Bill Text: IL HB2912 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that a person may not knowingly release or cause to be released into the atmosphere within a 24-hour period 25 or more helium or other lighter-than-air gas balloons in the State unless the balloons are (1) used by an institution of higher education or a governmental agency, or pursuant to a governmental contract, for bona fide scientific or meteorological purposes, (2) released indoors and remain indoors, or (3) are helium balloons used for the safe operation of a hot air balloon. Provides that persons who violate the amendatory Act's provisions shall be subject to civil penalties in specified amounts and that the release of 25 balloons or fewer at one time is a single offense. Makes corresponding changes in provisions regarding mitigation or aggravation of penalty in determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed, as well as regarding minimum penalties based on economic benefits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-06 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB2912 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2912-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2912 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
415 ILCS 5/42 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042
415 ILCS 5/52.15 new
Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that a person may not knowingly release or cause to be released into the atmosphere within a 24-hour period 25 or more helium or other lighter-than-air gas balloons in the State unless the balloons are (1) used by an institution of higher education or a governmental agency, or pursuant to a governmental contract, for bona fide scientific or meteorological purposes, (2) released indoors and remain indoors, or (3) are helium balloons used for the safe operation of a hot air balloon. Provides that persons who violate the amendatory Act's provisions shall be subject to civil penalties in specified amounts and that the release of 25 balloons or fewer at one time is a single offense. Makes corresponding changes in provisions regarding mitigation or aggravation of penalty in determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed, as well as regarding minimum penalties based on economic benefits.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning safety.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Section 42 and by adding Section 52.15 as follows:
(415 ILCS 5/42) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1042)
Sec. 42. Civil penalties.
(a) Except as provided in this Section, any person that
violates any provision of this Act or any regulation adopted
by the Board, or any permit or term or condition thereof, or
that violates any order of the Board pursuant to this Act,
shall be liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed $50,000
for the violation and an additional civil penalty of not to
exceed $10,000 for each day during which the violation
continues; such penalties may, upon order of the Board or a
court of competent jurisdiction, be made payable to the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be used in accordance
with the provisions of the Environmental Protection Trust Fund
Act.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
this Section:
(1) Any person that violates Section 12(f) of this Act
or any NPDES permit or term or condition thereof, or any

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filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
NPDES permit program, shall be liable to a civil penalty
of not to exceed $10,000 per day of violation.
(2) Any person that violates Section 12(g) of this Act
or any UIC permit or term or condition thereof, or any
filing requirement, regulation or order relating to the
State UIC program for all wells, except Class II wells as
defined by the Board under this Act, shall be liable to a
civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per day of violation;
provided, however, that any person who commits such
violations relating to the State UIC program for Class II
wells, as defined by the Board under this Act, shall be
liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 for the
violation and an additional civil penalty of not to exceed
$1,000 for each day during which the violation continues.
(3) Any person that violates Sections 21(f), 21(g),
21(h) or 21(i) of this Act, or any RCRA permit or term or
condition thereof, or any filing requirement, regulation
or order relating to the State RCRA program, shall be
liable to a civil penalty of not to exceed $25,000 per day
of violation.
(4) In an administrative citation action under Section
31.1 of this Act, any person found to have violated any
provision of subsection (o) of Section 21 of this Act
shall pay a civil penalty of $500 for each violation of
each such provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by

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the Board and the Agency. Such penalties shall be made
payable to the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to be
used in accordance with the provisions of the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a
unit of local government issued the administrative
citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall be payable to the
unit of local government.
(4-5) In an administrative citation action under
Section 31.1 of this Act, any person found to have
violated any provision of subsection (p) of Section 21,
Section 22.38, Section 22.51, Section 22.51a, or
subsection (k) of Section 55 of this Act shall pay a civil
penalty of $1,500 for each violation of each such
provision, plus any hearing costs incurred by the Board
and the Agency, except that the civil penalty amount shall
be $3,000 for each violation of any provision of
subsection (p) of Section 21, Section 22.38, Section
22.51, Section 22.51a, or subsection (k) of Section 55
that is the person's second or subsequent adjudication
violation of that provision. The penalties shall be
deposited into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund, to
be used in accordance with the provisions of the
Environmental Protection Trust Fund Act; except that if a
unit of local government issued the administrative
citation, 50% of the civil penalty shall be payable to the
unit of local government.

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(5) Any person who violates subsection 6 of Section
39.5 of this Act or any CAAPP permit, or term or condition
thereof, or any fee or filing requirement, or any duty to
allow or carry out inspection, entry or monitoring
activities, or any regulation or order relating to the
CAAPP shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
$10,000 per day of violation.
(6) Any owner or operator of a community water system
that violates subsection (b) of Section 18.1 or subsection
(a) of Section 25d-3 of this Act shall, for each day of
violation, be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5
for each of the premises connected to the affected
community water system.
(7) Any person who violates Section 52.5 of this Act
shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for the
first violation of that Section and a civil penalty of up
to $2,500 for a second or subsequent violation of that
Section.
(8) Any person who violates Section 52.15 of this Act
shall receive a warning from the Agency for the first
violation of that Section and shall be liable for a civil
penalty of up to $500 for the second violation of that
Section and a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a third or
subsequent violation of that Section. The release of up to
25 balloons shall be considered a single offense under
that Section. The release of more than 25 balloons shall

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constitute a separate violation for every 25 balloons
released.
(b.5) In lieu of the penalties set forth in subsections
(a) and (b) of this Section, any person who fails to file, in a
timely manner, toxic chemical release forms with the Agency
pursuant to Section 25b-2 of this Act shall be liable for a
civil penalty of $100 per day for each day the forms are late,
not to exceed a maximum total penalty of $6,000. This daily
penalty shall begin accruing on the thirty-first day after the
date that the person receives the warning notice issued by the
Agency pursuant to Section 25b-6 of this Act; and the penalty
shall be paid to the Agency. The daily accrual of penalties
shall cease as of January 1 of the following year. All
penalties collected by the Agency pursuant to this subsection
shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Permit
and Inspection Fund.
(c) Any person that violates this Act, any rule or
regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
condition of a permit, or any Board order and causes the death
of fish or aquatic life shall, in addition to the other
penalties provided by this Act, be liable to pay to the State
an additional sum for the reasonable value of the fish or
aquatic life destroyed. Any money so recovered shall be placed
in the Wildlife and Fish Fund in the State Treasury.
(d) The penalties provided for in this Section may be
recovered in a civil action.

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(e) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
violation occurred, or the Attorney General, may, at the
request of the Agency or on his own motion, institute a civil
action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to
restrain violations of this Act, any rule or regulation
adopted under this Act, any permit or term or condition of a
permit, or any Board order, or to require such other actions as
may be necessary to address violations of this Act, any rule or
regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or
condition of a permit, or any Board order.
(f) The State's Attorney of the county in which the
violation occurred, or the Attorney General, shall bring such
actions in the name of the people of the State of Illinois.
Without limiting any other authority which may exist for the
awarding of attorney's fees and costs, the Board or a court of
competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable
attorney's fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
Attorney General in a case where he has prevailed against a
person who has committed a willful, knowing, or repeated
violation of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under
this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any
Board order.
Any funds collected under this subsection (f) in which the
Attorney General has prevailed shall be deposited in the
Hazardous Waste Fund created in Section 22.2 of this Act. Any

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funds collected under this subsection (f) in which a State's
Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county in
which he serves.
(g) All final orders imposing civil penalties pursuant to
this Section shall prescribe the time for payment of such
penalties. If any such penalty is not paid within the time
prescribed, interest on such penalty at the rate set forth in
subsection (a) of Section 1003 of the Illinois Income Tax Act,
shall be paid for the period from the date payment is due until
the date payment is received. However, if the time for payment
is stayed during the pendency of an appeal, interest shall not
accrue during such stay.
(h) In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be
imposed under subdivisions (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3),
(b)(5), (b)(6), or (b)(7), or (b)(8) of this Section, the
Board is authorized to consider any matters of record in
mitigation or aggravation of penalty, including, but not
limited to, the following factors:
(1) the duration and gravity of the violation;
(2) the presence or absence of due diligence on the
part of the respondent in attempting to comply with
requirements of this Act and regulations thereunder or to
secure relief therefrom as provided by this Act;
(3) any economic benefits accrued by the respondent
because of delay in compliance with requirements, in which
case the economic benefits shall be determined by the

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lowest cost alternative for achieving compliance;
(4) the amount of monetary penalty which will serve to
deter further violations by the respondent and to
otherwise aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this
Act by the respondent and other persons similarly subject
to the Act;
(5) the number, proximity in time, and gravity of
previously adjudicated violations of this Act by the
respondent;
(6) whether the respondent voluntarily self-disclosed,
in accordance with subsection (i) of this Section, the
non-compliance to the Agency;
(7) whether the respondent has agreed to undertake a
"supplemental environmental project", which means an
environmentally beneficial project that a respondent
agrees to undertake in settlement of an enforcement action
brought under this Act, but which the respondent is not
otherwise legally required to perform; and
(8) whether the respondent has successfully completed
a Compliance Commitment Agreement under subsection (a) of
Section 31 of this Act to remedy the violations that are
the subject of the complaint.
In determining the appropriate civil penalty to be imposed
under subsection (a) or paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), or
(7), or (8) of subsection (b) of this Section, the Board shall
ensure, in all cases, that the penalty is at least as great as

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the economic benefits, if any, accrued by the respondent as a
result of the violation, unless the Board finds that
imposition of such penalty would result in an arbitrary or
unreasonable financial hardship. However, such civil penalty
may be off-set in whole or in part pursuant to a supplemental
environmental project agreed to by the complainant and the
respondent.
(i) A person who voluntarily self-discloses non-compliance
to the Agency, of which the Agency had been unaware, is
entitled to a 100% reduction in the portion of the penalty that
is not based on the economic benefit of non-compliance if the
person can establish the following:
(1) that either the regulated entity is a small entity
or the non-compliance was discovered through an
environmental audit or a compliance management system
documented by the regulated entity as reflecting the
regulated entity's due diligence in preventing, detecting,
and correcting violations;
(2) that the non-compliance was disclosed in writing
within 30 days of the date on which the person discovered
it;
(3) that the non-compliance was discovered and
disclosed prior to:
(i) the commencement of an Agency inspection,
investigation, or request for information;
(ii) notice of a citizen suit;

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(iii) the filing of a complaint by a citizen, the
Illinois Attorney General, or the State's Attorney of
the county in which the violation occurred;
(iv) the reporting of the non-compliance by an
employee of the person without that person's
knowledge; or
(v) imminent discovery of the non-compliance by
the Agency;
(4) that the non-compliance is being corrected and any
environmental harm is being remediated in a timely
fashion;
(5) that the person agrees to prevent a recurrence of
the non-compliance;
(6) that no related non-compliance events have
occurred in the past 3 years at the same facility or in the
past 5 years as part of a pattern at multiple facilities
owned or operated by the person;
(7) that the non-compliance did not result in serious
actual harm or present an imminent and substantial
endangerment to human health or the environment or violate
the specific terms of any judicial or administrative order
or consent agreement;
(8) that the person cooperates as reasonably requested
by the Agency after the disclosure; and
(9) that the non-compliance was identified voluntarily
and not through a monitoring, sampling, or auditing

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procedure that is required by statute, rule, permit,
judicial or administrative order, or consent agreement.
If a person can establish all of the elements under this
subsection except the element set forth in paragraph (1) of
this subsection, the person is entitled to a 75% reduction in
the portion of the penalty that is not based upon the economic
benefit of non-compliance.
For the purposes of this subsection (i), "small entity"
has the same meaning as in Section 221 of the federal Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C.
601).
(j) In addition to any other remedy or penalty that may
apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
Section 22.52 of this Act shall be liable for an additional
civil penalty of up to 3 times the gross amount of any
pecuniary gain resulting from the violation.
(k) In addition to any other remedy or penalty that may
apply, whether civil or criminal, any person who violates
subdivision (a)(7.6) of Section 31 of this Act shall be liable
for an additional civil penalty of $2,000.
(Source: P.A. 102-310, eff. 8-6-21.)
(415 ILCS 5/52.15 new)
Sec. 52.15. Release of balloons.
(a) In this Section:
"Balloon" means any inflatable object manufactured from

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plastic, latex, rubber, or mylar that is filled with a
lighter-than-air gas, such as helium. "Balloon" does not
include hot air balloons used to carry human passengers.
"Institution of higher education" means a nonpublic
institution of higher education or a public institution of
higher education, as those terms are defined in Section 2 of
the Higher Education Cooperation Act.
(b) A person may not knowingly release or cause to be
released into the atmosphere within a 24-hour period 25 or
more helium or other lighter-than-air gas balloons in the
State.
(c) This Section does not apply to the following:
(1) Balloons used by an institution of higher
education or a governmental agency, or pursuant to a
governmental contract, for bona fide scientific or
meteorological purposes.
(2) Balloons that are released indoors and remain
indoors.
(3) The release of a helium balloon used for the safe
operation of a hot air balloon.