Public Act 094-0279
 
SB1699 Enrolled LRB094 06724 JAM 36823 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 605-425 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 605/605-425 new)
    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.

Effective Date: 1/1/2006