SB0624sam001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Emil Jones, III

Filed: 4/17/2015

09900SB0624sam001 LRB099 03339 RJF 33868 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 624

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 624 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Highway Code is amended by changing Section 9-131 as follows:

(605 ILCS 5/9-131)

Sec. 9-131. Installation of fiber-optic network conduit.

(a) For purposes of this Section:

"Fiber-optic network conduit" means a pipe or duct used to enclose fiber-optic cable facilities buried alongside the roadway or surface mounted on bridges, overpasses, and other facilities where below ground placement is impossible or impractical.

(b) In order to ensure affordable high-speed, world-class core information and communication networks are available throughout Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Department of Central Management Services shall collaborate to install fiber-optic network conduit where it does not already exist in every new State-funded construction project that opens, bores, or trenches alongside a State-owned infrastructure, including, but not limited to, roadways and bridges. The Department of Central Management Services or the Department of Transportation may permit a third party to manage the fiber and conduit leasing. Counties with a population of more than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall be notified of fiber-optic network conduit installations made under this Section and shall have the right to install fiber-optic network conduit during State-funded construction projects. The Department of Central Management Services and the Department of Transportation shall take reasonable steps to ensure market-based, non-discriminatory pricing. Public bidding notices for such projects must describe the need for fiber-optic conduit or cable. The Department of Transportation shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the progress and any associated costs incurred by this Section. This Section does not prohibit the State from purchasing or installing fiber-optic cable within the fiber-optic network conduit.

(Source: P.A. 96-37, eff. 7-13-09.)".