Full Text of HB1966 97th General Assembly
HB1966 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 HB1966 Introduced , by Rep. Daniel J. Burke SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Illinois and Midwest High-Speed Rail Commission Act. Contains provisions concerning the composition of the Illinois and Midwest High-Speed Rail Commission. Provides that by November 20, 2011, the Commission must prepare and issue a report recommending the best governmental structure for a public-private partnership to design, build, operate, maintain, and finance a high-speed rail system for the State. Provides that a follow-up report shall be issued by October 1, 2012. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2015. Effective immediately.
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning transportation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Illinois and Midwest High-Speed Rail Commission Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Commission" means the Illinois and Midwest High-Speed | 8 | | Rail Commission. | 9 | | "High-speed rail" means a system of new electrified tracks | 10 | | designed primarily for trains capable of traveling at speeds in | 11 | | excess of 150 miles per hour. | 12 | | Section 10. Composition of the Commission. | 13 | | (a) The Commission shall be composed of 19 members as | 14 | | follows: | 15 | | (1) 12 public members appointed by the Governor; and | 16 | | (2) 7 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) a member of the House of Representatives |
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| 1 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 2 | | Representatives; | 3 | | (E) a member of the House of Representatives | 4 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 5 | | Representatives; | 6 | | (F) a member of the Senate appointed by the | 7 | | President of the Senate; and | 8 | | (G) a member of the Senate appointed by the | 9 | | Minority Leader of the Senate. | 10 | | (b) A person appointed as a public member of the Commission | 11 | | must be a resident of this State. Public members of the | 12 | | Commission must include the following: (i) local elected | 13 | | officials who have expressed interest in high-speed rail; (ii) | 14 | | former elected officials with transportation policy expertise; | 15 | | (iii) individuals with professional expertise in long-term | 16 | | financing of infrastructure; and (iv) individuals with | 17 | | expertise in transportation or railroad infrastructure | 18 | | projects. The appointed members shall reflect the geographic | 19 | | diversity of the State and shall include representation from | 20 | | all regions of the State. | 21 | | (c) Commission members shall be appointed within 45 days | 22 | | after the effective date of this Act. | 23 | | (d) The Governor shall designate one public member of the | 24 | | Commission to serve as the chair of the Commission and one | 25 | | public member to serve as the vice-chair of the Commission. |
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| 1 | | Section 15. Ex-officio members; eligibility; designation | 2 | | of representative.
| 3 | | (a) An ex-officio member of the Commission vacates the | 4 | | person's position on the Commission if the person ceases to | 5 | | hold the position that qualifies the person for service on the | 6 | | Commission.
| 7 | | (b) An ex-officio member may designate a representative to | 8 | | serve on the Commission in the member's absence. A | 9 | | representative designated under this subsection by the | 10 | | Illinois Secretary of Transportation, the Director of Commerce | 11 | | and Economic Opportunity, or the Executive Director of the | 12 | | Illinois State Toll Highway Authority must be an officer or | 13 | | employee of the State agency that employs the ex-officio | 14 | | member.
| 15 | | Section 20. Compensation; expenses. | 16 | | (a) A public member of the Commission is not entitled to | 17 | | compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the travel | 18 | | expenses incurred by the member while transacting Commission | 19 | | business.
| 20 | | (b) An ex-officio member's service on the Commission is an | 21 | | additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the | 22 | | member for service on the Commission. The entitlement of an | 23 | | ex-officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for | 24 | | travel expenses incurred while transacting Commission business | 25 | | is governed by the law that applies to the member's service in |
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| 1 | | that underlying position, and any payment to the member for | 2 | | either purpose must be made from an appropriation that may be | 3 | | used for the purpose and is available to the State agency that | 4 | | the member serves in that underlying position.
| 5 | | Section 25. Meetings; quorum. | 6 | | (a) The Commission shall meet at least monthly at the times | 7 | | and places in this State that the chair designates until April | 8 | | 2011 and at least quarterly thereafter. | 9 | | (b) Members of the Commission may participate in Commission | 10 | | meetings by teleconference or video conference. | 11 | | (c) A majority of the members of the Commission constitute | 12 | | a quorum for transacting Commission business.
| 13 | | Section 30. General powers and duties of the Commission. | 14 | | (a) The Commission shall:
| 15 | | (1) Prepare and issue a report to the Governor, the | 16 | | General Assembly, and the public recommending the best | 17 | | governmental structure for a public-private partnership to | 18 | | design, build, operate, maintain, and finance a high-speed | 19 | | rail system for Illinois and the Midwest. The report must | 20 | | include specific recommendations for legislation, if | 21 | | statutory change is required, or specific administrative | 22 | | regulations, if regulatory change is required, to | 23 | | implement the recommended high-speed rail system. The | 24 | | report must include recommended sources for the funding of |
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| 1 | | a high-speed rail system including private sources of | 2 | | capital and revenue bonds. The report must contain | 3 | | recommendations for integrating the high-speed rail system | 4 | | into existing and planned Amtrak expansions, airports, and | 5 | | public transportation systems. The report must include | 6 | | recommendations for federal, State, and local actions for | 7 | | the development and implementation of a high-speed rail | 8 | | system. The report must be issued by November 20, 2011.
| 9 | | (2) Prepare a follow-up report that details the status | 10 | | of recommendations issued by the Commission and any revised | 11 | | and updated recommendations based on further public and | 12 | | stakeholder input. The follow-up report must be issued by | 13 | | October 1, 2012. | 14 | | (3) Develop a process to receive public and stakeholder | 15 | | input on opinions and proposals for building, designing, | 16 | | maintaining, operating, and financing a high-speed rail | 17 | | system for Illinois and the Midwest. The process must | 18 | | include the solicitation and receipt of formal expressions | 19 | | of interest and other testimony from global high-speed rail | 20 | | operators including without limitation Amtrak. | 21 | | (4) Solicit and receive formal testimony, both written | 22 | | and oral, from representatives of the other states in the | 23 | | Midwest including without limitation representatives from | 24 | | units of local government. | 25 | | (5) Work collaboratively with the Department of | 26 | | Transportation on any planning projects for high-speed |
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| 1 | | rail administered by the Department to comply with federal | 2 | | high-speed rail requirements including without limitation | 3 | | the solicitation of public input and comments. | 4 | | (b) In implementing subsection (a), the Commission must | 5 | | consult with and receive testimony from global high-speed rail | 6 | | operators including without limitation Amtrak.
| 7 | | (c) Nothing in this Act shall preclude the Department of | 8 | | Transportation from planning for high-speed rail. | 9 | | Section 35. Funding. The Illinois Department of | 10 | | Transportation may provide staff and other support to the | 11 | | Commission from money available to the Department that may be | 12 | | used for this purpose. The General Assembly may also | 13 | | specifically appropriate money to the Department to provide | 14 | | staff and other support to the Commission.
| 15 | | The Commission may accept monetary gifts and grants from | 16 | | any public or private source. The Commission may also accept | 17 | | in-kind gifts. | 18 | | Section 95. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1, | 19 | | 2015.
| 20 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 21 | | becoming law. |
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