Illinois 104th General Assembly Status: Introduced 9 D cosponsors

HB4781      — UTILITY-RECOVERABLE EXPENSES

Last action — Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lilian Jiménez

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

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 02, 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.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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. In provisions concerning expenses that are recoverable by a public utility, provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall not consider as an expense of any public utility company, for the purpose of determining any rate or charge, any amount expended for political activity or lobbying, any amount expended for contributions to a trade association or a chamber of commerce, and any amount expended by a public utility for director and officer liability insurance and fiduciary liability insurance. Provides that, in determining whether the purchase of other types of insurance by a public utility is recoverable, the Commission shall determine whether the specific type of insurance is financially beneficial to the public utility's ratepayers or the public utility's shareholders. Provides that, if the Commission determines that the insurance purchased by the public utility is financially beneficial to its shareholders, then the purchase of the insurance shall not be a recoverable expense. Provides that goodwill or institutional advertising shall not be a recoverable expense by a public utility. Provides that the Commission shall deem as a nonrecoverable expense by a public utility (rather than the Commission shall specifically assess the justness and reasonableness of) any amount expended by a public utility to compensate attorneys or technical experts to prepare and litigate a general rate case filing. Provides that the amount that is deposited into the Consumer Intervenor Compensation Fund by a public utility shall not be a recoverable expense by the public utility. Provides that the computation of compensation awarded from the Fund shall take into consideration the market rates paid to persons of comparable training and experience who offer similar services, but may not exceed the comparable market rate for services paid by the public utility as part of its nonrecoverable rate case expense reported to the Commission (rather than as part of its rate case expense). Makes other changes.

Bill Text

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

Read HB4781 on the official Illinois source →

Action History

  1. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lilian Jiménez

  2. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Sonya M. Harper

  3. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Ann M. Williams

  4. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid

  5. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Dagmara Avelar

  6. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy

  7. Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  8. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

  9. Assigned to Public Utilities Committee

  10. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michelle Mussman

  11. Referred to Rules Committee

  12. First Reading

  13. Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Theresa Mah

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 8 co-sponsors · 174 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (8)

Not signed on (174)

174 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 174 →

"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 finance 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 HB4781      do?
Amends the Public Utilities Act. In provisions concerning expenses that are recoverable by a public utility, provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall not consider as an expense of any public utility company, for the purpose of determining any rate or charge, any amount expended for political activity or lobbying, any amount expended for contributions to a trade association or a chamber of commerce, and any amount expended by a public utility for director and officer liability insurance and fiduciary liability insurance. Provides that, in determining whether the purchase of other types of insurance by a public utility is recoverable, the Commission shall determine whether the specific type of insurance is financially beneficial to the public utility's ratepayers or the public utility's shareholders. Provides that, if the Commission determines that the insurance purchased by the public utility is financially beneficial to its shareholders, then the purchase of the insurance shall not be a recoverable expense. Provides that goodwill or institutional advertising shall not be a recoverable expense by a public utility. Provides that the Commission shall deem as a nonrecoverable expense by a public utility (rather than the Commission shall specifically assess the justness and reasonableness of) any amount expended by a public utility to compensate attorneys or technical experts to prepare and litigate a general rate case filing. Provides that the amount that is deposited into the Consumer Intervenor Compensation Fund by a public utility shall not be a recoverable expense by the public utility. Provides that the computation of compensation awarded from the Fund shall take into consideration the market rates paid to persons of comparable training and experience who offer similar services, but may not exceed the comparable market rate for services paid by the public utility as part of its nonrecoverable rate case expense reported to the Commission (rather than as part of its rate case expense). Makes other changes.
Who sponsors HB4781     ?
HB4781      is sponsored by Theresa Mah (Democrat), Sonya M. Harper (Democrat), Michelle Mussman (Democrat), Lindsey LaPointe (Democrat), Kelly M. Cassidy (Democrat), Dagmara Avelar (Democrat), Abdelnasser Rashid (Democrat), Ann M. Williams (Democrat), and Lilian Jiménez (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB4781     ?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced February 02, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB4781     ?
Track HB4781      free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB4781     

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB4781     

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →