(30 ILCS 500/20-160)

Sec. 20-160. Business entities; certification; registration with the State Board of Elections.

(a) For purposes of this Section, the terms "business entity", "contract", "State contract", "contract with a State agency", "State agency", "affiliated entity", and "affiliated person" have the meanings ascribed to those terms in Section 50-37.

(b) Every bid and offer submitted to and every contract executed by the State on or after January 1, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 95-971) and every submission to a vendor portal shall contain (1) a certification by the bidder, offeror, vendor, or contractor that either (i) the bidder, offeror, vendor, or contractor is not required to register as a business entity with the State Board of Elections pursuant to this Section or (ii) the bidder, offeror, vendor, or contractor has registered as a business entity with the State Board of Elections and acknowledges a continuing duty to update the registration and (2) a statement that the contract is voidable under Section 50-60 for the bidder's, offeror's, vendor's, or contractor's failure to comply with this Section.

(c) Each business entity (i) whose aggregate bids and proposals on State contracts annually total more than $50,000, (ii) whose aggregate bids and proposals on State contracts combined with the business entity's aggregate annual total value of State contracts exceed $50,000, or (iii) whose contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, annually total more than $50,000 shall register with the State Board of Elections in accordance with Section 9-35 of the Election Code. A business entity required to register under this subsection due to item (i) or (ii) 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 date the contract is awarded; any change in information must be reported to the State Board of Elections 5 business days following such change or no later than a day before the contract is awarded, whichever date is earlier. A business entity required to register under this subsection due to item (iii) has a continuing duty to ensure that the registration is accurate in accordance with subsection (e).

(d) Any business entity, not required under subsection (c) to register, 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, shall register with the State Board of Elections in accordance with Section 9-35 of the Election Code prior to submitting to a State agency the bid or proposal whose value causes the business entity to fall within the monetary description of this subsection. A business entity required to register under this subsection 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 date the contract is awarded. Any change in information must be reported to the State Board of Elections within 5 business days following such change or no later than a day before the contract is awarded, whichever date is earlier.

(e) A business entity whose contracts with State agencies, in the aggregate, annually total more than $50,000 must maintain its registration under this Section and 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 contracts or for a period of 2 years following the expiration or termination of the contracts, whichever is longer. A business entity, required to register under this subsection, has a continuing duty to report any changes on a quarterly basis to the State Board of Elections within 14 calendar days following the last day of January, April, July, and October of each year. Any update pursuant to this paragraph that is received beyond that date is presumed late and the civil penalty authorized by subsection (e) of Section 9-35 of the Election Code may be assessed.

Also, if a business entity required to register under this subsection has a pending bid or offer, any change in information shall be reported to the State Board of Elections within 7 calendar days following such change or no later than a day before the contract is awarded, whichever date is earlier.

(f) A business entity's continuing duty under this Section to ensure the accuracy of its registration includes the requirement that the business entity notify the State Board of Elections of any change in information, including, but not limited to, changes of affiliated entities or affiliated persons.

(g) For any bid or offer for a contract with a State agency by a business entity required to register under this Section, the chief procurement officer shall verify that the business entity is required to register under this Section and is in compliance with the registration requirements on the date the bid or offer is due. A chief procurement officer shall not accept a bid or offer if the business entity is not in compliance with the registration requirements as of the date bids or offers are due. Upon discovery of noncompliance with this Section, if the bidder or offeror made a good faith effort to comply with registration efforts prior to the date the bid or offer is due, a chief procurement officer may provide the bidder or offeror 5 business days to achieve compliance. A chief procurement officer may extend the time to prove compliance by as long as necessary in the event that there is a failure within the State Board of Elections' registration system.

(h) A registration, and any changes to a registration, must include the business entity's verification of accuracy and subjects the business entity to the penalties of the laws of this State for perjury.

In addition to any penalty under Section 9-35 of the Election Code, intentional, willful, or material failure to disclose information required for registration shall render the contract, bid, offer, or other procurement relationship voidable by the chief procurement officer if he or she deems it to be in the best interest of the State of Illinois.

(i) This Section applies regardless of the method of source selection used in awarding the contract.

(Source: P.A. 100-43, eff. 8-9-17; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)