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[ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
90_SB1295 New Act Creates the State Prohibition of Goods from Forced Labor Act. Provides that each contract entered into by a State agency for the procurement of equipment, materials, or supplies shall specify that any foreign-made goods produced under the contract were not by forced, convict, or indentured labor. Provides that a contractor who violates this provision shall be subject to suspension or a monetary penalty and the State may void the contract. LRB9008379WHmg LRB9008379WHmg 1 AN ACT concerning forced labor. 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 State Prohibition of Goods from Forced Labor Act. 6 Section 5. Policy. The General Assembly hereby finds and 7 declares as follows: 8 (a) The people of Illinois do not support the import of 9 any goods made by forced, convict, or indentured labor, not 10 only because it is a cruel suppression of the human right of 11 free labor and employment practices, but also because it 12 creates an unfair trade advantage for the forced, convict, or 13 indentured labor country. 14 (b) The federal Tariff Act of 1930, while prohibiting 15 the importation of any goods produced in whole or in part by 16 forced, convict, or indentured labor, does not require 17 importers to provide certificates of origin at the time of 18 importation to affirm and guarantee no forced, convict, or 19 indentured labor content. 20 (c) The federal Tariff Act of 1930 also does not require 21 the United States Customs Service to have an active, 22 self-initiated foreign surveillance program of detecting 23 forced, convict, or indentured labor-made goods and 24 preventing their entry into the United States, but relies 25 primarily upon complaints made by the public or other 26 interested groups. 27 (d) The State of Illinois wholeheartedly supports the 28 prohibition on imports produced in whole or in part by 29 forced, convict, or indentured labor and shall not knowingly 30 acquire any of those goods. -2- LRB9008379WHmg 1 Section 10. Contract certification. 2 (a) Every contract entered into by any State agency for 3 the procurement of equipment, materials, or supplies, other 4 than procurement related to a public works contract, shall 5 specify that no foreign-made equipment, materials, or 6 supplies furnished to the State under the contract may be 7 produced in whole or in part by forced labor, convict labor, 8 or indentured labor under penal sanction. The contractor 9 shall agree to comply with this provision of the contract. 10 (b) Any contractor contracting with the State who knew 11 or should have known that the foreign-made equipment, 12 materials, or supplies furnished to the State were produced 13 in whole or part by forced labor, convict labor, or 14 indentured labor under penal sanction, when entering into a 15 contract under subsection (a), may, subject to subsection 16 (c), have any or all of the following sanctions imposed: 17 (1) The contract under which the prohibited 18 equipment, materials, or supplies were provided may be 19 voided at the option of the State agency to which the 20 equipment, materials, or supplies were provided. 21 (2) The contractor may be assessed a penalty which 22 shall be the greater of $1,000 or an amount equaling 20% 23 of the value of the equipment, materials, or supplies 24 that the State agency demonstrates were produced in whole 25 or in part by forced labor, convict labor, or indentured 26 labor under penal sanction and that were supplied to the 27 State agency under the contract. 28 (3) The contractor may be suspended from bidding on 29 a State contract for a period not to exceed 360 days. 30 Any moneys collected under this subsection shall be 31 deposited into the General Revenue Fund. 32 (c) When imposing the sanctions described in subsection 33 (b), the contracting agency shall notify the contractor of 34 the right to a hearing if requested within 15 days after the -3- LRB9008379WHmg 1 date of the notice. The hearing shall be before an 2 administrative law judge according to the Illinois 3 Administrative Procedure Act. The administrative law judge 4 shall consider any measures the contractor has taken to 5 ensure compliance with this Section and may waive any or all 6 of the sanctions if it is determined that the contractor has 7 acted in good faith. 8 The agency shall be assessed the cost of the 9 administrative hearing, unless the agency has prevailed in 10 the hearing, in which case the contractor shall be assessed 11 the cost of the hearing. 12 (d) Any State agency that investigates a complaint 13 against a contractor for violation of this Section shall 14 limit its investigation to evaluating the information 15 provided by the person or entity submitting the complaint and 16 the information provided by the contractor. 17 (e) For purposes of this Section, the term "forced 18 labor" has the same meaning as in the federal Tariff Act of 19 1930.