Full Text of HB0642 99th General Assembly
HB0642eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning finance.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Women's Business
Ownership Act of 2015.
| 6 | | Section 5. Women's Business Ownership Council. The Women's | 7 | | Business Ownership
Council is created within the
Department of | 8 | | Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Council shall consist of | 9 | | 9 members, with 5 persons appointed by
the Governor, one of | 10 | | whom shall be the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | 11 | | or his or her designee, one person appointed by the
President | 12 | | of the Senate, one person appointed by the Minority Leader of | 13 | | the
Senate,
one person appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 14 | | Representatives, and one
person appointed by the Minority | 15 | | Leader of the House of Representatives.
| 16 | | Appointed members shall be uniquely qualified by | 17 | | education, professional
knowledge, or experience to serve on | 18 | | the Council and shall reflect the ethnic,
cultural, and | 19 | | geographic diversity of the State. Of the 9 members, at least 5
| 20 | | shall be women business owners. As used in this Act, "woman | 21 | | business
owner" means a woman who is either:
| 22 | | (1) the principal of a company or business concern, at | 23 | | least 51% of which is owned,
operated, and controlled by |
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| 1 | | women; or
| 2 | | (2) a senior officer or director of a company or | 3 | | business concern who also
has either:
| 4 | | (A) material responsibility for the daily | 5 | | operations and management of the
overall company or | 6 | | business concern; or
| 7 | | (B) material responsibility for the policy making | 8 | | of the company or
business concern.
| 9 | | Of the initial appointments, members shall be randomly | 10 | | assigned to staggered
terms; 3 members shall be appointed for a | 11 | | term of 3 years, 3 members shall be
appointed for a term of 2 | 12 | | years, and 3 members shall be appointed for a term of
one year. | 13 | | Upon the expiration of each member's term, a successor shall
be | 14 | | appointed for a term of 3 years. In the case of a vacancy in the | 15 | | office of
any member, a successor shall be appointed for the | 16 | | remainder of the unexpired
term by the person designated as | 17 | | responsible for making the appointment. No
member shall serve | 18 | | more than 3 consecutive terms. Members shall serve without
| 19 | | compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in | 20 | | connection with
the performance of their duties as members.
| 21 | | One of the members shall be designated as Chairperson by | 22 | | the Governor. In
the event the Governor does not appoint the | 23 | | Chairperson within 60 days after
the effective date of this | 24 | | Act, the Council shall convene and elect a
Chairperson by a | 25 | | simple majority vote. Upon a vacancy in the position of
| 26 | | Chairperson, the
Governor shall have 30 days from the date of |
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| 1 | | the resignation to appoint a new
Chairperson. In the event the | 2 | | Governor does not appoint a new Chairperson
within 30 days, the | 3 | | Council shall convene and elect a new Chairperson by a
simple | 4 | | majority vote.
| 5 | | The first meeting of the Council shall be held within 90 | 6 | | days after the
effective date of this Act. The Council shall | 7 | | meet quarterly and may hold
other
meetings on the call of the | 8 | | Chairperson. Five members shall constitute a
quorum. The | 9 | | Council may adopt rules it deems necessary to
govern its own | 10 | | procedures. The Department of Commerce and Economic | 11 | | Opportunity
shall cooperate with the Council to fulfill the | 12 | | purposes of this Act and shall
provide the Council with | 13 | | necessary staff and administrative support. The
Council may | 14 | | apply for grants from the public and private sector and is
| 15 | | authorized to accept grants, gifts, and donations, which shall | 16 | | be deposited
into the
Women's Business Ownership Fund.
| 17 | | Section 10. Duties and responsibilities of the Council.
| 18 | | (a) The Council shall conduct hearings, as necessary, and | 19 | | issue an annual
report to the Governor and the General Assembly | 20 | | regarding the status of women
business owners within the State. | 21 | | In that regard, the Council shall review the
following:
| 22 | | (1) The status of women-owned businesses statewide, | 23 | | including progress
made and barriers that remain, in order | 24 | | to assist these businesses to enter the
mainstream of the | 25 | | Illinois economy.
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| 1 | | (2) The role of State and local government in assisting | 2 | | and promoting aid
to, and the promotion of, women-owned | 3 | | businesses.
| 4 | | (3) Data collected by private and public sector | 5 | | entities relating to
women-owned businesses.
| 6 | | (4) Any other government initiatives that may exist | 7 | | relating to
women-owned businesses, including but not | 8 | | limited to those relating to State
and
local procurement.
| 9 | | (b) The Council shall recommend to the Governor and the | 10 | | General Assembly, on
an annual basis, all of the following:
| 11 | | (1) New private sector initiatives that would provide | 12 | | management and
technical assistance to women-owned | 13 | | businesses.
| 14 | | (2) Ways to promote greater access to public and | 15 | | private sector financing
and procurement opportunities for | 16 | | these businesses.
| 17 | | (3) Detailed multi-year plans of action, with specific | 18 | | goals and
timetables, for both public and private sector | 19 | | actions needed to overcome
discriminatory barriers to full | 20 | | participation in the economic mainstream.
| 21 | | (c) The Council may hold hearings, take testimony, and | 22 | | request information
from State agencies.
| 23 | | Section 15. The Women's Business Ownership Fund. The | 24 | | Women's Business Ownership Fund is created as a special fund in | 25 | | the State treasury. The Fund shall
consist of all public and |
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| 1 | | private moneys donated to further the work of the
Council under | 2 | | this Act. All moneys deposited into the Fund shall be subject | 3 | | to
appropriation by the General Assembly.
| 4 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 5 | | Section 5.866 as follows: | 6 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.866 new) | 7 | | Sec. 5.866. The Women's Business Ownership Fund. | 8 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 | | becoming law. |
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