Bill Text: IL SB1438 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Creates the Illinois Dig Once Act. Provides that the Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall jointly develop a policy to reduce the scale and number of repeated excavations related to roads, highways, tollways, and expressways for the installation and maintenance of broadband infrastructure and public utilities in rights of way. Provides that the Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall jointly develop rules to implement the Act.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)

Status: (Passed) 2023-07-28 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0378 [SB1438 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1438-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning transportation.
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
Illinois Dig Once Act.
Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds and
declares that:
(1) minimizing traffic interruptions caused by
repeated excavation and other construction projects is
important to preserving the public safety of individuals
traveling on Illinois roadways; and
(2) greater efficiency and coordination between the
State, units of local government, utilities, and Internet
service providers can help to alleviate costs.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Broadband infrastructure" means wires, cables, fiber
optic lines, conduit, pipe, innerduct, or microduct for fiber
optic or other cables that accommodate current or future
broadband and wireless facilities for broadband service.
"Underground utility facilities" has the meaning given to
that term in Section 2.2 of the Illinois Underground Utility
Facilities Damage Prevention Act.

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Section 15. Dig once.
(a) The Department of Transportation, the Illinois State
Toll Highway Authority, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and
the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall
consult with the State-Wide One-Call Notice System to jointly
develop rules for the design and construction of road,
highway, tollway, and expressway projects to reduce the need
for the relocation of public water and wastewater
infrastructure and to promote the deployment of broadband
infrastructure and underground utility facilities in an
efficient and competitively neutral process for all road,
highway, tollway, and expressway projects.
(b) The rules shall identify a Dig Once Coordinator within
the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that is
responsible for facilitating the broadband infrastructure and
underground utility facilities efforts in rights-of-way. The
Dig Once Coordinator may be an existing employee with other
responsibilities.
(c) The rules shall not impair an entity's ability to
maintain or upgrade networks or respond to situations that
pose an imminent danger to life, health, or property or a
utility or broadband service outage, which requires repair or
action, including emergency excavation.
(d) This Act, or the rules adopted under this Act, are not
intended to delay the design or construction of road, highway,

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tollway, and expressway construction projects, and shall not
be construed to provide authority to approve, deny, or delay
broadband infrastructure projects or underground utility
facilities projects.
Section 20. Rulemaking. The Department of Transportation,
the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the Illinois
Commerce Commission, and the Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity shall adopt the rules that were developed
under Section 15 in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act to implement this Act. The rules adopted under
this Act shall not conflict with the Illinois Underground
Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act.
Section 900. The State Property Control Act is amended by
changing Section 7.2 as follows:
(30 ILCS 605/7.2) (from Ch. 127, par. 133b10.2)
Sec. 7.2. The Administrator, subject to the following
conditions, shall have the authority to grant easements to
public utilities.
For purposes of this Act, "public utility" means and
includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock
company or association, firm, partnership, individual, or
other organization, their levees, trustees, or receiver
appointed by any court whatsoever that owns, controls,

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operates, or manages, within this State, directly or
indirectly, for public use, any plant, equipment, or property
used or to be used for or in connection with, or owns or
controls any franchise, license, permit, or right to engage
in:
a. the transportation of persons or property;
b. the transmission of telegraph or telephone messages
between points within this State;
c. the production, storage, transmission, role, delivery,
or furnishing of heat, cold, light, power, electricity, or
water;
d. the disposal of sewerage; or
e. the conveyance of oil or gas by pipe line; or .
f. the provision of broadband Internet service, cable
service, video service, or Voice Over Internet Protocol
service.
A. Whenever any public utility makes an application for a
grant of an easement in, over, or upon real property of the
State of Illinois for purposes of locating and maintaining
such utility, or such utility's wire, pipe, cable, fiber
conduit, or other facility or equipment, the Administrator,
with the consent of the agency having jurisdiction over the
real property, may grant such easement. The Administrator
shall determine whether or not such is adverse to the
interests of the State of Illinois and shall impose such
limitations on the grant as may be deemed necessary to protect

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the interests of the State of Illinois. Such grant may be made
with or without consideration.
B. The instrument granting the easement shall provide for
termination upon:
1. A failure to comply with any term or condition of the
grant; or
2. A nonuse of the easement for a consecutive 2 year period
for the purpose granted; or
3. An abandonment of the easement.
Written notice of such termination shall be given to the
grantee effective on the date of such notice.
C. The authority granted by this Section shall be in
addition to, and shall not affect or be subject to any law
regarding granting of easements on State lands.
(Source: P.A. 82-1047.)