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92_HB4084eng HB4084 Engrossed LRB9211207BDpkA 1 AN ACT concerning the Office of Secretary of State. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by 5 adding Section 14 as follows: 6 (15 ILCS 305/14 new) 7 Sec. 14. Inspector General. 8 (a) The Secretary of State must, with the advice and 9 consent of the Senate, appoint an Inspector General for the 10 purpose of detection, deterrence, and prevention of fraud, 11 corruption, and mismanagement in the Office of the Secretary 12 of State. The Inspector General shall serve a 2-year term. 13 If no successor is appointed and qualified upon the 14 expiration of the Inspector General's term, the Office of 15 Inspector General is deemed vacant and the powers and duties 16 under this Section may be exercised only by an appointed and 17 qualified interim Inspector General until a successor 18 Inspector General is appointed and qualified. If the General 19 Assembly is not in session when a vacancy in the Office of 20 Inspector General occurs, the Secretary of State may appoint 21 an interim Inspector General whose term shall expire 2 weeks 22 after the next regularly-scheduled session day of the Senate. 23 (b) The Inspector General shall have the following 24 qualifications: 25 (1) has not been convicted of any felony under the 26 laws of this State, another State, or the United States; 27 (2) has earned a baccalaureate degree from an 28 institution of higher education; and 29 (3) has either (A) 5 or more years of service with 30 a federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, at 31 least 2 years of which have been in a progressive HB4084 Engrossed -2- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 investigatory capacity; (B) 5 or more years of service as 2 a federal, State, or local prosecutor; or (C) 5 or more 3 years of service as a senior manager or executive of a 4 federal, State, or local law enforcement agency. 5 (c) The Inspector General may review, coordinate, and 6 recommend methods and procedures to increase the integrity of 7 the Office of the Secretary of State. The duties of the 8 Inspector General shall supplement and not supplant the 9 duties of the Chief Auditor for the Secretary of State's 10 Office. The Inspector General must report directly to the 11 Secretary of State. 12 (d) The Secretary of State may designate the Inspector 13 General and inspectors who are members of the Inspector 14 General's office as peace officers; however, the Inspector 15 General and his or her inspectors may not be members of the 16 Secretary of State's police force. These inspectors shall 17 have all the powers possessed by police officers in 18 municipalities and by sheriffs of counties, and the 19 inspectors may exercise those powers anywhere in the State 20 but only in the investigation of allegations of misconduct or 21 criminal behavior by the Secretary of State or employees of 22 the Office of the Secretary of State. 23 No inspector may have peace officer status or exercise 24 police powers unless he or she successfully completes the 25 basic police training mandated and approved by the Illinois 26 Law Enforcement Training Standards Board or the Board waives 27 the training requirement by reason of the inspector's prior 28 law enforcement experience or training, or both. 29 The Board may not waive the training requirement unless 30 the inspector has had a minimum of 5 years of experience as a 31 sworn officer of a local, State, or federal law enforcement 32 agency, 2 of which must have been in an investigatory 33 capacity. 34 (e) In addition to the authority otherwise provided by HB4084 Engrossed -3- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 this Section, but only when investigating the Office of the 2 Secretary of State, its employees, or their actions for 3 fraud, corruption, or mismanagement, the Inspector General is 4 authorized: 5 (1) To have access to all records, reports, audits, 6 reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other 7 materials available that relate to programs and 8 operations with respect to which the Inspector General 9 has responsibilities under this Section. 10 (2) To make any investigations and reports relating 11 to the administration of the programs and operations of 12 the Office of the Secretary of State that are, in the 13 judgement of the Inspector General, necessary or 14 desirable. 15 (3) To request any information or assistance that 16 may be necessary for carrying out the duties and 17 responsibilities provided by this Section from any local, 18 State, or federal governmental agency or unit thereof. 19 (4) To require by subpoena the appearance of 20 witnesses and the production of all information, 21 documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, 22 and other data and documentary evidence necessary in the 23 performance of the functions assigned by this Section, 24 with the exception of records maintained in the ordinary 25 course of business, including but not limited to the 26 representation of employees and the negotiation of 27 collective bargaining agreements by a labor organization 28 authorized and recognized under the Illinois Public Labor 29 Relations Act to be the exclusive bargaining 30 representative of employees of the Secretary of State and 31 with the exception of subsection (c). A subpoena may be 32 issued under this paragraph (4) only by the Inspector 33 General and not by members of the Inspector General's 34 staff. Any person subpoenaed by the Inspector General HB4084 Engrossed -4- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 has the same rights as a person subpoenaed by a grand 2 jury. Any person who knowingly and intentionally (A) 3 fails to appear in response to a subpoena or (B) fails to 4 produce any books or papers in his or her possession or 5 control pertinent to an investigation under this Section 6 is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 7 (5) To have direct and prompt access to the 8 Secretary of State for any purpose pertaining to the 9 performance of functions and responsibilities under this 10 Section. 11 (f) The Inspector General may receive and investigate 12 complaints or information from an employee of the Secretary 13 of State concerning the possible existence of an activity 14 constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations; 15 mismanagement; abuse of authority; or substantial and 16 specific danger to the public health and safety. Any 17 employee who knowingly files a false complaint or files a 18 complaint with reckless disregard for the truth or the 19 falsity of the facts underlying the complaint may be subject 20 to discipline as set forth in the rules of the Department of 21 Personnel of the Secretary of State. 22 The Inspector General may not, after receipt of a 23 complaint or information from an employee, disclose the 24 identity of the employee without the consent of the employee. 25 Any employee who has the authority to recommend or 26 approve any personnel action or to direct others to recommend 27 or approve any personnel action may not, with respect to that 28 authority, take or threaten to take any action against any 29 employee as a reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing 30 information to the Inspector General, unless the complaint 31 was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that 32 it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or 33 falsity. 34 (g) The Inspector General must adopt rules, in HB4084 Engrossed -5- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Administrative 2 Procedure Act, establishing minimum requirements for 3 initiating, conducting, and completing investigations. The 4 rules must establish criteria for determining, based upon the 5 nature of the allegation, the appropriate method of 6 investigation, which may include, but is not limited to, site 7 visits, telephone contacts, personal interviews, or requests 8 for written responses. The rules must also clarify how the 9 Office of the Inspector General shall interact with other 10 local, State, and federal law enforcement investigations. 11 Any employee of the Secretary of State subject to 12 investigation or inquiry by the Inspector General or any 13 agent or representative of the Inspector General shall have 14 the right to be notified of the right to remain silent during 15 the investigation or inquiry and the right to be represented 16 in the investigation or inquiry by a representative of a 17 labor organization that is the exclusive collective 18 bargaining representative of employees of the Secretary of 19 State. Any such investigation or inquiry must be conducted in 20 compliance with the provisions of a collective bargaining 21 agreement that applies to the employees of the Secretary of 22 State. Any recommendation for discipline or any action taken 23 against any employee by the Inspector General or any 24 representative or agent of the Inspector General must comply 25 with the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement 26 that applies to the employee. 27 (h) On or before January 1 of each year, the Inspector 28 General shall report to the President of the Senate, the 29 Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 30 Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of 31 Representatives on the types of investigations and the 32 activities undertaken by the Office of the Inspector General 33 during the previous calendar year. HB4084 Engrossed -6- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 Section 10. The Secretary of State Merit Employment Code 2 is amended by changing Section 16 as follows: 3 (15 ILCS 310/16) (from Ch. 124, par. 116) 4 Sec. 16. Status of present employees. Employees holding 5 positions in the Office of the Secretary of State herein 6 shall continue under the following conditions: 7 (1) Employees who have been appointed as the result of 8 having passed examinations in accordance with the provisions 9 of the "Personnel Code", and who have satisfactorily passed 10 the probationary period or who have been promoted in 11 accordance with the rules thereunder, shall be continued 12 without further examination, but shall be otherwise subject 13 to provisions of this Act and the rules made pursuant to it. 14 (2) Employees who have been appointed as the result of 15 having passed examinations pursuant to the provisions of the 16 "Personnel Code" but have not completed their probationary 17 period on the effective date of this Act shall be continued 18 without further examination but shall be otherwise subject to 19 provisions of this Act and the rules made pursuant to it. 20 Time served on probation prior to the effective date of this 21 Act shall count as time served on the probationary period 22 provided by this Act. 23 (2.5) Persons who, immediately before the effective date 24 of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly, were 25 employees with investigatory functions of the Inspector 26 General within the Office of the Secretary of State and who 27 are subject to the Secretary of State Merit Employment Code 28 shall be appointed to the position of inspector, as described 29 in Section 14 of the Secretary of State Act, if they: (i) 30 meet the requirements described in Section 14 of the 31 Secretary of State Act; (ii) pass a qualifying examination as 32 prescribed by the Director of Personnel within 6 months after 33 the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General HB4084 Engrossed -7- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 Assembly; and (iii) satisfactorily complete their respective 2 probationary periods. The qualifying examination for 3 inspectors shall be similar to those required for entrance 4 examinations for comparable positions in the Office of the 5 Secretary of State. Inspectors shall be appointed without 6 regard to eligible lists. Nothing in this subsection 7 precludes the Office of the Secretary of State from 8 reclassifying or reallocating employees who would otherwise 9 qualify as inspectors. 10 (3) All other such employees subject to the provisions 11 of this Act shall be continued in their respective positions 12 if they pass a qualifying examination prescribed by the 13 Director within 9 months from the effective date of this Act, 14 and satisfactorily complete their respective probationary 15 periods. Such qualifying examinations shall be similar to 16 those required for entrance examinations for comparable 17 positions in the Office of the Secretary of State. 18 Appointments of such employees shall be without regard to 19 eligible lists. Nothing herein precludes the 20 reclassification or reallocation as provided by this Act of 21 any position held by such incumbent. 22 (4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prejudice, 23 reduce, extinguish or affect the rights or privileges 24 determined through judicial process to have been conferred on 25 any present or past employee under the Illinois Personnel 26 Code. In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction 27 shall determine that present or past employees of the 28 Secretary of State have any rights arising from the Illinois 29 Personnel Code, those rights shall be recognized under this 30 Act. 31 (5) Any person who, as a result of any court order, 32 court approved stipulation or settlement, has any employment 33 or re-employment rights prior to the effective date of this 34 Act shall continue to have such rights after the effective HB4084 Engrossed -8- LRB9211207BDpkA 1 date of this Act. 2 (Source: P.A. 80-13.) 3 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 4 becoming law.