HB3835 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 25451 KTG 51800 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3835

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Brad Halbrook

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

310 ILCS 10/3a new

Amends the Housing Authorities Act. Provides that each person considered or recommended for appointment as a commissioner of a Housing Authority shall complete an application prior to his or her appointment. Requires the application to include a question concerning whether the person has been convicted of or found to be a child sex offender. Provides that no presiding officer of any municipality or county and no governing body of the unit of local government shall knowingly consider for appointment a person who has been convicted of or found to be a child sex offender, and shall remove such person from consideration upon discovery of the offense. Requires any commissioner of a Housing Authority to immediately disclose his or her conviction for a child sex offense to the presiding officer and governing body. Requires each person considered or recommended for appointment as a commissioner of a Housing Authority to authorize a criminal history investigation to determine if he or she has been convicted of specified criminal or drug offenses. Requires the Illinois State Police to conduct the criminal history investigation, upon request, for a fee charged to the municipality or county that requested the investigation. Requires the Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to furnish the results of the investigation to the presiding officer and governing body of the unit of local government. Provides that any information or criminal records obtained by the presiding officer and the governing body shall be confidential. Provides that no presiding officer or governing body shall knowingly appoint or approve the appointment of any person who has been convicted of specified criminal or drug offenses. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning housing.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Housing Authorities Act is amended by adding Section 3a as follows:

(310 ILCS 10/3a new)

Sec. 3a. Commissioner applications; criminal background investigations.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Child sex offender" has the meaning provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 11-9.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012.

(b) Each person considered or recommended for appointment as a commissioner of a Housing Authority shall complete an application prior to his or her appointment to the Housing Authority. The application shall include, but shall not be limited to, a question for the person to answer concerning whether the person has been convicted of or found to be a child sex offender. No presiding officer of any municipality or county and no governing body of the unit of local government shall knowingly consider for appointment a person who has been convicted of or found to be a child sex offender. A presiding officer or the governing body shall remove such person from consideration upon discovery of the offense.

If any commissioner of a Housing Authority is convicted of or found to be a child sex offender, the commissioner shall immediately disclose the conviction or finding to the presiding officer having appointment authority and to the governing body of the unit of local government.

(c) Each person considered or recommended for appointment as a commissioner of a Housing Authority is required as a condition of his or her appointment to authorize an investigation to determine if he or she has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, or adjudicated a delinquent minor for any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, or has been convicted, within 7 years prior to the date of his or her application required under subsection (b), of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the person to the presiding officer and the governing body. Upon receipt of this authorization, the presiding officer, in consultation with the governing body, shall submit the person's name, sex, race, date of birth, and social security number to the Illinois State Police on forms prescribed by the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police shall conduct a search of the Illinois criminal history records database to ascertain if the person being considered for appointment has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, or adjudicated a delinquent minor for committing or attempting to commit any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f) of this Section, or has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years prior to the date of his or her application required under subsection (b), any other felony under the laws of this State. The Illinois State Police shall charge the municipality or county a fee for conducting the investigation, which fee shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry. The person shall not be charged a fee by the municipality or county for the investigation.

(d) If the search of the Illinois criminal history record database indicates that the person has been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f), or adjudicated a delinquent minor for committing or attempting to commit any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (e) or (f), or has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years prior to the date of his or her application required under subsection (b), any other felony under the laws of this State, the Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based background check, records of convictions or adjudications as a delinquent minor, until expunged, to the presiding officer and the governing body. Any information concerning the record of convictions or adjudications as a delinquent minor obtained by the presiding officer and the governing body shall be confidential and may only be transmitted to those persons who are necessary to the decision on whether to appoint the person to the Housing Authority. A copy of the record of convictions or adjudications as a delinquent minor obtained from the Illinois State Police shall be provided to the person considered or recommended for appointment. Any individual who releases any confidential information concerning any criminal convictions or adjudications as a delinquent minor of the person considered or recommended for appointment shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is authorized by this Section.

(e) No presiding officer or governing body shall knowingly appoint or approve the appointment of any person who has been convicted, or adjudicated a delinquent minor, for committing attempted first degree murder or for committing or attempting to commit first degree murder, a Class X felony, or any one or more of the following criminal offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-6, 11-9, 11-14.3, 11-14.4, 11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, 11-20.1, 11-20.1B, 11-20.3, 11-21, 11-30 (if convicted of a Class 4 felony), 12-7.3, 12-7.4, 12-7.5, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15, and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; and (ii) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States, which, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the foregoing offenses. Further, no presiding officer or governing body shall knowingly appoint or approve the appointment of any person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. No presiding officer or governing board shall knowingly appoint or approve the appointment of any person for whom a criminal background investigation has not been initiated.

(f) No presiding officer or governing body shall knowingly appoint or approve the appointment of any person who has been convicted of the following drug offenses, other than an offense set forth in subsection (e), until 7 years following the end of the sentence imposed for any of the following offenses: (i) those defined in the Cannabis Control Act, except those defined in subsections (a), (b), and (c) of Section 4 of that Act and in subsections (a) and (b) of Section (5) of that Act; (ii) those defined in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act; (iii) those defined in the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act; and (iv) any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States, which, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the foregoing offenses. As used in this paragraph, "sentence" includes any period of supervision or probation that was imposed either alone or in combination with a period of incarceration.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (e) and (f), a presiding officer or governing body may, in its discretion, appoint or approve the appointment of a person who has been granted a certificate of good conduct under Section 5-5.5-25 of the Unified Code of Corrections by the circuit court.

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