HB6992eng 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB6992 Engrossed LRB093 21265 RAS 47418 b

AN ACT concerning finance.

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

Section 5. The Eliminate the Digital Divide Law is amended by changing Sections 5-20 and 5-30 as follows:

(30 ILCS 780/5-20)

Sec. 5-20. Digital Divide Elimination Fund. The Digital Divide Elimination Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. All moneys in the Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, by the Department for grants and contracts pursuant to the Community Technology Grant Program made under Section 5-30 of this Act. All interest earned on moneys in the Digital Divide Elimination Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.

(Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01.)

(30 ILCS 780/5-30)

Sec. 5-30. Community Technology Grant Program.

(a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall administer the Community Technology Center Grant Program under which the Department shall make grants in accordance with this Article for planning, establishment, administration, and expansion of Community Technology Centers and for assisting public hospitals, libraries, and park districts in eliminating the digital divide. The purposes of the grants shall include, but not be limited to, volunteer recruitment and management, training and instruction, infrastructure, and related goods and services for Community Technology Centers and public hospitals, libraries, and park districts. The total amount of grants under this Section in fiscal year 2001 shall not exceed $2,000,000, except that this limit on grants shall not apply to grants funded by appropriations from the Digital Divide Elimination Fund. No Community Technology Center may receive a grant of more than $100,000 $50,000 under this Section in a particular fiscal year.

(b) Public hospitals, libraries, park districts, and State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and private nonprofit or for-profit agencies and organizations are eligible to receive grants under this Program, provided that a local educational agency or public or private educational agency or organization must, in order to be eligible to receive grants under this Program, provide computer access and educational services using information technology to the public at one or more of its educational buildings or facilities at least 12 hours each week. A group of eligible entities is also eligible to receive a grant if the group follows the procedures for group applications in 34 CFR 75.127-129 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.

To be eligible to apply for a grant, a Community Technology Center, public hospital, library, or park district must serve a community in which not less than 40% of the students are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program or in which not less than 30% of the students are eligible for a free lunch under the national school lunch program; however, if funding is insufficient to approve all grant applications for a particular fiscal year, the Department may impose a higher minimum percentage threshold for that fiscal year. Determinations of communities and determinations of the percentage of students in a community who are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program shall be in accordance with rules adopted by the Department.

Any entities that have received a Community Technology Center grant under the federal Community Technology Centers Program are also eligible to apply for grants under this Program.

The Department shall provide assistance to Community Technology Centers in making those determinations for purposes of applying for grants.

(c) Grant applications shall be submitted to the Department not later than March 15 for the next fiscal year.

(d) The Department shall adopt rules setting forth the required form and contents of grant applications.

(e) There is created the Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee. The advisory committee shall consist of 5 members appointed one each by the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the House Minority Leader. The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation for their services as members of the advisory committee but may be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in serving on the advisory committee. The Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee shall advise the Department in establishing criteria and priorities for identifying recipients of grants under this Act. The advisory committee shall obtain advice from the technology industry regarding current technological standards. The advisory committee shall seek any available federal funding.

(Source: P.A. 91-704, eff. 7-1-00; 92-22, eff. 6-30-01.)

Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Section 13-301.2 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/13-301.2)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2005)

Sec. 13-301.2. Program to Foster Elimination of the Digital Divide. The Commission shall require by rule that each telecommunications carrier providing local exchange telecommunications service notify its end-user customers that if the customer wishes to participate in the funding of the Program to Foster Elimination of the Digital Divide he or she may do so by electing to contribute, on a monthly basis, a fixed amount that will be included in the customer's monthly bill. The obligations imposed in this Section shall not be imposed upon a telecommunications carrier for any of its end-users subscribing to the services listed below: (1) private line service which is not directly or indirectly used for the origination or termination of switched telecommunications service, (2) cellular radio service, (3) high-speed point-to-point data transmission at or above 9.6 kilobits, (4) the provision of telecommunications service by a company or person otherwise subject to subsection (c) of Section 13-202 to a telecommunications carrier, which is incidental to the provision of service subject to subsection (c) of Section 13-202; (5) pay telephone service; or (6) interexchange telecommunications service. The customer may cease contributing at any time upon providing notice to the telecommunications carrier. The notice shall state that any contribution made will not reduce the customer's bill for telecommunications services. Failure to remit the amount of increased payment will reduce the contribution accordingly. The Commission shall specify the monthly fixed amount or amounts that customers wishing to contribute to the funding of the Program to Foster Elimination of the Digital Divide may choose from in making their contributions. A telecommunications carrier subject to this obligation shall remit the amounts contributed by its customers to the Department of Revenue Commerce and Community Affairs for deposit in the Digital Divide Elimination Fund at the intervals specified in the Commission rules.

(Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 93-358, eff. 1-1-04; revised 12-6-03.)

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