Full Text of SB2517 93rd General Assembly
SB2517sam005 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Sen. John J. Cullerton
Filed: 3/22/2004
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| AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2517
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2517 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Accessible Electronic Information Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Legislative findings. The Legislature finds and | 7 |
| declares all of the following: | 8 |
| (a) Thousands of citizens in this State have disabilities | 9 |
| (including blindness or visual impairment) that prevent them | 10 |
| from using conventional print material. | 11 |
| (b) The State fulfills an important responsibility by | 12 |
| providing books and magazines prepared in Braille, audio, and | 13 |
| large-type formats made available to eligible blind and | 14 |
| disabled persons. | 15 |
| (c) The technology, transcription methods, and means of | 16 |
| distribution used for these materials are labor-intensive and | 17 |
| cannot support rapid dissemination to individuals in rural and | 18 |
| urban areas throughout the State.
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| (d) Lack of direct and prompt access to information | 20 |
| included in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, schedules, | 21 |
| announcements, and other time-sensitive materials limits | 22 |
| educational opportunities, literacy, and full participation in | 23 |
| society by blind and disabled persons. |
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| Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 2 |
| "Accessible electronic information service" means news and | 3 |
| other timely information (including newspapers) provided to | 4 |
| eligible individuals from a multi-state service center, using | 5 |
| high-speed computers and telecommunications technology for | 6 |
| interstate acquisition of content and rapid distribution in a | 7 |
| form appropriate for use by such individuals. | 8 |
| "Blind and disabled persons" means those individuals who | 9 |
| are eligible for library loan services through the Library of | 10 |
| Congress and the State Library for the Blind and Physically | 11 |
| Handicapped pursuant to 36 CFR 701.10(b). | 12 |
| "Director" means the State Librarian. | 13 |
| "Qualified entity" means an agency, instrumentality, or | 14 |
| political subdivision of the State or a nonprofit organization | 15 |
| that: | 16 |
| (1) provides interstate access for eligible persons to | 17 |
| read daily newspapers by producing audio editions by | 18 |
| computer; and | 19 |
| (2) provides a means of program administration and | 20 |
| reader registration on the Internet.
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| Section 15. Accessible electronic information service | 23 |
| program. The Director by rule shall develop and implement a | 24 |
| program of grants to qualified entities for the provision of | 25 |
| accessible electronic information service to blind and | 26 |
| disabled persons throughout Illinois. The grants shall be | 27 |
| funded through appropriations from the Accessible Electronic | 28 |
| Information Service Fund established in Section 20. | 29 |
| Section 20. Accessible Electronic Information Service | 30 |
| Fund. | 31 |
| (a) Before July 1 of each year, the Illinois Commerce | 32 |
| Commission, in consultation with the Director, shall determine |
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| the amount of funding necessary to support the program | 2 |
| described in Section 15 during the next fiscal year and shall | 3 |
| certify that amount to the State Treasurer. | 4 |
| (b) Each month, the State Treasurer shall transfer 1/12th | 5 |
| of the amount determined under subsection (a) from the Digital | 6 |
| Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund into the Accessible | 7 |
| Electronic Information Service Fund, a special fund created in | 8 |
| the State treasury that may be appropriated only for the | 9 |
| purposes of this Act. If moneys in the Digital Divide | 10 |
| Elimination Infrastructure Fund are insufficient to meet the | 11 |
| transfer requirements of this subsection, the Illinois | 12 |
| Commerce Commission shall direct the Illinois | 13 |
| Telecommunications Access Corporation, or its successor, to | 14 |
| remit the amount of any insufficiency to the Director for | 15 |
| deposit into the Accessible Electronic Information Service | 16 |
| Fund from surcharges collected by the Corporation, or its | 17 |
| successor, under Section 13-703 of the Public Utilities Act. | 18 |
| Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 19 |
| Section
5.625 as follows:
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| (30 ILCS 105/5.625 new)
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| Sec. 5.625. The Accessible Electronic Information Service | 22 |
| Fund.
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| Section 95. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 24 |
| Section 13-301.3 as follows:
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| (220 ILCS 5/13-301.3)
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| (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2005)
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| Sec. 13-301.3. Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure | 28 |
| Program.
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| (a) The Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund is | 30 |
| created as a
special
fund in the State treasury. All moneys in |
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| the Fund shall be used, subject to
appropriation, by the | 2 |
| Commission to fund (i) the construction of facilities
specified | 3 |
| in
Commission rules adopted under this Section and (ii) the | 4 |
| accessible electronic information program, as provided in | 5 |
| Section 20 of the Accessible Electronic Information Act . The | 6 |
| Commission may accept private
and
public funds, including | 7 |
| federal funds, for deposit into the Fund. Earnings
attributable | 8 |
| to
moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.
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| (b) The Commission shall adopt rules under which it will | 10 |
| make grants out of
funds appropriated from the Digital Divide | 11 |
| Elimination Infrastructure Fund to
eligible
entities as | 12 |
| specified in the rules for the construction of high-speed data
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| transmission
facilities in eligible areas
of the State. For | 14 |
| purposes of determining whether an area is an eligible
area, | 15 |
| the Commission shall consider, among other things, whether (i) | 16 |
| in such
area, advanced telecommunications services, as defined | 17 |
| in subsection (c) of
Section 13-517 of this Act, are | 18 |
| under-provided to residential or small business
end users, | 19 |
| either directly or indirectly through an Internet Service | 20 |
| Provider,
(ii) such area has a low population density, and | 21 |
| (iii) such area has not yet
developed a competitive market for | 22 |
| advanced services. In addition, if an
entity seeking a grant of | 23 |
| funds from the Digital Divide Elimination
Infrastructure Fund | 24 |
| is an incumbent local exchange carrier having the duty to
serve
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| such area, and the obligation to provide advanced services to | 26 |
| such area
pursuant to
Section 13-517 of this Act, the entity | 27 |
| shall demonstrate that it has sought
and obtained an exemption | 28 |
| from such
obligation
pursuant to subsection (b) of Section | 29 |
| 13-517. Any entity seeking a grant of
funds from the Digital | 30 |
| Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund shall demonstrate
to | 31 |
| the Commission that the grant shall be used for the | 32 |
| construction of
high-speed data transmission facilities in an | 33 |
| eligible area and demonstrate
that it satisfies all other | 34 |
| requirements of the Commission's rules. The
Commission shall |
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| determine the information that it deems necessary to award
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| grants pursuant to this Section.
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| (c) The rules of the Commission shall provide for the | 4 |
| competitive selection
of
recipients of grant funds available | 5 |
| from the Digital Divide Elimination
Infrastructure Fund
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| pursuant to the Illinois Procurement Code. Grants shall be | 7 |
| awarded to bidders
chosen
on the basis of the criteria | 8 |
| established in such rules.
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| (d) All entities awarded grant moneys under this Section | 10 |
| shall maintain all
records required by Commission rule for the | 11 |
| period of time specified in the
rules. Such
records shall be | 12 |
| subject to audit by the Commission, by any auditor appointed
by | 13 |
| the
State, or by any State officer authorized to conduct | 14 |
| audits.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 93-306, eff. 7-23-03.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 |
| becoming law.".
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