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91_HB4431ham001
LRB9110442SMdvam02
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4431
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 4431 on page 37,
3 line 22, after the period, by inserting the following:
4 "This subparagraph (S) is exempt from the provisions of
5 Section 250."; and
6 on page 147, immediately below line 8, by inserting the
7 following:
8 "Section 40. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
9 changing Section 8-403.1 as follows:
10 (220 ILCS 5/8-403.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 8-403.1)
11 Sec. 8-403.1. Electricity purchased from qualified solid
12 waste energy facility; tax credit; distributions for economic
13 development.
14 (a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of this State
15 to encourage the development of alternate energy production
16 facilities in order to conserve our energy resources and to
17 provide for their most efficient use.
18 (b) For the purpose of this Section and Section 9-215.1,
19 "qualified solid waste energy facility" means a facility
20 determined by the Illinois Commerce Commission to qualify as
21 such under the Local Solid Waste Disposal Act, to use methane
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1 gas generated from landfills as its primary fuel, and to
2 possess characteristics that would enable it to qualify as a
3 cogeneration or small power production facility under federal
4 law.
5 (c) In furtherance of the policy declared in this
6 Section, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall require
7 electric utilities to enter into long-term contracts to
8 purchase electricity from qualified solid waste energy
9 facilities located in the electric utility's service area,
10 for a period beginning on the date that the facility begins
11 generating electricity and having a duration of not less than
12 10 years in the case of facilities fueled by
13 landfill-generated methane, or 20 years in the case of
14 facilities fueled by methane generated from a landfill owned
15 by a forest preserve district. The purchase rate contained
16 in such contracts shall be equal to the average amount per
17 kilowatt-hour paid from time to time by the unit or units of
18 local government in which the electricity generating
19 facilities are located, excluding amounts paid for street
20 lighting and pumping service.
21 (d) Whenever a public utility is required to purchase
22 electricity pursuant to subsection (c) above, it shall be
23 entitled to credits in respect of its obligations to remit to
24 the State taxes it has collected under the Electricity Excise
25 Tax Law equal to the amounts, if any, by which payments for
26 such electricity exceed (i) the then current rate at which
27 the utility must purchase the output of qualified facilities
28 pursuant to the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies
29 Act of 1978, less (ii) any costs, expenses, losses, damages
30 or other amounts incurred by the utility, or for which it
31 becomes liable, arising out of its failure to obtain such
32 electricity from such other sources. The amount of any such
33 credit shall, in the first instance, be determined by the
34 utility, which shall make a monthly report of such credits to
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1 the Illinois Commerce Commission and, on its monthly tax
2 return, to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Under no
3 circumstances shall a utility be required to purchase
4 electricity from a qualified solid waste energy facility at
5 the rate prescribed in subsection (c) of this Section if such
6 purchase would result in estimated tax credits that exceed,
7 on a monthly basis, the utility's estimated obligation to
8 remit to the State taxes it has collected under the
9 Electricity Excise Tax Law. The owner or operator shall
10 negotiate facility operating conditions with the purchasing
11 utility in accordance with that utility's posted standard
12 terms and conditions for small power producers. If the
13 Department of Revenue disputes the amount of any such credit,
14 such dispute shall be decided by the Illinois Commerce
15 Commission. Whenever a qualified solid waste energy facility
16 has paid or otherwise satisfied in full the capital costs or
17 indebtedness incurred in developing and implementing the
18 qualified facility, the qualified facility shall reimburse
19 the Public Utility Fund and the General Revenue Fund in the
20 State treasury for the actual reduction in payments to those
21 Funds caused by this subsection (d) in a manner to be
22 determined by the Illinois Commerce Commission and based on
23 the manner in which revenues for those Funds were reduced.
24 (e) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall not require
25 an electric utility to purchase electricity from any
26 qualified solid waste energy facility which is owned or
27 operated by an entity that is primarily engaged in the
28 business of producing or selling electricity, gas, or useful
29 thermal energy from a source other than one or more qualified
30 solid waste energy facilities.
31 (f) This Section does not require an electric utility to
32 construct additional facilities unless those facilities are
33 paid for by the owner or operator of the affected qualified
34 solid waste energy facility.
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1 (g) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall require that:
2 (1) electric utilities use the electricity purchased from a
3 qualified solid waste energy facility to displace electricity
4 generated from nuclear power or coal mined and purchased
5 outside the boundaries of the State of Illinois before
6 displacing electricity generated from coal mined and
7 purchased within the State of Illinois, to the extent
8 possible, and (2) electric utilities report annually to the
9 Commission on the extent of such displacements.
10 (h) Nothing in this Section is intended to cause an
11 electric utility that is required to purchase power hereunder
12 to incur any economic loss as a result of its purchase. All
13 amounts paid for power which a utility is required to
14 purchase pursuant to subparagraph (c) shall be deemed to be
15 costs prudently incurred for purposes of computing charges
16 under rates authorized by Section 9-220 of this Act. Tax
17 credits provided for herein shall be reflected in charges
18 made pursuant to rates so authorized to the extent such
19 credits are based upon a cost which is also reflected in such
20 charges.
21 (i) Beginning in February 1999 and through January 2009,
22 each qualified solid waste energy facility that sells
23 electricity to an electric utility at the purchase rate
24 described in subsection (c) shall file with the Department of
25 Revenue State Treasurer on or before the 15th of each month a
26 form, prescribed by the Department of Revenue State
27 Treasurer, that states the number of kilowatt hours of
28 electricity for which payment was received at that purchase
29 rate from electric utilities in Illinois during the
30 immediately preceding month. This form shall be accompanied
31 by a payment from the qualified solid waste energy facility
32 in an amount equal to six-tenths of a mill ($0.0006) per
33 kilowatt hour of electricity stated on the form. Payments
34 received by the Department of Revenue State Treasurer shall
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1 be deposited into the Municipal Economic Development Fund, a
2 trust fund created outside the State treasury. The State
3 Treasurer may invest the moneys in the Fund in any investment
4 authorized by the Public Funds Investment Act, and investment
5 income shall be deposited into and become part of the Fund.
6 Moneys in the Fund shall be used by the State Treasurer as
7 provided in subsection (j). The obligation of a qualified
8 solid waste energy facility to make payments into the
9 Municipal Economic Development Fund shall terminate upon
10 either: (1) expiration or termination of a facility's
11 contract to sell electricity to an electric utility at the
12 purchase rate described in subsection (c); or (2) entry of an
13 enforceable, final, and non-appealable order by a court of
14 competent jurisdiction that Public Act 89-448 is invalid.
15 Payments by a qualified solid waste energy facility into the
16 Municipal Economic Development Fund do not relieve the
17 qualified solid waste energy facility of its obligation to
18 reimburse the Public Utility Fund and the General Revenue
19 Fund for the actual reduction in payments to those Funds as a
20 result of credits received by electric utilities under
21 subsection (d).
22 (j) The State Treasurer, without appropriation, must
23 make distributions immediately after January 15, April 15,
24 July 15, and October 15 of each year, up to maximum aggregate
25 distributions of $500,000 for the distributions made in the 4
26 quarters beginning with the April distribution and ending
27 with the January distribution, from the Municipal Economic
28 Development Fund to each city, village, or incorporated town
29 that has within its boundaries an incinerator that: (1) uses
30 municipal waste as its primary fuel to generate electricity;
31 (2) was determined by the Illinois Commerce Commission to
32 qualify as a qualified solid waste energy facility prior to
33 the effective date of Public Act 89-448; and (3) commenced
34 operation prior to January 1, 1998. Total distributions in
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1 the aggregate to all qualified cities, villages, and
2 incorporated towns in the 4 quarters beginning with the April
3 distribution and ending with the January distribution shall
4 not exceed $500,000. The amount of each distribution shall
5 be determined pro rata based on the population of the city,
6 village, or incorporated town compared to the total
7 population of all cities, villages, and incorporated towns
8 eligible to receive a distribution. Distributions received
9 by a city, village, or incorporated town must be held in a
10 separate account and may be used only to promote and enhance
11 industrial, commercial, residential, service, transportation,
12 and recreational activities and facilities within its
13 boundaries, thereby enhancing the employment opportunities,
14 public health and general welfare, and economic development
15 within the community, including administrative expenditures
16 exclusively to further these activities. These funds,
17 however, shall not be used by the city, village, or
18 incorporated town, directly or indirectly, to purchase,
19 lease, operate, or in any way subsidize the operation of any
20 incinerator, and these funds shall not be paid, directly or
21 indirectly, by the city, village, or incorporated town to the
22 owner, operator, lessee, shareholder, or bondholder of any
23 incinerator. Moreover, these funds shall not be used to pay
24 attorneys fees in any litigation relating to the validity of
25 Public Act 89-448. Nothing in this Section prevents a city,
26 village, or incorporated town from using other corporate
27 funds for any legitimate purpose. For purposes of this
28 subsection, the term "municipal waste" has the meaning
29 ascribed to it in Section 3.21 of the Environmental
30 Protection Act.
31 (k) If maximum aggregate distributions of $500,000 under
32 subsection (j) have been made after the January distribution
33 from the Municipal Economic Development Fund, then the
34 balance in the Fund shall be refunded to the qualified solid
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1 waste energy facilities that made payments that were
2 deposited into the Fund during the previous 12-month period.
3 The refunds shall be prorated based upon the facility's
4 payments in relation to total payments for that 12-month
5 period.
6 (l) Beginning January 1, 2000, and each January 1
7 thereafter, each city, village, or incorporated town that
8 received distributions from the Municipal Economic
9 Development Fund, continued to hold any of those
10 distributions, or made expenditures from those distributions
11 during the immediately preceding year shall submit to a
12 financial and compliance and program audit of those
13 distributions performed by the Auditor General at no cost to
14 the city, village, or incorporated town that received the
15 distributions. The audit should be completed by June 30 or
16 as soon thereafter as possible. The audit shall be submitted
17 to the State Treasurer and those officers enumerated in
18 Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act. If the
19 Auditor General finds that distributions have been expended
20 in violation of this Section, the Auditor General shall refer
21 the matter to the Attorney General. The Attorney General may
22 recover, in a civil action, 3 times the amount of any
23 distributions illegally expended. For purposes of this
24 subsection, the terms "financial audit," "compliance audit",
25 and "program audit" have the meanings ascribed to them in
26 Sections 1-13 and 1-15 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
27 (Source: P.A. 89-448, eff. 3-14-96; 90-813, eff. 1-29-99.)".