HB5099 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 18142 HLH 44225 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5099

Introduced , by Rep. Elga L. Jefferies

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

70 ILCS 210/23.1

from Ch. 85, par. 1243.1

Amends the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning an affirmative action program.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act is amended by changing Section 23.1 as follows:

(70 ILCS 210/23.1) (from Ch. 85, par. 1243.1)

Sec. 23.1. Affirmative action.

(a) The Authority shall, within 90 days after the the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1984, establish and maintain an affirmative action program designed to promote equal employment opportunity and eliminate the effects of past discrimination. Such program shall include a plan, including timetables where appropriate, which shall specify goals and methods for increasing participation by women and minorities in employment by the Authority and by parties which contract with the Authority. The Authority shall submit a detailed plan with the General Assembly prior to September 1 of each year. Such program shall also establish procedures and sanctions (including debarment), which the Authority shall enforce to ensure compliance with the plan established pursuant to this Section and with State and federal laws and regulations relating to the employment of women and minorities. A determination by the Authority as to whether a party to a contract with the Authority has achieved the goals or employed the methods for increasing participation by women and minorities shall be determined in accordance with the terms of such contracts or the applicable provisions of rules and regulations of the Authority existing at the time such contract was executed, including any provisions for consideration of good faith efforts at compliance which the Authority may reasonably adopt.

(b) The Authority shall adopt and maintain minority and female owned business enterprise procurement programs under the affirmative action program described in subsection (a) for any and all work undertaken by the Authority. That work shall include, but is not limited to, the purchase of professional services, construction services, supplies, materials, and equipment. The programs shall establish goals of awarding not less than 25% of the annual dollar value of all contracts, purchase orders, or other agreements (collectively referred to as "contracts") to minority owned businesses and 5% of the annual dollar value of all contracts to female owned businesses. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the programs shall require in connection with the prequalification or consideration of vendors for professional service contracts, construction contracts, and contracts for supplies, materials, equipment, and services that each proposer or bidder submit as part of his or her proposal or bid a commitment detailing how he or she will expend 25% or more of the dollar value of his or her contracts with one or more minority owned businesses and 5% or more of the dollar value with one or more female owned businesses. Bids or proposals that do not include such detailed commitments are not responsive and shall be rejected unless the Authority deems it appropriate to grant a waiver of these requirements. In addition the Authority may, in connection with the selection of providers of professional services, reserve the right to select a minority or female owned business or businesses to fulfill the commitment to minority and female business participation. The commitment to minority and female business participation may be met by the contractor or professional service provider's status as a minority or female owned business, by joint venture or by subcontracting a portion of the work with or purchasing materials for the work from one or more such businesses, or by any combination thereof. Each contract shall require the contractor or provider to submit a certified monthly report detailing the status of that contractor or provider's compliance with the Authority's minority and female owned business enterprise procurement program. The Authority, after reviewing the monthly reports of the contractors and providers, shall compile a comprehensive report regarding compliance with this procurement program and file it quarterly with the General Assembly. If, in connection with a particular contract, the Authority determines that it is impracticable or excessively costly to obtain minority or female owned businesses to perform sufficient work to fulfill the commitment required by this subsection, the Authority shall reduce or waive the commitment in the contract, as may be appropriate. The Authority shall establish rules and regulations setting forth the standards to be used in determining whether or not a reduction or waiver is appropriate. The terms "minority owned business" and "female owned business" have the meanings given to those terms in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

(c) The Authority shall adopt and maintain an affirmative action program in connection with the hiring of minorities and women on the Expansion Project and on any and all construction projects undertaken by the Authority. The program shall be designed to promote equal employment opportunity and shall specify the goals and methods for increasing the participation of minorities and women in a representative mix of job classifications required to perform the respective contracts awarded by the Authority.

(d) In connection with the Expansion Project, the Authority shall incorporate the following elements into its minority and female owned business procurement programs to the extent feasible: (1) a major contractors program that permits minority owned businesses and female owned businesses to bear significant responsibility and risk for a portion of the project; (2) a mentor/protege program that provides financial, technical, managerial, equipment, and personnel support to minority owned businesses and female owned businesses; (3) an emerging firms program that includes minority owned businesses and female owned businesses that would not otherwise qualify for the project due to inexperience or limited resources; (4) a small projects program that includes participation by smaller minority owned businesses and female owned businesses on jobs where the total dollar value is $5,000,000 or less; and (5) a set-aside program that will identify contracts requiring the expenditure of funds less than $50,000 for bids to be submitted solely by minority owned businesses and female owned businesses.

(e) The Authority is authorized to enter into agreements with contractors' associations, labor unions, and the contractors working on the Expansion Project to establish an Apprenticeship Preparedness Training Program to provide for an increase in the number of minority and female journeymen and apprentices in the building trades and to enter into agreements with Community College District 508 to provide readiness training. The Authority is further authorized to enter into contracts with public and private educational institutions and persons in the hospitality industry to provide training for employment in the hospitality industry.

(f) McCormick Place Advisory Board. There is created a McCormick Place Advisory Board composed as follows: 2 members shall be appointed by the Mayor of Chicago; 2 members shall be appointed by the Governor; 2 members shall be State Senators appointed by the President of the Senate; 2 members shall be State Senators appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; 2 members shall be State Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 2 members shall be State Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. The terms of all previously appointed members of the Advisory Board expire on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly. A State Senator or State Representative member may appoint a designee to serve on the McCormick Place Advisory Board in his or her absence.

A "member of a minority group" shall mean a person who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States and who is

(1) Black (a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa);

(2) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race);

(3) Asian American (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands); or

(4) American Indian or Alaskan Native (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America).

Members of the McCormick Place Advisory Board shall serve 2-year terms and until their successors are appointed, except members who serve as a result of their elected position whose terms shall continue as long as they hold their designated elected positions. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments are made. The McCormick Place Advisory Board shall elect its own chairperson.

Members of the McCormick Place Advisory Board shall serve without compensation but, at the Authority's discretion, shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses in connection with the performance of their duties.

The McCormick Place Advisory Board shall meet quarterly, or as needed, shall produce any reports it deems necessary, and shall:

(1) Work with the Authority on ways to improve the area physically and economically;

(2) Work with the Authority regarding potential means for providing increased economic opportunities to minorities and women produced indirectly or directly from the construction and operation of the Expansion Project;

(3) Work with the Authority to minimize any potential impact on the area surrounding the McCormick Place Expansion Project, including any impact on minority or female owned businesses, resulting from the construction and operation of the Expansion Project;

(4) Work with the Authority to find candidates for building trades apprenticeships, for employment in the hospitality industry, and to identify job training programs;

(5) Work with the Authority to implement the provisions of subsections (a) through (e) of this Section in the construction of the Expansion Project, including the Authority's goal of awarding not less than 25% and 5% of the annual dollar value of contracts to minority and female owned businesses, the outreach program for minorities and women, and the mentor/protege program for providing assistance to minority and female owned businesses.

(Source: P.A. 91-422, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 92-208, eff. 8-2-01.)