HB 4846

Abstract

Amends the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act. Provides for a uniform standard of contract goals for State agencies, public institutions of higher education, and other departments. Specifies further requirements concerning the uniform standard of contract goals. Provides that the Secretary of the Business Enterprise Council for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities shall have the duty to establish an enforcement procedure whereby the Council may recommend to the appropriate State legal officer that the State exercise its legal remedies which shall include, among other legal remedies, the imposition of a penalty in the amount of the discrepancy between the commitment contained in a utilization plan, as such amount may be amended over the term of the contract, and the qualifying payments made to the eligible certified vendors listed in the utilization plan. Provides that the terms of every contract entered into by a State agency or public institution of higher education for purposes of the Act shall include a provision requiring vendors who fail to comply with a utilization plan to return all funds paid to that vendor with an expectation of compliance. Provides that the Council may (rather than shall) grant a waiver when the contractor demonstrates that there has been a good faith effort to comply with the goals for participation by businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Makes conforming and other changes. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 30 ILCS 575/7 Adds reference to: 30 ILCS 575/2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with changes. Further amends the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act to define the term "goal". Removes provisions from the introduced bill providing that no State agency or public institution of higher education shall maintain a policy of establishing contract specific goals for the participation of certified vendors that is inconsistent with or less stringent than the uniform standards for calculating contract specific goals established by the Business Enterprise Program. Removes provisions requiring State agencies and public institutions of higher education to submit reports to the Business Enterprise Council. Removes provisions from the introduced bill concerning procedures for determining whether a vendor has made good faith efforts to meet the contract goals. Provides that the Business Enterprise Program may (in the introduced bill, shall) establish uniform standards for calculating contract specific Business Enterprise Program goals for State contracts and State construction contracts. Provides that, for the purposes of those provisions, the terms "State contract" and "State construction contract" do not include grants from State agencies to grantees for capital improvements or operational expenses.