Public Act 096-0588
 
HB0379 Enrolled LRB096 05843 JAM 15923 b

    AN ACT concerning finance.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local
Government Electronic Reverse Auction Act.
 
    Section 5. Unit of local government defined. As used in
this Act, "unit" and "unit of local government" mean a unit of
local government as defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the
Illinois Constitution.
 
    Section 10. Reverse auction. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law and in accordance with rules adopted by the
unit, a unit of local government, whether or not it is a home
rule unit as defined in Section 6 of Article VII of the
Illinois Constitution, may procure supplies or services
through a competitive electronic auction bidding process after
the unit's purchasing officer explains in writing to the unit's
governing body his or her determination that the use of such a
process will be in the best interest of the unit.
    The purchasing officer shall publish that determination in
the same manner required by law for the unit's invitations for
bids.
    An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include
(i) a procurement description, (ii) all contractual terms,
whenever practical, and (iii) conditions applicable to the
procurement, including a notice that bids will be received in
an electronic auction manner.
    Public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given in
the same manner as required by law for the unit's other
invitations for bids.
    Bids shall be accepted electronically at the time and in
the manner designated in the invitation for bids. During the
auction, a bidder's price shall be disclosed to other bidders.
Bidders shall have the opportunity to reduce their bid prices
during the auction. At the conclusion of the auction, the
record of the bid prices received and the name of each bidder
shall be open to public inspection.
    After the auction period has terminated, withdrawal of bids
shall be permitted as otherwise provided by law.
    The contract shall be awarded within 60 days after the
auction by written notice to the lowest responsible bidder, or
all bids shall be rejected except as otherwise provided by law.
    Extensions of the date for the award may be made by mutual
written consent of the purchasing officer and the lowest
responsible bidder.
 
    Section 15. Application. This Act does not apply to (i)
procurements of professional and artistic services, including
but not limited to telecommunications services, communications
services, Internet services, and information services, and
(ii) contracts for construction projects.
 
    Section 95. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by
changing Section 20-10 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 500/20-10)
    Sec. 20-10. Competitive sealed bidding; reverse auction.
    (a) Conditions for use. All contracts shall be awarded by
competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in
Section 20-5.
    (b) Invitation for bids. An invitation for bids shall be
issued and shall include a purchase description and the
material contractual terms and conditions applicable to the
procurement.
    (c) Public notice. Public notice of the invitation for bids
shall be published in the Illinois Procurement Bulletin at
least 14 days before the date set in the invitation for the
opening of bids.
    (d) Bid opening. Bids shall be opened publicly in the
presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place
designated in the invitation for bids. The name of each bidder,
the amount of each bid, and other relevant information as may
be specified by rule shall be recorded. After the award of the
contract, the winning bid and the record of each unsuccessful
bid shall be open to public inspection.
    (e) Bid acceptance and bid evaluation. Bids shall be
unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction,
except as authorized in this Code. Bids shall be evaluated
based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids,
which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as
inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and
suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will
affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award,
such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life
cycle costs, shall be objectively measurable. The invitation
for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used.
    (f) Correction or withdrawal of bids. Correction or
withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after
award, or cancellation of awards of contracts based on bid
mistakes, shall be permitted in accordance with rules. After
bid opening, no changes in bid prices or other provisions of
bids prejudicial to the interest of the State or fair
competition shall be permitted. All decisions to permit the
correction or withdrawal of bids based on bid mistakes shall be
supported by written determination made by a State purchasing
officer.
    (g) Award. The contract shall be awarded with reasonable
promptness by written notice to the lowest responsible and
responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria
set forth in the invitation for bids, except when a State
purchasing officer determines it is not in the best interest of
the State and by written explanation determines another bidder
shall receive the award. The explanation shall appear in the
appropriate volume of the Illinois Procurement Bulletin.
    (h) Multi-step sealed bidding. When it is considered
impracticable to initially prepare a purchase description to
support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be
issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be
followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders
whose offers have been qualified under the criteria set forth
in the first solicitation.
    (i) Alternative procedures. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act to the contrary, the Director of the
Illinois Power Agency may create alternative bidding
procedures to be used in procuring professional services under
Section 1-75(a) of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section
16-111.5(c) of the Public Utilities Act. These alternative
procedures shall be set forth together with the other criteria
contained in the invitation for bids, and shall appear in the
appropriate volume of the Illinois Procurement Bulletin.
    (j) Reverse auction. Notwithstanding any other provision
of this Section and in accordance with rules adopted by the
Director of Central Management Services as chief procurement
officer, a State purchasing officer under that chief
procurement officer's jurisdiction may procure supplies or
services through a competitive electronic auction bidding
process after the purchasing officer explains in writing to the
chief procurement officer his or her determination that the use
of such a process will be in the best interest of the State.
The chief procurement officer shall publish that determination
in his or her next volume of the Illinois Procurement Bulletin.
    An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include
(i) a procurement description, (ii) all contractual terms,
whenever practical, and (iii) conditions applicable to the
procurement, including a notice that bids will be received in
an electronic auction manner.
    Public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given in
the same manner as provided in subsection (c).
    Bids shall be accepted electronically at the time and in
the manner designated in the invitation for bids. During the
auction, a bidder's price shall be disclosed to other bidders.
Bidders shall have the opportunity to reduce their bid prices
during the auction. At the conclusion of the auction, the
record of the bid prices received and the name of each bidder
shall be open to public inspection.
    After the auction period has terminated, withdrawal of bids
shall be permitted as provided in subsection (f).
    The contract shall be awarded within 60 days after the
auction by written notice to the lowest responsible bidder, or
all bids shall be rejected except as otherwise provided in this
Code. Extensions of the date for the award may be made by
mutual written consent of the State purchasing officer and the
lowest responsible bidder.
    This subsection does not apply to (i) procurements of
professional and artistic services, including but not limited
to telecommunications services, communications services,
Internet services, and information services, and (ii)
contracts for construction projects.
(Source: P.A. 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.