Public Act 095-0398
 
HB1900 Enrolled LRB095 09739 DRH 29945 b

    AN ACT concerning roadside markers, which may be referred
to as Tina's Law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Roadside Memorial Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose of the Roadside Memorial program. The
Roadside Memorial program is intended to raise public awareness
of impaired driving by emphasizing the dangers while affording
families an opportunity to remember the victims of crashes
involving impaired drivers.
 
    Section 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.
    "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.
 
    Section 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 is rejected or accepted.
    (b) An application for a DUI memorial marker may be
submitted by a qualified relative with regard to any crash that
occurred on or after January 1, 2003.
    (c) If there is any opposition to the placement of a DUI
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 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 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.
 
    Section 20. DUI memorial markers.
    (a) A DUI memorial marker shall consist of a white on blue
panel bearing the message "Please Don't Drink and Drive". 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 DUI memorial marker may memorialize more than one
victim who died as a result of the same DUI-related crash. If
one or more additional DUI crash deaths subsequently occur in
close proximity to an existing DUI 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 DUI 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 DUI memorial marker within the
corporate limits of the municipality.
    (f) A fee in an amount to be determined by the supporting
jurisdiction may be charged to the qualified relative. The fee
shall not exceed the costs associated with the fabrication,
installation, and maintenance of the DUI memorial marker.
 
    Section 25. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules
regarding implementation of this Act. These rules shall be
consistent with this Act and with federal regulations.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2008.