Bill Text: IL SB1686 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board may award a contract to a bidder who is not the lowest responsible bidder if the school board has considered factors of social responsibility in its decision to award the contract to the bidder. Provides that factors of social responsibility include, but are not limited to, businesses owned by women, minorities, persons with disabilities, or veterans and bidders who have programs or relationships that benefit such businesses. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-12-22 - Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Don Harmon [SB1686 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB1686-Introduced.html


102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1686

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Scott M. Bennett

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/10-20.21

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board may award a contract to a bidder who is not the lowest responsible bidder if the school board has considered factors of social responsibility in its decision to award the contract to the bidder. Provides that factors of social responsibility include, but are not limited to, businesses owned by women, minorities, persons with disabilities, or veterans and bidders who have programs or relationships that benefit such businesses. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
510-20.21 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/10-20.21)
7 Sec. 10-20.21. Contracts.
8 (a) To award all contracts for purchase of supplies and
9materials or work involving an expenditure in excess of
10$25,000 or a lower amount as required by board policy to the
11lowest responsible bidder, considering conformity with
12specifications, terms of delivery, quality and serviceability,
13after due advertisement, except as otherwise provided under
14subsection (a-5) or except the following: (i) contracts for
15the services of individuals possessing a high degree of
16professional skill where the ability or fitness of the
17individual plays an important part; (ii) contracts for the
18printing of finance committee reports and departmental
19reports; (iii) contracts for the printing or engraving of
20bonds, tax warrants and other evidences of indebtedness; (iv)
21contracts for the purchase of perishable foods and perishable
22beverages; (v) contracts for materials and work which have
23been awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after due

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1advertisement, but due to unforeseen revisions, not the fault
2of the contractor for materials and work, must be revised
3causing expenditures not in excess of 10% of the contract
4price; (vi) contracts for the maintenance or servicing of, or
5provision of repair parts for, equipment which are made with
6the manufacturer or authorized service agent of that equipment
7where the provision of parts, maintenance, or servicing can
8best be performed by the manufacturer or authorized service
9agent; (vii) purchases and contracts for the use, purchase,
10delivery, movement, or installation of data processing
11equipment, software, or services and telecommunications and
12interconnect equipment, software, and services; (viii)
13contracts for duplicating machines and supplies; (ix)
14contracts for the purchase of fuel, including diesel,
15gasoline, oil, aviation, natural gas, or propane, lubricants,
16or other petroleum products; (x) purchases of equipment
17previously owned by some entity other than the district
18itself; (xi) contracts for repair, maintenance, remodeling,
19renovation, or construction, or a single project involving an
20expenditure not to exceed $50,000 and not involving a change
21or increase in the size, type, or extent of an existing
22facility; (xii) contracts for goods or services procured from
23another governmental agency; (xiii) contracts for goods or
24services which are economically procurable from only one
25source, such as for the purchase of magazines, books,
26periodicals, pamphlets and reports, and for utility services

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1such as water, light, heat, telephone or telegraph; (xiv)
2where funds are expended in an emergency and such emergency
3expenditure is approved by 3/4 of the members of the board;
4(xv) State master contracts authorized under Article 28A of
5this Code; and (xvi) contracts providing for the
6transportation of pupils, which contracts must be advertised
7in the same manner as competitive bids and awarded by first
8considering the bidder or bidders most able to provide safety
9and comfort for the pupils, stability of service, and any
10other factors set forth in the request for proposal regarding
11quality of service, and then price. However, at no time shall a
12cause of action lie against a school board for awarding a pupil
13transportation contract per the standards set forth in this
14subsection (a) unless the cause of action is based on
15fraudulent conduct.
16 All competitive bids for contracts involving an
17expenditure in excess of $25,000 or a lower amount as required
18by board policy must be sealed by the bidder and must be opened
19by a member or employee of the school board at a public bid
20opening at which the contents of the bids must be announced.
21Each bidder must receive at least 3 days' notice of the time
22and place of the bid opening. For purposes of this Section due
23advertisement includes, but is not limited to, at least one
24public notice at least 10 days before the bid date in a
25newspaper published in the district, or if no newspaper is
26published in the district, in a newspaper of general

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1circulation in the area of the district. State master
2contracts and certified education purchasing contracts, as
3defined in Article 28A of this Code, are not subject to the
4requirements of this paragraph.
5 Under this Section, the acceptance of bids sealed by a
6bidder and the opening of these bids at a public bid opening
7may be permitted by an electronic process for communicating,
8accepting, and opening competitive bids. An electronic bidding
9process must provide for, but is not limited to, the following
10safeguards:
11 (1) On the date and time certain of a bid opening, the
12 primary person conducting the competitive, sealed,
13 electronic bid process shall log onto a specified database
14 using a unique username and password previously assigned
15 to the bidder to allow access to the bidder's specific bid
16 project number.
17 (2) The specified electronic database must be on a
18 network that (i) is in a secure environment behind a
19 firewall; (ii) has specific encryption tools; (iii)
20 maintains specific intrusion detection systems; (iv) has
21 redundant systems architecture with data storage back-up,
22 whether by compact disc or tape; and (v) maintains a
23 disaster recovery plan.
24It is the legislative intent of Public Act 96-841 to maintain
25the integrity of the sealed bidding process provided for in
26this Section, to further limit any possibility of bid-rigging,

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1to reduce administrative costs to school districts, and to
2effect efficiencies in communications with bidders.
3 (a-5) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a school board may
4award a contract under this Section to a bidder who is not the
5lowest responsible bidder if the school board has considered
6factors of social responsibility in the school board's
7decision to award the contract to the bidder. Factors of
8social responsibility include, but are not limited to,
9businesses owned by women, minorities, persons with
10disabilities, or veterans and bidders who have programs or
11relationships that benefit such businesses.
12 (b) To require, as a condition of any contract for goods
13and services, that persons bidding for and awarded a contract
14and all affiliates of the person collect and remit Illinois
15Use Tax on all sales of tangible personal property into the
16State of Illinois in accordance with the provisions of the
17Illinois Use Tax Act regardless of whether the person or
18affiliate is a "retailer maintaining a place of business
19within this State" as defined in Section 2 of the Use Tax Act.
20For purposes of this Section, the term "affiliate" means any
21entity that (1) directly, indirectly, or constructively
22controls another entity, (2) is directly, indirectly, or
23constructively controlled by another entity, or (3) is subject
24to the control of a common entity. For purposes of this
25subsection (b), an entity controls another entity if it owns,
26directly or individually, more than 10% of the voting

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1securities of that entity. As used in this subsection (b), the
2term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon
3the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the
4board of directors or similar governing body of the business
5or (2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive
6upon its exercise, a security that confers such a right to
7vote. A general partnership interest is a voting security.
8 To require that bids and contracts include a certification
9by the bidder or contractor that the bidder or contractor is
10not barred from bidding for or entering into a contract under
11this Section and that the bidder or contractor acknowledges
12that the school board may declare the contract void if the
13certification completed pursuant to this subsection (b) is
14false.
15 (b-5) To require all contracts and agreements that pertain
16to goods and services and that are intended to generate
17additional revenue and other remunerations for the school
18district in excess of $1,000, including without limitation
19vending machine contracts, sports and other attire, class
20rings, and photographic services, to be approved by the school
21board. The school board shall file as an attachment to its
22annual budget a report, in a form as determined by the State
23Board of Education, indicating for the prior year the name of
24the vendor, the product or service provided, and the actual
25net revenue and non-monetary remuneration from each of the
26contracts or agreements. In addition, the report shall

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1indicate for what purpose the revenue was used and how and to
2whom the non-monetary remuneration was distributed.
3 (b-10) To prohibit any contract to purchase food with a
4bidder or offeror if the bidder's or offeror's contract terms
5prohibit the school from donating food to food banks,
6including, but not limited to, homeless shelters, food
7pantries, and soup kitchens.
8 (c) If the State education purchasing entity creates a
9master contract as defined in Article 28A of this Code, then
10the State education purchasing entity shall notify school
11districts of the existence of the master contract.
12 (d) In purchasing supplies, materials, equipment, or
13services that are not subject to subsection (c) of this
14Section, before a school district solicits bids or awards a
15contract, the district may review and consider as a bid under
16subsection (a) of this Section certified education purchasing
17contracts that are already available through the State
18education purchasing entity.
19(Source: P.A. 101-570, eff. 8-23-19; 101-632, eff. 6-5-20.)
20 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.
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