SB1863 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 07796 RCE 17898 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB1863

Introduced 2/20/2009, by Sen. Deanna Demuzio

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 661/20

Amends the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act. Authorizes the enlisted nonprofit organization to accept federal funds to provide grants to advance, encourage, support, and expand broadband access and infrastructure. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 5. The High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:

(20 ILCS 661/20)

Sec. 20. Duties of the enlisted nonprofit organization.

(a) The high speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation initiative to be performed by the nonprofit organization shall include, but not be limited to, the following actions:

(1) Create a geographic statewide inventory of high speed Internet service and other relevant broadband and information technology services. The inventory shall:

(A) identify geographic gaps in high speed Internet service through a method of GIS mapping of service availability and GIS analysis at the census block level; and

(B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide high speed Internet deployment in terms of percentage of Illinois households with high speed Internet availability.

(2) Track and identify, through customer interviews and surveys and other publicly available sources, statewide residential and business adoption of high speed Internet, computers, and related information technology and any barriers to adoption.

(3) Build and facilitate in each county or designated region a local technology planning team with members representing a cross section of the community, including, but not limited to, representatives of business, K-12 education, health care, libraries, higher education, community-based organizations, local government, tourism, parks and recreation, and agriculture. Each team shall benchmark technology use across relevant community sectors, set goals for improved technology use within each sector, and develop a plan for achieving its goals, with specific recommendations for online application development and demand creation.

(4) Collaborate with high speed Internet providers and technology companies to encourage deployment and use, especially in underserved areas, by aggregating local demand, mapping analysis, and creating market intelligence to improve the business case for providers to deploy.

(5) Collaborate with the Department in developing a program to increase computer ownership and broadband access for disenfranchised populations across the State. The program may include grants to local community technology centers that provide technology training, promote computer ownership, and increase broadband access.

(6) Accept federal funds to provide grants to advance, encourage, support, and expand broadband access and infrastructure.

(b) The nonprofit organization may apply for federal grants consistent with the objectives of this Act.

(c) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall use the funds in the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Fund to (1) provide grants to the nonprofit organization enlisted under this Act and (2) for any costs incurred by the Department to administer this Act.

(d) The nonprofit organization shall have the power to obtain or to raise funds other than the grants received from the Department under this Act.

(e) The nonprofit organization and its Board of Directors shall exist separately and independently from the Department and any other governmental entity, but shall cooperate with other public or private entities it deems appropriate in carrying out its duties.

(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act to the contrary, any information that is designated confidential or proprietary by an entity providing the information to the nonprofit organization or any other entity to accomplish the objectives of this Act shall be deemed confidential, proprietary, and a trade secret and treated by the nonprofit organization or anyone else possessing the information as such and shall not be disclosed.

(g) The nonprofit organization shall provide a report to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on an annual basis for the first 3 complete State fiscal years following its enlistment.

(Source: P.A. 95-684, eff. 10-19-07.)

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