97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB2847

 

Introduced 2/22/2011, by Rep. Sidney H. Mathias

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/9-10  from Ch. 46, par. 9-10

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that a political committee shall file a report of any contribution of $1,000 or more in the aggregate received from any one source during a quarterly reporting period (now, just any contribution of $1,000 or more); makes related changes. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB2847LRB097 06724 HLH 46811 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 Section
59-10 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/9-10)  (from Ch. 46, par. 9-10)
7    Sec. 9-10. Disclosure of contributions and expenditures.
8    (a) The treasurer of every political committee shall file
9with the Board reports of campaign contributions and
10expenditures as required by this Section on forms to be
11prescribed or approved by the Board.
12    (b) Every political committee shall file quarterly reports
13of campaign contributions, expenditures, and independent
14expenditures. The reports shall cover the period January 1
15through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through
16September 30, and October 1 through December 31 of each year. A
17political committee shall file quarterly reports no later than
18the 15th day of the month following each period. Reports of
19contributions and expenditures must be filed to cover the
20prescribed time periods even though no contributions or
21expenditures may have been received or made during the period.
22The Board shall assess a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for
23failure to file a report required by this subsection. The fine,

 

 

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1however, shall not exceed $1,000 for a first violation if the
2committee files less than 10 days after the deadline. There
3shall be no fine if the report is mailed and postmarked at
4least 72 hours prior to the filing deadline. When considering
5the amount of the fine to be imposed, the Board shall consider
6whether the violation was committed inadvertently,
7negligently, knowingly, or intentionally and any past
8violations of this Section.
9    (c) A political committee shall file a report of any
10contribution of $1,000 or more in the aggregate received by the
11political committee from any one source during a quarterly
12reporting period. The report must be filed electronically with
13the Board within 5 business days after receipt of any the
14contribution that causes the aggregate contribution received
15from a source during the quarterly reporting period to be
16$1,000 or more, except that the report shall be filed within 2
17business days after receipt if (i) the contribution is received
1830 or fewer days before the date of an election and (ii) the
19political committee supports or opposes a candidate or public
20question on the ballot at that election or makes expenditures
21in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate,
22candidates, a public question, or public questions on the
23ballot at that election. The State Board shall allow filings of
24reports of contributions of $1,000 or more in the aggregate by
25political committees that are not required to file
26electronically to be made by facsimile transmission. The Board

 

 

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1shall assess a civil penalty for failure to file a report
2required by this subsection. Failure to report each
3contribution is a separate violation of this subsection. The
4Board shall impose fines for willful or wanton violations of
5this subsection (c) not to exceed 150% of the total amount of
6the contributions that were untimely reported, but in no case
7shall it be less than 10% of the total amount of the
8contributions that were untimely reported. When considering
9the amount of the fine to be imposed for willful or wanton
10violations, the Board shall consider the number of days the
11contribution was reported late and past violations of this
12Section and Section 9-3. The Board may impose a fine for
13negligent or inadvertent violations of this subsection not to
14exceed 50% of the total amount of the contributions that were
15untimely reported, or the Board may waive the fine. When
16considering whether to impose a fine and the amount of the
17fine, the Board shall consider the following factors: (1)
18whether the political committee made an attempt to disclose the
19contribution and any attempts made to correct the violation,
20(2) whether the violation is attributed to a clerical or
21computer error, (3) the amount of the contribution, (4) whether
22the violation arose from a discrepancy between the date the
23contribution was reported transferred by a political committee
24and the date the contribution was received by a political
25committee, (5) the number of days the contribution was reported
26late, and (6) past violations of this Section and Section 9-3

 

 

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1by the political committee.
2    (d) For the purpose of this Section, a contribution is
3considered received on the date (i) a monetary contribution was
4deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository
5of funds for the committee, (ii) the date a committee receives
6notice a monetary contribution was deposited by an entity used
7to process financial transactions by credit card or other
8entity used for processing a monetary contribution that was
9deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository
10of funds for the committee, or (iii) the public official,
11candidate, or political committee receives the notification of
12contribution of goods or services as required under subsection
13(b) of Section 9-6.
14    (e) A political committee that makes independent
15expenditures of $1,000 or more during the period 30 days or
16fewer before an election shall electronically file a report
17with the Board within 5 business days after making the
18independent expenditure. The report shall contain the
19information required in Section 9-11(c) of this Article.
20    (f) A copy of each report or statement filed under this
21Article shall be preserved by the person filing it for a period
22of two years from the date of filing.
23(Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 95-957, eff. 1-1-09; 96-832,
24eff. 1-1-11.)
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26becoming law.