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90_SB0700
220 ILCS 5/13-102 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-102
220 ILCS 5/13-103 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-103
220 ILCS 5/13-203 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-203
220 ILCS 5/13-210 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-210
220 ILCS 5/13-216 new
220 ILCS 5/13-217 new
220 ILCS 5/13-405 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-405
220 ILCS 5/13-502 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-502
220 ILCS 5/13-511 new
220 ILCS 5/13-512 new
220 ILCS 5/13-513 new
220 ILCS 5/13-514 new
220 ILCS 5/13-515 new
220 ILCS 5/13-516 new
220 ILCS 5/13-517 new
220 ILCS 5/13-803 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-803
740 ILCS 10/5 from Ch. 38, par. 60-5
Amends the telecommunications Article of the Public
Utilities Act. Makes legislative findings that changes in
telecommunications regulatory policy have brought benefits to
consumers except those in local exchange markets, which
remain organized as monopolies, and that the public interest
requires a change in the monopoly regulation of local
exchange telecommunications. Provides that for a service to
be classified as competitive, the service or a substitute
service must actually be supplied by more than one provider.
Requires the Illinois Commerce Commission to enforce
interconnection agreements entered into pursuant to the
federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. Establishes
penalties for violations of interconnection agreements.
Amends the Illinois Antitrust Act to remove the exemption
from that Act for telecommunications carriers. Changes the
sunset date for the Telecommunications Article to July 1,
2001 from July 1, 1999. Effective immediately.
LRB9001002JSgcB
LRB9001002JSgcB
1 AN ACT relating to competition in the telecommunications
2 industry amending named Acts.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Sections 13-102, 13-103, 13-203, 13-210, 13-405,
7 13-502, and 13-803 and adding Sections 13-216, 13-217,
8 13-511, 13-512, 13-513, 13-514, 13-515, 13-516, and 13-517 as
9 follows:
10 (220 ILCS 5/13-102) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-102)
11 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
12 Sec. 13-102. Findings. With respect to
13 telecommunications services, as herein defined, the General
14 Assembly finds that:
15 (a) universally available and widely affordable
16 telecommunications services are essential to the health,
17 welfare and prosperity of all Illinois citizens;
18 (b) recent federal regulatory and judicial rulings in
19 the 1980s have caused a restructuring of the
20 telecommunications industry and have opened some aspects of
21 the industry to competitive entry, thereby necessitating
22 revision of State telecommunications regulatory policies and
23 practices;
24 (c) revisions in telecommunications regulatory policies
25 and practices in Illinois beginning in the mid-1980s brought
26 the benefits of competition to consumers in many
27 telecommunications markets, but not in local exchange
28 telecommunications service markets that remained organized as
29 monopolies;
30 (d) the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996
31 established the goal of opening local exchange
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1 telecommunications service markets to competition and accords
2 to the states the new responsibility to determine and enforce
3 policies and actions necessary to attain that goal;
4 (e) it is in the immediate interest of the People of the
5 State of Illinois for the State to exercise its rights within
6 the new framework of federal telecommunications policy to
7 ensure that the economic benefits of competition in local
8 exchange telecommunications service markets are realized as
9 effectively as possible;
10 (f) (c) the competitive offering of local exchange
11 telecommunications services will increase may create the
12 potential for increased innovation and efficiency in the
13 provision of telecommunications services and will lead to
14 reduced prices for consumers, increased investment in
15 communications infrastructure, the creation of new jobs, and
16 the attraction of new businesses; and
17 (g) (d) protection of the public interest requires
18 changes in the continued regulation of telecommunications
19 carriers and services to ensure, to the maximum feasible
20 extent, the reasonable and timely development of effective
21 competition in local exchange telecommunications service
22 markets for the foreseeable future.
23 (Source: P.A. 84-1063.)
24 (220 ILCS 5/13-103) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-103)
25 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
26 Sec. 13-103. Policy. Consistent with its findings, the
27 General Assembly declares that it is the policy of the State
28 of Illinois that:
29 (a) telecommunications services offered in competitive
30 markets should be available to all Illinois citizens at just,
31 reasonable and affordable rates and that such services should
32 be provided as widely and economically as possible in
33 sufficient variety, quality, quantity and reliability to
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1 satisfy the public interest;
2 (b) when consistent with the protection of consumers of
3 telecommunications services and the furtherance of other
4 public interest goals, competition in local exchange
5 telecommunications should be pursued permitted to function as
6 a substitute for certain aspects of regulation in determining
7 the variety, quality and price of telecommunications services
8 and that the economic burdens of regulation should be reduced
9 to the extent possible consistent with the furtherance of
10 market competition and protection of the public interest;
11 (c) all necessary and appropriate modifications to State
12 regulation of telecommunications carriers and services should
13 be implemented without unnecessary disruption to the
14 telecommunications system or to consumers of
15 telecommunications services and that it is necessary and
16 appropriate to establish rules to encourage and ensure a
17 reasonable period of time to permit preparation for orderly
18 transitions in the development provision of markets for local
19 exchange telecommunications services;
20 (d) the consumers of telecommunications services and
21 facilities provided by persons or companies subject to
22 regulation pursuant to this Act and Article should be
23 required to pay only reasonable and non-discriminatory rates
24 or charges and that in no case should rates or charges for
25 non-competitive telecommunications services include any
26 portion of the cost of providing competitive
27 telecommunications services, as defined in Section 13-209, or
28 the cost of any nonregulated activities;
29 (e) the regulatory policies and procedures provided in
30 this Article are established in recognition of the changing
31 nature of the telecommunications industry and therefore
32 should be subject to systematic legislative review to ensure
33 that the public benefits intended to result from such
34 policies and procedures are fully realized; and
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1 (f) development of and prudent investment in advanced
2 telecommunications services and networks that foster economic
3 development of the State should be encouraged through the
4 implementation and enforcement of policies that promote
5 effective and sustained competition in local exchange
6 telecommunications service markets.
7 (Source: P.A. 87-856.)
8 (220 ILCS 5/13-203) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-203)
9 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
10 Sec. 13-203. Telecommunications service.
11 "Telecommunications service" means the provision or offering
12 for rent, sale or lease, or in exchange for other value
13 received, of the transmittal of information, by means of
14 electromagnetic, including light, transmission with or
15 without benefit of any closed transmission medium, including
16 all instrumentalities, facilities, apparatus, and services
17 (including the collection, storage, forwarding, switching,
18 and delivery of such information) used to provide such
19 transmission and also includes access and interconnection
20 arrangements and services.
21 "Telecommunications service" does not include, however:
22 (a) the rent, sale, or lease, or exchange for other
23 value received, of customer premises equipment except for
24 customer premises equipment owned or provided by a
25 telecommunications carrier and used for answering 911
26 calls, and except for customer premises equipment
27 provided under Section 13-703;
28 (b) telephone or telecommunications answering
29 services, paging services, and physical pickup and
30 delivery incidental to the provision of information
31 transmitted through electromagnetic, including light,
32 transmission;
33 (c) community antenna television service which is
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1 operated to perform for hire the service of receiving and
2 distributing video and audio program signals by wire,
3 cable or other means to members of the public who
4 subscribe to such service, to the extent that such
5 service is utilized solely for the one-way distribution
6 of such entertainment services with no more than
7 incidental subscriber interaction required for the
8 selection of such entertainment service.
9 The Commission may, by rulemaking, exclude (1) private
10 line service which is not directly or indirectly used for the
11 origination or termination of switched telecommunications
12 service, (2) cellular radio service, (3) high-speed
13 point-to-point data transmission at or above 9.6 kilobits, or
14 (4) the provision of telecommunications service by a company
15 or person otherwise subject to Section 13-202 (c) to a
16 telecommunications carrier, which is incidental to the
17 provision of service subject to Section 13-202 (c), from
18 active regulatory oversight to the extent it finds, after
19 notice, hearing and comment that such exclusion is consistent
20 with the public interest and the purposes and policies of
21 this Article. To the extent that the Commission has excluded
22 cellular radio service from active regulatory oversight for
23 any provider of cellular radio service in this State pursuant
24 to this Section, the Commission shall exclude all other
25 providers of cellular radio service in the State from active
26 regulatory oversight without an additional rulemaking
27 proceeding where there are 2 or more certified providers of
28 cellular radio service in a geographic area.
29 (Source: P.A. 87-856.)
30 (220 ILCS 5/13-210) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-210)
31 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
32 Sec. 13-210. "Noncompetitive Telecommunications Service"
33 means a telecommunications service other than a competitive
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1 service as defined in Section 13-209 and includes all access
2 and interconnection arrangements and services required to be
3 provided to telecommunications carriers pursuant to Section
4 251(c) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, except as
5 provided in subsection (f) of Section 13-502 of this Article.
6 (Source: P.A. 84-1063.)
7 (220 ILCS 5/13-216 new)
8 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
9 Sec. 13-216. Access and interconnection arrangements and
10 services. "Access and interconnection arrangements and
11 services" shall include, but are not necessarily limited to,
12 the provision of: interconnection with the local exchange
13 carrier's network for the transmission and routing of
14 telephone exchange service and exchange access at any
15 technically feasible point; nondiscriminatory access, at any
16 technically feasible point, to unbundled network elements,
17 including local loop facilities, network interconnection
18 devices, unbundled switching capability, interoffice
19 transmission facilities, signaling links and call-related
20 databases, operations support systems functions, and
21 unbundled operator services and directory assistance services
22 or any combination of unbundled network elements, including
23 the complete combination of network elements to provide
24 end-to-end telecommunications services; any
25 telecommunications service that the carrier provides to a
26 customer or customers who are not telecommunications carriers
27 at a wholesale rate for the purpose of resale; and facilities
28 necessary for the physical collocation of equipment necessary
29 for interconnection or access to unbundled network elements
30 at the premises of the carrier.
31 (220 ILCS 5/13-217 new)
32 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
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1 Sec. 13-217. Telecommunications Act of 1996.
2 "Telecommunications Act of 1996" means Pub. L. No. 104-104,
3 Section 101(a), 110 Stat. 70, which amended the federal
4 Communications Act of 1934.
5 (220 ILCS 5/13-405) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-405)
6 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
7 Sec. 13-405. Local exchange service authority; approval.
8 The Commission shall approve an application for a Certificate
9 of Exchange Service Authority only upon a showing by the
10 applicant, and a finding by the Commission, after notice and
11 hearing, that: (a) the applicant possesses sufficient
12 technical, financial, and managerial resources and abilities
13 to provide local exchange telecommunications service.; and
14 (b) that the exercise of the Certificate's
15 authority by the applicant would not adversely affect
16 prices, network design, or the financial viability of the
17 principal provider of local exchange telecommunications
18 service.
19 The Commission shall not approve or issue a Certificate
20 of Exchange Service Authority to more than one
21 telecommunications carrier for any exchange prior to January
22 1, 1989; provided, however, that a Certificate of Exchange
23 Service Authority may be issued before such time, subject to
24 appropriate Commission approval, pursuant to this Section, to
25 any telecommunications carrier providing predominantly direct
26 nonswitched access service between a customer or user and any
27 telecommunications carrier providing inter-MSA, inter-LATA or
28 inter-state telecommunications service, or between such
29 telecommunications carriers, for the purpose of providing
30 such direct access service.
31 (Source: P.A. 84-1063.)
32 (220 ILCS 5/13-502) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-502)
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1 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
2 Sec. 13-502. Classification of services.
3 (a) All telecommunications services offered or provided
4 under tariff by telecommunications carriers shall be
5 classified as either competitive or noncompetitive. A
6 telecommunications carrier may offer or provide either
7 competitive or noncompetitive telecommunications services, or
8 both, subject to proper certification and other applicable
9 provisions of this Article. Any tariff filed with the
10 Commission as required by Section 13-501 shall indicate
11 whether the service to be offered or provided is competitive
12 or noncompetitive.
13 (b) A service shall be classified as competitive only
14 if, and only to the extent that, for some identifiable class
15 or group of customers in an exchange, group of exchanges, or
16 some other clearly defined geographical area, such service,
17 or its functional equivalent, or a substitute service, is
18 actually and demonstrably being supplied to those customers
19 by reasonably available from more than one unaffiliated
20 provider, whether or not any such provider is a
21 telecommunications carrier subject to regulation under this
22 Act. All telecommunications services not properly classified
23 as competitive shall be classified as noncompetitive;
24 provided that all telecommunications services offered by a
25 local exchange telecommunications carrier certificated after
26 January 1, 1989, and not affiliated with a local exchange
27 telecommunications carrier certificated before January 1,
28 1989, shall be classified as competitive. No tariff
29 classifying a new telecommunications service as competitive
30 or reclassifying a previously noncompetitive
31 telecommunications service as competitive, which is filed by
32 a telecommunications carrier which also offers or provides
33 noncompetitive telecommunications service, shall be effective
34 unless and until the telecommunications carrier offering or
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1 providing, or seeking to offer or provide, the proposed
2 competitive service prepares and files a study describing the
3 market for the service, including evidence of the manner and
4 extent to which the service is being supplied by more than
5 one provider, together with such other evidence as the
6 Commission may require. The Commission shall have the power
7 to investigate the propriety of any classification of a
8 telecommunications service on its own motion and shall
9 investigate upon complaint. After notice and hearing, the
10 Commission shall order the proper classification of any
11 service in whole or in part. The Commission shall make its
12 determination and issue its final order no later than 180
13 days from the date such hearing or investigation is
14 initiated. If the Commission enters into a hearing upon
15 complaint and if the Commission fails to issue an order
16 within that period, the complaint shall be deemed granted
17 unless the Commission, the complainant, and the
18 telecommunications carrier providing the service agree to
19 extend the time period.
20 (c) No tariff classifying a new telecommunications
21 service as competitive or reclassifying a previously
22 noncompetitive telecommunications service as competitive,
23 which is filed by a telecommunications carrier which also
24 offers or provides noncompetitive telecommunications service,
25 shall be effective unless and until such telecommunications
26 carrier offering or providing, or seeking to offer or
27 provide, such proposed competitive service prepares and files
28 a study of the long-run service incremental cost underlying
29 such service and demonstrates that the tariffed rates and
30 charges for the service and any relevant group of services
31 that includes the proposed competitive service and for which
32 resources are used in common solely by that group of services
33 are not less than the long-run service incremental cost of
34 providing the service and each relevant group of services.
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1 Such study shall be given proprietary treatment by the
2 Commission at the request of such carrier if any other
3 provider of the competitive service, its functional
4 equivalent, or a substitute service in the geographical area
5 described by the proposed tariff has not filed, or has not
6 been required to file, such a study.
7 (d) In the event any telecommunications service has been
8 classified and filed as competitive by the telecommunications
9 carrier, and has been offered or provided on such basis, and
10 the Commission subsequently determines after investigation
11 that such classification improperly included services which
12 were in fact noncompetitive, the Commission shall have the
13 power to determine and order refunds to customers for any
14 overcharges which may have resulted from the improper
15 classification, or to order such other remedies provided to
16 it under this Act, or to seek an appropriate remedy or relief
17 in a court of competent jurisdiction.
18 (e) Any telecommunications carrier which seeks to file a
19 tariff classifying a new telecommunications service as
20 competitive or reclassifying a previously noncompetitive
21 telecommunications service as competitive may, instead of
22 filing such new tariff and offering and providing such
23 service as competitive subject to refund, apply to the
24 Commission, prior to offering or providing such service as
25 competitive, for an order finding that the proposed tariff is
26 proper and consistent with law. Any telecommunications
27 carrier applying for Commission approval pursuant to this
28 paragraph (e) shall provide timely and effective notice of
29 its application and proposed tariff to potentially affected
30 providers and customers in a manner to be determined by the
31 Commission.
32 Upon such application and notice, the Commission may make
33 its findings without hearing within 21 days of the filing of
34 the application and may allow such tariff to take immediate
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1 effect thereafter if there is no request for hearing by
2 potentially affected providers or customers. The Commission
3 shall, however, enter into hearings to determine the
4 propriety and legality of the proposed tariffs upon such
5 request or if the Commission, in its discretion, believes
6 such hearings are necessary.
7 If the Commission enters into hearings upon the
8 application, it shall issue a final order within 180 days of
9 such application, and, if the Commission fails to issue an
10 order within such period, the application shall be deemed
11 granted, unless, however, the Commission, the applicant and
12 all parties to the hearing agree to extend such time period.
13 The Commission shall have the power to issue an interim order
14 allowing the proposed tariff to take effect during the 180
15 day period subject to refund and such other conditions as the
16 Commission may provide.
17 (f) A telecommunications carrier that provides access
18 and interconnection arrangements and services to other
19 telecommunications carriers pursuant to Section 251(c) of the
20 Telecommunications Act of 1996 may petition the Commission to
21 classify the access and interconnection arrangements and
22 services, in whole or in part, as competitive
23 telecommunication services. Access and interconnection
24 arrangements and services required to be provided to
25 telecommunications carriers pursuant to Section 251(c) of the
26 Telecommunications Act of 1996 may be classified as
27 competitive telecommunications services only if, and only to
28 the extent that, after notice and hearing, the petitioning
29 carrier demonstrates and the Commission determines that, for
30 some identifiable class or group of customers in an exchange,
31 group of exchanges, or some other clearly defined
32 geographical area, the access or interconnection arrangement
33 or service is actually and demonstrably being supplied to
34 those consumers by more than one unaffiliated provider and
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1 that effective competition exists in the relevant market.
2 (Source: P.A. 87-856.)
3 (220 ILCS 5/13-511 new)
4 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
5 Sec. 13-511. Penalty for violation. Notwithstanding any
6 other provision of this Article or Act, a telecommunications
7 carrier that knowingly violates or fails to comply with any
8 provision of this Article or any rule or order issued
9 pursuant to this Article related to the provision of
10 noncompetitive services, shall be subject to penalties,
11 fines, and damages as provided in Section 5-201, 5-202, and
12 5-203, except that the amount of any fine shall be determined
13 by the Commission and shall be no less than 0.1% of the
14 carrier's annual intrastate revenues. Each day of a
15 continuing offense shall be treated as a separate violation
16 for the purpose of levying a fine or penalty under this
17 Section. The period for which the fine or penalty shall be
18 levied shall commence on the day that the Commission finds a
19 knowing violation first to have occurred and shall continue
20 until the violation is corrected.
21 (220 ILCS 5/13-512 new)
22 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
23 Sec. 13-512. Rules; review. The Commission shall have
24 general rulemaking authority to make rules necessary to
25 enforce this Article. However, not later than 270 days after
26 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, and every
27 2 years thereafter, the Commission shall review all rules
28 issued under this Article that apply to the operations or
29 activities of any telecommunications carrier. The Commission
30 shall, after notice and hearing, repeal or modify any rule it
31 determines to be no longer necessary in the public interest
32 as the result of effective competition between providers of
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1 telecommunications services.
2 (220 ILCS 5/13-513 new)
3 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
4 Sec. 13-513. Waiver of rules. A telecommunications
5 carrier may petition for waiver of the application of a rule
6 issued pursuant to this Act. The burden of proof in
7 establishing the right to a waiver shall be upon the
8 petitioner. The petition shall include a demonstration that
9 the waiver would not harm consumers and would not impede the
10 development or operation of a competitive market. Upon such
11 demonstration, the Commission may waive the application of a
12 rule, but not the application of a provision of this Act. The
13 Commission may conduct an investigation of the petition on
14 its own motion or at the request of a potentially affected
15 person. If no investigation is conducted, the waiver shall
16 be deemed granted 30 days after the petition is filed.
17 (220 ILCS 5/13-514 new)
18 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
19 Sec. 13-514. Enforcement of access and interconnection
20 agreements.
21 (a) The Commission shall provide a timely and effective
22 means of enforcing the access and interconnection agreements
23 entered into pursuant to Section 252 of the federal
24 Telecommunications Act of 1996.
25 (b) As used in this Section:
26 "Party" or "Parties", unless specifically set forth
27 otherwise, means signatories to an access and
28 interconnection agreement that is the subject of a complaint
29 brought pursuant to this Act.
30 "Incumbent LEC" has the same meaning as that found in 47
31 U.S.C., Section 251 (h) of the Telecommunications Act of
32 1996, except that it shall include any affiliates of an
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1 incumbent LEC that are telecommunications carriers.
2 (c) The Commission is authorized to approve and shall
3 enforce access and interconnection agreements negotiated or
4 arbitrated pursuant to 47 U.S.C., Section 252(e)(1), as if
5 these agreements were approved under Illinois law. These
6 agreements shall comply with the procedures and practices of
7 this Act.
8 (d)(1) Unless the Commission and the parties otherwise
9 mutually agree, the Commission shall use the procedures set
10 forth in this subsection for the review of complaints
11 concerning access and interconnection agreements.
12 (A) The complaint shall be filed with the Chief
13 Clerk of the Commission and shall be served upon the
14 respondent, the Executive Director, and the General
15 Counsel of the Commission at the time of filing.
16 (B) Discovery may commence upon the filing of the
17 complaint and responses to discovery must be provided to
18 the requestor within 7 days after a request is made.
19 (C) An answer and any other responsive pleading to
20 the complaint shall be filed with the Commission and
21 served in hand at the same time upon the complainant,
22 the Executive Director, and the General Counsel of the
23 Commission within 7 days after the date on which the
24 complaint is filed.
25 (D) A prehearing conference shall be held within
26 10 calendar days after the date on which the complaint
27 is filed.
28 (E) A determination as to reasonable grounds for
29 the complaint and, if appropriate, a directive for legal
30 notice of a hearing shall be made within 15 calendar days
31 after the date on which the complaint is filed, together
32 with a determination of whether provisional relief under
33 Section 13-516 shall lie.
34 (F) The hearing shall commence within 30 days of
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1 the date on which the complaint is filed. The hearing
2 may be conducted by a Hearing Examiner or by an
3 arbitrator. Parties and the Commission staff shall be
4 entitled to present evidence and legal argument in oral
5 or written form as deemed appropriate by the presiding
6 official. A written decision including reasons for the
7 disposition of the complaint shall be filed with the
8 Commission within 50 days after the date on which the
9 complaint is filed, and the Commission shall issue an
10 order within 70 days after the date on which the
11 complaint is filed.
12 (G) If the Commission determines that there is a
13 threat to competition or to the public interest, the
14 Commission may seek temporary, preliminary, or permanent
15 injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction
16 either prior to or after the hearing.
17 (H) The Commission is authorized to obtain outside
18 resources, including, but not limited to, arbitrators
19 and consultants, for the purposes of conducting the
20 hearings authorized by this Act. Any arbitrator or
21 consultant obtained by the Commission shall be approved
22 by both parties to the hearing.
23 (2) A party shall not bring or defend a proceeding
24 brought under this Section, or assert or controvert an issue
25 therein, unless there is a non-frivolous basis for doing so.
26 By presenting a pleading, written motion, or other paper in
27 complaint or defense of the actions or inaction of a party
28 under this Section a party is certifying to the Commission
29 that to the best of that party's knowledge, information, and
30 belief, formed after a reasonable inquiry of the subject
31 matter of the complaint or defense, that the complaint or
32 defense is well grounded in law and fact, and under the
33 circumstances:
34 (A) it is not being presented to harass the other
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1 party, cause unnecessary delay in the implementation of
2 the interconnection agreement, or create needless
3 increase in the cost of litigation and;
4 (B) the allegations and the other factual
5 contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically
6 so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support
7 after reasonable opportunity for further investigation
8 or discovery.
9 (3) A claim under this Section that a party is in
10 violation of item (2) of this subsection shall not effectuate
11 a stay of the underlying proceeding. Following the
12 completion of the underlying proceeding, the Commission
13 shall initiate an investigation of the claim brought
14 pursuant to this Section that a party is in violation of
15 item (2) of this subsection and determine whether the
16 underlying complaint was brought in violation of this
17 Section.
18 (4) If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to
19 respond, the Commission determines that item (2) of
20 subsection (d) has been violated, the Commission shall
21 impose appropriate sanctions upon the party or parties that
22 have violated item (2) of subsection (d) or are responsible
23 for the violation. The sanctions shall be not less than
24 $100,000, plus the amount of expenses accrued by the
25 Commission for conducting the hearing, plus the cost of the
26 prevailing party not in violation of item (2) of subsection
27 (d).
28 (e) An appeal of a Commission Order made pursuant to
29 this Section shall not effectuate a stay of the access and
30 interconnection agreement or the effectiveness of the Order
31 unless a court of competent jurisdiction specifically finds
32 that the party seeking the stay will likely succeed on the
33 merits, that the party will suffer irreparable harm without
34 the stay, and that the stay is in the public interest.
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1 (220 ILCS 5/13-515 new)
2 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
3 Sec. 13-515. Penalties for violation of an access and
4 interconnection agreement.
5 (a) Notwithstanding any other penalty, fine, or other
6 enforcement remedy provided for in an access and
7 interconnection agreement or otherwise available at law or
8 equity, failure by a telecommunications carrier to comply
9 with a term of an access and interconnection agreement
10 approved by the Commission is punishable by a civil penalty
11 of no less than 1% of the party's annual intrastate revenues
12 per offense. Each day of a continuing offense may be
13 treated as a separate violation for purposes of levying any
14 penalty under this Section. The period for which the fine
15 shall be levied shall commence on the day that the
16 Commission finds a knowing violation first to have occurred
17 and shall continue until the violation is corrected.
18 (b) An incumbent LEC that knowingly and without
19 reasonable cause fails to implement an access and
20 interconnection agreement or to comply with the requirements
21 of an access and interconnection agreement after
22 implementation, with the effect of hindering competition and
23 competitors, may be fined up to $500,000,000 by the
24 Commission.
25 (c) In addition to any penalties imposed under this Act
26 or otherwise, if at any time after the approval of an
27 interconnection agreement, the Commission determines that a
28 party to the agreement has breached or has failed to comply,
29 conform, or adhere to any of the terms of the agreement, the
30 Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing,
31 issue an order setting forth the specific actions required
32 to be taken by the carrier to correct the breach or
33 deficiency. If the carrier found not to meet one or more of
34 the obligations or conditions of the access and
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1 interconnection agreement is an incumbent LEC that is
2 authorized, due in part to implementation of the obligation
3 or condition, to provide interLATA services, the Commission
4 shall petition the Federal Communications Commission to
5 suspend or revoke that authorization.
6 (d) Any person who is injured in its business or
7 property by reason of a violation found under this Section
8 may bring a civil action in a court of competent
9 jurisdiction. The court may award under this Section,
10 actual damages for a violation under this Section, plus
11 interest on the damages from the date of the violation. In
12 addition to actual damages, the court may impose punitive
13 damages where a finding of willful violation is made.
14 (220 ILCS 5/13-516 new)
15 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
16 Sec. 13-516. Access and interconnection agreement
17 violation; relief.
18 (a) In the event any action or inaction by a party to an
19 access and interconnection agreement has a substantial
20 adverse effect on the ability of the other party to provide
21 service to customers, the Commission may require the
22 responding party to act or refrain from acting so as to
23 protect service to customers pending a final resolution of
24 the complaint. Provisional relief may be granted, without
25 an evidentiary hearing, upon a verified factual showing
26 that the party seeking relief will likely succeed on the
27 merits, that the party will suffer irreparable harm in its
28 ability to serve customers if provisional relief is not
29 granted, and that the relief is in the public interest.
30 (b) No civil penalty, damages or interest assessed
31 against a telecommunications carrier as a result of a
32 violation referred to in this Act may be charged directly or
33 indirectly to its customers. A party assessed a penalty
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1 pursuant to this Act shall set forth the penalty as part of
2 its annual report to its shareholders.
3 (c) The Commission shall assess the parties for the
4 Commission's costs of investigation and conduct of the
5 proceedings, dividing the costs according to the resolution
6 of the complaint brought under this Act. All such
7 assessments shall be paid within 60 days after receiving
8 notice of the assessments from the Commission, and interest
9 at the statutory rate shall accrue thereafter. The
10 Commission is authorized to apply to Circuit Court for an
11 order requiring payment.
12 (220 ILCS 5/13-517 new)
13 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
14 Sec. 13-517. Retention of authority. Notwithstanding any
15 other provision of this Act, the Commission shall retain all
16 existing authority to supervise the activities of
17 telecommunications carriers, and is authorized to supervise
18 the provision of interconnection, services and network
19 elements by incumbent LECs to other carriers.
20 (220 ILCS 5/13-803) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-803)
21 (This Section is scheduled to be repealed July 1, 1999.)
22 Sec. 13-803. Repealer. The provisions of this Article
23 XIII are repealed effective July 1, 2001 1999.
24 (Source: P.A. 86-1475; 87-821; 87-856.)
25 Section 95. The Illinois Antitrust Act is amended by
26 changing Section 5 as follows:
27 (740 ILCS 10/5) (from Ch. 38, par. 60-5)
28 Sec. 5. No provisions of this Act shall be construed to
29 make illegal:
30 (1) the activities of any labor organization or of
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1 individual members thereof which are directed solely to labor
2 objectives which are legitimate under the laws of either the
3 State of Illinois or the United States;
4 (2) the activities of any agricultural or horticultural
5 cooperative organization, whether incorporated or
6 unincorporated, or of individual members thereof, which are
7 directed solely to objectives of such cooperative
8 organizations which are legitimate under the laws of either
9 the State of Illinois or the United States;
10 (3) the activities of any public utility or
11 telecommunications carrier, as defined in Section Sections
12 3-105 and 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, to the extent
13 that such activities are subject to the jurisdiction of the
14 Illinois Commerce Commission, or to the activities of
15 telephone mutual concerns referred to in Section 13-202 of
16 the Public Utilities Act to the extent such activities relate
17 to the providing and maintenance of telephone service to
18 owners and customers;
19 (4) the activities (including, but not limited to, the
20 making of or participating in joint underwriting or joint
21 reinsurance arrangement) of any insurer, insurance agent,
22 insurance broker, independent insurance adjuster or rating
23 organization to the extent that such activities are subject
24 to regulation by the Director of Insurance of this State
25 under, or are permitted or are authorized by, the Insurance
26 Code or any other law of this State;
27 (5) the religious and charitable activities of any
28 not-for-profit corporation, trust or organization established
29 exclusively for religious or charitable purposes, or for both
30 purposes;
31 (6) the activities of any not-for-profit corporation
32 organized to provide telephone service on a mutual or
33 co-operative basis or electrification on a co-operative
34 basis, to the extent such activities relate to the marketing
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1 and distribution of telephone or electrical service to owners
2 and customers;
3 (7) the activities engaged in by securities dealers who
4 are (i) licensed by the State of Illinois or (ii) members of
5 the National Association of Securities Dealers or (iii)
6 members of any National Securities Exchange registered with
7 the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities
8 Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in the course of their
9 business of offering, selling, buying and selling, or
10 otherwise trading in or underwriting securities, as agent,
11 broker, or principal, and activities of any National
12 Securities Exchange so registered, including the
13 establishment of commission rates and schedules of charges;
14 (8) the activities of any board of trade designated as a
15 "contract market" by the Secretary of Agriculture of the
16 United States pursuant to Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange
17 Act, as amended;
18 (9) the activities of any motor carrier, rail carrier,
19 or common carrier by pipeline, as defined in The Illinois
20 Commercial Transportation Law of The Illinois Vehicle Code,
21 as amended, to the extent that such activities are permitted
22 or authorized by the Act or are subject to regulation by the
23 Illinois Commerce Commission;
24 (10) the activities of any state or national bank to the
25 extent that such activities are regulated or supervised by
26 officers of the state or federal government under the banking
27 laws of this State or the United States;
28 (11) the activities of any state or federal savings and
29 loan association to the extent that such activities are
30 regulated or supervised by officers of the state or federal
31 government under the savings and loan laws of this State or
32 the United States;
33 (12) the activities of any bona fide not-for-profit
34 association, society or board, of attorneys, practitioners of
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1 medicine, architects, engineers, land surveyors or real
2 estate brokers licensed and regulated by an agency of the
3 State of Illinois, in recommending schedules of suggested
4 fees, rates or commissions for use solely as guidelines in
5 determining charges for professional and technical services;
6 (13) Conduct involving trade or commerce (other than
7 import trade or import commerce) with foreign nations unless:
8 (a) such conduct has a direct, substantial, and
9 reasonably foreseeable effect:
10 (i) on trade or commerce which is not trade or commerce
11 with foreign nations, or on import trade or import commerce
12 with foreign nations; or
13 (ii) on export trade or export commerce with foreign
14 nations of a person engaged in such trade or commerce in the
15 United States; and
16 (b) such effect gives rise to a claim under the
17 provisions of this Act, other than this subsection (13).
18 (c) If this Act applies to conduct referred to in this
19 subsection (13) only because of the provisions of paragraph
20 (a)(ii), then this Act shall apply to such conduct only for
21 injury to export business in the United States which affects
22 this State; or
23 (14) the activities of a unit of local government or
24 school district and the activities of the employees, agents
25 and officers of a unit of local government or school
26 district.
27 (Source: P.A. 85-553.)
28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
29 becoming law.