Public Act 094-0493
 		





HB0744 Enrolled
LRB094 07462 NHT 37625 b






    AN ACT concerning school students. 

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 


 
    Section 5. The Department of Transportation Law of the 
Civil Administrative Code is amended by adding Section 2705-317 
as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2705/2705-317 new)

    Sec. 2705-317. Safe Routes to School Construction Program.
    (a) Upon enactment of a federal transportation bill with a 
dedicated fund available to states for safe routes to schools, 
the Department, in cooperation with the State Board of 
Education and the Department of State Police, shall establish 
and administer a Safe Routes to School Construction Program for 
the construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety and 
traffic-calming projects using the federal Safe Routes to 
Schools Program funds.
    (b) The Department shall make construction grants

available to local governmental agencies under the Safe Routes 
to School
Construction Program based on the results of a 
statewide competition
that requires submission of Safe Routes 
to School proposals for funding
and that rates those proposals 
on all of the following factors:

        (1) Demonstrated needs of the grant applicant.

        (2) Potential of the proposal for reducing child 
    injuries and
fatalities.

        (3) Potential of the proposal for encouraging 
    increased
walking and bicycling among students.

        (4) Identification of safety hazards.

        (5) Identification of current and potential walking 
    and
bicycling routes to school.

        (6) Consultation and support for projects by 
    school-based
associations, local traffic engineers, local 
    elected officials, law
enforcement agencies, and school 
    officials.

        (7)  Proximity to parks and other recreational 
    facilities.

    With respect to the use of federal Safe Routes to Schools 
Program funds, prior to
the award of a construction grant or 
the use of those funds for a Safe Routes
to
School
project 
encompassing a highway, the Department shall
consult with and 
obtain approval from the Department of State Police
and the 
highway authority with jurisdiction to ensure that the Safe 
Routes to School proposal is consistent with a
statewide 
pedestrian safety statistical analysis.

    (c) On March 30, 2006 and each March 30th thereafter, the 
Department shall submit a report to the General Assembly 
listing
and describing the projects funded under the Safe 
Routes to School
Construction Program.

    (d) The Department shall study the effectiveness of
the 
Safe Routes to School Construction Program, with particular 
emphasis on the
Program's effectiveness in reducing traffic 
accidents and its contribution
to improving safety and reducing 
the number of child injuries and
fatalities in the vicinity of 
a Safe Routes to School project. The Department shall
submit a 
report to the General Assembly on or before December 31, 2006

regarding the results of the study.

    (e) The Department, the State Board of Education,
and the 
Department of State Police may adopt any rules necessary to

implement this Section.

 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.