Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 099-0437
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Public Act 099-0437


 

Public Act 0437 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 099-0437
 
SB0248 EnrolledLRB099 02956 MGM 22964 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 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 electronically with the Board
within 5 business days after receipt of the contribution,
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 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 shall file a report
electronically with the Board within 5 business days after
making the independent expenditure, except that the report
shall be filed within 2 business days after making the
independent expenditure during the 60-day period before an
election 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.
    (e-5) An independent expenditure committee that makes an
independent expenditure supporting or opposing a public
official or candidate that, alone or in combination with any
other independent expenditure made by that independent
expenditure committee supporting or opposing that public
official or candidate during the election cycle, equals an
aggregate value of more than (i) $250,000 for statewide office
or (ii) $100,000 for all other elective offices must file a
written disclosure with the State Board of Elections within 2
business days after making any expenditure that results in the
independent expenditure committee exceeding the applicable
threshold. The Board shall assess a civil penalty against an
independent expenditure committee for failure to file the
disclosure required by this subsection not to exceed (i) $500
for an initial failure to file the required disclosure and (ii)
$1,000 for each subsequent failure to file the required
disclosure.
    (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. 96-832, eff. 1-1-11; 97-766, eff. 7-6-12.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2016