Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) This Section and Section
100.185
are adopted to comply with Public Act 95-971, as amended by Public Acts 96-848,
97-411 and 97-895. Any business entity whose existing State contracts, whose
bids and proposals on State contracts or whose bids and proposals on State
contracts combined with the business entity's existing State contracts in
aggregate annually total more than $50,000 shall register with SBEL in
accordance with Code Section 9-35. Those business entities that wish to submit
a bid or proposal on a State contract must register with SBEL prior to
submitting their bid or proposal. SBEL will provide a certificate of
registration upon successful completion of the registration process.
b) Definitions
1) For purposes of this Section, the terms
"business entity", "contract", "State contract", "contract with a State
agency", "State agency", "affiliated entity", "affiliated person", and
"executive employee" shall have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Section
50-37 of the Illinois Procurement Code [30 ILCS
500/50-37 ] (Procurement Code).
2) The term "annually", as used in Section
20-160 of the Procurement Code, when referring to the aggregation of State
contracts, shall mean the calendar year in which the contracts are bid on or
awarded.
3) Unless otherwise
indicated, any time frame involving a certain number of days shall refer to
business days. Business days shall be those days in which the office of SBEL is
open to the public for a minimum of 7 hours.
4) The term "political committee" shall mean
any political committee required to file as such under the provisions of
Article 9 of the Election Code (campaign disclosure law), regardless of whether
the committee has filed a Statement of Organization pursuant to Code Section
9-3.
5) The term "minor child"
shall mean any affiliated person who has not attained 18 years of age as of the
time of registration of the business entity with which the person is
affiliated.
c) Business
entities shall register on a secure website provided by SBEL by first creating
an on-line account. SBEL will verify the authenticity of that account at the
time of registration.
d)
Registration Procedures
1) The following
information must be supplied at the time of, and for the purpose of listing in,
the registration:
A) The name and address of
the business entity. The address shall be the office designated by the entity
as its principal office or its headquarters.
B) The name and address of each affiliated
entity of the business entity, including a description of the affiliation. The
address shall be that of the principal office or headquarters of the affiliated
entity.
C) The name and address of
each affiliated person of the business entity, including a description of the
affiliation. (Every affiliated person or persons within a business entity that
is required to register must be listed on the registration form. If there are
no affiliated persons, the person whose position within the business entity
comes closest to meeting the definition of affiliated person shall be listed on
the registration form. The electronic registration system will not accept a
blank entry where a name is required.) The name and address of a minor child
who must be disclosed on the business entity's registration by virtue of the
fact that such person falls under the definition of affiliated person shall not
be posted on the SBEL website.
D)
The Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), if the business has obtained
such a number. If the business does not have a FEIN, an Illinois Business Tax
Number (IBT) must be provided. If the business has neither of these numbers, it
must provide an identifying number unique to that business that is capable of
verification by SBEL. A sole proprietorship may use a social security number as
a unique identifier if it does not have a FEIN or an IBT.
2) Registration shall be accomplished in one
of the two following methods:
A) A web-based
program through which information may be entered, saved and transmitted upon
completion. Changes may be made by accessing the program, making the changes,
and submitting those changes to SBEL via the program contained on SBEL's
website.
B) A format, provided by
SBEL, designed specifically for large business entities through which data may
be submitted in lieu of completion of the web-based option. Though this method
is geared toward larger business entities, any business entity may choose to
use this method.
e) The Board shall provide a certificate of
registration to the business entity upon registration and upon any change of
information submitted by the entity. The certificate shall be electronic and
accessible to the business entity through the SBEL website and shall be
password protected.
1) Any business entity
required to register under Section 20-160 of the Procurement Code shall provide
a copy of the registration certificate, by first class mail, e-mail or hand
delivery within 10 days after registration, to each affiliated entity and each
affiliated person listed by the registrant.
2) Any business entity required to register
under Section 20-160 of the Procurement Code shall provide a copy of the
registration certificate, by first class mail, e-mail or hand delivery within
10 days after the addition of any affiliated entity or affiliated person whose
identity is required to be disclosed, to that affiliated person or entity. The
delivery of the registration certificate to a minor child who is an affiliated
person shall be accomplished by providing it as described in this Section to
either parent or the legal guardian of the minor child. The business entity
shall document in writing the date of submission of the certificate of
registration to the appropriate entities and persons.
3) Any business entity required to register
under Section 20-160 of the Procurement Code shall notify each political
committee to which it makes a contribution, in writing at the time of the
contribution, that the business entity is registered with SBEL under Section
20-160. The business entity shall document in writing the date of submission of
the notice of registration to the appropriate political committee. A copy of
the certificate of registration may serve as the required written
notice.
4) Any affiliated entity or
affiliated person of a business entity required to register under Section
20-160 of the Procurement Code shall notify each political committee to which
it makes a contribution that it is affiliated with a business entity registered
with SBEL under Section 20-160 and the business entity with which it is
affiliated. The notification shall be in writing and shall occur at the time
the contribution is made to the committee. The affiliated entities or persons
shall document in writing the date of submission of the notice of registration
to the appropriate political committee. A copy of the certificate of
registration may serve as the required written notice.
5) In the determination of a complaint
alleging a failure to comply with any notification requirement contained in
this subsection (e), the failure of a party responsible for providing the
required notification to submit written documentation of compliance shall
create a rebuttable presumption of noncompliance against that party.
f) Pursuant to Section 20-160 of
the Procurement Code, each bid submitted to and every contract executed by the
State on or after January 1, 2009 shall contain:
1) A certification by the bidder or
contractor that either:
A) the bidder or
contractor is not required to register as a business entity with SBEL pursuant
to this Section; or
B) the bidder
or contractor has registered as a business entity with SBEL and acknowledges a
continuing duty to update the registration; and
2) A statement that the contract is voidable
under Section 50-60 of the Procurement Code as a result of the bidder's or
contractor's failure to comply with Section 20-160 of the Procurement
Code.
g) A business
entity whose aggregate bids and proposals on State contracts annually total
more than $50,000, or whose aggregate bids and proposals on State contracts
combined with the business entity's aggregate annual total value of State
contracts exceed $50,000, has a continuing duty to ensure that the registration
is accurate during the period beginning on the date of registration and ending
on the day after the contract is awarded. Any change of information, including
but not limited to changes in affiliated entities or affiliated persons, must
be reported to SBEL within 5 business days following the change or no later
than a day before the contract is awarded, whichever date is earlier (see
Section
100.185(a)
).
h) A business entity whose contracts with
State agencies, in the aggregate, annually total more than $50,000 has a
continuing duty to ensure that the registration is accurate for the duration of
the term of office of the incumbent officeholder awarding the contract or for a
period of 2 years following the expiration or termination of the contract,
whichever is longer.
1) Any change in
information, including but not limited to changes in affiliated entities or
affiliated persons, shall be reported to SBEL on a quarterly basis within 10
business days following the final day of January, April, July and October of
each year (see Section
100.185(c)
).
2) If a business entity required to register
under Section 20-160(d) of the Procurement Code has a pending bid or proposal
on a State contract, then any change in information shall be reported to SBEL
within 5 business days or no later than a day before the contract is awarded,
whichever date is earlier (see Section
100.185(c)
).
i) Pursuant to Section 20-160 of the
Procurement Code, as to any bid or proposal for a contract with a State agency,
the Chief Procurement Officer shall verify that the business entity is required
to register and is in compliance with the registration requirements as of the
date the bid or proposal is submitted. The chief procurement officer of the
State agency shall not accept a bid or proposal unless:
1) the business entity is in compliance with
the registration requirements as of the date the bid or proposal is submitted;
or
2) a statement that the bidder
or contractor is not required to register as a business entity with SBEL is
submitted to the agency with the bid or proposal.
j) A registration, and any changes to a
registration, must include the business entity's verification of
accuracy.
k) The requirements of
this Section apply regardless of the method of source selection used in
awarding the contract.
l) Inactive
Status
1) The provisions of this subsection
apply to a business entity required to register with SBEL under Section 20-160
of the Procurement Code, that had an existing contract or had bid on a contract
within the time periods set out in subsection (h), and that had a duty to
maintain the accuracy of its registration. A business entity that has
registered with SBEL may change its status to "inactive" provided that:
A) the entity bid on a contract the value of
which exceeded the $50,000 qualifying threshold, but was not awarded that
contract;
B) the entity had a
combination of bids and contracts that exceeded the $50,000 qualifying
threshold; however, the entity was not awarded the contract and/or the two year
period following the expiration of the contract has lapsed or the term of
office of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contract has
concluded;
C) the entity had
contracts exceeding the $50,000 qualifying threshold; however, the two year
period following the expiration of the contract has lapsed or the term of
office of the officeholder responsible for awarding the contract has concluded;
or
D) the entity was not required
to register as a business entity but did so anyway, provided that the reason
for the registration was not to qualify for use of the Illinois Procurement
Gateway (IPG) offered by the Chief Procurement Officer - General Services. The
entity may not change its status to "inactive" until its registration through
the IPG has expired.
2)
Nothing in this Section shall affect the duty of a business entity to update
its registration when required to do so, nor remove the entity from the
prohibition against making contributions to the officeholder responsible for
awarding the contract.
3) This
"inactive" designation shall be determined by the business entity. The Board
shall provide a form in an electronic format accessible on the SBEL website for
the entity to indicate that it is currently in inactive status. The form shall
include the name and address of the entity; the contract or bid that created
the obligation to register with the SBEL, as well as the agency or office that
was responsible for awarding the contract, or, if the entity was not required
to register with the SBEL, a designation that registration was not required;
and the beginning date on which the obligation to update the entity's
registration relative to each contract or bid no longer existed. The form shall
be signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the business entity or his/her
designee, or a person who serves in that capacity, indicating that the
signatory verifies that the entity qualifies to be in inactive status based on
the criteria contained in this subsection (l).
4) In the event a business entity that had
previously declared its inactive status on the form prescribed by subsection
(l)(3) submits a bid for a State contract whose value exceeds $50,000, the
entity shall rescind its inactive status prior to submitting a bid, shall
update its registration so that the information required by Code Section
9-35(b)(1), (2) and (3) is current. In addition, the entity shall abide by the
contribution prohibitions contained in Section 50-37(b) and (c) of the
Procurement Code. The rescinding of an entity's inactive status shall be on an
electronic form accessible on the SBEL website.
m) The complaint provisions contained in Code
Sections 9-20 through 9-22 shall apply to complaints filed alleging a violation
of this Section.