SB2850 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 19089 JAM 45291 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB2850

Introduced 2/15/2008, by Sen. Don Harmon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

30 ILCS 500/50-37 new

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Prohibits campaign contributions from business entities with aggregate State contracts or pending State contract bids of more than $50,000, or from the affiliated entities of such business entities, to any political committees established to promote the candidacy of the executive branch constitutional officeholder responsible for awarding the contracts or a declared candidate for that office. Limits the campaign contributions from persons affiliated with those business entities to those officeholders and candidates. Specifies the duration of the prohibitions and the penalties for violations.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning procurement.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by adding Section 50-37 as follows:

(30 ILCS 500/50-37 new)

Sec. 50-37. Prohibition of political contributions.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Contribution" means a contribution as defined in Section 9-1.4 of the Election Code.

"Officeholder" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, or Treasurer. The Governor shall be considered the officeholder responsible for awarding all contracts by all officers and employees of, and vendors and others doing business with, executive branch State agencies under the jurisdiction of the Executive Ethics Commission and not within the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Comptroller, or the Treasurer.

"Sponsoring entity" means a sponsoring entity as defined in Section 9-3 of the Election Code.

"Affiliated person" means (i) any person with any ownership interest or distributive share of the bidding or contracting business entity in excess of 7.5%, (ii) executive employees of the bidding or contracting business entity, and (iii) the spouse and minor children of any such persons.

"Affiliated entity" means (i) any subsidiary of the bidding or contracting business entity, (ii) any member of the same unitary business group, or (iii) any political committee for which the bidding or contracting business entity is the sponsoring entity.

"Business entity" means any entity doing business for profit, whether organized as a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, limited liability company or partnership, or otherwise.

"Executive employee" means the President, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, or other employee with executive decision-making authority over the long-term and day-to-day affairs of the entity employing the employee, or an employee whose compensation is determined directly, in whole or in part, by the award or payment of contracts by a State agency to the entity employing the employee.

"Semi-annual reporting period" means the period for which semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures must be made pursuant to Section 9-10(c) of the Election Code.

(b) Any business entity whose contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, annually total more than $50,000 and any affiliated entities of such business entity are prohibited from making any contributions to any political committees established to promote the candidacy of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contracts or of any other declared candidate for that office. This prohibition shall be effective for the duration of the term of office of the incumbent officeholder awarding the contracts or for a period of 2 years following the expiration or termination of the contracts, whichever is longer. Affiliated persons of any business whose contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, annually total more than $50,000 are prohibited from making any contributions in excess of $500 in the aggregate in any semi-annual reporting period to any political committees established to promote the candidacy of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contracts or of any other declared candidate for that office.

(c) Any business entity whose aggregate pending bids and proposals on State contracts total more than $50,000, or whose aggregate pending bids and proposals on State contracts combined with the business entity's aggregate annual total value of State contracts exceed $50,000, and any affiliated entities of such business entities, are prohibited from making any contributions to any political committee established to promote the candidacy of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contract on which the business entity has submitted a bid or proposal during the period beginning on the date the invitation for bids or request for proposals is issued and ending on the day after the date the contract is awarded. Affiliated persons of any business entity whose aggregate pending bids or proposals on State contracts, in the aggregate, annually total more that $50,000, or whose aggregate pending bids and proposals on State contracts combined with the business entity's aggregate annual total value of State contracts exceed $50,000, are prohibited from making any contributions in excess of $150 to any political committees established to promote the candidacy of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contract on which the business has submitted a bid or proposal during the period beginning on the date the invitation for bids or request for proposals is issued and ending on the day after the date the contact is awarded.

(d) All contracts between State agencies and a business entity that violates subsection (b) or (c) shall be voidable under Section 50-60. If a business entity violates subsection (b) 3 or more times within a 36-month period, then all contracts between State agencies and that business entity shall be void, and that business entity shall not bid or respond to any invitation to bid or request for proposals from any State agency or otherwise enter into any contract with any State agency for 3 years from the date of the last violation. A notice of each violation and the penalty imposed shall be published in both the Procurement Bulletin and the Illinois Register.

(e) Any political committee that has received a contribution in violation of subsection (b) or (c) shall pay an amount equal to the value of the contribution to the State no more than 30 days after notice of the violation concerning the contribution appears in the Illinois Register. Payments received by the State pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the general revenue fund.