Illinois Statutes Chapter 35. Revenue § 635/30. Validity of existing franchise fees and agreements

(a) No new franchise fees or other charges for the use of the public rights-of-way, including charges for the recovery of reasonable costs of regulating the use of the public rights-of-way, shall be imposed upon, levied on, or otherwise required of telecommunications retailers by ordinance, resolution, or contract, nor shall any other new charges be required from telecommunications retailers by municipalities from and after the effective date of this Act. Nothing in this Act shall excuse any person or entity from obligations imposed under any law concerning generally applicable taxes or standards for construction on, over, under, or within, use of or repair of the public rights-of-way, including standards relating to free standing towers and other structures upon the public way, nor shall any person or entity be excused from any liability imposed by any such law for the failure to comply with such generally applicable taxes or standards governing construction on, over, under, or within, use of or repair of the public rights-of-way.

(b) Agreements between telecommunications retailers and municipalities entered into before the effective date of this Act regarding use of the public ways shall remain valid according to and for their stated terms, except as to fees or charges waived under Section 5-60 of the Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax Act.  1

(c) The regulation of the terms and conditions upon which poles, conduits, and other facilities located in the public way may be shared by or between telecommunications retailers shall be committed exclusively to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, and such regulation shall not be among the home rule powers and functions described in subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. Moreover, no municipality may enter into any contract or agreement with a telecommunications retailer with respect to the terms and conditions upon which poles, conduits, and other facilities located in the public way may be shared by or between telecommunications retailers.