HB4102 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 08463 JAM 18582 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB4102

Introduced 2/27/2009, by Rep. Franco Coladipietro

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

30 ILCS 500/5-5
30 ILCS 500/50-35

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Requires the Procurement Policy Board (now, the Governor or an ethics board or commission) to review conflicts of interests with respect to the award of State contracts and to determine whether to void reviewed contracts (now, determined by the chief procurement officer).

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning finance.

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 changing Sections 5-5 and 50-35 as follows:

(30 ILCS 500/5-5)

Sec. 5-5. Procurement Policy Board.

(a) Creation. There is created a Procurement Policy Board, an agency of the State of Illinois.

(b) Authority and duties. The Board shall have the authority and responsibility to review, comment upon, and recommend, consistent with this Code, rules and practices governing the procurement, management, control, and disposal of supplies, services, professional or artistic services, construction, and real property and capital improvement leases procured by the State.

Upon a three-fifths vote of its members, the Board may review a contract. Upon a three-fifths vote of its members, the Board may propose procurement rules for consideration by chief procurement officers. These proposals shall be published in each volume of the Procurement Bulletin. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Board shall act upon the vote of a majority of its members who have been appointed and are serving.

(b-5) Reviews, studies, and hearings. The Board may review, study, and hold public hearings concerning the implementation and administration of this Code. Each chief procurement officer, associate procurement officer, State purchasing officer, and State agency shall cooperate with the Board, provide information to the Board, and be responsive to the Board in the Board's conduct of its reviews, studies, and hearings.

(c) Members. The Board shall consist of 5 members appointed one each by the 4 legislative leaders and the Governor. Each member shall have demonstrated sufficient business or professional experience in the area of procurement to perform the functions of the Board. No member may be a member of the General Assembly.

(d) Terms. Of the initial appointees, the Governor shall designate one member, as Chairman, to serve a one-year term, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall each appoint one member to serve 3-year terms, and the Minority Leader of the House and the Minority Leader of the Senate shall each appoint one member to serve 2-year terms. Subsequent terms shall be 4 years. Members may be reappointed for succeeding terms.

(e) Reimbursement. Members shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for any expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

(f) Staff support. Upon a three-fifths vote of its members, the Board may employ an executive director. Subject to appropriation, the Board also may employ a reasonable and necessary number of staff persons.

(g) Meetings. Meetings of the Board may be conducted telephonically, electronically, or through the use of other telecommunications. Written minutes of such meetings shall be created and available for public inspection and copying.

(h) The Board shall rule whether to void contracts due to conflicts of interests in accordance with subsection (d) of Section 50-35.

(Source: P.A. 93-839, eff. 7-30-04.)

(30 ILCS 500/50-35)

Sec. 50-35. Disclosure and potential conflicts of interest.

(a) All offers from responsive bidders or offerors with an annual value of more than $10,000 shall be accompanied by disclosure of the financial interests of the contractor, bidder, or proposer. The financial disclosure of each successful bidder or offeror shall become part of the publicly available contract or procurement file maintained by the appropriate chief procurement officer.

(b) Disclosure by the responsive bidders or offerors shall include any ownership or distributive income share that is in excess of 5%, or an amount greater than 60% of the annual salary of the Governor, of the bidding entity or its parent entity, whichever is less, unless the contractor or bidder (i) is a publicly traded entity subject to Federal 10K reporting, in which case it may submit its 10K disclosure in place of the prescribed disclosure, or (ii) is a privately held entity that is exempt from Federal 10k reporting but has more than 400 shareholders, in which case it may submit the information that Federal 10k reporting companies are required to report under 17 CFR 229.401 and list the names of any person or entity holding any ownership share that is in excess of 5% in place of the prescribed disclosure. The form of disclosure shall be prescribed by the applicable chief procurement officer and must include at least the names, addresses, and dollar or proportionate share of ownership of each person identified in this Section, their instrument of ownership or beneficial relationship, and notice of any potential conflict of interest resulting from the current ownership or beneficial relationship of each person identified in this Section having in addition any of the following relationships:

(1) State employment, currently or in the previous 3 years, including contractual employment of services.

(2) State employment of spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter, including contractual employment for services in the previous 2 years.

(3) Elective status; the holding of elective office of the State of Illinois, the government of the United States, any unit of local government authorized by the Constitution of the State of Illinois or the statutes of the State of Illinois currently or in the previous 3 years.

(4) Relationship to anyone holding elective office currently or in the previous 2 years; spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter.

(5) Appointive office; the holding of any appointive government office of the State of Illinois, the United States of America, or any unit of local government authorized by the Constitution of the State of Illinois or the statutes of the State of Illinois, which office entitles the holder to compensation in excess of expenses incurred in the discharge of that office currently or in the previous 3 years.

(6) Relationship to anyone holding appointive office currently or in the previous 2 years; spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter.

(7) Employment, currently or in the previous 3 years, as or by any registered lobbyist of the State government.

(8) Relationship to anyone who is or was a registered lobbyist in the previous 2 years; spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter.

(9) Compensated employment, currently or in the previous 3 years, by any registered election or re-election committee registered with the Secretary of State or any county clerk in the State of Illinois, or any political action committee registered with either the Secretary of State or the Federal Board of Elections.

(10) Relationship to anyone; spouse, father, mother, son, or daughter; who is or was a compensated employee in the last 2 years of any registered election or re-election committee registered with the Secretary of State or any county clerk in the State of Illinois, or any political action committee registered with either the Secretary of State or the Federal Board of Elections.

(c) The disclosure in subsection (b) is not intended to prohibit or prevent any contract. The disclosure is meant to fully and publicly disclose any potential conflict to the chief procurement officers, State purchasing officers, their designees, and executive officers so they may adequately discharge their duty to protect the State.

(d) In the case of any contract for personal services in excess of $50,000; any contract competitively bid in excess of $250,000; any other contract in excess of $50,000; when a potential for a conflict of interest is identified, discovered, or reasonably suspected it shall be reviewed and commented on in writing by the Procurement Policy Board, which Governor of the State of Illinois, or by an executive ethics board or commission he or she might designate. The comment shall be returned to the responsible chief procurement officer who must rule in writing whether to void or allow the contract, bid, offer, or proposal weighing the best interest of the State of Illinois. The comment and determination shall become a publicly available part of the contract, bid, or proposal file.

(e) These thresholds and disclosure do not relieve the chief procurement officer, the State purchasing officer, or their designees from reasonable care and diligence for any contract, bid, offer, or proposal. The chief procurement officer, the State purchasing officer, or their designees shall be responsible for using any reasonably known and publicly available information to discover any undisclosed potential conflict of interest and act to protect the best interest of the State of Illinois.

(f) Inadvertent or accidental failure to fully disclose shall render the contract, bid, proposal, or relationship voidable by the chief procurement officer if he or she deems it in the best interest of the State of Illinois and, at his or her discretion, may be cause for barring from future contracts, bids, proposals, or relationships with the State for a period of up to 2 years.

(g) Intentional, willful, or material failure to disclose shall render the contract, bid, proposal, or relationship voidable by the chief procurement officer if he or she deems it in the best interest of the State of Illinois and shall result in debarment from future contracts, bids, proposals, or relationships for a period of not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years. Reinstatement after 2 years and before 10 years must be reviewed and commented on in writing by the Governor of the State of Illinois, or by an executive ethics board or commission he or she might designate. The comment shall be returned to the responsible chief procurement officer who must rule in writing whether and when to reinstate.

(h) In addition, all disclosures shall note any other current or pending contracts, proposals, leases, or other ongoing procurement relationships the bidding, proposing, or offering entity has with any other unit of State government and shall clearly identify the unit and the contract, proposal, lease, or other relationship.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)