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91_SB0385ccr001
1 91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2 FIRST CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT
3 ON SENATE BILL 385
4 To the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
5 House of Representatives:
6 We, the conference committee appointed to consider the
7 differences between the houses in relation to House
8 Amendments No. 1 and No. 2 to Senate Bill 385, recommend the
9 following:
10 (1) that the Senate concur in House Amendments No. 1 and
11 No. 2; and
12 (2) that Senate Bill 385, AS AMENDED, be further amended
13 as follows:
14 by replacing the title with the following:
15 "AN ACT concerning the Illinois Clean Energy Community
16 Trust, amending named Acts."; and
17 in Section 5 of the bill, in subsection (k) of Sec. 2, after
18 "trustees", by inserting ", or their appointing
19 authorities,"; and
20 by inserting immediately below the last line of Section 5 of
21 the bill the following:
22 "Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
23 changing Section 16-111.1 as follows:
24 (220 ILCS 5/16-111.1)
25 Sec. 16-111.1. Illinois Clean Energy Community Trust.
26 (a) An electric utility which has sold or transferred
27 generating facilities in a transaction to which subsection
28 (k) of Section 16-111 applies is authorized to establish an
29 Illinois clean energy community trust or foundation for the
30 purposes of providing financial support and assistance to
31 entities, public or private, within the State of Illinois
32 including, but not limited to, units of State and local
33 government, educational institutions, corporations, and
34 charitable, educational, environmental and community
35 organizations, for programs and projects that benefit the
36 public by improving energy efficiency, developing renewable
37 energy resources, supporting other energy related projects
38 that improve the State's environmental quality, and
39 supporting projects and programs intended to preserve or
40 enhance the natural habitats and wildlife areas of the State.
41 Provided, however, that the trust or foundation funds shall
42 not be used for the remediation of environmentally impaired
43 property. The trust or foundation may also assist in
44 identifying other energy and environmental grant
45 opportunities.
46 (b) Such trust or foundation shall be governed by a
47 declaration of trust or articles of incorporation and bylaws
48 which shall, at a minimum, provide that:
49 (1) There shall be 6 voting trustees of the trust
50 or foundation, one of whom shall be appointed by the
51 Governor, one of whom shall be appointed by the President
52 of the Illinois Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by
53 the Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, one of whom
54 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Illinois House
55 of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the
56 Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives,
57 and one of whom shall be appointed by the electric
58 utility establishing the trust or foundation, provided
59 that the voting trustee appointed by the utility shall be
60 a representative of a recognized environmental action
61 group selected by the utility. The Governor shall
62 designate select one of the 6 voting trustees to serve
63 as, once appointed, to be the first chairman of the trust
64 or foundation, who shall serve as chairman of the trust
65 or foundation at the pleasure of the Governor pending the
66 first election of officers. In addition, there shall be 4
67 non-voting trustees, one of whom shall be appointed by
68 the Director of the Department of Commerce and Community
69 Affairs, one of whom shall be appointed by the Director
70 of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, one of
71 whom shall be appointed by the Director of the Department
1 of Natural Resources, and one of whom shall be appointed
2 by the electric utility establishing the trust or
3 foundation, provided that the non-voting trustee
4 appointed by the utility shall bring financial expertise
5 to the trust or foundation and shall have appropriate
6 credentials therefor.
7 (2) All voting trustees and the non-voting trustee
8 with financial expertise shall be entitled to
9 compensation for their services as trustees, provided,
10 however, that no member of the General Assembly and no
11 employee of the electric utility establishing the trust
12 or foundation serving as a voting trustee shall receive
13 any compensation for his or her services as a trustee,
14 and provided further that the compensation to the
15 chairman of the trust shall not exceed $25,000 annually
16 and the compensation to any other trustee shall not
17 exceed $20,000 annually. All trustees shall be entitled
18 to reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on
19 behalf of the trust in the performance of their duties as
20 trustees. All such compensation and reimbursements shall
21 be paid out of the trust.
22 (3) Trustees shall be appointed within 30 days
23 after the creation of the trust or foundation and shall
24 serve for a term of 5 years commencing upon the date of
25 their respective appointments, until their respective
26 successors are appointed and qualified.
27 (4) A vacancy in the office of trustee shall be
28 filled by the person holding the office responsible for
29 appointing the trustee whose death or resignation creates
30 the vacancy, and a trustee appointed to fill a vacancy
31 shall serve the remainder of the term of the trustee
32 whose resignation or death created the vacancy.
33 (5) The trust or foundation shall have an
34 indefinite term, and shall terminate at such time as no
35 trust assets remain.
36 (6) The trust or foundation shall be funded in the
37 minimum amount of $250,000,000, with the allocation and
38 disbursement of funds for the various purposes for which
39 the trust or foundation is established to be determined
40 by the trustees in accordance with the declaration of
41 trust or the articles of incorporation and bylaws;
42 provided, however, that this amount may be reduced by up
43 to $25,000,000 if, at the time the trust or foundation is
44 funded, a corresponding amount is contributed by the
45 electric utility establishing the trust or foundation to
46 the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University for
47 the purpose of funding programs or projects related to
48 clean coal and provided further that $25,000,000 of the
49 amount contributed to the trust or foundation shall be
50 available to fund programs or projects related to clean
51 coal.
52 (7) The trust or foundation shall be authorized to
53 employ an executive director and other employees, to
54 enter into leases, contracts and other obligations on
55 behalf of the trust or foundation, and to incur expenses
56 that the trustees deem necessary or appropriate for the
57 fulfillment of the purposes for which the trust or
58 foundation is established, provided, however, that
59 salaries and administrative expenses incurred on behalf
60 of the trust or foundation shall not exceed $500,000 in
61 the first fiscal year after the trust or foundation is
62 established and shall not exceed $1,000,000 in each
63 subsequent fiscal year.
64 (8) The trustees may create and appoint advisory
65 boards or committees to assist them with the
66 administration of the trust or foundation, and to advise
67 and make recommendations to them regarding the
68 contribution and disbursement of the trust or foundation
69 funds.
70 (c)(1) In addition to the allocation and disbursement of
71 funds for the purposes set forth in subsection (a) of
72 this Section, the trustees of the trust or foundation
73 shall annually contribute funds in amounts set forth in
74 subparagraph (2) of this subsection to the Citizens
75 Utility Board created by the Citizens Utility Board Act;
76 provided, however, that any such funds shall be used
77 solely for the representation of the interests of utility
78 consumers before the Illinois Commerce Commission, the
1 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Federal
2 Communications Commission and for the provision of
3 consumer education on utility service and prices and on
4 benefits and methods of energy conservation. Provided,
5 however, that no part of such funds shall be used to
6 support (i) any lobbying activity, (ii) activities
7 related to fundraising, (iii) advertising or other
8 marketing efforts regarding a particular utility, or (iv)
9 solicitation of support for, or advocacy of, a particular
10 position regarding any specific utility or a utility's
11 docketed proceeding.
12 (2) In the calendar year in which the trust or
13 foundation is first funded, the trustees shall contribute
14 $1,000,000 to the Citizens Utility Board within 60 days
15 after such trust or foundation is established; provided,
16 however, that such contribution shall be made after
17 December 31, 1999. In each of the 6 calendar years
18 subsequent to the first contribution, if the trust or
19 foundation is in existence, the trustees shall contribute
20 to the Citizens Utility Board an amount equal to the
21 total expenditures by such organization in the prior
22 calendar year, as set forth in the report filed by the
23 Citizens Utility Board with the chairman of such trust or
24 foundation as required by subparagraph (3) of this
25 subsection. Such subsequent contributions shall be made
26 within 30 days of submission by the Citizens Utility
27 Board of such report to the Chairman of the trust or
28 foundation, but in no event shall any annual contribution
29 by the trustees to the Citizens Utility Board exceed
30 $1,000,000. Following such 7-year period, an Illinois
31 statutory consumer protection agency may petition the
32 trust or foundation for contributions to fund
33 expenditures of the type identified in paragraph (1), but
34 in no event shall annual contributions by the trust or
35 foundation for such expenditures exceed $1,000,000.
36 (3) The Citizens Utility Board shall file a report
37 with the chairman of such trust or foundation for each
38 year in which it expends any funds received from the
39 trust or foundation setting forth the amount of any
40 expenditures (regardless of the source of funds for such
41 expenditures) for: (i) the representation of the
42 interests of utility consumers before the Illinois
43 Commerce Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory
44 Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission,
45 and (ii) the provision of consumer education on utility
46 service and prices and on benefits and methods of energy
47 conservation. Such report shall separately state the
48 total amount of expenditures for the purposes or
49 activities identified by items (i) and (ii) of this
50 paragraph, the name and address of the external recipient
51 of any such expenditure, if applicable, and the specific
52 purposes or activities (including internal purposes or
53 activities) for which each expenditure was made. Any
54 report required by this subsection shall be filed with
55 the chairman of such trust or foundation no later than
56 March 31 of the year immediately following the year for
57 which the report is required.
58 (Source: P.A. 91-50, eff. 6-30-99.)".
59 Submitted on April 15, 2000.
60 Sen. Steven Rauschenberger s/Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie
61 s/Sen. John Philip Rep. Gary Hannig
62 s/Sen. Stanley B. Weaver s/Rep. Monique Davis
63 Sen. Robert Molaro s/Rep. Art Tenhouse
64 Sen. Emil Jones s/Rep. Raymond Poe
65 Committee for the Senate Committee for the House
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