Sen. Rachel Ventura

Filed: 5/10/2023

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 851

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 851 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1    through measures such as: digital literacy programs;
2    programs to assist older citizens in using broadband
3    Internet access; programs to facilitate adoption by
4    disabled citizens; and programs to encourage collaborative
5    efforts among public universities, community colleges,
6    libraries, public housing, and other institutions;
7        (4) assess the availability of broadband for
8    low-income households compared to the availability of
9    broadband for other households;
10        (5) explore the potential for increased use of
11    broadband service for the purposes of education, career
12    readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career
13    training;
14        (6) explore the potential for increased use of
15    broadband services to facilitate aging in place;
16        (7) explore ways for encouraging State and municipal
17    agencies, including public housing authorities, to expand
18    the use of broadband services for the purpose of better
19    serving the public, including audio and video streaming,
20    voice-over Internet protocol, teleconferencing, and
21    wireless networking;
22        (8) cooperate and assist in the expansion of
23    electronic instruction and distance education services;
24    and
25        (9) as the Federal Communications Commission updates
26    the benchmark downstream data rates and upstream data

 

 

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1    rates, publish the revised data rates in the Illinois
2    Register within 60 days after the federal update; and .
3        (10) evaluate the expansion of the Illinois Century
4    Network to Illinois public schools, public libraries, and
5    State-owned correctional institutions or facilities,
6    including issuing recommendations for increasing agency
7    staffing, infrastructure development, price modeling, and
8    providing download speeds of at least one gigabyte per
9    second and upload speeds of at least one gigabyte per
10    second.
11    (b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
12Act, the Council is hereby granted the powers necessary to
13carry out the purpose and intent of this Act, as enumerated in
14this Section, including, but not limited to:
15        (1) promoting awareness of public facilities that have
16    community broadband access that can be used for distance
17    education and workforce development; and
18        (2) advising on deployment of e-government portals
19    such that all public bodies and political subdivisions
20    have websites and encourage one-stop government access and
21    that all public entities stream audio and video of all
22    public meetings.
23    (c) The Council shall also:
24        (1) monitor the broadband-based development efforts of
25    other states in areas such as business, education, aging
26    in place, and health;

 

 

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1        (2)receive input provided on a voluntary basis from
2    all Illinois broadband stakeholders and advise the
3    Governor and the General Assembly on policies related to
4    broadband in Illinois, provided that no stakeholders shall
5    be required to publicly disclose competitively sensitive
6    information or information that could compromise network
7    security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network
8    management practices, and that any such information
9    voluntarily disclosed shall be protected from public
10    disclosure; and
11        (3) serve as the broadband advocate to State agencies
12    and other State entities to communicate the broadband
13    needs of citizens and organizations that do not have
14    access to broadband service or to broadband service
15    adequate for their needs.
16    (d) The Council shall exercise its powers and authority to
17(1) advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly
18and the Governor on bringing broadband service to unserved and
19underserved rural and urban areas and improving broadband
20service statewide, (2) advise and make recommendations to the
21General Assembly and the Governor on facilitating broadband
22adoption by all citizens, and (3) propose statutory changes
23that may enhance and expand broadband in the State.
24    (e) The Council shall report to the General Assembly on or
25before January 1 of each year. The report to the General
26Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of

 

 

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1Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
2form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
3direct. The report shall include the action that was taken by
4the Council during the previous year in carrying out the
5provisions of this Act. The Council shall also make any other
6reports as may be required by the General Assembly or the
7Governor.
8(Source: P.A. 100-833, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
9    (220 ILCS 80/30 new)
10    Sec. 30. Illinois Century Network Study.
11    (a) The Council shall study the feasibility of connecting
12all Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
13correctional facilities to the Illinois Century Network by
14January 1, 2030. The purpose and scope of the study is limited
15to connecting all public schools, public libraries, and
16State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois Century
17Network, with a goal to give all public schools, public
18libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or
19facilities access to reliable, gigabit-level broadband service
20by January 1, 2030. The Office of Broadband within the
21Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall support
22and assist the Council in the development of the study.
23    (b) The feasibility study required under subsection (a)
24shall explore:
25        (1) efforts among other states and units of local

 

 

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1    government to connect public schools, public libraries,
2    and correctional facilities to a public broadband service;
3        (2) the current state of broadband service connection
4    for all public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
5    correctional facilities, including connection speeds, type
6    of technology, and whether the network is serviced by the
7    Illinois Century Network currently;
8        (3) models for expanding the Illinois Century Network
9    solely for the purpose of connecting all Illinois public
10    schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional
11    facilities;
12        (4) the resources necessary to expand the Illinois
13    Century Network across the State of Illinois to all
14    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
15    correctional facilities;
16        (5) the benefits of the Illinois Century Network in
17    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
18    correctional facilities;
19        (6) potential sources of funding for the expansion of
20    the Illinois Century Network to Illinois public schools,
21    public libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities;
22        (7) additional staff and contracting needs that would
23    be necessary to expand the Illinois Century Network to all
24    Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned
25    correctional facilities;
26        (8) options for partnering with units of local

 

 

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1    government in Illinois that have taken steps toward
2    offering public broadband service for the purpose of
3    connecting all Illinois public schools, public libraries,
4    and State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois
5    Century Network; and
6        (9) any other factors that are necessary for the
7    exploration of the feasibility of expanding the Illinois
8    Century Network to all Illinois public schools, public
9    libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities.
10    The feasibility study shall offer recommendations based on
11the results of the study and shall offer options for the
12expansion of the Illinois Century Network, including a
13timeline, staffing needs, financial resources needed, and
14suggested rates for broadband service.
15    (c) The Council shall issue a report on its findings,
16recommendations, options for expansion, and any recommended
17legislation to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024.
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.".