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1 | AN ACT concerning transportation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School | ||||||
6 | Transparency Act. | ||||||
7 | Section 5. Intent. This Act is intended to increase the | ||||||
8 | selection transparency, objectiveness, and predictability of | ||||||
9 | the Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School | ||||||
10 | programs. | ||||||
11 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
12 | "Committees" means the grants review committees created in | ||||||
13 | this Act. | ||||||
14 | "Department" means the Illinois Department of | ||||||
15 | Transportation. | ||||||
16 | "Grant programs" means the Transportation Enhancements | ||||||
17 | Program and the Safe Routes to School Program as defined in the | ||||||
18 | Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: | ||||||
19 | A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59) or successor programs | ||||||
20 | for transportation enhancements or safe routes to schools | ||||||
21 | activities administered by the United States Department of | ||||||
22 | Transportation. |
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1 | "Secretary" means the Illinois Secretary of | ||||||
2 | Transportation. | ||||||
3 | Section 15. Grants review committees. For each of the grant | ||||||
4 | programs, the Secretary shall appoint a committee to evaluate, | ||||||
5 | score, and rank all applications for funding submitted. The | ||||||
6 | committees shall each include 2 representatives from the | ||||||
7 | Department, 2 representatives from metropolitan planning | ||||||
8 | organizations, counties, or municipalities, 4 representatives | ||||||
9 | from other relevant state agencies, and 3 representatives from | ||||||
10 | relevant public interest organizations. Committee members | ||||||
11 | shall be appointed for a 4-year term and shall serve until | ||||||
12 | their successor is appointed. The Secretary shall make | ||||||
13 | appointments to the committees no later than 90 days following | ||||||
14 | the effective date of this Act. The Secretary shall fill | ||||||
15 | vacancies on the committees within 90 days. | ||||||
16 | Section 20. Grants review process. | ||||||
17 | (a) Each committee shall establish criteria for | ||||||
18 | evaluating, scoring, and ranking all funding applications for | ||||||
19 | the grant programs. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, | ||||||
20 | these criteria are public records under the Freedom of | ||||||
21 | Information Act. The criteria shall also be made available on | ||||||
22 | the Department's website upon their acceptance by the | ||||||
23 | committee. | ||||||
24 | (b) The committees shall evaluate, score, and rank all |
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1 | funding applications for the grant programs using the | ||||||
2 | established criteria. All available funding from these | ||||||
3 | programs are subject to this application, evaluation, scoring, | ||||||
4 | and ranking process. Notwithstanding any other provision of | ||||||
5 | law, the scores and rankings of applications are public records | ||||||
6 | under the Freedom of Information Act. The scores and rankings | ||||||
7 | shall also be made available on the Department's website | ||||||
8 | promptly upon their acceptance by the committee.
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9 | (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the | ||||||
10 | meetings of the committees are meetings of a public body open | ||||||
11 | to the public under the Open Meetings Act. Any meetings of the | ||||||
12 | committees including evaluating, scoring, and ranking of | ||||||
13 | applications for funding shall include a public comment period. | ||||||
14 | The committees shall establish reasonable criteria for the | ||||||
15 | submission of public comments. | ||||||
16 | (d) The application evaluation, scoring, and ranking | ||||||
17 | decisions of the committees are binding upon the Department. | ||||||
18 | Applications shall be funded in order of ranking by the | ||||||
19 | committees. The Department shall promptly announce these | ||||||
20 | decisions. | ||||||
21 | Section 25. Grant programs frequencies and deadlines. | ||||||
22 | (a) No later than 120 days after the effective date of this | ||||||
23 | Act, the Department, in consultation with the committees, shall | ||||||
24 | select either an annual or biennial application cycle frequency | ||||||
25 | for each grant program. Subject to the availability of federal |
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1 | funds, the grant programs shall follow these frequencies.
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2 | (b) The Department and committees shall establish | ||||||
3 | reasonable deadlines, occurring at the same time of each | ||||||
4 | appropriate year, for the submission of any funding | ||||||
5 | applications for the grant programs. The committees shall | ||||||
6 | finalize funding decisions no later than 150 days after the | ||||||
7 | deadlines for the submission of any funding applications for | ||||||
8 | the grant programs. | ||||||
9 | Section 30. No rulemaking authority. Notwithstanding any | ||||||
10 | other rulemaking authority that may exist, neither the Governor | ||||||
11 | nor any agency or agency head under the jurisdiction of the | ||||||
12 | Governor has any authority to make or promulgate rules to | ||||||
13 | implement or enforce the provisions of this Act. If, however, | ||||||
14 | the Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or | ||||||
15 | enforce the provisions of this Act, the Governor may suggest | ||||||
16 | rules to the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of | ||||||
17 | the House and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting | ||||||
18 | that the General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, | ||||||
19 | enact those suggested rules into law, or take any other | ||||||
20 | appropriate action in the General Assembly's discretion. | ||||||
21 | Nothing contained in this Act shall be interpreted to grant | ||||||
22 | rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute where | ||||||
23 | such authority is not otherwise explicitly given. For the | ||||||
24 | purposes of this Section, "rules" is given the meaning | ||||||
25 | contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative |
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1 | Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | ||||||
2 | meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | ||||||
3 | Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | ||||||
4 | definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | ||||||
5 | jurisdiction of the Governor.
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6 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
7 | becoming law.
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