SB0851 EngrossedLRB103 03309 RPS 48315 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Broadband Advisory Council Act is amended
5by changing Section 20 and by adding Section 30 as follows:
 
6    (220 ILCS 80/20)
7    Sec. 20. Powers and duties of the Council generally.
8    (a) The Council shall:
9        (1) explore any and all ways to expand the
10    availability to end-user customers of broadband services
11    using available technologies, including, but not limited
12    to, wireline, wireless, fixed wireless, and satellite
13    applications;
14        (2) identify barriers to broadband adoption among the
15    residents and small businesses of Illinois;
16        (3) research ways to eliminate barriers to adoption
17    through measures such as: digital literacy programs;
18    programs to assist older citizens in using broadband
19    Internet access; programs to facilitate adoption by
20    disabled citizens; and programs to encourage collaborative
21    efforts among public universities, community colleges,
22    libraries, public housing, and other institutions;
23        (4) assess the availability of broadband for

 

 

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1    low-income households compared to the availability of
2    broadband for other households;
3        (5) explore the potential for increased use of
4    broadband service for the purposes of education, career
5    readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career
6    training;
7        (6) explore the potential for increased use of
8    broadband services to facilitate aging in place;
9        (7) explore ways for encouraging State and municipal
10    agencies, including public housing authorities, to expand
11    the use of broadband services for the purpose of better
12    serving the public, including audio and video streaming,
13    voice-over Internet protocol, teleconferencing, and
14    wireless networking;
15        (8) cooperate and assist in the expansion of
16    electronic instruction and distance education services;
17    and
18        (9) as the Federal Communications Commission updates
19    the benchmark downstream data rates and upstream data
20    rates, publish the revised data rates in the Illinois
21    Register within 60 days after the federal update; and .
22        (10) evaluate the expansion of the Illinois Century
23    Network to Illinois public schools, public libraries, and
24    State-owned correctional institutions or facilities,
25    including issuing recommendations for increasing agency
26    staffing, infrastructure development, price modeling, and

 

 

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1    providing download speeds of at least one gigabyte per
2    second and upload speeds of at least one gigabyte per
3    second.
4    (b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
5Act, the Council is hereby granted the powers necessary to
6carry out the purpose and intent of this Act, as enumerated in
7this Section, including, but not limited to:
8        (1) promoting awareness of public facilities that have
9    community broadband access that can be used for distance
10    education and workforce development; and
11        (2) advising on deployment of e-government portals
12    such that all public bodies and political subdivisions
13    have websites and encourage one-stop government access and
14    that all public entities stream audio and video of all
15    public meetings.
16    (c) The Council shall also:
17        (1) monitor the broadband-based development efforts of
18    other states in areas such as business, education, aging
19    in place, and health;
20        (2)receive input provided on a voluntary basis from
21    all Illinois broadband stakeholders and advise the
22    Governor and the General Assembly on policies related to
23    broadband in Illinois, provided that no stakeholders shall
24    be required to publicly disclose competitively sensitive
25    information or information that could compromise network
26    security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network

 

 

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1    management practices, and that any such information
2    voluntarily disclosed shall be protected from public
3    disclosure; and
4        (3) serve as the broadband advocate to State agencies
5    and other State entities to communicate the broadband
6    needs of citizens and organizations that do not have
7    access to broadband service or to broadband service
8    adequate for their needs.
9    (d) The Council shall exercise its powers and authority to
10(1) advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly
11and the Governor on bringing broadband service to unserved and
12underserved rural and urban areas and improving broadband
13service statewide, (2) advise and make recommendations to the
14General Assembly and the Governor on facilitating broadband
15adoption by all citizens, and (3) propose statutory changes
16that may enhance and expand broadband in the State.
17    (e) The Council shall report to the General Assembly on or
18before January 1 of each year. The report to the General
19Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
20Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
21form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
22direct. The report shall include the action that was taken by
23the Council during the previous year in carrying out the
24provisions of this Act. The Council shall also make any other
25reports as may be required by the General Assembly or the
26Governor.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 100-833, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
2    (220 ILCS 80/30 new)
3    Sec. 30. Illinois Century Network Study.
4    (a) The Council shall study the feasibility of connecting
5all Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
6correctional facilities to the Illinois Century Network by
7January 1, 2030. The purpose and scope of the study is limited
8to connecting all public schools, public libraries, and
9State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois Century
10Network, with a goal to give all public schools, public
11libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or
12facilities access to reliable, gigabit-level broadband service
13by January 1, 2030. The Office of Broadband within the
14Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall support
15and assist the Council in the development of the study.
16    (b) The feasibility study required under subsection (a)
17shall explore:
18        (1) efforts among other states and units of local
19    government to connect public schools, public libraries,
20    and correctional facilities to a public broadband service;
21        (2) the current state of broadband service connection
22    for all public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
23    correctional facilities, including connection speeds, type
24    of technology, and whether the network is serviced by the
25    Illinois Century Network currently;

 

 

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1        (3) models for expanding the Illinois Century Network
2    solely for the purpose of connecting all Illinois public
3    schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional
4    facilities;
5        (4) the resources necessary to expand the Illinois
6    Century Network across the State of Illinois to all
7    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
8    correctional facilities;
9        (5) the benefits of the Illinois Century Network in
10    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
11    correctional facilities;
12        (6) potential sources of funding for the expansion of
13    the Illinois Century Network to Illinois public schools,
14    public libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities;
15        (7) additional staff and contracting needs that would
16    be necessary to expand the Illinois Century Network to all
17    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
18    correctional facilities;
19        (8) options for partnering with units of local
20    government in Illinois that have taken steps toward
21    offering public broadband service for the purpose of
22    connecting all Illinois public schools, public libraries,
23    and State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois
24    Century Network; and
25        (9) any other factors that are necessary for the
26    exploration of the feasibility of expanding the Illinois

 

 

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1    Century Network to all Illinois public schools, public
2    libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities.
3    The feasibility study shall offer recommendations based on
4the results of the study and shall offer options for the
5expansion of the Illinois Century Network, including a
6timeline, staffing needs, financial resources needed, and
7suggested rates for broadband service.
8    (c) The Council shall issue a report on its findings,
9recommendations, options for expansion, and any recommended
10legislation to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024.
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.