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91_SB1855enr
SB1855 Enrolled LRB9110972MWgc
1 AN ACT concerning the General Assembly.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The General Assembly Compensation Act is
5 amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
6 (25 ILCS 115/4) (from Ch. 63, par. 15.1)
7 Sec. 4. Office allowance. Beginning July 1, 2001 1989,
8 each member of the House of Representatives is authorized to
9 approve the expenditure of not more than $61,000 $57,000 per
10 year and each member of the Senate is authorized to approve
11 the expenditure of not more than $73,000 $67,000 per year to
12 pay for "personal services", "contractual services",
13 "commodities", "printing", "travel", "operation of automotive
14 equipment", "telecommunications services", as defined in the
15 State Finance Act, and the compensation of one or more
16 legislative assistants authorized pursuant to this Section,
17 in connection with his or her legislative duties and not in
18 connection with any political campaign. On July 1, 2002 and
19 on July 1 of each year thereafter, the amount authorized per
20 year under this Section for each member of the Senate and
21 each member of the House of Representatives shall be
22 increased by a percentage increase equivalent to the lesser
23 of (i) the increase in the designated cost of living index or
24 (ii) 5%. The designated cost of living index is the index
25 known as the "Employment Cost Index, Wages and Salaries, By
26 Occupation and Industry Groups: State and Local Government
27 Workers: Public Administration" as published by the Bureau of
28 Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for the
29 calendar year immediately preceding the year of the
30 respective July 1st increase date. The increase shall be
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1 added to the then current amount, and the adjusted amount so
2 determined shall be the annual amount beginning July 1 of the
3 increase year until July 1 of the next year. No increase
4 under this provision shall be less than zero.
5 A member may purchase office equipment if the member
6 certifies to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the
7 House, as applicable, that the purchase price, whether paid
8 in lump sum or installments, amounts to less than would be
9 charged for renting or leasing the equipment over its
10 anticipated useful life. All such equipment must be
11 purchased through the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of
12 the House, as applicable, for proper identification and
13 verification of purchase.
14 Each member of the General Assembly is authorized to
15 employ one or more legislative assistants, who shall be
16 solely under the direction and control of that member, for
17 the purpose of assisting the member in the performance of his
18 or her official duties. A legislative assistant may be
19 employed pursuant to this Section either under contract or as
20 a State employee, at the discretion of the member. If
21 employed as a State employee, a legislative assistant shall
22 receive employment benefits on the same terms and conditions
23 that apply to other employees of the General Assembly.
24 As used in this Section the term "personal services"
25 shall include contributions of the State under the Federal
26 Insurance Contribution Act and under Article 14 of the
27 Illinois Pension Code. As used in this Section the term
28 "contractual services" shall not include improvements to real
29 property unless those improvements are the obligation of the
30 lessee under the lease agreement. Beginning July 1, 1989, as
31 used in the Section, the term "travel" shall be limited to
32 travel in connection with a member's legislative duties and
33 not in connection with any political campaign. Beginning
34 July 1, 1989, as used in this Section, the term "printing"
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1 includes congratulatory mailings, including but not limited
2 to greeting or welcome messages, anniversary or birthday
3 cards, and congratulations for prominent achievement cards.
4 As used in this Section, the term "printing" includes fees
5 for non-substantive resolutions charged by the Clerk of the
6 House of Representatives under subsection (c-5) of Section 1
7 of the Legislative Materials Act. Nothing in this Section
8 shall be construed to authorize expenditures for lodging and
9 meals while a member is in attendance at sessions of the
10 General Assembly.
11 Any utility bill for service provided to a member's
12 district office for a period including portions of 2
13 consecutive fiscal years may be paid from funds appropriated
14 for such expenditure in either fiscal year.
15 If a vacancy occurs in the office of Senator or
16 Representative in the General Assembly, any office equipment
17 in the possession of the vacating member shall transfer to
18 the member's successor; if the successor does not want such
19 equipment, it shall be transferred to the Secretary of the
20 Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case
21 may be, and if not wanted by other members of the General
22 Assembly then to the Department of Central Management
23 Services for treatment as surplus property under the State
24 Property Control Act. Each member, on or before June 30th of
25 each year, shall conduct an inventory of all equipment
26 purchased pursuant to this Act. Such inventory shall be
27 filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the
28 House, as the case may be. Whenever a vacancy occurs, the
29 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as the
30 case may be, shall conduct an inventory of equipment
31 purchased.
32 In the event that a member leaves office during his or
33 her term, any unexpended or unobligated portion of the
34 allowance granted under this Section shall lapse. The
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1 vacating member's successor shall be granted an allowance in
2 an amount, rounded to the nearest dollar, computed by
3 dividing the annual allowance by 365 and multiplying the
4 quotient by the number of days remaining in the fiscal year.
5 From any appropriation for the purposes of this Section
6 for a fiscal year which overlaps 2 General Assemblies, no
7 more than 1/2 of the annual allowance per member may be spent
8 or encumbered by any member of either the outgoing or
9 incoming General Assembly, except that any member of the
10 incoming General Assembly who was a member of the outgoing
11 General Assembly may encumber or spend any portion of his
12 annual allowance within the fiscal year.
13 The appropriation for the annual allowances permitted by
14 this Section shall be included in an appropriation to the
15 President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of
16 Representatives for their respective members. The President
17 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall voucher for
18 payment individual members' expenditures from their annual
19 office allowances to the State Comptroller, subject to the
20 authority of the Comptroller under Section 9 of the State
21 Comptroller Act.
22 (Source: P.A. 90-569, eff. 1-28-98.)
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
24 July 1, 2001.
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