Bill Amendment: IL SB2406 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: PUBLIC AID-TECH

Status: 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB2406 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB2406-Senate_Amendment_001.html

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Sen. David Koehler

Filed: 3/5/2020

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2406
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2406 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
changing Sections 6 and 18 as follows:
(305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and
Energy Assistance.
(a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois
and whose household income is not greater than an amount
determined annually by the Department, in consultation with the
Policy Advisory Council, may apply for assistance pursuant to
this Act in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
Department shall consider the amount of available funding and
may not set a limit higher than 200% 150% of the federal

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nonfarm poverty level as established by the federal Office of
Management and Budget; except that for the period ending June
30, 2013, the Department may not establish limits higher than
200% of that poverty level or the maximum level provided for by
federal guidelines.
(b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to
subsection (a) of this Section shall, subject to appropriation
from the General Assembly and subject to availability of funds
to the Department, receive energy assistance as provided by
this Act. The Department, upon receipt of monies authorized
pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit funds
for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be
provided to or on behalf of a qualified applicant, the
Department shall ensure that the highest amounts of assistance
go to households with the greatest energy costs in relation to
household income. The Department shall include factors such as
energy costs, household size, household income, and region of
the State when determining individual household benefits. In
setting assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to
provide assistance to approximately the same number of
households who participated in the 1991 Residential Energy
Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels shall
be adjusted annually on the basis of funding availability and
energy costs. In promulgating rules for the administration of
this Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3

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of funds available for benefits to eligible households with the
lowest incomes and that elderly households and households with
persons with disabilities are offered a priority application
period.
(c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an
energy provider for energy services or an applicant for such
service, such applicant shall receive a direct energy
assistance payment in an amount established by the Department
for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that
such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater
than 30% of household income.
(c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1)
the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider
because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit
as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing
subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental
Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded
rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a
rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly rent
is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher
Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and
(3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of
household income. In such cases, the household may apply for an
energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of the
housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by providing
documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any

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compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy
services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner
of the housing unit providing energy services to the household.
The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly on
the number of households receiving energy assistance under this
subsection and the cost of such assistance. The provisions of
this subsection (c-1), other than this sentence, are
inoperative after August 31, 2012.
(d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider,
such applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount
established by the Department for all such applicants under
this Act, such amount to be paid by the Department to the
energy provider supplying winter energy service to such
applicant. Such applicant shall:
(i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other
appropriate source of public energy assistance; and
(ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive
income information from any public or private agency
providing income or energy assistance and from any
employer, whether public or private.
(e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may
receive or have paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency
assistance payment to enable such applicant to obtain access to
winter energy services. Any such payments shall be made in
accordance with regulations of the Department.
(f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available,

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provide additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
(i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to
energy providers; and
(ii) to assist the household in responding to
excessively high summer temperatures or energy costs.
Households containing elderly members, children, a person
with a disability, or a person with a medical need for
conditioned air shall receive priority for receipt of such
benefits.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
(305 ILCS 20/18)
Sec. 18. Financial assistance; payment plans.
(a) The Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP or PIP
Plan) is hereby created as a mandatory bill payment assistance
program for low-income residential customers of utilities
serving more than 100,000 retail customers as of January 1,
2009. The PIP Plan will:
(1) bring participants' gas and electric bills into the
range of affordability;
(2) provide incentives for participants to make timely
payments;
(3) encourage participants to reduce usage and
participate in conservation and energy efficiency measures
that reduce the customer's bill and payment requirements;
and

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(4) identify participants whose homes are most in need
of weatherization.
(b) For purposes of this Section:
(1) "LIHEAP" means the energy assistance program
established under the Illinois Energy Assistance Act and
the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981.
(2) "Plan participant" is an eligible participant who
is also eligible for the PIPP and who will receive either a
percentage of income payment credit under the PIPP criteria
set forth in this Act or a benefit pursuant to Section 4 of
this Act. Plan participants are a subset of eligible
participants.
(3) "Pre-program arrears" means the amount a plan
participant owes for gas or electric service at the time
the participant is determined to be eligible for the PIPP
or the program set forth in Section 4 of this Act.
(4) "Eligible participant" means any person who has
applied for, been accepted and is receiving residential
service from a gas or electric utility and who is also
eligible for LIHEAP.
(c) The PIP Plan shall be administered as follows:
(1) The Department shall coordinate with Local
Administrative Agencies (LAAs), to determine eligibility
for the Illinois Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) pursuant to the Energy Assistance Act, provided
that eligible income shall be no more than 200% 150% of the

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poverty level. Applicants will be screened to determine
whether the applicant's projected payments for electric
service or natural gas service over a 12-month period
exceed the criteria established in this Section. To
maintain the financial integrity of the program, the
Department may limit eligibility to households with income
below 125% of the poverty level.
(2) The Department shall establish the percentage of
income formula to determine the amount of a monthly credit,
not to exceed $150 per month per household, not to exceed
$1,800 annually, that will be applied to PIP Plan
participants' utility bills based on the portion of the
bill that is the responsibility of the participant provided
that the percentage shall be no more than a total of 6% of
the relevant income for gas and electric utility bills
combined, but in any event no less than $10 per month,
unless the household does not pay directly for heat, in
which case its payment shall be 2.4% of income but in any
event no less than $5 per month. The Department may
establish a minimum credit amount based on the cost of
administering the program and may deny credits to otherwise
eligible participants if the cost of administering the
credit exceeds the actual amount of any monthly credit to a
participant. If the participant takes both gas and electric
service, 66.67% of the credit shall be allocated to the
entity that provides the participant's primary energy

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supply for heating. Each participant shall enter into a
levelized payment plan for, as applicable, gas and electric
service and such plans shall be implemented by the utility
so that a participant's usage and required payments are
reviewed and adjusted regularly, but no more frequently
than quarterly. Nothing in this Section is intended to
prohibit a customer, who is otherwise eligible for LIHEAP,
from participating in the program described in Section 4 of
this Act. Eligible participants who receive such a benefit
shall be considered plan participants and shall be eligible
to participate in the Arrearage Reduction Program
described in item (5) of this subsection (c).
(3) The Department shall remit, through the LAAs, to
the utility or participating alternative supplier that
portion of the plan participant's bill that is not the
responsibility of the participant. In the event that the
Department fails to timely remit payment to the utility,
the utility shall be entitled to recover all costs related
to such nonpayment through the automatic adjustment clause
tariffs established pursuant to Section 16-111.8 and
Section 19-145 of the Public Utilities Act. For purposes of
this item (3) of this subsection (c), payment is due on the
date specified on the participant's bill. The Department,
the Department of Revenue and LAAs shall adopt processes
that provide for the timely payment required by this item
(3) of this subsection (c).

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(4) A plan participant is responsible for all actual
charges for utility service in excess of the PIPP credit.
Pre-program arrears that are included in the Arrearage
Reduction Program described in item (5) of this subsection
(c) shall not be included in the calculation of the
levelized payment plan. Emergency or crisis assistance
payments shall not affect the amount of any PIPP credit to
which a participant is entitled.
(5) Electric and gas utilities subject to this Section
shall implement an Arrearage Reduction Program (ARP) for
plan participants as follows: for each month that a plan
participant timely pays his or her utility bill, the
utility shall apply a credit to a portion of the
participant's pre-program arrears, if any, equal to
one-twelfth of such arrearage provided that the total
amount of arrearage credits shall equal no more than $1,000
annually for each participant for gas and no more than
$1,000 annually for each participant for electricity. In
the third year of the PIPP, the Department, in consultation
with the Policy Advisory Council established pursuant to
Section 5 of this Act, shall determine by rule an
appropriate per participant total cap on such amounts, if
any. Those plan participants participating in the ARP shall
not be subject to the imposition of any additional late
payment fees on pre-program arrears covered by the ARP. In
all other respects, the utility shall bill and collect the

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monthly bill of a plan participant pursuant to the same
rules, regulations, programs and policies as applicable to
residential customers generally. Participation in the
Arrearage Reduction Program shall be limited to the maximum
amount of funds available as set forth in subsection (f) of
Section 13 of this Act. In the event any donated funds
under Section 13 of this Act are specifically designated
for the purpose of funding the ARP, the Department shall
remit such amounts to the utilities upon verification that
such funds are needed to fund the ARP. Nothing in this
Section shall preclude a utility from continuing to
implement, and apply credits under, an ARP in the event
that the PIPP or LIHEAP is suspended due to lack of funding
such that the plan participant does not receive a benefit
under either the PIPP or LIHEAP.
(5.5) In addition to the ARP described in paragraph (5)
of this subsection (c), utilities may also implement a
Supplemental Arrearage Reduction Program (SARP) for
eligible participants who are not able to become plan
participants due to PIPP timing or funding constraints. If
a utility elects to implement a SARP, it shall be
administered as follows: for each month that a SARP
participant timely pays his or her utility bill, the
utility shall apply a credit to a portion of the
participant's pre-program arrears, if any, equal to
one-twelfth of such arrearage, provided that the utility

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may limit the total amount of arrearage credits to no more
than $1,000 annually for each participant for gas and no
more than $1,000 annually for each participant for
electricity. SARP participants shall not be subject to the
imposition of any additional late payment fees on
pre-program arrears covered by the SARP. In all other
respects, the utility shall bill and collect the monthly
bill of a SARP participant under the same rules,
regulations, programs, and policies as applicable to
residential customers generally. Participation in the SARP
shall be limited to the maximum amount of funds available
as set forth in subsection (f) of Section 13 of this Act.
In the event any donated funds under Section 13 of this Act
are specifically designated for the purpose of funding the
SARP, the Department shall remit such amounts to the
utilities upon verification that such funds are needed to
fund the SARP.
(6) The Department may terminate a plan participant's
eligibility for the PIP Plan upon notification by the
utility that the participant's monthly utility payment is
more than 45 days past due.
(7) The Department, in consultation with the Policy
Advisory Council, may adjust the number of PIP Plan
participants annually, if necessary, to match the
availability of funds. Any plan participant who qualifies
for a PIPP credit under a utility's PIPP shall be entitled

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to participate in and receive a credit under such utility's
ARP for so long as such utility has ARP funds available,
regardless of whether the customer's participation under
another utility's PIPP or ARP has been curtailed or limited
because of a lack of funds.
(8) The Department shall fully implement the PIPP at
the earliest possible date it is able to effectively
administer the PIPP. Within 90 days of the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the
Department shall, in consultation with utility companies,
participating alternative suppliers, LAAs and the Illinois
Commerce Commission (Commission), issue a detailed
implementation plan which shall include detailed testing
protocols and analysis of the capacity for implementation
by the LAAs and utilities. Such consultation process also
shall address how to implement the PIPP in the most
cost-effective and timely manner, and shall identify
opportunities for relying on the expertise of utilities,
LAAs and the Commission. Following the implementation of
the testing protocols, the Department shall issue a written
report on the feasibility of full or gradual
implementation. The PIPP shall be fully implemented by
September 1, 2011, but may be phased in prior to that date.
(9) As part of the screening process established under
item (1) of this subsection (c), the Department and LAAs
shall assess whether any energy efficiency or demand

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response measures are available to the plan participant at
no cost, and if so, the participant shall enroll in any
such program for which he or she is eligible. The LAAs
shall assist the participant in the applicable enrollment
or application process.
(10) Each alternative retail electric and gas supplier
serving residential customers shall elect whether to
participate in the PIPP or ARP described in this Section.
Any such supplier electing to participate in the PIPP shall
provide to the Department such information as the
Department may require, including, without limitation,
information sufficient for the Department to determine the
proportionate allocation of credits between the
alternative supplier and the utility. If a utility in whose
service territory an alternative supplier serves customers
contributes money to the ARP fund which is not recovered
from ratepayers, then an alternative supplier which
participates in ARP in that utility's service territory
shall also contribute to the ARP fund in an amount that is
commensurate with the number of alternative supplier
customers who elect to participate in the program.
(d) The Department, in consultation with the Policy
Advisory Council, shall develop and implement a program to
educate customers about the PIP Plan and about their rights and
responsibilities under the percentage of income component. The
Department, in consultation with the Policy Advisory Council,

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shall establish a process that LAAs shall use to contact
customers in jeopardy of losing eligibility due to late
payments. The Department shall ensure that LAAs are adequately
funded to perform all necessary educational tasks.
(e) The PIPP shall be administered in a manner which
ensures that credits to plan participants will not be counted
as income or as a resource in other means-tested assistance
programs for low-income households or otherwise result in the
loss of federal or State assistance dollars for low-income
households.
(f) In order to ensure that implementation costs are
minimized, the Department and utilities shall work together to
identify cost-effective ways to transfer information
electronically and to employ available protocols that will
minimize their respective administrative costs as follows:
(1) The Commission may require utilities to provide
such information on customer usage and billing and payment
information as required by the Department to implement the
PIP Plan and to provide written notices and communications
to plan participants.
(2) Each utility and participating alternative
supplier shall file annual reports with the Department and
the Commission that cumulatively summarize and update
program information as required by the Commission's rules.
The reports shall track implementation costs and contain
such information as is necessary to evaluate the success of

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the PIPP.
(3) The Department and the Commission shall have the
authority to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to
execute and administer the provisions of this Section.
(g) Each utility shall be entitled to recover reasonable
administrative and operational costs incurred to comply with
this Section from the Supplemental Low Income Energy Assistance
Fund. The utility may net such costs against monies it would
otherwise remit to the Funds, and each utility shall include in
the annual report required under subsection (f) of this Section
an accounting for the funds collected.
(Source: P.A. 99-906, eff. 6-1-17.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".