Full Text of HB1258 95th General Assembly
HB1258ham001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Computer Technology Committee
Filed: 3/15/2007
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1258
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1258 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 |
| Universal Access to Broadband Services Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Findings and declaration of policy. The General | 7 |
| Assembly finds and declares that: | 8 |
| (a) The future economic vitality of the State of Illinois | 9 |
| depends on continued participation in the growing global | 10 |
| information economy, which in turn depends on access to | 11 |
| universal, competitive, and affordable broadband services in | 12 |
| all areas of the State. | 13 |
| (b) All residents throughout the State need access to | 14 |
| computers and broadband services to equip themselves with the | 15 |
| skills necessary for jobs of the future. | 16 |
| (c) The public safety and security of the State require all |
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| law enforcement, public safety, homeland security, and public | 2 |
| health providers to have access to broadband services to be | 3 |
| able to communicate in an efficient, timely, and secure manner, | 4 |
| especially during emergencies or disasters. | 5 |
| (d) Improved quality of health care throughout the State | 6 |
| depends on access to broadband services to enable medical | 7 |
| providers to implement and interconnect electronic health | 8 |
| records. | 9 |
| (e) Local governmental entities play a key role in | 10 |
| assessing the needs of their communities and assisting with | 11 |
| aggregating demand for broadband services, with particular | 12 |
| emphasis on the needs of end-users requiring access to the | 13 |
| Internet at higher speeds. | 14 |
| (f) Universal, competitive, and affordable broadband | 15 |
| services can be achieved only through cooperation and | 16 |
| collaboration among local governments and public, private, and | 17 |
| non-profit entities. | 18 |
| Section 10. Local broadband projects. | 19 |
| (a) The Broadband Deployment Council (the "Council"), | 20 |
| chaired by the Lieutenant Governor pursuant to Executive Order | 21 |
| 2005-9, shall conduct a survey of municipalities and counties | 22 |
| and may seek the assistance of associations and organizations | 23 |
| serving local governments to conduct the survey. The survey | 24 |
| shall assess interest in creating a local broadband plan to | 25 |
| increase the level of broadband access within the municipality |
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| or county or through a regional or multi-jurisdictional entity. | 2 |
| (b) For local governmental entities responding to the | 3 |
| survey
under subsection (a) of this Section, the Council shall | 4 |
| provide
technical assistance in creating a local broadband | 5 |
| plan, which shall take into consideration local needs and | 6 |
| priorities related to broadband access, technical | 7 |
| specifications and alternatives, public assets, funding | 8 |
| sources, public-private partnership opportunities, community | 9 |
| interest and involvement, and management models. Any local
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| governmental entity undertaking a local broadband planning | 11 |
| process first shall organize a local advisory committee, | 12 |
| including, but not limited to, area representatives of the | 13 |
| public, business, government, public safety, education, health | 14 |
| care, and technology providers. | 15 |
| (c) The Council shall compile a report for the General | 16 |
| Assembly every 2 years beginning on December 1, 2008, on the | 17 |
| status of planning and implementation of local broadband plans, | 18 |
| with any recommendations for State policies, funding, and other | 19 |
| assistance needed. | 20 |
| (d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, any | 21 |
| municipality or county may undertake local broadband projects | 22 |
| and the provision of services in connection therewith, | 23 |
| including the lease of infrastructure that it owns or controls; | 24 |
| aggregate customers or demand for broadband services; apply for | 25 |
| and receive funds or technical assistance to undertake such | 26 |
| projects; and take such steps as it deems necessary to address |
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| the level of broadband access available to its businesses and | 2 |
| residents. | 3 |
| Section 90. The Illinois Century Network Act is amended by | 4 |
| changing Section 10 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 3921/10)
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| Sec. 10. Illinois Century Network. The Illinois Century | 7 |
| Network shall be a
service creating and maintaining
high speed | 8 |
| telecommunications networks that provide reliable | 9 |
| communication
links to and among Illinois schools, | 10 |
| institutions of higher education,
libraries, museums, research | 11 |
| institutions, health care facilities and health care | 12 |
| providers, State agencies, units of local
government, and other | 13 |
| local entities that provide services to Illinois
citizens. The | 14 |
| Illinois Century Network shall build on existing investments in
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| networking schools, colleges, and universities, avoid | 16 |
| duplication of future
efforts, maintain sufficient capacity to | 17 |
| meet the requirements of the
participating institutions, and | 18 |
| stay current with rapid developments in
technology. The | 19 |
| Illinois Century Network shall be capable of delivering
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| state-of-the-art access to education, training, and electronic | 21 |
| information and
shall provide access to networking | 22 |
| technologies for institutions located in
even the most remote | 23 |
| areas of this State.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-21, eff. 7-1-99; 92-691, eff. 7-18-02.)
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| Section 95. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 2 |
| 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, 2007)
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| Sec. 13-301.3. Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure | 6 |
| Program.
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| (a) The Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund is | 8 |
| created as a
special
fund in the State treasury. All moneys in | 9 |
| the Fund shall be used, subject to
appropriation, by the | 10 |
| Commission to fund (i) the construction of facilities
specified | 11 |
| in
Commission rules adopted under this Section and (ii) the | 12 |
| accessible electronic information program, as provided in | 13 |
| Section 20 of the Accessible Electronic Information Act. The | 14 |
| Commission may accept private
and
public funds, including | 15 |
| federal funds, for deposit into the Fund. Earnings
attributable | 16 |
| to
moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.
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| (b) (Blank).
The Commission shall adopt rules under which | 18 |
| it will make grants out of
funds appropriated from the Digital | 19 |
| Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund to
eligible
entities as | 20 |
| specified in the rules for the construction of high-speed data
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| transmission
facilities in eligible areas
of the State. For | 22 |
| purposes of determining whether an area is an eligible
area, | 23 |
| the Commission shall consider, among other things, whether (i) | 24 |
| in such
area, advanced telecommunications services, as defined |
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| in subsection (c) of
Section 13-517 of this Act, are | 2 |
| under-provided to residential or small business
end users, | 3 |
| either directly or indirectly through an Internet Service | 4 |
| Provider,
(ii) such area has a low population density, and | 5 |
| (iii) such area has not yet
developed a competitive market for | 6 |
| advanced services. In addition, if an
entity seeking a grant of | 7 |
| funds from the Digital Divide Elimination
Infrastructure Fund | 8 |
| 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 | 10 |
| such area
pursuant to
Section 13-517 of this Act, the entity | 11 |
| shall demonstrate that it has sought
and obtained an exemption | 12 |
| from such
obligation
pursuant to subsection (b) of Section | 13 |
| 13-517. Any entity seeking a grant of
funds from the Digital | 14 |
| Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund shall demonstrate
to | 15 |
| the Commission that the grant shall be used for the | 16 |
| construction of
high-speed data transmission facilities in an | 17 |
| eligible area and demonstrate
that it satisfies all other | 18 |
| requirements of the Commission's rules. The
Commission shall | 19 |
| determine the information that it deems necessary to award
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| grants pursuant to this Section.
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| (c) (Blank.)
The rules of the Commission shall provide for | 22 |
| the competitive selection
of
recipients of grant funds | 23 |
| available from the Digital Divide Elimination
Infrastructure | 24 |
| Fund
pursuant to the Illinois Procurement Code. Grants shall be | 25 |
| awarded to bidders
chosen
on the basis of the criteria | 26 |
| established in such rules.
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| (d) (Blank.)
All entities awarded grant moneys under this | 2 |
| Section shall maintain all
records required by Commission rule | 3 |
| for the period of time specified in the
rules. Such
records | 4 |
| shall be subject to audit by the Commission, by any auditor | 5 |
| appointed
by the
State, or by any State officer authorized to | 6 |
| conduct audits. | 7 |
| (e) On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
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| 95th General Assembly, the Illinois Commerce Commission shall
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| transfer to the Lieutenant Governor, and the Lieutenant
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| Governor shall receive, all funds possessed by the Commission
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| related to the Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure
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| Program. Nothing in this subsection (e) shall affect the
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| validity of grants issued under this Section before the
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| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General
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| Assembly. | 16 |
| (f) On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 17 |
| 95th General Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor shall be
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| responsible for administration and disbursement of any
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| remaining funds previously administered by the Illinois
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| Commerce Commission for the Digital Divide Elimination
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| Infrastructure Program. The Lieutenant Governor, through the
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| Broadband Deployment Council established under Executive Order
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| 2005-9, shall establish criteria for future grants from the
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| Digital Divide Elimination Infrastructure Fund based on the | 25 |
| purposes set forth in the Universal Access to Broadband | 26 |
| Services Act, and shall
provide for the competitive selection |
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| of recipients of grant
funds available that is similar to the | 2 |
| competitive selections
process under the Illinois Procurement | 3 |
| Code.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01; 93-306, eff. 7-23-03; | 5 |
| 93-797, eff. 7-22-04 .)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 7 |
| becoming law.".
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