HB5746 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 08442 JAM 28619 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5746

Introduced , by Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/9-10	from Ch. 46, par. 9-10
10 ILCS 5/9-13	from Ch. 46, par. 9-13
10 ILCS 5/9-14	from Ch. 46, par. 9-14

Amends the Election Code. Changes the reporting periods for campaign contribution and expenditure reports from semi-annual to quarterly.

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 changing Sections 9-10, 9-13, and 9-14 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/9-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-10)

Sec. 9-10. Financial reports.

(a) The treasurer of every state political committee and the treasurer of every local political committee shall file with the Board, and the treasurer of every local political committee shall file with the county clerk, reports of campaign contributions, and quarterly semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures on forms to be prescribed or approved by the Board. The treasurer of every political committee that acts as both a state political committee and a local political committee shall file a copy of each report with the State Board of Elections and the county clerk. Entities subject to Section 9-7.5 shall file reports required by that Section at times provided in this Section and are subject to the penalties provided in this Section.

(b) Reports of campaign contributions shall be filed no later than the 15th day next preceding each election including a primary election in connection with which the political committee has accepted or is accepting contributions or has made or is making expenditures. Such reports shall be complete as of the 30th day next preceding each election including a primary election. The Board shall assess a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a violation of this subsection, except that for State officers and candidates and political committees formed for statewide office, the civil penalty may not exceed $10,000. The fine, however, shall not exceed $500 for a first filing violation for filing 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. For the purpose of this subsection, "statewide office" and "State officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. However, a continuing political committee that does not make expenditures in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate or public question on the ballot at an election shall not be required to file the reports heretofore prescribed but may file in lieu thereof a Statement of Nonparticipation in the Election with the Board or the Board and the county clerk; except that if the political committee, by the terms of its statement of organization filed in accordance with this Article, is organized to support or oppose a candidate or public question on the ballot at the next election or primary, that committee must file reports required by this subsection (b) and by subsection (b-5).

(b-5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) and Section 1.25 of the Statute on Statutes, any contribution of more than $500 received in the interim between the last date of the period covered by the last report filed under subsection (b) prior to the election and the date of the election shall be filed with and must actually be received by the State Board of Elections within 2 business days after receipt of such contribution. The State Board shall allow filings of reports of contributions of more than $500 under this subsection (b-5) by political committees that are not required to file electronically to be made by facsimile transmission. For the purpose of this subsection, a contribution is considered received on the date the public official, candidate, or political committee (or equivalent person in the case of a reporting entity other than a political committee) actually receives it or, in the case of goods or services, 2 business days after the date the public official, candidate, committee, or other reporting entity receives the certification required under subsection (b) of Section 9-6. Failure to report each contribution is a separate violation of this subsection. In the final disposition of any matter by the Board on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Board may impose fines for violations of this subsection not to exceed 100% of the total amount of the contributions that were untimely reported, but in no case when a fine is imposed 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, the Board shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors:

(1) whether in the Board's opinion the violation was committed inadvertently, negligently, knowingly, or intentionally;

(2) the number of days the contribution was reported late; and

(3) past violations of Sections 9-3 and 9-10 of this Article by the committee.

(c) In addition to such reports the treasurer of every political committee shall file quarterly semi-annual reports of campaign contributions and expenditures no later than (i) April 30 (covering the period from January 1 through March 31 immediately preceding), (ii) July 31 (covering the period from April 1 through June 30 immediately preceding), (iii) October 31 (covering the period from July 1 through September 30 immediately preceding), and (iv) January 31 (covering the period from October 1 through December 31 immediately preceding) July 31st, covering the period from January 1st through June 30th immediately preceding, and no later than January 31st, covering the period from July 1st through December 31st of the preceding calendar year. 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 a violation of this subsection, except that for State officers and candidates and political committees formed for statewide office, the civil penalty may not exceed $10,000. The fine, however, shall not exceed $500 for a first filing violation for filing 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. For the purpose of this subsection, "statewide office" and "State officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.

(c-5) A political committee that acts as either (i) a State and local political committee or (ii) a local political committee and that files reports electronically under Section 9-28 is not required to file copies of the reports with the appropriate county clerk if the county clerk has a system that permits access to, and duplication of, reports that are filed with the State Board of Elections. A State and local political committee or a local political committee shall file with the county clerk a copy of its statement of organization pursuant to Section 9-3.

(d) 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. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 93-615, eff. 11-19-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-13) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-13)

Sec. 9-13. Each quarterly semi-annual report of campaign contributions and expenditures under Section 9-10 shall disclose-

(1) the name and address of the political committee;

(2) (Blank);

(3) the amount of funds on hand at the beginning of the reporting period;

(4) the full name and mailing address of each person who has made one or more contributions to or for such committee within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the amount and date of such contributions, and if the contributor is an individual who contributed more than $500, the occupation and employer of the contributor or, if the occupation and employer of the contributor are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information;

(5) the total sum of individual contributions made to or for such committee during the reporting period and not reported under item (4);

(6) the name and address of each political committee from which the reporting committee received, or to which that committee made, any transfer of funds, in the aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the amounts and dates of all transfers;

(7) the total sum of transfers made to or from such committee during the reporting period and not reported under item (6);

(8) each loan to or from any person within the reporting period by or to such committee in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the full names and mailing addresses of the lender and endorsers, if any, and the date and amount of such loans, and if a lender or endorser is an individual who loaned or endorsed a loan of more than $500, the occupation and employer of that individual, or if the occupation and employer of the individual are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information;

(9) the total amount of proceeds received by such committee from (a) the sale of tickets for each dinner, luncheon, cocktail party, rally, and other fund-raising events; (b) mass collections made at such events; and (c) sales of items such as political campaign pins, buttons, badges, flags, emblems, hats, banners, literature, and similar materials;

(10) each contribution, rebate, refund, or other receipt in excess of $150 received by such committee not otherwise listed under items (4) through (9), and if the contributor is an individual who contributed more than $500, the occupation and employer of the contributor or, if the occupation and employer of the contributor are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information;

(11) the total sum of all receipts by or for such committee or candidate during the reporting period;

(12) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom expenditures have been made by such committee or candidate within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, the amount, date, and purpose of each such expenditure and the question of public policy or the name and address of, and office sought by, each candidate on whose behalf such expenditure was made;

(13) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom an expenditure for personal services, salaries, and reimbursed expenses in excess of $150 has been made, and which is not otherwise reported, including the amount, date, and purpose of such expenditure;

(14) the total sum of expenditures made by such committee during the reporting period;

(15) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom the committee owes debts or obligations in excess of $150, and the amount of such debts or obligations.

The Board shall by rule define a "good faith effort".

(Source: P.A. 90-495, eff. 1-1-98; 90-737, eff. 1-1-99.)

(10 ILCS 5/9-14) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-14)

Sec. 9-14. Each quarterly semi-annual report of campaign contributions and expenditures required by Section 9-10 of this Article to be filed with the Board or the Board and the county clerk shall be verified, dated, and signed by either the treasurer of the political committee making the report or the candidate on whose behalf the report is made, and shall contain substantially the following:

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT OF CAMPAIGN

CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES

(1) name and address of the political committee:

.............................................................

(2) the date of the beginning of the reporting period, and the amount of funds on hand at the beginning of the reporting period;

.............................................................

(3) the full name and mailing address of each person who has made one or more contributions to or for the committee within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the amount and date of such contributions, and if a contributor is an individual who contributed more than $500, the occupation and employer of each contributor or, if the occupation and employer of the contributor are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information:

(4) the total sum of individual contributions made to or for the committee during the reporting period and not reported under item--(3):

.............................................................

(5) the name and address of each political committee from which the reporting committee received, or to which that committee made, any transfer of funds, in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the amounts and dates of all transfers:

(6) the total sum of transfers made to or from such committee during the reporting period and not reported under item (5);

(7) each loan to or from any person within the reporting period by or to the committee in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, together with the full names and mailing addresses of the lender and endorsers, if any, and the date and amount of such loans, and if a lender or endorser is an individual who loaned or endorsed a loan of more than $500, the occupation and employer of each person making the loan, or if the occupation and employer of the individual are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information:

(8) the total amount of proceeds received by the committee from (a) the sale of tickets for each dinner, luncheon, cocktail party, rally, and other fund-raising events; (b) mass collections made at such events; and (c) sales of items such as political campaign pins, buttons, badges, flags, emblems, hats, banners, literature, and similar materials:

(a)..........................................................

(b)..........................................................

(c)..........................................................

(9) each contribution, rebate, refund, or other receipt in excess of $150 received by the committee not otherwise listed under items (3) through (8), and if a contributor is an individual who contributed more than $500, the occupation and employer of each contributor or, if the occupation and employer of the contributor are unknown, a statement that the committee has made a good faith effort to ascertain this information:

(10) the total sum of all receipts by or for the committee during the reporting period:

.............................................................

(11) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom expenditures have been made by the committee within the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $150, the amount, date, and purpose of each such expenditure, and the question of public policy or the name and address of, and office sought by, each candidate on whose behalf the expenditure was made:

(12) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom an expenditure for personal services, salaries, and reimbursed expenses in excess of $150 has been made, and which is not otherwise reported, including the amount, date, and purpose of such expenditure:

(13) the total sum of expenditures made by the committee during the reporting period;

.............................................................

(14) the full name and mailing address of each person to whom the committee owes debts or obligations in excess of $150, and the amount of such debts or obligations:

.............................................................

.............................................................

VERIFICATION:

"I declare that this semi-annual report of campaign contributions and expenditures (including any accompanying schedules and statements) has been examined by me and to the best of my knowledge and belief is a true, correct and complete report as required by Article 9 of The Election Code. I understand that willfully filing a false or incomplete report is a business offense subject to a fine of up to $5,000."

................ ....................................... (date of filing) (signature of person making the report)

(Source: P.A. 90-495, eff. 1-1-98; 90-737, eff. 1-1-99.)