April Legislative Updates

Back in March we posted a list of water resources legislation in Illinois. Quite a bit has happened since then, so we've collected updates for the various measures. Please refer back to the March post for summaries of the bills.

HB 2758 Lake Michigan Wind Energy

• The House adopted Amendment 1 on 8 April 2013, which:
•  Changed the definition of public trust lands to mean the bed of Lake Michigan
• Removed the deadline for DNR’s siting matrix process
•  Removed provisions for DNR to identify prohibited and preferred development areas
•  Removed the provision that allowed any leases to be granted before the siting matrix was completed
• Sent to the Senate on 10 April 2013, when it went through its first reading
• Assigned the Energy Committee on 16 April 2013 

HB 1522 County Stormwater Management

• This measure went through its first and second readings in the Senate
• Was scheduled for Third Reading in 17 April 2013—we were unable to find any further updates 

HB 3086–Two-Year Moratorium/Ban  

•  Rules Committee Deadline was extended to 30 April 2013 on March 28
• Assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee on 28 March 2013
• Proceeded to the Finance Subcommittee on 10 April 2013
• And is finally back in the Rules Committee on 19 April 2013, suggesting that it probably will not be brought to a vote this session    

HB 2615—Hydraulic Fracture Regulatory Act

• This measure is still in the Rules Committee, where it was re-referred on 22 March 2013, following the addition of a surprise amendment.   

HB 2907—EPA Disposal of PCBs

•  This measure was also re-referred to the Rules Committee on 22 March 2013 

SB 1868—EPA Hazardous Waste Siting

• An additional floor amendment was filed on 15 April 2013, which changed some of the language of the bill
• As of 25 April 2013, the amendment has been postponed  

Oops, we missed this one:

HB 1379 Water and Sewer Utilities Value

Synopsis

•  Introduces an alternative appraisal process for determining rate and rating making practices of large utility providers when they buy water and sewer utilities 
• Allows for three appraisals of the real value of the water and sewer services; the average of the appraisals will be used to determine rate making
• Sets specific instructions on how appraisers and engineers will be chosen and how the public will be informed about changes in utility ownership

Status: This bill was introduced in the House 6 February 2013, passed the House on 19 April 2013, and is now in the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Energy Committee.    

March Legislative Round-Up

The current session of the Illinois General Assembly has included several major pieces of legislation addressing water resources in Illinois. We’ve briefly summarized a few of those bills here as a general Water Wednesday update. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all that’s proposed; for a complete update on what’s going on in Springfield, check out the Legislation and Laws portion of the Illinois General Assembly webpage.