SB1330 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 09883 MLM 20054 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1330

Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Melinda Bush

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/Art. 29D heading new
10 ILCS 5/29D-5 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-10 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-15 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-20 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-25 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-30 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-35 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-40 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-45 new
10 ILCS 5/29D-50 new

Amends the Election Code. Sets forth requirements for disclosure of certain donor information in campaign advertisements. Sets forth requirements for radio, telephonic, television, video, and mass mailing advertisements. Requires advertisements to disclose information concerning donors to the political committees. Requires political committees to create a disclosure website to list more donor information. Allows the State Board of Elections to adopt rules for other forms of advertisement. Sets forth requirements for updates of the information. Requires certain information to be filed with the Secretary of State.

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 adding Article 29D as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/Art. 29D heading new)

ARTICLE 29D. CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENT DISCLOSURES

(10 ILCS 5/29D-5 new)

Sec. 29D-5. Definitions. As used in this Article:

"Advertisement" means a general or public advertisement that is any of the following:

(1) Authorized and paid for by a person or committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures.

(2) An electioneering communication.

(3) An issue advocacy advertisement.

"Advertisement" does not include a communication from an organization other than a political party or minor political party to its members, a campaign button smaller than 10 inches in diameter, a bumper sticker smaller than 60 square inches, or other advertisement as determined by regulations of the Commission.

"Cumulative contributions" means the cumulative amount of contributions received by a political committee beginning 18 months prior to the date the political committee made its first expenditure for a political advertisement or for the purpose of qualifying, supporting, or opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure.

"Disclosure website" means a political committee's Internet website for a specific campaign that discloses the top identifiable contributors to that committee for that campaign.

"Disclosure threshold" means $10,000 in the case of a campaign regarding a statewide ballot measure or a State candidate or in the case of a statewide issue advocacy advertisement, or $2,000 in the case of a campaign regarding a local ballot measure or a local candidate or in the case of a local issue advocacy advertisement.

"Electioneering communication" means a communication that clearly identifies a candidate for elective state office, but does not expressly advocate the election or defeat of the candidate, and that is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise published within 45 days of an election.

"Identifiable contributor" means a person that is the original source of contributions received by a political committee that cumulatively meet or exceed the disclosure threshold, notwithstanding the fact that the contributions were transferred, in whole or in part, through one or more other political committees or persons.

"Issue advocacy advertisement" means an advertisement that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of a pending legislative action, administrative action, or one or more ballot measures and does any of the following:

(1) Can only be reasonably interpreted as an appeal for the recipient of the advertisement to take action by contacting an employee or elected official of the state government or any local government or encouraging others to contact those persons.

(2) Refers to a pending legislative action and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the end of the legislative session.

(3) Refers to one or more ballot measures and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 120 days of the election concerning that measure or measures.

"Political advertisement" means an advertisement, unless it is paid for by a candidate political committee and is an advertisement relating to the candidate's own election and not for any other campaign.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-10 new)

Sec. 29D-10. Prohibitions. In addition to the other requirements of this Article, a political committee placing an advertisement or persons acting in concert with that political committee shall be prohibited from creating or using a non-candidate political committee or another political committee to avoid, or that results in the avoidance of, the disclosure of any individual, industry, business entity, or political committee as a major funding source.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-15 new)

Sec. 29D-15. Radio and telephonic advertisement disclosures.

(a) A political advertisement that is a radio advertisement or prerecorded telephonic message shall include a disclosure at the end of the advertisement read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement that reads as follows: "Top funders of this ad are [state names in descending order of identifiable contributors who have made the 3 largest cumulative contributions]. Paid for by [name of the political committee that paid for the advertisement]."

(b) If there are fewer than 3 identifiable contributors, the disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose the qualifying identifiable contributors, if any.

(c) If there is only one identifiable contributor or the advertisement lasts 15 seconds or less, the disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be adjusted to read as follows: "Top funder of this ad is [state name of identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions]. Paid for by [name of the political committee that paid for the advertisement]."

(d) If there are no identifiable contributors or the committee that paid for the advertisement is the only identifiable contributor, it may replace the disclosure required by subdivision (a) with the following: "Paid for by [name of the committee that paid for the advertisement]."

(e) If the advertisement names each of the identifiable contributors required to be named under subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this Section and identifies the speaker as speaking on behalf of them, it may replace the disclosure required by subdivision (a) with the following: "Paid for by [name of the committee that paid for the advertisement]."

(10 ILCS 5/29D-20 new)

Sec. 29D-20. Video and television advertisement disclosures.

(a) A political advertisement that is a television or video advertisement shall include a disclosure area with a solid black background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or video display screen at the beginning of the advertisement for a minimum of 5 seconds in the case of an advertisement that lasts 30 seconds or less or a minimum of 10 seconds in the case of an advertisement that lasts longer than 30 seconds. The disclosure area shall include all of the following:

(1) The text "Top Funders of This Ad." The text shall be located at the top of the disclosure area and centered horizontally, shall be yellow in color in Arial-equivalent type, and the type size shall be at least 4% of the height of the television or video display screen.

(2) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (1) of this subsection (a), the names of the identifiable contributors who have made the 3 largest cumulative contributions. The identifiable contributors shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the identifiable contributors shall be centered horizontally. The text shall be white in color in Arial Narrow-equivalent type and the type size shall be at least 4% of the height of the television or video display screen.

(3) The text "Funding Details At [insert Internet website address of the disclosure website]." The text shall be yellow in color in Arial Narrow-equivalent type and the type size shall be equivalent to 2.5% of the height of the television or video display screen. The text shall be left-aligned and located in a position that is 2.5% of the height of the television or video display screen away from the bottom left of the television or video display screen.

(4) The text "Paid for by [name of the political committee that paid for the advertisement]." The text shall be yellow in color in Arial Narrow-equivalent type and the type size shall be equivalent to 2.5% of the height of the television or video display screen. The text shall be right-aligned and located in a position that is vertically 2.5% of the height of the television or video display screen away from the bottom right of the television or video display screen.

(5) If there are fewer than 3 identifiable contributors, the disclosure required by this Section shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose only those that qualify as identifiable contributors, if any. If the political committee does not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be adjusted to include the name of the political committee in place of the names of identifiable contributors.

(b) The disclosures described in subsection (a) of this Section shall not be required if the committee paying for the political advertisement does not have cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-25 new)

Sec. 29D-25. Mass mailing disclosures.

(a) A political advertisement that is a mass mailing or a print advertisement and that is 12 square inches or more in size shall include a disclosure area on the largest page of the mass mailing or print advertisement that satisfies all of the following:

(1) The disclosure area shall have a solid white background so as to be easily legible, and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of the page that is set apart from any other printed matter. All text in the disclosure area shall be black in color.

(2) The text "Top Funders of This Ad" shall be located at the top of the disclosure area and centered horizontally in the disclosure area. The text shall be in an Arial-equivalent type with a type size of at least 12-point for advertisements smaller than 93 square inches and at least 14-point for advertisements that are equal to, or larger than, 93 square inches.

(3) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (2) of this subsection (a) shall be the names of the identifiable contributors who have made the 3 largest cumulative contributions. The identifiable contributors shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the identifiable contributors shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area. The text shall identify each identifiable contributor in an Arial Narrow-equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point for advertisements smaller than 93 square inches and at least 12-point for advertisements that are equal to, or larger than, 93 square inches.

(A) If the advertisement is 4 inches tall or less, it need only show the names of the identifiable contributors who have made the two largest cumulative contributions.

(B) If the advertisement is 3 inches tall or less, it need only show the name of the identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative contribution, and the text required by paragraph (2) of this subsection (a) may say "Top Funder of This Ad."

(4) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (3) of this subsection (a), the text "Funding Details At [insert Internet website address of the disclosure website]." The text shall be in an Arial Narrow-equivalent type with at least 10-point type size for advertisements smaller than 93 square inches and at least 12-point font type size for advertisements that are equal to, or larger than, 93 square inches. This text shall not be required if the advertisement is 5 inches tall or less.

(5) The text "Paid for by [name of the political committee that paid for the advertisement]." The text shall be located at the bottom of the disclosure area and shall be in an Arial Narrow-equivalent type with at least 8-point type size for pages smaller than 8.5 inches and at least 10-point type size for pages that are equal to, or larger than, 8.5 inches by 11 inches.

(6) If there are fewer than 3 identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose the qualifying identifiable contributors, if any. If the political committee does not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be adjusted to include the name of the political committee in place of the names of identifiable contributors.

(b) The disclosures described in subsection (a) of this Section shall not be required if the political committee paying for the political advertisement does not have cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-30 new)

Sec. 29D-30. Disclosure website. A political committee that has paid for political advertisements and that has received cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold shall establish and maintain a disclosure Internet website. If the committee has an Internet website, that Internet website may also serve as the disclosure website. The homepage of the disclosure website and any landing pages that visitors are directed to on the disclosure website and any other Internet websites maintained by the political committee shall include a disclosure area that satisfies all of the following:

(1) The disclosure area shall be at least 250 pixels wide and visible upon landing on the website's homepage. The disclosure area shall have a white background and a border that is dark in color.

(2) The disclosure area shall include the text "Top Funders of This Committee" located at the top of the disclosure area and centered horizontally in the disclosure area. The text shall be black in color in an Arial-equivalent type and shall be at least 10-point type size.

(3) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (2) of this Section, the disclosure area shall include a list of the identifiable contributors who have made the 10 largest cumulative contributions to the committee. Each identifiable contributor shall be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The text shall be black in color in an Arial Narrow-equivalent type and shall be at least 9-point type size.

(4) The disclosure area shall include a hyperlink to another page on the disclosure website that lists all of the committee's identifiable contributors. The hyperlink shall be labeled "More funding info" and shall be a standard hyperlink centered at the bottom of the disclosure area that is displayed as blue underlined text in Arial-equivalent type in at least 9-point type size.

The hyperlinked page on the disclosure website shall have a title that reads "Large Funders of this Committee." The linked page shall disclose each identifiable contributor of the committee on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the identifiable contributor that had the largest cumulative contribution on the first line. Each line shall show the name of the identifiable contributor and the amount of its cumulative contributions, current within 3 business days. These disclosures shall be clear and shall be the only content on the page other than the disclosure website's standard navigation features.

(5) If there are fewer than 10 identifiable contributors, the disclosure area shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose the qualifying identifiable contributors, if any. If the committee does not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure area shall be adjusted to include the name of the committee in place of the names of identifiable contributors.

(6) Every page of an website maintained by a political committee that has paid for political advertisements and that has cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold shall include the statement "Paid for by [name of the political committee that paid for the advertisement]" and any other identifying information specified by the State Board of Elections. The text shall have a solid white background so as to be easily legible, and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of the page that is set apart from any other printed matter. The text shall be black in color in an Arial Narrow-equivalent type and shall be at least 8-point type size.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-35 new)

Sec. 29D-35. Rules.

(a) The Commission may adopt rules to require disclosures on all forms of political advertisements not covered by this Article, including, but not limited to, electronic media advertisements and billboards. If feasible, the rules shall require the listing of the name of the committee and as many of the 3 identifiable contributors that made the largest cumulative contributions as possible in a conspicuous manner. This disclosure area shall occupy no more than 10% of the advertisement. If the advertisement medium allows, the disclosure area shall contain a hyperlink to the disclosure website.

(b) The Commission shall adopt rules to require disclosure of the name of the committee, if feasible, on all advertisements that are paid for by a candidate political committee and that are advertisements relating to the candidate's own election and not for any other campaign.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-40 new)

Sec. 29D-40. Unnecessary disclosures.

(a) The disclosure of the name of an identifiable contributor required by this Article need not include such legal terms as "incorporated", "committee", "political action committee", or "corporation", or their abbreviations, unless the term is part of the contributor's name in common usage or parlance. This Section does not prevent a contributor from being disclosed by a name used in common usage or parlance, including, but not limited to, an abbreviation or acronym.

(b) If this Article requires the disclosure of the name of an identifiable contributor that is a sponsored committee, only the name of the committee's sponsoring organization shall be disclosed.

(c) For a disclosure made pursuant to Sections 29D-15, 29D-20, 29D-25, or 29D-30, the committee name listed need not include its economic or other special interests, nor the names of any major donors.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-45 new)

Sec. 29D-45. Updates. If the order of the identifiable contributors required to be displayed in an advertisement pursuant to this Article changes, the disclosure in the advertisement shall be updated as follows:

(1) A television, radio, or other electronic media political advertisement shall be updated to reflect the new ordering of identifiable contributors within 7 business days, or 5 business days if the change in the order of identifiable contributors occurs within 30 days of an election.

(2) A print media advertisement, including non-electronic billboards, shall be updated to reflect the new ordering of identifiable contributors prior to placing a new or modified order for additional printing of the advertisement.

(10 ILCS 5/29D-50 new)

Sec. 29D-50. Required filings.

(a) A person who makes a payment or a promise of payment totaling $10,000 or more for a communication that clearly identifies a candidate for elective office, but does not expressly advocate the election or defeat of the candidate, and that is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise published during the period beginning 120 days before the primary or special election and ending on the date of the general or runoff election, shall file online or electronically with the Secretary of State a report disclosing the name of the person, address, occupation, and employer, and amount of the payment. The report shall be filed within 48 hours of making the payment or the promise to make the payment.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section, if a person has received a payment or a promise of a payment from other persons totaling $5,000 or more for the purpose of making a communication described in subsection (a) of this Section, the person receiving the payments shall disclose on the report the name, address, occupation and employer, and date and amount received from the person.

(c) A person who receives or is promised a payment that is otherwise reportable under subsection (b) is not required to report the payment if the person is in the business of providing goods or services and receives or is promised the payment for the purpose of providing those goods or services.

(d) A payment received by a person who makes a communication described in subsection (a) is subject to the limits specified in Article 9 of this Code if the communication is made at the behest of the clearly identified candidate.