Bill Text: IL SB3998 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Broadband Advisory Council Act. Provides that, in addition to its other duties, the Council shall explore the feasibility of universal or public broadband.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3998 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3998-Introduced.html


101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3998

Introduced 5/22/2020, by Sen. Antonio Muņoz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
220 ILCS 80/20

Amends the Broadband Advisory Council Act. Provides that, in addition to its other duties, the Council shall explore the feasibility of universal or public broadband.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Broadband Advisory Council Act is amended by
5changing Section 20 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 availability
10 to end-user customers of broadband services using
11 available technologies, including, but not limited to,
12 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
17 through measures such as: digital literacy programs;
18 programs to assist older citizens in using broadband
19 Internet access; programs to facilitate adoption by
20 disabled citizens; and programs to encourage collaborative
21 efforts among public universities, community colleges,
22 libraries, public housing, and other institutions;
23 (4) assess the availability of broadband for

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1 low-income households compared to the availability of
2 broadband for other households and explore feasibility for
3 universal or public broadband;
4 (5) explore the potential for increased use of
5 broadband service for the purposes of education, career
6 readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career
7 training;
8 (6) explore the potential for increased use of
9 broadband services to facilitate aging in place;
10 (7) explore ways for encouraging State and municipal
11 agencies, including public housing authorities, to expand
12 the use of broadband services for the purpose of better
13 serving the public, including audio and video streaming,
14 voice-over Internet protocol, teleconferencing, and
15 wireless networking;
16 (8) cooperate and assist in the expansion of electronic
17 instruction and distance education services; and
18 (9) as the Federal Communications Commission updates
19 the benchmark downstream data rates and upstream data
20 rates, publish the revised data rates in the Illinois
21 Register within 60 days after the federal update.
22 (b) In addition to the powers set forth elsewhere in this
23Act, the Council is hereby granted the powers necessary to
24carry out the purpose and intent of this Act, as enumerated in
25this Section, including, but not limited to:
26 (1) promoting awareness of public facilities that have

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1 community broadband access that can be used for distance
2 education and workforce development; and
3 (2) advising on deployment of e-government portals
4 such that all public bodies and political subdivisions have
5 websites and encourage one-stop government access and that
6 all public entities stream audio and video of all public
7 meetings.
8 (c) The Council shall also:
9 (1) monitor the broadband-based development efforts of
10 other states in areas such as business, education, aging in
11 place, and health;
12 (2)receive input provided on a voluntary basis from all
13 Illinois broadband stakeholders and advise the Governor
14 and the General Assembly on policies related to broadband
15 in Illinois, provided that no stakeholders shall be
16 required to publicly disclose competitively sensitive
17 information or information that could compromise network
18 security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network
19 management practices, and that any such information
20 voluntarily disclosed shall be protected from public
21 disclosure; and
22 (3) serve as the broadband advocate to State agencies
23 and other State entities to communicate the broadband needs
24 of citizens and organizations that do not have access to
25 broadband service or to broadband service adequate for
26 their needs.

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1 (d) The Council shall exercise its powers and authority to
2(1) advise and make recommendations to the General Assembly and
3the Governor on bringing broadband service to unserved rural
4and urban areas, (2) advise and make recommendations to the
5General Assembly and the Governor on facilitating broadband
6adoption by all citizens, and (3) propose statutory changes
7that may enhance and expand broadband in the State.
8 (e) The Council shall report to the General Assembly on or
9before January 1 of each year. The report to the General
10Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
11Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
12form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
13direct. The report shall include the action that was taken by
14the Council during the previous year in carrying out the
15provisions of this Act. The Council shall also make any other
16reports as may be required by the General Assembly or the
17Governor.
18(Source: P.A. 100-833, eff. 1-1-19.)
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