SB3037 amends the Illinois Energy Efficient Building Act to create and require development of an Illinois Stretch Energy Code. The bill directs the Capital Development Board, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, to establish a statewide optional code that municipalities may adopt to require buildings to meet higher energy-efficiency standards than the baseline Illinois Energy Conservation Code. It also applies the stretch code to certain Board-funded or Board-authorized projects and requires separate residential and commercial components.
For residential buildings, the bill sets a series of increasingly stringent site energy index targets tied to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code, with deadlines in 2024, 2026, 2029, and 2032. For commercial buildings, it establishes similar phased targets and adds a new set of outdoor-lighting standards by 2029, including limits on light trespass, uplight, and correlated color temperature. The bill also requires the Illinois Energy Code Advisory Council to assist in developing interim targets, implementation plans, and related recommendations, while allowing municipalities to use utility programs to help meet compliance goals.
Impact
The bill changes the Energy Efficient Building Act by adding definitions and a new Section 55 governing the Illinois Stretch Energy Code. It gives the Capital Development Board authority and responsibility to create the code, sets mandatory development timelines, and allows municipalities to adopt the stretch code in place of the standard Illinois Energy Conservation Code within their jurisdictions. It also affects projects funded or authorized by the Board after July 1, 2024, and interacts with utility energy-efficiency programs under the Public Utilities Act by allowing some utility-supported savings to count toward municipal goals.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of stronger energy-efficiency and dark-sky standards, with the caption and structure indicating a policy goal of reducing energy use and limiting light pollution. Although no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, the enrolled text reflects a finalized measure with detailed implementation provisions, suggesting the proposal advanced without visible public controversy in the available record. The inclusion of phased compliance dates and fallback standards also suggests an effort to balance ambition with feasibility.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are the stricter building-performance requirements, especially for commercial and residential construction, and the added outdoor-lighting limits that may affect developers, municipalities, and building owners. The bill anticipates possible resistance by allowing the Board to adopt somewhat less restrictive interim standards if it identifies unanticipated burdens from earlier versions of the stretch code. Stakeholders likely to be most affected include municipalities choosing whether to adopt the code, the Capital Development Board and EPA in rulemaking, utilities involved in efficiency programs, and builders/developers facing new compliance costs.