IL
Illinois House Bill HB1274

Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB1274 Compare Versions

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11 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1274 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 220 ILCS 5/8-306 Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that in a community of manufactured homes, where the water system in the community is connected to a municipal public water supply system, potable water shall be provided at each manufactured home site. Provides that where a manufactured home community owner or operator bills the residents of the community using monthly line-item charges for utilities, including, but not limited to, water, those charges shall be based on either: (i) a resident's actual usage, as measured by submeters installed on each manufactured home site within the community; or (ii) a ratio utility billing system, in the absence of submeters, in which charges for water shall be divided by certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the number of occupants per household, the square footage of the manufactured home, or other factors. Provides that the ratio utility billing system shall not bill all residents of the community equally for a water utility bill issued to the manufactured home community owner or operator by the municipal public water supply system. Provides that where a manufactured home community does not have existing submeters, submeters shall be installed at the expense of the manufactured home community owner or operator. Provides that the community owner or operator shall be considered the water supplier and is the party responsible for the water distribution system up to the individual service line at each manufactured home site. Provides that the owner or operator shall be responsible for all maintenance and associated costs of any meters and submeters, within the community, installed outside and beneath a manufactured home. Provides that the amendatory Act shall not apply to any manufactured home community that has its own water source, including, but not limited to, a well. LRB104 06228 AAS 16263 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1274 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 220 ILCS 5/8-306 220 ILCS 5/8-306 Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that in a community of manufactured homes, where the water system in the community is connected to a municipal public water supply system, potable water shall be provided at each manufactured home site. Provides that where a manufactured home community owner or operator bills the residents of the community using monthly line-item charges for utilities, including, but not limited to, water, those charges shall be based on either: (i) a resident's actual usage, as measured by submeters installed on each manufactured home site within the community; or (ii) a ratio utility billing system, in the absence of submeters, in which charges for water shall be divided by certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the number of occupants per household, the square footage of the manufactured home, or other factors. Provides that the ratio utility billing system shall not bill all residents of the community equally for a water utility bill issued to the manufactured home community owner or operator by the municipal public water supply system. Provides that where a manufactured home community does not have existing submeters, submeters shall be installed at the expense of the manufactured home community owner or operator. Provides that the community owner or operator shall be considered the water supplier and is the party responsible for the water distribution system up to the individual service line at each manufactured home site. Provides that the owner or operator shall be responsible for all maintenance and associated costs of any meters and submeters, within the community, installed outside and beneath a manufactured home. Provides that the amendatory Act shall not apply to any manufactured home community that has its own water source, including, but not limited to, a well. LRB104 06228 AAS 16263 b LRB104 06228 AAS 16263 b A BILL FOR
22 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1274 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
33 220 ILCS 5/8-306 220 ILCS 5/8-306
44 220 ILCS 5/8-306
55 Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that in a community of manufactured homes, where the water system in the community is connected to a municipal public water supply system, potable water shall be provided at each manufactured home site. Provides that where a manufactured home community owner or operator bills the residents of the community using monthly line-item charges for utilities, including, but not limited to, water, those charges shall be based on either: (i) a resident's actual usage, as measured by submeters installed on each manufactured home site within the community; or (ii) a ratio utility billing system, in the absence of submeters, in which charges for water shall be divided by certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the number of occupants per household, the square footage of the manufactured home, or other factors. Provides that the ratio utility billing system shall not bill all residents of the community equally for a water utility bill issued to the manufactured home community owner or operator by the municipal public water supply system. Provides that where a manufactured home community does not have existing submeters, submeters shall be installed at the expense of the manufactured home community owner or operator. Provides that the community owner or operator shall be considered the water supplier and is the party responsible for the water distribution system up to the individual service line at each manufactured home site. Provides that the owner or operator shall be responsible for all maintenance and associated costs of any meters and submeters, within the community, installed outside and beneath a manufactured home. Provides that the amendatory Act shall not apply to any manufactured home community that has its own water source, including, but not limited to, a well.
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1111 1 AN ACT concerning regulation.
1212 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1313 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1414 4 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
1515 5 Section 8-306 as follows:
1616 6 (220 ILCS 5/8-306)
1717 7 Sec. 8-306. Special provisions relating to water and sewer
1818 8 utilities.
1919 9 (a) No later than 120 days after the effective date of this
2020 10 amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the Commission
2121 11 shall prepare, make available to customers upon request, and
2222 12 post on its Internet web site information concerning the
2323 13 service obligations of water and sewer utilities and remedies
2424 14 that a customer may pursue for a violation of the customer's
2525 15 rights. The information shall specifically address the rights
2626 16 of a customer of a water or sewer utility in the following
2727 17 situations:
2828 18 (1) The customer's water meter is replaced.
2929 19 (2) The customer's bill increases by more than 50%
3030 20 within one billing period.
3131 21 (3) The customer's water service is terminated.
3232 22 (4) The customer wishes to complain after receiving a
3333 23 termination of service notice.
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3737 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1274 Introduced , by Rep. Maurice A. West, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3838 220 ILCS 5/8-306 220 ILCS 5/8-306
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4040 Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that in a community of manufactured homes, where the water system in the community is connected to a municipal public water supply system, potable water shall be provided at each manufactured home site. Provides that where a manufactured home community owner or operator bills the residents of the community using monthly line-item charges for utilities, including, but not limited to, water, those charges shall be based on either: (i) a resident's actual usage, as measured by submeters installed on each manufactured home site within the community; or (ii) a ratio utility billing system, in the absence of submeters, in which charges for water shall be divided by certain criteria, including, but not limited to, the number of occupants per household, the square footage of the manufactured home, or other factors. Provides that the ratio utility billing system shall not bill all residents of the community equally for a water utility bill issued to the manufactured home community owner or operator by the municipal public water supply system. Provides that where a manufactured home community does not have existing submeters, submeters shall be installed at the expense of the manufactured home community owner or operator. Provides that the community owner or operator shall be considered the water supplier and is the party responsible for the water distribution system up to the individual service line at each manufactured home site. Provides that the owner or operator shall be responsible for all maintenance and associated costs of any meters and submeters, within the community, installed outside and beneath a manufactured home. Provides that the amendatory Act shall not apply to any manufactured home community that has its own water source, including, but not limited to, a well.
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6868 1 (5) The customer is unable to make payment on a
6969 2 billing statement.
7070 3 (6) A rate is filed, including without limitation a
7171 4 surcharge or annual reconciliation filing, that will
7272 5 increase the amount billed to the customer.
7373 6 (7) The customer is billed for services provided prior
7474 7 to the date covered by the billing statement.
7575 8 (8) The customer is due to receive a credit.
7676 9 Each billing statement issued by a water or sewer utility
7777 10 shall include an Internet web site address where the customer
7878 11 can view the information required under this subsection (a)
7979 12 and a telephone number that the customer may call to request a
8080 13 copy of the information.
8181 14 (b) A water or sewer utility may discontinue service only
8282 15 after it has mailed or delivered by other means a written
8383 16 notice of discontinuance substantially in the form of Appendix
8484 17 A of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280. The notice must include the
8585 18 Internet web site address where the customer can view the
8686 19 information required under subsection (a) and a telephone
8787 20 number that the customer may call to request a copy of the
8888 21 information. Any notice required to be delivered or mailed to
8989 22 a customer prior to discontinuance of service shall be
9090 23 delivered or mailed separately from any bill. Service shall
9191 24 not be discontinued until at least 5 days after delivery or 8
9292 25 days after the mailing of this notice. Service shall not be
9393 26 discontinued and shall be restored if discontinued for the
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104104 1 reason which is the subject of a dispute or complaint during
105105 2 the pendency of informal or formal complaint procedures of the
106106 3 Illinois Commerce Commission under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.160
107107 4 or 280.170, where the customer has complied with those rules.
108108 5 Service shall not be discontinued and shall be restored if
109109 6 discontinued where a customer has established a deferred
110110 7 payment agreement pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.110 and
111111 8 has not defaulted on such agreement. Residential customers who
112112 9 are indebted to a utility for past due utility service shall
113113 10 have the opportunity to make arrangements with the utility to
114114 11 retire the debt by periodic payments, referred to as a
115115 12 deferred payment agreement, unless this customer has failed to
116116 13 make payment under such a plan during the past 12 months. The
117117 14 terms and conditions of a reasonable deferred payment
118118 15 agreement shall be determined by the utility after
119119 16 consideration of the following factors, based upon information
120120 17 available from current utility records or provided by the
121121 18 customer or applicant:
122122 19 (1) size of the past due account;
123123 20 (2) customer or applicant's ability to pay;
124124 21 (3) customer or applicant's payment history;
125125 22 (4) reason for the outstanding indebtedness; and
126126 23 (5) any other relevant factors relating to the
127127 24 circumstances of the customer or applicant's service.
128128 25 A residential customer shall pay a maximum of one-fourth of
129129 26 the amount past due and owing at the time of entering into the
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140140 1 deferred payment agreement, and the water or sewer utility
141141 2 shall allow a minimum of 2 months from the date of the
142142 3 agreement and a maximum of 12 months for payment to be made
143143 4 under a deferred payment agreement. Late payment charges may
144144 5 be assessed against the amount owing that is the subject of a
145145 6 deferred payment agreement.
146146 7 (c) A water or sewer utility shall provide notice as
147147 8 required by subsection (a) of Section 9-201 after the filing
148148 9 of each information sheet under a purchased water surcharge,
149149 10 purchased sewage treatment surcharge, or qualifying
150150 11 infrastructure plant surcharge. The utility also shall post
151151 12 notice of the filing in accordance with the requirements of 83
152152 13 Ill. Adm. Code 255. Unless filed as part of a general rate
153153 14 increase, notice of the filing of a purchased water surcharge
154154 15 rider, purchased sewage treatment surcharge rider, or
155155 16 qualifying infrastructure plant surcharge rider also shall be
156156 17 given in the manner required by this subsection (c) for the
157157 18 filing of information sheets.
158158 19 (d) Commission rules pertaining to formal and informal
159159 20 complaints against public utilities shall apply with full and
160160 21 equal force to water and sewer utilities and their customers,
161161 22 including provisions of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.170, and the
162162 23 Commission shall respond to each complaint by providing the
163163 24 consumer with a copy of the utility's response to the
164164 25 complaint and a copy of the Commission's review of the
165165 26 complaint and its findings. The Commission shall also provide
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176176 1 the consumer with all available options for recourse.
177177 2 (e) Any refund shown on the billing statement of a
178178 3 customer of a water or sewer utility must be itemized and must
179179 4 state if the refund is an adjustment or credit.
180180 5 (f) Water service for building construction purposes. At
181181 6 the request of any municipality or township within the service
182182 7 area of a public utility that provides water service to
183183 8 customers within the municipality or township, a public
184184 9 utility must (1) require all water service used for building
185185 10 construction purposes to be measured by meter and subject to
186186 11 approved rates and charges for metered water service and (2)
187187 12 prohibit the unauthorized use of water taken from hydrants or
188188 13 service lines installed at construction sites.
189189 14 (g) Water meters.
190190 15 (1) Periodic testing. Unless otherwise approved by the
191191 16 Commission, each service water meter shall be periodically
192192 17 inspected and tested in accordance with the schedule
193193 18 specified in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 600.340, or more frequently
194194 19 as the results may warrant, to insure that the meter
195195 20 accuracy is maintained within the limits set out in 83
196196 21 Ill. Adm. Code 600.310.
197197 22 (2) Meter tests requested by customer.
198198 23 (A) Each utility furnishing metered water service
199199 24 shall, without charge, test the accuracy of any meter
200200 25 upon request by the customer served by such meter,
201201 26 provided that the meter in question has not been
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212212 1 tested by the utility or by the Commission within 2
213213 2 years previous to such request. The customer or his or
214214 3 her representatives shall have the privilege of
215215 4 witnessing the test at the option of the customer. A
216216 5 written report, giving the results of the test, shall
217217 6 be made to the customer.
218218 7 (B) When a meter that has been in service less than
219219 8 2 years since its last test is found to be accurate
220220 9 within the limits specified in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
221221 10 600.310, the customer shall pay a fee to the utility
222222 11 not to exceed the amounts specified in 83 Ill. Adm.
223223 12 Code 600.350(b). Fees for testing meters not included
224224 13 in this Section or so located that the cost will be out
225225 14 of proportion to the fee specified will be determined
226226 15 by the Commission upon receipt of a complete
227227 16 description of the case.
228228 17 (3) Commission referee tests. Upon written application
229229 18 to the Commission by any customer, a test will be made of
230230 19 the customer's meter by a representative of the
231231 20 Commission. For such a test, a fee as provided for in
232232 21 subsection (g)(2) shall accompany the application. If the
233233 22 meter is found to be registering more than 1.5% fast on the
234234 23 average when tested as prescribed in 83 Ill. Adm. Code
235235 24 600.310, the utility shall refund to the customer the
236236 25 amount of the fee. The utility shall in no way disturb the
237237 26 meter after a customer has made an application for a
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248248 1 referee test until authority to do so is given by the
249249 2 Commission or the customer in writing.
250250 3 (4) In a community of manufactured homes, as that term
251251 4 is defined in Section 5-5 of the Conveyance and
252252 5 Encumbrance of Manufactured Homes as Real Property and
253253 6 Severance Act, where the water system in the community is
254254 7 connected to a municipal public water supply system,
255255 8 potable water shall be provided at each manufactured home
256256 9 site. Where a manufactured home community owner or
257257 10 operator bills the residents of the community using
258258 11 monthly line-item charges for utilities, including, but
259259 12 not limited to, water, those charges shall be based on
260260 13 either:
261261 14 (A) a resident's actual usage, as measured by
262262 15 submeters installed on each manufactured home site
263263 16 within the community; or
264264 17 (B) a ratio utility billing system, in the absence
265265 18 of submeters, in which charges for water shall be
266266 19 divided by certain criteria, including, but not
267267 20 limited to, the number of occupants per household, the
268268 21 square footage of the manufactured home, or other
269269 22 factors. The ratio utility billing system shall not
270270 23 bill all residents of the community equally for a
271271 24 water utility bill issued to the manufactured home
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273273 26 water supply system.
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284284 1 Where a manufactured home community does not have existing
285285 2 submeters, submeters shall be installed in compliance with all
286286 3 rules adopted by the Department of Public Health and the
287287 4 Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill. Adm. Code 890) at the expense
288288 5 of the manufactured home community owner or operator.
289289 6 For purposes of this paragraph, the manufactured home
290290 7 community owner or operator shall be considered the water
291291 8 supplier and is the party responsible for the water
292292 9 distribution system up to the individual service line at each
293293 10 manufactured home site. The owner or operator shall be
294294 11 responsible for all maintenance and associated costs of any
295295 12 meters and submeters installed outside and beneath a
296296 13 manufactured home within the community. This paragraph shall
297297 14 not apply to any manufactured home community that has its own
298298 15 water source, including, but not limited to, a well.
299299 16 (h) Water and sewer utilities; low usage. Each public
300300 17 utility that provides water and sewer service must establish a
301301 18 unit sewer rate, subject to review by the Commission, that
302302 19 applies only to those customers who use less than 1,000
303303 20 gallons of water in any billing period.
304304 21 (i) Water and sewer utilities; separate meters. Each
305305 22 public utility that provides water and sewer service must
306306 23 offer separate rates for water and sewer service to any
307307 24 commercial or residential customer who uses separate meters to
308308 25 measure each of those services. In order for the separate rate
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320320 1 amount of water that reaches the sewer system and the amount of
321321 2 water that does not reach the sewer system.
322322 3 (j) Each water or sewer public utility must disclose on
323323 4 each billing statement any amount billed that is for service
324324 5 provided prior to the date covered by the billing statement.
325325 6 The disclosure must include the dates for which the prior
326326 7 service is being billed. Each billing statement that includes
327327 8 an amount billed for service provided prior to the date
328328 9 covered by the billing statement must disclose the dates for
329329 10 which that amount is billed and must include a copy of the
330330 11 document created under subsection (a) and a statement of
331331 12 current Commission rules concerning unbilled or misbilled
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333333 14 (k) When the customer is due a refund resulting from
334334 15 payment of an overcharge, the utility shall credit the
335335 16 customer in the amount of overpayment with interest from the
336336 17 date of overpayment by the customer. The rate for interest
337337 18 shall be at the appropriate rate determined by the Commission
338338 19 under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70.
339339 20 (l) Water and sewer public utilities; subcontractors. The
340340 21 Commission shall adopt rules for water and sewer public
341341 22 utilities to provide notice to the customers of the proper
342342 23 kind of identification that a subcontractor must present to
343343 24 the customer, to prohibit a subcontractor from soliciting or
344344 25 receiving payment of any kind for any service provided by the
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356356 1 establish sanctions for violations.
357357 2 (m) Water and sewer public utilities; unaccounted-for
358358 3 water. By December 31, 2006, each water public utility shall
359359 4 file tariffs with the Commission to establish the maximum
360360 5 percentage of unaccounted-for water that would be considered
361361 6 in the determination of any rates or surcharges. The rates or
362362 7 surcharges approved for a water public utility shall not
363363 8 include charges for unaccounted-for water in excess of this
364364 9 maximum percentage without well-documented support and
365365 10 justification for the Commission to consider in any request to
366366 11 recover charges in excess of the tariffed maximum percentage.
367367 12 (n) Rate increases; public forums. When any public utility
368368 13 providing water or sewer service proposes a general rate
369369 14 increase, in addition to other notice requirements, the water
370370 15 or sewer public utility must notify its customers of their
371371 16 right to request a public forum. A customer or group of
372372 17 customers must make written request to the Commission for a
373373 18 public forum and must also provide written notification of the
374374 19 request to the customer's municipal or, for unincorporated
375375 20 areas, township government. The Commission, at its discretion,
376376 21 may schedule the public forum. If it is determined that public
377377 22 forums are required for multiple municipalities or townships,
378378 23 the Commission shall schedule these public forums, in
379379 24 locations within approximately 45 minutes drive time of the
380380 25 municipalities or townships for which the public forums have
381381 26 been scheduled. The public utility must provide advance notice
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