Bill Text: IL HB2906 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act. Provides that certain economically disadvantaged persons, among other specified individuals, are considered minority persons under the Act. Provides additional requirements concerning qualification as a socially disadvantaged person. Defines "economically disadvantaged person". Provides requirements concerning qualification as an economically disadvantaged person. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2023.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB2906 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2906-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2906 Introduced , by Rep. Kevin John Olickal SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 575/2
Amends the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act. Provides that certain economically disadvantaged persons, among other specified individuals, are considered minority persons under the Act. Provides additional requirements concerning qualification as a socially disadvantaged person. Defines "economically disadvantaged person". Provides requirements concerning qualification as an economically disadvantaged person. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2023.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning finance.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women,
and Persons with Disabilities Act is amended by changing
Section 2 as follows:
(30 ILCS 575/2)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2024)
Sec. 2. Definitions.
(A) For the purpose of this Act, the following terms shall
have the following definitions:
(1) "Minority person" shall mean a person who is a
citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States
and who is any of the following:
(a) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person
having origins in any of the original peoples of North
and South America, including Central America, and who
maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment).
(b) Asian (a person having origins in any of the
original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or
the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited
to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and

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Vietnam).
(c) Black or African American (a person having
origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa).
(d) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban,
Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or
other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race).
(e) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a
person having origins in any of the original peoples
of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
(f) A person who qualifies as a socially
disadvantaged person.
(g) A person who qualifies as an economically
disadvantaged person.
(2) "Woman" shall mean a person who is a citizen or
lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is
of the female gender.
(2.05) "Person with a disability" means a person who
is a citizen or lawful resident of the United States and is
a person qualifying as a person with a disability under
subdivision (2.1) of this subsection (A).
(2.1) "Person with a disability" means a person with a
severe physical or mental disability that:
(a) results from:
amputation,
arthritis,
autism,

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blindness,
burn injury,
cancer,
cerebral palsy,
Crohn's disease,
cystic fibrosis,
deafness,
head injury,
heart disease,
hemiplegia,
hemophilia,
respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction,
an intellectual disability,
mental illness,
multiple sclerosis,
muscular dystrophy,
musculoskeletal disorders,
neurological disorders, including stroke and
epilepsy,
paraplegia,
quadriplegia and other spinal cord conditions,
sickle cell anemia,
ulcerative colitis,
specific learning disabilities, or
end stage renal failure disease; and
(b) substantially limits one or more of the

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person's major life activities.
Another disability or combination of disabilities may
also be considered as a severe disability for the purposes
of item (a) of this subdivision (2.1) if it is determined
by an evaluation of rehabilitation potential to cause a
comparable degree of substantial functional limitation
similar to the specific list of disabilities listed in
item (a) of this subdivision (2.1).
(3) "Minority-owned business" means a business which
is at least 51% owned by one or more minority persons, or
in the case of a corporation, at least 51% of the stock in
which is owned by one or more minority persons; and the
management and daily business operations of which are
controlled by one or more of the minority individuals who
own it.
(4) "Women-owned business" means a business which is
at least 51% owned by one or more women, or, in the case of
a corporation, at least 51% of the stock in which is owned
by one or more women; and the management and daily
business operations of which are controlled by one or more
of the women who own it.
(4.1) "Business owned by a person with a disability"
means a business that is at least 51% owned by one or more
persons with a disability and the management and daily
business operations of which are controlled by one or more
of the persons with disabilities who own it. A

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not-for-profit agency for persons with disabilities that
is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is also considered a "business owned
by a person with a disability".
(4.2) "Council" means the Business Enterprise Council
for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities
created under Section 5 of this Act.
(4.3) "Commission" means, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise, the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion created under the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion Act.
(5) "State contracts" means all contracts entered into
by the State, any agency or department thereof, or any
public institution of higher education, including
community college districts, regardless of the source of
the funds with which the contracts are paid, which are not
subject to federal reimbursement. "State contracts" does
not include contracts awarded by a retirement system,
pension fund, or investment board subject to Section
1-109.1 of the Illinois Pension Code. This definition
shall control over any existing definition under this Act
or applicable administrative rule.
"State construction contracts" means all State
contracts entered into by a State agency or public
institution of higher education for the repair,
remodeling, renovation or construction of a building or

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structure, or for the construction or maintenance of a
highway defined in Article 2 of the Illinois Highway Code.
(6) "State agencies" shall mean all departments,
officers, boards, commissions, institutions and bodies
politic and corporate of the State, but does not include
the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the
Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the
Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board
of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of
Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of
Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of
Trustees of Western Illinois University, municipalities or
other local governmental units, or other State
constitutional officers.
(7) "Public institutions of higher education" means
the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University,
Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University,
Governors State University, Illinois State University,
Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois
University, Western Illinois University, the public
community colleges of the State, and any other public
universities, colleges, and community colleges now or
hereafter established or authorized by the General
Assembly.

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(8) "Certification" means a determination made by the
Council or by one delegated authority from the Council to
make certifications, or by a State agency with statutory
authority to make such a certification, that a business
entity is a business owned by a minority, woman, or person
with a disability for whatever purpose. A business owned
and controlled by women shall be certified as a
"woman-owned business". A business owned and controlled by
women who are also minorities shall be certified as both a
"women-owned business" and a "minority-owned business".
(9) "Control" means the exclusive or ultimate and sole
control of the business including, but not limited to,
capital investment and all other financial matters,
property, acquisitions, contract negotiations, legal
matters, officer-director-employee selection and
comprehensive hiring, operating responsibilities,
cost-control matters, income and dividend matters,
financial transactions and rights of other shareholders or
joint partners. Control shall be real, substantial and
continuing, not pro forma. Control shall include the power
to direct or cause the direction of the management and
policies of the business and to make the day-to-day as
well as major decisions in matters of policy, management
and operations. Control shall be exemplified by possessing
the requisite knowledge and expertise to run the
particular business and control shall not include simple

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majority or absentee ownership.
(10) "Business" means a business that has annual gross
sales of less than $150,000,000 as evidenced by the
federal income tax return of the business. A firm with
gross sales in excess of this cap may apply to the Council
for certification for a particular contract if the firm
can demonstrate that the contract would have significant
impact on businesses owned by minorities, women, or
persons with disabilities as suppliers or subcontractors
or in employment of minorities, women, or persons with
disabilities. Firms with gross sales in excess of this cap
that are granted certification by the Council shall be
granted certification for the life of the contract,
including available renewals.
(11) "Utilization plan" means a form and additional
documentations included in all bids or proposals that
demonstrates a vendor's proposed utilization of vendors
certified by the Business Enterprise Program to meet the
targeted goal. The utilization plan shall demonstrate that
the Vendor has either: (1) met the entire contract goal or
(2) requested a full or partial waiver and made good faith
efforts towards meeting the goal.
(12) "Business Enterprise Program" means the Business
Enterprise Program of the Commission on Equity and
Inclusion.
(13) "Socially disadvantaged person" means a person

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individually certified by the Council as having been
subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias
within American society because of his or her identity as
a member of a group and without regard to his or her
individual qualities.
(a) Social disadvantage must include the
following:
(i) at least one objective distinguishing
feature that has contributed to social
disadvantage, such as race, ethnic origin, gender,
disability, long-term residence in an environment
isolated from the mainstream of American society,
or other similar causes not common to individuals
who are not socially disadvantaged;
(ii) personal experiences of substantial and
chronic social disadvantage in American society;
and
(iii) negative impact on entry into or
advancement in the business world because of the
disadvantage. The Business Enterprise Program will
consider any relevant evidence in assessing this
element, and in every case, as provided under
subparagraph (b), the Business Enterprise Program
will consider education, employment, and business
history, when applicable, to determine whether the
totality of circumstances shows disadvantage in

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entering into or advancing in the business world.
(b) In determining whether a person qualifies as a
socially disadvantaged person, the Business Enterprise
Program will further consider the following:
(i) Education. Such factors as denial of equal
access to institutions of higher education and
vocational training, exclusion from social and
professional association with students or
teachers, denial of educational honors rightfully
earned, and social patterns or pressures which
discouraged the individual from pursuing a
professional or business education.
(ii) Employment. Such factors as unequal
treatment in hiring, promotions and other aspects
of professional advancement, pay and fringe
benefits, and other terms and conditions of
employment; retaliatory or discriminatory behavior
by an employer or labor union; and social patterns
or pressures which have channeled the individual
into non-professional or non-business fields.
(iii) Business history. Such factors as
unequal access to credit or capital, acquisition
of credit or capital under commercially
unfavorable circumstances, unequal treatment in
opportunities for government contracts or other
work, unequal treatment by potential customers and

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business associates, and exclusion from business
or professional organizations.
(14) "Economically disadvantaged person" means a
socially disadvantaged person whose ability to compete in
the free enterprise system has been impaired due to
diminished capital and credit opportunities as compared to
others in the same or similar line of business who are not
socially disadvantaged.
(a) Each individual claiming economic disadvantage
must describe the conditions which are the basis for
the claim in a narrative statement, and must submit
personal financial information. If that individual is
married, he or she must also submit separate financial
information for his or her spouse, unless the
individual and the spouse are legally separated.
(b) In considering diminished capital and credit
opportunities, the Business Enterprise Program will
examine factors relating to the personal financial
condition of any individual claiming disadvantaged
status, including personal income for the preceding 2
years (including bonuses and the value of company
stock given in lieu of cash), personal net worth, and
the fair market value of all assets, whether
encumbered or not. The Business Enterprise Program
will also consider the financial condition of the
applicant compared to the financial profiles of small

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businesses in the same primary industry
classification, or, if not available, in similar lines
of business, which are not owned and controlled by
socially and economically disadvantaged persons in
evaluating the individual's access to credit and
capital. The financial profiles that the Business
Enterprise Program will compare shall include total
assets, net sales, pre-tax profit, sales or working
capital ratio, and net worth.
(c) Asset transfers within 2 years.
(i) Except as set forth in item (ii) of this
subparagraph (c), the Business Enterprise Program
will attribute to an individual claiming
disadvantaged status any assets which that
individual has transferred to an immediate family
member, or to a trust, a beneficiary of which is an
immediate family member, for less than fair market
value, within 2 years prior to a concern's
application for participation in the Business
Enterprise Program, unless the individual claiming
disadvantaged status can demonstrate that the
transfer is to or on behalf of an immediate family
member for that individual's education, medical
expenses, or some other form of essential support.
(ii) The Business Enterprise Program will not
attribute to an individual claiming disadvantaged

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status any assets transferred by that individual
to an immediate family member that are consistent
with the customary recognition of special
occasions, such as birthdays, graduations,
anniversaries, and retirements.
(iii) In determining an individual's access to
capital and credit, the Business Enterprise
Program may consider any assets that the
individual transferred within the 2-year period
described by item (i) of this subparagraph (c)
that are not considered in evaluating the
individual's assets and net worth, such as
transfers to charities.
(B) When a business is owned at least 51% by any
combination of minority persons, women, or persons with
disabilities, even though none of the 3 classes alone holds at
least a 51% interest, the ownership requirement for purposes
of this Act is considered to be met. The certification
category for the business is that of the class holding the
largest ownership interest in the business. If 2 or more
classes have equal ownership interests, the certification
category shall be determined by the business.
(Source: P.A. 101-601, eff. 1-1-20; 101-657, eff. 1-1-22;
102-29, eff. 6-25-21; 102-1119, eff. 1-23-23.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2023.