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Hopefully everyone had a wonderful 4th of July celebration. Due to the storms last week, my small town postponed the festivities until tomorrow. The good news is that I’ll have a much better view of the fireworks from my backyard after the storm took out my fence…
National Broadband Program Announced
Last week, the White House announced state allocations for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. After a year of active participation in federal mapping processes to drive our allocation as high as possible, Illinois is poised to receive a confirmed $1.04 billion in BEAD funding to ensure basic broadband access to all the state’s homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions.
BEAD support will complement the approximately $700 million in other state and federal funds—primarily from Rebuild Illinois and the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund dollars—that drive our Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program.
“This funding is a significant step in ensuring Illinoisans across the state have access to the reliable high-speed internet that they need,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I am committed to making Illinois a leader when it comes to technology and innovation, and access to broadband is a critical service for all residents who rely on high-speed internet for everything from healthcare and education, to running a business.”
Recent Bill Signings
SB 40, EV Charging signed into law. This bill Creates the Electric Vehicle Charging Act. Provides that the Act applies to newly constructed single-family homes and multi-unit residential buildings (rather than new single-family homes and newly constructed or renovated multi-unit residential buildings). Provides that the residential requirements for electric vehicle parking spaces apply to all building permits issued 90 days after the effective date of the Act. Provides that all building permits issued 90 days after the effective date of the Act shall require a new, large multifamily residential building or a large multifamily residential building being renovated by a developer converting the property to an association to have 100% of its total parking spaces EV-capable (rather than a specified percentage of EV-capable spaces based on the total amount of parking spaces available). Changes the residential requirements for electric vehicle parking spaces for permits issued 24 months after the effective date Provides that all building permits issued 24 months after the effective date of the Act to be as follows: (1) for permits issued 24 months after the effective date of this Act, a minimum of 40% EV-capable parking spaces; (2) for permits issued 5 years after the effective date of this Act, a minimum of 50% EV-capable parking spaces; and (3) for permits issued 10 years after the effective date of this Act, a minimum of 70% EV-capable parking spaces. Provides that "EV capable" shall not be construed to require a developer or builder to install or run wire or cable from the electrical panel through the conduit or raceway to the terminus of the conduit. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to require that in the case of a developer converting the property to an association, no EV-capable or EV-ready mandate shall apply if it would necessitate the developer having to excavate an existing surface lot or other parking facility in order to retro-fit the parking lot or facility with the necessary conduit and wiring. Establishes that an association that willfully violates the provisions shall be liable to the unit owner for actual damages and shall pay a civil penalty to the unit owner for actual damages and shall pay a civil penalty to the unit owner not to exceed $500 (rather than $1,000). Provides that in any action by a unit owner requesting to have an electric vehicle installed and seeking to enforce compliance with the provisions, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing party (rather than a prevailing plaintiff). Provides that a landlord shall not assess or charge a tenant any fees for the placement or use of an electric vehicles charging system, except that a landlord may charge a security deposit to cover costs to restore the property to its original condition if the tenant removes the electric vehicle charging system.
SB 328, Automatic Contract Renewal signed into law. This bill, as amended, provides that any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation that sells or offers to sell any products or services to a consumer pursuant to a contract, where such contract automatically renews unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall (i) disclose the automatic renewal offer terms clearly and conspicuously in the contract before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled and in visual proximity, or in the case of an offer conveyed by voice, in temporal proximity, to the request for consent to the offer; (ii) not charge the consumer's credit or debit card or other payment mechanism for an automatic renewal service without first obtaining the consumer's consent to the contract containing the automatic renewal offer terms; (iii) provide an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal offer terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel, which may be accomplished by linking to a resource that provides instructions that account for different platforms and services, in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer; and (iv) if the offer includes a free gift or trial, disclose how to cancel the contract, which may be accomplished by linking to a resource that provides instructions that account for different platforms and services, and allow the consumer to cancel before the consumer pays for the good or services. Provides that the Act does not apply to a contract for the sale of any product or service by a provider that is subject to Article XXII of the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Act does not apply to a party regulated by the Director of the Department of Insurance or an affiliate of such party. Provides that the Act does not apply to a party, or an affiliate of the party, regulated by the Director of the Department of Insurance.
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