Full Text of HB2308 96th General Assembly
HB2308 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB2308
Introduced 2/18/2009, by Rep. Elaine Nekritz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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10 ILCS 5/2A-1.1 |
from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1.1 |
10 ILCS 5/9-10 |
from Ch. 46, par. 9-10 |
25 ILCS 115/4 |
from Ch. 63, par. 15.1 |
25 ILCS 130/9-2.5 |
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Amends the Election Code, the General Assembly Compensation Act, and the Legislative Commission Reorganization Act of 1984. Changes the general primary election from the first Tuesday in February of even-numbered years to the third Tuesday in March of even-numbered years in which a U.S. President is elected and the first Tuesday in August in even-numbered years in which a Governor is elected. Makes conforming changes with respect to filing of campaign finance reports and printing and mailing of legislators' newsletters and brochures. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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HB2308 |
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LRB096 09790 JAM 19953 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 2A-1.1 and 9-10 as follows:
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| (10 ILCS 5/2A-1.1) (from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1.1)
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| Sec. 2A-1.1. All Elections - Consolidated Schedule. | 8 |
| (a) In
even-numbered years, the general election shall be | 9 |
| held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday of November; | 10 |
| and an election to be known
as the general primary election | 11 |
| shall be held (i) on the third first Tuesday in March of | 12 |
| even-numbered years in which the United States President is | 13 |
| elected and (ii) on the first Tuesday in August of | 14 |
| even-numbered years in which the Governor is elected February ;
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| (b) In odd-numbered years, an election to be known as the
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| consolidated election shall be held on the first Tuesday in | 17 |
| April except
as provided in Section 2A-1.1a of this Act; and
an | 18 |
| election to be known as the consolidated primary election shall | 19 |
| be
held on the last Tuesday in February.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07.)
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| (10 ILCS 5/9-10) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-10)
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| Sec. 9-10. Financial reports.
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HB2308 |
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| (a) The treasurer of every state political committee and | 2 |
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treasurer of every local political committee shall file | 3 |
| with the
Board, and the treasurer of every local political | 4 |
| committee shall file
with the county clerk, reports of campaign | 5 |
| contributions, and semi-annual
reports of campaign | 6 |
| contributions and expenditures on forms to be
prescribed or | 7 |
| approved by the Board. The treasurer of every political
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| committee that acts as both a state political committee and a | 9 |
| local
political committee shall file a copy of each report with | 10 |
| the State Board
of Elections and the county clerk.
Entities | 11 |
| subject to Section 9-7.5 shall file reports required by
that | 12 |
| Section at times
provided in this Section and are subject to | 13 |
| the penalties provided in this
Section.
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| (b) This subsection does not apply with respect to general | 15 |
| primary elections. Reports of campaign contributions shall be | 16 |
| filed no later than the
15th day next preceding each election | 17 |
| or primary in
connection with which the political committee has | 18 |
| accepted or is
accepting contributions or has made or is making | 19 |
| expenditures. Such
reports shall be complete as of the 30th day | 20 |
| next preceding each election or primary . The Board shall assess | 21 |
| a civil penalty not to
exceed $5,000 for a violation of this | 22 |
| subsection, except that for State
officers and candidates
and | 23 |
| political
committees formed for statewide office, the civil
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| penalty may not exceed $10,000.
The fine, however, shall not | 25 |
| exceed $500 for a
first filing violation for filing less than | 26 |
| 10 days after the deadline.
There shall be no fine if the |
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| report is mailed and postmarked at least 72 hours
prior to the | 2 |
| filing deadline.
For the purpose of this subsection, "statewide
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| office" and "State officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant | 4 |
| Governor, Attorney
General,
Secretary of State,
Comptroller, | 5 |
| and Treasurer. However, a
continuing political committee that | 6 |
| does not make an expenditure or
expenditures in an aggregate | 7 |
| amount of more than $500 on behalf of or in opposition to any | 8 |
| (i) candidate or candidates, (ii) public
question or questions, | 9 |
| or (iii) candidate or candidates and public question or | 10 |
| questions on the ballot at an election or primary shall not be | 11 |
| required to file the
reports prescribed in this subsection (b) | 12 |
| and subsection (b-5) but may file in lieu thereof a Statement | 13 |
| of
Nonparticipation in the Election or Primary with the Board | 14 |
| or the Board and the county
clerk ; except that if the | 15 |
| political committee, by the terms of its statement of | 16 |
| organization filed in accordance with this Article, is | 17 |
| organized to support or oppose a candidate or public question | 18 |
| on the ballot at the next election or primary, that committee | 19 |
| must file reports required by this subsection (b) and by | 20 |
| subsection (b-5).
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| (b-5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) and
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| Section 1.25 of the Statute on Statutes, any contribution
of | 23 |
| more than $500 received (i) with respect to elections other | 24 |
| than the general primary election, in the interim between the | 25 |
| last date
of the period
covered by the last report filed under | 26 |
| subsection (b) prior to the election or primary and
the date of |
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| the election or primary (ii) with respect to general primary | 2 |
| elections, in the period beginning January 1 of the year of the | 3 |
| general primary election and prior to the date of the general | 4 |
| primary election shall be filed with and must actually be | 5 |
| received by
the State Board of Elections within 2 business days | 6 |
| after
receipt of such contribution. A continuing political | 7 |
| committee that does not support or oppose a candidate or public | 8 |
| question on the ballot at a general primary election and does | 9 |
| not make expenditures in excess of $500 on behalf of or in | 10 |
| opposition to any candidate or public question on the ballot at | 11 |
| the general primary election shall not be required to file the | 12 |
| report prescribed in this subsection unless the committee makes | 13 |
| an expenditure in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition | 14 |
| to any candidate or public question on the ballot at the | 15 |
| general primary election. The committee shall timely file the | 16 |
| report required under this subsection beginning with the date | 17 |
| the expenditure that triggered participation was made.
The | 18 |
| State Board shall allow filings of reports of contributions of | 19 |
| more than
$500 under this subsection (b-5) by political | 20 |
| committees that are not
required to file electronically to be | 21 |
| made by
facsimile transmission.
For the purpose of this | 22 |
| subsection, a contribution is considered
received on the date | 23 |
| the public official, candidate, or political committee (or
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| equivalent person
in the case of a
reporting entity other than | 25 |
| a political committee) actually receives it or, in
the case of | 26 |
| goods or services, 2 business days after the date the public
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| official,
candidate, committee,
or other reporting entity | 2 |
| receives the certification required under subsection
(b) of | 3 |
| Section 9-6.
Failure to report
each contribution is a separate | 4 |
| violation of this subsection. In the final
disposition of any | 5 |
| matter by the Board on or after the effective date of this
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| amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Board
may
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| impose fines for violations of this subsection not to exceed | 8 |
| 100% of the
total
amount of the contributions that were | 9 |
| untimely reported, but in no case when a
fine is imposed shall | 10 |
| it be less
than 10% of the total amount of the contributions | 11 |
| that were untimely
reported.
When considering the amount of the | 12 |
| fine to be imposed, the Board shall
consider, but is not | 13 |
| limited to, the following factors:
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| (1) whether in the Board's opinion the violation was | 15 |
| committed
inadvertently,
negligently, knowingly, or | 16 |
| intentionally;
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| (2) the number of days the contribution was reported | 18 |
| late; and
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| (3) past violations of Sections 9-3 and 9-10 of this | 20 |
| Article by the
committee.
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| (c) In addition to such reports the treasurer of every | 22 |
| political
committee shall file semi-annual reports of campaign | 23 |
| contributions and
expenditures no later than July 20th, | 24 |
| covering the period from January 1st
through June 30th | 25 |
| immediately preceding, and no later than January 20th,
covering | 26 |
| the period from July 1st through December 31st of the preceding
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| calendar year. Reports of contributions and expenditures must | 2 |
| be filed to
cover the prescribed time periods even though no | 3 |
| contributions or
expenditures may have been received or made | 4 |
| during the period.
The Board shall assess a civil penalty not | 5 |
| to exceed $5,000 for a violation
of this subsection, except | 6 |
| that for State officers and candidates
and political
committees | 7 |
| formed for statewide office, the civil
penalty may not exceed | 8 |
| $10,000.
The fine, however, shall not exceed $500 for a
first | 9 |
| filing violation for filing less than 10 days after the | 10 |
| deadline.
There shall be no fine if the report is mailed and | 11 |
| postmarked at least 72 hours
prior to the filing deadline.
For | 12 |
| the purpose of this subsection, "statewide
office" and "State | 13 |
| officer"
means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney | 14 |
| General, Secretary
of State,
Comptroller, and Treasurer.
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| (c-5) A political committee that acts as either (i) a State | 16 |
| and local
political committee or (ii) a local political | 17 |
| committee and that files reports
electronically under Section | 18 |
| 9-28 is not required to file copies of the reports
with the | 19 |
| appropriate county clerk if the county clerk has a system that
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| permits access to, and duplication of, reports that are filed | 21 |
| with the State
Board of Elections. A State and local political | 22 |
| committee or
a local political committee shall file with the | 23 |
| county clerk a copy of its
statement of organization pursuant | 24 |
| to Section 9-3.
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| (d) A copy of each report or statement filed under this | 26 |
| Article
shall be
preserved by the person filing it for a period |
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| of two years from the
date of filing.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05; 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 95-957, | 3 |
| eff. 1-1-09.)
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| Section 10. The General Assembly Compensation Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Section 4 as follows: | 6 |
| (25 ILCS 115/4) (from Ch. 63, par. 15.1)
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| Sec. 4. Office allowance. Beginning July 1, 2001, each | 8 |
| member
of the House
of Representatives is authorized to approve | 9 |
| the expenditure of not more than
$61,000 per year and each | 10 |
| member of the
Senate is authorized to approve the
expenditure | 11 |
| of not more than $73,000 per
year to pay for "personal | 12 |
| services",
"contractual services", "commodities", "printing", | 13 |
| "travel",
"operation of automotive equipment", | 14 |
| "telecommunications services", as
defined in the State Finance | 15 |
| Act, and the compensation of one or more
legislative assistants | 16 |
| authorized pursuant to this Section, in connection
with his or | 17 |
| her legislative duties and not in connection with any political
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| campaign.
On July 1, 2002 and on July 1 of each year | 19 |
| thereafter, the amount authorized
per year under this Section | 20 |
| for each member of the Senate and each member of
the House of | 21 |
| Representatives shall be increased by a percentage increase
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| equivalent to the lesser of (i) the increase in the designated | 23 |
| cost of living
index or (ii) 5%. The designated cost of living | 24 |
| index is the index known as
the "Employment Cost Index, Wages |
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| and Salaries, By
Occupation and Industry Groups: State and | 2 |
| Local Government Workers: Public
Administration" as published | 3 |
| by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of | 4 |
| Labor for the calendar year immediately preceding the year of | 5 |
| the
respective July 1st increase date. The increase shall be | 6 |
| added to the then
current amount, and the adjusted amount so | 7 |
| determined shall be the annual
amount beginning July 1 of the | 8 |
| increase year until July 1 of the next year. No
increase under | 9 |
| this provision shall be less than zero.
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| A member may purchase office equipment if the member | 11 |
| certifies
to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the | 12 |
| House, as applicable,
that the purchase price, whether paid in | 13 |
| lump sum or installments, amounts
to less than would be charged | 14 |
| for renting or leasing the equipment over
its anticipated | 15 |
| useful life. All such equipment must be purchased through
the | 16 |
| Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as | 17 |
| applicable, for
proper identification and verification of | 18 |
| purchase.
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| Each member of the General Assembly is authorized to employ | 20 |
| one or more
legislative assistants, who shall be solely under | 21 |
| the direction and control
of that member, for the purpose of | 22 |
| assisting the member in the performance
of his or her official | 23 |
| duties. A legislative assistant may be employed
pursuant to | 24 |
| this Section as a full-time employee, part-time employee, or
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| contractual employee, at
the discretion of the member. If | 26 |
| employed as a State employee, a
legislative assistant shall |
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| receive employment benefits on the same terms
and conditions | 2 |
| that apply to other employees of the General Assembly.
Each | 3 |
| member shall adopt and implement personnel policies
for | 4 |
| legislative assistants under his or her direction and
control | 5 |
| relating to work time requirements, documentation for | 6 |
| reimbursement for
travel on official State business, | 7 |
| compensation, and the earning and accrual of
State benefits for | 8 |
| those legislative assistants who may be eligible to receive
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| those benefits.
The policies shall also require legislative | 10 |
| assistants to
periodically submit time sheets documenting, in | 11 |
| quarter-hour increments, the
time
spent each day on official | 12 |
| State business.
The
policies shall require the time sheets to | 13 |
| be submitted on paper,
electronically, or both and to be | 14 |
| maintained in either paper or electronic
format by the | 15 |
| applicable fiscal office
for a period of at least 2 years.
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| Contractual employees may satisfy
the time sheets requirement | 17 |
| by complying with the terms of their contract,
which shall | 18 |
| provide for a means of compliance with this requirement.
A | 19 |
| member may
satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by | 20 |
| adopting and implementing the
personnel policies promulgated | 21 |
| by that
member's legislative leader under the State Officials | 22 |
| and Employees Ethics
Act
with respect to that member's | 23 |
| legislative
assistants.
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| As used in this Section the term "personal services" shall | 25 |
| include
contributions of the State under the Federal Insurance | 26 |
| Contribution Act and
under Article 14 of the Illinois Pension |
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| Code. As used in this Section the
term "contractual services" | 2 |
| shall not include improvements to real property
unless those | 3 |
| improvements are the obligation of the lessee under the lease
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| agreement. Beginning July 1, 1989, as used in the Section, the | 5 |
| term "travel"
shall be limited to travel in connection with a | 6 |
| member's legislative duties and
not in connection with any | 7 |
| political campaign. Beginning on the effective
date of this | 8 |
| amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, as
used
in this | 9 |
| Section, the term "printing" includes, but is not limited to,
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| newsletters,
brochures, certificates,
congratulatory
mailings,
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| greeting or welcome messages, anniversary or
birthday cards, | 12 |
| and congratulations for prominent achievement cards. As used
in | 13 |
| this Section, the term "printing" includes fees for | 14 |
| non-substantive
resolutions charged by the Clerk of the House | 15 |
| of Representatives under
subsection (c-5) of Section 1 of the | 16 |
| Legislative Materials Act.
No newsletter or brochure that is | 17 |
| paid for, in whole or in part, with
funds
provided under this | 18 |
| Section may be printed or mailed during a period
beginning on | 19 |
| the 45th day before December 15 of the year preceding a general | 20 |
| primary
election and ending the day after the general primary | 21 |
| election and during a
period beginning September 1 of the year | 22 |
| of a general election and ending the
day after the general | 23 |
| election, except that such a newsletter or brochure may
be | 24 |
| mailed during
those times if it is mailed to a constituent in | 25 |
| response to that constituent's
inquiry concerning the needs of | 26 |
| that constituent or questions raised by that
constituent.
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| Nothing in
this Section shall be construed to authorize | 2 |
| expenditures for lodging and meals
while a member is in | 3 |
| attendance at sessions of the General Assembly.
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| Any utility bill for service provided to a member's | 5 |
| district office for
a period including portions of 2 | 6 |
| consecutive fiscal years may be paid from
funds appropriated | 7 |
| for such expenditure in either fiscal year.
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| If a vacancy occurs in the office of Senator or | 9 |
| Representative in the General
Assembly, any office equipment in | 10 |
| the possession of the vacating member
shall transfer to the | 11 |
| member's successor; if the successor does not want
such | 12 |
| equipment, it shall be transferred to the Secretary of the | 13 |
| Senate or
Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case | 14 |
| may be, and if not
wanted by other members of the General | 15 |
| Assembly then to the Department of
Central Management Services | 16 |
| for treatment as surplus property under the
State Property | 17 |
| Control Act. Each member, on or before June 30th of each
year, | 18 |
| shall conduct an inventory of all equipment purchased pursuant | 19 |
| to
this Act. Such inventory shall be filed with the Secretary | 20 |
| of the Senate
or the Clerk of the House, as the case may be. | 21 |
| Whenever a vacancy occurs,
the Secretary of the Senate or the | 22 |
| Clerk of the House, as the case may be,
shall conduct an | 23 |
| inventory of equipment purchased.
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| In the event that a member leaves office during his or her | 25 |
| term, any
unexpended or unobligated portion of the allowance | 26 |
| granted under this Section
shall lapse. The vacating member's |
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| successor shall be granted an allowance
in an amount, rounded | 2 |
| to the nearest dollar, computed by dividing the annual
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| allowance by 365 and multiplying the quotient by the number of | 4 |
| days remaining
in the fiscal year.
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| From any appropriation for the purposes of this Section for | 6 |
| a
fiscal year which overlaps 2 General Assemblies, no more than | 7 |
| 1/2 of the
annual allowance per member may be spent or | 8 |
| encumbered by any member of
either the outgoing or incoming | 9 |
| General Assembly, except that any member
of the incoming | 10 |
| General Assembly who was a member of the outgoing General
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| Assembly may encumber or spend any portion of his annual | 12 |
| allowance within
the fiscal year.
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| The appropriation for the annual allowances permitted by | 14 |
| this Section
shall be included in an appropriation to the | 15 |
| President of the Senate and to
the Speaker of the House of | 16 |
| Representatives for their respective members.
The President of | 17 |
| the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall voucher for
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| payment individual members' expenditures from their annual | 19 |
| office
allowances to the State Comptroller, subject to the | 20 |
| authority of the
Comptroller under Section 9 of the State | 21 |
| Comptroller Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07.)
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| Section 15. The Legislative Commission Reorganization Act | 24 |
| of 1984 is amended by changing Section 9-2.5 as follows: |
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| (25 ILCS 130/9-2.5)
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| Sec. 9-2.5. Newsletters and brochures. The Legislative | 3 |
| Printing Unit may
not print for any member of the General | 4 |
| Assembly any newsletters or brochures
during the period | 5 |
| beginning on the 45th day before December 15 of the
year | 6 |
| preceding a general primary election and ending the day after | 7 |
| the general primary
election and during a period beginning | 8 |
| September 1 of the year of a general
election and ending the | 9 |
| day after the general election.
A member of the General | 10 |
| Assembly may not mail, during a period beginning
on the 45th | 11 |
| day before December 15 of the year preceding a general primary | 12 |
| election and ending the day after
the general primary election | 13 |
| and during a period beginning September 1 of the
year of a | 14 |
| general election and ending the day after the general election, | 15 |
| any
newsletters or brochures
that were printed, at any time, by | 16 |
| the Legislative
Printing Unit, except that such a newsletter or | 17 |
| brochure may be mailed during
those times if it is mailed to a | 18 |
| constituent in response to that constituent's
inquiry | 19 |
| concerning the needs of that constituent or questions raised by | 20 |
| that
constituent.
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| (Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 23 |
| becoming law.
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