102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4491

 

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Rep. Katie Stuart

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/10-10  from Ch. 46, par. 10-10
10 ILCS 5/28-3  from Ch. 46, par. 28-3
10 ILCS 5/28-9  from Ch. 46, par. 28-9
10 ILCS 5/28-11  from Ch. 46, par. 28-11
10 ILCS 5/28-12  from Ch. 46, par. 28-12
10 ILCS 5/28-13  from Ch. 46, par. 28-13

    Amends the Election Code. Removes provisions specifying petition and referenda requirements for proposed statewide advisory public questions. Modifies the procedures for: petition signature sample verification, including removing specified responsibilities of election authorities; valid signature calculation; and petition verification watchers. Makes conforming changes. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


LRB102 23392 AWJ 32561 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4491LRB102 23392 AWJ 32561 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Sections 10-10, 28-3, 28-9, 28-11, 28-12, and 28-13 as
6follows:
 
7    (10 ILCS 5/10-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 10-10)
8    Sec. 10-10. Within 24 hours after the receipt of the
9certificate of nomination or nomination papers or proposed
10question of public policy, as the case may be, and the
11objector's petition, the chair of the electoral board other
12than the State Board of Elections shall send a call by
13registered or certified mail to each of the members of the
14electoral board, and to the objector who filed the objector's
15petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
16nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
17principal proponent or attorney for proponents of a question
18of public policy, as the case may be, whose petitions are
19objected to, and shall also cause the sheriff of the county or
20counties in which such officers and persons reside to serve a
21copy of such call upon each of such officers and persons, which
22call shall set out the fact that the electoral board is
23required to meet to hear and pass upon the objections to

 

 

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1nominations made for the office, designating it, and shall
2state the day, hour and place at which the electoral board
3shall meet for the purpose, which place shall be in the county
4court house in the county in the case of the County Officers
5Electoral Board, the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, the
6Township Officers Electoral Board or the Education Officers
7Electoral Board, except that the Municipal Officers Electoral
8Board, the Township Officers Electoral Board, and the
9Education Officers Electoral Board may meet at the location
10where the governing body of the municipality, township, or
11community college district, respectively, holds its regularly
12scheduled meetings, if that location is available; provided
13that voter records may be removed from the offices of an
14election authority only at the discretion and under the
15supervision of the election authority. In those cases where
16the State Board of Elections is the electoral board designated
17under Section 10-9, the chair of the State Board of Elections
18shall, within 24 hours after the receipt of the certificate of
19nomination or nomination papers or petitions for a proposed
20amendment to Article IV of the Constitution or proposed
21statewide question of public policy, send a call by registered
22or certified mail to the objector who files the objector's
23petition, and either to the candidate whose certificate of
24nomination or nomination papers are objected to or to the
25principal proponent or attorney for proponents of the proposed
26Constitutional amendment or statewide question of public

 

 

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1policy and shall state the day, hour, and place at which the
2electoral board shall meet for the purpose, which place may be
3in the Capitol Building or in the principal or permanent
4branch office of the State Board. The day of the meeting shall
5not be less than 3 nor more than 5 days after the receipt of
6the certificate of nomination or nomination papers and the
7objector's petition by the chair of the electoral board.
8    The electoral board shall have the power to administer
9oaths and to subpoena and examine witnesses and, at the
10request of either party and only upon a vote by a majority of
11its members, may authorize the chair to issue subpoenas
12requiring the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces
13tecum requiring the production of such books, papers, records
14and documents as may be evidence of any matter under inquiry
15before the electoral board, in the same manner as witnesses
16are subpoenaed in the Circuit Court.
17    Service of such subpoenas shall be made by any sheriff or
18other person in the same manner as in cases in such court and
19the fees of such sheriff shall be the same as is provided by
20law, and shall be paid by the objector or candidate who causes
21the issuance of the subpoena. In case any person so served
22shall knowingly neglect or refuse to obey any such subpoena,
23or to testify, the electoral board shall at once file a
24petition in the circuit court of the county in which such
25hearing is to be heard, or has been attempted to be heard,
26setting forth the facts, of such knowing refusal or neglect,

 

 

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1and accompanying the petition with a copy of the citation and
2the answer, if one has been filed, together with a copy of the
3subpoena and the return of service thereon, and shall apply
4for an order of court requiring such person to attend and
5testify, and forthwith produce books and papers, before the
6electoral board. Any circuit court of the state, excluding the
7judge who is sitting on the electoral board, upon such showing
8shall order such person to appear and testify, and to
9forthwith produce such books and papers, before the electoral
10board at a place to be fixed by the court. If such person shall
11knowingly fail or refuse to obey such order of the court
12without lawful excuse, the court shall punish him or her by
13fine and imprisonment, as the nature of the case may require
14and may be lawful in cases of contempt of court.
15    The electoral board on the first day of its meeting shall
16adopt rules of procedure for the introduction of evidence and
17the presentation of arguments and may, in its discretion,
18provide for the filing of briefs by the parties to the
19objection or by other interested persons.
20    In the event of a State Electoral Board hearing on
21objections to a petition for an amendment to Article IV of the
22Constitution pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the
23Constitution, proposed statewide advisory public question, or
24to a petition for a question of public policy to be submitted
25to the voters of the entire State, the certificates of the
26county clerks and boards of election commissioners showing the

 

 

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1results of the random sample of signatures on the petition
2shall be prima facie valid and accurate, and shall be presumed
3to establish the number of valid and invalid signatures on the
4petition sheets reviewed in the random sample, as prescribed
5in Section 28-11 and 28-12 of this Code. Either party,
6however, may introduce evidence at such hearing to dispute the
7findings as to particular signatures. In addition to the
8foregoing, in the absence of competent evidence presented at
9such hearing by a party substantially challenging the results
10of a random sample, such results or showing a different result
11obtained by an additional sample, this certificate of a county
12clerk or board of election commissioners shall be presumed to
13establish the ratio of valid to invalid signatures on the
14petition within the particular election jurisdiction.
15    The electoral board shall take up the question as to
16whether or not the certificate of nomination or nomination
17papers or petitions are in proper form, and whether or not they
18were filed within the time and under the conditions required
19by law, and whether or not they are the genuine certificate of
20nomination or nomination papers or petitions which they
21purport to be, and whether or not in the case of the
22certificate of nomination in question it represents accurately
23the decision of the caucus or convention issuing it, and in
24general shall decide whether or not the certificate of
25nomination or nominating papers or petitions on file are valid
26or whether the objections thereto should be sustained and the

 

 

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1decision of a majority of the electoral board shall be final
2subject to judicial review as provided in Section 10-10.1. The
3electoral board must state its findings in writing and must
4state in writing which objections, if any, it has sustained. A
5copy of the decision shall be served upon the parties to the
6proceedings in open proceedings before the electoral board. If
7a party does not appear for receipt of the decision, the
8decision shall be deemed to have been served on the absent
9party on the date when a copy of the decision is personally
10delivered or on the date when a copy of the decision is
11deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or
12package, with postage prepaid, addressed to each party
13affected by the decision or to such party's attorney of
14record, if any, at the address on record for such person in the
15files of the electoral board.
16    Upon the expiration of the period within which a
17proceeding for judicial review must be commenced under Section
1810-10.1, the electoral board shall, unless a proceeding for
19judicial review has been commenced within such period,
20transmit, by registered or certified mail, a certified copy of
21its ruling, together with the original certificate of
22nomination or nomination papers or petitions and the original
23objector's petition, to the officer or board with whom the
24certificate of nomination or nomination papers or petitions,
25as objected to, were on file, and such officer or board shall
26abide by and comply with the ruling so made to all intents and

 

 

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1purposes.
2(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16;
3100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
4    (10 ILCS 5/28-3)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-3)
5    Sec. 28-3. Form of petition for public question. Petitions
6for the submission of public questions shall consist of sheets
7of uniform size and each sheet shall contain, above the space
8for signature, an appropriate heading, giving the information
9as to the question of public policy to be submitted, and
10specifying the state at large or the political subdivision or
11district or precinct or combination of precincts or other
12territory in which it is to be submitted and, where by law the
13public question must be submitted at a particular election,
14the election at which it is to be submitted. In the case of a
15petition for the submission of a public question described in
16subsection (b) of Section 28-6, the heading shall also specify
17the regular election at which the question is to be submitted
18and include the precincts included in the territory concerning
19which the public question is to be submitted, as well as a
20common description of such territory in plain and nonlegal
21language, such description to describe the territory by
22reference to streets, natural or artificial landmarks,
23addresses or any other method which would enable a voter
24signing the petition to be informed of the territory
25concerning which the question is to be submitted. The heading

 

 

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1of each sheet shall be the same. Such petition shall be signed
2by the registered voters of the political subdivision or
3district or precinct or combination of precincts in which the
4question of public policy is to be submitted in their own
5proper persons only, and opposite the signature of each signer
6his residence address shall be written or printed, which
7residence address shall include the street address or rural
8route number of the signer, as the case may be, as well as the
9signer's county, and city, village or town, and state;
10provided that the county or city, village or town, and state of
11residence of such electors may be printed on the petition
12forms where all of the electors signing the petition reside in
13the same county or city, village or town, and state. Standard
14abbreviations may be used in writing the residence address,
15including street number, if any. No signature shall be valid
16or be counted in considering the validity or sufficiency of
17such petition unless the requirements of this Section are
18complied with.
19    At the bottom of each sheet of such petition shall be added
20a circulator's statement, signed by a person 18 years of age or
21older who is a citizen of the United States, stating the street
22address or rural route number, as the case may be, as well as
23the county, city, village or town, and state; certifying that
24the signatures on that sheet of the petition were signed in his
25or her presence and are genuine, and that to the best of his or
26her knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the

 

 

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1time of signing the petition registered voters of the
2political subdivision or district or precinct or combination
3of precincts in which the question of public policy is to be
4submitted and that their respective residences are correctly
5stated therein. Such statement shall be sworn to before some
6officer authorized to administer oaths in this State.
7    Such sheets, before being filed with the proper officer or
8board shall be bound securely and numbered consecutively. The
9sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together end to
10end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition
11sheets which are filed with the proper local election
12officials, election authorities or the State Board of
13Elections shall be the original sheets which have been signed
14by the voters and by the circulator, and not photocopies or
15duplicates of such sheets. A petition, when presented or
16filed, shall not be withdrawn, altered, or added to, and no
17signature shall be revoked except by revocation in writing
18presented or filed with the board or officer with whom the
19petition is required to be presented or filed, and before the
20presentment or filing of such petition, except as may
21otherwise be provided in another statute which authorize the
22public question. Whoever forges any name of a signer upon any
23petition shall be deemed guilty of a forgery, and on
24conviction thereof, shall be punished accordingly.
25    In addition to the foregoing requirements, a petition
26proposing an amendment to Article IV of the Constitution

 

 

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1pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the Constitution, a
2petition proposing a statewide advisory public question, or a
3petition proposing a question of public policy to be submitted
4to the voters of the entire State shall be in conformity with
5the requirements of Section 28-9 of this Article.
6    If multiple sets of petitions for submission of the same
7public questions are filed, the State Board of Elections,
8appropriate election authority or local election official
9where the petitions are filed shall within 2 business days
10notify the proponent of his or her multiple petition filings
11and that proponent has 3 business days after receipt of the
12notice to notify the State Board of Elections, appropriate
13election authority or local election official that he or she
14may cancel prior sets of petitions. If the proponent notifies
15the State Board of Elections, appropriate election authority
16or local election official, the last set of petitions filed
17shall be the only petitions to be considered valid by the State
18Board of Elections, appropriate election authority or local
19election official. If the proponent fails to notify the State
20Board of Elections, appropriate election authority or local
21election official then only the first set of petitions filed
22shall be valid and all subsequent petitions shall be void.
23(Source: P.A. 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
 
24    (10 ILCS 5/28-9)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-9)
25    Sec. 28-9. Petitions for proposed amendments to Article IV

 

 

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1of the Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the
2Constitution shall be signed by a number of electors equal in
3number to at least 8% of the total votes cast for candidates
4for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election. Such
5petition shall have been signed by the petitioning electors
6not more than 24 months preceding the general election at
7which the proposed amendment is to be submitted and shall be
8filed with the Secretary of State at least 6 months before that
9general election.
10    Upon receipt of a petition for a proposed Constitutional
11amendment, the Secretary of State shall, as soon as is
12practicable, but no later than the close of the next business
13day, deliver such petition to the State Board of Elections.
14    Petitions for advisory questions of public policy to be
15submitted to the voters of the entire State shall be signed by
16a number of voters equal in number to 8% of the total votes
17cast for candidates for Governor in the preceding
18gubernatorial election. Such petition shall have been signed
19by said petitioners not more than 24 months preceding the date
20of the general election at which the question is to be
21submitted and shall be filed with the State Board of Elections
22at least 6 months before that general election.
23    The proponents of the proposed statewide advisory public
24question shall file the original petition in bound sections.
25Each section shall be composed of consecutively numbered
26petition sheets containing only the signatures of registered

 

 

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1voters. Any petition sheets not consecutively numbered or
2which contain duplicate page numbers already used on other
3sheets, or are photocopies or duplicates of the original
4sheets, shall not be considered part of the petition for the
5purpose of the random sampling verification and shall not be
6counted toward the minimum number of signatures required to
7qualify the proposed statewide advisory public question for
8the ballot.
9    Within 7 business days following the last day for filing
10the original petition, the proponents shall also file copies
11of the petition sheets with each proper election authority and
12obtain a receipt therefor.
13    For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be
14defined and construed as follows:
15    1. "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
16    2. "Election Authority" means a county clerk or city or
17county board of election commissioners.
18    3. (Blank).
19    4. "Proponents" means any person, association, committee,
20organization or other group, or their designated
21representatives, who advocate and cause the circulation and
22filing of petitions for a statewide advisory question of
23public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for
24submission at a general election and who has registered with
25the Board as provided in this Act.
26    5. "Opponents" means any person, association, committee,

 

 

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1organization or other group, or their designated
2representatives, who oppose a statewide advisory question of
3public policy or a proposed constitutional amendment for
4submission at a general election and who have registered with
5the Board as provided in this Act.
6(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)
 
7    (10 ILCS 5/28-11)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-11)
8    Sec. 28-11. The Board shall design a standard and
9scientific random sampling method for the verification of
10petition signatures for statewide advisory referenda and shall
11conduct a public test to prove the validity of its sampling
12method. Notice of the time and place for such test shall be
13given at least 10 days before the date on which such test is to
14be conducted and in the manner prescribed for notice of
15regular Board meetings. Signatures on petitions for
16constitutional amendments initiated pursuant to Article XIV,
17Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution or statewide advisory
18referenda need not be segregated by election jurisdiction. The
19Board shall design a an alternative signature verification
20method using random sampling for referenda initiated pursuant
21to Article XIV, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution and
22statewide advisory referenda.
23    The Within 14 business days following the last day for the
24filing of the original petition as prescribed in Section 28-9,
25the Board shall apply its proven random sampling method to the

 

 

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1petition sheets in each election jurisdiction section for the
2purpose of selecting and identifying the petition signatures
3to be included in the sample signature verification to be
4conducted by the Board. for the respective jurisdictions and
5shall prepare and transmit to each proper election authority a
6list by page and line number of the signatures from its
7election jurisdiction selected for verification.
8    For each election jurisdiction, the sample verification
9shall include an examination of either (a) 10% of the
10signatures if 5,010 or more signatures are involved; or (b)
11500 signatures if more than 500 but less than 5,010 signatures
12are involved; or (c) all signatures if 500 or less signatures
13are involved.
14    The State Board of Elections Each election authority with
15whom jurisdictional copies of petition sheets were filed shall
16determine the validity use the proven random sampling method
17designed and furnished by the Board for the verification of
18those signatures contained in the sample shown on the list
19supplied by the Board and in accordance with the following
20criteria for determination of petition signature validity:
21        1. Determine if the person who signed the petition is
22    a registered voter in that election jurisdiction or was a
23    registered voter therein on the date the petition was
24    signed;
25        2. Determine if the signature of the person who signed
26    the petition reasonably compares with the signature shown

 

 

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1    on that person's registration record card.
2    The Board may adopt rules, as necessary, to implement the
3provisions of this Section.
4    Within 14 business days following receipt from the Board
5of the list of signatures for verification, each election
6authority shall transmit a properly dated certificate to the
7Board which shall indicate; (a) the page and line number of
8petition signatures examined, (b) the validity or invalidity
9of such signatures, and (c) the reasons for invalidity, based
10on the criteria heretofore prescribed. The Board shall prepare
11and adopt a standard form of certificate for use by the
12election authorities which shall be transmitted with the list
13of signatures for verification.
14    Upon written request of the election authority that, due
15to the volume of signatures in the sample for its
16jurisdiction, additional time is needed to properly perform
17the signature verification, the Board may grant the election
18authority additional days to complete the verification and
19transmit the certificate of results. These certificates of
20random sample verification results shall be available for
21public inspection within 24 hours after receipt by the State
22Board of Elections.
23(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
 
24    (10 ILCS 5/28-12)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-12)
25    Sec. 28-12. Upon completion of the signature verification

 

 

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1for referenda initiated pursuant to Article XIV, Section 3 of
2the Illinois Constitution and statewide advisory referenda,
3Upon receipt of the certificates of the election authorities
4showing the results of the sample signature verification, the
5Board shall:
6        1. Based on the sample of signatures examined,
7    calculate the ratio of invalid and or valid signatures in
8    each election jurisdiction.
9        2. Apply the ratio of invalid to valid signatures in
10    an election jurisdiction sample to the total number of
11    petition signatures submitted on the petition from that
12    election jurisdiction.
13        3. Compute the degree of multiple signature
14    contamination in each election jurisdiction sample.
15        4. Adjusting Adjust for multiple signature
16    contamination and the number of invalid signatures,
17    project the total number of valid petition signatures
18    submitted from each election jurisdiction.
19        5. (Blank). Aggregate the total number of projected
20    valid signatures from each election jurisdiction and
21    project the total number of valid signatures on the
22    petition statewide.
23    If such statewide projection establishes a total number of
24valid petition signatures less not greater than 95.0% of the
25minimum number of signatures required to qualify the proposed
26statewide advisory public question for the ballot, the

 

 

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1petition shall be presumed invalid; provided that, prior to
2the last day for ballot certification for the general
3election, the Board shall conduct a hearing for the purpose of
4allowing the proponents to present competent evidence or an
5additional sample to rebut the presumption of invalidity. At
6the conclusion of such hearing, and after the resolution of
7any specific objection filed pursuant to Section 10-8 of this
8Code, the Board shall issue a final order declaring the
9petition to be valid or invalid and shall, in accordance with
10its order, certify or not certify the proposition for the
11ballot.
12    If such statewide projection establishes a total number of
13valid petition signatures greater than 95.0% of the minimum
14number of signatures required to qualify the proposed
15Constitutional amendment or statewide advisory public question
16for the ballot, the results of the sample shall be considered
17inconclusive and, if no specific objections to the petition
18are filed pursuant to Section 10-8 of this Code, the Board
19shall issue a final order declaring the petition to be valid
20and shall certify the proposition for the ballot.
21    In either event, the Board shall append to its final order
22the detailed results of the sample from each election
23jurisdiction which shall include: (a) specific page and line
24numbers of signatures actually verified or determined to be
25invalid by the respective election authorities, and (b) the
26calculations and projections performed by the Board for each

 

 

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1election jurisdiction.
2(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
 
3    (10 ILCS 5/28-13)  (from Ch. 46, par. 28-13)
4    Sec. 28-13. Each political party and civic organization as
5well as the registered proponents and opponents of a a
6petition for an amendment to Article IV of the Constitution
7pursuant to Section 3 of Article XIV of the Constitution, or
8proposed statewide advisory public question shall be entitled
9to one watcher in the office of the election authority to
10observe the conduct of the sample signature verification and
11participate in any proceedings related thereto. However, in
12those election jurisdictions where a 10% sample is required,
13the proponents and opponents may appoint no more than 5
14assistant watchers in addition to the 1 principal watcher
15permitted herein.
16    Within 7 days following the last day for filing of the
17original petition, the proponents and opponents shall certify
18in writing to the Board that they publicly support or oppose
19the proposed statewide advisory public question. The
20proponents and opponents of such questions shall register the
21name and address of its group and the name and address of its
22chair and designated agent for acceptance of service of
23notices with the Board. Thereupon, the Board shall prepare a
24list of the registered proponents and opponents and shall
25adopt a standard proponents' and opponents' watcher credential

 

 

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1form. A copy of such list and sufficient copies of such
2credentials shall be transmitted with the list for the sample
3signature verification to the appropriate election
4authorities. Those election authorities shall issue
5credentials to the permissible number of watchers for each
6proponent and opponent group; provided, however, that a
7prospective watcher shall first present to the election
8authority a letter of authorization signed by the chair of the
9proponent or opponent group he or she represents.
10    Political party and qualified civic organization watcher
11credentials shall be substantially in the form and shall be
12authorized in the manner prescribed in Section 7-34 of this
13Code.
14    The rights and limitations of pollwatchers as prescribed
15by Section 7-34 of this Code, insofar as they may be made
16applicable, shall be applicable to watchers at the conduct of
17the sample signature verification.
18    The principal watcher for the proponents and opponents may
19make signed written objections to the Board relating to
20procedures observed during the conduct of the sample signature
21verification which could materially affect the results of the
22sample. Such written objections shall be presented to the
23election authority and a copy mailed to the Board and shall be
24attached to the certificate of sample results transmitted by
25the election authority to the Board.
26(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.