Rep. Jay Hoffman
Filed: 4/20/2021
 
 

 

 

 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1855 




2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1855 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:




 
4    "Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic 
5Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois 
6is amended  by adding Section 605-1060 as follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 605/605-1060 new)
8    Sec. 605-1060. Illinois Innovation Voucher Program.
9    (a) The Department is authorized to establish the Illinois 
10Innovation Voucher Program to be administered in accordance 
11with this Section for the purpose of fostering research and 
12development in key industry clusters leading to the creation 
13of new products and services that can be marketed by Illinois 
14businesses. The Department may award innovation vouchers to 
15eligible businesses to offset a portion of expenses incurred 
16through a collaborative research engagement with an Illinois 
 
 
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1institution of higher education.
2    (b) The Department may award matching funds in the form of 
3innovation vouchers up to 75% of the cost of the research 
4engagement not to exceed $75,000. A business may receive only 
5one innovation voucher under this Section per year.
6    (c) The Department when administering the Program under 
7this Section:
8        (1) must encourage participation among small and 
9    mid-sized businesses;
10        (2) must encourage participation in the Program in 
11    diverse geographic and economic areas, including urban, 
12    suburban, and rural areas of the State; and
13        (3) must encourage participation in the Program from 
14    businesses that operate in key industries, as defined by 
15    the Department. These industries include, but are not 
16    limited to, the following: (i) agribusiness and agtech; 
17    (ii) energy; (iii) information technology; (iv) life 
18    sciences and healthcare; (v) manufacturing; and (vi) 
19    transportation and logistics.
20    (d) In order to be eligible for an innovation voucher 
21under this Section, a business must satisfy all of the 
22following conditions:
23        (1) the business must be an Illinois-based business. 
24    For the purposes of this Section, "Illinois-based 
25    business" means a business that has its principal place of 
26    business in this State or that employs at least 100 
 
 
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1    full-time employees, as defined under Section 5-5 of the 
2    Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, 
3    in this State;
4        (2) the business must remain in this State for the 
5    duration of research engagement; and
6        (3) the partnering institution of higher education 
7    must be an Illinois-based institution of higher education 
8    and non-profit. For the purposes of this Section, 
9    "Illinois-based institution of higher education" means an 
10    institution of higher education that has its main physical 
11    campus in this State.
12    (e) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to 
13administer the provisions of this Section.
 

14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
15becoming law.".