Public Act 097-0951
 
HB4029 EnrolledLRB097 15080 RPM 60171 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by changing Section 
10-20.21 as follows:
 
 

    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.21)

 
    Sec. 10-20.21. Contracts. 

    (a)
To award all contracts for
purchase of supplies and ,  
materials or work or contracts with private carriers
for 
transportation of pupils involving an expenditure in excess of 
$25,000 or a lower amount as required by board policy
to the 
lowest responsible bidder, considering conformity with

specifications, terms of delivery, quality and serviceability, 
after due
advertisement, except the following: (i) contracts 
for the services of
individuals possessing a high degree of 
professional skill where the
ability or fitness of the 
individual plays an important part; (ii)
contracts for the 
printing of finance committee reports and departmental

reports; (iii) contracts for the printing or engraving of 
bonds, tax
warrants and other evidences of indebtedness; (iv) 
contracts for the
purchase of perishable foods and perishable 
beverages; (v) contracts for
materials and work which have been 
awarded to the lowest responsible bidder
after due 
advertisement, but due to unforeseen revisions, not the fault 
of
the contractor for materials and work, must be revised 
causing expenditures
not in excess of 10% of the contract 
price; (vi)
contracts for the maintenance or servicing of, or 
provision of
repair parts for, equipment which are made with 
the manufacturer or
authorized service agent of that equipment 
where the provision of parts,
maintenance, or servicing can 
best be performed by the manufacturer or
authorized service 
agent; (vii) purchases and contracts for the use,
purchase, 
delivery, movement, or installation of data processing 
equipment,
software, or services and telecommunications and 
interconnect
equipment, software, and services; (viii) 
contracts for duplicating
machines and supplies; (ix) 
contracts for the purchase of natural gas when
the cost is less 
than that offered by a public utility; (x) purchases of

equipment previously owned by some entity other than the 
district
itself; (xi) contracts for repair, maintenance, 
remodeling, renovation, or
construction, or a single project 
involving an expenditure not to exceed
$50,000 and not 
involving a change or increase in the size, type, or extent
of 
an existing facility; (xii) contracts for goods or services 
procured
from another governmental agency; (xiii) contracts 
for goods or services
which are economically procurable from 
only one source, such as for the
purchase of magazines, books, 
periodicals, pamphlets and reports, and for
utility services 
such as water, light, heat, telephone or telegraph;
(xiv) where 
funds are expended in an emergency and such emergency

expenditure is approved by 3/4 of the members of the board; 
(xv) State master contracts authorized under Article 28A of 
this Code; and (xvi) contracts providing for the transportation 
of pupils with special needs or disabilities, which contracts 
must be advertised in the same manner as competitive bids and 
awarded by first considering the bidder or bidders most able to 
provide safety and comfort for the pupils with special needs or 
disabilities, stability of service, and any other factors set 
forth in the request for proposal regarding quality of service, 
and then price. However, at no time shall a cause of action lie 
against a school board for awarding a pupil transportation 
contract per the standards set forth in this subsection (a) 
unless the cause of action is based on fraudulent conduct. 
    All competitive
bids for contracts involving an 
expenditure in excess of $25,000 or a lower amount as required 
by board policy must be
sealed by the bidder and must be opened 
by a member or employee of the
school board at a public bid 
opening  at which the contents of the bids
must be announced. 
Each bidder must receive at least 3 days' notice of the
time 
and place of the bid opening. For purposes of this Section due

advertisement includes, but is not limited to, at least one 
public notice
at least 10 days before the bid date in a 
newspaper published in the
district, or if no newspaper is 
published in the district, in a newspaper
of general 
circulation in the area of the district. State master contracts 
and certified education purchasing contracts, as defined in 
Article 28A of this Code, are not subject to the requirements 
of this paragraph.


    Under this Section, the acceptance of bids sealed by a 
bidder and the opening of these bids at a public bid opening 
may be permitted by an electronic process for communicating, 
accepting, and opening competitive bids. However, bids for 
construction purposes are prohibited from being communicated, 
accepted, or opened electronically. An electronic bidding 
process must provide for, but is not limited to, the following 
safeguards:
        (1)  On the date and time certain of a bid opening, the 
    primary person conducting the competitive, sealed, 
    electronic bid process shall log onto a specified database 
    using a unique username and password previously assigned to 
    the bidder to allow access to the  bidder's specific bid 
    project number.
        (2)  The specified electronic database must be on a 
    network that (i) is in a secure environment behind a 
    firewall; (ii) has specific encryption tools; (iii) 
    maintains specific intrusion detection systems; (iv) has 
    redundant systems architecture with data storage back-up, 
    whether by compact disc or tape; and (v) maintains a 
    disaster recovery plan.

It is the legislative intent of Public Act 96-841 to maintain 
the integrity of the sealed bidding process provided for in 
this Section, to further limit any possibility of bid-rigging, 
to reduce administrative costs to school districts, and to 
effect efficiencies in communications with bidders. 
    (b) To require, as a condition of any contract for goods 
and services,
that persons
bidding for and awarded a contract 
and all affiliates of the person collect and
remit
Illinois Use 
Tax on all sales of tangible personal property into the State 
of
Illinois in
accordance with the provisions of the Illinois 
Use Tax Act regardless of whether
the
person or affiliate is a 
"retailer maintaining a place of business within this
State" as

defined in Section 2 of the Use Tax Act. For purposes of this 
Section, the term
"affiliate"
means any entity that (1) 
directly, indirectly, or constructively controls
another 
entity, (2)
is directly, indirectly, or constructively 
controlled by another entity, or (3)
is subject to
the control 
of a common entity. For purposes of this subsection (b), an 
entity
controls
another entity if it owns, directly or 
individually, more than 10% of the
voting
securities
of that 
entity. As used in this subsection (b), the term "voting 
security"
means a security
that (1) confers upon the holder the 
right to vote for the election of members
of the board
of 
directors or similar governing body of the business or (2) is 
convertible
into, or entitles
the holder to receive upon its 
exercise, a security that confers such a right
to
vote. A

general partnership interest is a voting security.

    To require that bids and contracts include a certification 
by the bidder
or
contractor that the bidder or contractor is 
not barred from bidding for or
entering into a
contract under 
this Section and that the bidder or contractor acknowledges 
that
the school
board may declare the contract void if the 
certification completed pursuant to
this
subsection (b) is 
false.

    (b-5) To require all contracts and agreements that pertain 
to goods and services and that are intended to generate 
additional revenue and other remunerations for the school 
district in excess of $1,000, including without limitation 
vending machine contracts, sports and other attire, class 
rings, and photographic services, to be approved by the school 
board. The school board shall file as an attachment to its 
annual budget a report, in a form as determined by the State 
Board of Education, indicating for the prior year the name of 
the vendor, the product or service provided, and the actual net 
revenue and non-monetary remuneration from each of the 
contracts or agreements.  In addition, the report shall indicate 
for what purpose the revenue was used and how and to whom the 
non-monetary remuneration was distributed.

    (c)  If the State education purchasing entity creates a 
master contract as defined in Article 28A of this Code, then 
the State education purchasing entity shall notify school 
districts of the existence of the master contract.  
    (d)   In purchasing supplies, materials, equipment, or 
services that are not subject to subsection (c) of this 
Section, before a school district solicits bids or awards a 
contract, the district may review and consider as a bid under 
subsection (a) of this Section certified education purchasing 
contracts that are already available through the State 
education purchasing entity.
(Source: P.A. 95-990, eff. 10-3-08; 96-392, eff. 1-1-10; 
96-841, eff. 12-23-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.