Bill Text: IL SB2420 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Works Job Program Act. Provides that contractors or subcontractors may be eligible to earn bid credits for employing apprentices who have completed the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program (previously bid credits were available for public works contracted by the State). Provides that contractors and subcontractors can use bid credits toward future bids for public works projects contracted or funded by the State or an agency of the State in order to increase the likelihood that the contractor and the subcontractors are selected as the contractor for the public works project. Provides that, for contracts and grant agreements executed after the effective date of the amendatory Act, of a specified goal at least half of the labor hours of each prevailing wage classification performed by apprentices shall be performed by graduates of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may grant a reduction or waiver upon a determination that the contractor or subcontractor has demonstrated that insufficient graduates of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program are available to meet the requirements. Provides that contractors and subcontractors must submit a certification to the Department and the agency that is administering the contract, or the grant agreement funding the contract, demonstrating that the contractor or subcontractor has not complied with the labor hour goals and did not receive a reduction or waiver. Provides the penalties for failing to comply with the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2420 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2420-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2420 Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Cristina Castro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 559/20-15
30 ILCS 559/20-20
Amends the Illinois Works Job Program Act. Provides that contractors or subcontractors may be eligible to earn bid credits for employing apprentices who have completed the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program (previously bid credits were available for public works contracted by the State). Provides that contractors and subcontractors can use bid credits toward future bids for public works projects contracted or funded by the State or an agency of the State in order to increase the likelihood that the contractor and the subcontractors are selected as the contractor for the public works project. Provides that, for contracts and grant agreements executed after the effective date of the amendatory Act, of a specified goal at least half of the labor hours of each prevailing wage classification performed by apprentices shall be performed by graduates of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may grant a reduction or waiver upon a determination that the contractor or subcontractor has demonstrated that insufficient graduates of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program are available to meet the requirements. Provides that contractors and subcontractors must submit a certification to the Department and the agency that is administering the contract, or the grant agreement funding the contract, demonstrating that the contractor or subcontractor has not complied with the labor hour goals and did not receive a reduction or waiver. Provides the penalties for failing to comply with the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
SB2420 LRB103 30828 DTM 57327 b
AN ACT concerning finance.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Works Jobs Program Act is amended
by changing Sections 20-15, and 20-20 as follows:
(30 ILCS 559/20-15)
Sec. 20-15. Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program;
Illinois Works Bid Credit Program.
(a) The Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program is
established and shall be administered by the Department. The
goal of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program is to
create a network of community-based organizations throughout
the State that will recruit, prescreen, and provide
preapprenticeship skills training, for which participants may
attend free of charge and receive a stipend, to create a
qualified, diverse pipeline of workers who are prepared for
careers in the construction and building trades. Upon
completion of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program,
the candidates will be skilled and work-ready.
(b) There is created the Illinois Works Fund, a special
fund in the State treasury. The Illinois Works Fund shall be
administered by the Department. The Illinois Works Fund shall
be used to provide funding for community-based organizations

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throughout the State. In addition to any other transfers that
may be provided for by law, on and after July 1, 2019 at the
direction of the Director of the Governor's Office of
Management and Budget, the State Comptroller shall direct and
the State Treasurer shall transfer amounts not exceeding a
total of $25,000,000 from the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund
to the Illinois Works Fund.
(c) Each community-based organization that receives
funding from the Illinois Works Fund shall provide an annual
report to the Illinois Works Review Panel by April 1 of each
calendar year. The annual report shall include the following
information:
(1) a description of the community-based
organization's recruitment, screening, and training
efforts;
(2) the number of individuals who apply to,
participate in, and complete the community-based
organization's program, broken down by race, gender, age,
and veteran status; and
(3) the number of the individuals referenced in item (2)
of this subsection who are initially accepted and placed
into apprenticeship programs in the construction and
building trades.
(d) The Department shall create and administer the
Illinois Works Bid Credit Program that shall provide economic
incentives, through bid credits, to encourage contractors and

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subcontractors to provide contracting and employment
opportunities to historically underrepresented populations in
the construction industry.
The Illinois Works Bid Credit Program shall allow
contractors and subcontractors to earn bid credits for use
toward future bids for public works projects contracted by the
State or an agency of the State in order to increase the
chances that the contractor and the subcontractors will be
selected.
Contractors or subcontractors may be eligible to earn for
bid credits for employing apprentices who have completed the
Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program on public works
projects contracted by the State or any agency of the State.
Contractors or subcontractors shall earn bid credits at a rate
established by the Department and based on labor hours worked
on State-contracted public works projects by apprentices who
have completed the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program.
Contractors and subcontractors can use bid credits toward
future bids for public works projects contracted or funded by
the State or an agency of the State in order to increase the
likelihood that the contractor and the subcontractors are
selected as the contractor for the public works project toward
which they have applied the bid credit. The Department shall
establish the rate by rule and shall publish it on the
Department's website. The rule may include maximum bid credits
allowed per contractor, per subcontractor, per apprentice, per

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bid, or per year.
The Illinois Works Credit Bank is hereby created and shall
be administered by the Department. The Illinois Works Credit
Bank shall track the bid credits.
A contractor or subcontractor who has been awarded bid
credits under any other State program for employing
apprentices who have completed the Illinois Works
Preapprenticeship Program is not eligible to receive bid
credits under the Illinois Works Bid Credit Program relating
to the same contract.
The Department shall report to the Illinois Works Review
Panel the following: (i) the number of bid credits awarded by
the Department; (ii) the number of bid credits submitted by
the contractor or subcontractor to the agency administering
the public works contract; and (iii) the number of bid credits
accepted by the agency for such contract. Any agency that
awards bid credits pursuant to the Illinois Works Credit Bank
Program shall report to the Department the number of bid
credits it accepted for the public works contract.
Upon a finding that a contractor or subcontractor has
reported falsified records to the Department in order to
fraudulently obtain bid credits, the Department may bar the
contractor or subcontractor from participating in the Illinois
Works Bid Credit Program and may suspend the contractor or
subcontractor from bidding on or participating in any public
works project. False or fraudulent claims for payment relating

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to false bid credits may be subject to damages and penalties
under applicable law.
(e) The Department shall adopt any rules deemed necessary
to implement this Section. In order to provide for the
expeditious and timely implementation of this Act, the
Department may adopt emergency rules. The adoption of
emergency rules authorized by this subsection is deemed to be
necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19; 101-601, eff. 12-10-19.)
(30 ILCS 559/20-20)
Sec. 20-20. Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative.
(a) The Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative is
established and shall be administered by the Department.
(1) Subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection
(b) of this Section, apprentices shall be utilized on all
public works projects estimated to cost $500,000 or more
in accordance with this subsection (a).
(2) For public works projects estimated to cost
$500,000 or more, the goal of the Illinois Works
Apprenticeship Initiative is that apprentices will perform
either 10% of the total labor hours actually worked in
each prevailing wage classification or 10% of the
estimated labor hours in each prevailing wage
classification, whichever is less. For contracts and grant
agreements executed after the effective date of this

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amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, of this goal
at least half of the labor hours of each prevailing wage
classification performed by apprentices shall be performed
by graduates of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship
Program.
(b) Before or during the term of a contract subject to this
Section, the Department may reduce or waive the goals set
forth in paragraph (2) of subsection (a). Prior to the
Department granting a request for a reduction or waiver, the
Department shall determine, in its discretion, whether to hold
a public hearing on the request. In determining whether to
hold a public hearing, the Department may consider factors,
including the scale of the project and whether the contractor
or subcontractor seeking the reduction or waiver has
previously requested reductions or waivers on other projects.
The Department may also consult with the Business Enterprise
Council under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women,
and Persons with Disabilities Act and the Chief Procurement
Officer of the agency administering the public works contract.
The Department may grant a reduction or waiver upon a
determination that:
(1) the contractor or subcontractor has demonstrated
that insufficient apprentices are available;
(2) the reasonable and necessary requirements of the
contract do not allow the goal to be met;
(3) there is a disproportionately high ratio of

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material costs to labor hours that makes meeting the goal
infeasible; or
(4) apprentice labor hour goals conflict with existing
requirements, including federal requirements, in
connection with the public work.
(5) The contractor or subcontractor has demonstrated
that insufficient graduates of the Illinois Works
Preapprenticeship Program are available to meet the
requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection (a).
(c) Contractors and subcontractors must submit a
certification to the Department and the agency that is
administering the contract, or the grant agreement funding the
contract, demonstrating that the contractor or subcontractor
has either:
(1) met the apprentice labor hour goals set forth in
paragraph (2) of subsection (a); or
(2) received a reduction or waiver pursuant to
subsection (b); or .
(3) not complied with the labor hour goals in
paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and did not receive a
reduction or waiver pursuant to subsection (b).
It shall be deemed to be a material breach of the contract,
or the grant agreement funding the contract, and entitle the
State to declare a default, terminate the contract or grant
agreement funding it, and exercise those remedies provided for
in the contract, at law, or in equity if the contractor or

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subcontractor fails to submit the certification required in
this subsection or submits false or misleading information.
Failure to comply with the Illinois Works Apprenticeship
Initiative may result in the State agency that contracted or
funded the public works project: (i) terminating the contract
or agreement involved, (ii) prohibiting the party that
contracted with the State from participating in public
contracts or agreements for a period not to exceed 3 years,
(iii) seeking a penalty of up to 25% of the contract or
agreement as a result of the violation, or (iv) any
combination of items (i) through (iii). State agencies shall
report to the Department all projects that did not comply with
the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative and any action
taken against the noncompliant party and shall provide an
action plan to address the reported instance of noncompliance
with the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative.
(d) No later than one year after the effective date of this
Act, and by April 1 of every calendar year thereafter, the
Department of Labor shall submit a report to the Illinois
Works Review Panel regarding the use of apprentices under the
Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative for public works
projects. To the extent it is available, the report shall
include the following information:
(1) the total number of labor hours on each project
and the percentage of labor hours actually worked by
apprentices on each public works project;

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(2) the number of apprentices used in each public
works project, broken down by trade; and
(3) the number and percentage of minorities, women,
and veterans utilized as apprentices on each public works
project.
(e) The Department shall adopt any rules deemed necessary
to implement the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative. In
order to provide for the expeditious and timely implementation
of this Act, the Department may adopt emergency rules. The
adoption of emergency rules authorized by this subsection is
deemed to be necessary for the public interest, safety, and
welfare.
(f) The Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative shall not
interfere with any contracts or grants in existence on the
effective date of this Act.
(g) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in this
Act, any State agency that administers a construction program
for which federal law or regulations establish standards and
procedures for the utilization of apprentices may implement
the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative using the federal
standards and procedures for the establishment of goals and
utilization procedures for the State-funded, as well as the
federally assisted, portions of the program. In such cases,
these goals shall not exceed those established pursuant to the
relevant federal statutes or regulations.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19; 101-601, eff. 12-10-19.)

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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.