HB4454 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 16112 RJF 65475 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4454

Introduced 2/3/2020, by Rep. Lamont J. Robinson, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 430/5-10.7 new
5 ILCS 430/70-5

Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that each officer, member, and employee must complete, at least annually, a diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training program. Provides for the contents of the training program. Provides that proof of completion must be submitted to the applicable ethics officer. Provides that the training program shall be overseen by the appropriate Ethics Commission and Inspector General. Requires each ultimate jurisdictional authority to submit a report summarizing the training program with specified content. Requires governmental units to adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing a policy of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning government.

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

Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is amended by changing Section 70-5 and by adding Section 5-10.7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 430/5-10.7 new)

Sec. 5-10.7. Diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2021, each officer, member, and employee must complete, at least annually, a diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training program. A person who fills a vacancy in an elective or appointed position that requires training under this subsection (a) must complete his or her initial diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training program within 30 days after commencement of his or her office or employment. The training shall include, at a minimum, the following: (i) the definition and a description of diversity and inclusion beyond race and gender, including, but not limited to, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, generation, education, military status, marital status, physical, and mental abilities; (ii) how values and assumptions about others impact decision-making, legislation, and social services; (iii) how personal trigger words and the trigger words of others impact individuals; (iv) what is unconscious bias and the most common types of unconscious biases; (v) how to best engage in personal awareness and awareness of other cultures; and (vi) an overview of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Proof of completion must be submitted to the applicable ethics officer. Diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training programs shall be overseen by the appropriate Ethics Commission and Inspector General appointed under this Act.

(b) Each ultimate jurisdictional authority shall submit to the applicable Ethics Commission, at least annually, or more frequently as required by that Commission, a report that summarizes the diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training program that was completed during the previous year, and lays out the plan for the training program in the coming year. The report shall include the names of individuals that failed to complete the required training program. Each Ethics Commission shall make the reports available on its website.

(5 ILCS 430/70-5)

Sec. 70-5. Adoption by governmental entities.

(a) Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act, each governmental entity other than a community college district, and each community college district within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, shall adopt an ordinance or resolution that regulates, in a manner no less restrictive than Section 5-15 and Article 10 of this Act, (i) the political activities of officers and employees of the governmental entity and (ii) the soliciting and accepting of gifts by and the offering and making of gifts to officers and employees of the governmental entity.

No later than 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, each governmental unit shall adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing a policy to prohibit sexual harassment. The policy shall include, at a minimum: (i) a prohibition on sexual harassment; (ii) details on how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including options for making a confidential report to a supervisor, ethics officer, Inspector General, or the Department of Human Rights; (iii) a prohibition on retaliation for reporting sexual harassment allegations, including availability of whistleblower protections under this Act, the Whistleblower Act, and the Illinois Human Rights Act; and (iv) the consequences of a violation of the prohibition on sexual harassment and the consequences for knowingly making a false report.

Within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, each governmental unit that is not subject to the jurisdiction of a State or local Inspector General shall adopt an ordinance or resolution amending its sexual harassment policy to provide for a mechanism for reporting and independent review of allegations of sexual harassment made against an elected official of the governmental unit by another elected official of a governmental unit.

Within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, each governmental unit shall adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing a policy of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence training. The training shall include, at a minimum, the following: (i) the definition and a description of diversity and inclusion beyond race and gender, including, but not limited to, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, generation, education, military status, marital status, physical, and mental abilities; (ii) how values and assumptions about others impact decision-making, legislation, and social services; (iii) how personal trigger words and the trigger words of others impact individuals; (iv) what is unconscious bias and the most common types of unconscious biases; (v) how to best engage in personal awareness and awareness of other cultures; and (vi) an overview of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

(b) Within 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Attorney General shall develop model ordinances and resolutions for the purpose of this Article. The Attorney General shall advise governmental entities on their contents and adoption.

(c) As used in this Article, (i) an "officer" means an elected or appointed official; regardless of whether the official is compensated, and (ii) an "employee" means a full-time, part-time, or contractual employee.

(Source: P.A. 100-554, eff. 11-16-17; 101-221, eff. 8-9-19.)