HB2405eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2405 Engrossed LRB095 01053 RCE 21055 b

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 45-45 as follows:

(30 ILCS 500/45-45)

Sec. 45-45. Small businesses.

(a) Set-asides. The chief procurement officer has authority to designate as small business set-asides a fair proportion of construction, supply, and service contracts for award to small businesses in Illinois. Advertisements for bids or offers for those contracts shall specify designation as small business set-asides. In awarding the contracts, only bids or offers from qualified small businesses shall be considered.

(b) Small business. "Small business" means a business that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. The chief procurement officer shall establish a detailed definition by rule, using in addition to the foregoing criteria other criteria, including the number of employees and the dollar volume of business. When computing the size status of a bidder, annual sales and receipts of the bidder and all of its affiliates shall be included. The maximum number of employees and the maximum dollar volume that a small business may have under the rules promulgated by the chief procurement officer may vary from industry to industry to the extent necessary to reflect differing characteristics of those industries, subject to the following limitations:

(1) No wholesale business is a small business if its average annual sales over the 3 most recent calendar years for its most recently completed fiscal year exceed $10,000,000.

(2) No retail business or business selling services is a small business if its average annual sales and receipts over the 3 most recent calendar years exceed $6,000,000.

(3) (Blank). No manufacturing business is a small business if it employs more than 250 persons.

(4) No construction business is a small business if:

(A) its average annual sales and receipts over the 3 most recent calendar years exceed $10,000,000; or

(B) its average annual sales and receipts over the 3 most recent calendar years exceed $2,000,000 and it has received a cumulative total of $5,000,000 or more from State construction and construction-related professional services contracts.

(c) Fair proportion. For the purpose of subsection (a), for State agencies of the executive branch, a fair proportion of construction contracts shall be no less than 25% nor more than 40% of the annual total contracts for construction and construction-related professional services. The construction agency must designate under which category set forth in item (4) of subsection (b) the set-asides are made in the agency's procurement notices.

(d) Withdrawal of designation. A small business set-aside designation may be withdrawn by the purchasing agency when deemed in the best interests of the State. Upon withdrawal, all bids or offers shall be rejected, and the bidders or offerors shall be notified of the reason for rejection. The contract shall then be awarded in accordance with this Code without the designation of small business set-aside.

(e) Small business specialist. The chief procurement officer shall designate a State purchasing officer who will be responsible for engaging an experienced contract negotiator to serve as its small business specialist, whose duties shall include:

(1) Compiling and maintaining a comprehensive bidders list of small businesses. In this duty, he or she shall cooperate with the Federal Small Business Administration in locating potential sources for various products and services.

(2) Assisting small businesses in complying with the procedures for bidding on State contracts.

(3) Examining requests from State agencies for the purchase of property or services to help determine which invitations to bid are to be designated small business set-asides.

(4) Making recommendations to the chief procurement officer for the simplification of specifications and terms in order to increase the opportunities for small business participation.

(5) Assisting in investigations by purchasing agencies to determine the responsibility of bidders on small business set-asides.

(f) Small business annual report. The State purchasing officer designated under subsection (e) shall annually before December 1 report in writing to the General Assembly concerning the awarding of contracts to small businesses. The report shall include the total value of awards made in the preceding fiscal year under the designation of small business set-aside. The report shall also include the total value of awards made to businesses owned by minorities, females, and persons with disabilities, as defined in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act, in the preceding fiscal year under the designation of small business set-aside.

The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act.

(g) Rulemaking. Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor.

(Source: P.A. 92-60, eff. 7-12-01; 93-769, eff. 1-1-05.)