Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1966
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Full Text of HB1966  97th General Assembly

HB1966enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Illinois and Midwest High-Speed Rail Commission Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Commission" means the Illinois and Midwest High-Speed
8Rail Commission.
9    "High-speed rail" means a system of new electrified tracks
10designed primarily for trains capable of traveling at speeds in
11excess of 150 miles per hour.
 
12    Section 10. Composition of the Commission.
13    (a) The Commission shall be composed of 20 members as
14follows:
15        (1) 12 public members appointed by the Governor; and
16        (2) 8 ex-officio members as follows:
17            (A) the Illinois Secretary of Transportation;
18            (B) the Director of Commerce and Economic
19        Opportunity;
20            (C) the Executive Director of the Illinois State
21        Toll Highway Authority;
22            (D) the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce

 

 

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1        Commission;
2            (E) a member of the House of Representatives
3        appointed by the Speaker of the House of
4        Representatives;
5            (F) a member of the House of Representatives
6        appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7        Representatives;
8            (G) a member of the Senate appointed by the
9        President of the Senate; and
10            (H) a member of the Senate appointed by the
11        Minority Leader of the Senate.
12    (b) A person appointed as a public member of the Commission
13must be a resident of this State. Public members of the
14Commission must include the following: (i) local elected
15officials who have expressed interest in high-speed rail; (ii)
16former elected officials with transportation policy expertise;
17(iii) individuals with professional expertise in long-term
18financing of infrastructure; and (iv) individuals with
19expertise in transportation or railroad infrastructure
20projects. The appointed members shall reflect the geographic
21diversity of the State and shall include representation from
22all regions of the State.
23    (c) Commission members shall be appointed within 45 days
24after the effective date of this Act.
25    (d) The Governor shall designate one public member of the
26Commission to serve as the chair of the Commission and one

 

 

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1public member to serve as the vice-chair of the Commission.
 
2    Section 15. Ex-officio members; eligibility; designation
3of representative.
4    (a) An ex-officio member of the Commission vacates the
5person's position on the Commission if the person ceases to
6hold the position that qualifies the person for service on the
7Commission.
8    (b) An ex-officio member may designate a representative to
9serve on the Commission in the member's absence. A
10representative designated under this subsection by the
11Illinois Secretary of Transportation, the Director of Commerce
12and Economic Opportunity, or the Executive Director of the
13Illinois State Toll Highway Authority must be an officer or
14employee of the State agency that employs the ex-officio
15member.
 
16    Section 20. Compensation; expenses.
17    (a) A public member of the Commission is not entitled to
18compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the travel
19expenses incurred by the member while transacting Commission
20business.
21    (b) An ex-officio member's service on the Commission is an
22additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
23member for service on the Commission. The entitlement of an
24ex-officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for

 

 

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1travel expenses incurred while transacting Commission business
2is governed by the law that applies to the member's service in
3that underlying position, and any payment to the member for
4either purpose must be made from an appropriation that may be
5used for the purpose and is available to the State agency that
6the member serves in that underlying position.
 
7    Section 25. Meetings; quorum.
8    (a) The Commission shall meet at least monthly at the times
9and places in this State that the chair designates until
10January 2012 and at least quarterly thereafter.
11    (b) Members of the Commission may participate in Commission
12meetings by teleconference or video conference.
13    (c) A majority of the members of the Commission constitute
14a quorum for transacting Commission business.
 
15    Section 30. General powers and duties of the Commission.
16    (a) The Commission shall:
17        (1) Prepare and issue a report to the Governor, the
18    General Assembly, and the public recommending the best
19    governmental structure for a public-private partnership to
20    design, build, operate, maintain, and finance a high-speed
21    rail system for Illinois and the Midwest. The report must
22    include specific recommendations for legislation, if
23    statutory change is required, or specific administrative
24    regulations, if regulatory change is required, to

 

 

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1    implement the recommended high-speed rail system. The
2    report must include recommended sources for the funding of
3    a high-speed rail system including private sources of
4    capital and revenue bonds. The report must contain
5    recommendations for integrating the high-speed rail system
6    into existing and planned Amtrak expansions, airports, and
7    public transportation systems. The report must include
8    recommendations for federal, State, and local actions for
9    the development and implementation of a high-speed rail
10    system. The report must be issued by April 20, 2012.
11        (2) Prepare a follow-up report that details the status
12    of recommendations issued by the Commission and any revised
13    and updated recommendations based on further public and
14    stakeholder input. The follow-up report must be issued by
15    February 1, 2013.
16        (3) Develop a process to receive public and stakeholder
17    input on opinions and proposals for building, designing,
18    maintaining, operating, and financing a high-speed rail
19    system for Illinois and the Midwest. The process must
20    include the solicitation and receipt of formal expressions
21    of interest and other testimony from global high-speed rail
22    operators including without limitation Amtrak.
23        (4) Solicit and receive formal testimony, both written
24    and oral, from representatives of the other states in the
25    Midwest including without limitation representatives from
26    units of local government.

 

 

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1        (5) Work collaboratively with the Department of
2    Transportation on any planning projects for high-speed
3    rail administered by the Department to comply with federal
4    high-speed rail requirements including without limitation
5    the solicitation of public input and comments.
6    (b) In implementing subsection (a), the Commission must
7consult with and receive testimony from global high-speed rail
8operators including without limitation Amtrak.
9    (c) Nothing in this Act shall preclude the Department of
10Transportation from planning for high-speed rail.
 
11    Section 35. Funding. The Illinois Department of
12Transportation may provide staff and other support to the
13Commission from money available to the Department that may be
14used for this purpose. The General Assembly may also
15specifically appropriate money to the Department to provide
16staff and other support to the Commission.
17    The Commission may accept monetary gifts and grants from
18any public or private source. The Commission may also accept
19in-kind gifts.
 
20    Section 95. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
212015.
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.