HR0280 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0280 LRB103 32135 LAW 61182 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois' 1.2 million small business owners, and the 2.5 million small business employees, deserve action from every State agency covered under the Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform Act, 20 ILCS 608, regarding the submission of a statutorily mandated 5-year review of their rules, regulations, and processes on small businesses to the Office of Business Permits and Regulatory Assistance as indicated under 20 ILCS 608/20; and

WHEREAS, The only State agencies to submit a report in 2022 were the Capital Development Board, the Department of Central Management Services, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Department of Employment Security, the Department of Human Rights, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Revenue, the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, the Human Rights Commission, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Lottery, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General; and

WHEREAS, State agencies that did not submit a report in 2022 include the Banking Board of Illinois, the Business Enterprise Council for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities, the Cannabis Commission, the Climate Change Advisory Council, the Commission on Equity and Inclusion, the Elevator Safety Review Board, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Department of Innovation and Technology, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Labor, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Public Health, the Enterprise Zone Board, the Future of Work Task Force, the Hispanic Employment Plan Advisory Council, the Illinois Finance Authority, the Illinois Gaming Board, the Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, the Labor Advisory Board, the Labor Relations Board, the Liquor Control Commission, the Main Street Advisory Council, the Pollution Control Board, the Procurement Policy Board, the Property Tax Appeal Board, the Illinois Racing Board, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board, the Illinois Works Review Panel, and the Office of Illinois State Treasurer; and

WHEREAS, These State agencies should have submitted their small business review reports especially after such an unprecedented event as the COVID-19 pandemic; after the pandemic caused the global economy to falter into a recession, leaving millions unemployed, with thousands never to return to the workforce, and supply chains unrecoverable, COVID-19's impact on small businesses across the State could be felt for generations to come; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, it is disappointing that the Pritzker administration has not publicly admonished its departments for not fulfilling their statutory mandates; the last 5-year report to be completed by every affected department was in 2017; while the COVID-19 pandemic was a hindrance on legislative and State activity in 2020, the most recent 5-year report was due in 2022, which was more than enough time for each department to submit a new report; and

WHEREAS, The effects of government on small business, from the federal government funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the emergency declarations putting curfews on businesses and designating which business were deemed "essential", have all affected State agencies' rules and regulations for small business, leaving the actions of these agencies to be "overtly unreasonable, unduly burdensome, duplicative, or onerous on small businesses" (20 ILCS 608/20 (b)); and

WHEREAS, Now that the pandemic has ended and the economy has normalized, it is time for these State agencies to adhere to the Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform Act and be in accordance with its goal of the review for each State agency, as listed under 20 ILCS 608/20 (b), to recommend changes that will lessen the reporting and paper work requirements on small businesses while still achieving the intent of the underlying statute, to eliminate unnecessary or antiquated permit requirements, to consolidate duplicative or overlapping permit requirements, to simplify overly complex or lengthy application procedures, and to expedite time-consuming agency review and approval procedures; and

WHEREAS, In the Illinois House of Representatives, Rep. Lance Yednock has filed HB 3017, representing progress in the authority promised to the small business community from the State government that "the provisions of this Act shall not lessen or reduce such powers" of State government, but "shall modify the procedures followed in carrying out such powers" extended in the Act to ensure solidified cooperation between small business and State government; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we implore each of the non-submittal agencies to submit their 5-year small business regulatory review to be in compliance with the Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform Act, 20 ILCS 608; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the goal of this resolution is to improve the State's business climate by making it easier for small and mid-size businesses to deal with State requirements for doing business; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to Governor JB Pritzker.