SB3722ham003 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

Filed: 5/25/2012

09700SB3722ham003 LRB097 17968 PJG 70160 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3722

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3722, AS AMENDED, with reference to page and line numbers of House Amendment No. 1, as follows:

on page 1, by replacing line 5 with the following:

"Sections 4-50, 5-50, 6-100, 9-1.8, 9-1.9, 9-1.15, 9-2, 9-3, 9-7,"; and

on page 10, by replacing line 8 with the following:

"organization or group of persons formed for the exclusive purpose of making independent"; and

on page 15, immediately below line 13, by inserting the following:

"(10 ILCS 5/9-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 9-3)

Sec. 9-3. Political committee statement of organization.

(a) Every political committee shall file with the State Board of Elections a statement of organization within 10 business days of the creation of such committee, except any political committee created within the 30 days before an election shall file a statement of organization within 2 business days in person, by facsimile transmission, or by electronic mail. Any change in information previously submitted in a statement of organization shall be reported, as required for the original statement of organization by this Section, within 10 days following that change. A political committee that acts as both a state political committee and a local political committee shall file a copy of each statement of organization with the State Board of Elections and the county clerk. The Board shall impose a civil penalty of $50 per business day upon political committees for failing to file or late filing of a statement of organization. Such penalties shall not exceed $5,000, and shall not exceed $10,000 for statewide office political committees. There shall be no fine if the statement is mailed and postmarked at least 72 hours prior to the filing deadline.

In addition to the civil penalties authorized by this Section, the State Board of Elections or any other political committee may apply to the circuit court for a temporary restraining order or a preliminary or permanent injunction against the political committee to cease the expenditure of funds and to cease operations until the statement of organization is filed.

For the purpose of this Section, "statewide office" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, and State Comptroller.

(b) The statement of organization shall include:

(1) the name and address of the political committee and the designation required by Section 9-2;

(2) the scope, area of activity, party affiliation, and purposes of the political committee;

(3) the name, address, and position of each custodian of the committee's books and accounts;

(4) the name, address, and position of the committee's principal officers, including the chairman, treasurer, and officers and members of its finance committee, if any;

(5) the name and address of any sponsoring entity;

(6) a statement of what specific disposition of residual fund will be made in the event of the dissolution or termination of the committee;

(7) a listing of all banks or other financial institutions, safety deposit boxes, and any other repositories or custodians of funds used by the committee; and

(8) the amount of funds available for campaign expenditures as of the filing date of the committee's statement of organization.

For purposes of this Section, a "sponsoring entity" is (i) any person, organization, corporation, or association that contributes at least 33% of the total funding of the political committee or (ii) any person or other entity that is registered or is required to register under the Lobbyist Registration Act and contributes at least 33% of the total funding of the political committee.

(c) Each statement of organization required to be filed in accordance with this Section shall be verified, dated, and signed by either the treasurer of the political committee making the statement or the candidate on whose behalf the statement is made and shall contain substantially the following verification:

"VERIFICATION:

I declare that this statement of organization (including any accompanying schedules and statements) has been examined by me and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, is a true, correct, and complete statement of organization as required by Article 9 of the Election Code. I understand that willfully filing a false or incomplete statement is subject to a civil penalty of at least $1,001 and up to $5,000. ................ .......................................... (date of filing) (signature of person making the statement)".

(d) The statement of organization for a ballot initiative committee also shall include a verification signed by the chairperson of the committee that (i) the committee is formed for the purpose of supporting or opposing a question of public policy, (ii) all contributions and expenditures of the committee will be used for the purpose described in the statement of organization, (iii) the committee may accept unlimited contributions from any source, provided that the ballot initiative committee does not make contributions or expenditures in support of or opposition to a candidate or candidates for nomination for election, election, or retention, and (iv) failure to abide by these requirements shall deem the committee in violation of this Article.

(d-5) The statement of organization for an independent expenditure committee also shall include a verification signed by the chairperson of the committee that (i) the committee is formed for the exclusive purpose of making independent expenditures, (ii) all contributions and expenditures of the committee will be used for the purpose described in the statement of organization, (iii) the committee may accept unlimited contributions from any source, provided that the independent expenditure committee does not make contributions to any candidate political committee, political party committee, or political action committee, and (iv) failure to abide by these requirements shall deem the committee in violation of this Article.

(e) For purposes of implementing the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, every political committee in existence on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall file the statement required by this Section with the Board by December 31, 2010.

(Source: P.A. 96-832, eff. 7-1-10.)"; and

on page 18, by replacing line 1 with the following:

"contributions from a ballot initiative committee or from an independent expenditure committee."; and

on page 18, by replacing line 15 with the following:

"accept contributions from a ballot initiative committee or from an independent expenditure committee. A"; and

on page 20, by replacing line 11 with the following:

"initiative committee or from an independent expenditure committee."; and

on page 20, by replacing line 20 with the following:

"than the limit from any one contributor, and provided that an independent expenditure committee may not conduct joint fundraising efforts with a candidate political committee or a political party committee."; and

on page 25, by replacing line 23 with the following:

"person meeting or exceeding the $3,000 threshold. A natural person who has made a written disclosure with the State Board of Elections shall have a continuing obligation to report further expenditures in relation to the same election, in $1,000 increments, to the State Board until the conclusion of that election. A natural"; and

on page 26, immediately below line 20, by inserting the following:

"(d) In the event that a political committee organized as an independent expenditure committee makes a contribution to any other political committee other than another independent expenditure committee or a ballot initiative committee, the State Board shall assess a fine equal to the amount of any contribution received in the preceding 2 years by the independent expenditure committee that exceeded the limits for a political action committee set forth in subsection (d) of Section 9-8.5.".