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91_HB1959sam003
LRB9104081WHdvam09
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1959
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 1959, AS AMENDED,
3 by replacing the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT regarding certain contracts for the delivery of
5 human services."; and
6 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
7 following:
8 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
9 Human Services Delivery Neutrality Agreement Act.
10 Section 5. Legislative findings and declaration of
11 policy.
12 (a) The purpose of this Act is to set forth a program
13 to better provide human services to needy citizens of the
14 State of Illinois. The State of Illinois enters into
15 reimbursement agreements with, contracts with, and provides
16 grants to private entities (contractors and grantees) for the
17 purpose of providing residential and day treatment services
18 to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. The State
19 of Illinois enters into these contracts and provides these
20 grants to best provide the human services necessary for the
21 care and development of its neediest citizens.
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1 (b) The General Assembly finds that the needs of its
2 mentally ill and developmentally disabled citizens cannot be
3 met if the services provided to them through reimbursement
4 agreements, contracts, or grant agreements between the State
5 of Illinois and contractors and grantees are subject to
6 disruption. The General Assembly further finds that the
7 likelihood of service disruption is enhanced when contention
8 arises between contractors and grantees and labor
9 organizations seeking to represent the employees of those
10 entities. The General Assembly finds that contractors and
11 grantees that seek to influence their employees with respect
12 to the decision of those employees to be or not to be
13 represented by a labor organization, that is contractors and
14 grantees who fail to remain neutral during periods when labor
15 organizations are seeking to become the representative of
16 their employees, are most likely to be subject to strikes,
17 work stoppages, or work disruptions by their employees.
18 These strikes, work stoppages, or work disruptions have a
19 detrimental effect on the services being provided to Illinois
20 citizens who are mentally ill or developmentally disabled.
21 (c) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
22 of Illinois that, to prevent the disruption of residential
23 and day treatment services to its mentally ill and
24 developmentally disabled citizens, the State of Illinois
25 shall require as a condition of any contract or grant that
26 the contractor or grantee remain neutral, as set forth in
27 this Act, when a labor organization seeks to become the
28 representative of their employees with respect to the
29 decision of those employees to be represented or not to be
30 represented by the labor organization.
31 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
32 "Contractor or grantee" means an individual or entity
33 other than the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
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1 political subdivision of the State of Illinois, which has a
2 reimbursement agreement or contractual or other relationship
3 with or has received moneys from the State of Illinois or a
4 State agency to provide residential or day treatment services
5 to mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons, which
6 reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant is funded in
7 whole or in part by the State of Illinois, or through the
8 Medicaid program of the State of Illinois. "Contractor"
9 includes a subcontractor and a contractor of a grantee and
10 any other entity controlled in whole or in part by the
11 contractor, or an entity in which the contractor has a
12 substantial beneficial interest. "Grantee" includes a
13 sub-grantee and a grantee of a contractor and any other
14 entity controlled in whole or in part by the grantee, or an
15 entity in which the grantee has a substantial beneficial
16 interest.
17 "Employee" means a person employed by a contractor or
18 grantee other than a person employed in a bona fide
19 supervisory or managerial position as defined by applicable
20 law.
21 "Labor organization" means an organization of any kind in
22 which employees participate and which exists for the purpose,
23 in whole or in part, of representing employees concerning
24 grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, benefits,
25 hours of employment, or working conditions.
26 "Neutrality agreement" means an agreement by a contractor
27 or a grantee which includes all of the following provisions:
28 (i) not to use State funds to promote, assist, or
29 deter union organizing or to otherwise seek to influence
30 the decision of any of its employees to be represented or
31 not represented by a labor organization; and
32 (ii) not to require or prohibit the attendance of
33 employees at any meeting related to union representation;
34 and
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1 (iii) not to schedule or hold meetings related to
2 union representation during an employee's work time or in
3 work areas; and
4 (iv) to allow a labor organization the same
5 opportunity to communicate with employees as is used by
6 the contractor or the grantee, including the right to
7 have access to the premises of the contractor or grantee,
8 post notices, distribute literature, and use the premises
9 of the employer to hold meetings with employees.
10 "State funds" means any money or other thing of value
11 provided by the State of Illinois, a State agency, or a
12 political subdivision of the State of Illinois.
13 Section 15. Policy requirements.
14 (a) All contractors and grantees shall be subject to and
15 shall abide by a neutrality agreement.
16 (b) No contractor or grantee shall receive a contract or
17 grant to provide residential or day treatment services for
18 the mentally ill or developmentally disabled citizens of the
19 State of Illinois unless the contractor or grantee has agreed
20 to a neutrality agreement.
21 (c) Any reimbursement agreement, contract, or grant
22 entered into by and between a contractor or a grantee and the
23 State of Illinois or a State agency to provide residential or
24 day treatment services to the mentally ill or developmentally
25 disabled shall include a neutrality agreement and an
26 agreement by the contractor or grantee to comply with the
27 terms of the neutrality agreement.
28 (d) Any grant agreement entered into by and between a
29 grantee and the State of Illinois or a State agency to
30 provide residential or day treatment services to the mentally
31 ill or developmentally disabled shall include a neutrality
32 agreement and an agreement by the grantee to comply with the
33 terms of the neutrality agreement.
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1 (e) Any contractor or grantee entering into a contract
2 with any person or entity to provide any of the services
3 subject to the contract or grant agreement between the
4 contractor or grantee and the State of Illinois or a State
5 agency shall include in the contract or grant agreement a
6 neutrality agreement identical to the neutrality agreement in
7 the contract or grant agreement between the contractor or
8 grantee and the State of Illinois or State agency.
9 Section 20. Reporting. Any labor organization may file
10 a complaint with the Department of Human Services if it
11 believes that a contractor or grantee is expending funds in
12 violation of this Act. Upon the filing of such a complaint,
13 the Department of Human Services shall, within one week,
14 notify the contractor or grantee that it must provide the
15 following accounting:
16 (a) the date, the amount of, and the nature of any use
17 of money or other things of value for the production or
18 distribution of literature or other similar communications,
19 the holding of meetings, including meetings with supervisors
20 and managerial employees, and the use of consultants or
21 lawyers;
22 (b) the source of the money or other things of value so
23 used.
24 The accounting shall be made to the Department of Human
25 Services within 14 calendar days of the receipt of the
26 request for it. The accounting shall be made available to
27 the complainant upon receipt by the Department of Human
28 Services.
29 Section 25. Enforcement.
30 (a) If a contractor or grantee breaches a neutrality
31 agreement or fails to comply with the reporting requirements
32 of Section 20, the State of Illinois may take any action
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1 necessary to enforce compliance, including but not limited to
2 a civil action for injunctive relief, declaratory relief,
3 specific performance, or damages or a combination of those
4 remedies.
5 (b) If the State of Illinois brings an enforcement
6 action for violation of this Act, any person or labor
7 organization with a direct interest in compliance with this
8 Act may join in that enforcement action as a real party in
9 interest.
10 (c) If the State of Illinois declines to institute an
11 action for enforcement for violation of this Act, any person
12 or labor organization with a direct interest in compliance
13 with this Act may institute and enforce a civil action on his
14 or her or its own behalf against the contractor or grantee
15 and seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief, specific
16 performance, or damages or a combination of those remedies.
17 (d) Remedies for violation of this Act include but are
18 not limited to injunctive and declaratory relief, specific
19 performance, and monetary damages. In view of the difficulty
20 of determining actual damages incurred because of a violation
21 of this Act, liquidated damages shall be awarded at the rate
22 of $1,000 for each violation plus an additional $500 for each
23 day the violation continues without remedy. Damages shall be
24 distributed equally between the State of Illinois and the
25 private plaintiffs, if any.
26 Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
27 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
29 becoming law.".
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