Full Text of HB5461 96th General Assembly
HB5461 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB5461
Introduced 2/5/2010, by Rep. Elizabeth Coulson SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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5 ILCS 430/5-10 |
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5 ILCS 430/20-50 |
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5 ILCS 430/20-90 |
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5 ILCS 430/20-95 |
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5 ILCS 430/50-5 |
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Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Makes changes with respect to (i) executive branch ethics training and (ii) investigations and reports by Executive Inspectors General. |
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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY |
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A BILL FOR
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HB5461 |
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LRB096 17431 JAM 32787 b |
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| AN ACT concerning government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 5-10, 20-50, 20-90, 20-95, and | 6 |
| 50-5 as follows: | 7 |
| (5 ILCS 430/5-10)
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| Sec. 5-10. Ethics training. | 9 |
| (a) Each officer, member, and employee
must complete, at | 10 |
| least
annually beginning in 2004, an ethics training program | 11 |
| conducted by the
appropriate
State agency. Each ultimate | 12 |
| jurisdictional authority
must implement an ethics training | 13 |
| program for its officers, members, and
employees.
These ethics | 14 |
| training programs shall be overseen by the appropriate Ethics
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| Commission and Inspector
General appointed pursuant to this Act | 16 |
| in consultation with the Office of the
Attorney
General.
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| (b) Each ultimate jurisdictional authority subject to the | 18 |
| Executive Ethics Commission shall submit to the Executive | 19 |
| Ethics Commission, at least annually, or more frequently as | 20 |
| required by that Commission, an annual report that summarizes | 21 |
| ethics training that was completed during the previous year, | 22 |
| and lays out the plan for the ethics training programs in the | 23 |
| coming year. |
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| (c) Each Inspector General , or the Executive Ethics | 2 |
| Commission with respect to the ethics training of persons | 3 |
| subject to the Executive Ethics Commission,
shall set standards | 4 |
| and
determine the hours and frequency of training necessary for | 5 |
| each
position or category of positions. A person who fills a | 6 |
| vacancy in an
elective or appointed position that requires | 7 |
| training and a person
employed in a position that requires | 8 |
| training must complete his or her
initial ethics training | 9 |
| within 30 days after commencement of his or
her office or | 10 |
| employment.
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| (d) Upon completion of the ethics training program, each | 12 |
| officer, member, and employee must certify in writing that the | 13 |
| person has completed the training program. Each officer, | 14 |
| member, and employee must provide to his or her ethics officer | 15 |
| a signed copy of the certification by the deadline for | 16 |
| completion of the ethics training program. | 17 |
| (e) The ethics training provided under this Act by the | 18 |
| Secretary of State may be expanded to satisfy the requirement | 19 |
| of Section 4.5 of the Lobbyist Registration Act. | 20 |
| (Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.) | 21 |
| (5 ILCS 430/20-50)
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| Sec. 20-50. Investigation reports.
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| (a) With respect to complaints received by an Executive | 24 |
| Inspector General prior to July 1, 2012, within 10 days after | 25 |
| an Executive Inspector General begins an investigation, the |
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| Executive Inspector General shall provide the Executive Ethics | 2 |
| Commission with (1) a summary of allegations and alleged | 3 |
| violations, the reason for opening the investigation, and the | 4 |
| unique tracking number assigned to the investigation and (2) | 5 |
| any additional information requested by the Executive Ethics | 6 |
| Commission. At any time, if If an Executive Inspector General, | 7 |
| upon the conclusion of an
investigation, determines that | 8 |
| reasonable cause exists to believe that a
violation
has | 9 |
| occurred, then
the Executive Inspector General shall issue a | 10 |
| summary report of the
investigation. The report shall be | 11 |
| delivered to the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional
authority | 12 |
| and to the head of each State
agency
affected by or involved in | 13 |
| the investigation, if appropriate. The appropriate ultimate | 14 |
| jurisdictional authority or agency head shall respond to the | 15 |
| summary report within 20 days, in writing, to the Executive | 16 |
| Inspector General. The response shall include a description of | 17 |
| any corrective or disciplinary action to be imposed.
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| (a-5) With respect to complaints received by an Executive | 19 |
| Inspector General prior to July 1, 2012, not more than 60 days | 20 |
| after delivering a summary report to the appropriate ultimate | 21 |
| jurisdictional authority and to the head of each State agency, | 22 |
| the Executive Inspector General shall deliver the summary | 23 |
| report to the Executive Ethics Commission. The Executive | 24 |
| Inspector General shall also provide the Executive Ethics | 25 |
| Commission with a report detailing the discipline related to | 26 |
| the summary report, if any, that the ultimate jurisdictional |
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| authority or head of the State agency has imposed or intends to | 2 |
| impose. The Executive Inspector General shall provide any | 3 |
| additional information requested by the Executive Ethics | 4 |
| Commission. In the event the Executive Inspector General seeks | 5 |
| to file a petition for leave to file a complaint with the | 6 |
| Executive Ethics Commission pursuant to subsection (c), the | 7 |
| Executive Inspector General shall not deliver the summary | 8 |
| report to the Executive Ethics Commission and instead shall | 9 |
| notify the Commission and the Attorney General. If the Attorney | 10 |
| General does not file a petition for leave to file a complaint | 11 |
| with the Executive Ethics Commission within the time permitted | 12 |
| by statute, the Executive Inspector General must deliver a | 13 |
| summary report to the Executive Ethics Commission within 30 | 14 |
| days. | 15 |
| Any report delivered to the Executive Ethics Commission | 16 |
| under this subsection shall not contain the name, office, or | 17 |
| position title of any individual person. | 18 |
| (b) The summary report of the investigation shall include | 19 |
| the following:
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| (1) A description of any allegations or other | 21 |
| information
received by the Executive Inspector General | 22 |
| pertinent to the
investigation.
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| (2) A description of any alleged misconduct discovered | 24 |
| in the
course of the investigation.
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| (2.5) With respect to complaints received by an | 26 |
| Executive Inspector General prior to July 1, 2012, a |
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| specific recommendation for any corrective or disciplinary | 2 |
| action to be taken in response to any alleged misconduct | 3 |
| described in the report, including but not limited to | 4 |
| suspension or discharge.
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| (3) With respect to complaints received by an Executive | 6 |
| Inspector General on or after July 1, 2012, recommendations | 7 |
| Recommendations for any corrective or disciplinary
action | 8 |
| to be taken in response to any alleged misconduct described | 9 |
| in the
report, including but not limited to discharge.
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| (4) Other information the Executive Inspector General
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| deems relevant to the investigation or resulting | 12 |
| recommendations.
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| (c) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the | 14 |
| appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head | 15 |
| under subsection (a),
the Executive Inspector General shall | 16 |
| notify the Commission and the Attorney General if the Executive | 17 |
| Inspector General believes that a complaint should be filed | 18 |
| with the Commission. If the Executive Inspector General desires | 19 |
| to file a
complaint with the Commission, the Executive | 20 |
| Inspector General shall submit the summary report and | 21 |
| supporting documents to the
Attorney General. If the Attorney | 22 |
| General concludes that there is insufficient evidence that a | 23 |
| violation has occurred, the Attorney General shall notify the | 24 |
| Executive Inspector General and the Executive Inspector | 25 |
| General shall deliver to the Executive Ethics Commission a copy | 26 |
| of the summary report and response from the ultimate |
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| jurisdictional authority or agency head.
If the Attorney | 2 |
| General determines
that reasonable cause exists to believe that | 3 |
| a violation has occurred, then the
Executive Inspector
General, | 4 |
| represented by the Attorney
General, may file with the | 5 |
| Executive Ethics Commission a complaint.
The complaint shall | 6 |
| set
forth the alleged violation and the
grounds that exist to | 7 |
| support the complaint. The complaint must be filed with the | 8 |
| Commission within 18 months
after the most recent act of the
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| alleged violation or of a series of alleged violations
except | 10 |
| where there is reasonable cause to believe
that fraudulent | 11 |
| concealment has occurred. To constitute fraudulent concealment
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| sufficient to toll this limitations period, there must be an | 13 |
| affirmative act or
representation calculated to prevent | 14 |
| discovery of the fact that a violation has
occurred.
If a | 15 |
| complaint is not filed with the Commission
within 6 months | 16 |
| after notice by the Inspector General to the Commission and the
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| Attorney General, then the Commission may set a meeting of the | 18 |
| Commission at
which the Attorney General shall appear and | 19 |
| provide a status
report to the Commission.
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| (c-5) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the | 21 |
| appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head | 22 |
| under subsection (a), if the Executive Inspector General does | 23 |
| not believe that a complaint should be filed, the Executive | 24 |
| Inspector General shall deliver to the Executive Ethics | 25 |
| Commission a statement setting forth the basis for the decision | 26 |
| not to file a complaint and a copy of the summary report and |
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| response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency | 2 |
| head. An Inspector General may also submit a redacted version | 3 |
| of the summary report and response from the ultimate | 4 |
| jurisdictional authority if the Inspector General believes | 5 |
| either contains information that, in the opinion of the | 6 |
| Inspector General, should be redacted prior to releasing the | 7 |
| report, may interfere with an ongoing investigation, or | 8 |
| identifies an informant or complainant. | 9 |
| (c-10) If, after reviewing the documents, the Commission | 10 |
| believes that further investigation is warranted, the | 11 |
| Commission may request that the Executive Inspector General | 12 |
| provide additional information or conduct further | 13 |
| investigation. The Commission may also appoint a Special | 14 |
| Executive Inspector General to investigate or refer the summary | 15 |
| report and response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority | 16 |
| to the Attorney General for further investigation or review. If | 17 |
| the Commission requests the Attorney General to investigate or | 18 |
| review, the Commission must notify the Attorney General and the | 19 |
| Inspector General. The Attorney General may not begin an | 20 |
| investigation or review until receipt of notice from the | 21 |
| Commission.
If, after review, the Attorney General determines | 22 |
| that reasonable cause exists to believe that a violation has | 23 |
| occurred, then the Attorney General may file a complaint with | 24 |
| the Executive Ethics Commission. If the Attorney General | 25 |
| concludes that there is insufficient evidence that a violation | 26 |
| has occurred, the Attorney General shall notify the Executive |
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| Ethics Commission and the appropriate Executive Inspector | 2 |
| General. | 3 |
| (d) A copy of the complaint filed with the Executive Ethics | 4 |
| Commission must be served on all respondents named in the
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| complaint and on each respondent's ultimate jurisdictional | 6 |
| authority in
the same manner as process is served under the | 7 |
| Code of Civil
Procedure.
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| (e) A respondent may file objections to the complaint | 9 |
| within 30 days after notice of the petition has been
served on | 10 |
| the respondent.
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| (f) The Commission shall meet, either in person or by | 12 |
| telephone, at least 30 days after the complaint is served on | 13 |
| all respondents
in a closed session to review the sufficiency | 14 |
| of the complaint.
The Commission shall
issue notice by | 15 |
| certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Executive | 16 |
| Inspector General, Attorney General, and all respondents of
the | 17 |
| Commission's ruling on the sufficiency of the complaint. If the | 18 |
| complaint
is deemed to
sufficiently allege a violation of this | 19 |
| Act, then the Commission shall
include a hearing date scheduled | 20 |
| within 4 weeks after the date of the notice,
unless all of the | 21 |
| parties consent to a later date.
If the complaint is deemed not | 22 |
| to sufficiently allege a
violation, then
the Commission shall | 23 |
| send by certified mail, return receipt requested,
a notice to | 24 |
| the Executive Inspector General, Attorney General, and all | 25 |
| respondents of the decision to dismiss the complaint.
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| (g) On the scheduled date
the Commission shall conduct a |
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| closed meeting,
either in person or, if the parties consent, by | 2 |
| telephone, on the complaint and
allow all
parties the | 3 |
| opportunity to present testimony and evidence.
All such | 4 |
| proceedings shall be transcribed.
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| (h) Within an appropriate time limit set by rules of the | 6 |
| Executive
Ethics Commission, the Commission shall (i) dismiss | 7 |
| the
complaint, (ii) issue a recommendation of discipline to the
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| respondent and the respondent's ultimate jurisdictional | 9 |
| authority, (iii)
impose an administrative fine upon the | 10 |
| respondent, (iv) issue injunctive relief as described in | 11 |
| Section 50-10, or (v) impose a combination of (ii) through | 12 |
| (iv).
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| (i) The proceedings on any complaint filed with the | 14 |
| Commission
shall be conducted pursuant to rules promulgated by | 15 |
| the Commission.
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| (j) The Commission may designate hearing officers
to | 17 |
| conduct proceedings as determined by rule of the Commission.
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| (k) In all proceedings before the Commission, the standard | 19 |
| of
proof is by a preponderance of the evidence.
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| (l) Within 30 days after the issuance of a final | 21 |
| administrative decision that concludes that a violation | 22 |
| occurred, the Executive Ethics Commission shall make public the | 23 |
| entire record of proceedings before the Commission, the | 24 |
| decision, any recommendation, any discipline imposed, and the | 25 |
| response from the agency head or ultimate jurisdictional | 26 |
| authority to the Executive Ethics Commission.
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| (Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.) | 2 |
| (5 ILCS 430/20-90)
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| Sec. 20-90. Confidentiality.
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| (a) The identity of any individual providing information or | 5 |
| reporting any
possible or alleged
misconduct to an Executive | 6 |
| Inspector General or the Executive Ethics
Commission
shall be | 7 |
| kept confidential and may not be disclosed
without the consent | 8 |
| of that individual, unless the individual consents to
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| disclosure of his or her name or disclosure of the individual's | 10 |
| identity is
otherwise required by law. The confidentiality | 11 |
| granted by this subsection does
not preclude the disclosure of | 12 |
| the identity of a person in any capacity other
than as the | 13 |
| source of an allegation.
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| (a-5) Each summary provided to the Executive Ethics | 15 |
| Commission by an Executive Inspector General within 10 days | 16 |
| after beginning an investigation, as required by subsection (a) | 17 |
| of Section 20-50, and each report provided to the Executive | 18 |
| Ethics Commission by an Executive Inspector General under | 19 |
| subsection (a-5) of Section 20-50 shall be kept confidential | 20 |
| and may not be disclosed.
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| (b) Subject to the provisions of Section 20-52, | 22 |
| commissioners, employees,
and agents of the Executive Ethics | 23 |
| Commission,
the Executive Inspectors General, and employees | 24 |
| and agents of each Office of
an
Executive Inspector General, | 25 |
| the Attorney General, and the employees and agents of the |
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| office of the Attorney General shall keep confidential and | 2 |
| shall not disclose
information exempted from disclosure under | 3 |
| the Freedom of
Information Act or by this Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.) | 5 |
| (5 ILCS 430/20-95)
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| Sec. 20-95. Exemptions.
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| (a) Documents generated by an ethics
officer under this | 8 |
| Act, except Section 5-50, are exempt from the provisions of
the | 9 |
| Freedom
of Information Act.
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| (b) Any allegations
and related documents
submitted to an | 11 |
| Executive Inspector General and any pleadings and
related | 12 |
| documents brought before the Executive Ethics
Commission are | 13 |
| exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act so | 14 |
| long as the Executive Ethics Commission
does not make a finding | 15 |
| of a violation of this Act.
If the Executive
Ethics Commission | 16 |
| finds that a violation has occurred, the
entire record of | 17 |
| proceedings before the Commission, the decision and
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| recommendation, and the response from the agency head or
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| ultimate jurisdictional authority to the Executive Ethics
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| Commission are not exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of
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| Information Act but information contained therein that is | 22 |
| otherwise exempt from
the
Freedom of Information Act must be | 23 |
| redacted before disclosure as provided in
the Freedom of | 24 |
| Information Act. A summary report released by the Executive | 25 |
| Ethics Commission under Section 20-52 is a public record, but |
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| information redacted by the Executive Ethics Commission shall | 2 |
| not be part of the public record.
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| (c) Meetings of the Commission are exempt from the | 4 |
| provisions of the Open
Meetings Act.
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| (d) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, all | 6 |
| investigatory files and
reports of the Office of an Executive | 7 |
| Inspector General , other than monthly
reports required under | 8 |
| Section 20-85, are confidential, are exempt from disclosure
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| under the Freedom of Information Act, and shall not be divulged | 10 |
| to
any person or agency, except as necessary (i) to a law
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| enforcement
authority, (ii) to the ultimate
jurisdictional | 12 |
| authority, (iii) to the
Executive Ethics Commission; or (iv) to | 13 |
| another Inspector General appointed
pursuant to this Act. | 14 |
| Investigatory reports, including summary reports of | 15 |
| investigations, and monthly reports of the Office of an | 16 |
| Executive Inspector General are not exempt from the provisions | 17 |
| of the Freedom of Information Act, but information contained | 18 |
| therein that is otherwise exempt from the Freedom of | 19 |
| Information Act must be redacted before disclosure as provided | 20 |
| in the Freedom of Information Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.) | 22 |
| (5 ILCS 430/50-5)
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| Sec. 50-5. Penalties.
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| (a) A person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if that | 25 |
| person intentionally
violates (i) subsection (a-5) of Section |
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| 20-90 or (ii) any provision of Section 5-15, 5-30, 5-40, or | 2 |
| 5-45 or Article 15.
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| (a-1) An ethics commission may levy an administrative fine | 4 |
| for a violation of Section 5-45 of this Act of up to 3 times the | 5 |
| total annual compensation that would have been obtained in | 6 |
| violation of Section 5-45. | 7 |
| (b) A person who intentionally violates any provision
of | 8 |
| Section 5-20, 5-35, 5-50, or 5-55 is guilty of a business | 9 |
| offense
subject to a fine of at least $1,001 and up to $5,000.
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| (c) A person who intentionally violates any provision of | 11 |
| Article 10 is
guilty of a business
offense and subject to a | 12 |
| fine of at least $1,001 and up to $5,000.
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| (d) Any person who intentionally makes a
false report | 14 |
| alleging a violation of any provision of this Act to an ethics
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| commission,
an inspector general,
the State Police, a State's | 16 |
| Attorney, the Attorney General, or any other law
enforcement | 17 |
| official is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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| (e) An ethics commission may levy an administrative fine of | 19 |
| up to $5,000
against any person
who violates this Act, who | 20 |
| intentionally obstructs or interferes with an
investigation
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| conducted under this Act by an inspector general, or who
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| intentionally makes a false, frivolous, or bad faith | 23 |
| allegation.
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| (f) In addition to any other penalty that may apply, | 25 |
| whether criminal or
civil, a State employee who intentionally | 26 |
| violates
any provision of Section 5-5, 5-15, 5-20, 5-30, 5-35, |
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| 5-45, or 5-50, Article 10,
Article 15, or Section 20-90 or | 2 |
| 25-90 is subject to discipline or discharge by
the
appropriate | 3 |
| ultimate
jurisdictional authority.
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| (Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.)
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