Illinois 104th General Assembly Status: Introduced 4 R cosponsors

SB3970      — UTILITY-COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

Last action — Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Craig Wilcox

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that, prior to approving or directing any decarbonization pathway, pilot program, infrastructure investment, or regulatory mandate related to the natural gas distribution system, the Commission shall conduct a comprehensive, independent cost-benefit analysis that evaluates: (i) life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions; (ii) cumulative energy system costs, including any stranded asset risks estimated at no less than $80,000,000,000 by 2050 under high-electrification scenarios; (iii) ratepayer bill impacts for all customer classes, with a focus on low-income and non-migrating customers; (iv) system reliability and safety under State standards; (v) equity impacts, including cost shifts to vulnerable populations; (vi) workforce and job impacts; and (vii) the extent to which competitive market mechanisms, such as private investment, third-party financing, and supplier competition, can achieve equivalent or superior outcomes at lower costs. Provides that the Commission shall not approve a decarbonization pathway, pilot program, infrastructure investment, or regulatory mandate unless the pathway, program, investment, or mandate demonstrates net benefits under the cost-benefit analysis without prioritizing an approach where regulated solutions increase costs without proportional benefits. Provides that the Commission shall use transparent, market-based data from sources such as PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM), Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), and Chicago Citygate and coordinate with applicable biennial long-term gas infrastructure plans.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read SB3970 on the official Illinois source →

Action History

  1. Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Craig Wilcox

  2. Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Chris Balkema

  3. Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Donald P. DeWitte

  4. Referred to Assignments

  5. First Reading

  6. Filed with Secretary by Sen. Seth Lewis

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 179 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (179)

179 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 179 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety environment labor energy
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB3970      do?
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that, prior to approving or directing any decarbonization pathway, pilot program, infrastructure investment, or regulatory mandate related to the natural gas distribution system, the Commission shall conduct a comprehensive, independent cost-benefit analysis that evaluates: (i) life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions; (ii) cumulative energy system costs, including any stranded asset risks estimated at no less than $80,000,000,000 by 2050 under high-electrification scenarios; (iii) ratepayer bill impacts for all customer classes, with a focus on low-income and non-migrating customers; (iv) system reliability and safety under State standards; (v) equity impacts, including cost shifts to vulnerable populations; (vi) workforce and job impacts; and (vii) the extent to which competitive market mechanisms, such as private investment, third-party financing, and supplier competition, can achieve equivalent or superior outcomes at lower costs. Provides that the Commission shall not approve a decarbonization pathway, pilot program, infrastructure investment, or regulatory mandate unless the pathway, program, investment, or mandate demonstrates net benefits under the cost-benefit analysis without prioritizing an approach where regulated solutions increase costs without proportional benefits. Provides that the Commission shall use transparent, market-based data from sources such as PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM), Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), and Chicago Citygate and coordinate with applicable biennial long-term gas infrastructure plans.
Who sponsors SB3970     ?
SB3970      is sponsored by Seth Lewis (Republican), Donald P. DeWitte (Republican), Chris Balkema (Republican), and Craig Wilcox (Republican).
What is the current status of SB3970     ?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB3970     ?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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