HR0538 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0538 LRB104 16023 MST 29281 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Scott Humbard was born on May 19, 1970 and earned an associate's degree from Elgin Community College in 1990; and

WHEREAS, Moving to Charleston, Scott Humbard graduated from Eastern Illinois University (EIU) with a bachelor's degree in 1992, remaining with EIU to complete his work for a master's degree in 1993; both of his degrees were in political science and government; and

WHEREAS, These chosen majors helped Scott Humbard gain entry into the Illinois General Assembly legislative staff system through the Illinois Legislative Staff Internship Program (ILSIP), working with the Illinois House Republican staff starting in fall 1994; and

WHEREAS, From the start of his work for the Illinois House, Scott Humbard concentrated on issues centering on energy and the environment; this work reached a peak in the two-year Joint Committee on Electric Restructuring process to negotiate the Illinois electric deregulation bill; and

WHEREAS, The electric deregulation bill negotiated through the Joint Committee process was enacted in the spring of 1998 as P.A. 90-561, and as a key staff participant in these negotiations, Scott Humbard made valuable contacts to help perfect his knowledge and understanding of the legislative process; and

WHEREAS, After the 1998 veto session, Scott Humbard moved to advocacy work for the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, representing over 150 chemical manufacturers and suppliers, and in this position, he helped secure passage of legislation to reform and modernize the Illinois brownfield remediation program, thereby improving the resale values and safety profiles of manufacturing-affected parcels of Illinois real estate; and

WHEREAS, Until the 1990s, the organizational structure that governed U.S. electricity was the principle of vertical integration, where a single firm held closely regulated, one-company control over the generation and supply of electricity; and

WHEREAS, Scott Humbard's work in 1998 with Illinois electric deregulation presented him with evidence that this paradigm was nearing the end of its useful life; and

WHEREAS, In September 2001, utilizing this insight, Scott Humbard moved from the Chemical Industry Council to Exelon Generation, with a focus on representing this growing electrical utility firm in its state and local government affairs; and

WHEREAS, In the 2010s, the laws governing the regulated rates that Exelon could obtain for the electricity generated by some of its nuclear power generating plants, particularly its Clinton and Quad Cities reactors, made it infeasible for the company to seek these plants' re-licensure and long-term operation; and

WHEREAS, Especially in the years 2014 through 2016, Scott Humbard had the challenging task of presenting these realities to leaders throughout Illinois, especially in the Illinois General Assembly, to convince them to take the difficult step of adjusting Illinois' allowable nuclear power plant rates of return; and

WHEREAS, Scott Humbard worked with the Illinois General Assembly to enact the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, which, among other items, preserved nuclear energy generation in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In 2021, this act was followed by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which expanded the process of bringing the distributed-source-generation of solar power and wind power into full participation in the future Illinois supply grid; and

WHEREAS, As the U.S. electric utility industry continued to evolve into a new paradigm, Exelon spun off its generating arm in February 2022 as a new firm, Constellation Energy; and

WHEREAS, Serving Constellation Energy as its Vice President of State Government Affairs, Scott Humbard directed his firm's state legislative and regulatory initiatives and its operation of clean, carbon-free energy generating plants in 17 U.S. states; and

WHEREAS, In his work with Exelon and with Constellation Energy, Scott Humbard served as board chairman of the Illinois Energy Association and as chairman of the Illinois Competitive Energy Association; and

WHEREAS, Although the holder of several chairmanships, Scott Humbard could not hold a candle, let alone a nuclear reactor, to the true Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra; and

WHEREAS, As his challenging professional life continued, Scott Humbard became more and more aware of a certain beautiful lake in western Kentucky, which is filled with crappie fish; and

WHEREAS, Scott Humbard found that one does not have to go to the Canadian border to find a thousand islands; and

WHEREAS, Before he casts his line into the waters of our friendly neighbor state, the University of Illinois Springfield named Scott Humbard to its Illinois Legislative Staff Internship Hall of Fame on April 23, 2024, as a fitting example of the work that the Illinois legislative staffs do in preparing their people for potential statewide and even national leadership; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Scott D. Humbard for his successful career, which began in our building and spun outward to encompass 17 states, and the generation of many gigawatts of essential electric energy for America's future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we wish for Scott Humbard to have many years of sun, water, and music; and be it; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Scott Humbard, Vice President of Constellation Energy, as a symbol of our respect and esteem.