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90_HB0076
New Act
Creates the State Gift Ban Act. Prohibits State
constitutional officers, their appointees, General Assembly
members, and their partisan staff from accepting gifts.
Specifies various exceptions.
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1 AN ACT concerning gifts to State officers and employees.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 State Gift Ban Act.
6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7 "Member" means a member of the General Assembly.
8 "Officer" means a State constitutional officer.
9 "Employee" means a person who serves at the pleasure of a
10 State constitutional officer or the partisan staff of the
11 General Assembly.
12 "Gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount,
13 entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item
14 having monetary value. The term includes gifts of services,
15 training, transportation, lodging, and meals, whether
16 provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in
17 advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been
18 incurred.
19 A gift to a family member of a member, officer, or
20 employee or a gift to any other individual based on that
21 individual's relationship with the member, officer, or
22 employee shall be considered a gift to the member, officer,
23 or employee if it is given with the knowledge and
24 acquiescence of the member, officer, or employee and the
25 member, officer, or employee has reason to believe the gift
26 was given because of the official position or employment of
27 the member, officer, or employee.
28 If food or refreshment is provided at the same time and
29 place to both a member, officer, or employee and the spouse
30 or dependent thereof, only the food or refreshment provided
31 to the member, officer, or employee shall be treated as a
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1 gift for purposes of this Act.
2 Section 10. Gift ban. No member, officer, or employee
3 shall knowingly accept a gift except as provided in this Act.
4 Section 15. Exceptions. The restriction in Section 10
5 shall not apply to the following:
6 (1) Anything for which the member, officer, or employee
7 pays the market value or does not use and promptly returns to
8 the donor.
9 (2) A contribution, as defined in Article 9 of the
10 Election Code, that is lawfully made under that Act or
11 attendance at a fundraising event sponsored by a political
12 organization described in Section 527(e) of the Internal
13 Revenue Code of 1986.
14 (3) A gift from a relative as described in Section
15 109(16) of title I of the federal Ethics in Government Act of
16 1978 (Public Law 95-521).
17 (4) Anything provided by an individual on the basis of a
18 personal friendship unless the member, officer, or employee
19 has reason to believe that, under the circumstances, the gift
20 was provided because of the official position or employment
21 of the member, officer, or employee and not because of the
22 personal friendship.
23 In determining whether a gift is provided on the basis of
24 personal friendship, the member, officer, or employee shall
25 consider the circumstances under which the gift was offered,
26 such as:
27 (i) the history of the relationship between the
28 individual giving the gift and the recipient of the gift,
29 including any previous exchange of gifts between such
30 individuals.
31 (ii) whether to the actual knowledge of the member,
32 officer, or employee the individual who gave the gift
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1 personally paid for the gift or sought a tax deduction or
2 business reimbursement for the gift.
3 (iii) whether to the actual knowledge of the
4 member, officer, or employee the individual who gave the
5 gift also at the same time gave the same or similar gifts
6 to other members, officers, or employees.
7 (5) A contribution or other payments to a legal expense
8 fund established for the benefit of a member, officer, or
9 employee that is otherwise lawfully made.
10 (6) Any gift from another member, officer, or employee.
11 (7) Food, refreshments, lodging, transportation, and
12 other benefits:
13 (i) resulting from the outside business or
14 employment activities (or outside activities that are not
15 connected to the duties of the member, officer, or
16 employee as an office holder or employee) of the member,
17 officer, employee, or the spouse of the member, officer,
18 or employee, if the benefits have not been offered or
19 enhanced because of the official position or employment
20 of the member, officer, or employee and are customarily
21 provided to others in similar circumstances;
22 (ii) customarily provided by a prospective employer
23 in connection with bona fide employment discussion; or
24 (iii) provided by a political organization
25 described in Section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code
26 of 1986 in connection with a fundraising or campaign
27 event sponsored by that organization.
28 (8) Pension and other benefits resulting from continued
29 participation in an employee welfare and benefits plan
30 maintained by a former employer.
31 (9) Informational materials that are sent to the office
32 of the member, officer, or employee in the form of books,
33 articles, periodicals, other written materials, audiotapes,
34 videotapes, or other forms of communication.
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1 (10) Awards or prizes that are given to competitors in
2 contests or events open to the public, including random
3 drawings.
4 (11) Honorary degrees (and associated travel, food,
5 refreshments, and entertainment provided in the presentation
6 of degrees and awards).
7 (12) Training (including food and refreshments furnished
8 to all attendees as an integral part of the training)
9 provided to a member, officer, or employee, if the training
10 is in the interest of the State.
11 (13) Educational missions, including meetings with
12 government officials either foreign or domestic, intended to
13 educate public officials on matters of public policy, to
14 which the member, officer, or employee may be invited to
15 participate along with other federal, state, or local public
16 officials and community leaders.
17 (14) Bequests, inheritances, and other transfers at
18 death.
19 (15) Anything that is paid for by the federal, State, or
20 a local government, or secured by the government under a
21 government contract.
22 (16) A gift of personal hospitality (as defined in
23 Section 109 (14) of the federal Ethics in Government Act) of
24 an individual other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a
25 foreign principal.
26 (17) Free attendance at a widely attended event
27 permitted under Section 20.
28 (18) Opportunities and benefits that are:
29 (i) available to the public or to a class
30 consisting of all State employees, whether or not
31 restricted on the basis of geographic consideration;
32 (ii) offered to members of a group or class in
33 which membership is unrelated to State employment;
34 (iii) offered to members of an organization such as
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1 an employee's association or State credit union, in which
2 membership is related to State employment and similar
3 opportunities are available to large segments of the
4 public through organizations of similar size;
5 (iv) offered to any group or class that is not
6 defined in a manner that specifically discriminates among
7 government employees on the basis of branch of government
8 or type of responsibility, or on a basis that favors
9 those of higher rank or rate of pay;
10 (v) in the form of loans from banks and other
11 financial institutions on terms generally available to
12 the public; or
13 (vi) in the form of reduced membership or other
14 fees for participation in organization activities offered
15 to all government employees by professional organizations
16 if the only restrictions on membership relate to
17 professional qualifications.
18 (19) A plaque, trophy, or other item that is
19 substantially commemorative in nature and that is extended
20 for presentation.
21 (20) Food or refreshments of a nominal value offered
22 other than as a part of a meal.
23 (21) Donations of products from the district that the
24 member represents that are intended primarily for promotional
25 purposes, such as display or free distribution, and are of
26 minimal value to any individual recipient.
27 (22) An item of nominal value such as a greeting card,
28 baseball cap, or a T-shirt.
29 Section 20. Attendance at events.
30 (a) A member, officer, or employee may accept an offer
31 of free attendance at a widely attended convention,
32 conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, dinner,
33 viewing, reception, or similar event, provided by the sponsor
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1 of the event, if:
2 (1) the member, officer, or employee participates
3 in the event as a speaker or a panel participant, by
4 presenting information related to State government, or by
5 performing a ceremonial function appropriate to the
6 member's, officer's, or employee's official position or
7 employment; or
8 (2) attendance at the event is appropriate to the
9 performance of the official duties or representative
10 function of the member, officer, or employee.
11 (b) A member, officer, or employee who attends an event
12 described in subsection (a) may accept a sponsor's
13 unsolicited offer of free attendance at the event for an
14 accompanying individual.
15 (c) A member, officer, or employee, or the spouse or
16 dependent thereof, may accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer
17 of free attendance at a charity event, except that
18 reimbursement for transportation and lodging may not be
19 accepted in connection with the event.
20 (d) For purposes of this Section, the term "free
21 attendance" may include waiver of all or part of a conference
22 or other fee, the provision of local transportation, or the
23 provision of food, refreshments, entertainment, and
24 instructional materials furnished to all attendees as an
25 integral part of the event. The term does not include
26 entertainment collateral to the event, nor does it include
27 food or refreshments taken other than in a group setting with
28 all or substantially all other attendees.
29 Section 25. Perishable gifts. When it is not
30 practicable to return a tangible item because it is
31 perishable, the item may, at the discretion of the recipient,
32 be given to an appropriate charity or destroyed.
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1 Section 30. Reimbursement.
2 (a) A reimbursement (including payment in kind) to a
3 member, officer, or employee from a private source other than
4 a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal for
5 necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses for
6 travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, fact finding trip,
7 or similar event in connection with the duties of the member,
8 officer, or employee as an office holder or employee shall be
9 deemed to be a reimbursement to the State and not a gift
10 prohibited by this Act if the member, officer, or employee:
11 (1) in the case of an employee, receives advance
12 authorization, from the member or officer under whose
13 direct supervision the employee works to accept
14 reimbursement; and
15 (2) discloses the expenses reimbursed or to be
16 reimbursed and the authorization to the Clerk of the
17 House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, or
18 the State Comptroller, as appropriate, within 30 days
19 after the travel is completed.
20 (b) For purposes of subsection (a), events, the
21 activities of which are substantially recreational in nature,
22 shall not be considered to be in connection with the duties
23 of a member, officer, or employee as an office holder or
24 employee.
25 (c) Each advance authorization to accept reimbursement
26 shall be signed by the member or officer under whose direct
27 supervision the employee works and shall include:
28 (1) the name of the employee;
29 (2) the name of the person who will make the
30 reimbursement;
31 (3) the time, place, and purpose of the travel; and
32 (4) a determination that the travel is in
33 connection with the duties of the employee as an employee
34 and would not create the appearance that the employee is
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1 using public employment for private gain.
2 (d) Each disclosure made under subsection (a) of
3 expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed shall be signed by
4 the member or officer (in the case of travel by the member or
5 officer) or by the member or officer under whose direct
6 supervision the employee works (in the case of travel by an
7 employee) and shall include:
8 (1) a good faith estimate of total transportation
9 expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
10 (2) a good faith estimate of total lodging expenses
11 reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
12 (3) a good faith estimate of total meal expenses
13 reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
14 (4) a good faith estimate of the total of other
15 expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed; and
16 (5) a determination that all those expenses are
17 necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses.