SB3803eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3803 Engrossed LRB096 20879 AJT 36661 b

AN ACT concerning transportation.

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

Section 5. The Roadside Memorial Act is amended by changing Sections 5, 10, and 15 and by adding Section 23 as follows:

(605 ILCS 125/5)

Sec. 5. Purpose of the Roadside Memorial program. The Roadside Memorial program is intended to raise public awareness of impaired driving and reckless driving by emphasizing the dangers while affording families an opportunity to remember the victims of crashes involving impaired or reckless drivers.

(Source: P.A. 95-398, eff. 1-1-08.)

(605 ILCS 125/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Department" means the Department of Transportation.

"DUI memorial marker" means a marker on a highway in this State commemorating one or more persons who died as a proximate result of a crash caused by a driver under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof.

"Fatal accident memorial marker" means a marker on a highway in this State commemorating one or more persons who died as a proximate result of a crash caused by a driver who committed an act of reckless homicide in violation of Section 9-3 or 9-3.2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or who otherwise caused the death of one or more persons through the operation of a motor vehicle.

"Qualified relative" means: an immediate relative of the deceased, by marriage, blood, or adoption, such as his or her spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, or brother; a stepmother, stepfather, stepbrother, or stepsister of the deceased; or a person with whom the deceased was in a domestic partnership or civil union as recognized by a State or local law or ordinance.

"Supporting jurisdiction" means the Department or any municipality, township, or county that establishes a Roadside Memorial program within its jurisdictional area.

(Source: P.A. 95-398, eff. 1-1-08.)

(605 ILCS 125/15)

Sec. 15. Participation in the Roadside Memorial program.

(a) A qualified relative of a victim may make a request for the installation of a memorial marker in a supporting jurisdiction using an application developed by the supporting jurisdiction. The supporting jurisdiction shall have sole responsibility for determining whether a request for a DUI memorial marker or a fatal accident memorial marker is rejected or accepted.

(b) An application for a DUI memorial marker or a fatal accident memorial marker may be submitted by a qualified relative with regard to any crash that occurred on or after January 1, 1990.

(c) If there is any opposition to the placement of a DUI memorial marker or a fatal accident memorial marker by any qualified relative of any decedent involved in the crash, the supporting jurisdiction shall deny the request.

(d) The supporting jurisdiction shall deny the request or, if a DUI memorial marker or a fatal accident memorial marker has already been installed, may remove the marker, if the qualified relative has provided false or misleading information in the application.

(e) The qualified relative shall agree not to place or encourage the placement of flowers, pictures, or other items at the crash site.

(f) A DUI memorial marker or a fatal accident memorial marker shall not be erected for a deceased driver involved in a fatal crash who is shown by toxicology reports to have been in violation of State DUI law, unless the next of kin of any other victim or victims killed in the crash consent in writing to the erection of the memorial marker.

(Source: P.A. 95-398, eff. 1-1-08; 95-873, eff. 8-21-08.)

(605 ILCS 125/23 new)

Sec. 23. Fatal accident memorial markers.

(a) A fatal accident memorial marker shall consist of a white on red panel bearing the message "Reckless Driving Costs Lives". At the request of the qualified relative, a separate panel bearing the words "In Memory of (victim's name)", followed by the date of the crash that was the proximate cause of the loss of the victim's life, shall be mounted below the primary panel.

(b) A fatal accident memorial marker may memorialize more than one victim who died as a result of the same crash. If one or more additional deaths subsequently occur in close proximity to an existing fatal accident memorial marker, the supporting jurisdiction may use the same marker to memorialize the subsequent death or deaths, by adding the names of the additional persons.

(c) A fatal accident memorial marker shall be maintained for at least 2 years from the date the last person was memorialized on the marker.

(d) The supporting jurisdiction has the right to install a marker at a location other than the location of the crash or to relocate a marker due to restricted room, property owner complaints, interference with essential traffic control devices, safety concerns, or other restrictions. In such cases, the sponsoring jurisdiction may select an alternate location.

(e) The Department shall secure the consent of any municipality before placing a fatal accident memorial marker within the corporate limits of the municipality.

(f) A fee in an amount to be determined by the supporting jurisdiction shall be charged to the qualified relative. The fee shall not exceed the costs associated with the fabrication, installation, and maintenance of the fatal accident memorial marker.