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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Our economic challenges and budget struggles must | ||||||
3 | lead to new thinking and alternative ways of gaining revenue in | ||||||
4 | order to support the programs that the citizens of Illinois | ||||||
5 | need and have come to expect; and
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6 | WHEREAS, One way to fund government services without | ||||||
7 | raising taxes or fees is to provide the authority to lease | ||||||
8 | naming rights for government-owned facilities in return for | ||||||
9 | much-needed money; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) of the | ||||||
11 | U.S. Department of Transportation identified 4 non-road | ||||||
12 | pricing revenue sources that do not involve a charge, fee, or | ||||||
13 | tax; the FHA specified that one of those sources was naming | ||||||
14 | rights, that is revenue derived from selling to the private | ||||||
15 | sector the right to name a transportation resource such as a | ||||||
16 | toll road or transit station; and
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17 | WHEREAS, The American Association of State Highway and | ||||||
18 | Transportation Officials (AASHTO) established its Center for | ||||||
19 | Excellence in Project Finance to address innovative financing | ||||||
20 | for highway and transportation projects; the Center noted that | ||||||
21 | recently government officials and business representatives | ||||||
22 | concerned about funding shortfalls for transportation have |
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1 | begun to focus on the potential application of naming rights to | ||||||
2 | highway corridors, toll plazas, and concession areas; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The Center noted that naming rights, as a type of | ||||||
4 | contractually obligated income, are attractive to | ||||||
5 | transportation service and infrastructure providers for their | ||||||
6 | stability and predictability and that these attributes also | ||||||
7 | make naming rights a revenue source that is well-suited for | ||||||
8 | debt service; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Examples of successful projects in the field of | ||||||
10 | public transportation include a lease for the naming rights to | ||||||
11 | a well-known highly-utilized subway station in Brooklyn, New | ||||||
12 | York, a sponsorship package for the Seattle Street Car, and a | ||||||
13 | lease for the naming rights for new vessels in the fleet of the | ||||||
14 | Oklahoma River Ferries; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Each Illinois Toll Highway Oasis is a high | ||||||
16 | visibility structure which would have significant potential as | ||||||
17 | an entity for which commercial entities might be willing to | ||||||
18 | lease naming rights; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation is | ||||||
20 | suited to assess the potential for leasing the naming rights of | ||||||
21 | those oases, the procedures appropriate for this activity, and | ||||||
22 | any appropriate legislation necessary to further this |
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1 | undertaking; therefore, be it
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2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
3 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
4 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Department of | ||||||
5 | Transportation study the issue of leasing the naming rights for | ||||||
6 | oases of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and make a | ||||||
7 | report of its findings to the 97th General Assembly no later | ||||||
8 | than one year after the adoption of this resolution; and be it | ||||||
9 | further
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10 | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the | ||||||
11 | Illinois Secretary of Transportation.
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