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HB 3137

FINANCE-CONTRACT-SIGNATURES

104th Regular Session Introduced by Harry Benton and 9 co-sponsors

Raises IDOT’s required signature threshold for construction contracts to $750,000 (indexed to NHCCI), narrowing pre-approval for mid-sized DOT projects; others stay at $250k.

Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 3137

HB 3137 — FINANCE‑CONTRACT‑SIGNATURES

Status: Rule 19(a) / Re‑referred to Rules Committee (last action 2025‑04‑11)
Introduced: February 18–21, 2025 (Rep. Suzanne M. Ness, primary sponsor)
Effective date: Upon becoming law

Purpose

Amend the State Finance Act (30 ILCS 105/9.02) to change the monetary threshold that triggers mandatory executive, legal, and fiscal signatures for Department of Transportation (IDOT) construction contracts — effectively narrowing the scope of the current signature requirement for DOT construction procurements.

Key provisions

  • Retains existing signature/approval requirements for most state contracts:

    • Any new contract or renewal, any order against a master contract, or any amendment that increases contract value to or by $250,000 or more in a fiscal year must be signed/approved in writing by:
    • the agency’s chief executive officer (or designee),
    • the agency’s chief legal counsel (or designee), and
    • the agency’s chief fiscal officer (or designee).
    • If an agency lacks a chief legal counsel or chief fiscal officer, the chief executive officer must designate a senior executive to be responsible for signature/approval.
    • No such documents may be filed with the Comptroller without the required signatures; violators face discipline up to discharge.
    • Prohibits artificial division of procurements to avoid thresholds; agencies must develop procedures to ensure compliance.

  • Modified rule for construction contracts procured by the Department of Transportation:

    • The signature/approval requirement described above applies to DOT construction contracts only when the contract, renewal, or order against a master contract is $750,000 or more in a fiscal year, or when an amendment increases the contract to or by $750,000 or more in a fiscal year.
    • IDOT may, by rule, annually adjust the $750,000 threshold to reflect inflationary costs in highway construction, measured by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Construction Cost Index (NHCCI).
    • Any change in the threshold is to be published in the Illinois Transportation Bulletin.

Who would be affected

  • Directly affected: Department of Transportation contracting and procurement for highway/construction projects.
  • Indirectly affected: contractors and vendors bidding on DOT construction work in the $250,000–$749,999 range (fewer required executive/legal/fiscal sign-offs), IDOT senior officials responsible for procurement policy, and state Comptroller processes.
  • All other state agencies remain subject to the existing $250,000 signature threshold.

Procedural history (selected)

  • Filed/First Reading: Feb 18–21, 2025
  • Assigned to State Government Administration Committee; Do Pass (Short Debate), 8–0 (Mar 12, 2025)
  • Second Reading / Placed on Calendar: Mar 13 & Mar 25, 2025
  • Added co‑sponsors (multiple dates through Apr 10, 2025)
  • Re‑referred to Rules Committee under Rule 19(a): Apr 11, 2025

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Administrative: May speed up approval and execution of smaller DOT construction contracts (under $750,000) by reducing required signatories.
  • Oversight & risk: Raises the dollar threshold for required executive/legal/fiscal review for DOT construction work from $250,000 to $750,000 — potentially reducing layers of pre‑payment review for mid‑sized projects; indexing the threshold to NHCCI will likely increase the exemption over time.
  • Transparency: The bill retains filing‑and‑Comptroller restrictions and anti‑splitting provisions; IDOT rulemaking and publication in the Illinois Transportation Bulletin would provide notice of any annual adjustments.

Sponsors (selected)

Primary: Rep. Suzanne M. Ness
Co‑sponsors include Rep. Harry Benton (chief co‑sponsor), Marcus C. Evans, Jr., Dave Vella, Martin J. Moylan, Camille Y. Lilly, Kevin John Olickal, Daniel Didech, Katie Stuart, Natalie A. Manley.

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

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