Bill Text: IL HB2691 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Public Utilities Act. Adds provisions to the Telecommunications Article concerning the transition of Large Electing Providers to Internet Protocol-based networks and service. Provides that beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to an identifiable class or group of customers, other than voice telecommunications service to residential customers, upon 60 days' notice to the Commission and affected customers. Provides that beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider, may cease to offer and provide voice telecommunications service to an identifiable class or group of residential customers subject to compliance with specified requirements. Repeals language that provides for the repeal of the Telecommunications Article of the Public Utilities Act on July 1, 2017. Removes the December 31, 2020 expiration date for an Illinois Commerce Commission-issued authorization to offer or provide cable or video service. Repeals language that provides for the repeal of specified Sections of the Cable and Video Competition Article of the Illinois Public Utilities Act on July 1, 2017. Defines terms and makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB2691 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB2691-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB2691 Introduced , by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps - Jim Durkin - André Thapedi - Chad Hays - Michael J. Zalewski SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
220 ILCS 5/13-102 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-102
220 ILCS 5/13-103 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-103
220 ILCS 5/13-406 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-406
220 ILCS 5/13-406.1 new
220 ILCS 5/21-401
220 ILCS 5/13-1200 rep.
220 ILCS 5/21-1601 rep.
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Adds provisions to the Telecommunications Article concerning the transition of Large Electing Providers to Internet Protocol-based networks and service. Provides that beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to an identifiable class or group of customers, other than voice telecommunications service to residential customers, upon 60 days' notice to the Commission and affected customers. Provides that beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider, may cease to offer and provide voice telecommunications service to an identifiable class or group of residential customers subject to compliance with specified requirements. Repeals language that provides for the repeal of the Telecommunications Article of the Public Utilities Act on July 1, 2017. Removes the December 31, 2020 expiration date for an Illinois Commerce Commission-issued authorization to offer or provide cable or video service. Repeals language that provides for the repeal of specified Sections of the Cable and Video Competition Article of the Illinois Public Utilities Act on July 1, 2017. Defines terms and makes other changes. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the 2017
High-speed Internet Investment and Telecommunications
Modernization Act for Job Creation and Public Safety.
Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing
Sections 13-102, 13-103, 13-406, and 21-401 and by adding
Section 13-406.1 as follows:
(220 ILCS 5/13-102) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-102)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2017)
Sec. 13-102. Findings. With respect to telecommunications
services, as herein defined, the General Assembly finds that:
(a) universally available and widely affordable
telecommunications services are essential to the health,
welfare and prosperity of all Illinois citizens;
(b) federal regulatory and judicial rulings in the 1980s
caused a restructuring of the telecommunications industry and
opened some aspects of the industry to competitive entry,
thereby necessitating revision of State telecommunications
regulatory policies and practices;
(c) revisions in telecommunications regulatory policies

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and practices in Illinois beginning in the mid-1980s brought
the benefits of competition to consumers in many
telecommunications markets, but not in local exchange
telecommunications service markets;
(d) the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 established
the goal of opening all telecommunications service markets to
competition and accords to the states the responsibility to
establish and enforce policies necessary to attain that goal;
(e) it is in the immediate interest of the People of the
State of Illinois for the State to exercise its rights within
the new framework of federal telecommunications policy to
ensure that the economic benefits of competition in all
telecommunications service markets are realized as effectively
as possible;
(f) the competitive offering of all telecommunications
services will increase innovation and efficiency in the
provision of telecommunications services and may lead to
reduced prices for consumers, increased investment in
communications infrastructure, the creation of new jobs, and
the attraction of new businesses to Illinois; and
(g) protection of the public interest requires changes in
the regulation of telecommunications carriers and services to
ensure, to the maximum feasible extent, the reasonable and
timely development of effective competition in all
telecommunications service markets; .
(h) Illinois residents rely on today's modern wired and

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wireless Internet Protocol (IP) networks and services to
improve their lives by connecting them to school and college
degrees, work and job opportunities, family and friends,
information, and entertainment, as well as emergency
responders and public safety officials; Illinois businesses
rely on these modern IP networks and services to compete in a
global marketplace by expanding their customer base, managing
inventory and operations more efficiently, and offering
customers specialized and personalized products and services;
without question, Illinois residents and our State's economy
rely profoundly on the modern wired and wireless IP networks
and services in our State;
(i) the transition from 20th century traditional circuit
switched and other legacy telephone services to modern 21st
century next generation Internet Protocol (IP) services is
taking place at an extraordinary pace as Illinois consumers are
upgrading to home communications service using IP technology,
including high speed Internet, Voice over Internet Protocol,
and wireless service;
(j) this rapid transition to IP-based communications has
dramatically transformed the way people communicate and has
provided significant benefits to consumers in the form of
innovative functionalities resulting from the seamless
convergence of voice, video, and text, benefits realized by the
General Assembly when it chose to transition its own
telecommunications system to an all IP communications network

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in 2016;
(k) the benefits of the transition to IP-based networks and
services were also recognized by the General Assembly in 2015
through the enactment of legislation requiring that every 9-1-1
emergency system in Illinois provide Next Generation 9-1-1
service by July 1, 2020 and requiring that the Next Generation
9-1-1 network must be an IP-based platform; and
(l) completing the transition to all IP-based networks and
technologies is in the public interest because it will promote
continued innovation, consumer benefits, increased
efficiencies, and increased investment in IP-based networks
and services.
(Source: P.A. 90-185, eff. 7-23-97.)
(220 ILCS 5/13-103) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-103)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2017)
Sec. 13-103. Policy. Consistent with its findings, the
General Assembly declares that it is the policy of the State of
Illinois that:
(a) telecommunications services should be available to all
Illinois citizens at just, reasonable, and affordable rates and
that such services should be provided as widely and
economically as possible in sufficient variety, quality,
quantity and reliability to satisfy the public interest;
(b) consistent with the protection of consumers of
telecommunications services and the furtherance of other

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public interest goals, competition in all telecommunications
service markets should be pursued as a substitute for
regulation in determining the variety, quality and price of
telecommunications services and that the economic burdens of
regulation should be reduced to the extent possible consistent
with the furtherance of market competition and protection of
the public interest;
(c) all necessary and appropriate modifications to State
regulation of telecommunications carriers and services should
be implemented without unnecessary disruption to the
telecommunications infrastructure system or to consumers of
telecommunications services and that it is necessary and
appropriate to establish rules to encourage and ensure orderly
transitions in the development of markets for all
telecommunications services;
(d) the consumers of telecommunications services and
facilities provided by persons or companies subject to
regulation pursuant to this Act and Article should be required
to pay only reasonable and non-discriminatory rates or charges
and that in no case should rates or charges for non-competitive
telecommunications services include any portion of the cost of
providing competitive telecommunications services, as defined
in Section 13-209, or the cost of any nonregulated activities;
(e) the regulatory policies and procedures provided in this
Article are established in recognition of the changing nature
of the telecommunications industry and therefore should be

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subject to systematic legislative review to ensure that the
public benefits intended to result from such policies and
procedures are fully realized; and
(f) development of and prudent investment in advanced
telecommunications services and networks that foster economic
development of the State should be encouraged through the
implementation and enforcement of policies that promote
effective and sustained competition in all telecommunications
service markets; and .
(g) completion of the transition to modern IP-based
networks should be encouraged through relief from the outdated
regulations that require continued investment in legacy
circuit switched networks from which Illinois consumers have
largely transitioned, while at the same time ensuring that
consumers have access to available alternative services that
provide quality voice service and access to emergency
communications.
(Source: P.A. 90-185, eff. 7-23-97.)
(220 ILCS 5/13-406) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-406)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2017)
Sec. 13-406. Abandonment of service. No telecommunications
carrier offering or providing noncompetitive
telecommunications service pursuant to a valid Certificate of
Service Authority or certificate of public convenience and
necessity shall discontinue or abandon such service once

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initiated until and unless it shall demonstrate, and the
Commission finds, after notice and hearing, that such
discontinuance or abandonment will not deprive customers of any
necessary or essential telecommunications service or access
thereto and is not otherwise contrary to the public interest.
No telecommunications carrier offering or providing
competitive telecommunications service shall completely
discontinue or abandon such service to an identifiable class or
group of customers once initiated except upon 60 days notice to
the Commission and affected customers. The Commission may, upon
its own motion or upon complaint, investigate the proposed
discontinuance or abandonment of a competitive
telecommunications service and may, after notice and hearing,
prohibit such proposed discontinuance or abandonment if the
Commission finds that it would be contrary to the public
interest. If the Commission does not provide notice of a
hearing within 60 calendar days after the notification or holds
a hearing and fails to find that the proposed discontinuation
or abandonment would be contrary to the public interest, the
provider may discontinue or abandon such service after
providing at least 30 days notice to affected customers. This
Section does not apply to a Large Electing Provider proceeding
under Section 13-406.1.
(Source: P.A. 96-927, eff. 6-15-10.)
(220 ILCS 5/13-406.1 new)

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Sec. 13-406.1. Large Electing Provider transition to
IP-based networks and service.
(a) Consistent with the findings of paragraphs (h) through
(l) of Section 13-102, which recognize the benefits of the
transition from 20th century traditional circuit switched and
other legacy telephone networks and services to modern 21st
century next generation Internet Protocol-based (IP-based)
networks and services, the General Assembly enacts this Section
as a means of furthering the policy goals of paragraph (g) of
Section 13-103, by providing relief from outdated regulations
that require continued investment in legacy circuit switched
networks from which Illinois consumers have largely
transitioned, while at the same time ensuring access to quality
alternative voice service and emergency communications.
(b) As used in this Section:
"Alternative voice service" means service that includes
all of the applicable functionalities for voice telephony
services described in 47 CFR 54.101(a).
"Existing customer" means a residential customer of the
Large Electing Provider who is subscribing to a
telecommunications service at the customer's residence on the
date the Large Electing Provider sends its second notice under
paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of this Section of its intent
to cease offering and providing such service.
"Large Electing Provider" means an Electing Provider, as
defined in Section 13-506.2, that reported in its annual

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competition report for the year 2016 filed with the Commission
pursuant to Section 13-407 and 83 Ill. Adm. Code 793 that it
provided at least 700,000 access lines to end users.
"New customer" means a residential customer who is not
subscribing to a telecommunications service provided by the
Large Electing Provider at the customer's residence on the date
the Large Electing Provider sends its second notice under
paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of this Section of its intent
to cease offering and providing such service.
"Reliable access to 9-1-1" means access to 9-1-1 that
complies with the applicable rules, regulations, and
guidelines established by the Federal Communications
Commission.
"Willing provider" means a provider that voluntarily
participates in the request for service process.
(c) Beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may,
to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law,
cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to an
identifiable class or group of customers, other than voice
telecommunications service to residential customers, upon 60
days' notice to the Commission and affected customers.
(d) Beginning July 1, 2017, a Large Electing Provider, may,
to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law,
cease to offer and provide voice telecommunications service to
an identifiable class or group of residential customers, for
the purposes of this subsection referred to as "requested

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service", subject to compliance with the following
requirements:
(1) At the same time that it gives notice to the
Federal Communications Commission of its intent to
discontinue the interstate-access component of the
requested service, the Large Electing Provider shall:
(A) file a notice of proposal to cease to offer and
provide the requested service with the Commission; and
(B) provide a notice of proposal to cease to offer
and provide the requested service to each of the Large
Electing Provider's customers within each affected
local exchange, with the notice made by first-class
mail or within customer bills delivered by mail or
equivalent means of notice, including electronic means
if the customer has elected electronic billing.
(2) Upon approval by the Federal Communications
Commission of its request to discontinue the
interstate-access component of the requested service, the
Large Electing Provider may cease to offer and provide the
requested service to new customers immediately upon the
filing of a notice with the Commission pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3) Upon approval of by the Federal Communications
Commission of its request to discontinue the
interstate-access component of the requested service, the
Large Electing Provider shall, at least 90 days before

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ceasing to offer or provide such service to an existing
customer, do the following:
(A) file a notice of the cessation of the requested
service with the Commission; and
(B) provide notice of the cessation of the
requested service to each of the Large Electing
Provider's existing customers within the local
exchange by first-class mail or within customer bills
delivered by mail or equivalent means of notice,
including electronic means if the customer has elected
electronic billing. The notice provided under this
subparagraph must identify the date on which the Large
Electing Provider intends to cease offering or
providing the telecommunications service and provide a
telephone number by which the existing customer may
contact a service representative of the Large Electing
Provider.
(4) After July 1, 2017, and only in an area for which a
Large Electing Provider has given notice of cessation of
the requested service to existing customers under
paragraph (3) of this subsection, an existing customer of
that provider may, within 60 days after issuance of such
notice, request the Commission to investigate the
availability of alternative voice service with reliable
access to 9-1-1 to that customer. For the purposes of this
paragraph, existing customers who make such a request are

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referred to as "requesting existing customers".
(A) In response to all requests under this
paragraph (4), the Commission shall conduct a single
investigation to be commenced 75 days after receipt of
notice under paragraph (3) of this subsection and
completed within 90 days after commencement.
(i) If, as a result of the investigation, the
Commission finds that service from at least one
provider offering alternative voice service with
reliable access to 9-1-1 through any technology or
medium is available to one or more requesting
existing customers, the Commission shall declare
by order that, with respect to the requesting
existing customers for which such finding is made,
the Large Electing Provider may cease to offer or
provide the requested service.
(ii) If, as a result of the investigation, the
Commission finds that service from at least one
provider offering alternative voice service with
reliable access to 9-1-1 through any technology or
medium is not available to one or more requesting
existing customers, the Commission may declare by
order that an emergency exists with respect to the
requesting existing customers for which such
finding is made.
(iii) If, within 90 days after commencement of

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the investigation, the Commission does not issue
an order as described in subdivision (i) or (ii) of
this subparagraph (A) with respect to one or more
requesting existing customers, the Commission
shall be deemed to have found that at least one
provider offering alternative voice service with
reliable access to 9-1-1 through any technology or
medium is available to such requesting existing
customers and the Large Electing Provider may
cease to offer or provide service to such
requesting existing customers.
(B) If the Commission declares an emergency under
subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph
(4) with respect to one or more requesting existing
customers, the Commission shall conduct a request for
service process to identify a willing provider of
alternative voice service with reliable access to
9-1-1 to such requesting existing customers. A
provider shall not be required to participate in the
request for service process. The willing provider may
utilize any form of technology that is capable of
providing alternative voice service with reliable
access to 9-1-1, including, without limitation, Voice
over Internet Protocol services and wireless services.
(i) If the Commission, within 90 days after the
issuance of the order finding that an emergency

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exists, determines that another provider is
willing and capable of providing alternative voice
service with reliable access to 9-1-1 to those
requesting existing customers for which an
emergency has been declared, the Commission shall
declare by order that, with respect to the
requesting existing customers for which such
finding is made, the Large Electing Provider may
cease to offer or provide the requested service.
(ii) If the Commission, within 90 days after
the issuance of the order finding that an emergency
exists, determines that no other provider is
willing and capable of providing alternative voice
service with reliable access to 9-1-1 to those
requesting existing customers for which an
emergency has been declared, the Commission may
issue an order requiring the Large Electing
Provider to provide alternative voice service with
reliable access to 9-1-1 to such requesting
existing customers utilizing any form of
technology capable of providing alternative voice
service with reliable access to 9-1-1, including,
without limitation, Voice over Internet Protocol
services and wireless services, until another
willing provider is available. A Large Electing
Provider may fulfill the requirement through an

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affiliate or another provider.
(iii) If, within 90 days after the issuance of
the order finding that an emergency exists, the
Commission does not issue an order as described in
either subdivision (i) or subdivision (ii) of this
subparagraph with respect to one or more
requesting existing customers for which an
emergency has been declared, the Commission shall
be deemed to have found that at least one provider
offering alternative voice service with reliable
access to 9-1-1 through any technology or medium is
available to such requesting existing customers
and the Large Electing Provider may cease to offer
or provide service to such requesting existing
customers.
(C) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (iii)
of subparagraph (A) and subdivision (iii) of
subparagraph (B), the Large Electing Provider shall
not cease to offer or provide the requested service to
(i) any requesting existing customer prior to the
completion of the investigation under subparagraph (A)
of paragraph (4) of this subsection; or (ii) any
requesting existing customer for which an emergency
has been declared prior to completion of the request
for service process under subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (4) of this subsection. A request by an

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existing customer for an investigation and any related
investigation or proceeding related to a request for
service under paragraph (4) of this subsection shall
not, however, prevent the Large Electing Provider from
ceasing to offer or provide the requested service to
existing customers other than requesting existing
customers in accordance the provisions of paragraph
(3) of this subsection during the pendency of the
investigation or proceeding related to request for
service.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
and except as expressly authorized by this subsection, the
Commission may not, upon its own motion or upon complaint,
investigate, suspend, disapprove, condition, or otherwise
regulate the cessation of a telecommunications service to
an identifiable class or group of customers once initiated
by a Large Electing Provider pursuant to subsection (c) or
this subsection.
(220 ILCS 5/21-401)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2017)
Sec. 21-401. Applications.
(a)(1) A person or entity seeking to provide cable service
or video service pursuant to this Article shall not use the
public rights-of-way for the installation or construction of
facilities for the provision of cable service or video service

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or offer cable service or video service until it has obtained a
State-issued authorization to offer or provide cable or video
service under this Section, except as provided for in item (2)
of this subsection (a). All cable or video providers offering
or providing service in this State shall have authorization
pursuant to either (i) the Cable and Video Competition Law of
2007 (220 ILCS 5/21-100 et seq.); (ii) Section 11-42-11 of the
Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-42-11); or (iii) Section
5-1095 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-1095).
(2) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a local unit of
government from granting a permit to a person or entity for the
use of the public rights-of-way to install or construct
facilities to provide cable service or video service, at its
sole discretion. No unit of local government shall be liable
for denial or delay of a permit prior to the issuance of a
State-issued authorization.
(b) The application to the Commission for State-issued
authorization shall contain a completed affidavit submitted by
the applicant and signed by an officer or general partner of
the applicant affirming all of the following:
(1) That the applicant has filed or will timely file
with the Federal Communications Commission all forms
required by that agency in advance of offering cable
service or video service in this State.
(2) That the applicant agrees to comply with all
applicable federal and State statutes and regulations.

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(3) That the applicant agrees to comply with all
applicable local unit of government regulations.
(4) An exact description of the cable service or video
service area where the cable service or video service will
be offered during the term of the State-issued
authorization. The service area shall be identified in
terms of either (i) exchanges, as that term is defined in
Section 13-206 of this Act; (ii) a collection of United
States Census Bureau Block numbers (13 digit); (iii) if the
area is smaller than the areas identified in either (i) or
(ii), by geographic information system digital boundaries
meeting or exceeding national map accuracy standards; or
(iv) local unit of government. The description shall
include the number of low-income households within the
service area or footprint. If an applicant is an incumbent
cable operator, the incumbent cable operator and any
successor-in-interest shall be obligated to provide access
to cable services or video services within any local units
of government at the same levels required by the local
franchising authorities for the local unit of government on
June 30, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-9), and
its application shall provide a description of an area no
smaller than the service areas contained in its franchise
or franchises within the jurisdiction of the local unit of
government in which it seeks to offer cable or video
service.

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(5) The location and telephone number of the
applicant's principal place of business within this State
and the names of the applicant's principal executive
officers who are responsible for communications concerning
the application and the services to be offered pursuant to
the application, the applicant's legal name, and any name
or names under which the applicant does or will provide
cable services or video services in this State.
(6) A certification that the applicant has
concurrently delivered a copy of the application to all
local units of government that include all or any part of
the service area identified in item (4) of this subsection
(b) within such local unit of government's jurisdictional
boundaries.
(7) The expected date that cable service or video
service will be initially offered in the area identified in
item (4) of this subsection (b). In the event that a holder
does not offer cable services or video services within 3
months after the expected date, it shall amend its
application and update the expected date service will be
offered and explain the delay in offering cable services or
video services.
(8) For any entity that received State-issued
authorization prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th
General Assembly as a cable operator and that intends to
proceed as a cable operator under this Article, the entity

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shall file a written affidavit with the Commission and
shall serve a copy of the affidavit with any local units of
government affected by the authorization within 30 days
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th
General Assembly stating that the holder will be providing
cable service under the State-issued authorization.
The application shall include adequate assurance that the
applicant possesses the financial, managerial, legal, and
technical qualifications necessary to construct and operate
the proposed system, to promptly repair any damage to the
public right-of-way caused by the applicant, and to pay the
cost of removal of its facilities. To accomplish these
requirements, the applicant may, at the time the applicant
seeks to use the public rights-of-way in that jurisdiction, be
required by the State of Illinois or later be required by the
local unit of government, or both, to post a bond, produce a
certificate of insurance, or otherwise demonstrate its
financial responsibility.
The application shall include the applicant's general
standards related to customer service required by Section
22-501 of this Act, which shall include, but not be limited to,
installation, disconnection, service and repair obligations;
appointment hours; employee ID requirements; customer service
telephone numbers and hours; procedures for billing, charges,
deposits, refunds, and credits; procedures for termination of
service; notice of deletion of programming service and changes

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related to transmission of programming or changes or increases
in rates; use and availability of parental control or lock-out
devices; complaint procedures and procedures for bill dispute
resolution and a description of the rights and remedies
available to consumers if the holder does not materially meet
their customer service standards; and special services for
customers with visual, hearing, or mobility disabilities.
(c)(1) The applicant may designate information that it
submits in its application or subsequent reports as
confidential or proprietary, provided that the applicant
states the reasons the confidential designation is necessary.
The Commission shall provide adequate protection for such
information pursuant to Section 4-404 of this Act. If the
Commission, a local unit of government, or any other party
seeks public disclosure of information designated as
confidential, the Commission shall consider the confidential
designation in a proceeding under the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, and the burden of proof to demonstrate that the
designated information is confidential shall be upon the
applicant. Designated information shall remain confidential
pending the Commission's determination of whether the
information is entitled to confidential treatment. Information
designated as confidential shall be provided to local units of
government for purposes of assessing compliance with this
Article as permitted under a Protective Order issued by the
Commission pursuant to the Commission's rules and to the

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Attorney General pursuant to Section 6.5 of the Attorney
General Act (15 ILCS 205/6.5). Information designated as
confidential under this Section or determined to be
confidential upon Commission review shall only be disclosed
pursuant to a valid and enforceable subpoena or court order or
as required by the Freedom of Information Act. Nothing herein
shall delay the application approval timeframes set forth in
this Article.
(2) Information regarding the location of video services
that have been or are being offered to the public and aggregate
information included in the reports required by this Article
shall not be designated or treated as confidential.
(d)(1) The Commission shall post all applications it
receives under this Article on its web site within 5 business
days.
(2) The Commission shall notify an applicant for a cable
service or video service authorization whether the applicant's
application and affidavit are complete on or before the 15th
business day after the applicant submits the application. If
the application and affidavit are not complete, the Commission
shall state in its notice all of the reasons the application or
affidavit are incomplete, and the applicant shall resubmit a
complete application. The Commission shall have 30 days after
submission by the applicant of a complete application and
affidavit to issue the service authorization. If the Commission
does not notify the applicant regarding the completeness of the

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application and affidavit or issue the service authorization
within the time periods required under this subsection, the
application and affidavit shall be considered complete and the
service authorization issued upon the expiration of the 30th
day.
(e) Any authorization issued by the Commission will expire
on December 31, 2020 and shall contain or include all of the
following:
(1) A grant of authority, including an authorization
issued prior to this amendatory Act of the 98th General
Assembly, to provide cable service or video service in the
service area footprint as requested in the application,
subject to the provisions of this Article in existence on
the date the grant of authority was issued, and any
modifications to this Article enacted at any time prior to
the date in Section 21-1601 of this Act, and to the laws of
the State and the ordinances, rules, and regulations of the
local units of government.
(2) A grant of authority to use, occupy, and construct
facilities in the public rights-of-way for the delivery of
cable service or video service in the service area
footprint, subject to the laws, ordinances, rules, or
regulations of this State and local units of governments.
(3) A statement that the grant of authority is subject
to lawful operation of the cable service or video service
by the applicant, its affiliated entities, or its

HB2691 - 24 - LRB100 07963 RJF 18037 b
successors-in-interest.
(e-5) The Commission shall notify a local unit of
government within 3 business days of the grant of any
authorization within a service area footprint if that
authorization includes any part of the local unit of
government's jurisdictional boundaries and state whether the
holder will be providing video service or cable service under
the authorization.
(f) The authorization issued pursuant to this Section by
the Commission may be transferred to any successor-in-interest
to the applicant to which it is initially granted without
further Commission action if the successor-in-interest (i)
submits an application and the information required by
subsection (b) of this Section for the successor-in-interest
and (ii) is not in violation of this Article or of any federal,
State, or local law, ordinance, rule, or regulation. A
successor-in-interest shall file its application and notice of
transfer with the Commission and the relevant local units of
government no less than 15 business days prior to the
completion of the transfer. The Commission is not required or
authorized to act upon the notice of transfer; however, the
transfer is not effective until the Commission approves the
successor-in-interest's application. A local unit of
government or the Attorney General may seek to bar a transfer
of ownership by filing suit in a court of competent
jurisdiction predicated on the existence of a material and

HB2691 - 25 - LRB100 07963 RJF 18037 b
continuing breach of this Article by the holder, a pattern of
noncompliance with customer service standards by the potential
successor-in-interest, or the insolvency of the potential
successor-in-interest. If a transfer is made when there are
violations of this Article or of any federal, State, or local
law, ordinance, rule, or regulation, the successor-in-interest
shall be subject to 3 times the penalties provided for in this
Article.
(g) The authorization issued pursuant to this Section by
the Commission may be terminated, or its cable service or video
service area footprint may be modified, by the cable service
provider or video service provider by submitting notice to the
Commission and to the relevant local unit of government
containing a description of the change on the same terms as the
initial description pursuant to item (4) of subsection (b) of
this Section. The Commission is not required or authorized to
act upon that notice. It shall be a violation of this Article
for a holder to discriminate against potential residential
subscribers because of the race or income of the residents in
the local area in which the group resides by terminating or
modifying its cable service or video service area footprint. It
shall be a violation of this Article for a holder to terminate
or modify its cable service or video service area footprint if
it leaves an area with no cable service or video service from
any provider.
(h) The Commission's authority to administer this Article

HB2691 - 26 - LRB100 07963 RJF 18037 b
is limited to the powers and duties explicitly provided under
this Article. Its authority under this Article does not include
or limit the powers and duties that the Commission has under
the other Articles of this Act, the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act, or any other law or regulation to conduct
proceedings, other than as provided in subsection (c), or has
to promulgate rules or regulations. The Commission shall not
have the authority to limit or expand the obligations and
requirements provided in this Section or to regulate or control
a person or entity to the extent that person or entity is
providing cable service or video service, except as provided in
this Article.
(Source: P.A. 98-45, eff. 6-28-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 99-6,
eff. 6-29-15.)
(220 ILCS 5/13-1200 rep.)
(220 ILCS 5/21-1601 rep.)
Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
repealing Sections 13-1200 and 21-1601.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.