Full Text of SB1662 96th General Assembly
August 24, 2009
August 24,
2009
To the
Honorable Members of the Illinois Senate,
96th
General Assembly:
Today, I return Senate Bill 1662
with specific recommendations for change. I thank the sponsors for their hard
work on this bill. By requiring electronic submission of statements of
organization with the State Board of Elections, this bill helps make our
election process more ethical, transparent, and accessible to the people of our
State. To that end, I am proposing an additional measure that will accomplish
these goals. Citizens of our State deserve the ability to ensure that units of
local government operate with the utmost integrity and my changes below will
allow that to occur.
Therefore,
pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I
hereby return Senate Bill 1662, entitled “AN ACT concerning elections.”, with
the following specific recommendations for change:
on page 1,
line 5, by replacing “9-3” with “9-3, 28-1, 28-2 and adding Article 28A”; and
on page 4,
below line 1, by inserting the following:
“ (10 ILCS 5/28‑1) (from Ch. 46, par. 28‑1)
Sec.
28‑1. The initiation and submission of all public questions to be voted
upon by the electors of the State or of any political subdivision or district
or precinct or combination of precincts shall be subject to the provisions of
this Article.
Questions
of public policy which have any legal effect shall be submitted to referendum
only as authorized by a statute which so provides or by the Constitution.
Advisory questions of public policy shall be submitted to referendum pursuant
to Section 28‑5 or pursuant to a statute which so provides.
The
method of initiating the submission of a public question shall be as provided
by the statute authorizing such public question, or as provided by the
Constitution.
All
public questions shall be initiated, submitted and printed on the ballot in
the form required by Section 16‑7 of this Act, except as may otherwise
be specified in the statute authorizing a public question.
Whenever
a statute provides for the initiation of a public question by a petition of
electors, the provisions of such statute shall govern with respect to the
number of signatures required, the qualifications of persons entitled to sign
the petition, the contents of the petition, the officer with whom the
petition must be filed, and the form of the question to be submitted. If such
statute does not specify any of the foregoing petition requirements, the
corresponding petition requirements of Section 28‑6 shall govern such
petition.
Irrespective
of the method of initiation, not more than 3 public questions other than (a)
back door referenda, (b) referenda to determine whether a disconnection may
take place where a city coterminous with a township is proposing to annex
territory from an adjacent township, (c) referenda held under the provisions
of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code, or
(d) referenda held under Section 2‑3002 of the Counties Code, or (e)
referenda pursuant to Article 28A of this Code may be submitted to
referendum with respect to a political subdivision at the same election.
If
more than 3 propositions are timely initiated or certified for submission at
an election with respect to a political subdivision, the first 3 validly
initiated, by the filing of a petition or by the adoption of a resolution or
ordinance of a political subdivision, as the case may be, shall be printed on
the ballot and submitted at that election. However, except as expressly
authorized by law not more than one proposition to change the form of
government of a municipality pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution may
be submitted at an election. If more than one such proposition is timely
initiated or certified for submission at an election with respect to a
municipality, the first validly initiated shall be the one printed on the
ballot and submitted at that election.
No
public question shall be submitted to the voters of a political subdivision
at any regularly scheduled election at which such voters are not scheduled to
cast votes for any candidates for nomination for, election to or retention in
public office, except that if, in any existing or proposed political
subdivision in which the submission of a public question at a regularly
scheduled election is desired, the voters of only a portion of such existing
or proposed political subdivision are not scheduled to cast votes for
nomination for, election to or retention in public office at such election,
but the voters in one or more other portions of such existing or proposed
political subdivision are scheduled to cast votes for nomination for,
election to or retention in public office at such election, the public
question shall be voted upon by all the qualified voters of the entire existing
or proposed political subdivision at the election.
Not
more than 3 advisory public questions may be submitted to the voters of the
entire state at a general election. If more than 3 such advisory propositions
are initiated, the first 3 timely and validly initiated shall be the
questions printed on the ballot and submitted at that election; provided
however, that a question for a proposed amendment to Article IV of the
Constitution pursuant to Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution, or for a
question submitted under the Property Tax Cap Referendum Law, shall not be
included in the foregoing limitation.
(Source:
P.A. 93‑308, eff. 7‑23‑03.)
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(10 ILCS 5/28‑2) (from Ch. 46, par. 28‑2)
Sec.
28‑2. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section or Article
28A, petitions for the submission of public questions to referendum must
be filed with the appropriate officer or board not less than 78 days prior to
a regular election to be eligible for submission on the ballot at such
election; and petitions for the submission of a question under Section 18‑120
of the Property Tax Code must be filed with the appropriate officer or board
not more than 10 months nor less than 6 months prior to the election at which
such question is to be submitted to the voters.
(b)
However, petitions for the submission of a public question to referendum
which proposes the creation or formation of a political subdivision must be
filed with the appropriate officer or board not less than 108 days prior to a
regular election to be eligible for submission on the ballot at such
election.
(c)
Resolutions or ordinances of governing boards of political subdivisions which
initiate the submission of public questions pursuant to law must be adopted
not less than 65 days before a regularly scheduled election to be eligible
for submission on the ballot at such election.
(d)
A petition, resolution or ordinance initiating the submission of a public
question may specify a regular election at which the question is to be submitted,
and must so specify if the statute authorizing the public question requires
submission at a particular election. However, no petition, resolution or
ordinance initiating the submission of a public question, other than a
legislative resolution initiating an amendment to the Constitution, may
specify such submission at an election more than one year, or 15 months in
the case of a back door referendum as defined in subsection (f), after the
date on which it is filed or adopted, as the case may be. A petition,
resolution or ordinance initiating a public question which specifies a
particular election at which the question is to be submitted shall be so
limited, and shall not be valid as to any other election, other than an
emergency referendum ordered pursuant to Section 2A‑1.4.
(e)
If a petition initiating a public question does not specify a regularly
scheduled election, the public question shall be submitted to referendum at
the next regular election occurring not less than 78 days after the filing of
the petition, or not less than 108 days after the filing of a petition for
referendum to create a political subdivision. If a resolution or ordinance
initiating a public question does not specify a regularly scheduled election,
the public question shall be submitted to referendum at the next regular
election occurring not less than 65 days after the adoption of the resolution
or ordinance.
(f)
In the case of back door referenda, any limitations in another statute
authorizing such a referendum which restrict the time in which the initiating
petition may be validly filed shall apply to such petition, in addition to
the filing deadlines specified in this Section for submission at a particular
election. In the case of any back door referendum, the publication of the
ordinance or resolution of the political subdivision shall include a notice
of (1) the specific number of voters required to sign a petition requesting
that a public question be submitted to the voters of the subdivision; (2) the
time within which the petition must be filed; and (3) the date of the
prospective referendum. The secretary or clerk of the political subdivision
shall provide a petition form to any individual requesting one. The legal
sufficiency of that form, if provided by the secretary or clerk of the
political subdivision, cannot be the basis of a challenge to placing the back
door referendum on the ballot. As used herein, a "back door
referendum" is the submission of a public question to the voters of a
political subdivision, initiated by a petition of voters or residents of such
political subdivision, to determine whether an action by the governing body
of such subdivision shall be adopted or rejected.
(g)
A petition for the incorporation or formation of a new political subdivision
whose officers are to be elected rather than appointed must have attached to
it an affidavit attesting that at least 108 days and no more than 138 days
prior to such election notice of intention to file such petition was
published in a newspaper published within the proposed political subdivision,
or if none, in a newspaper of general circulation within the territory of the
proposed political subdivision in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF PETITION TO
FORM A NEW........
Residents of the territory described
below are notified that a petition will or has been filed in the Office
of............requesting a referendum to establish a new........, to be
called the............
*The
officers of the new...........will be elected on the same day as the
referendum. Candidates for the governing board of the new......may file
nominating petitions with the officer named above until...........
The
territory proposed to comprise the new........is described as follows:
(description of territory included in petition)
(signature)....................................
Name and address of person or persons proposing
the new political subdivision.
*
Where applicable.
Failure
to file such affidavit, or failure to publish the required notice with the
correct information contained therein shall render the petition, and any
referendum held pursuant to such petition, null and void.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing provisions of this subsection (g) or any other provisions of
this Code, the publication of notice and affidavit requirements of this
subsection (g) shall not apply to any petition filed under Article 7 or 11E
of the School Code nor to any referendum held pursuant to any such petition,
and neither any petition filed under any of those Articles nor any referendum
held pursuant to any such petition shall be rendered null and void because of
the failure to file an affidavit or publish a notice with respect to the
petition or referendum as required under this subsection (g) for petitions
that are not filed under any of those Articles of the School Code.
(Source:
P.A. 94‑30, eff. 6‑14‑05; 94‑578, eff. 8‑12‑05;
94‑1019, eff. 7‑10‑06.)
(10 ILCS 5/Art. 28A heading new)
ARTICLE 28A. ETHICS
INITIATIVES
(10 ILCS 5/28A-1 new)
Sec. 28A-1. Local government binding initiative petition
and referendum.
(a) The electors of any unit of local government may
pass, by initiative petition and referendum in the manner prescribed by this
Article, a binding ordinance relating to ethical standards that the corporate
authorities of their unit of local government are empowered to pass.
(b) A binding ordinance relating to ethical standards
may be proposed by a petition signed by the number of electors equal to at
least 8% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last general election in
the unit of local government. The petition shall contain the text of the
proposed ordinance and the date of the regular or unit of local government
election at which the proposed ordinance is to be submitted, shall have been
signed by petitioning electors not more than 12 months preceding the regular
or unit of local government election, and shall be filed with the clerk of
the unit of local government at least 108 days before that regular or unit of
local government election.
(c) If the corporate authorities of the unit of local
government, without amendment, pass the binding ordinance proposed by such a
petition filed with the unit of local government’s clerk not less than 78
days prior to the regular or unit of local government election at which the
petition specifies the proposed binding ordinance is to be submitted, then
the proposed binding ordinance shall not be submitted to the electors of the
unit of local government.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
petitions filed under this Article shall be governed by Article 28 of the
Election Code.
(e) If no objection to a petition filed under subsection
(b) is filed within 5 business days after that petition is filed or if an
objection is filed and the appropriate electoral official or board rules the
petition sufficient, then the clerk of the unit of local government shall
submit the petition to the election official or board for the unit of local
government, and the election official or board shall order the proposed
ordinance submitted to the electors of the unit of local government at the
election specified in the petition.
(f) If, after the election official or board of the unit
of local government orders the proposed ordinance to be submitted to the
electors of the unit of local government, it determines that the proposed
ordinance is too long to be printed in its entirety on the ballot, it shall
ask the clerk of the unit of local government to provide a concise statement
of its nature. The election official or board shall then cause either the
entire proposed ordinance or the concise statement to be printed on the
ballot together with a question permitting the elector to indicate approval
or disapproval of adoption of the proposed ordinance.
(g) If a majority of those voting on the proposed
ordinance indicate approval of its adoption, it shall be passed and have the
same effect as if it had been passed by the corporate authorities of the unit
of local government, except as provided in subsection (h).
(h) Ordinances adopted under this Article, either by
approval of electors at an election or by passage by the corporate
authorities under subsection (c), shall not be repealed or amended within 4
years after adoption except by vote of the electors.
(i) The corporate authorities of a unit of local
government may submit to its electorate a proposition to repeal or amend an
ordinance adopted under this Article at any election in conformance with
Article 28 of this Code.”.
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With these changes, Senate Bill 1662 will have my
approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor
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