Bill Title: Amends the Broadband Advisory Council Act. Provides that the Broadband Advisory Council shall evaluate the expansion of the Illinois Century Network to Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or facilities, including issuing recommendations for increasing agency staffing, infrastructure development, price modeling, and providing download speeds of at least one gigabyte per second and upload speeds of at least one gigabyte per second. Requires the Council to study the feasibility of connecting all Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or facilities to the Illinois Century Network by January 1, 2030. Provides that the Office of Broadband within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall support and assist the Council in the development of the study. Provides that the Council shall issue a report on its findings, recommendations, options for expansion, and any recommended legislation to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-08-04 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0483
[SB0851 Detail]Download: Illinois-2023-SB0851-Chaptered.html
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| Public Act 103-0483
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| SB0851 Enrolled | LRB103 03309 RPS 48315 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Broadband Advisory Council Act is amended |
by changing Section 20 and by adding Section 30 as follows:
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(220 ILCS 80/20)
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Sec. 20. Powers and duties of the Council generally.
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(a) The Council shall: |
(1) explore any and all ways to expand the |
availability to end-user customers of broadband services |
using available technologies, including, but not limited |
to, wireline, wireless, fixed wireless, and satellite |
applications; |
(2) identify barriers to broadband adoption among the
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residents and small businesses of Illinois;
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(3) research ways to eliminate barriers to adoption
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through measures such as: digital literacy programs;
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programs to assist older citizens in using broadband
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Internet access; programs to facilitate adoption by
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disabled citizens; and programs to encourage collaborative
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efforts among public universities, community colleges,
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libraries, public housing, and other institutions;
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(4) assess the availability of broadband for |
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low-income households compared to the availability of |
broadband for other households;
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(5) explore the potential for increased use of
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broadband service for the purposes of education, career
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readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career
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training;
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(6) explore the potential for increased use of
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broadband services to facilitate aging in place;
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(7) explore ways for encouraging State and municipal
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agencies, including public housing authorities, to expand
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the use of broadband services for the
purpose of better |
serving the public, including audio and
video streaming, |
voice-over Internet protocol,
teleconferencing, and |
wireless networking;
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(8) cooperate and assist in the expansion of |
electronic
instruction and distance education services; |
and
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(9) as the Federal Communications Commission updates
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the benchmark downstream data rates and upstream data |
rates, publish the revised
data rates in the Illinois |
Register within 60 days after the
federal update; and . |
(10) evaluate the expansion of the Illinois Century |
Network to Illinois public schools, public libraries, and |
State-owned correctional institutions or facilities, |
including issuing recommendations for increasing agency |
staffing, infrastructure development, price modeling, and |
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providing download speeds of at least one gigabyte per |
second and upload speeds of at least one gigabyte per |
second. |
(b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
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Act, the Council is hereby granted the powers necessary to
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carry out the purpose and intent of this Act, as enumerated
in |
this Section, including, but not limited to: |
(1) promoting awareness of public facilities that have
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community broadband access that can be used for distance
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education and workforce development; and
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(2) advising on deployment of e-government portals |
such
that all public bodies and political subdivisions |
have
websites and encourage one-stop government access and |
that
all public entities stream audio and video of all |
public
meetings.
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(c) The Council shall also:
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(1) monitor the broadband-based development efforts of
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other states in areas such as business,
education, aging |
in place, and health;
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(2)receive input provided on a voluntary basis from |
all Illinois broadband stakeholders and advise the |
Governor and the General Assembly on policies related to |
broadband in Illinois, provided that no stakeholders shall |
be required to publicly disclose competitively sensitive |
information or information that could compromise network |
security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network |
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management practices, and that any such information |
voluntarily disclosed shall be protected from public |
disclosure; and
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(3) serve as the broadband advocate to State agencies
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and other State entities to communicate the broadband |
needs
of citizens and organizations that do not have |
access to
broadband service or to broadband service |
adequate for
their needs.
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(d) The Council shall exercise its powers and authority to
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(1) advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly |
and
the Governor on bringing broadband service to unserved and |
underserved rural and urban areas and improving broadband
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service statewide, (2) advise and make
recommendations to the |
General Assembly and the Governor on
facilitating broadband |
adoption by all citizens, and (3)
propose statutory changes |
that may enhance and expand broadband in the State.
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(e) The Council shall report to the General Assembly on or
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before January 1 of each year. The report to the General |
Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of |
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic |
form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall |
direct. The report shall include the
action that was taken by |
the Council during the previous year
in carrying out the |
provisions of this Act. The Council
shall also make any other |
reports as may be required by the
General Assembly or the |
Governor.
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(Source: P.A. 100-833, eff. 1-1-19.)
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(220 ILCS 80/30 new) |
Sec. 30. Illinois Century Network Study. |
(a) The Council shall study the feasibility of connecting |
all Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned |
correctional facilities to the Illinois Century Network by |
January 1, 2030. The purpose and scope of the study is limited |
to connecting all public schools, public libraries, and |
State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois Century |
Network, with a goal to give all public schools, public |
libraries, and State-owned correctional institutions or |
facilities access to reliable, gigabit-level broadband service |
by January 1, 2030. The Office of Broadband within the |
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall support |
and assist the Council in the development of the study. |
(b) The feasibility study required under subsection (a) |
shall explore: |
(1) efforts among other states and units of local |
government to connect public schools, public libraries, |
and correctional facilities to a public broadband service; |
(2) the current state of broadband service connection |
for all public schools, public libraries, and State-owned |
correctional facilities, including connection speeds, type |
of technology, and whether the network is serviced by the |
Illinois Century Network currently; |
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(3) models for expanding the Illinois Century Network |
solely for the purpose of connecting all Illinois public |
schools, public libraries, and State-owned correctional |
facilities; |
(4) the resources necessary to expand the Illinois |
Century Network across the State of Illinois to all |
Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned |
correctional facilities; |
(5) the benefits of the Illinois Century Network in |
Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned |
correctional facilities; |
(6) potential sources of funding for the expansion of |
the Illinois Century Network to Illinois public schools, |
public libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities; |
(7) additional staff and contracting needs that would |
be necessary to expand the Illinois Century Network to all |
Illinois public schools, public libraries, and State-owned |
correctional facilities; |
(8) options for partnering with units of local |
government in Illinois that have taken steps toward |
offering public broadband service for the purpose of |
connecting all Illinois public schools, public libraries, |
and State-owned correctional facilities to the Illinois |
Century Network; and |
(9) any other factors that are necessary for the |
exploration of the feasibility of expanding the Illinois |
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Century Network to all Illinois public schools, public |
libraries, and State-owned correctional facilities. |
The feasibility study shall offer recommendations based on |
the results of the study and shall offer options for the |
expansion of the Illinois Century Network, including a |
timeline, staffing needs, financial resources needed, and |
suggested rates for broadband service. |
(c) The Council shall issue a report on its findings, |
recommendations, options for expansion, and any recommended |
legislation to the General Assembly by January 1, 2024.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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