97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5096

 

Introduced 2/7/2012, by Rep. Sidney H. Mathias

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 430/1-5

    Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Defines as a prohibited political activity the wearing or displaying of items expressing support for or against a candidate or referendum question while registering voters as a deputy registrar or assisting persons in completing mail-in voter registration applications. Defines a "candidate" to include candidates for federal and local offices as well as State offices.


LRB097 18134 JDS 63358 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5096LRB097 18134 JDS 63358 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is
5amended by changing Section 1-5 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 430/1-5)
7    Sec. 1-5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8    "Appointee" means a person appointed to a position in or
9with a State agency, regardless of whether the position is
10compensated.
11    "Board members of Regional Transit Boards" means any person
12appointed to serve on the governing board of a Regional Transit
13Board.
14    "Campaign for elective office" means any activity in
15furtherance of an effort to influence the selection,
16nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any
17federal, State, or local public office or office in a political
18organization, or the selection, nomination, or election of
19Presidential or Vice-Presidential electors, but does not
20include activities (i) relating to the support or opposition of
21any executive, legislative, or administrative action (as those
22terms are defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist Registration
23Act), (ii) relating to collective bargaining, or (iii) that are

 

 

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1otherwise in furtherance of the person's official State duties.
2    "Candidate" means a person who has filed nominating papers
3or petitions for nomination or election to an elected State
4office, or who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in
5nomination, and who remains eligible for placement on the
6ballot at either a general primary election or general
7election.
8    "Collective bargaining" has the same meaning as that term
9is defined in Section 3 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations
10Act.
11    "Commission" means an ethics commission created by this
12Act.
13    "Compensated time" means any time worked by or credited to
14a State employee that counts toward any minimum work time
15requirement imposed as a condition of employment with a State
16agency, but does not include any designated State holidays or
17any period when the employee is on a leave of absence.
18    "Compensatory time off" means authorized time off earned by
19or awarded to a State employee to compensate in whole or in
20part for time worked in excess of the minimum work time
21required of that employee as a condition of employment with a
22State agency.
23    "Contribution" has the same meaning as that term is defined
24in Section 9-1.4 of the Election Code.
25    "Employee" means (i) any person employed full-time,
26part-time, or pursuant to a contract and whose employment

 

 

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1duties are subject to the direction and control of an employer
2with regard to the material details of how the work is to be
3performed or (ii) any appointed or elected commissioner,
4trustee, director, or board member of a board of a State
5agency, including any retirement system or investment board
6subject to the Illinois Pension Code or (iii) any other
7appointee.
8    "Employment benefits" include but are not limited to the
9following: modified compensation or benefit terms; compensated
10time off; or change of title, job duties, or location of office
11or employment. An employment benefit may also include favorable
12treatment in determining whether to bring any disciplinary or
13similar action or favorable treatment during the course of any
14disciplinary or similar action or other performance review.
15    "Executive branch constitutional officer" means the
16Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of
17State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.
18    "Gift" means any gratuity, discount, entertainment,
19hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other tangible or
20intangible item having monetary value including, but not
21limited to, cash, food and drink, and honoraria for speaking
22engagements related to or attributable to government
23employment or the official position of an employee, member, or
24officer. The value of a gift may be further defined by rules
25adopted by the appropriate ethics commission or by the Auditor
26General for the Auditor General and for employees of the office

 

 

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1of the Auditor General.
2    "Governmental entity" means a unit of local government
3(including a community college district) or a school district
4but not a State agency or a Regional Transit Board.
5    "Leave of absence" means any period during which a State
6employee does not receive (i) compensation for State
7employment, (ii) service credit towards State pension
8benefits, and (iii) health insurance benefits paid for by the
9State.
10    "Legislative branch constitutional officer" means a member
11of the General Assembly and the Auditor General.
12    "Legislative leader" means the President and Minority
13Leader of the Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the
14House of Representatives.
15    "Member" means a member of the General Assembly.
16    "Officer" means an executive branch constitutional officer
17or a legislative branch constitutional officer.
18    "Political" means any activity in support of or in
19connection with any campaign for elective office or any
20political organization, but does not include activities (i)
21relating to the support or opposition of any executive,
22legislative, or administrative action (as those terms are
23defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist Registration Act), (ii)
24relating to collective bargaining, or (iii) that are otherwise
25in furtherance of the person's official State duties or
26governmental and public service functions.

 

 

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1    "Political organization" means a party, committee,
2association, fund, or other organization (whether or not
3incorporated) that is required to file a statement of
4organization with the State Board of Elections or a county
5clerk under Section 9-3 of the Election Code, but only with
6regard to those activities that require filing with the State
7Board of Elections or a county clerk.
8    "Prohibited political activity" means:
9        (1) Preparing for, organizing, or participating in any
10    political meeting, political rally, political
11    demonstration, or other political event.
12        (2) Soliciting contributions, including but not
13    limited to the purchase of, selling, distributing, or
14    receiving payment for tickets for any political
15    fundraiser, political meeting, or other political event.
16        (3) Soliciting, planning the solicitation of, or
17    preparing any document or report regarding any thing of
18    value intended as a campaign contribution.
19        (4) Planning, conducting, or participating in a public
20    opinion poll in connection with a campaign for elective
21    office or on behalf of a political organization for
22    political purposes or for or against any referendum
23    question.
24        (5) Surveying or gathering information from potential
25    or actual voters in an election to determine probable vote
26    outcome in connection with a campaign for elective office

 

 

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1    or on behalf of a political organization for political
2    purposes or for or against any referendum question.
3        (6) Assisting at the polls on election day on behalf of
4    any political organization or candidate for elective
5    office or for or against any referendum question.
6        (7) Soliciting votes on behalf of a candidate for
7    elective office or a political organization or for or
8    against any referendum question or helping in an effort to
9    get voters to the polls.
10        (8) Initiating for circulation, preparing,
11    circulating, reviewing, or filing any petition on behalf of
12    a candidate for elective office or for or against any
13    referendum question.
14        (9) Making contributions on behalf of any candidate for
15    elective office in that capacity or in connection with a
16    campaign for elective office.
17        (10) Preparing or reviewing responses to candidate
18    questionnaires in connection with a campaign for elective
19    office or on behalf of a political organization for
20    political purposes.
21        (11) Distributing, preparing for distribution, or
22    mailing campaign literature, campaign signs, or other
23    campaign material on behalf of any candidate for elective
24    office or for or against any referendum question.
25        (12) Campaigning for any elective office or for or
26    against any referendum question.

 

 

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1        (13) Managing or working on a campaign for elective
2    office or for or against any referendum question.
3        (14) Serving as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a
4    political party convention.
5        (15) Participating in any recount or challenge to the
6    outcome of any election, except to the extent that under
7    subsection (d) of Section 6 of Article IV of the Illinois
8    Constitution each house of the General Assembly shall judge
9    the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members.
10        (16) Notwithstanding any collective bargaining
11    agreement, while registering voters as a deputy registrar
12    or assisting persons in completing mail-in voter
13    registration applications, wearing or having within the
14    view of a prospective voter any button, lapel pin, bumper
15    sticker, or other item that expresses support for or
16    opposition to (i) a candidate, as defined in this Section
17    but also including candidates for federal and local
18    offices, or (ii) a referendum question.
19    "Prohibited source" means any person or entity who:
20        (1) is seeking official action (i) by the member or
21    officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, by the employee
22    or by the member, officer, State agency, or other employee
23    directing the employee;
24        (2) does business or seeks to do business (i) with the
25    member or officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, with
26    the employee or with the member, officer, State agency, or

 

 

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1    other employee directing the employee;
2        (3) conducts activities regulated (i) by the member or
3    officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, by the employee
4    or by the member, officer, State agency, or other employee
5    directing the employee;
6        (4) has interests that may be substantially affected by
7    the performance or non-performance of the official duties
8    of the member, officer, or employee;
9        (5) is registered or required to be registered with the
10    Secretary of State under the Lobbyist Registration Act,
11    except that an entity not otherwise a prohibited source
12    does not become a prohibited source merely because a
13    registered lobbyist is one of its members or serves on its
14    board of directors; or
15        (6) is an agent of, a spouse of, or an immediate family
16    member who is living with a "prohibited source".
17    "Regional Transit Boards" means (i) the Regional
18Transportation Authority created by the Regional
19Transportation Authority Act, (ii) the Suburban Bus Division
20created by the Regional Transportation Authority Act, (iii) the
21Commuter Rail Division created by the Regional Transportation
22Authority Act, and (iv) the Chicago Transit Authority created
23by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act.
24    "State agency" includes all officers, boards, commissions
25and agencies created by the Constitution, whether in the
26executive or legislative branch; all officers, departments,

 

 

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1boards, commissions, agencies, institutions, authorities,
2public institutions of higher learning as defined in Section 2
3of the Higher Education Cooperation Act (except community
4colleges), and bodies politic and corporate of the State; and
5administrative units or corporate outgrowths of the State
6government which are created by or pursuant to statute, other
7than units of local government (including community college
8districts) and their officers, school districts, and boards of
9election commissioners; and all administrative units and
10corporate outgrowths of the above and as may be created by
11executive order of the Governor. "State agency" includes the
12General Assembly, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the
13President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and
14Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Senate
15Operations Commission, and the legislative support services
16agencies. "State agency" includes the Office of the Auditor
17General. "State agency" does not include the judicial branch.
18    "State employee" means any employee of a State agency.
19    "Ultimate jurisdictional authority" means the following:
20        (1) For members, legislative partisan staff, and
21    legislative secretaries, the appropriate legislative
22    leader: President of the Senate, Minority Leader of the
23    Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, or
24    Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
25        (2) For State employees who are professional staff or
26    employees of the Senate and not covered under item (1), the

 

 

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1    Senate Operations Commission.
2        (3) For State employees who are professional staff or
3    employees of the House of Representatives and not covered
4    under item (1), the Speaker of the House of
5    Representatives.
6        (4) For State employees who are employees of the
7    legislative support services agencies, the Joint Committee
8    on Legislative Support Services.
9        (5) For State employees of the Auditor General, the
10    Auditor General.
11        (6) For State employees of public institutions of
12    higher learning as defined in Section 2 of the Higher
13    Education Cooperation Act (except community colleges), the
14    board of trustees of the appropriate public institution of
15    higher learning.
16        (7) For State employees of an executive branch
17    constitutional officer other than those described in
18    paragraph (6), the appropriate executive branch
19    constitutional officer.
20        (8) For State employees not under the jurisdiction of
21    paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7), the
22    Governor.
23        (9) For employees of Regional Transit Boards, the
24    appropriate Regional Transit Board.
25        (10) For board members of Regional Transit Boards, the
26    Governor.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 95-880, eff. 8-19-08; 96-6, eff. 4-3-09; 96-555,
2eff. 8-18-09; 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11; 96-1533, eff. 3-4-11;
3revised 10-20-11.)