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Public Act 094-0807
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| HB5220 Enrolled |
LRB094 17000 DRH 52281 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 Department of Transportation Law of the
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Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing |
Sections 2705-435 and 2705-440 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 2705/2705-435) (was 20 ILCS 2705/49.25g-1)
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Sec. 2705-435. Loans, grants, or contracts to |
rehabilitate, improve, or
construct rail facilities; State |
Rail Freight Loan Repayment Fund. In addition to the powers |
under Section 105-430,
the
Department shall have the power to |
enter into agreements to loan or grant
State funds to any |
railroad, unit of local government, rail user, or owner
or |
lessee of a railroad right of way to rehabilitate, improve, or |
construct
rail facilities.
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For each project proposed for funding under this Section |
the Department
shall, to the extent possible, give preference |
to cost effective projects
that facilitate continuation of |
existing rail freight service.
In the
exercise of its powers |
under this Section, the Department shall coordinate
its program |
with the industrial retention and attraction programs of the
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Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Community |
Affairs. No funds provided under this
Section shall be expended |
for the acquisition of a right of way or rolling
stock or for |
operating subsidies. The costs of a project funded under this
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Section shall be apportioned in accordance with the agreement |
of the
parties for the project. Projects are eligible for a |
loan or grant under
this Section only when the Department |
determines that the transportation,
economic, and public |
benefits associated with a project are
greater than the capital |
costs of that project incurred by all parties to
the agreement |
and that the project would not have occurred without
its
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participation. In addition, a project to be eligible for |
assistance under
this Section must be included in a State plan |
for rail transportation and
local rail service prepared by the |
Department. The Department may also
expend State funds for |
professional engineering services to conduct
feasibility |
studies of projects proposed for funding under this Section, to
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estimate the costs and material requirements for those |
projects,
to provide
for the design of those projects, |
including plans and
specifications, and to
conduct |
investigations to ensure compliance with the project |
agreements.
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The Department, acting through the Department of Central |
Management
Services, shall also have the power to let contracts |
for the
purchase of railroad materials and supplies. The |
Department shall also
have the power to let contracts for the |
rehabilitation,
improvement, or construction of rail |
facilities. Any such contract shall
be let, after due public |
advertisement, to the lowest responsible bidder or
bidders, |
upon terms and conditions to be fixed by the Department. With
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regard to rehabilitation, improvement, or construction |
contracts, the
Department shall also require the successful |
bidder or bidders to furnish
good and sufficient bonds to |
ensure proper and prompt completion of the
work in accordance |
with the provisions of the contracts.
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In the case of an agreement under which State funds are |
loaned under this
Section, the agreement shall provide the |
terms and conditions of repayment.
The agreement shall provide |
for the security that the
Department shall
determine to protect |
the State's interest. The funds may be loaned with or
without |
interest. Loaned funds that are repaid to the Department
shall |
be
deposited in a special fund in the State treasury to be |
known as the State
Rail Freight Loan Repayment Fund. In the |
case of repaid funds deposited
in the State Rail Freight Loan
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Repayment Fund, the Department shall, subject to |
appropriation, have
the
reuse of those funds and the interest |
accrued thereon, which shall also be
deposited by the State |
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Treasurer in the Fund, as the State share
in other
eligible |
projects under this Section. However, no expenditures from
the |
State Rail Freight Loan Repayment Fund for those projects
shall |
at any
time exceed the total sum of funds repaid and deposited |
in the State Rail
Freight Loan Repayment Fund and interest |
earned by investment by the State
Treasurer which the State |
Treasurer shall have deposited in that Fund.
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For the purposes of promoting efficient rail freight |
service, the
Department may also provide technical assistance |
to railroads, units of
local government or rail users, or |
owners or lessees of railroad rights-of-way.
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The Department shall take whatever actions are necessary or |
appropriate
to protect the State's interest in the event of |
bankruptcy, default,
foreclosure, or noncompliance with the |
terms and conditions of financial
assistance or participation |
provided hereunder, including the power to
sell, dispose, |
lease, or rent, upon terms and conditions determined by the
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Secretary to be appropriate, real or personal property that the
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Department
may receive as a result thereof.
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The Department is authorized to make reasonable rules and |
regulations
consistent with law necessary to carry out the |
provisions of this Section.
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(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; revised 12-6-03.)
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(20 ILCS 2705/2705-440) (was 20 ILCS 2705/49.25h)
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Sec. 2705-440. Intercity Rail Service.
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(a) For the
purposes of providing intercity railroad |
passenger service within this State
(or as part of service to |
cities in
adjacent
states), the Department is authorized to |
enter
into agreements with units of local government, the |
Commuter Rail Division of
the Regional Transportation |
Authority (or a public corporation on behalf of
that Division),
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architecture or
engineering firms,
the National Railroad |
Passenger Corporation, any carrier, any adjacent state
(or |
political subdivision,
corporation, or agency of an adjacent |
state), or any individual, corporation,
partnership, or public |
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or private entity. The
cost related to such services shall
be |
borne in such proportion as, by agreement or contract the
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parties may desire.
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(b) In providing any intercity railroad passenger service |
as provided in
this Section, the Department shall have the |
following additional powers:
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(1) to enter into trackage use agreements with rail |
carriers;
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(2) to enter into haulage agreements with rail |
carriers;
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(3) to lease or otherwise contract for use, |
maintenance, servicing, and
repair of any needed |
locomotives, rolling stock, stations, or other
facilities, |
the lease or contract having a term not to exceed 50
7
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years
(but
any
multi-year contract shall recite that the |
contract is subject to termination
and
cancellation, |
without any penalty, acceleration payment, or other |
recoupment
mechanism, in any fiscal year for which the |
General Assembly fails to make an
adequate appropriation to |
cover the contract obligation);
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(4) to enter into management agreements;
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(5) to include in any contract indemnification of |
carriers or other
parties for any liability with regard to |
intercity railroad passenger
service;
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(6) to obtain insurance for any losses or claims
with |
respect to the service;
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(7) to promote the use of the service;
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(8) to make grants to any body politic and corporate, |
any unit of local
government, or the Commuter Rail Division |
of the Regional Transportation
Authority to cover all or |
any part of any capital or operating costs of
the service |
and to enter into agreements with respect to those grants;
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(9) to set any fares or make other regulations with |
respect to the
service,
consistent with any contracts for |
the service; and
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(10) to otherwise enter into any contracts necessary or |
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convenient to
provide the service.
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(c) All service provided under this Section shall be exempt |
from all
regulations by the Illinois Commerce Commission (other |
than for safety
matters).
To the extent the service is provided |
by the Commuter Rail Division of the
Regional Transportation |
Authority (or a public corporation on behalf of that
Division), |
it shall be exempt
from safety regulations of the Illinois |
Commerce Commission to the extent the
Commuter Rail Division |
adopts its own safety regulations.
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(d) In connection with any powers exercised under this |
Section, the
Department:
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(1) shall not have the power of eminent domain; and
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(2) shall not itself become the owner of railroad |
locomotives or other
rolling stock,
or
directly operate any |
railroad service with its own employees.
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(e) Any contract with the Commuter Rail Division of the |
Regional
Transportation Authority (or a public corporation on |
behalf of the Division)
under this Section shall provide that |
all costs in excess of revenue received
by the Division |
generated from intercity rail service provided by the Division
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shall be fully borne by the Department, and no funds for |
operation of commuter
rail service shall be used, directly or |
indirectly, or for any period of time,
to subsidize the |
intercity rail operation. If at any time the Division does
not |
have sufficient funds available to satisfy the requirements of |
this
Section, the Division shall forthwith terminate the |
operation of intercity rail
service. The payments made by the |
Department to the Division for the intercity
rail passenger |
service shall not be made in excess of those costs or as a
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subsidy for costs of commuter rail operations. This shall not |
prevent the
contract from providing for efficient coordination |
of service and facilities to
promote cost effective operations |
of both intercity rail passenger service and
commuter rail |
services with cost allocations as provided in this paragraph.
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(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)
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