Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg
Filed: 6/6/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 766
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 766 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the High | ||||||
5 | Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act. | ||||||
6 | Section 5. Findings. With respect to high speed Internet | ||||||
7 | services and information technology, the General Assembly | ||||||
8 | finds the following: | ||||||
9 | (1) The deployment and adoption of high speed Internet | ||||||
10 | services and information technology has resulted in | ||||||
11 | enhanced economic development and public safety for the | ||||||
12 | State's communities, improved health care and educational | ||||||
13 | opportunities, and a better quality of life for the State's | ||||||
14 | residents. | ||||||
15 | (2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption | ||||||
16 | of high speed Internet services and information technology |
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1 | is vital to ensuring that this State remains competitive | ||||||
2 | and continues to create business and job growth. | ||||||
3 | (3) The State must encourage and support the | ||||||
4 | partnership of the public and private sectors in the | ||||||
5 | continued growth of high speed Internet and Information | ||||||
6 | technology for the State's residents and businesses. | ||||||
7 | (4) Local governmental entities play a role in
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8 | assessing the needs of their communities with respect to | ||||||
9 | high speed Internet services and information technology. | ||||||
10 | Section 10. Nonprofit organization defined. In this Act, | ||||||
11 | "nonprofit organization" means an organization that (i) is a | ||||||
12 | nonprofit organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the | ||||||
13 | federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under | ||||||
14 | Section 501(a) of that Code; (ii) has no part of the net | ||||||
15 | earnings of which inures to the benefit of any member, founder, | ||||||
16 | contributor, or individual; and (iii) is organized under, | ||||||
17 | subject to, and has all the powers and duties of a | ||||||
18 | not-for-profit corporation under the General Not For Profit | ||||||
19 | Corporation Act of 1986. | ||||||
20 | Section 15. Enlistment of a nonprofit organization. | ||||||
21 | (a) Notwithstanding any other statute, the Department of | ||||||
22 | Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall enlist a nonprofit | ||||||
23 | organization to implement a comprehensive, statewide high | ||||||
24 | speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation |
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1 | initiative with the purpose of: | ||||||
2 | (1) ensuring that all State residents and businesses | ||||||
3 | have access to affordable and reliable high speed Internet | ||||||
4 | service; | ||||||
5 | (2) achieving improved technology literacy, increased | ||||||
6 | computer ownership, and home high speed Internet use among | ||||||
7 | State residents and businesses; | ||||||
8 | (3) establishing and empowering local technology | ||||||
9 | planning teams in each county to plan for improved | ||||||
10 | technology use across multiple community sectors; and | ||||||
11 | (4) establishing and sustaining an environment ripe | ||||||
12 | for high speed Internet access and technology investment | ||||||
13 | statewide. | ||||||
14 | (b) The existing nonprofit organization shall have an | ||||||
15 | established competency and proven record of working with public | ||||||
16 | and private sectors to accomplish wide-scale deployment and | ||||||
17 | adoption of broadband and information technology in other | ||||||
18 | states. | ||||||
19 | Section 20. Duties of Connect IL. | ||||||
20 | (a) The high speed Internet deployment strategy and demand | ||||||
21 | creation initiative to be performed by the nonprofit | ||||||
22 | organization shall include, but not be limited to, the | ||||||
23 | following actions: | ||||||
24 | (1) Create a geographic statewide inventory of high | ||||||
25 | speed Internet service and other relevant broadband and |
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1 | information technology services. The inventory shall: | ||||||
2 | (A) identify geographic gaps in high speed | ||||||
3 | Internet service through a method of GIS mapping of | ||||||
4 | service availability and GIS analysis at the census | ||||||
5 | block level; and | ||||||
6 | (B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide | ||||||
7 | high speed Internet deployment in terms of percentage | ||||||
8 | of Illinois households with high speed Internet | ||||||
9 | availability. | ||||||
10 | (2) Track and identify, through customer interviews | ||||||
11 | and surveys and other publicly available sources, | ||||||
12 | statewide residential and business adoption of high speed | ||||||
13 | Internet, computers, and related information technology | ||||||
14 | and any barriers to adoption. | ||||||
15 | (3) Build and facilitate in each county or designated | ||||||
16 | region a local technology planning team with members | ||||||
17 | representing a cross section of the community, including, | ||||||
18 | but not limited to, representatives of business, K-12 | ||||||
19 | education, health care, libraries, higher education, | ||||||
20 | community-based organizations, local government, tourism, | ||||||
21 | parks and recreation, and agriculture. Each team shall | ||||||
22 | benchmark technology use across relevant community | ||||||
23 | sectors, set goals for improved technology use within each | ||||||
24 | sector, and develop a plan for achieving its goals, with | ||||||
25 | specific recommendations for online application | ||||||
26 | development and demand creation. |
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1 | (4) Collaborate with high speed Internet providers and | ||||||
2 | technology companies to encourage deployment and use, | ||||||
3 | especially in underserved areas, by aggregating local | ||||||
4 | demand, mapping analysis, and creating market intelligence | ||||||
5 | to improve the business case for providers to deploy. | ||||||
6 | (5) Collaborate with the Department in developing a | ||||||
7 | program to increase computer ownership and broadband | ||||||
8 | access for disenfranchised populations across the State. | ||||||
9 | The program may include grants to local community | ||||||
10 | technology centers that provide technology training, | ||||||
11 | promote computer ownership, and increase broadband access. | ||||||
12 | (b) The nonprofit organization may apply for federal grants | ||||||
13 | consistent with the objectives of this Act. | ||||||
14 | (c) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | ||||||
15 | shall use the funds in the High Speed Internet Services and | ||||||
16 | Information Technology Fund to (1) provide grants to the | ||||||
17 | nonprofit organization created or enlisted under this Act and | ||||||
18 | (2) for any costs incurred by the Department to administer this | ||||||
19 | Act. | ||||||
20 | (d) The nonprofit organization shall have the power to | ||||||
21 | obtain or to raise funds other than the grants receive from the | ||||||
22 | Department under this Act. | ||||||
23 | (e) The nonprofit organization and its Board of Directors | ||||||
24 | shall exist separately and independently from the Department | ||||||
25 | and any other governmental entity, but shall cooperate with | ||||||
26 | other public or private entities it deems appropriate in |
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1 | carrying out its duties. | ||||||
2 | (f) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act | ||||||
3 | to the contrary, any information that is designated | ||||||
4 | confidential or proprietary by an entity providing the | ||||||
5 | information to the nonprofit organization or any other entity | ||||||
6 | to accomplish the objectives of this Act shall be deemed | ||||||
7 | confidential, proprietary, and a trade secret and treated by | ||||||
8 | the nonprofit organization, Connect IL's governing board, or | ||||||
9 | anyone else possessing the information as such and shall not be | ||||||
10 | disclosed. | ||||||
11 | Section 25. Scope of authority. Nothing in this Act shall | ||||||
12 | be construed as giving the Lieutenant Governor, the Broadband | ||||||
13 | Deployment Council, the nonprofit organization, or other | ||||||
14 | entities any additional authority, regulatory or otherwise, | ||||||
15 | over providers of telecommunications, broadband, and | ||||||
16 | information technology.
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17 | Section 30. High Speed Internet Services and Information | ||||||
18 | Technology Fund. | ||||||
19 | (a) There is created in the State treasury a special fund | ||||||
20 | to be known as the High Speed Internet Services and Information | ||||||
21 | Technology Fund, to be used, subject to appropriation, by the | ||||||
22 | Department of Commerce and Economic Development for purposes of | ||||||
23 | providing grants to the nonprofit organization enlisted under | ||||||
24 | this Act. |
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1 | (b) On the effective date of this Act, $4,000,000 in the | ||||||
2 | Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund shall be | ||||||
3 | transferred to the High Speed Internet Services and Information | ||||||
4 | Technology Fund. Nothing contained in this subsection (b) shall | ||||||
5 | affect the validity of grants issued under this Act before June | ||||||
6 | 30, 2007. | ||||||
7 | Section 35. Local broadband projects. Any municipality or | ||||||
8 | county may undertake local broadband projects and the provision | ||||||
9 | of services in connection therewith; may lease infrastructure | ||||||
10 | that it owns or controls; may aggregate customers or demand for | ||||||
11 | broadband services; may apply for and receive funds or | ||||||
12 | technical assistance to undertake such projects to address the | ||||||
13 | level of broadband access available to its businesses and | ||||||
14 | residents. To the extent that it seeks to serve as a retail | ||||||
15 | provider of telecommunications services, the municipality or | ||||||
16 | county shall be required to obtain appropriate certification | ||||||
17 | from the Illinois Commerce Commission as a telecommunications | ||||||
18 | carrier. | ||||||
19 | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
20 | Section 5.675 as follows: | ||||||
21 | (30 ILCS 105/5.675 new) | ||||||
22 | Sec. 5.675. The High Speed Internet Services and | ||||||
23 | Information Technology Fund.
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1 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
2 | becoming law.".
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