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SB 2463

Right to Know How Safe We Are Act of 2025; enact.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jeff Tate

The act tightens financial assurances for drilling and plugging by limiting cash as bond substitutes and raising bond requirements to strengthen protection of groundwater.

Died In Committee
#judiciary #divisiona
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Bill Summary · SB 2463

SB 2463 — "Right to Know How Safe We Are Act of 2025" (summary)

Note on status: the materials you provided contain conflicting procedural records. The bill metadata lists the status as "Died In Committee," while the bill text and subsequent entries include an enrolled Public Act number (Public Act 104‑0150) with a Governor’s approval date and an effective date of January 1, 2026. This summary focuses on the bill’s substantive changes as contained in the bill text (amendments to the Illinois Oil and Gas Act). Confirm final status with your official state legislative records.

Purpose / Intent

Amend the Illinois Oil and Gas Act to tighten financial assurance and permitting requirements related to drilling, monitoring and well plugging, and to clarify the Department’s rule‑making and hearing authorities. A principal policy change is to narrow what applicants may post in lieu of a surety bond for plugging obligations and certain on‑site liquid oil field waste obligations.

Key provisions

  • Amends Sections 2, 6, 8b, 8c and 12 of the Illinois Oil and Gas Act (225 ILCS 725).
  • Removes "cash" from the list of instruments an applicant may provide in lieu of a surety bond for plugging obligations (and for removal of liquid oil field waste from on‑site collection points). Acceptable alternatives retained include a surety bond, certificates of deposit, and irrevocable letters of credit (subject to Department rules).
  • Revisions to bonding amounts and formats:
    • For geological/ mineral test hole permits: sets a surety bond example of $2,500 per permit or a blanket bond of $25,000 (text reflects these amounts).
    • For well permits, establishes per‑well and blanket bond caps and tiering (the bill text contains multiple related figures). Examples appearing in the text include tiered blanket caps such as $10,000 for one well, $25,000 for up to 10 wells, $50,000 for up to 50 wells, and $100,000 for up to 100 wells; other language references department‑determined per‑well amounts (e.g., $5,000 per well) or a blanket maximum of $100,000. Bonds must be filed before drilling, deepening, converting or operating wells that require new or transfer permits and have not previously been plugged/abandoned.
  • Clarifies and amends Department authority to adopt rules and hold hearings for administering the Act (including requirements for drilling/casing/plugging to prevent cross‑stratum migration, protect fresh water, and other standard regulatory purposes).
  • Conforming and technical edits throughout the cited sections.

Who/what is affected

  • Oil and gas operators, drillers, permit applicants and permittees in Illinois (including those drilling test holes and monitoring wells).
  • Surety companies, banks (issuers of letters of credit), and entities providing certificates of deposit.
  • Illinois Department of Natural Resources (or the Department charged with administering the Act) — rulemaking and enforcement duties are clarified/adjusted.
  • Landowners and local water resources — changes affect the financial assurance available to ensure proper plugging and site restoration.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Text amends existing statute (225 ILCS 725). The enrolled materials you provided show legislative movement and amendments (including a floor amendment), and in some records a Public Act number and effective date of January 1, 2026. However, the summary’s source metadata also lists "Died In Committee." Verify final enactment status and the authoritative effective date through the official Illinois General Assembly or Secretary of State site.

Potential impacts

  • Reduces ability of applicants to substitute cash for other financial instruments, which may increase reliance on surety companies or bank instruments (CDs, letters of credit).
  • Potentially raises the financial barrier to entry or transfer for smaller operators if higher bond levels or stricter Department determinations are applied.
  • Strengthens enforceable financial guarantees for plugging and site restoration, which could reduce orphaned/unplugged wells and environmental risk to groundwater.

If you want, I can: (1) pull the authoritative enacted bill text and final status from the Illinois General Assembly site, or (2) produce a redlined comparison showing the exact statutory language changed.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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