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Bill Summary · SB 2653

SB 2653 — Summary (104th General Assembly, 2025‑2026)

Status: Died in committee
Introduced: March 13, 2025 (filed April 25, 2025 by Sen. Cristina Castro)
Subject/Statutes Amended: Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act — 30 ILCS 575, §§ 3.5, 4, 7, 8g

Note: the bill metadata supplied a title about campaign‑finance and foreign nationals, but the bill text and statutory citations show this measure amends the State’s Business Enterprise Program (BEP) for minority-, women‑, and disability‑owned businesses. This summary follows the bill text.

Purpose / Intent

To revise how State contracting participation goals for businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are set and applied. The measure seeks to (1) create uniform standards for calculating contract‑specific BEP goals, (2) clarify or remove administrative definitions and thresholds, (3) permit class‑level exemptions where insufficient certified businesses exist, and (4) adjust procedural requirements for utilization plans and related compliance.

Key provisions

  • Uniform standards: requires (text reads “shall may” reflecting amendment drafting) the Business Enterprise Program to establish uniform standards for calculating contract‑specific BEP goals for all State contracts and State construction contracts subject to the Act. Standards may consider industry practice, scope of work, vendor availability (including certified vendors), and State progress toward aspirational goals.

  • Removal/relocation of dollar‑threshold authority: deletes language that made the “total dollar amount of State contracts” (or certain contract dollar thresholds) subject to definition by the Secretary of the Council and approval by the Council (i.e., narrows administrative discretion over defining which contracts count).

  • Class exemptions: authorizes the Business Enterprise Council to permit, on its own initiative, an entire class of contracts to be exempt from BEP contracting goals if there is a written determination that an insufficient number of qualified certified businesses exists to ensure adequate competition and reasonable prices within that contract class.

  • Aspirational goals (retained/clarified): the existing aspirational percentages remain visible in the text:

    • All State contracts: 30% aspirational goal to BEP businesses — with subtargets of 16% to minority‑owned, 10% to women‑owned, and 4% to businesses owned by persons with disabilities.
    • State construction contracts: 20% aspirational goal — with at least 11% to minority‑owned, 7% to women‑owned, and 2% to persons with disabilities.

  • Disparity study contingency and required study: all goals are made contingent on the results of the most recent disparity study. The Commission on Equity and Inclusion must conduct a new social‑scientific disparity study by December 31, 2028, and report findings (with follow‑on reporting and a model for local units by June 30, 2029).

  • Utilization plans and responsiveness: solicitations that include BEP participation goals must require bidders/offerors to submit utilization plans with bids/offers. Failure to provide required documentation of good‑faith efforts (when requesting a waiver) renders a bid/offer non‑responsive. (The bill text about curing deficiencies in utilization plans is present but truncated in the provided document.)

Who is affected

  • State agencies and public institutions of higher education that award procurement and construction contracts subject to the BEP statute.
  • Contractors and prospective bidders on State procurements: new/clarified standards for utilization plans, potential increased risk of bid non‑responsiveness if documentation is insufficient.
  • Certified BEP businesses (minority‑, women‑, and disability‑owned firms): changes could standardize goal calculations but also allow class exemptions where certified vendor supply is judged insufficient.
  • Business Enterprise Council and Commission on Equity and Inclusion: responsibilities expanded for establishing standards, making exemption determinations, and conducting disparity studies.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • The bill amends 30 ILCS 575 §§ 3.5, 4, 7, and 8g.
  • Legislative action records show multiple committee referrals and hearings in early–mid 2025; the bill ultimately is recorded as “Died In Committee” (record indicates March 4, 2025, though other entries show activity in April 2025), so it did not become law in the 2025–2026 session.
  • Several sections of the bill text were truncated in the provided document; specifics on some procedural detail (e.g., exact cure process for utilization plan deficiencies) are incomplete in the available excerpt.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Standardizing goal calculations could increase consistency across agencies but may shift how participation targets are set for particular contracts.
  • Allowing class exemptions could reduce BEP participation on certain categories of contracts where certified vendor supply is limited, potentially lowering overall participation for affected contract classes.
  • Tighter requirements around utilization plans and documentation increase compliance burdens on bidders but aim to strengthen enforcement of aspirational goals.
  • The required disparity study and linkage of goals to study results may prompt future adjustments to aspirational percentages.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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