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91_HB0925
LRB9102558JMmb
1 AN ACT regarding assessments on the brick industry.
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 Illinois Brick Education and Research Act of 1999.
6 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act, unless the context
7 otherwise requires:
8 "Brick" means face brick and paving brick, manufactured
9 from clay, shale, or similar naturally occurring earthy
10 substances that are subjected to a heat treatment at elevated
11 temperatures that develops a fired bond between the
12 particulate constituents to provide strength and durability
13 requirements.
14 "Council" means a Brick Education and Research Council
15 created under Section 10.
16 "Director" means Director of Commerce and Community
17 Affairs or his or her designee.
18 "Education" means any action to provide information
19 regarding brick, brick equipment, mechanical and technical
20 practices, and brick uses to consumers and members of the
21 brick industry.
22 "Industry" means those persons involved in the
23 production, transportation, construction, and sale of brick.
24 "Public member" means a member of the Council other than
25 a representative of producers or retail marketers
26 representing significant users of brick, public safety
27 officials, State regulatory officials, or other groups
28 knowledgeable about brick.
29 "Qualified industry organization" means the Illinois
30 Brick Distributors Association, the Masonry Contractors
31 Association of Greater Chicago, the Masonry Contractors
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1 Association of Southern Illinois, the Illinois District
2 Council Number 1 International Union of Bricklayers and
3 Allied Crafts, Illinois Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Local
4 6, and the Illinois Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Local 8, a
5 successor association of these associations, or any other
6 brick industry organization.
7 "Research" means any type of study, investigation, or
8 other activities designed to advance the image, desirability,
9 usage, marketability, efficiency, and safety of bricks and to
10 further the development of that information.
11 "Retail marketer" means a person engaged primarily in the
12 sale of bricks to the ultimate consumer or to retail brick
13 dispensers.
14 "Retail brick dispenser" means a person who sells bricks
15 to the ultimate consumer but is not engaged primarily in the
16 business of those sales.
17 Section 10. Illinois Brick Education and Research
18 Council.
19 (a) The qualified industry organizations shall select
20 all contractors, distributors, labor representatives, and
21 public members of the Council. The distributor organizations
22 shall select the distributor members of the Council, the
23 contractor organizations shall select all contractor members
24 of the Council, and the labor organizations shall select all
25 labor members of the Council. The qualified industry
26 organizations shall jointly select the public members.
27 Vacancies of the unfinished terms of the Council members
28 shall be filled in the same manner as were the original
29 appointments.
30 (b) In selecting members of the Council, the qualified
31 industry organizations shall give due regard to selecting a
32 Council that is representative of the industry, including
33 representation of diverse geographic regions of the State.
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1 (c) The Council shall consist of 11 members, with 3
2 members representing contractors, 3 members representing
3 distributors, 3 members representing labor, and 2 public
4 members. Other than the public members, Council members
5 shall be full-time employees or owners of businesses in the
6 industry. Only one person at a time from any company or its
7 affiliate may serve on the Council. The Director may serve as
8 an ex-officio non-voting member of the Council.
9 (d) Council members shall receive no compensation for
10 their services, nor shall Council members be reimbursed for
11 expenses relating to their service, except that public
12 members, upon request, may be reimbursed for reasonable
13 expenses directly related to their participation in Council
14 meetings.
15 (e) Council members shall serve terms of 3 years and may
16 not serve more than 2 full consecutive terms. Members
17 filling unexpired terms may serve not more than a total of 7
18 consecutive years. Former members of the Council may be
19 returned to the Council if they have not been members for a
20 period of 2 years. Initial appointments to the Council shall
21 be for terms of 1, 2, and 3 years staggered to provide for
22 the selection of 3 members each year. The Council shall
23 notify the Director of the name, address, and brick-related
24 affiliation, if any, of a Council member within 30 days after
25 the appointment of the member to the Council.
26 (f) The Council shall develop programs and projects and
27 enter into contracts or agreements for implementing this Act,
28 including programs to enhance consumer and employee safety
29 and training, to provide for research and development of
30 energy efficient use of brick, to inform and educate the
31 public about safety, efficiency, and other issues associated
32 with the use and promotion of brick, and to provide for the
33 payment of the costs of those activities with funds collected
34 pursuant to this Act. The Council shall coordinate its
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1 activities with industry trade associations and others as
2 appropriate to provide efficient delivery of services and to
3 avoid unnecessary duplication of activities.
4 (g) Issues related to research and development, safety,
5 education, and training shall be given priority by the
6 Council in the development of its programs and projects.
7 (h) The Council shall select from among its members a
8 Chairperson and other officers as necessary, may establish
9 committees and subcommittees of the Council, and shall adopt
10 rules and bylaws for the conduct of business and the
11 implementation of this Act. The Council shall establish
12 procedures for the solicitation of industry comment and
13 recommendations on any significant plans, programs, and
14 projects to be funded by the Council. The Council may
15 establish advisory committees of persons other than Council
16 members.
17 (i) At the beginning of each fiscal period, the Council
18 shall prepare a budget plan for the next fiscal period,
19 including the probable cost of all programs, projects, and
20 contracts and a recommended rate of assessment sufficient to
21 cover such costs. The Council shall submit the proposed
22 budget to the Director for review and comment. The Director
23 may recommend programs and activities considered appropriate.
24 (j) The Council shall keep minutes, books, and records
25 that clearly reflect all of the acts and transactions of the
26 Council and make public that information. The books of the
27 Council shall be audited by a certified public accountant at
28 least once each fiscal year and at such other times as the
29 Council may designate. The expense of the audit shall be the
30 responsibility of the Council. Copies of the audit shall be
31 provided to all members of the Council, all qualified
32 industry organizations, and to other members of the industry
33 upon request.
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1 Section 15. Assessments.
2 (a) The Council shall set an initial assessment at no
3 greater than 1/2 of 1 cent per brick. Thereafter, annual
4 assessments shall be sufficient to cover the costs of plans
5 and programs developed by the Council. The assessment shall
6 not be greater than 3/4 cent per brick. In no case may the
7 assessment be raised by more than 1/10 of 1 cent per brick
8 annually.
9 (b) The assessment, when made, shall be listed as a
10 separate line item on the bill labeled "Illinois Brick
11 Education and Research Assessment". Assessments collected
12 from purchasers of brick are payable to the Council on a
13 monthly basis by the 25th of the month following the month of
14 collection. If payment is not made to the Council by the due
15 date under this subsection, an interest penalty of 1% of any
16 amount unpaid shall be added for each month or fraction of a
17 month after the due date, until final payment is made.
18 (c) The Council may establish an alternative means of
19 collecting the assessment if another means is found to be
20 more efficient and effective. The Council may establish a
21 late payment charge and rate of interest to be imposed on any
22 person who fails to remit or pay to the Council any amount
23 due under this Act.
24 (d) Pending disbursement pursuant to a program, plan, or
25 project, the Council shall invest funds collected through
26 assessments, and any other funds received by the Council,
27 only in obligations of the United States or any of its
28 agencies, in general obligations of any state or political
29 subdivision of a state, in any interest-bearing account or
30 certificate of deposit of a bank that is a member of the
31 Federal Reserve System, or in obligations fully guaranteed as
32 to principal and interest by the United States.
33 Section 20. Refunds. A purchaser of brick who has an
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1 assessment added as a line item to the sale price may, by
2 application in writing to the Council, secure a refund in the
3 amount added. The refund shall be payable when the
4 application has been made to the Council within 60 days after
5 the assessment. Interest shall be allowed and paid at the
6 rate of 6% per annum upon the total amount of the assessment
7 imposed by this Act, except that if any assessment is
8 refunded within 90 days after an application for refund has
9 been made within the required 60 days after assessment or
10 within 90 days after the seller of the brick remits the
11 assessments collected to the Council, whichever is later, no
12 interest shall be allowed on the assessment. Each application
13 for refund by a purchaser of brick shall have attached to it
14 proof of assessment charged. A purchaser who obtains a refund
15 is not eligible for any benefits provided under the Council's
16 programs.
17 Section 25. Compliance. The circuit court is vested
18 with the jurisdiction specifically to enforce this Act, and
19 prevent or restrain any person from violating any provisions
20 of this Act. A successful action for compliance under this
21 Section may also require payment by the defendant of the
22 costs incurred by the Council in bringing the action.
23 Section 30. Lobbying restrictions. No funds collected
24 by the Council shall be used in any manner for influencing
25 legislation or elections, except that the Council may
26 recommend to the Director changes in this Act or other
27 statutes that would further the purpose of this Act.
28 Section 35. Pricing. In all cases, the price of brick
29 shall be determined by market forces. Consistent with the
30 antitrust laws, the Council may take no action, nor may any
31 provision of this Act be interpreted as establishing an
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1 agreement to pass along to consumers the cost of the
2 assessment provided for in Section 15.
3 Section 40. Relation to other programs. Nothing in this
4 Act may be construed to preempt or supersede any other
5 program relating to brick education and research organized
6 and operated under the laws of the State of Illinois.