SB0239sam001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Antonio Muņoz

Filed: 5/22/2018

10000SB0239sam001 LRB100 05162 MJP 40599 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 239

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 239 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the In-Building Radio Coverage Enhancement Act.

Section 5. Purpose. This Act implements the provisions of the International Fire Code that assure proper communications among emergency response personnel to protect life and commercial buildings during fire and other hazardous threats through the enhancement of in-building radio signal strength of the public safety radio system.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Approved radio coverage" means that emergency responders are able to transmit and receive radio signals of the public safety radio system signal in 95% of all areas on each floor of a commercial building and in 99% of its critical building areas.

"Authority having jurisdiction" means an organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure.

"Commercial building" means a building other than a single-family home; a dwelling containing 2 or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhomes; or a farm building as exempted from Section 3 of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act.

"Critical building area" includes a fire command center, fire pump room, exit stair, exit passageway, elevator lobby, standpipe cabinet, sprinkler sectional valve location, and other areas deemed critical by the authority having jurisdiction.

"In-building emergency radio coverage enhancement system" means the products, such as repeaters, transmitters, receivers, signal boosters and battery charging systems, used to provide reliable 2-way wireless radio signal coverage for emergency responders inside buildings.

"Public safety radio system" means a radio system provisioned, installed, and maintained for the purpose of providing wireless communication to serve the requirements of emergency response agencies.

Section 15. Approved radio coverage required; in-building emergency radio enhancement systems.

(a) Within 18 months after the effective date of this Act:

(1) each applicant for a new construction permit for a commercial building shall include an assessment of whether the commercial building has approved radio coverage; and

(2) each owner of a commercial building not under paragraph (1) shall conduct an assessment to determine whether the commercial building has approved radio coverage.

(b) All new and existing commercial buildings shall have approved radio coverage to assure proper emergency response and recovery mechanisms are available. If an assessment under subsection (a) demonstrates that the in-building radio signal strength of a public safety radio system fails to provide approved radio coverage, then:

(1) if it is a commercial building under paragraph (1) of subsection (a), an approved emergency radio coverage enhancement system shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Sections 510 and 1103.2 of the 2018 International Fire Code and the 2016 edition of National Fire Protection Association Standard 1221 before occupancy of the commercial building; or

(2) if it is a commercial building under paragraph (2) of subsection (a), an approved emergency radio coverage enhancement system shall be installed and maintained in accordance with Sections 510 and 1103.2 of the 2018 International Fire Code and the 2016 edition of National Fire Protection Association Standard 1221 within 18 months of the completion of the assessment.

The in-building emergency radio enhancement system shall be listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory that is accredited by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration to test and certify to American National Standards Institute/Underwriters Laboratories Standard 2524.

Section 20. Existing public safety radio systems. This Act does not require improvement of existing public safety radio systems.

Section 25. Rules. The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement and enforce this Act, including rules for an accelerated timeline to conduct assessments of compliance with approved radio coverage in schools, hospitals, and other areas of mass congregation as determined by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".