Public Act 103-0483
 
SB0851 EnrolledLRB103 03309 RPS 48315 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Broadband Advisory Council Act is amended
by changing Section 20 and by adding Section 30 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 80/20)
    Sec. 20. Powers and duties of the Council generally.
    (a) The Council shall:
        (1) explore any and all ways to expand the
    availability to end-user customers of broadband services
    using available technologies, including, but not limited
    to, wireline, wireless, fixed wireless, and satellite
    applications;
        (2) identify barriers to broadband adoption among the
    residents and small businesses of Illinois;
        (3) research ways to eliminate barriers to adoption
    through measures such as: digital literacy programs;
    programs to assist older citizens in using broadband
    Internet access; programs to facilitate adoption by
    disabled citizens; and programs to encourage collaborative
    efforts among public universities, community colleges,
    libraries, public housing, and other institutions;
        (4) assess the availability of broadband for
    low-income households compared to the availability of
    broadband for other households;
        (5) explore the potential for increased use of
    broadband service for the purposes of education, career
    readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career
    training;
        (6) explore the potential for increased use of
    broadband services to facilitate aging in place;
        (7) explore ways for encouraging State and municipal
    agencies, including public housing authorities, to expand
    the use of broadband services for the purpose of better
    serving the public, including audio and video streaming,
    voice-over Internet protocol, teleconferencing, and
    wireless networking;
        (8) cooperate and assist in the expansion of
    electronic instruction and distance education services;
    and
        (9) as the Federal Communications Commission updates
    the benchmark downstream data rates and upstream data
    rates, publish the revised data rates in the Illinois
    Register within 60 days after the federal update; and .
        (10) evaluate the expansion of the Illinois Century
    Network to Illinois public schools, public libraries, and
    State-owned correctional institutions or facilities,
    including issuing recommendations for increasing agency
    staffing, infrastructure development, price modeling, and
    providing download speeds of at least one gigabyte per
    second and upload speeds of at least one gigabyte per
    second.
    (b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
Act, the Council is hereby granted the powers necessary to
carry out the purpose and intent of this Act, as enumerated in
this Section, including, but not limited to:
        (1) promoting awareness of public facilities that have
    community broadband access that can be used for distance
    education and workforce development; and
        (2) advising on deployment of e-government portals
    such that all public bodies and political subdivisions
    have websites and encourage one-stop government access and
    that all public entities stream audio and video of all
    public meetings.
    (c) The Council shall also:
        (1) monitor the broadband-based development efforts of
    other states in areas such as business, education, aging
    in place, and health;
        (2)receive input provided on a voluntary basis from
    all Illinois broadband stakeholders and advise the
    Governor and the General Assembly on policies related to
    broadband in Illinois, provided that no stakeholders shall
    be required to publicly disclose competitively sensitive
    information or information that could compromise network
    security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network
    management practices, and that any such information
    voluntarily disclosed shall be protected from public
    disclosure; and
        (3) serve as the broadband advocate to State agencies
    and other State entities to communicate the broadband
    needs of citizens and organizations that do not have
    access to broadband service or to broadband service
    adequate for their needs.
    (d) The Council shall exercise its powers and authority to
(1) advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly
and the Governor on bringing broadband service to unserved and
underserved rural and urban areas and improving broadband
service statewide, (2) advise and make recommendations to the
General Assembly and the Governor on facilitating broadband
adoption by all citizens, and (3) propose statutory changes
that may enhance and expand broadband in the State.
    (e) The Council shall report to the General Assembly on or
before January 1 of each year. The report to the General
Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
direct. The report shall include the action that was taken by
the Council during the previous year in carrying out the
provisions of this Act. The Council shall also make any other
reports as may be required by the General Assembly or the
Governor.
(Source: P.A. 100-833, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
    (220 ILCS 80/30 new)
    Sec. 30. Illinois Century Network Study.
    (a) The Council shall study the feasibility of connecting
all Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
correctional facilities to the Illinois Century Network by
January 1, 2030. The purpose and scope of the study is limited
to connecting all public schools, public libraries, and
State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois Century
Network, with a goal to give all public schools, public
libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or
facilities access to reliable, gigabit-level broadband service
by January 1, 2030. The Office of Broadband within the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall support
and assist the Council in the development of the study.
    (b) The feasibility study required under subsection (a)
shall explore:
        (1) efforts among other states and units of local
    government to connect public schools, public libraries,
    and correctional facilities to a public broadband service;
        (2) the current state of broadband service connection
    for all public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
    correctional facilities, including connection speeds, type
    of technology, and whether the network is serviced by the
    Illinois Century Network currently;
        (3) models for expanding the Illinois Century Network
    solely for the purpose of connecting all Illinois public
    schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional
    facilities;
        (4) the resources necessary to expand the Illinois
    Century Network across the State of Illinois to all
    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
    correctional facilities;
        (5) the benefits of the Illinois Century Network in
    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
    correctional facilities;
        (6) potential sources of funding for the expansion of
    the Illinois Century Network to Illinois public schools,
    public libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities;
        (7) additional staff and contracting needs that would
    be necessary to expand the Illinois Century Network to all
    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
    correctional facilities;
        (8) options for partnering with units of local
    government in Illinois that have taken steps toward
    offering public broadband service for the purpose of
    connecting all Illinois public schools, public libraries,
    and State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois
    Century Network; and
        (9) any other factors that are necessary for the
    exploration of the feasibility of expanding the Illinois
    Century Network to all Illinois public schools, public
    libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities.
    The feasibility study shall offer recommendations based on
the results of the study and shall offer options for the
expansion of the Illinois Century Network, including a
timeline, staffing needs, financial resources needed, and
suggested rates for broadband service.
    (c) The Council shall issue a report on its findings,
recommendations, options for expansion, and any recommended
legislation to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/4/2023