Public Act 102-1101

HB4813 Enrolled LRB102 25424 CMG 34709 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section

10-20.21 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.21)

Sec. 10-20.21. Contracts.

(a) To award all contracts for purchase of supplies and

materials or work involving an expenditure in excess of

$25,000 or a lower amount as required by board policy to the

lowest responsible bidder, considering conformity with

specifications, terms of delivery, quality and serviceability,

after due advertisement, except the following:

(i) contracts for the services of individuals

possessing a high degree of professional skill where the

ability or fitness of the individual plays an important

part;

(ii) contracts for the printing of finance committee

reports and departmental reports;

(iii) contracts for the printing or engraving of

bonds, tax warrants and other evidences of indebtedness;

(iv) contracts for the purchase of perishable foods

and perishable beverages;

(v) contracts for materials and work which have been

awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after due

advertisement, but due to unforeseen revisions, not the

fault of the contractor for materials and work, must be

revised causing expenditures not in excess of 10% of the

contract price;

(vi) contracts for the maintenance or servicing of, or

provision of repair parts for, equipment which are made

with the manufacturer or authorized service agent of that

equipment where the provision of parts, maintenance, or

servicing can best be performed by the manufacturer or

authorized service agent;

(vii) purchases and contracts for the use, purchase,

delivery, movement, or installation of data processing

equipment, software, or services and telecommunications

and interconnect equipment, software, and services;

(viii) contracts for duplicating machines and

supplies;

(ix) contracts for the purchase of fuel, including

diesel, gasoline, oil, aviation, natural gas, or propane,

lubricants, or other petroleum products;

(x) purchases of equipment previously owned by some

entity other than the district itself;

(xi) contracts for repair, maintenance, remodeling,

renovation, or construction, or a single project involving

an expenditure not to exceed $50,000 and not involving a

change or increase in the size, type, or extent of an

existing facility;

(xii) contracts for goods or services procured from

another governmental agency;

(xiii) contracts for goods or services which are

economically procurable from only one source, such as for

the purchase of magazines, books, periodicals, pamphlets

and reports, and for utility services such as water,

light, heat, telephone or telegraph;

(xiv) where funds are expended in an emergency and

such emergency expenditure is approved by 3/4 of the

members of the board;

(xv) State master contracts authorized under Article

28A of this Code; and

(xvi) contracts providing for the transportation of

pupils, which contracts must be advertised in the same

manner as competitive bids and awarded by first

considering the bidder or bidders most able to provide

safety and comfort for the pupils, stability of service,

and any other factors set forth in the request for

proposal regarding quality of service, and then price; and

(xvii) contracts for goods, services, or management in

the operation of a school's food service, including a

school that participates in any of the United States

Department of Agriculture's child nutrition programs if a

good faith effort is made on behalf of the school district

to give preference to:

(1) contracts that procure food that promotes the

health and well-being of students, in compliance with

United States Department of Agriculture nutrition

standards for school meals. Contracts should also

promote the production of scratch made, minimally

processed foods;

(2) contracts that give a preference to State or

regional suppliers that source local food products;

(3) contracts that give a preference to food

suppliers that utilize producers that adopt hormone

and pest management practices recommended by the

United States Department of Agriculture;

(4) contracts that give a preference to food

suppliers that value animal welfare; and

(5) contracts that increase opportunities for

businesses owned and operated by minorities, women, or

persons with disabilities.

Food supplier data shall be submitted to the school

district at the time of the bid, to the best of the

bidder's ability, and updated annually thereafter during

the term of the contract. The contractor shall submit the

updated food supplier data. The data required under this

item (xvii) shall include the name and address of each

supplier, distributor, processor, and producer involved in

the provision of the products that the bidder is to

supply.

However, at no time shall a cause of action lie against a

school board for awarding a pupil transportation contract per

the standards set forth in this subsection (a) unless the

cause of action is based on fraudulent conduct.

All competitive bids for contracts involving an

expenditure in excess of $25,000 or a lower amount as required

by board policy must be sealed by the bidder and must be opened

by a member or employee of the school board at a public bid

opening at which the contents of the bids must be announced.

Each bidder must receive at least 3 days' notice of the time

and place of the bid opening. For purposes of this Section due

advertisement includes, but is not limited to, at least one

public notice at least 10 days before the bid date in a

newspaper published in the district, or if no newspaper is

published in the district, in a newspaper of general

circulation in the area of the district. State master

contracts and certified education purchasing contracts, as

defined in Article 28A of this Code, are not subject to the

requirements of this paragraph.

Under this Section, the acceptance of bids sealed by a

bidder and the opening of these bids at a public bid opening

may be permitted by an electronic process for communicating,

accepting, and opening competitive bids. An electronic bidding

process must provide for, but is not limited to, the following

safeguards:

(1) On the date and time certain of a bid opening, the

primary person conducting the competitive, sealed,

electronic bid process shall log onto a specified database

using a unique username and password previously assigned

to the bidder to allow access to the bidder's specific bid

project number.

(2) The specified electronic database must be on a

network that (i) is in a secure environment behind a

firewall; (ii) has specific encryption tools; (iii)

maintains specific intrusion detection systems; (iv) has

redundant systems architecture with data storage back-up,

whether by compact disc or tape; and (v) maintains a

disaster recovery plan.

It is the legislative intent of Public Act 96-841 to maintain

the integrity of the sealed bidding process provided for in

this Section, to further limit any possibility of bid-rigging,

to reduce administrative costs to school districts, and to

effect efficiencies in communications with bidders.

(b) To require, as a condition of any contract for goods

and services, that persons bidding for and awarded a contract

and all affiliates of the person collect and remit Illinois

Use Tax on all sales of tangible personal property into the

State of Illinois in accordance with the provisions of the

Illinois Use Tax Act regardless of whether the person or

affiliate is a "retailer maintaining a place of business

within this State" as defined in Section 2 of the Use Tax Act.

For purposes of this Section, the term "affiliate" means any

entity that (1) directly, indirectly, or constructively

controls another entity, (2) is directly, indirectly, or

constructively controlled by another entity, or (3) is subject

to the control of a common entity. For purposes of this

subsection (b), an entity controls another entity if it owns,

directly or individually, more than 10% of the voting

securities of that entity. As used in this subsection (b), the

term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon

the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the

board of directors or similar governing body of the business

or (2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive

upon its exercise, a security that confers such a right to

vote. A general partnership interest is a voting security.

To require that bids and contracts include a certification

by the bidder or contractor that the bidder or contractor is

not barred from bidding for or entering into a contract under

this Section and that the bidder or contractor acknowledges

that the school board may declare the contract void if the

certification completed pursuant to this subsection (b) is

false.

(b-5) To require all contracts and agreements that pertain

to goods and services and that are intended to generate

additional revenue and other remunerations for the school

district in excess of $1,000, including without limitation

vending machine contracts, sports and other attire, class

rings, and photographic services, to be approved by the school

board. The school board shall file as an attachment to its

annual budget a report, in a form as determined by the State

Board of Education, indicating for the prior year the name of

the vendor, the product or service provided, and the actual

net revenue and non-monetary remuneration from each of the

contracts or agreements. In addition, the report shall

indicate for what purpose the revenue was used and how and to

whom the non-monetary remuneration was distributed.

(b-10) To prohibit any contract to purchase food with a

bidder or offeror if the bidder's or offeror's contract terms

prohibit the school from donating food to food banks,

including, but not limited to, homeless shelters, food

pantries, and soup kitchens.

(c) If the State education purchasing entity creates a

master contract as defined in Article 28A of this Code, then

the State education purchasing entity shall notify school

districts of the existence of the master contract.

(d) In purchasing supplies, materials, equipment, or

services that are not subject to subsection (c) of this

Section, before a school district solicits bids or awards a

contract, the district may review and consider as a bid under

subsection (a) of this Section certified education purchasing

contracts that are already available through the State

education purchasing entity.

(Source: P.A. 101-570, eff. 8-23-19; 101-632, eff. 6-5-20.)