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 1                          STATE OF ILLINOIS
 2                    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
 3                               SENATE
 4                   Senate Joint Resolution No. 36
 5           Offered by Senators Collins, Martinez, Hunter,
 6                           Link and Munoz

 7        WHEREAS, Minorities and women seeking apprenticeship  and
 8    trainee  opportunities  in  the  building  trades  allege the
 9    existence of racial and gender discrimination  in  hiring  on
10    public construction contracts; and

11        WHEREAS, Minority-owned and female-owned companies allege
12    that  contractors  on  public construction projects engage in
13    racial and gender discrimination; and

14        WHEREAS, The State of Illinois spends billions of dollars
15    on public construction projects; and

16        WHEREAS, The State of Illinois  has  a  compelling  State
17    interest  to  eliminate  racial  and gender discrimination in
18    State-funded  public  construction  programs  to  effect   an
19    efficient procurement process; and

20        WHEREAS,  No  State agency has undertaken a comprehensive
21    study to determine the existence and the extent of racial and
22    gender discrimination on public construction projects  during
23    the last 5 years; therefore, be it

24        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
25    ASSEMBLY  OF  THE   STATE   OF   ILLINOIS,   THE   HOUSE   OF
26    REPRESENTATIVES  CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the
27    Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction, which
28    shall consist of  17  members  as  follows:  (i)  10  members
29    appointed by the Governor, 2 of whom are representatives of a
30    labor  organization engaged in the building trades, 2 of whom
31    are  representatives  of  organizations  that  represent  the
32    interests  of  construction  companies,  one  of  whom  is  a
33    representative  of  an  organization  that   represents   the
 
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 1    interests of minority-owned business enterprises, one of whom
 2    is  a  representative  of  an  organization  that  represents
 3    female-owned   business   enterprises,   one  of  whom  is  a
 4    representative of an  organization  that  advocates  for  the
 5    civil  rights of women, one of whom is a representative of an
 6    organization that advocates for the civil rights  of  African
 7    Americans, one of whom is a representative of an organization
 8    that  advocates  for  the civil rights of Hispanic Americans,
 9    and one of whom is a representative of an  organization  that
10    advocates  for  the  civil  rights of Asian Pacific and South
11    Asian Americans; (ii) one member appointed by  the  President
12    of  the  Senate;  (iii)  one member appointed by the Minority
13    Leader of the  Senate;  (iv)  one  member  appointed  by  the
14    Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  (v) one member
15    appointed  by  the  Minority   Leader   of   the   House   of
16    Representatives;  (vi)  the  Attorney  General  or his or her
17    designee; (vii) the Director of the Capital Development Board
18    or  his  or  her  designee;  and  (viii)  the  Secretary   of
19    Transportation  or  his  or  her  designee, all of whom shall
20    serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for  their
21    reasonable   and   necessary   expenses  from  appropriations
22    available for that purpose; the appointments  shall  be  made
23    before  September 1, 2003; the members shall elect one member
24    to serve as chairperson of the Commission; and be it further

25        RESOLVED, That the  Commission  shall  ascertain  through
26    public  hearings  and social-scientific research: (i) whether
27    there is a pattern of racial  and  gender  discrimination  in
28    employment   on  State  public  construction  projects;  (ii)
29    whether  there  is   a   pattern   of   racial   and   gender
30    discrimination  in  contracting  on State public construction
31    projects; (iii) the extent, if  any,  of  racial  and  gender
32    discrimination  in  employment  on  State public construction
33    projects;  and  (iv)  the  nature,  if  any,  of   race   and
34    gender-neutral barriers to entry to employment or contracting
 
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 1    for   minorities  and  women  on  State  public  construction
 2    projects; if the Commission determines that there  is  racial
 3    and  gender-based discrimination in State public construction
 4    projects,  then   the   Commission   shall   develop   policy
 5    recommendations   to   remedy  the  racial  and  gender-based
 6    discrimination; if the Commission determines that  there  are
 7    race  and  gender-neutral  barriers  to  minority  and female
 8    participation on State public construction projects, then the
 9    Commission shall develop policy recommendations to reduce the
10    barriers to full participation; nothing  in  this  resolution
11    precludes  the  Commission from recognizing the existence, if
12    any, of racial and  gender-based  discrimination  or  neutral
13    barriers,  or  both,  to minority and female participation on
14    State public  construction  projects  and  developing  policy
15    recommendations  to address both issues; the Commission shall
16    have investigatory power  pursuant  to  25  ILCS  5/Act;  the
17    Commission  shall  deliver  a  report  of  its  findings, the
18    transcripts of its public hearings, and its social-scientific
19    research to the Governor and to the General Assembly by  June
20    30, 2004; and be it further

21        RESOLVED,  That  the  Capital  Development  Board and the
22    Department of Transportation shall provide  staff  assistance
23    as is reasonably required to permit the Commission to fulfill
24    its  functions;  the Illinois Department of Transportation is
25    authorized  to  receive  appropriations  from   the   General
26    Assembly  to  fund  social-scientific research related to the
27    Commission's function; the Department of  Transportation,  on
28    behalf  of  the  Commission, is authorized to contract with a
29    university, consulting  firm,  or  other  reputable  research
30    organization to conduct a social-scientific study on race and
31    gender  discrimination on State public construction projects;
32    and be it further

33        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
 
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 1    delivered to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Director
 2    of  the  Capital  Development  Board,  and  the  Secretary of
 3    Transportation.

 4        Adopted by the Senate, May 29, 2003.


 5                                          _______________________
 6                                          President of the Senate


 7    _______________________
 8    Secretary of the Senate


 9        Concurred in by the House  of  Representatives,  June  1,
10    2003.


11                                        _________________________
12                                            Speaker of House of
13                                              Representatives


14    _________________________
15      Clerk of House of
16       Representatives