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91_HB2113
LRB9103897MWpr
1 AN ACT concerning the Department of Commerce and
2 Community Affairs.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
6 amended by changing Section 46.19a and adding Section 46.52a
7 as follows:
8 (20 ILCS 605/46.19a) (from Ch. 127, par. 46.19a)
9 Sec. 46.19a. Employment and technology grants.
10 (1) Grants to provide training in fields affected by
11 critical demands for certain skills may be made as provided
12 in this subsection.
13 (a) The Director of the Department may make grants
14 to eligible employers or to other eligible entities on
15 behalf of employers as authorized in paragraph (b) to
16 provide training for employees in fields for which there
17 are critical demands for certain skills.
18 (b) The Director may accept applications for
19 training grant funds and grant requests from: (i)
20 entities sponsoring multi-company eligible employee
21 training projects as defined in paragraph (c), including
22 business associations, strategic business partnerships,
23 institutions of secondary or higher education, large
24 manufacturers for supplier network companies, federal Job
25 Training Partnership Act administrative entities or grant
26 recipients, and labor organizations when those projects
27 will address common training needs identified by
28 participating companies; and (ii) individual employers
29 that are undertaking eligible employee training projects
30 as defined in paragraph (c), including intermediaries and
31 training agents.
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1 (c) The Director may make grants to eligible
2 applicants as defined in paragraph (b) for employee
3 training projects that include, but need not be limited
4 to, one or more of the following:
5 (i) training programs in response to new or
6 changing technology being introduced in the
7 workplace;
8 (ii) job-linked training that offers special
9 skills for career advancement or that is preparatory
10 for, and leads directly to, jobs with definite
11 career potential and long-term job security;
12 (iii) training necessary to implement total
13 quality management or improvement or both management
14 and improvement systems within the workplace;
15 (iv) training related to new machinery or
16 equipment;
17 (v) training of employees of companies that
18 are expanding into new markets or expanding exports
19 from Illinois;
20 (vi) basic, remedial, or both basic and
21 remedial training of employees as a prerequisite for
22 other vocational or technical skills training or as
23 a condition for sustained employment;
24 (vii) self-employment training of the
25 unemployed and underemployed with comprehensive,
26 competency-based instructional programs and
27 services; and
28 (viii) other training activities, projects, or
29 both training activities and projects related to the
30 support, development, or evaluation of job training
31 programs, activities, and delivery systems,
32 including training needs assessment and design.
33 (d) Grants shall be made on the terms and
34 conditions that the Department shall determine, provided,
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1 however, that no grant made under the provisions of
2 paragraph (c) of this subsection shall exceed 50% of the
3 direct costs of all approved training programs provided
4 by the employer or the employer's training agent or other
5 entity as defined in paragraph (b). Under this Section,
6 allowable costs include, but are not limited to:
7 (i) administrative costs of tracking,
8 documenting, reporting, and processing training
9 funds or project costs;
10 (ii) curriculum development;
11 (iii) wages and fringe benefits of employees;
12 (iv) training materials, including scrap
13 product costs;
14 (v) trainee travel expenses;
15 (vi) instructor costs, including wages, fringe
16 benefits, tuition, and travel expenses;
17 (vii) rent, purchase, or lease of training
18 equipment; and
19 (viii) other usual and customary training
20 costs.
21 (e) The Director will ensure that a minimum of one
22 on-site grant monitoring visit is conducted by the
23 Department either during the course of the grant period
24 or within 6 months following the end of the grant period.
25 The Department shall verify that the grantee's financial
26 management system is structured to provide for accurate,
27 current, and complete disclosure of the financial results
28 of the grant program in accordance with all provisions,
29 terms, and conditions contained in the grant contract.
30 (f) The Director may establish and collect a
31 schedule of charges from subgrantee entities and other
32 system users under federal job-training programs for
33 participating in and utilizing the department's automated
34 job-training program information systems where such
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1 systems and the necessary participation and utilization
2 is a requirement of the federal job-training programs.
3 All monies collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be
4 deposited into the Federal Job-Training Information
5 Systems Revolving Fund created in subsection (5).
6 (2) The Department is authorized to establish a program
7 of grants to universities, community colleges, research
8 institutions, research consortiums, other not-for-profit
9 entities, and Illinois businesses for the purpose of
10 fostering research and development in the high technology and
11 the service sector leading to the development of new products
12 and services that can be marketed by Illinois businesses. All
13 grant awards shall include a contract which may provide for
14 payment of negotiated royalties to the Department if the
15 product or service to be developed by the grantee is
16 subsequently licensed for production.
17 (a) Grants may be awarded to universities and
18 research institutions to assist them in making their
19 faculties and facilities available to Illinois
20 businesses. Such grants may be used by a university or
21 research institution for, including but not limited to
22 the following purposes: (i) to establish or enhance
23 computerized cataloging of all research labs and
24 university staff and make such catalogues available to
25 Illinois businesses; (ii) to market products developed by
26 the university to Illinois businesses; (iii) to review
27 publications in order to identify, catalog, and inform
28 Illinois businesses of new practices in areas such as
29 robotics, biotechnology; (iv) to build an on-line,
30 information and technology system that relies on other
31 computerized networks in the United States; (v) to assist
32 in securing temporary replacement for faculty who are
33 granted a leave of absence from their teaching duties for
34 the purpose of working full-time for an Illinois business
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1 to assist that business with technology transfer.
2 (b) Grants may be awarded to universities and
3 research institutions, research consortiums and other
4 not-for-profit entities for the purpose of identifying
5 and supporting Illinois businesses engaged in high
6 technology and service sector enterprises. Such Illinois
7 businesses identified and funded shall include recipients
8 of Small Business Innovation Research Program funds under
9 subsections (e) through (k) of Section 9 of the Small
10 Business Act. (Title 15 United States Codes, subsections
11 638(e)-638(k)). Entities receiving grants under this
12 paragraph (b) shall be known as commercialization centers
13 and shall engage in one or more of the following
14 activities:
15 (i) directing research assistance for new
16 venture creations;
17 (ii) general feasibility studies of new
18 venture ideas;
19 (iii) furthering the technical and
20 intellectual skills of the managers and owners of
21 Illinois small businesses;
22 (iv) commercialization of technology and
23 research;
24 (v) development of prototypes and testing new
25 products;
26 (vi) identify and assist in securing
27 financing;
28 (vii) marketing assistance; and
29 (viii) assisting Illinois inventors in finding
30 Illinois manufacturers to produce and market their
31 inventions.
32 A commercialization center may charge a nominal fee
33 or accept royalty agreements for conducting feasibility
34 studies and other services.
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1 (c) Grants may be awarded by the Department to
2 Illinois businesses to fund research and consultation
3 arrangements between businesses and universities,
4 community colleges, research institutions, research
5 consortiums and other not-for-profit entities within this
6 State.
7 The Department shall give priority to Illinois small
8 businesses in awarding grants. Each grant awarded under
9 this paragraph (c) shall provide funding for up to 50% of
10 the cost of the research or consultation arrangements,
11 not to exceed $100,000; provided that the grant recipient
12 utilizes Illinois not for profit research and academic
13 institutions to perform the research and development
14 function for which grant funds were requested.
15 (d) Grants may be awarded to research consortium
16 and other qualified applicants, in conjunction with
17 private sector or federal funding, for other creative
18 systems that bridge university resources and business,
19 technological, production and development concerns.
20 (e) For the purposes of subsection (2), (i)
21 "Illinois business" means a "small business concern" as
22 defined in Title 15 United States Code, Section 632,
23 which primarily conducts its business in Illinois; (ii)
24 "high technology" means any area of research or
25 development designed to foster greater knowledge or
26 understanding in fields such as computer science,
27 electronics, physics, chemistry or biology for the
28 purpose of producing designing, developing or improving
29 prototypes and new processes; (iii) "private sector"
30 shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Title 29 United
31 States Code, Section 1503; (iv) "University" means either
32 a degree granting institution located in Illinois as
33 defined in Section 2 of the Academic Degree Act, or a
34 State-supported institution of higher learning
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1 administered by the Board of Trustees of the University
2 of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois
3 University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State
4 University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois
5 University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State
6 University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State
7 University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern
8 Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Northern
9 Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Western
10 Illinois University, or the Illinois Community College
11 Board; (v) "venture" means any Illinois business engaged
12 in research and development to create new products or
13 services with high growth potential; (vi) Illinois
14 research institutions refers to not-for-profit entities,
15 which include federally-funded research laboratories,
16 that conduct research and development activities for the
17 purpose of producing, designing, developing, or improving
18 prototypes and new processes; and (vii) other
19 not-for-profit entities means non-profit organizations
20 based in Illinois that are primarily devoted to new
21 enterprise or product development.
22 (f) The Department may establish a program of grant
23 assistance on a matching basis to universities, community
24 colleges, small business development centers, community
25 action agencies and other not-for-profit economic
26 development agencies to encourage new enterprise
27 development and new business formation and to encourage
28 enterprises in this State. The Department may provide
29 grants, which shall be exempt from the provisions of
30 subsection (3) of this Section, to universities,
31 community colleges, small business development centers,
32 community action agencies and other not-for-profit
33 economic development entities for the purpose of making
34 loans to small businesses. All grant applications shall
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1 contain information as required by the Department,
2 including the following: a program operation plan; a
3 certification and assurance that the small business
4 applicants have received business development training or
5 education, have a business and finance plan and have
6 experience in the proposed business area; and a
7 description of the support services which the grant
8 recipient will provide to the small business. No more
9 than 10% of the grant may be used by the grant recipient
10 for administrative costs associated with the grant.
11 Grant recipients may use grant funds under this program
12 to make loans on terms and conditions favorable to the
13 small business and shall give priority to those
14 businesses located in high poverty areas, enterprise
15 zones, or both.
16 (3) There is created within the Department, a Technology
17 Innovation and Commercialization Grants-in-Aid Council which
18 shall consist of 2 representatives of the Department of
19 Commerce and Community Affairs appointed by the Department;
20 one representative of the Illinois Board of Higher Education,
21 appointed by the Board; one representative of science or
22 engineering appointed by the Governor; two representatives of
23 business, appointed by the Governor; one representative of
24 small business, appointed by the Governor; one representative
25 of the Department of Agriculture, appointed by the Director
26 of Agriculture; and one representative of agribusiness,
27 appointed by the Director of Agriculture. The Director of
28 Commerce and Community Affairs shall appoint one of the
29 Department's representatives to serve as chairman of the
30 Council. The Council members shall receive no compensation
31 for their services but shall be reimbursed for their expenses
32 actually incurred by them in the performance of their duties
33 under this subsection. The Department shall provide staff
34 services to the Council. The Council shall provide for review
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1 and evaluation of all applications received by the Department
2 under subsection (2) of this Section and make recommendations
3 on those projects to be funded. The Council shall also assist
4 the Department in monitoring the projects and in evaluating
5 the impact of the program on technological innovation and
6 business development within the State.
7 (4) There is hereby created a special fund in the State
8 Treasury to be known as the Technology Innovation and
9 Commercialization Fund. The moneys in such Fund may be used,
10 subject to appropriation, only for making grants pursuant to
11 subsection (2) of this Section and for the purposes of the
12 Technology Advancement and Development Act. All royalties
13 received by the Department shall be deposited in such Fund.
14 (5) There is hereby created a special fund in the State
15 treasury to be known as the Federal Job-Training Information
16 Systems Revolving Fund. The deposit of monies into this fund
17 shall be limited to the collection of charges pursuant to
18 paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of this Section. The monies
19 in the fund may only be used, subject to appropriation by the
20 General Assembly for the purpose of financing the maintenance
21 and operation of the automated Federal Job-Training
22 Information Systems pursuant to paragraph (f) of subsection
23 (1) of this Section.
24 (6) When the Department is involved in developing a
25 federal or State funded training or retraining program for
26 any employer, the Department will assist and encourage that
27 employer in making every effort to reemploy individuals
28 previously employed at the facility. Further, the Department
29 will provide a list of said employees to said employer for
30 consideration for reemployment and will report the results of
31 this effort to the Illinois Job Training Coordinating
32 Council. This requirement shall be in effect when the
33 following conditions are met:
34 (a) the employer is reopening, or is proposing to
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1 reopen, a facility which was last closed during the
2 preceding 2 years,
3 (b) a substantial number of the persons who were
4 employed at the facility before its most recent closure
5 remain unemployed, and
6 (c) the product or service produced by, or proposed
7 to be produced by, the employer at the facility is
8 substantially similar to the product or service produced
9 at the facility before its most recent closure.
10 (7) The Department, in cooperation with the Departments
11 of Human Services and Employment Security, may establish a
12 program to encourage community action agencies to establish
13 programs that will help unemployed and underemployed single
14 parents to identify, access, and develop, through such means
15 as counseling or mentoring, internal and external resources
16 that will enable those single parents to become emotionally
17 and financially self-sufficient. The intended primary
18 beneficiaries of the local programs shall be female heads of
19 households who are at least 22 but less than 46 years of age
20 and who are physically able to work but are unemployed or
21 underemployed. The Department may make grants, subject to
22 the availability of funding, to communities and local
23 agencies for the purpose of establishing local programs as
24 described in this subsection (7). A grant under this
25 subsection (7) shall be made for a period of one year and may
26 be renewed if the Department determines that the program is
27 successful in meeting its objectives. If the Department
28 determines that implementation of a program has resulted in a
29 savings of State moneys that otherwise would have been paid
30 to beneficiaries of the program, the Department, on renewing
31 a grant, may adjust the grant amount for those demonstrated
32 savings. For purposes of this subsection, a person is
33 underemployed if his or her income from employment is less
34 than 185% of the federal official poverty income guideline.
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1 (8) (a) Grants may be awarded by the Department to
2 foster cooperation among Illinois businesses by
3 emphasizing an industry-wide or sector-based approach to
4 business assistance. Grants will encourage groups of
5 businesses to work together on a cooperative development
6 project that will benefit all participants equally by
7 providing matching funds to industrial or regional
8 business groups for the purpose of solving common
9 problems or meeting common needs such as joint training,
10 marketing, and exporting projects. The grant recipients
11 shall be not-for-profit corporations whose purpose is to
12 promote industrial and business development.
13 (b) Two or more Illinois businesses must cooperate
14 on the development project, and a 50% match is required.
15 The project must promote the development of one or more
16 sectors of Illinois industrial or business economy or the
17 economic development of a geographical region of the
18 State.
19 (Source: P.A. 89-4, eff. 1-1-96; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-454,
20 eff. 8-16-97.)
21 (20 ILCS 605/46.52a new)
22 Sec. 46.42a. Illinois Neighborhood Development Matching
23 Grant Program.
24 (a) Legislative findings and purpose. Non-profit
25 community and neighborhood development organizations have
26 grown significantly over the past decade because this
27 organizational model has proven effective in: (i) sponsoring
28 projects and programs that help revitalize low-income
29 communities; (ii) encouraging meaningful resident involvement
30 in revitalization; (iii) developing local leadership; and
31 (iv) aggregating support from a multitude of public and
32 private sources.
33 This amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly will
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1 target State resources to support the development projects of
2 new and expanding non-profit community and neighborhood
3 economic development organizations that are combating
4 disinvestment in their local communities and neighborhoods.
5 (b) The Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
6 shall administer an Illinois Neighborhood Development
7 Matching Grant Program. The grant program shall:
8 (1) target State resources to offer State 2-to-1
9 matching grants, cash or in-kind, of a minimum amount of
10 $1,000 and a maximum amount of $50,000 with funds drawn
11 down on a quarterly or monthly reimbursement basis; and
12 (2) fund local administrative and development
13 costs, training, and professional services under
14 contract. For purposes of this paragraph:
15 (A) "professional services" include: planning
16 and research, such as feasibility studies, market
17 studies, and comprehensive and strategic plans; and
18 (B) "development costs" include: site
19 acquisition; site and community marketing; project
20 gap financing; construction, expansion, or
21 completion of sanitary sewers, roads and streets,
22 water lines, sidewalks, railroad spurs, and sidings;
23 viaduct clearance improvements; Phase I and Phase II
24 environmental site assessments; and environmental
25 remediation.
26 (c) Applicants shall be community development
27 corporations, community development organizations, community
28 based organizations, or similar not-for-profits.
29 (d) Funds may not be used for the provision of direct
30 financial assistance to businesses or development projects.
31 (e) The Department shall provide technical assistance on
32 preparing the grant application.