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Introduced
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Illinois : 2025-2026 Regular Session : BILL  SB1790

EXTREME WEATHER RECOVERY ACT

Sponsor: Sen Laura Ellman

Bill Details

Creates the Extreme Weather Recovery Act. Creates a private cause of action for a harmed party against a responsible party in which the amount in controversy is $10,000 or more. Authorizes a harmed party who has suffered damages in that amount that is alleged to have been caused by climate disaster or extreme weather attributable to climate changes or both to sue a responsible party. The Act's covered period is from 1965 to the effective date of the Act. Prohibits the State or unit of local government or an agent or employee of these governmental units from commencing an action under the Act. Makes legislative findings. Makes definitions. Creates a 3-year statute of limitation in which a harmed party must file or commence an action under the Act. Authorizes the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to adopt rules implementing the Act. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Bill summary (AI generated) 

No summary available

History

No history available
  • Thu 06 Feb 2025 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Laura Ellman
  • Thu 06 Feb 2025 First Reading
  • Thu 06 Feb 2025 Referred to Assignments

Bill text (HTML) 

 


104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB1790
 
Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Laura Ellman
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
    Creates the Extreme Weather Recovery Act. Creates a private cause of action for a harmed party against a responsible party in which the amount in controversy is $10,000 or more. Authorizes a harmed party who has suffered damages in that amount that is alleged to have been caused by climate disaster or extreme weather attributable to climate changes or both to sue a responsible party. The Act's covered period is from 1965 to the effective date of the Act. Prohibits the State or unit of local government or an agent or employee of these governmental units from commencing an action under the Act. Makes legislative findings. Makes definitions. Creates a 3-year statute of limitation in which a harmed party must file or commence an action under the Act. Authorizes the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to adopt rules implementing the Act. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR
 
SB1790LRB104 11448 JRC 21536 b


1    AN ACT concerning civil law.

2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:

4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
5Extreme Weather Recovery Act.

6    Section 5. Findings; intent; purpose. 
7    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
8        (i) climate disasters, extreme weather attributable to 
9 climate change, and harms resulting from long-term changes 
10 to the climate system pose a threat to the health, safety, 
11 and security of all residents of, and visitors to, 
12 Illinois;
13        (ii) climate change poses many costly risks to 
14 Illinois residents, including an increase in precipitation 
15 and severe storms, hotter temperatures, and intensified 
16 drought;
17        (iii) average annual precipitation in Illinois has 
18 increased by 12% to 15%; and extreme precipitation events 
19 (days with more than 2 inches of precipitation) have 
20 increased by 40% since the beginning of the 20th century, 
21 resulting in more frequent flooding;
22        (iv) insurance companies lost money on policies 
23 associated with property insurance in Illinois in 2023, 
 
 
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1 due mostly to damage from severe storms;
2        (v) the average temperature in Illinois is predicted 
3 to increase by up to 9�F by 2100 under a moderate climate 
4 scenario (RCP4.5); the average daily temperature has 
5 already increased by 1 to 2�F in most areas of the State; 
6 and the average nighttime temperature has increased by 
7 more than 3�F over the last 120 years;
8        (vi) warmer temperatures will change the composition 
9 of Illinois forests and decrease agricultural yields of 
10 corn, soybeans, and other crops;
11        (vii) heat stress caused by climate change is likely 
12 to reduce corn yields by 23% to 34% in Illinois by the 
13 middle of this century;
14        (viii) all Illinoisans are at risk of concrete and 
15 particularized injuries caused by the increasing 
16 prevalence and intensity of climate disasters, extreme 
17 weather attributable to climate change, and harms 
18 resulting from long-term changes to the climate system;
19        (ix) Illinois has a compelling State interest in 
20 protecting its citizens from climate disasters, extreme 
21 weather attributable to climate change, and harms 
22 resulting from long-term changes to the climate system;
23        (x) the cost and impact of climate disasters, extreme 
24 weather attributable to climate change, and harms 
25 resulting from long-term changes to the climate system 
26 continue to increase, straining public resources in this 
 
 
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1 State; and
2        (xi) impacts in Illinois causally connected to 
3 responsible parties' qualified products and actions during 
4 the covered period include, but are not limited to:
5            (A) damage to public property and infrastructure, 
6 as well as adjacent private property and 
7 infrastructure;
8            (B) natural resource damages to public and private 
9 resources;
10            (C) increased risk, hours, and compensation to 
11 emergency responders faced with increasingly frequent 
12 and severe events;
13            (D) significant and costly health and safety 
14 upgrades to public buildings before generally accepted 
15 amortization and depreciation timelines, resulting in 
16 additional taxpayer expenses now and into the future;
17            (E) significant and costly occupational 
18 productivity losses and costs from workplace health 
19 and safety regulations that are increasingly necessary 
20 and required to protect employers and employees from 
21 increased risks and hazards related to climate change 
22 and extreme weather attributable to climate change;
23            (F) canceled school days because of climate 
24 disasters and extreme weather attributable to climate 
25 change, resulting in educational harms to students 
26 that have long-lasting impacts on workforce, business, 
 
 
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1 and economic development; and
2            (G) increasing public and private health costs 
3 stemming from indoor and outdoor pollution, 
4 contamination, and exposure to toxic materials, 
5 whether in combination or occurring separately, 
6 exacerbated by the impacts of climate disasters and 
7 extreme weather attributable to climate change;
8        (xii) a judicial forum is necessary for Illinoisans to 
9 redress the harm that responsible parties have caused and 
10 continue to cause through climate disasters, extreme 
11 weather attributable to climate change, and harms 
12 resulting from long-term changes to the climate system 
13 fueled by their products and actions. Illinois has a 
14 compelling State interest in empowering citizens to 
15 recover, recoup, or rebuild the value of lost, damaged, 
16 and destroyed property, as well as the full extent of 
17 non-economic, compensatory, and punitive damages allowable 
18 under this State's laws and constitution;
19        (xiii) the courts of this State are the appropriate 
20 venue to provide additional relief to harmed parties as 
21 deemed necessary or proper in the course of legal 
22 proceedings brought under the authority of this Act;
23        (xiv) this State has a compelling interest in 
24 preserving public resources for traditional public 
25 purposes. It is not the desire of this State to continue 
26 paying for increased damages to harmed parties caused by 
 
 
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1 the profit-seeking actions and omissions of responsible 
2 parties' qualified products and actions;
3        (xv) climate disasters, extreme weather attributable 
4 to climate change, and harms resulting from long-term 
5 changes to the climate system are not acts of God, 
6 unforeseeable, or otherwise classified as a force majeure 
7 event eligible for litigation limitations or defenses, 
8 except as explicitly and unambiguously provided;
9        (xvi) decades of intentional lies, misinformation, and 
10 disinformation, and misrepresentations by responsible 
11 parties about the connection between qualified products 
12 and climate change has directly and causally contributed 
13 to concrete and particularized injuries in this State from 
14 climate disasters, extreme weather attributable to climate 
15 change, and harms resulting from long-term changes to the 
16 climate system. Continued lies, misinformation, and 
17 disinformation, and misrepresentations pose a threat to 
18 the health, safety, and security of all residents of, and 
19 visitors to, this State. Responsible parties have 
20 long-known the dangers of their qualified products but 
21 continued to deny and lie for profit. Hiding, obfuscating, 
22 and denying information to consumers, elected officials, 
23 and regulators alike harmed and continues to harm 
24 Illinoisans. This State has a compelling interest in 
25 protecting consumers from lies, misinformation, and 
26 disinformation in the marketplace, and encouraging factual 
 
 
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1 and truthful information on climate disasters, extreme 
2 weather attributable to climate change, harms resulting 
3 from long-term changes to the climate system, and the 
4 qualified products and actions of responsible parties. The 
5 General Assembly further finds and declares that:
6            (A) responsible parties have engaged in a 
7 decades-long project to protect their profits with a 
8 coordinated effort to deceive the public about the 
9 reality of the climate crisis;
10            (B) documents unveiled by litigation and 
11 investigative journalists demonstrate that as early as 
12 the 1950s, responsible parties became aware of the 
13 potentially catastrophic impact of their products. 
14 Even in the face of research conducted by their own 
15 scientists affirming the impacts of their business, 
16 responsible parties outright denied that climate 
17 change was real, spread disinformation to cast doubt 
18 on the science, and fought regulatory action against 
19 qualified products;
20            (C) the 1970s and 1980s saw the development of a 
21 clear scientific consensus that increasing CO2    
22 concentration in the atmosphere would contribute to 
23 global warming and that the heightened CO2 emissions 
24 were attributable to fossil fuels. These facts were 
25 supported by fossil-fuel industry scientists like 
26 Exxon's James F. Black, who provided these findings in 
 
 
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1 a 1977 presentation and a 1978 briefing of Exxon 
2 management. In 1979, W.L. Ferrall outlined that an 
3 internal Exxon study concluded that the "present trend 
4 of fossil-fuel consumption will cause dramatic 
5 environmental effects before the year 2050." In 1982, 
6 R.W. Cohen summarized that Exxon's climate modeling 
7 research was "consistent with the published prediction 
8 of more complex climate models" and "in accord with 
9 the scientific consensus on the effect of increased 
10 atmospheric CO2 on climate." A 1988 Shell report 
11 echoed the Exxon warnings and acknowledged the need to 
12 consider policy changes. The report provided that "the 
13 potential implications for the world are... so large 
14 that policy options need to be considered much 
15 earlier" and that research should be "directed more to 
16 the analysis of policy and energy options than to 
17 studies of what we will be facing exactly";
18            (D) despite acknowledging that increased CO2    
19 concentrations because of fossil-fuel combustion posed 
20 a considerable threat, responsible parties decided not 
21 to take steps to prevent the risks of climate change. 
22 Instead, they stopped funding major climate research, 
23 and launched campaigns to discredit climate science 
24 and delay actions perceived as contrary to their 
25 business interests. These responsible parties carried 
26 out these campaigns by:
 
 
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1                (1) developing public relations strategies 
2 that were contradictory to their knowledge and 
3 scientific insights;
4                (2) engaging in public communications 
5 campaigns to promote doubt and downplay the 
6 threats of climate change; and
7                (3) funding individuals, organizations, and 
8 research aimed at discrediting the growing body of 
9 publicly available climate science.
10            (E) from 1970 to 2020 the oil and gas industry 
11 responsible parties made nearly $2.8 billion a day and 
12 $1 trillion a year in profit;
13            (F) responsible parties currently advertise 
14 "green" efforts to the public that mask the lack of 
15 real investment in resiliency and energy-source 
16 transition and the continued prioritization of the 
17 extraction, refinement, and distribution of qualified 
18 products;
19            (G) a December 2022 report by the Oversight 
20 Committee in Congress also revealed internal documents 
21 from senior leaders in responsible parties that 
22 explicitly reject taking accountability for the 
23 greenhouse gas emissions associated with their 
24 products;
25            (H) by their conduct and impact, responsible 
26 parties have intentionally obfuscated the truth about 
 
 
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1 climate change and outright deceived the public to 
2 continue dependence on their qualified products;
3        (xvii) intentional lies, misinformation, and 
4 disinformation, and misrepresentations by responsible 
5 parties about the connection between qualified products 
6 they sell or sold and climate change is not political 
7 speech, but fundamentally commercial activity with 
8 incidental political impact; and
9        (xviii) that responsible parties must be accountable 
10 to harmed parties. The General Assembly hereby explicitly 
11 authorizes a cause of action to harmed parties, including 
12 individuals, businesses, and associations. This State has 
13 a sovereign and compelling State interest in providing a 
14 forum for individuals, businesses, and associations 
15 sustaining injuries and harms caused by responsible 
16 parties' deceptive behavior and linked to the harms of 
17 responsible parties' products and actions. It is the 
18 intent of this State to provide a judicial forum for the 
19 efficient, just, and equitable resolution of harmed 
20 parties' claims for damages stemming from climate 
21 disasters, extreme weather attributable to climate change, 
22 and harms resulting from long-term changes to the climate 
23 system, as defined herein, against responsible parties.
24    (b) It is the purpose of this Act to create a new cause of 
25action independent of existing law. Nothing in this Act may be 
26construed to limit in any way the enforceability of existing 
 
 
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1laws concerning consumer protection, climate, environment, 
2energy, or natural resources.

3    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
4    (a) "Amount in controversy" means the damages claimed or 
5relief demanded by the injured party or parties in a lawsuit.
6    (b) "Extreme event attribution science" means research 
7aimed at understanding how human-induced changes in the global 
8climate system affect the probability, severity, and other 
9characteristics of extreme weather events such as hurricanes 
10and heat waves. This may include, but not be limited to, 
11determining the likelihood of the particular event happening 
12today compared to how it might have unfolded without 
13human-caused increase in concentration of greenhouse gases in 
14the atmosphere.
15    (c) "Climate disaster" means an event that meets any of 
16the following threshold qualifications and is determined by 
17impact attribution science or extreme event attribution 
18science to be substantially worsened (at least statistically 
19significant) or caused by climate change from responsible 
20parties' products or extreme weather attributable to climate 
21change from responsible parties' products:
22        (i) a "major disaster" as defined by the Federal 
23 Emergency Management Agency in July of 2024, without 
24 recognition of any changes to that definition that may 
25 occur at a later time by subsequent agency administration, 
 
 
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1 or removal of the definition from the public domain or 
2 Code of Federal Regulations;
3        (ii) "any natural catastrophe" (including any 
4 hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, 
5 tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, 
6 landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, 
7 regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any 
8 part of the United States, which in the determination of 
9 the President causes damage of sufficient severity and 
10 magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under this 
11 Act to supplement the efforts and available resources of 
12 states, local governments, and disaster relief 
13 organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, 
14 or suffering caused thereby. This includes, but is not 
15 limited to, the definition of a natural catastrophe in the 
16 Stafford Act such as any hurricane, tornado, storm, high 
17 water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, 
18 volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or 
19 drought or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood or 
20 explosion, in any part of the United States, which in the 
21 determination of the President causes damage of sufficient 
22 severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster 
23 assistance under this the Stafford Act to supplement the 
24 efforts and available resources of local and state 
25 governments and disaster relief organizations in 
26 alleviating the damage, loss, hardship or suffering caused 
 
 
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1 thereby;
2        (iii) a "catastrophic incident" as defined by the 
3 Federal Emergency Management Agency in July of 2024 (not 
4 including events linked to terrorism), without recognition 
5 of any changes to that definition that may occur at a later 
6 time by a later agency administration or removal of the 
7 definition from the public domain or Code of Federal 
8 Regulations;
9        (iv) any natural or man-made incident that results in 
10 extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or 
11 disruption severely affecting the population, 
12 infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, or 
13 government functions. A catastrophic event could result in 
14 sustained national impacts over a prolonged period of 
15 time; almost immediately exceeds resources normally 
16 available to local, state, tribal, and private sector 
17 authorities in the impacted area; and significantly 
18 interrupts governmental operations and emergency services 
19 to such an extent that national security could be 
20 threatened;
21        (v) any event that does qualify, or would have 
22 qualified, for inclusion on the National Centers for 
23 Environmental Information's "Billion-Dollar Weather and 
24 Climate Disasters" program and data list as it existed in 
25 July of 2024, without recognition of any changes weakening 
26 the agency program that may occur at a later time by 
 
 
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1 subsequent agency administration or abolition of the 
2 program, National Centers for Environmental Information, 
3 or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
4 and
5        (vi) a gubernatorial proclamation that a disaster 
6 exists under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.
7    (d) "Covered period" means the period from January 1, 1965 
8to the effective date of this Act.
9    (e) "Extreme weather attributable to climate change" means 
10weather, climate, or environmental conditions including, but 
11not limited to, temperature, precipitation, drought, or 
12flooding that are consistent with impacts or events that are 
13attributable to climate change and where the intensity, 
14magnitude, location, timing, or extent of the event lie 
15outside the historical distribution of measurements for that 
16type of event or impact for a particular place and time of 
17year. These events include those that "extreme event 
18attribution science" determines were made more likely or 
19severe by climate change.
20    (f) "Generally accepted amortization and depreciation 
21timelines" means methods used and encouraged by the Internal 
22Revenue Service and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
23    (g) "Gross negligence" means negligence that is materially 
24greater than the mere absence of reasonable care under the 
25circumstances and that is characterized by indifference to or 
26reckless disregard of the rights of others.
 
 
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1    (h) "Harmed parties" means any person, business, or 
2association harmed or suffering damages in the amount of at 
3least $10,000 as a result of a climate disaster or extreme 
4weather attributable to climate change.
5    (i) "Impact attribution science" means research aimed at 
6understanding how global climate change affects human and 
7natural systems, including but not limited to localized 
8physical impacts, such as floods, droughts, and sea level 
9rise, and the corresponding effects on infrastructure, public 
10health, ecosystems, agriculture, and economies.
11    (j) "Long-term changes to the climate system" includes, 
12but is not limited to: increases in average temperature; 
13disruptions to ocean chemistry, circulation, and temperature; 
14sea level rise; variation in precipitation; saltwater 
15intrusion into drinking water; sunny day flooding; decreased 
16snowpack and seasonal water availability; drought; and species 
17mortality and extinction.
18    (k) "Market-share liability" means liability that is 
19imposed severally on each member of an industry, based on each 
20member's share of the market or respective percentage of the 
21qualified product placed on the market.
22    (l) "Qualified product" means a fossil-fuel product 
23including, but not limited to:
24        (i) Crude petroleum oil and all other hydrocarbons, 
25 regardless of gravity, that are produced at the wellhead 
26 in liquid form by ordinary production methods;
 
 
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1        (ii) Natural, manufactured, mixed, and byproduct 
2 hydrocarbon gas; or
3        (iii) Refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude, 
4 processed crude, processed crude petroleum, residue from 
5 crude petroleum, cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil, fuel 
6 oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, casinghead 
7 gasoline, natural-gas gasoline, kerosene, benzine, wash 
8 oil, waste oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, and 
9 blends or mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products 
10 or byproducts derived from oil or gas.
11    (m) "Responsible party" means a firm, corporation, 
12company, partnership, society, joint stock company or any 
13other entity or association that emitted or caused to be 
14emitted through the extracting, storing, transporting, 
15refining, importing, exporting, producing, manufacturing, 
16distributing, compounding, marketing, or offering for 
17wholesale or retail sale, a qualified product with total 
18greenhouse gas emissions of at least one billion metric tons 
19of carbon dioxide equivalent during the covered period. It 
20does not include any public utility, public authority, or the 
21State and its political subdivisions.
22    (n) "Statute of limitation" means that an action under 
23this Act must be commended within 3 years after the cause of 
24action accrued.
25    (o) "Strict liability" means liability that does not 
26depend on actual negligence or intent to harm, but that is 
 
 
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1based on the breach of an absolute duty to make something safe.

2    Section 15. Civil action enforcement. 
3    (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the requirements of 
4this Act shall be enforced exclusively through the civil 
5actions described in this Act.
6    (b) Any person, other than an officer or employee of a 
7State or local governmental entity in this State, may bring a 
8civil action against any responsible party for climate 
9disasters or extreme weather attributable to climate change or 
10both as defined in this Act when the following conditions are 
11met:
12        (i) The person qualifies as a harmed party.
13        (ii) During any part of the covered period, the 
14 responsible party did business in Illinois, was registered 
15 to do business in Illinois, was appointed an agent of the 
16 State, or otherwise had sufficient contacts with the State 
17 to give the State jurisdiction over the responsible party 
18 under Illinois law.
19        (iii) The statute of limitations for the action has 
20 not expired.
21        (iv) The amount in controversy is at least $10,000. 
22 Plaintiff allegations of the amount in controversy at the 
23 pleading stage must be given judicial deference. Multiple 
24 plaintiffs (regardless of association in a class action) 
25 must be allowed to aggregate claims without common injury 
 
 
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1 caused by climate disasters or extreme weather 
2 attributable to climate change to reach the amount in 
3 controversy threshold. The courts of this State are 
4 encouraged to process these actions with simplified 
5 procedural rules, streamlined enforcements, and other 
6 remedied mechanisms.
7    (c) No enforcement of this Act may be taken or threatened 
8by the State, a political subdivision of the State, or an 
9executive or administrative officer or employee of the State 
10or a political subdivision, or a unit of local government or an 
11attorney representing any one of these governmental entities.
12    (d) Responsible parties are jointly and severally liable 
13to the plaintiffs for strict liability if they are a harmed 
14party.
15    (e) Harmed parties may commence an action against 
16responsible parties for recovery of damages in any one of the 
17following counties:
18        (i) the county in which all or a substantial part of 
19 the events giving rise to the action occurred;
20        (ii) the county of residence for any one of the 
21 natural person defendants at the time the cause of action 
22 accrued;
23        (iii) the county of the principal office in this State 
24 of any one of the defendants that is not a natural person; 
25 or
26        (iv) the county of residence for any plaintiff if the 
 
 
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1 plaintiff is a natural person residing in the State.
2    Notwithstanding any other law, if a civil action is 
3brought under this Act in one of the venues in this Section16, 
4the action may not be transferred to a different venue, 
5including federal court, without the written consent of all 
6parties.
7    (g) The fact that harmed parties bring legal action 
8against responsible parties under this Act may not be an 
9independent basis for enforcement of any other law of this 
10State; or the denial, revocation, suspension, or withholding 
11of any right or privilege conferred by the law of the State or 
12a political subdivision of the State, or a threat to do the 
13same.
14    (h) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to do any of the 
15following:
16        (i) Limit the enforceability of any other laws that 
17 regulate or prohibit any conduct relating to climate 
18 disasters, extreme weather, greenhouse gas emissions, or 
19 consumer protection.
20        (ii) Replace legally mandated disaster recovery funds, 
21 designated disaster recovery funds established by 
22 legislation or administrative rule, contractually 
23 obligated, or court-ordered insurance claim payouts.
24    (i) If a claimant prevails in an action brought under this 
25Section, the court shall award all of the following:
26        (i) The full extent of non-economic, compensatory, and 
 
 
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1 punitive damages allowable under Illinois law and 
2 Constitution.
3        (ii) Compensatory damages in an amount of not less 
4 than the fair market value of recovering, recouping, 
5 rebuilding, or remediating the value of lost, damaged, and 
6 destroyed property.
7        (iii) Compensatory damages in an amount not less than 
8 the cost of injuries to harmed parties including medical 
9 care, mental and behavioral health care, past and present 
10 pain and suffering, or emotional distress.
11    (j) Notwithstanding any other law, a cause of action under 
12this Section shall be extinguished unless the action is 
13commenced no later than 3 years after the cause of action 
14accrues.
15    (k) The connection of a climate disaster, extreme weather 
16attributable to climate change, or harms resulting from 
17long-term changes to the climate system to alleged injuries 
18shall be deemed an injury in fact for all residents of, and 
19visitors to, Illinois. Any such person shall have standing to 
20bring a civil action under this Act.
21    (l) Notwithstanding any other law, none of the following 
22is a defense to an action brought under this Act:
23        (i) A defendant's ignorance or mistake of law.
24        (ii) A defendant's belief that the requirements of 
25 this Act are unconstitutional or were unconstitutional.
26        (iii) A defendant's reliance on any court decision 
 
 
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1 that has been overruled on appeal or by a subsequent 
2 court, even if that court decision had not been overruled 
3 when the defendant engaged in conduct that violates this 
4 Act.
5        (iv) A defendant's reliance on any State or federal 
6 court decision that is not binding on the court in which 
7 the action has been brought.
8        (v) Nonmutual issue preclusion or nonmutual claim 
9 preclusion.
10        (vi) Any claim that the enforcement of this Act or the 
11 imposition of civil liability against the defendant will 
12 violate a constitutional right of a third party.
13        (vii) A defendant's assertion that this Act proscribes 
14 conduct that is separately prohibited by any other law of 
15 Illinois.
16        (viii) Any claim that defendants' or responsible 
17 parties' qualified products were not misused, or were not 
18 intended to be misused, in an unlawful manner.
19        (ix) A defendant's assertion that State or federal 
20 laws relating to qualified products and responsible 
21 parties' operations displace, abrogate, or supersede the 
22 actions authorized under this Act, the authority of the 
23 courts of Illinois to provide a forum for the action, or 
24 the authority of the courts of Illinois to provide a 
25 remedy to harmed parties.
26        (x) A defendant's assertion that choice-of-law and 
 
 
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1 choice-of-forum clauses govern the action, regardless of 
2 whether such clauses apply to harmed parties by basis of 
3 consumer transactions.
4        (xi) A defendant's assertion that the plaintiff or 
5 plaintiffs assumed a risk of harm through the use of their 
6 products.
7        (xii) A defendant's forum non conveniens assertion so 
8 long as the jurisdictional requirements of this Act are 
9 satisfied.
10    (m) An action brought under this Section may be resolved 
11by settlement through mediation or arbitration upon written 
12consent of both parties; however, mediation or arbitration may 
13not be mandated by Illinois courts.
14    (n) This Act shall not be construed to impose liability on 
15any speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment to the 
16United States Constitution, as made applicable to the states 
17through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States 
18Constitution, or by the Illinois Constitution.
19    (o) Notwithstanding any other law, the State, a State 
20official or a unit of local government or an attorney 
21representing any one of these governmental entities may not 
22intervene in an action brought under this Section. However, 
23this subsection does not prohibit a person described by this 
24subsection from filing an amicus curiae brief in the action.
25    (p) Notwithstanding any other law, a court may not award 
26attorney's fees or costs to a defendant in an action brought 
 
 
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1under this Section, unless the plaintiff was represented by 
2counsel in the action and plaintiff's counsel is found by the 
3court or the entity enforcing the rules of professional 
4conduct of attorney to be in violation of the rules of 
5professional conduct.
6    (q) An action under this Section may not be brought 
7against the federal government, State, or political 
8subdivision of the State, or an employee of one of those 
9governmental units on the basis of acts or omissions in the 
10course of discharge of official duties.

11    Section 20. Offsets to damages and defenses to liability. 
12    (a) All of the following are offsets to damages:
13        (i) Payments made to a harmed party under a contract 
14 of insurance. Insurers have the right to commence a 
15 subrogation action against responsible parties for 
16 recovery of payments made to harmed parties under a 
17 contract of insurance regardless of whether the insured 
18 has been made whole.
19        (ii) Evidence that a harmed party fully recovered from 
20 a public body for alleged injuries.
21    (b) All of the following are affirmative defenses to an 
22action commenced under this Act:
23        (i) Evidence of intentional destruction of property or 
24 intentional worsening of damage to reach the amount in 
25 controversy threshold.
 
 
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1        (ii) Evidence of gross negligence by the harmed party.
2        (iii) The defendant has the burden of proving an 
3 affirmative defense under this subsection by a 
4 preponderance of the evidence.

5    Section 25. Fee and cost shifting from challenges to 
6enforcement. 
7    (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person, including 
8an entity, attorney, or law firm, who seeks declaratory or 
9injunctive relief to prevent this State, a political 
10subdivision, a governmental entity or public official in this 
11State, or a person in this State from enforcing any portion of 
12this statute, State rules of civil procedure, or any other 
13related law that promotes consumer protection and remedies to 
14injuries from climate disasters, extreme weather attributable 
15to climate change, and harms resulting from long-term changes 
16to the climate system, or that represents any litigant seeking 
17that relief, is jointly and severally liable to pay the 
18attorney's fees and costs of the prevailing party.
19    (b) For purposes of this Section, a party is considered a 
20prevailing party if a court does either of the following:
21        (i) Dismisses any claim or cause of action brought by 
22 the party seeking the declaratory or injunctive relief 
23 described by this Section, regardless of the reason for 
24 the dismissal.
25        (ii) Enters judgment in favor of the party opposing 
 
 
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1 the declaratory or injunctive relief described by this 
2 Section on any claim or cause of action.
3    (c) Regardless of whether a prevailing party sought to 
4recover attorney's fees or costs in the underlying action, a 
5prevailing party under this Section may bring a civil action 
6to recover attorney's fees and costs against a person, 
7including an entity, attorney, or law firm, that sought 
8declaratory or injunctive relief described by this Section no 
9later than the third anniversary of the date on which, as 
10applicable:
11        (i) The dismissal or judgment described by this 
12 Section becomes final upon the conclusion of appellate 
13 review.
14        (ii) The time for seeking appellate review expires.
15    (d) None of the following are a defense to an action 
16brought under this Section:
17        (i) A prevailing party under this Section failed to 
18 seek recovery of attorney's fees or costs in the 
19 underlying action.
20        (ii) The court in the underlying action declined to 
21 recognize or enforce the requirements of this Section.
22        (iii) The court in the underlying action held that any 
23 provision of this Section is invalid, unconstitutional, or 
24 preempted by federal law, notwithstanding the doctrines of 
25 issue or claim preclusion.

 
 
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1    Section 30. Limitations of the Act. This Act may not be 
2construed to do any of the following:
3        (a) Authorize the commencement of an action under this 
4 Act against an entity that is not a responsible party.
5        (b) Authorize the commencement of an action under this 
6 Act when the amount in controversy requirements are not 
7 met.
8        (c) Wholly or partly repeal, either expressly or by 
9 implication, any other statute that regulates or prohibits 
10 any conduct relating to climate disasters, extreme weather 
11 attributable to climate change, and harms resulting from 
12 long-term changes to the climate system.

13    Section 35. Sovereign, governmental, and official 
14immunity. 
15    (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the State has sovereign 
16immunity, a political subdivision of the State has 
17governmental immunity, and each officer and employee of this 
18State or a political subdivision has official immunity in any 
19action, claim, or counterclaim or any type of legal or 
20equitable action that challenges the validity of any provision 
21or application of this Act on constitutional grounds or 
22otherwise.
23    (b) A provision of State law may not be construed to waive 
24or abrogate an immunity described by this Section unless it 
25expressly waives immunity under this Section.

 
 
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1    Section 40. Severability. 
2    (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that every 
3provision in this Act and every application of the provisions 
4in this Act are severable from each other.
5    (b) If any application of any provision in this Act is 
6found by a court to be invalid or unconstitutional, the 
7remaining applications of that provision to all other persons 
8and circumstances shall be severed and shall not be affected. 
9All constitutionally valid applications of this Act shall be 
10severed from any applications that a court finds to be 
11invalid, leaving the valid applications in force, because it 
12is the General Assembly's intent that the valid applications 
13be allowed to stand alone. Even if a reviewing court finds a 
14provision of this Act to impose an unconstitutional burden in 
15a large or substantial fraction of relevant cases, the 
16applications that do not present an unconstitutional burden 
17shall be severed from the remaining applications and shall 
18remain in force, and shall be treated as if the General 
19Assembly had enacted a statute limited to the persons, group 
20of persons, or circumstances for which the statute's 
21application does not present an unconstitutional burden.
22    (c) If any court declares or finds a provision of this Act 
23facially unconstitutional, when discrete applications of that 
24provision can be enforced against a person, group of persons, 
25or circumstances without violating the United States 
 
 
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1Constitution and the Illinois Constitution, those applications 
2shall be severed from all remaining applications of the 
3provision, and the provision shall be interpreted as if the 
4General Assembly had enacted a provision limited to the 
5persons, group of persons, or circumstances for which the 
6provision's application will not violate the United States 
7Constitution and the Illinois Constitution.
8    (d) The General Assembly further declares that it would 
9have enacted this Act and each provision regardless of the 
10fact that any provision or application of this Act were to be 
11declared unconstitutional or to represent an unconstitutional 
12burden.
13    (e) If any provision of this Act is found by any court to 
14be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that 
15provision that do not present constitutional vagueness 
16problems shall be severed and remain in force.
17    (f) A court may not decline to enforce the severability 
18requirements of this Section on the ground that severance 
19would rewrite the statute or involve the court in legislative 
20or lawmaking activity. A court that declines to enforce or 
21enjoins a State official from enforcing a statutory provision 
22of this Act does not rewrite a statute, as the statute 
23continues to contain the same words as before the court's 
24decision. 
25    (g) A statute that provides financial benefits to victims 
26or survivors of climate disasters, extreme weather 
 
 
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1attributable to climate change, or harms resulting from 
2long-term changes to the climate system or results in the 
3collection of damages by the State for damage to consumers and 
4State interests, may not be construed to repeal any other 
5statute that addresses climate disasters, extreme weather 
6attributable to climate change, and harms resulting from 
7long-term changes to the climate system, either wholly or 
8partly, unless the later-enacted statute explicitly states 
9that it is repealing the other statute.
10    (h) Every statute that provides financial benefits to 
11victims or survivors of climate disasters, extreme weather 
12attributable to climate change, and harms resulting from 
13long-term changes to the climate system or results in the 
14collection of damages by the State for damage to consumers and 
15State interests from climate disasters, extreme weather 
16attributable to climate change, and harms resulting from 
17long-term changes to the climate system, is severable in each 
18of its applications to every person and circumstance. If any 
19statute that provides financial benefits to victims or 
20survivors of climate disasters, extreme weather attributable 
21to climate change, and harms resulting from long-term changes 
22to the climate system, or results in the collection of damages 
23by the State for damage to consumers and State interests from 
24climate disasters, extreme weather attributable to climate 
25change, and harms resulting from long-term changes to the 
26climate system, is found by any court to be unconstitutional, 
 
 
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1either on its face or as applied, then all applications of that 
2statute that do not violate the United States Constitution and 
3the Illinois Constitution shall be severed from the 
4unconstitutional applications and shall remain enforceable, 
5notwithstanding any other law, and the statute shall be 
6interpreted as if containing language limiting the statute's 
7application to the persons, group of persons, or circumstances 
8for which the statute's application will not violate the 
9United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution.

10    Section 45. Savings. 
11    (a) All existing litigation filed in State courts under 
12the statutes of this State may not be expressly or impliedly 
13preempted, displaced, mooted, or dismissed upon any other 
14prudential consideration arguably arising from this Act.
15    (b) To the extent that any aspect of every and all existing 
16litigation filed in the courts of this State is reviewed for 
17the application of this Act, it is severable in each of its 
18applications to every person and circumstance. If any statute 
19that provides financial benefits to victims or survivors of 
20climate disasters, extreme weather attributable to climate 
21change, and harms resulting from long-term changes to the 
22climate system, or results in the collection of damages by the 
23State for damage to consumers and State interests from climate 
24disasters, extreme weather attributable to climate change, and 
25harms resulting from long-term changes to the climate system, 
 
 
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1is found by any court to be unconstitutional, either on its 
2face or as applied, then all applications of that statute that 
3do not violate the United States Constitution and the Illinois 
4Constitution shall be severed from the unconstitutional 
5applications and shall remain enforceable, notwithstanding any 
6other law, and the statute shall be interpreted as if 
7containing language limiting the statute's application to the 
8persons, group of persons, or circumstances for which the 
9statute's application will not violate the United States 
10Constitution and the Illinois Constitution.
11    (c) The remedies provided in this Act are in addition to 
12any other remedy available to a person or the State at common 
13law or under statute. This Act may not be interpreted to 
14prevent a person or the State from pursuing a civil action or 
15any other remedy available at common law or under statute.
16    (d) This Act does not do any of the following:
17        (i) Relieve the liability of an entity for damages 
18 resulting from climate change as provided by law.
19        (ii) Preempt, displace, or restrict any rights or 
20 remedies of a person, the State, units of local 
21 government, or tribal government under law relating to a 
22 past, present, or future allegation of any of the 
23 following:
24            (A) Deception concerning the effects of fossil 
25 fuels on climate change.
26            (B) Damage or injury resulting from the role of 
 
 
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1 fossil fuels in contributing to climate change.
2            (C) Failure to avoid damage or injury related to 
3 climate change, including claims for nuisance, 
4 trespass, design defect, negligence, failure to warn, 
5 or deceptive or unfair practices and claims for 
6 injunctive, declaratory, monetary, or other relief.
7    (e) This Act does not preempt, supersede, or displace any 
8State law or local ordinance, regulation, policy, or program 
9that does any of the following:
10        (i) Limit, set, or enforce standards for emissions of 
11 greenhouse gases.
12        (ii) Monitor, report, or keep records of emissions of 
13 greenhouse gases.
14        (iii) Collect revenue through fees or levy taxes.
15        (iv) Conduct or support investigations.

16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
17becoming law.


        

    

        



    



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