Public Act 0972 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5260 Enrolled LRB094 16231 RSP 51475 b

Public Act 094-0972

AN ACT concerning finance.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The State Prompt Payment Act is amended by changing Sections 3-2 and 7 as follows:

(30 ILCS 540/3-2) (from Ch. 127, par. 132.403-2)

Sec. 3-2. Beginning July 1, 1993, in any instance where a State official or agency is late in payment of a vendor's bill or invoice for goods or services furnished to the State, as defined in Section 1, properly approved in accordance with rules promulgated under Section 3-3, the State official or agency shall pay interest to the vendor in accordance with the following:

(1) Any bill approved for payment under this Section must be paid or the payment issued to the payee within 60 days of receipt of a proper bill or invoice. If payment is not issued to the payee within this 60 day period, an interest penalty of 1.0% of any amount approved and unpaid shall be added for each month or fraction thereof after the end of this 60 day period, until final payment is made.

(1.1) A State agency shall review in a timely manner each bill or invoice after its receipt. If the State agency determines that the bill or invoice contains a defect making it unable to process the payment request, the agency shall notify the vendor requesting payment as soon as possible after discovering the defect pursuant to rules promulgated under Section 3-3; provided, however, that the notice for construction related bills or invoices must be given not later than 30 days after the bill or invoice was first submitted. The notice shall identify the defect and any additional information necessary to correct the defect. If one or more items on a construction related bill or invoice are disapproved, but not the entire bill or invoice, then the portion that is not disapproved shall be paid.

(2) Where a State official or agency is late in payment of a vendor's bill or invoice properly approved in accordance with this Act, and different late payment terms are not reduced to writing as a contractual agreement, the State official or agency shall automatically pay interest penalties required by this Section amounting to $50 or more to the appropriate vendor. Each agency shall be responsible for determining whether an interest penalty is owed and for paying the interest to the vendor. For interest of at least $5 but less than $50, the vendor must initiate a written request for the interest penalty when such interest is due and payable. The Department of Central Management Services and the State Comptroller shall jointly promulgate rules establishing the conditions under which interest of less than $5 may be claimed and paid. In the event an individual has paid a vendor for services in advance, the provisions of this Section shall apply until payment is made to that individual.

(Source: P.A. 92-384, eff. 7-1-02.)

(30 ILCS 540/7) (from Ch. 127, par. 132.407)

Sec. 7. Payments to subcontractors and material suppliers.

(a) When a State official or agency responsible for administering a contract submits a voucher to the Comptroller for payment to a contractor, that State official or agency shall promptly make available electronically the voucher number, the date of the voucher, and the amount of the voucher. The State official or agency responsible for administering the contract shall provide subcontractors and material suppliers, known to the State official or agency, with instructions on how to access the electronic information. When a contractor receives any payment, the contractor shall pay each subcontractor and material supplier in proportion to the work completed by each subcontractor and material supplier their application, plus interest received under this Act, less any retention. If the contractor receives less than the full payment due under the public construction contract, the contractor shall be obligated to disburse on a pro rata basis those funds received, plus interest received under this Act, with the contractor, subcontractors and material suppliers each receiving a prorated portion based on the amount of payment. When, however, the public owner does not release the full payment due under the contract because there are specific areas of work or materials the contractor is rejecting or because the contractor has otherwise determined such areas are not suitable for payment, then those specific subcontractors or suppliers involved shall not be paid for that portion of work rejected or deemed not suitable for payment and all other subcontractors and suppliers shall be paid in full, plus interest received under this Act.

(b) If the contractor, without reasonable cause, fails to make full payment of amounts due under subsection (a) to his subcontractors and material suppliers within 15 days after receipt of payment under the public construction contract, the contractor shall pay to his subcontractors and material suppliers, in addition to the payment due them, interest in the amount of 2% per month, calculated from the expiration of the 15-day period until fully paid. This subsection shall also apply to any payments made by subcontractors and material suppliers to their subcontractors and material suppliers and to all payments made to lower tier subcontractors and material suppliers throughout the contracting chain.

(1) If a contractor, without reasonable cause, fails to make payment in full as provided in subsection (a) within 15 days after receipt of payment under the public construction contract, any subcontractor or material supplier to whom payments are owed may file a written notice with the State official or agency setting forth the amount owed by the contractor and the contractor's failure to timely pay the amount owed.

(2) The State official or agency, within 15 days after receipt of a subcontractor's or material supplier's written notice of the failure to receive payment from the contractor, shall hold a hearing convened by an administrative law judge to determine whether the contractor withheld payment, without reasonable cause, from the subcontractors and material suppliers and what amount, if any, is due to the subcontractors and material suppliers. The State official or agency shall provide appropriate notice to the parties of the date, time, and location of the hearing. Each contractor, subcontractor, and material supplier has the right to be represented by counsel at the hearing and to cross-examine witnesses and challenge documents.

(3) If there is a finding by the administrative law judge that the contractor failed to make payment in full, without reasonable cause, as provided in subsection (a), then the administrative law judge shall, in writing, direct the contractor to pay the amount owed to the subcontractors and material suppliers plus interest within 15 days after the finding.

(4) If a contractor fails to make full payment within 15 days after the administrative law judge's finding, then the contractor shall be barred from entering into a State public construction contract for a period of one year beginning on the date of the administrative law judge's finding.

(Source: P.A. 94-672, eff. 1-1-06.)

Section 10. The Local Government Prompt Payment Act is amended by changing Sections 3 and 9 as follows:

(50 ILCS 505/3) (from Ch. 85, par. 5603)

Sec. 3. The appropriate local governmental official or agency receiving goods or services must approve or disapprove a bill from a vendor or contractor for goods or services furnished the local governmental agency within 30 days after the receipt of such bill or within 30 days after the date on which the goods or services were received, whichever is later. If one or more items on a construction related bill or invoice are disapproved, but not the entire bill or invoice, then the portion that is not disapproved shall be paid. When safety or quality assurance testing of goods by the local governmental agency is necessary before the approval or disapproval of a bill and such testing cannot be completed within 30 days after receipt of the goods, approval or disapproval of the bill must be made immediately upon completion of the testing or within 60 days after receipt of the goods, whichever occurs first. Written notice shall be mailed to the vendor or contractor immediately if a bill is disapproved.

(Source: P.A. 87-773.)

(50 ILCS 505/9) (from Ch. 85, par. 5609)

Sec. 9. Payments to subcontractors and material suppliers; failure to make timely payments; additional amount due. When a contractor receives any payment, the contractor shall pay each subcontractor and material supplier in proportion to the work completed by each subcontractor and material supplier their application less any retention. If the contractor receives less than the full payment due under the public construction contract, the contractor shall be obligated to disburse on a pro rata basis those funds received, with the contractor, subcontractors and material suppliers each receiving a prorated portion based on the amount of payment. All interest payments received pursuant to Section 4 also shall be disbursed to subcontractors and material suppliers to whom payment has been delayed, on a pro rata basis. When, however, the public owner does not release the full payment due under the contract because there are specific areas of work or materials the contractor is rejecting or because the contractor has otherwise determined such areas are not suitable for payment, then those specific subcontractors or suppliers involved shall not be paid for that portion of the work rejected or deemed not suitable for payment and all other subcontractors and suppliers shall be paid in full.

If the contractor, without reasonable cause, fails to make any payment to his subcontractors and material suppliers within 15 days after receipt of payment under the public construction contract, the contractor shall pay to his subcontractors and material suppliers, in addition to the payment due them, interest in the amount of 2% per month, calculated from the expiration of the 15-day period until fully paid. This Section subsection shall also apply to any payments made by subcontractors and material suppliers to their subcontractors and material suppliers and to all payments made to lower tier subcontractors and material suppliers throughout the contracting chain.

(Source: P.A. 87-773.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2007.