HB0007eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0007 Engrossed LRB096 02943 JAM 12957 b

AN ACT concerning elections.

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

Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Sections 9-1, 9-1.4, 9-1.5, 9-1.7, 9-1.8, 9-1.9, and 9-10 and by adding Section 9-1.15 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/9-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1)

Sec. 9-1. As used in this Article, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms defined in Sections 9-1.1 through 9-1.15 9-1.13, have the respective meanings as defined in those Sections.

(Source: P.A. 86-873.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.4) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1.4)

Sec. 9-1.4. "Contribution" means-

(1) a gift, subscription, donation, dues, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value, knowingly received in connection with the nomination for election, or election, of any person to public office, in connection with the election of any person as ward or township committeeman in counties of 3,000,000 or more population, in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official, or in connection with any question of public policy;

(1.5) a gift, subscription, donation, dues, loan, advance, deposit of money, or anything of value that constitutes an electioneering communication regardless of whether the communication is made in concert or cooperation with or at the request, suggestion, or knowledge of a candidate, a candidate's authorized local political committee, a State political committee, a political committee in support of or opposition to a question of public policy, or any of their agents;

(2) the purchase of tickets for fund-raising events, including but not limited to dinners, luncheons, cocktail parties, and rallies made in connection with the nomination for election, or election, of any person to public office, in connection with the election of any person as ward or township committeeman in counties of 3,000,000 or more population, in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official, or in connection with any question of public policy;

(3) a transfer of funds between political committees; and

(4) the services of an employee donated by an employer, in which case the contribution shall be listed in the name of the employer, except that any individual services provided voluntarily and without promise or expectation of compensation from any source shall not be deemed a contribution; but

(5) does not include--

(a) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's residential premises for candidate-related activities; provided the value of the service provided does not exceed an aggregate of $150 in a reporting period;

(b) the sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use in a candidate's campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if such charge for use in a candidate's campaign is at least equal to the cost of such food or beverage to the vendor.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.5) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1.5)

Sec. 9-1.5. Expenditure defined.

"Expenditure" means-

(1) a payment, distribution, purchase, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, in connection with the nomination for election, or election, of any person to public office, in connection with the election of any person as ward or township committeeman in counties of 3,000,000 or more population, in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official, or in connection with any question of public policy. "Expenditure" also includes a payment, distribution, purchase, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value that constitutes an electioneering communication regardless of whether the communication is made in concert or cooperation with or at the request, suggestion, or knowledge of a candidate, a candidate's authorized local political committee, a State political committee, a political committee in support of or opposition to a question of public policy, or any of their agents. However, expenditure does not include -

(a) the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's residential premises for candidate-related activities; provided the value of the service provided does not exceed an aggregate of $150 in a reporting period;

(b) the sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use in a candidate's campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if such charge for use in a candidate's campaign is at least equal to the cost of such food or beverage to the vendor.

(2) a transfer of funds between political committees.

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 93-615, eff. 11-19-03; 93-847, eff. 7-30-04.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.7) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1.7)

Sec. 9-1.7. "Local political committee" means the candidate himself or any individual, trust, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or other organization or group of persons which:

(a) accepts contributions or grants or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or candidates for public office who are required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file statements of economic interests with the county clerk, or on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or candidates for election to the office of ward or township committeeman in counties of 3,000,000 or more population, or in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official who is required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file a statement of economic interests with the county clerk;

(b) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 in support of or in opposition to any question of public policy to be submitted to the electors of an area encompassing no more than one county. The $3,000 threshold established in this paragraph (b) applies to any receipts or expenditures received or made with the purpose of securing a place on the ballot for, advocating the defeat or passage of, or engaging in electioneering communication regarding the question of public policy regardless of the method of initiation of the question of public policy and regardless of whether petitions have been circulated or filed with the appropriate office or whether the question has been adopted and certified by the governing body;

(c) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 and has as its primary purpose the furtherance of governmental, political or social values, is organized on a not-for-profit basis, and which publicly endorses or publicly opposes a candidate or candidates for public office who are required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file statements of economic interest with the County Clerk or a candidate or candidates for the office of ward or township committeeman in counties of 3,000,000 or more population; or

(d) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 for electioneering communications relating to any candidate or candidates described in paragraph (a) or any question of public policy described in paragraph (b).

(Source: P.A. 95-963, eff. 1-1-09.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.8) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1.8)

Sec. 9-1.8. "State political committee" means the candidate himself or any individual, trust, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons which--

(a) accepts contributions or grants or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 (i) on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or candidates for public office who are required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file statements of economic interests with the Secretary of State or (ii) in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official who is required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file a statement of economic interests with the Secretary of State,

(b) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 in support of or in opposition to any question of public policy to be submitted to the electors of an area encompassing more than one county. The $3,000 threshold established in this paragraph (b) applies to any receipts or expenditures received or made with the purpose of securing a place on the ballot for, advocating the defeat or passage of, or engaging in electioneering communication regarding the question of public policy regardless of the method of initiation of the question of public policy and regardless of whether petitions have been circulated or filed with the appropriate office or whether the question has been adopted and certified by the governing body,

(c) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 and has as its primary purpose the furtherance of governmental, political or social values, is organized on a not-for-profit basis, and which publicly endorses or publicly opposes a candidate or candidates for public office who are required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act to file statements of economic interest with the Secretary of State, or

(d) accepts contributions or makes expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 for electioneering communications relating to any candidate or candidates described in paragraph (a) or any question of public policy described in paragraph (b).

(Source: P.A. 95-963, eff. 1-1-09.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.9) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-1.9)

Sec. 9-1.9. "Political committee" includes State central and county central committees of any political party, and also includes local political committees and state political committees, but does not include any candidate who does not accept contributions or make expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000, nor does it include, with the exception of State central and county central committees of any political party, any individual, trust, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons which does not (i) accept contributions or make expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or candidates or to any question of public policy, or (ii) accept contributions or make expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 for electioneering communications relating to any candidate or candidates described in paragraph (a) of Section 9-1.7 or 9-1.8 or any question of public policy described in paragraph (b) of Section 9-1.7 or 9-1.8, or (iii) accept contributions or make expenditures during any 12-month period in an aggregate amount exceeding $3,000 in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official, and such candidates and persons shall not be required to comply with any filing provisions in this Article.

(Source: P.A. 93-847, eff. 7-30-04.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-1.15 new)

Sec. 9-1.15. Legal defense of a candidate or public official. "Legal defense of a candidate or public official" means the obtaining, providing, or financially assisting with the obtaining or providing of legal counsel, representation, services, advice, opinion, or guidance for a candidate or public official in connection with: (i) an offense involving fraud against a public entity, bribery of an officer or employee of a public entity, official misconduct, or inducement of an officer or employee of a public entity to commit official misconduct; (ii) any other infamous crime under State or federal law; or (iii) any other offense that reflects upon the candidate's or official's character, honesty, integrity, or ability to qualify for or hold public office.

For the purpose of this Section, "public entity" means any entity authorized or established by constitution, law, executive order, resolution, or ordinance in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of government at the federal, State, or local level.

(10 ILCS 5/9-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-10)

Sec. 9-10. Financial reports.

(a) The treasurer of every state political committee and the treasurer of every local political committee shall file with the Board, and the treasurer of every local political committee shall file with the county clerk, reports of campaign contributions, and semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures on forms to be prescribed or approved by the Board. The treasurer of every political committee that acts as both a state political committee and a local political committee shall file a copy of each report with the State Board of Elections and the county clerk. Entities subject to Section 9-7.5 shall file reports required by that Section at times provided in this Section and are subject to the penalties provided in this Section.

(b) This subsection does not apply with respect to general primary elections. Reports of campaign contributions shall be filed no later than the 15th day next preceding each election in connection with which the political committee has accepted or is accepting contributions or has made or is making expenditures. Such reports shall be complete as of the 30th day next preceding each election. The Board shall assess a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a violation of this subsection, except that for State officers and candidates and political committees formed for statewide office, the civil penalty may not exceed $10,000. The fine, however, shall not exceed $500 for a first filing violation for filing less than 10 days after the deadline. There shall be no fine if the report is mailed and postmarked at least 72 hours prior to the filing deadline. For the purpose of this subsection, "statewide office" and "State officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. However, a continuing political committee that does not make an expenditure or expenditures in an aggregate amount of more than $500 (A) on behalf of or in opposition to any (i) candidate or candidates, (ii) public question or questions, or (iii) candidate or candidates and public question or questions on the ballot at an election or (B) in connection with the legal defense of a candidate or public official shall not be required to file the reports prescribed in this subsection (b) and subsection (b-5) but may file in lieu thereof a Statement of Nonparticipation in the Election with the Board or the Board and the county clerk ; except that if the political committee, by the terms of its statement of organization filed in accordance with this Article, is organized to support or oppose a candidate or public question on the ballot at the next election or primary, that committee must file reports required by this subsection (b) and by subsection (b-5).

(b-5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) and Section 1.25 of the Statute on Statutes, any contribution of more than $500 received (i) with respect to elections other than the general primary election, in the interim between the last date of the period covered by the last report filed under subsection (b) prior to the election and the date of the election or (ii) with respect to general primary elections, in the period beginning January 1 of the year of the general primary election and prior to the date of the general primary election shall be filed with and must actually be received by the State Board of Elections within 2 business days after receipt of such contribution. A continuing political committee that does not support or oppose a candidate or public question on the ballot at a general primary election and does not make expenditures in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate or public question on the ballot at the general primary election shall not be required to file the report prescribed in this subsection unless the committee makes an expenditure in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate or public question on the ballot at the general primary election. The committee shall timely file the report required under this subsection beginning with the date the expenditure that triggered participation was made. The State Board shall allow filings of reports of contributions of more than $500 under this subsection (b-5) by political committees that are not required to file electronically to be made by facsimile transmission. For the purpose of this subsection, a contribution is considered received on the date the public official, candidate, or political committee (or equivalent person in the case of a reporting entity other than a political committee) actually receives it or, in the case of goods or services, 2 business days after the date the public official, candidate, committee, or other reporting entity receives the certification required under subsection (b) of Section 9-6. Failure to report each contribution is a separate violation of this subsection. In the final disposition of any matter by the Board on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Board may impose fines for violations of this subsection not to exceed 100% of the total amount of the contributions that were untimely reported, but in no case when a fine is imposed shall it be less than 10% of the total amount of the contributions that were untimely reported. When considering the amount of the fine to be imposed, the Board shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors:

(1) whether in the Board's opinion the violation was committed inadvertently, negligently, knowingly, or intentionally;

(2) the number of days the contribution was reported late; and

(3) past violations of Sections 9-3 and 9-10 of this Article by the committee.

(c) In addition to such reports the treasurer of every political committee shall file semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures no later than July 20th, covering the period from January 1st through June 30th immediately preceding, and no later than January 20th, covering the period from July 1st through December 31st of the preceding calendar year. Reports of contributions and expenditures must be filed to cover the prescribed time periods even though no contributions or expenditures may have been received or made during the period. The Board shall assess a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a violation of this subsection, except that for State officers and candidates and political committees formed for statewide office, the civil penalty may not exceed $10,000. The fine, however, shall not exceed $500 for a first filing violation for filing less than 10 days after the deadline. There shall be no fine if the report is mailed and postmarked at least 72 hours prior to the filing deadline. For the purpose of this subsection, "statewide office" and "State officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.

(c-5) A political committee that acts as either (i) a State and local political committee or (ii) a local political committee and that files reports electronically under Section 9-28 is not required to file copies of the reports with the appropriate county clerk if the county clerk has a system that permits access to, and duplication of, reports that are filed with the State Board of Elections. A State and local political committee or a local political committee shall file with the county clerk a copy of its statement of organization pursuant to Section 9-3.

(d) A copy of each report or statement filed under this Article shall be preserved by the person filing it for a period of two years from the date of filing.

(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 95-957, eff. 1-1-09.)

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