(20 ILCS 605/605-425)

Sec. 605-425. Illinois Steel Development Board.

(a) The Illinois Steel Development Board is established as an advisory board to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The Board shall be composed of the following voting members: the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, who shall be Chairman of the Board, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Business Development within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, 4 members of the General Assembly (one each appointed by the President of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the House Minority Leader), and 8 persons appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members appointed by the Governor must include: (1) one member shall be a member of the faculty of a school of business located within Illinois; (2) one member shall be a member of the faculty of a school of engineering located within Illinois; (3) one member shall represent a labor union that represents steelworkers; and (4) 5 members shall represent the Illinois steel industry, including but not limited to technology, transportation, financial, production, and use. Members appointed by the Governor shall be chosen from persons of recognized ability and experience in their designated field.

The members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of 4 years. The initial terms of the initial appointees shall expire on July 1, 2009. A member appointed by a legislative leader shall serve for the duration of the General Assembly for which he or she is appointed, so long as the member remains a member of that General Assembly.

The Board shall meet at least annually or at the call of the Chairman. At any time the majority of the Board may petition the Chairman for a meeting of the Board. Nine members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

Members of the Board shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing their duties as members of the Board from funds appropriated to the Department for that purpose.

(b) The Board shall provide advice and make recommendations to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on the following:

(1) The development of an annual agenda that may include, but is not limited to, research, marketing, and promotional methodologies conducted for the purpose of increasing the use of American steel produced, used, or transported by Illinois companies with emphasis on the following areas: maintaining and increasing employment of Illinois workers in the steel industry; steel preparation and characterization; marketing; public awareness and education; transportation; and environmental impacts.

(2) The support and coordination of American steel research, marketing, and promotion; the approval of projects consistent with the annual agenda and budget for steel research, marketing, and promotion; and the approval of the annual budget and operating plan for administration of the Board.

(3) The promotion and coordination of available research, marketing, and promotional information on the production, preparation, distribution, and uses of American steel. The Board shall advise the existing research institutions within the State on areas where research may be necessary.

(4) The cooperation to the fullest extent possible with State and federal agencies and departments, independent organizations, and other interested groups, public and private, for the purposes of promoting American steel resources.

(5) The submission of an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly outlining the progress and accomplishments made during the calendar year and furnishing other relevant information.

(6) Focusing on existing steel research, marketing, and promotion efforts in carrying out its mission, ways to make use of existing facilities in Illinois or other institutions carrying out research, marketing, and promotion of American steel and, as far as practical, to make maximum use of the facilities available in Illinois, including universities and colleges located within the State of Illinois, and the creation of a consortium or center that conducts, coordinates, and supports steel research, promotion, and marketing activities in the State of Illinois. Programmatic activities of the consortium or center shall be subject to approval by the Department and shall be consistent with the purposes of this Section. The Department may authorize the expenditure of funds in support of the administrative and programmatic operations of the center or consortium that are consistent with its authority. Administrative actions undertaken by or for the center or consortium shall be subject to the approval of the Department.

(7) Reasonable ways, before initiating any research, to avoid duplication of effort and expense through the coordination of the research efforts of various agencies, departments, universities, or organizations.

(8) The adoption, amendment, and repeal of rules, regulations, and bylaws governing the Board's organization and conduct of business.

(9) The search for, the acceptance of, and the expenditure of gifts or grants in any form, from any public agency or from any other source. The gifts and grants may be held in trust by the Department and expended at the direction of the Department and in the exercise of the Department's powers and performance of the Department's duties.

(10) The publication, from time to time, of the results of American steel research, marketing, and promotion projects funded through the Department.

(c) The Board shall also provide advice and make recommendations to the Department on the following:

(1) The creation and maintenance of current and accurate records on all markets for and actual uses of steel processed, utilized, or transported in Illinois and ways of making those records available to the public upon request.

(2) The identification of all current and anticipated future technical, economic, institutional, market, environmental, regulatory, and other impediments to the use of American steel and the Illinois steel industry.

(3) The identification of alternative plans or actions that would maintain or increase the use of American steel and the Illinois steel industry.

(4) The development of strategies and proposing policies to promote responsible uses of American steel processed, used, or transported by the Illinois steel industry.

(Source: P.A. 94-279, eff. 1-1-06.)