HB5093 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 18466 PJG 63696 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5093

Introduced 2/7/2012, by Rep. Sidney H. Mathias

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/9-10

from Ch. 46, par. 9-10

Amends the Election Code. Provides that a political committee shall file a report of any contribution of $1,000 or more in the aggregate received from any one source during a quarterly reporting period (now, just any contribution of $1,000 or more); makes related changes. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

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 Section 9-10 as follows:

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

Sec. 9-10. Disclosure of contributions and expenditures.

(a) The treasurer of every political committee shall file with the Board reports of campaign contributions and expenditures as required by this Section on forms to be prescribed or approved by the Board.

(b) Every political committee shall file quarterly reports of campaign contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures. The reports shall cover the period January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31 of each year. A political committee shall file quarterly reports no later than the 15th day of the month following each period. 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 failure to file a report required by this subsection. The fine, however, shall not exceed $1,000 for a first violation if the committee files 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. When considering the amount of the fine to be imposed, the Board shall consider whether the violation was committed inadvertently, negligently, knowingly, or intentionally and any past violations of this Section.

(c) A political committee shall file a report of any contribution of $1,000 or more in the aggregate received by the political committee from any one source during a quarterly reporting period. The report must be filed electronically with the Board within 5 business days after receipt of any the contribution that causes the aggregate contribution received from a source during the quarterly reporting period to be $1,000 or more, except that the report shall be filed within 2 business days after receipt if (i) the contribution is received 30 or fewer days before the date of an election and (ii) the political committee supports or opposes a candidate or public question on the ballot at that election or makes expenditures in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate, candidates, a public question, or public questions on the ballot at that election. The State Board shall allow filings of reports of contributions of $1,000 or more in the aggregate by political committees that are not required to file electronically to be made by facsimile transmission. The Board shall assess a civil penalty for failure to file a report required by this subsection. Failure to report each contribution is a separate violation of this subsection. The Board shall impose fines for willful or wanton violations of this subsection (c) not to exceed 150% of the total amount of the contributions that were untimely reported, but in no case 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 for willful or wanton violations, the Board shall consider the number of days the contribution was reported late and past violations of this Section and Section 9-3. The Board may impose a fine for negligent or inadvertent violations of this subsection not to exceed 50% of the total amount of the contributions that were untimely reported, or the Board may waive the fine. When considering whether to impose a fine and the amount of the fine, the Board shall consider the following factors: (1) whether the political committee made an attempt to disclose the contribution and any attempts made to correct the violation, (2) whether the violation is attributed to a clerical or computer error, (3) the amount of the contribution, (4) whether the violation arose from a discrepancy between the date the contribution was reported transferred by a political committee and the date the contribution was received by a political committee, (5) the number of days the contribution was reported late, and (6) past violations of this Section and Section 9-3 by the political committee.

(d) For the purpose of this Section, a contribution is considered received on the date (i) a monetary contribution was deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository of funds for the committee, (ii) the date a committee receives notice a monetary contribution was deposited by an entity used to process financial transactions by credit card or other entity used for processing a monetary contribution that was deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository of funds for the committee, or (iii) the public official, candidate, or political committee receives the notification of contribution of goods or services as required under subsection (b) of Section 9-6.

(e) A political committee that makes independent expenditures of $1,000 or more during the period 30 days or fewer before an election shall electronically file a report with the Board within 5 business days after making the independent expenditure. The report shall contain the information required in Section 9-11(c) of this Article.

(f) 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. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 95-957, eff. 1-1-09; 96-832, eff. 1-1-11.)

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