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1 | AN ACT concerning small businesses.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Small | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Business Ombudsman Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | "Agency" has the definition set forth in Section 1-20 of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
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9 | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Opportunity.
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11 | "Small business" has the definition set forth in Section 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | of the Small Business Advisory Act.
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13 | Section 10. Creation; appointment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | (a) The Office of the Small Business Ombudsman is created | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | Office is charged with the responsibility of serving as a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | clearinghouse for State business information.
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18 | (b) The Governor, with the advice and consent of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | Senate, must appoint a person to serve as the Small Business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | Ombudsman. The appointee must have experience in small business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | administration. The Small Business Ombudsman shall serve at the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | pleasure of the Governor.
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23 | Section 15. Duties and responsibilities. The Office has all | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 | of the following responsibilities:
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25 | (1) To provide the public with an information resource | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 | center that disseminates information regarding State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | statutory and regulatory requirements to conduct business | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
28 | in the State, including authoritative sources and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | procedures and referrals to contact persons within the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 | appropriate State agencies.
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1 | (2) To establish a program in which the Office works | ||||||
2 | with the small business community to identify problems in | ||||||
3 | State government related to unnecessary delays in agency | ||||||
4 | regulatory actions, inconsistencies between regulatory | ||||||
5 | agencies, and the inefficient and ineffective use of State | ||||||
6 | resources.
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7 | (3) To track the number of contacts or inquiries | ||||||
8 | received each year by the Office, the nature of each | ||||||
9 | contact or inquiry, and the final resolution offered in | ||||||
10 | response to each contact or inquiry for the purpose of | ||||||
11 | recommending legislative and administrative revisions.
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12 | (4) To work with the State regulatory agencies to | ||||||
13 | determine the status of requests for information or | ||||||
14 | assistance and to resolve any disputes that may arise | ||||||
15 | between agencies and businesses regarding compliance with | ||||||
16 | laws, rules, or policies of the State or its agencies.
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17 | (5) To make legislative recommendations to the General | ||||||
18 | Assembly concerning issues affecting small businesses.
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19 | Section 20. Staff and administrative support. The | ||||||
20 | Department shall provide staff and administrative support | ||||||
21 | services to the Office as necessary. | ||||||
22 | Section 905. The Small Business Advisory Act is amended by | ||||||
23 | changing Sections 5 and 10 as follows:
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24 | (20 ILCS 692/5)
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25 | Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:
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26 | "Agency" means the same as in Section 1-20 of the
Illinois | ||||||
27 | Administrative Procedure Act.
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28 | "Joint Committee" means the Joint Committee on
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29 | Administrative Rules.
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30 | "Office" means the Office of the Small Business Ombudsman | ||||||
31 | established under the Small Business Ombudsman Act.
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32 | "Small business" means any for profit entity, | ||||||
33 | independently
owned and operated, that grosses less
than |
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1 | $4,000,000 per year or that has 50 or fewer full-time
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2 | employees. For the purposes of this Act, a "small business" has | ||||||
3 | its
principal office in Illinois.
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4 | "Department" means the Department of Commerce and | ||||||
5 | Community
Affairs.
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6 | (Source: P.A. 93-318, eff. 1-1-04.)
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7 | (20 ILCS 692/10)
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8 | Sec. 10. Small business advisory web pages site.
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9 | (a) Within 6 months after the effective date of this
Act, | ||||||
10 | each Agency must create and make available on the World
Wide | ||||||
11 | Web a small business advisory page.
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12 | (b) Each agency that (i) has adopted or is preparing to
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13 | adopt any rule affecting small businesses or (ii) is
designated | ||||||
14 | to administer legislation affecting small businesses that
has | ||||||
15 | become law must prepare and post on its small business
advisory | ||||||
16 | page a plain language explanation of the rule or legislation.
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17 | The explanation must indicate the effective date of the rule or
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18 | legislation. The explanation must remain posted for a minimum | ||||||
19 | of 6
months after the effective date of the rule or | ||||||
20 | legislation. Agencies shall
consult with the Office
Department | ||||||
21 | and small businesses in developing uniform
web page standards.
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22 | If a rule has been proposed but not adopted, an
explanation | ||||||
23 | of the rule must be posted as soon as possible in
order to | ||||||
24 | allow input and comment from affected small
businesses. The | ||||||
25 | State agency must, in
addition to posting a plain language | ||||||
26 | explanation of the rule,
post notice of the time, date, and | ||||||
27 | place of any public hearings,
together with the names, | ||||||
28 | addresses, and telephone numbers of the
agency rulemaking | ||||||
29 | contact; what must
be done by members of the public who wish to | ||||||
30 | provide testimony on the
rulemaking; and the names and | ||||||
31 | Springfield and district office addresses and
telephone | ||||||
32 | numbers of the members of the Joint Committee.
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33 | (c) When each agency updates its small business advisory
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34 | web page, it shall notify the Office
Department . The
Office
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35 | Department, through its First Stop Business Information |
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1 | Center,
shall serve as a central clearinghouse notifying the | ||||||
2 | small
business community of each agency's rulemakings and | ||||||
3 | changes in
requirements. Furthermore, the Office
Department | ||||||
4 | shall seek input from
the small business community on the | ||||||
5 | changes and inform the
appropriate agency and where applicable, | ||||||
6 | the Joint Committee,
of the input.
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7 | The Office
Department , as a part of its clearinghouse | ||||||
8 | function,
shall maintain a central small business advisory web | ||||||
9 | page that
shall serve as a coordinated point of access to all | ||||||
10 | agencies'
business advisory web pages.
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11 | (Source: P.A. 93-318, eff. 1-1-04.)
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