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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic | ||||||
| 5 | Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | is amended by adding Section 605-1055 as follows: | ||||||
| 7 | (20 ILCS 605/605-1055 new) | ||||||
| 8 | Sec. 605-1055. Illinois Innovation Voucher Program. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) The Department is authorized to establish the Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | Innovation Voucher Program to be administered in accordance | ||||||
| 11 | with this Section for the purpose of fostering research and | ||||||
| 12 | development in key industry clusters leading to the creation | ||||||
| 13 | of new products and services that can be marketed by Illinois | ||||||
| 14 | businesses. Subject to appropriation, the Department may award | ||||||
| 15 | innovation vouchers to eligible businesses to offset a portion | ||||||
| 16 | of expenses incurred through a collaborative research | ||||||
| 17 | engagement with an Illinois institution of higher education. | ||||||
| 18 | (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department may award | ||||||
| 19 | matching funds in the form of innovation vouchers up to 75% of | ||||||
| 20 | the cost of the research engagement not to exceed $75,000. A | ||||||
| 21 | business may receive only one innovation voucher under this | ||||||
| 22 | Section per year. | ||||||
| 23 | (c) The Department, if administering the Program under | ||||||
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| 1 | this Section: | ||||||
| 2 | (1) must encourage participation among small and | ||||||
| 3 | mid-sized businesses; | ||||||
| 4 | (2) must encourage participation in the Program in | ||||||
| 5 | diverse geographic and economic areas, including urban, | ||||||
| 6 | suburban, and rural areas of the State; and | ||||||
| 7 | (3) must encourage participation in the Program from | ||||||
| 8 | businesses that operate in key industries, as defined by | ||||||
| 9 | the Department. These industries include, but are not | ||||||
| 10 | limited to, the following: (i) agribusiness and agtech; | ||||||
| 11 | (ii) energy; (iii) information technology; (iv) life | ||||||
| 12 | sciences and healthcare; (v) manufacturing; and (vi) | ||||||
| 13 | transportation and logistics. | ||||||
| 14 | (d) In order to be eligible for an innovation voucher | ||||||
| 15 | under this Section, a business must satisfy all of the | ||||||
| 16 | following conditions: | ||||||
| 17 | (1) the business must be an Illinois-based business. | ||||||
| 18 | For the purposes of this Section, "Illinois-based | ||||||
| 19 | business" means a business that has its principal place of | ||||||
| 20 | business in this State or that employs at least 100 | ||||||
| 21 | full-time employees, as defined under Section 5-5 of the | ||||||
| 22 | Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, | ||||||
| 23 | in this State; | ||||||
| 24 | (2) the business must remain in this State for the | ||||||
| 25 | duration of research engagement; and | ||||||
| 26 | (3) the partnering institution of higher education | ||||||
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| 1 | must be an Illinois-based institution of higher education | ||||||
| 2 | and non-profit. For the purposes of this Section, | ||||||
| 3 | "Illinois-based institution of higher education" means an | ||||||
| 4 | institution of higher education that has its main physical | ||||||
| 5 | campus in this State. | ||||||
| 6 | (e) The Illinois Innovation Voucher Program shall, when | ||||||
| 7 | not administered by the Department, be administered by an | ||||||
| 8 | Illinois non-profit organization or governmental entity with | ||||||
| 9 | expertise in innovation, technology, economic development, | ||||||
| 10 | research and development, and public private partnerships. | ||||||
| 11 | Subject to appropriation, the Department shall be authorized | ||||||
| 12 | to provide to the entity administering the Program an | ||||||
| 13 | administrative fee in an amount not to exceed 10% of the total | ||||||
| 14 | value of vouchers estimated by the Department to be issued in | ||||||
| 15 | each fiscal year. | ||||||
| 16 | (f) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to | ||||||
| 17 | administer the provisions of this Section.
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| 18 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 19 | becoming law.
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