Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 102-0421

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Public Act 102-0421

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Public Act 0421 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Public Act 102-0421

HB1855 Enrolled LRB102 13766 RJF 19116 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.

    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
is amended by adding Section 605-1060 as follows:

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

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

Effective Date: 8/20/2021

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