Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0314
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Full Text of HB0314  95th General Assembly

HB0314ham001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Harry R. Ramey Jr.

Filed: 4/25/2007

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 314

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 314 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1 living facilities, and nursing homes.
2     "Community technology centers" provide computer access and
3 educational services using information technology. Community
4 technology centers are diverse in the populations they serve
5 and programs they offer, but similar in that they provide
6 technology access to individuals, communities, and populations
7 that typically would not otherwise have places to use computer
8 and telecommunications technologies.
9     "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
10 Opportunity.
11     "National school lunch program" means a program
12 administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state
13 agencies that provides free or reduced price lunches to
14 economically disadvantaged children. A child whose family
15 income is between 130% and 185% of applicable family size
16 income levels contained in the nonfarm poverty guidelines
17 prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget is eligible
18 for a reduced price lunch. A child whose family income is 130%
19 or less of applicable family size income levels contained in
20 the nonfarm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the Office
21 of Management and Budget is eligible for a free lunch.
22     "Telecommunications services" provided by
23 telecommunications carriers include all commercially available
24 telecommunications services in addition to all reasonable
25 charges that are incurred by taking such services, such as
26 state and federal taxes.

 

 

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1     "Other special services" provided by telecommunications
2 carriers include Internet access and installation and
3 maintenance of internal connections in addition to all
4 reasonable charges that are incurred by taking such services,
5 such as state and federal taxes.
6 (Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)
 
7     (30 ILCS 780/5-30)
8     Sec. 5-30. Community Technology Center Grant Program.
9     (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall
10 administer the Community Technology Center Grant Program under
11 which the Department shall make grants in accordance with this
12 Article for planning, establishment, administration, and
13 expansion of Community Technology Centers and for assisting
14 public hospitals, libraries, and park districts in eliminating
15 the digital divide. The purposes of the grants shall include,
16 but not be limited to, volunteer recruitment and management,
17 training and instruction, infrastructure, and related goods
18 and services, including case management, administration,
19 personal information management, and outcome-tracking tools
20 and software for the purposes of reporting to the Department
21 and for enabling participation in digital government and
22 consumer services programs, for Community Technology Centers
23 and public hospitals, libraries, and park districts. No
24 Community Technology Center may receive a grant of more than
25 $75,000 under this Section in a particular fiscal year.

 

 

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1     (b) Public hospitals, libraries, park districts, and State
2 educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions
3 of higher education, senior citizen homes, and other public and
4 private nonprofit or for-profit agencies and organizations are
5 eligible to receive grants under this Program, provided that a
6 local educational agency or public or private educational
7 agency or organization must, in order to be eligible to receive
8 grants under this Program, provide computer access and
9 educational services using information technology to the
10 public at one or more of its educational buildings or
11 facilities at least 12 hours each week. A group of eligible
12 entities is also eligible to receive a grant if the group
13 follows the procedures for group applications in 34 CFR
14 75.127-129 of the Education Department General Administrative
15 Regulations.
16     To be eligible to apply for a grant, a Community Technology
17 Center, public hospital, library, or park district must serve a
18 community in which not less than 40% of the students are
19 eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national
20 school lunch program or in which not less than 30% of the
21 students are eligible for a free lunch under the national
22 school lunch program; however, if funding is insufficient to
23 approve all grant applications for a particular fiscal year,
24 the Department may impose a higher minimum percentage threshold
25 for that fiscal year. Determinations of communities and
26 determinations of the percentage of students in a community who

 

 

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1 are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the
2 national school lunch program shall be in accordance with rules
3 adopted by the Department.
4     Any entities that have received a Community Technology
5 Center grant under the federal Community Technology Centers
6 Program are also eligible to apply for grants under this
7 Program.
8     The Department shall provide assistance to Community
9 Technology Centers in making those determinations for purposes
10 of applying for grants.
11     The Department shall encourage Community Technology
12 Centers to participate in public and private computer hardware
13 equipment recycling initiatives that provide computers at
14 reduced or no cost to low-income families, including programs
15 authorized by the State Property Control Act. On an annual
16 basis, the Department must provide the Director of Central
17 Management Services with a list of Community Technology Centers
18 that have applied to the Department for funding as potential
19 recipients of surplus State-owned computer hardware equipment
20 under programs authorized by the State Property Control Act.
21     (c) Grant applications shall be submitted to the Department
22 on a schedule of one or more deadlines established by the
23 Department by rule.
24     (d) The Department shall adopt rules setting forth the
25 required form and contents of grant applications.
26     (e) There is created the Digital Divide Elimination

 

 

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1 Advisory Committee. The advisory committee shall consist of 7
2 members appointed one each by the Governor, the President of
3 the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the
4 House, and the House Minority Leader, and 2 appointed by the
5 Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, one of whom
6 shall be a representative of the telecommunications industry
7 and one of whom shall represent community technology centers.
8 The members of the advisory committee shall receive no
9 compensation for their services as members of the advisory
10 committee but may be reimbursed for their actual expenses
11 incurred in serving on the advisory committee. The Digital
12 Divide Elimination Advisory Committee shall advise the
13 Department in establishing criteria and priorities for
14 identifying recipients of grants under this Act. The advisory
15 committee shall obtain advice from the technology industry
16 regarding current technological standards. The advisory
17 committee shall seek any available federal funding.
18     (f) There is created the Digital Divide Elimination Working
19 Group. The Working Group shall consist of the Director of
20 Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, the
21 Director of Central Management Services, or his or her
22 designee, and the Executive Director of the Illinois Commerce
23 Commission, or his or her designee. The Director of Commerce
24 and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee, shall serve
25 as chair of the Working Group. The Working Group shall consult
26 with the members of the Digital Divide Elimination Advisory

 

 

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1 Committee and may consult with various groups including, but
2 not limited to, telecommunications providers,
3 telecommunications-related technology producers and service
4 providers, community technology providers, community and
5 consumer organizations, businesses and business organizations,
6 and federal government agencies.
7     (g) Duties of the Digital Divide Elimination Working Group
8 include all of the following:
9         (1) Undertaking a thorough review of grant programs
10     available through the federal government, local agencies,
11     telecommunications providers, and business and charitable
12     entities for the purpose of identifying appropriate
13     sources of revenues for the Digital Divide Elimination Fund
14     and attempting to update available grants on a regular
15     basis.
16         (2) Researching and cataloging programs designed to
17     advance digital literacy and computer access that are
18     available through the federal government, local agencies,
19     telecommunications providers, and business and charitable
20     entities and attempting to update available programs on a
21     regular basis.
22         (3) Presenting the information compiled from items (1)
23     and (2) to the Department of Commerce and Economic
24     Opportunity, which shall serve as a single point of contact
25     for applying for funding for the Digital Divide Elimination
26     Fund and for distributing information to the public

 

 

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1     regarding all programs designed to advance digital
2     literacy and computer access.
3 (Source: P.A. 94-734, eff. 4-28-06.)".