock certificates, bonds, notes or
8 other evidences of indebtedness of any other public
9 utility.;
10 (f) No public utility may in any manner, directly
11 or indirectly, guarantee the performance of any contract
12 or other obligation of any other person, firm or
13 corporation whatsoever.;
14 (g) No public utility may use, appropriate, or
15 divert any of its moneys, property or other resources in
16 or to any business or enterprise which is not, prior to
17 such use, appropriation or diversion essentially and
18 directly connected with or a proper and necessary
19 department or division of the business of such public
20 utility; provided that this subsection shall not be
21 construed as modifying subsections (a) through (e) of
22 this Section.;
23 (h) No public utility may, directly or indirectly,
24 invest, loan or advance, or permit to be invested, loaned
25 or advanced any of its moneys, property or other
26 resources in, for, in behalf of or to any other person,
27 firm, trust, group, association, company or corporation
28 whatsoever, except that no consent or approval by the
29 Commission is necessary for the purchase of stock in
30 development credit corporations organized under the
31 Illinois Development Credit Corporation Act, providing
32 that no such purchase may be made hereunder if, as a
33 result of such purchase, the cumulative purchase price of
34 all such shares owned by the utility would exceed
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1 one-fiftieth of one per cent of the utility's gross
2 operating revenue for the preceding calendar year.
3 (B) (i) Any public utility may present to the Commission
4 for approval options or contracts to sell or lease real
5 property, notwithstanding that the value of the property
6 under option may have changed between the date of the option
7 and the subsequent date of sale or lease. If the options or
8 contracts are approved by the Commission, subsequent sales or
9 leases in conformance with those options or contracts may be
10 made by the public utility without any further action by the
11 Commission. If approval of the options or contracts is denied
12 by the Commission, the options or contracts are void and any
13 consideration theretofore paid to the public utility must be
14 refunded within 30 days following disapproval of the
15 application.
16 (C) The proceedings for obtaining the approval of the
17 Commission provided for it in this Section shall be as
18 follows: There shall be filed with the Commission a petition,
19 joint or otherwise, as the case may be, signed and verified
20 by the president, any vice president, secretary, treasurer,
21 comptroller, general manager, or chief engineer of the
22 respective companies, or by the person or company, as the
23 case may be, clearly setting forth the object and purposes
24 desired, and setting forth the full and complete terms of the
25 proposed assignment, transfer, lease, mortgage, purchase,
26 sale, merger, consolidation, contract or other transaction,
27 as the case may be. Upon the filing of such petition, the
28 Commission shall, if it deems necessary, fix a time and place
29 for the hearing thereon. After such hearing, or in case no
30 hearing is required, if the Commission is satisfied that such
31 petition should reasonably be granted, and that the public
32 will be convenienced thereby, the Commission shall make such
33 order in the premises as it may deem proper and as the
34 circumstances may require, attaching such conditions as it
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1 may deem proper, and thereupon it shall be lawful to do the
2 things provided for in such order. The Commission shall
3 impose such conditions as will protect the interest of
4 minority and preferred stockholders.
5 (D) The Commission shall have power by general rules
6 applicable alike to all public utilities, other than electric
7 and gas public utilities, affected thereby to waive the
8 filing and necessity for approval of the following: (a) sales
9 of property involving a consideration of not more than
10 $300,000 for utilities with gross revenues in excess of
11 $50,000,000 annually and a consideration of not more than
12 $100,000 for all other utilities; (b) leases, easements and
13 licenses involving a consideration or rental of not more than
14 $30,000 per year for utilities with gross revenues in excess
15 of $50,000,000 annually and a consideration or rental of not
16 more than $10,000 per year for all other utilities; (c)
17 leases of office building space not required by the public
18 utility in rendering service to the public; (d) the temporary
19 leasing, lending or interchanging of equipment in the
20 ordinary course of business or in case of an emergency; and
21 (e) purchase-money mortgages given by a public utility in
22 connection with the purchase of tangible personal property
23 where the total obligation to be secured shall be payable
24 within a period not exceeding one year. However, if the
25 Commission, after a hearing, finds that any public utility to
26 which such rule is applicable is abusing or has abused such
27 general rule and thereby is evading compliance with the
28 standard established herein, the Commission shall have power
29 to require such public utility to thereafter file and receive
30 the Commission's approval upon all such transactions as
31 described in this Section, but such general rule shall remain
32 in full force and effect as to all other public utilities to
33 which such rule is applicable.
34 (E) The filing of, and the consent and approval of the
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1 Commission for, any assignment, transfer, lease, mortgage,
2 purchase, sale, merger, consolidation, contract or other
3 transaction by an electric or gas public utility with gross
4 revenues in all jurisdictions of $250,000,000 or more
5 annually involving a sale price or annual consideration in an
6 amount of $5,000,000 or less shall not be required. The
7 Commission shall also have the authority, on petition by an
8 electric or gas public utility with gross revenues in all
9 jurisdictions of $250,000,000 or more annually, to establish
10 by order higher thresholds than the foregoing for the
11 requirement of approval of transactions by the Commission
12 pursuant to this Section for the electric or gas public
13 utility, but no greater than 1% of the electric or gas public
14 utility's average total gross utility plant in service in the
15 case of sale, assignment or acquisition of property, or 2.5%
16 of the electric or gas public utility's total revenue in the
17 case of other sales price or annual consideration, in each
18 case based on the preceding calendar year, and subject to the
19 power of the Commission, after notice and hearing, to further
20 revise those thresholds at a later date. In addition to the
21 foregoing, the Commission shall have power by general rules
22 applicable alike to all electric and gas public utilities
23 affected thereby to waive the filing and necessity for
24 approval of the following: (a) sales of property involving a
25 consideration of $100,000 or less for electric and gas
26 utilities with gross revenues in all jurisdictions of less
27 than $250,000,000 annually; (b) leases, easements and
28 licenses involving a consideration or rental of not more than
29 $10,000 per year for electric and gas utilities with gross
30 revenues in all jurisdictions of less than $250,000,000
31 annually; (c) leases of office building space not required by
32 the electric or gas public utility in rendering service to
33 the public; (d) the temporary leasing, lending or
34 interchanging of equipment in the ordinary course of business
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1 or in the case of an emergency; and (e) purchase-money
2 mortgages given by an electric or gas public utility in
3 connection with the purchase of tangible personal property
4 where the total obligation to be secured shall be payable
5 within a period of one year or less. However, if the
6 Commission, after a hearing, finds that any electric or gas
7 public utility is abusing or has abused such general rule and
8 thereby is evading compliance with the standard established
9 herein, the Commission shall have power to require such
10 electric or gas public utility to thereafter file and receive
11 the Commission's approval upon all such transactions as
12 described in this Section and not exempted pursuant to the
13 first sentence of this paragraph or to subsection (g) of
14 Section 16-111 of this Act, but such general rule shall
15 remain in full force and effect as to all other electric and
16 gas public utilities.
17 Every assignment, transfer, lease, mortgage, sale or
18 other disposition or encumbrance of the whole or any part of
19 the franchises, licenses, permits, plant, equipment, business
20 or other property of any public utility, or any merger or
21 consolidation thereof, and every contract, purchase of stock,
22 or other transaction referred to in this Section and not
23 exempted in accordance with the provisions of the immediately
24 preceding paragraph of this Section, made otherwise than in
25 accordance with an order of the Commission authorizing the
26 same, except as provided in this Section, shall be void. The
27 provisions of this Section shall not apply to any
28 transactions by or with a political subdivision or municipal
29 corporation of this State.
30 (F) The provisions of this Section do not apply to the
31 purchase or sale of emission allowances created under and
32 defined in Title IV of the federal Clean Air Act Amendments
33 of 1990 (P.L. 101-549), as amended.
34 (Source: P.A. 89-99, eff. 7-7-95; 90-561, eff. 12-16-97;
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1 revised 10-31-98.)
2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
3 July 1, 1999.