Illinois 104th General Assembly Status: Introduced Bipartisan · 1 R · 1 D cosponsors

SB0159      — UTILITY-TERMINATION/REFERENDUM

Last action — Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments

  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 January 17, 2025. 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

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

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 termination of water utility service to a residential user, including a tenant of a mastermetered apartment building, for nonpayment of bills is prohibited: (1) on any day when the National Weather Service forecast for the following 6 days covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located includes a forecast that the temperature will be 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below; (2) on any day when the National Weather Service forecast for the following 6 days covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located includes a forecast that the temperature will be 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above; or (3) when the National Weather Service issues an excessive heat watch, excessive heat warning, or heat advisory covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located. In provisions concerning procedures for a large public utility to acquire a water or sewer utility, provides that if the water or sewer utility being acquired is owned by the State or a political subdivision of the State, a referendum will be required to approve the acquisition of the water or sewer utility by the large public utility (rather than only requiring a public meeting and publication of the terms of acquisition in a newspaper of general circulation in the area that the water or sewer utility operates). Effective immediately.

Bill Text

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

Read SB0159 on the official Illinois source →

Action History

  1. Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments

  2. Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As April 11, 2025

  3. Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As April 4, 2025

  4. Added as Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Rachel Ventura

  5. Assigned to Energy and Public Utilities

  6. Referred to Assignments

  7. First Reading

  8. Filed with Secretary by Sen. Sue Rezin

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 181 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (181)

181 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 181 →

"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 housing environment
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 SB0159      do?
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that termination of water utility service to a residential user, including a tenant of a mastermetered apartment building, for nonpayment of bills is prohibited: (1) on any day when the National Weather Service forecast for the following 6 days covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located includes a forecast that the temperature will be 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below; (2) on any day when the National Weather Service forecast for the following 6 days covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located includes a forecast that the temperature will be 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above; or (3) when the National Weather Service issues an excessive heat watch, excessive heat warning, or heat advisory covering the area of the utility in which the residence is located. In provisions concerning procedures for a large public utility to acquire a water or sewer utility, provides that if the water or sewer utility being acquired is owned by the State or a political subdivision of the State, a referendum will be required to approve the acquisition of the water or sewer utility by the large public utility (rather than only requiring a public meeting and publication of the terms of acquisition in a newspaper of general circulation in the area that the water or sewer utility operates). Effective immediately.
Who sponsors SB0159     ?
SB0159      is sponsored by Sue Rezin (Republican) and Rachel Ventura (Democrat).
What is the current status of SB0159     ?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced January 17, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB0159     ?
Track SB0159      free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB0159     

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 SB0159     

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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

Track this bill →