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Dear Concerned Citizens:


	Here is a link to House Bill 1776 sponsored by Reps. Rutherford,Novak,
Brady, Hoeft, Berns and Winkel.  It passed the House on Friday 4/6/01. 
Please note that it was amended.  It's now in the Senate.


	Friends, I'm no lawyer, but I don't understand why our Rep. Brady
couldn't explain some of this bill to us this past Saturday.  Read on. 
It's long, but well worth reading.  This is what government is all
about.  


	Here are the salient points:


	1.  The utilities no longer have to follow the tree-trimming
guidelines  of the International Society of Arboriculture!   They must
continue to follow ANSI and OSHA guidelines. (American National
Standards Institute and Occupational Safety and Health
Administration).


	2.  Direct notice of tree-trimming activities must be sent to the
mayor of an incorporated municipality or the chairman of the county
board in an unincorporated area no less than 21 daysnor more than 90
days before tree- trimming begins.


	3.  Affected customers shall be notified directly.  (It doesn't say
how or by whom or when.)


	4.  Affected property owners shall be notified by a published notice
in a newspaper or newspapers in general circulation and widely
distributed within the entire area in which the vegetation management
activities noticed will occur.


(Yikes!  What happens if you don't subscribe to the newspaper?)


	5.  Circuit maps or a description by common address of the area to be 
affected by vegetation management activities must accompany any notice
to a mayor or a chairman of a county board.  (And then what happens to
these maps?)


	6.  The electric public utility giving the direct and published
notices shall provide notified customers and property owners with a
statement of the vegetation management activites planned, the address
of a website and toll-free telephone number at which a written
disclosure of all dispute resolution opportunities and processes,
rights, and remedies provided by the utility may be obtained (why can't
they send this along with the statement of activities?), and a
statement that the customer AND the property owner may appeal the
planned activities through the public utility and the ICC, a toll-free
telephone number to a representative of the utility, and the telephone
number of the ICC consumer affairs officer.  The notice will state that
the circuit maps are on file in the mayor's or county board chairman's
office.


7.  The ICC will have sole authority to investigate, issue, and hear
complaints against the utility.


8.  The power comapny doesn't have to do any of the above if it is
taking actions directly related to an emergency.


9.  The power company isn't required to comply with above if there is a
franchise, contract, or written agreement between the utility and the
city or county mandating specific vegetation management practices.


10. If no franchise/contract/written agreement exists between the
utility and the city/county and the municipality enacts an ordinance
establishing standards for tree-trimming that are contrary to the
established standards above, the utility may apply to the city for
payment of additinal costs before the

tree-trimming begins.  No tree-trimming will occur until the city
responds to the application.  If the city doesn't respond in 90 days,
the utility may proceed and trim as it wants to.


11.  Vegetation management activities by an electric public utility
shall not alter, trespass upon, or limit the rights of any property
owner.  (What exactly does this mean?  What about easements?)


Here is the link to the legislation: 

 http://www.legis.state.il.us/scripts/imstran.exe?LIBSINCWHB1776


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