Bill Text: IL SB3906 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that third parties may lease State-owned communications infrastructure, including dark fiber networks, conduit, and excess communication tower capacity (rather than State-owned dark fiber networks).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-10 - To Subcommittee on Procurement [SB3906 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3906-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB3906 Introduced 2/28/2024, by Sen. Cristina Castro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 500/20-60
Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that third parties may lease State-owned communications infrastructure, including dark fiber networks, conduit, and excess communication tower capacity (rather than State-owned dark fiber networks).
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning finance.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by
changing Section 20-60 as follows:
(30 ILCS 500/20-60)
Sec. 20-60. Duration of contracts.
(a) Maximum duration. A contract may be entered into for
any period of time deemed to be in the best interests of the
State but not exceeding 10 years inclusive, beginning January
1, 2010, of proposed contract renewals; provided, however, in
connection with the issuance of certificates of participation
or bonds, the governing board of a public institution of
higher education may enter into contracts in excess of 10
years but not to exceed 30 years for the purpose of financing
or refinancing real or personal property. Third parties may
lease State-owned communications infrastructure, including
dark fiber networks, conduit, and excess communication tower
capacity, for any period of time deemed to be in the best
interest of the State, but not exceeding 20 years. The length
of a lease for real property or capital improvements shall be
in accordance with the provisions of Section 40-25. The length
of energy conservation program contracts or energy savings

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contracts or leases shall be in accordance with the provisions
of Section 25-45. A contract for bond or mortgage insurance
awarded by the Illinois Housing Development Authority,
however, may be entered into for any period of time less than
or equal to the maximum period of time that the subject bond or
mortgage may remain outstanding.
(b) Subject to appropriation. All contracts made or
entered into shall recite that they are subject to termination
and cancellation in any year for which the General Assembly
fails to make an appropriation to make payments under the
terms of the contract.
(c) The chief procurement officer shall file a proposed
extension or renewal of a contract with the Procurement Policy
Board and the Commission on Equity and Inclusion prior to
entering into any extension or renewal if the cost associated
with the extension or renewal exceeds $249,999. The
Procurement Policy Board or the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion may object to the proposed extension or renewal
within 14 calendar days and require a hearing before the Board
or the Commission on Equity and Inclusion prior to entering
into the extension or renewal. If the Procurement Policy Board
or the Commission on Equity and Inclusion does not object
within 14 calendar days or takes affirmative action to
recommend the extension or renewal, the chief procurement
officer may enter into the extension or renewal of a contract.
This subsection does not apply to any emergency procurement,

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any procurement under Article 40, or any procurement exempted
by Section 1-10(b) of this Code. If any State agency contract
is paid for in whole or in part with federal-aid funds, grants,
or loans and the provisions of this subsection would result in
the loss of those federal-aid funds, grants, or loans, then
the contract is exempt from the provisions of this subsection
in order to remain eligible for those federal-aid funds,
grants, or loans, and the State agency shall file notice of
this exemption with the Procurement Policy Board or the
Commission on Equity and Inclusion prior to entering into the
proposed extension or renewal. Nothing in this subsection
permits a chief procurement officer to enter into an extension
or renewal in violation of subsection (a). By August 1 each
year, the Procurement Policy Board and the Commission on
Equity and Inclusion shall each file a report with the General
Assembly identifying for the previous fiscal year (i) the
proposed extensions or renewals that were filed and whether
such extensions and renewals were objected to and (ii) the
contracts exempt from this subsection.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
this Section, the Department of Innovation and Technology may
enter into leases for dark fiber networks for any period of
time deemed to be in the best interests of the State but not
exceeding 20 years inclusive. The Department of Innovation and
Technology may lease dark fiber networks from third parties
only for the primary purpose of providing services (i) to the

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offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
Secretary of State, Comptroller, or Treasurer and State
agencies, as defined under Section 5-15 of the Civil
Administrative Code of Illinois or (ii) for anchor
institutions, as defined in Section 7 of the Illinois Century
Network Act. Dark fiber network lease contracts shall be
subject to all other provisions of this Code and any
applicable rules or requirements, including, but not limited
to, publication of lease solicitations, use of standard State
contracting terms and conditions, and approval of vendor
certifications and financial disclosures.
(e) As used in this Section, "dark fiber network" means a
network of fiber optic cables laid but currently unused by a
third party that the third party is leasing for use as network
infrastructure.
(f) No vendor shall be eligible for renewal of a contract
when that vendor has failed to meet the goals agreed to in the
vendor's utilization plan, as defined in Section 2 of the
Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with
Disabilities Act, unless the State agency or public
institution of higher education has determined that the vendor
made good faith efforts toward meeting the contract goals. If
the State agency or public institution of higher education
determines that the vendor made good faith efforts, the agency
or public institution of higher education may issue a waiver
after concurrence by the chief procurement officer, which

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