093_SJ0036enr 93SJ0036 Enrolled LRB093 12079 RCE 16856 r 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 2 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY 3 SENATE 4 Senate Joint Resolution No. 36 5 Offered by Senators Collins, Martinez, Hunter, 6 Link and Munoz 7 WHEREAS, Minorities and women seeking apprenticeship and 8 trainee opportunities in the building trades allege the 9 existence of racial and gender discrimination in hiring on 10 public construction contracts; and 11 WHEREAS, Minority-owned and female-owned companies allege 12 that contractors on public construction projects engage in 13 racial and gender discrimination; and 14 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois spends billions of dollars 15 on public construction projects; and 16 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a compelling State 17 interest to eliminate racial and gender discrimination in 18 State-funded public construction programs to effect an 19 efficient procurement process; and 20 WHEREAS, No State agency has undertaken a comprehensive 21 study to determine the existence and the extent of racial and 22 gender discrimination on public construction projects during 23 the last 5 years; therefore, be it 24 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL 25 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF 26 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the 27 Commission on Opportunity in State Public Construction, which 28 shall consist of 17 members as follows: (i) 10 members 29 appointed by the Governor, 2 of whom are representatives of a 30 labor organization engaged in the building trades, 2 of whom 31 are representatives of organizations that represent the 32 interests of construction companies, one of whom is a 33 representative of an organization that represents the 93SJ0036 Enrolled -2- LRB093 12079 RCE 16856 r 1 interests of minority-owned business enterprises, one of whom 2 is a representative of an organization that represents 3 female-owned business enterprises, one of whom is a 4 representative of an organization that advocates for the 5 civil rights of women, one of whom is a representative of an 6 organization that advocates for the civil rights of African 7 Americans, one of whom is a representative of an organization 8 that advocates for the civil rights of Hispanic Americans, 9 and one of whom is a representative of an organization that 10 advocates for the civil rights of Asian Pacific and South 11 Asian Americans; (ii) one member appointed by the President 12 of the Senate; (iii) one member appointed by the Minority 13 Leader of the Senate; (iv) one member appointed by the 14 Speaker of the House of Representatives; (v) one member 15 appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of 16 Representatives; (vi) the Attorney General or his or her 17 designee; (vii) the Director of the Capital Development Board 18 or his or her designee; and (viii) the Secretary of 19 Transportation or his or her designee, all of whom shall 20 serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their 21 reasonable and necessary expenses from appropriations 22 available for that purpose; the appointments shall be made 23 before September 1, 2003; the members shall elect one member 24 to serve as chairperson of the Commission; and be it further 25 RESOLVED, That the Commission shall ascertain through 26 public hearings and social-scientific research: (i) whether 27 there is a pattern of racial and gender discrimination in 28 employment on State public construction projects; (ii) 29 whether there is a pattern of racial and gender 30 discrimination in contracting on State public construction 31 projects; (iii) the extent, if any, of racial and gender 32 discrimination in employment on State public construction 33 projects; and (iv) the nature, if any, of race and 34 gender-neutral barriers to entry to employment or contracting 93SJ0036 Enrolled -3- LRB093 12079 RCE 16856 r 1 for minorities and women on State public construction 2 projects; if the Commission determines that there is racial 3 and gender-based discrimination in State public construction 4 projects, then the Commission shall develop policy 5 recommendations to remedy the racial and gender-based 6 discrimination; if the Commission determines that there are 7 race and gender-neutral barriers to minority and female 8 participation on State public construction projects, then the 9 Commission shall develop policy recommendations to reduce the 10 barriers to full participation; nothing in this resolution 11 precludes the Commission from recognizing the existence, if 12 any, of racial and gender-based discrimination or neutral 13 barriers, or both, to minority and female participation on 14 State public construction projects and developing policy 15 recommendations to address both issues; the Commission shall 16 have investigatory power pursuant to 25 ILCS 5/Act; the 17 Commission shall deliver a report of its findings, the 18 transcripts of its public hearings, and its social-scientific 19 research to the Governor and to the General Assembly by June 20 30, 2004; and be it further 21 RESOLVED, That the Capital Development Board and the 22 Department of Transportation shall provide staff assistance 23 as is reasonably required to permit the Commission to fulfill 24 its functions; the Illinois Department of Transportation is 25 authorized to receive appropriations from the General 26 Assembly to fund social-scientific research related to the 27 Commission's function; the Department of Transportation, on 28 behalf of the Commission, is authorized to contract with a 29 university, consulting firm, or other reputable research 30 organization to conduct a social-scientific study on race and 31 gender discrimination on State public construction projects; 32 and be it further 33 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 93SJ0036 Enrolled -4- LRB093 12079 RCE 16856 r 1 delivered to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Director 2 of the Capital Development Board, and the Secretary of 3 Transportation. 4 Adopted by the Senate, May 29, 2003. 5 _______________________ 6 President of the Senate 7 _______________________ 8 Secretary of the Senate 9 Concurred in by the House of Representatives, June 1, 10 2003. 11 _________________________ 12 Speaker of House of 13 Representatives 14 _________________________ 15 Clerk of House of 16 Representatives