HB2580ham001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Jerry F. Costello, II

Filed: 3/23/2015

09900HB2580ham001 LRB099 03909 RJF 32839 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2580

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2580 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Highway Code is amended by changing Sections 6-201.8, 6-301, and 6-306 and by adding Section 6-201.22 as follows:

(605 ILCS 5/6-201.8) (from Ch. 121, par. 6-201.8)

Sec. 6-201.8. Have general charge of the roads of his district, keep the same in repair and to improve them so far as practicable and cooperate and assist in the construction or improvement of such roads with labor furnished, in whole or in part, by the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the State Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human Services Act) or other public assistance authorities; except that a highway commissioner may not permanently close or permanently post at a reduced weight limit any road or portion thereof unless the decision to do so is made in accordance with Section 6-201.22 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)

(605 ILCS 5/6-201.22 new)

Sec. 6-201.22. Road closing or weight restriction; notice and hearing. Whenever the highway commissioner wishes to permanently close or permanently post a road at a reduced weight limit, he or she shall fix a time and place to examine the route of the township or district road, and hear reasons for or against permanently closing or permanently posting a road at a reduced weight limit.

The highway commissioner shall give written notice at least 10 days prior to the time of examination and hearing to the county superintendent of highways. He or she shall also provide notice by publication in at least one newspaper published in the township or district. In the absence of a newspaper published in the township or district, notice by publication shall be provided in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the township or district. In the absence of a generally circulated newspaper in the township or district, notice by publication shall be made by posting notices in 5 of the most public places in the district in the vicinity of the road to be permanently closed or permanently posted at a reduced weight limit.

The highway commissioner may, by written notice to the county superintendent of highways, by public announcement, and by posting notice at the time and place named for the first hearing, adjourn a hearing from time to time, but not for a longer period than 10 days. At the hearing, or the adjourned hearing, the commissioner shall decide and publicly announce whether he or she will permanently close or permanently post a road at a reduced weight limit. The highway commissioner shall issue a signed memorandum explaining the decision to permanently close or permanently post a road at a reduced weight limit, and address any concerns raised at the public hearing. The signed memorandum shall be filed within 5 days after the hearing in the office of the district clerk. The highway commissioner shall also send a copy of the signed memorandum to the county superintendent of highways. Before permanently closing or permanently posting a road at a reduced weight limit, the county superintendent of highways must approve the decision of the highway commissioner by signing the memorandum and filing it in the office of the district clerk.

(605 ILCS 5/6-301) (from Ch. 121, par. 6-301)

Sec. 6-301. All township and district roads established under this Division of this Code shall be not less than 40 feet in width, except as provided in Section 6-327.

Highway commissioners in single township road districts may annually determine that certain roads in the district are vital to the general benefit of the district and designate them all or in part as arterial district roads. The designation must be approved by the county superintendent of highways, after notice and hearing, prior to the commissioners' recording the roads with the county superintendent of highways. No road or portion thereof designated as arterial shall be closed or vacated without written approval of the county despite the road's inclusion in any annexation or incorporation proceedings provided for in the Illinois Municipal Code. No road or portion thereof designated as arterial shall be permanently closed unless the decision to do so is made in accordance with Section 6-201.22 of this Code. This paragraph does not apply to roads in home rule units of government nor the roads included in our annexation proceeding by home rule units of governments.

This Division of this Code shall not apply to proceedings for laying out, widening, altering or vacating streets in municipalities, except as provided in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 86-1229.)

(605 ILCS 5/6-306) (from Ch. 121, par. 6-306)

Sec. 6-306. Following the decision of a highway commissioner In case the highway commissioner denies the prayer of the petition for the laying out, widening, altering or vacation of a township or district road, any 3 landowners in the road district of the petitioners may appeal from such decision to the county superintendent of highways by joining in a notice of such appeal and filing the same in the office of the district clerk within 10 days after the date of the decision appealed from. The clerk shall thereupon transmit the original petition for the laying out, widening, altering or vacation of such township or district road, together with the notice of appeal to the county superintendent of highways. Upon receipt thereof the county superintendent of highways shall thereupon fix a time and place for a public hearing thereof, giving notice thereof and conducting the hearing and rendering his decision thereon in the manner prescribed by Section 6-311 of this Act in the case of the hearing upon such petition by the county superintendent of highways. Upon rendering his decision, the county superintendent of highways shall likewise endorse on such petition a memorandum of his decision, which (if the decision approved the change requested in the petition) shall include his findings that such alteration or vacation of the township or district road will be in the public and economic interest and will not deprive residents or owners of proximate land of reasonable access elsewhere as specified in Section 6-305 of this Act; and shall file the same in the office of the district clerk.

Such decision of the highway commissioner or, upon appeal of such order, of the county superintendent of highways shall be regarded as a preliminary decision upon the advisability of the proposal in the petition and shall be subject to revocation in the manner hereinafter provided, except that such decision of the county superintendent of highways affirming the denial of the petition shall be regarded as a final decision.

(Source: Laws 1963, p. 3216.)

Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 15-316 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/15-316) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 15-316)

Sec. 15-316. When the Department or local authority may restrict right to use highways.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (g), local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may by ordinance or resolution prohibit the operation of vehicles upon any such highway or impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles to be operated upon any such highway, for a total period of not to exceed 90 days in any one calendar year, whenever any said highway by reason of deterioration, rain, snow, or other climate conditions will be seriously damaged or destroyed unless the use of vehicles thereon is prohibited or the permissible weights thereof reduced.

(b) The local authority enacting any such ordinance or resolution shall erect or cause to be erected and maintained signs designating the provision of the ordinance or resolution at each end of that portion of any highway affected thereby, and the ordinance or resolution shall not be effective unless and until such signs are erected and maintained.

(c) Local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may also, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit the operation of trucks or other commercial vehicles, or may impose limitations as the weight thereof, on designated highways, which prohibitions and limitations shall be designated by appropriate signs placed on such highways.

(c-1) (Blank).

(c-5) Highway commissioners, with respect to roads under their authority, may not permanently post a road or portion thereof at a reduced weight limit unless the decision to do so is made in accordance with Section 6-201.22 of the Illinois Highway Code.

(d) The Department shall likewise have authority as hereinbefore granted to local authorities to determine by resolution and to impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles operated upon any highway under the jurisdiction of said department, and such restrictions shall be effective when signs giving notice thereof are erected upon the highway or portion of any highway affected by such resolution.

(d-1) (Blank).

(d-2) (Blank).

(e) When any vehicle is operated in violation of this Section, the owner or driver of the vehicle shall be deemed guilty of a violation and either the owner or the driver of the vehicle may be prosecuted for the violation. Any person, firm, or corporation convicted of violating this Section shall be fined $50 for any weight exceeding the posted limit up to the axle or gross weight limit allowed a vehicle as provided for in subsections (a) or (b) of Section 15-111 and $75 per every 500 pounds or fraction thereof for any weight exceeding that which is provided for in subsections (a) or (b) of Section 15-111.

(f) A municipality is authorized to enforce a county weight limit ordinance applying to county highways within its corporate limits and is entitled to the proceeds of any fines collected from the enforcement.

(g) An ordinance or resolution enacted by a county or township pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall not apply to cargo tank vehicles with two or three permanent axles when delivering propane for emergency heating purposes if the cargo tank is loaded at no more than 50 percent capacity, the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle does not exceed 32,000 pounds, and the driver of the cargo tank vehicle notifies the appropriate agency or agencies with jurisdiction over the highway before driving the vehicle on the highway pursuant to this subsection. The cargo tank vehicle must have an operating gauge on the cargo tank which indicates the amount of propane as a percent of capacity of the cargo tank. The cargo tank must have the capacity displayed on the cargo tank, or documentation of the capacity of the cargo tank must be available in the vehicle. For the purposes of this subsection, propane weighs 4.2 pounds per gallon. This subsection does not apply to municipalities. Nothing in this subsection shall allow cargo tank vehicles to cross bridges with posted weight restrictions if the vehicle exceeds the posted weight limit.

(Source: P.A. 96-1337, eff. 1-1-11.)".