HJ0112 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0112 LRB100 18089 MST 33282 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The deployment and adoption of rural high-speed Internet services and information technology has resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for the State's communities, improved health care and educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for the State's residents; and

WHEREAS, Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of rural high speed Internet services and information technology is vital in ensuring that the State of Illinois remains competitive and continues to create business and job growth; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force is created; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force shall consist of the following members:

(1) one Senate member appointed by the Senate President, who shall serve as co-chairperson;

(2) one Senate member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;

(3) one House member appointed by the Speaker of the House, who shall serve as co-chairperson;

(4) one House member appointed by the House Minority Leader;

(5) the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or his or her designee;

(6) the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, or his or her designee;

(7) the Secretary of Transportation, or his or her designee;

(8) the Chairman of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, or his or her designee;

(9) the Chairman of the Illinois Finance Authority, or his or her designee;

(10) the State Superintendent of Education, or his or her designee;

(11) the Chairman of the Board of Higher Education, or his or her designee

(12) the Director of Central Management Services, or his or her designee; and

(13) the Director of Innovation & Technology, or his or her designee; and be it further

RESOLVED, That appointments to the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force shall be made with consideration of the diversity of the State, including members representing rural areas, underserved rural areas, consumer interests, community interests, commercial interests including Incumbent and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, and other entities providing communications or information services but not classified as Local Exchange Carriers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force shall be charged with the following duties:

(1) identify those portions of the rural telecommunications infrastructure owned by agencies of the State of Illinois that can be made available for lease to commercial ventures, non-profit agencies, and local governments and to establish standard procedures and pricing for lease of that infrastructure;

(2) study any rural infrastructure improvements that are currently underway by the State of Illinois; this includes the installation of an underground conduit that can be made available on a non-discriminatory basis to public, private, and non-profit entities interested in running fiber-optic lines for communications or information services through the conduit;

(3) study the current level of coordination between rural private and public telecommunications deployment, including, but not limited to, grant-making and financing of various statewide, local, and regional efforts and public-private partnerships;

(4) study the available rural State, federal, and private funding sources for private and public telecommunications deployment;

(5) study rural telecommunications initiatives that require legislative approval, including the creation of a State entity that handles distribution of funds for private and public telecommunications projects;

(7) study ways to foster competition among all rural entities providing commercial communications or information services; and

(8) assess and catalog the rural telecommunications infrastructure of the State of Illinois for the purpose of determining the present and future needs of the State with respect to realizing the goals of competition, affordability, universal service, and securing the State's telecommunications and economic future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That members of the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force shall serve without compensation and the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology shall provide administrative and other support to the Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force shall submit its final report to General Assembly by December 31, 2018; and be it further

RESOLVED, That upon the filing of its final report, the Rural Broadband Deployment Task Force is dissolved.