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1     AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Eliminate the Digital Divide Law is amended
5 by changing Sections 5-5 and 5-30 as follows:
 
6     (30 ILCS 780/5-5)
7     Sec. 5-5. Definitions; descriptions. As used in this
8 Article:
9     "Community-based organization" means a private
10 not-for-profit organization that is located in an Illinois
11 community and that provides services to citizens within that
12 community and the surrounding area.
13     "Senior citizen home" means an Illinois-based residential
14 facility for people who are over the age of 65. The term
15 "senior citizen home" includes, but is not limited to,
16 convalescent homes, long-term care facilities, assistive
17 living facilities, and nursing homes.
18     "Community technology centers" provide computer access and
19 educational services using information technology. Community
20 technology centers are diverse in the populations they serve
21 and programs they offer, but similar in that they provide
22 technology access to individuals, communities, and populations
23 that typically would not otherwise have places to use computer

 

 

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1 and telecommunications technologies.
2     "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
3 Opportunity.
4     "National school lunch program" means a program
5 administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state
6 agencies that provides free or reduced price lunches to
7 economically disadvantaged children. A child whose family
8 income is between 130% and 185% of applicable family size
9 income levels contained in the nonfarm poverty guidelines
10 prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget is eligible
11 for a reduced price lunch. A child whose family income is 130%
12 or less of applicable family size income levels contained in
13 the nonfarm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the Office
14 of Management and Budget is eligible for a free lunch.
15     "Telecommunications services" provided by
16 telecommunications carriers include all commercially available
17 telecommunications services in addition to all reasonable
18 charges that are incurred by taking such services, such as
19 state and federal taxes.
20     "Other special services" provided by telecommunications
21 carriers include Internet access and installation and
22 maintenance of internal connections in addition to all
23 reasonable charges that are incurred by taking such services,
24 such as state and federal taxes.
25 (Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)
 

 

 

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1     (30 ILCS 780/5-30)
2     Sec. 5-30. Community Technology Center Grant Program.
3     (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall
4 administer the Community Technology Center Grant Program under
5 which the Department shall make grants in accordance with this
6 Article for planning, establishment, administration, and
7 expansion of Community Technology Centers and for assisting
8 public hospitals, libraries, and park districts in eliminating
9 the digital divide. The purposes of the grants shall include,
10 but not be limited to, volunteer recruitment and management,
11 training and instruction, infrastructure, and related goods
12 and services, including case management, administration,
13 personal information management, and outcome-tracking tools
14 and software for the purposes of reporting to the Department
15 and for enabling participation in digital government and
16 consumer services programs, for Community Technology Centers
17 and public hospitals, libraries, and park districts. No
18 Community Technology Center may receive a grant of more than
19 $75,000 under this Section in a particular fiscal year.
20     (b) Public hospitals, libraries, park districts, and State
21 educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions
22 of higher education, senior citizen homes, and other public and
23 private nonprofit or for-profit agencies and organizations are
24 eligible to receive grants under this Program, provided that a
25 local educational agency or public or private educational
26 agency or organization must, in order to be eligible to receive

 

 

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1 grants under this Program, provide computer access and
2 educational services using information technology to the
3 public at one or more of its educational buildings or
4 facilities at least 12 hours each week. A group of eligible
5 entities is also eligible to receive a grant if the group
6 follows the procedures for group applications in 34 CFR
7 75.127-129 of the Education Department General Administrative
8 Regulations.
9     To be eligible to apply for a grant, a Community Technology
10 Center, public hospital, library, or park district must serve a
11 community in which not less than 40% of the students are
12 eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national
13 school lunch program or in which not less than 30% of the
14 students are eligible for a free lunch under the national
15 school lunch program; however, if funding is insufficient to
16 approve all grant applications for a particular fiscal year,
17 the Department may impose a higher minimum percentage threshold
18 for that fiscal year. Determinations of communities and
19 determinations of the percentage of students in a community who
20 are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the
21 national school lunch program shall be in accordance with rules
22 adopted by the Department.
23     Any entities that have received a Community Technology
24 Center grant under the federal Community Technology Centers
25 Program are also eligible to apply for grants under this
26 Program.

 

 

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1     The Department shall provide assistance to Community
2 Technology Centers in making those determinations for purposes
3 of applying for grants.
4     The Department shall encourage Community Technology
5 Centers to participate in public and private computer hardware
6 equipment recycling initiatives that provide computers at
7 reduced or no cost to low-income families, including programs
8 authorized by the State Property Control Act. On an annual
9 basis, the Department must provide the Director of Central
10 Management Services with a list of Community Technology Centers
11 that have applied to the Department for funding as potential
12 recipients of surplus State-owned computer hardware equipment
13 under programs authorized by the State Property Control Act.
14     (c) Grant applications shall be submitted to the Department
15 on a schedule of one or more deadlines established by the
16 Department by rule.
17     (d) The Department shall adopt rules setting forth the
18 required form and contents of grant applications.
19     (e) There is created the Digital Divide Elimination
20 Advisory Committee. The advisory committee shall consist of 7
21 members appointed one each by the Governor, the President of
22 the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the
23 House, and the House Minority Leader, and 2 appointed by the
24 Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, one of whom
25 shall be a representative of the telecommunications industry
26 and one of whom shall represent community technology centers.

 

 

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1 The members of the advisory committee shall receive no
2 compensation for their services as members of the advisory
3 committee but may be reimbursed for their actual expenses
4 incurred in serving on the advisory committee. The Digital
5 Divide Elimination Advisory Committee shall advise the
6 Department in establishing criteria and priorities for
7 identifying recipients of grants under this Act. The advisory
8 committee shall obtain advice from the technology industry
9 regarding current technological standards. The advisory
10 committee shall seek any available federal funding.
11     (f) There is created the Digital Divide Elimination Working
12 Group. The Working Group shall consist of the Director of
13 Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, the
14 Director of Central Management Services, or his or her
15 designee, and the Executive Director of the Illinois Commerce
16 Commission, or his or her designee. The Director of Commerce
17 and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, shall serve
18 as chair of the Working Group. The Working Group shall consult
19 with the members of the Digital Divide Elimination Advisory
20 Committee and may consult with various groups including, but
21 not limited to, telecommunications providers,
22 telecommunications-related technology producers and service
23 providers, community technology providers, community and
24 consumer organizations, businesses and business organizations,
25 and federal government agencies.
26     (g) Duties of the Digital Divide Elimination Working Group

 

 

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1 include all of the following:
2         (1) Undertaking a thorough review of grant programs
3     available through the federal government, local agencies,
4     telecommunications providers, and business and charitable
5     entities for the purpose of identifying appropriate
6     sources of revenues for the Digital Divide Elimination Fund
7     and attempting to update available grants on a regular
8     basis.
9         (2) Researching and cataloging programs designed to
10     advance digital literacy and computer access that are
11     available through the federal government, local agencies,
12     telecommunications providers, and business and charitable
13     entities and attempting to update available programs on a
14     regular basis.
15         (3) Presenting the information compiled from items (1)
16     and (2) to the Department of Commerce and Economic
17     Opportunity, which shall serve as a single point of contact
18     for applying for funding for the Digital Divide Elimination
19     Fund and for distributing information to the public
20     regarding all programs designed to advance digital
21     literacy and computer access.
22 (Source: P.A. 94-734, eff. 4-28-06.)