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90_SB0158
220 ILCS 50/11 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1611
Amends the Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage
Prevention Act. Increases the fines for violations of the
Act. Effective immediately.
LRB9001392JSgcA
LRB9001392JSgcA
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Underground Utility
2 Facilities Damage Prevention Act by changing Section 11.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Underground Utility Facilities
6 Damage Prevention Act is amended by changing Section 11 as
7 follows:
8 (220 ILCS 50/11) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1611)
9 Sec. 11. Fines; liability; special fund. Every person
10 who, while engaging in excavation or demolition, wilfully
11 fails to comply with the Act by failing to provide the notice
12 to the owners or operators of the underground facilities or
13 CATS facility near the excavation or demolition area through
14 the State-Wide One-Call Notice System as required by Section
15 4 of this Act and damages any underground utility facilities
16 or CATS facilities, shall be subject to a fine of no more
17 than $5,000 $200 for each separate offense and shall be
18 liable for the damage caused to owners or operators of the
19 facility.
20 Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
21 demolition and has provided the notice to the owners or
22 operators of the underground utility facilities or CATS
23 facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area
24 through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System as required by
25 Section 4 of this Act but otherwise wilfully fails to comply
26 with this Act and damages any underground utility facilities
27 or CATS facilities, shall be subject to a fine of no more
28 than $2,500 $100 for each separate offense and shall be
29 liable for the damage caused to the owners or operators of
30 the facility.
31 Every person who, while engaging in excavation or
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1 demolition and has provided the notice to the owners or
2 operators of the underground utility facilities or CATS
3 facilities in and near the excavation or demolition area
4 through the State-Wide One-Call Notice System as required by
5 Section 4 of this Act but otherwise, while acting reasonably,
6 damages any underground utility facilities or CATS
7 facilities, shall not be subject to a fine but shall be
8 liable for the damage caused to the owners or operators of
9 the facility provided the underground utility facility or
10 CATS facility is properly marked as provided in Section 10
11 of this Act.
12 Owners and operators of underground utility facilities or
13 community antenna television systems facilities who wilfully
14 fail to comply with this Act by a failure to mark or to
15 properly mark the location of an underground utility or CATS
16 facility shall be subject to a fine of no more than $200 for
17 each violation resulting from the failure to mark or properly
18 mark an underground utility facility or CATS facility. No
19 person shall be subject to such fine if the owner or operator
20 of the underground utility facilities erred in marking or
21 failed to mark such facilities as provided in Section 10 of
22 this Act and no willful damage has been committed.
23 No owner or operator of underground utility facilities or
24 community antenna television systems facilities shall be
25 subject to a fine where a delay in marking or a failure to
26 mark or properly mark the location of an underground utility
27 or CATS facility is caused by conditions beyond the
28 reasonable control of such owner or operator.
29 In the event that a person has given proper notice, the
30 owner or operator of the underground utility facility or CATS
31 facility has marked the approximate location and that person
32 is unable to physically locate the underground utility
33 facility or CATS facility, where other than an "open cut"
34 method of locating must be used, within a reasonable time due
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1 to conditions beyond his control and that person has notified
2 the State-Wide One-Call notice system of the owner or
3 operator of the underground utility facility or CATS facility
4 of the need for additional and more precise markings of
5 approximate locations and the owner or operator has not
6 further and more precisely marked or located the underground
7 utility facility or CATS facility within 48 hours of
8 receiving such notice, then the person excavating or
9 demolishing, exercising reasonable care, shall not be liable
10 for damages to the facilities. Actions to recover the
11 penalty provided for in this Section shall be brought by the
12 State's Attorney of the county where the damage occurred, at
13 the request of the owner or operator of the underground
14 utility facilities or CATS facilities damaged, or at the
15 request of any person when the owner or operator fails to
16 comply with this Act, or at the request of the Illinois
17 Commerce Commission in the name of the People of the State of
18 Illinois, in the circuit court for that county, or for the
19 county in which the person complained of has its principal
20 place of business or resides.
21 There is hereby created in the State treasury a special
22 fund to be known as the Illinois Underground Utility
23 Facilities Damage Prevention Fund. All penalties recovered
24 in any action under this Section shall be paid into the Fund
25 and shall be distributed annually as a grant to the
26 State-Wide One-Call Notice System to be used in safety and
27 informational programs to reduce the number of incidents of
28 damage to underground utility facilities and CATS facilities
29 in Illinois. The distribution shall be made during January
30 of each calendar year based on the balance in the Illinois
31 Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Fund as of
32 December 31 of the previous calendar year. In all such
33 actions under this Section, the procedure and rules of
34 evidence shall conform with the Code of Civil Procedure, and
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1 with rules of courts governing civil trials.
2 Any residential property owner that fails to comply with
3 any provision of this Act and damages underground utility
4 facilities or CATS facilities while engaging in excavation or
5 demolition on land owned by the residential property owner
6 shall not be subject to a fine but shall be liable for the
7 damage caused to the owner or operator of the underground
8 utility facilities or CATS facilities.
9 (Source: P.A. 86-674.)
10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11 becoming law.