Full Text of HB0611 95th General Assembly
HB0611 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB0611
Introduced 2/5/2007, by Rep. Lou Lang SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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10 ILCS 5/12A-10 |
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10 ILCS 5/12A-35 |
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Amends the Election Code. With respect to the Internet Voters' Guide, (i) removes the $600 fee for inclusion of a candidate's personal statement and photograph and (ii) changes various deadlines for the submission, review, and revision of statements and photographs.
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| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB0611 |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| AN ACT concerning elections.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing | 5 |
| Sections 12A-10 and 12A-35 as follows: | 6 |
| (10 ILCS 5/12A-10)
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| Sec. 12A-10. Candidate statements and photographs in the | 8 |
| Internet Guide.
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| (a) Any candidate whose name appears in the Internet Guide | 10 |
| may submit a
written
statement and a photograph to appear in | 11 |
| the Internet Guide, provided that:
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| (1) No personal statement may exceed a brief biography | 13 |
| (name, age, education, and current employment) and an | 14 |
| additional 400 words.
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| (2) Personal statements may include contact | 16 |
| information for the candidate,
including the address and | 17 |
| phone number of the campaign headquarters, and the
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| candidate's website.
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| (3) Personal statements may not mention a candidate's | 20 |
| opponents by name.
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| (4) No personal statement may include language that may | 22 |
| not be legally
sent
through the mail.
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| (5) The photograph shall be a conventional photograph |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| with a plain
background
and show only the face, or the | 2 |
| head, neck, and shoulders, of the candidate.
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| (6) The photograph shall not (i) show the candidate's | 4 |
| hands, anything in
the
candidate's hands, or the candidate | 5 |
| wearing a
judicial robe, a
hat, or a military, police, or | 6 |
| fraternal uniform or (ii)
include the
uniform or insignia | 7 |
| of any organization.
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| (b) The Board must note in the text of the Internet Guide | 9 |
| that personal
statements were
submitted by the candidate or his | 10 |
| or her designee and were not edited by the
Board.
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| (c) Where a candidate declines to submit a statement, the | 12 |
| Board may note
that
the
candidate declined to submit a | 13 |
| statement.
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| (d) (Blank.)
The candidate must pay $600 for inclusion of | 15 |
| his or her personal
statement
and
photograph, and the Board | 16 |
| shall not include photographs or statements from
candidates
who | 17 |
| do not pay the fee. The Board may adopt rules for refunding | 18 |
| that fee at the
candidate's
request, provided that the Board | 19 |
| may not include a statement or photograph from
a
candidate who | 20 |
| has requested a refund of a fee. Fees collected pursuant to | 21 |
| this subsection shall be deposited into the Voters' Guide Fund, | 22 |
| a special fund created in the State treasury. Moneys in the | 23 |
| Voters' Guide Fund shall be appropriated solely to the State | 24 |
| Board of Elections for use in the implementation and | 25 |
| administration of this Article 12A.
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| (e) Anyone other than the candidate submitting a statement |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| or photograph
from a
candidate must attest that he or she is | 2 |
| doing so on behalf and at the direction
of
the
candidate. The | 3 |
| Board may assess a civil fine of no more than $1,000 against a
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| person or entity who falsely
submits a statement or photograph | 5 |
| not authorized by the
candidate.
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| (f) Nothing in this Article makes the author of any | 7 |
| statement exempt from
any
civil
or
criminal action because of | 8 |
| any defamatory statements offered for posting or
contained in
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| the Internet Guide. The persons writing, signing, or offering a | 10 |
| statement for
inclusion in
the Internet Guide are deemed to be | 11 |
| its authors and publishers, and the
Board shall not
be liable | 12 |
| in any case or action relating to the content of any material
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| submitted by any
candidate.
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| (g) The Board may set reasonable deadlines for the | 15 |
| submission of personal
statements and
photographs , provided | 16 |
| that a deadline may not be less than 5 business
days after
the | 17 |
| last day for filing new party petitions .
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| (h) The Board may set formats for the submission of | 19 |
| statements and
photographs. The
Board may require that | 20 |
| statements and photographs are submitted in an
electronic | 21 |
| format.
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| (i) Fines
Fees and fines collected pursuant to subsection
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| subsections (d) and (e) , respectively, of this Section shall be | 24 |
| deposited into the Voters' Guide Fund, a special fund created | 25 |
| in the State treasury. Moneys in the Voters' Guide Fund shall | 26 |
| be appropriated solely to the State Board of Elections for use |
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LRB095 04001 JAM 24034 b |
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| in the implementation and administration of this Article 12A.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.) | 3 |
| (10 ILCS 5/12A-35)
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| Sec. 12A-35. Board's review of candidate photograph and | 5 |
| statement;
procedure
for
revision.
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| (a) If a candidate files a photograph and statement
under | 7 |
| item (8) of Section 12A-5 in a voters' guide, the Board shall | 8 |
| review the
photograph and
statement to ensure that they comply | 9 |
| with the requirements of Section 12A-10. Review by the Board | 10 |
| under this Section shall be limited
to
determining whether the | 11 |
| photograph and statement comply with the requirements
of
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| Section 12A-10 and may not include any determination relating
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| to the
accuracy or truthfulness of the substance or contents of | 14 |
| the materials filed.
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| (b) The Board shall review each photograph and statement | 16 |
| not later than 3
business days
following the deadline for | 17 |
| filing a photograph and statement . If the Board
determines
that | 18 |
| the photograph or statement of a candidate must be revised in | 19 |
| order to
comply with
the requirements of Section 12A-10, the | 20 |
| Board
shall
attempt to contact the candidate not later than the | 21 |
| 5th day after the deadline
for filing a
photograph and | 22 |
| statement . A candidate contacted by the Board under this | 23 |
| Section
may
file a revised photograph or statement no later | 24 |
| than the 5th
7th business day
following notification
the
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| deadline for filing a photograph and statement .
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| (c) If the Board is required to attempt to contact a | 2 |
| candidate under
subsection (b) of this
Section, the Board shall | 3 |
| attempt to contact the candidate by telephone or by
using an
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| electronic transmission facsimile machine, if such contact | 5 |
| information is
provided by the
candidate.
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| (d) If the Board is unable to contact a candidate, if the | 7 |
| candidate does
not file a
revised photograph or statement, or | 8 |
| if the revised filing under subsection (b)
again
fails to meet | 9 |
| the standards of review set by the Board:
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| (1) If a photograph does not comply with Section | 11 |
| 12A-10, the Board may modify the photograph. The candidate | 12 |
| shall pay the
expense
of any modification before | 13 |
| publication of the photograph in the voters' guide.
If the
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| photograph cannot be modified to comply with Section | 15 |
| 12A-10,
the photograph shall not be printed in the guide.
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| (2) If a statement does not comply with Section 12A-10, | 17 |
| the statement shall not be published in the voters' guide.
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| (e) If the photograph or statement of a candidate filed | 19 |
| under item (8)
of Section
12A-5 does not comply with a | 20 |
| requirement
of Section 12A-10 and the Board does not attempt to | 21 |
| contact the
candidate by
the deadline
specified in subsection | 22 |
| (b) of this Section, then, for purposes of this Section
only, | 23 |
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photograph or statement shall be published as filed.
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| (f) A candidate revising a photograph or statement under | 25 |
| this Section shall
make only
those revisions necessary to | 26 |
| comply with Section 12A-10.
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| (g) The Board may by rule define the term "contact" as used | 2 |
| in this
Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
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