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| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB3817 Introduced 1/21/2022, by Sen. Scott M. Bennett SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Election Code. Prohibits the use of a political committee's fund for the legal defense of a public official or candidate in connection with offenses involving or reflecting upon a public entity's officer or employee. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | SB3817 | | LRB102 25827 AWJ 35171 b |
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1 | | AN ACT concerning elections.
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2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | | Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing |
5 | | Section 9-8.10 as follows: |
6 | | (10 ILCS 5/9-8.10)
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7 | | Sec. 9-8.10. Use of political committee and other |
8 | | reporting organization
funds.
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9 | | (a) A political committee shall
not
make
expenditures:
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10 | | (1) In violation of any law of the United States or of |
11 | | this State.
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12 | | (2) Clearly in excess of the fair market value of the |
13 | | services,
materials, facilities,
or other things of value |
14 | | received in exchange.
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15 | | (3) For satisfaction or repayment of any debts other |
16 | | than loans made to
the
committee or to the public official |
17 | | or candidate on behalf of the committee or
repayment of |
18 | | goods
and services purchased by the committee under a |
19 | | credit
agreement. Nothing in this Section authorizes the |
20 | | use of campaign funds to
repay personal loans. The |
21 | | repayments shall be made by check written to the
person |
22 | | who made the loan or credit agreement. The terms and |
23 | | conditions of any
loan or credit agreement to a
committee |
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| | SB3817 | - 2 - | LRB102 25827 AWJ 35171 b |
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1 | | shall be set forth in a written agreement, including but |
2 | | not limited
to the
method and
amount of repayment, that |
3 | | shall be executed by the chair or treasurer of the
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4 | | committee at the time of the loan or credit agreement. The |
5 | | loan or agreement
shall also
set forth the rate of |
6 | | interest for the loan, if any, which may not
substantially |
7 | | exceed the
prevailing market interest rate at the time the |
8 | | agreement is executed.
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9 | | (4) For the satisfaction or repayment of any debts or |
10 | | for the payment of
any expenses relating to a personal |
11 | | residence.
Campaign funds may not be used as collateral |
12 | | for home mortgages.
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13 | | (5) For clothing or personal laundry expenses, except |
14 | | clothing items
rented by
the public official or candidate
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15 | | for his or her own use exclusively for a specific |
16 | | campaign-related event,
provided that
committees may |
17 | | purchase costumes, novelty items, or other accessories |
18 | | worn
primarily to
advertise the candidacy.
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19 | | (6) For the travel expenses of
any person unless the |
20 | | travel is necessary for fulfillment of political,
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21 | | governmental, or public policy duties, activities, or |
22 | | purposes.
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23 | | (7) For membership or club dues charged by |
24 | | organizations, clubs, or
facilities that
are primarily |
25 | | engaged in providing health, exercise, or recreational |
26 | | services;
provided,
however, that funds received under |
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| | SB3817 | - 3 - | LRB102 25827 AWJ 35171 b |
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1 | | this Article may be used to rent the clubs
or facilities
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2 | | for a specific campaign-related event.
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3 | | (8) In payment for anything of value or for |
4 | | reimbursement of any
expenditure for
which any person has |
5 | | been reimbursed by the State or any person.
For purposes |
6 | | of this item (8), a per diem allowance is not a |
7 | | reimbursement.
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8 | | (9) For the lease or purchase of or installment |
9 | | payment for a motor vehicle unless
the political committee |
10 | | can demonstrate the vehicle will be used primarily for |
11 | | campaign
purposes or
for the performance of governmental |
12 | | duties. Nothing in this paragraph prohibits a political |
13 | | committee from using political funds to make expenditures |
14 | | related to vehicles not purchased or leased by a political |
15 | | committee, provided the expenditure relates to the use of |
16 | | the vehicle for primarily campaign purposes or the |
17 | | performance of governmental duties. Persons using vehicles |
18 | | not purchased or leased by a
political committee may be |
19 | | reimbursed for actual mileage for the use of the
vehicle |
20 | | for campaign purposes or for the performance of |
21 | | governmental duties.
The mileage reimbursements shall be |
22 | | made at a rate not to exceed the standard
mileage rate |
23 | | method for computation of business expenses under the |
24 | | Internal
Revenue Code.
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25 | | (10) Directly for an individual's tuition or other |
26 | | educational expenses,
except for governmental or political |
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1 | | purposes directly related to a candidate's
or public |
2 | | official's duties and responsibilities.
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3 | | (11) For payments to a public official or candidate or |
4 | | his or her
family member unless
for compensation for |
5 | | services actually rendered by that person. The provisions |
6 | | of this item (11) do not apply to expenditures by a |
7 | | political committee for expenses related to providing |
8 | | childcare for a minor child or care for a dependent family |
9 | | member if the care is reasonably necessary for the public |
10 | | official or candidate to fulfill political or governmental |
11 | | duties.
The provisions of this item (11) do not apply to |
12 | | expenditures by a
political committee in an aggregate
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13 | | amount not exceeding the amount of funds reported to and |
14 | | certified by the State
Board or county clerk as available |
15 | | as of June 30, 1998, in the semi-annual
report of
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16 | | contributions and expenditures filed by the
political |
17 | | committee for the period concluding June 30, 1998.
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18 | | (12) For the legal defense of a public official or |
19 | | candidate. For the purposes of this item (12), "legal |
20 | | defense" means the obtaining, providing, or financially |
21 | | assisting with the obtaining or providing of legal |
22 | | counsel, representation, services, advice, opinion, or |
23 | | guidance for a public official or candidate in connection |
24 | | with: (i) an offense involving fraud against a public |
25 | | entity, bribery of an officer or employee of a public |
26 | | entity, official misconduct, or inducement of an officer |
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1 | | or employee of a public entity to commit official |
2 | | misconduct; (ii) any other infamous crime under State or |
3 | | federal law; or (iii) any other offense that reflects upon |
4 | | the official's or candidate's character, honesty, |
5 | | integrity, or ability to qualify for or hold public |
6 | | office. |
7 | | (b) The Board shall have the authority to investigate, |
8 | | upon
receipt of a verified complaint, violations of the |
9 | | provisions of this Section.
The Board may levy a fine
on any |
10 | | person who knowingly makes expenditures in violation of this |
11 | | Section and
on any person who knowingly makes a malicious and |
12 | | false accusation of a
violation of this Section.
The Board may |
13 | | act under this subsection only upon the affirmative vote of at
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14 | | least 5 of its members. The fine shall not
exceed $500 for each |
15 | | expenditure of $500 or less and shall not exceed the
amount of |
16 | | the
expenditure plus $500 for each expenditure greater than |
17 | | $500. The Board shall
also
have the authority
to render |
18 | | rulings and issue opinions relating to compliance with this
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19 | | Section.
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20 | | (c) Nothing in this Section prohibits the expenditure of |
21 | | funds of a
political
committee controlled by an officeholder |
22 | | or by a candidate to defray the customary and reasonable |
23 | | expenses of an
officeholder in
connection with the performance |
24 | | of governmental and public service functions.
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25 | | (d) Nothing in this Section prohibits the funds of a |
26 | | political committee which is controlled by a person convicted |