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90_SB0741
New Act
10 ILCS 5/28-1 from Ch. 46, par. 28-1
Creates the Illinois Advisory Referenda Act. Provides
that the Governor may submit advisory referenda to the voters
of Illinois to give the People of the State a voice in
shaping policy. Provides that the Governor shall submit
proposed referenda to the Secretary of State. Provides that
the Secretary of State shall notify the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House if the Governor fails to
submit an advisory referendum. Provides that the Statutory
Committee on Illinois Advisory Referenda (consisting of the 4
legislative leaders) may submit advisory referenda to the
voters if the Governor does not. Amends the Election Code to
exempt referenda under this Act from the limitation on the
number of statewide referenda per election.
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1 AN ACT concerning advisory referenda.
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 Illinois Advisory Referenda Act.
6 Section 5. Governor; advisory referenda. The Governor
7 of the State of Illinois may in his or her sole discretion
8 submit to the voters of the State one, 2, or 3 issues for a
9 non-binding advisory vote of the People to be held at a
10 general election.
11 Section 10. Purpose of advisory referenda. The purpose
12 of the advisory referenda is to give the People a greater
13 voice in shaping State or national policy by directly
14 participating in an advisory vote on issues referred to the
15 People under this Act and thereby providing elected
16 officials, including those representatives sent to the
17 Congress of the United States, with important information on
18 the views of the People on selected issues of public
19 importance. Issues submitted by the Governor may include
20 proposed legislation, regulations, or executive branch
21 policies of either the State or national government. Any
22 issue referred to the voters of Illinois shall be written in
23 such a way that a "yes" or "no" vote may be cast.
24 Section 15. Governor's submissions; Statutory Committee.
25 (a) The Governor shall submit to the Secretary of State
26 the issues for the advisory vote of the People no later than
27 120 days before the general election. Upon receipt of the
28 issues, the Secretary of State shall refer them to the State
29 Board of Elections.
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1 (b) If the Governor fails to submit any issues for an
2 advisory vote of the People as provided for in this Act, then
3 the Secretary of State shall notify the President of the
4 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives within
5 48 hours after the passage of the deadline for the Governor's
6 submission.
7 (c) Upon receipt of a notice of non-submission from the
8 Secretary of the State as provided in subsection (b), the
9 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
10 Representatives shall convene the Statutory Committee on
11 Illinois Advisory Referenda. The Committee shall have as its
12 members the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
13 of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and
14 the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. The
15 Committee acting as a whole may, in its sole discretion,
16 submit within 25 days to the Secretary of State one, 2, or 3
17 issues for an advisory vote of the People in the manner as
18 provided for in Sections 5 and 10 of this Act.
19 (d) If the Statutory Committee on Illinois Advisory
20 Referenda submits to the Secretary of State issues for an
21 advisory vote, then the Secretary of State shall refer them
22 to the State Board of Elections.
23 Section 20. Legislative finding. The General Assembly
24 deems the establishment of procedures for Illinois advisory
25 referenda as necessary to further the public interest in
26 representative self-government. The General Assembly finds
27 that Illinois advisory referenda will provide its members
28 with useful and important information concerning the views of
29 the People and will assist the General Assembly in carrying
30 out its public duties as required by the Constitution of the
31 State of Illinois.
32 Section 25. Time for holding referenda. Illinois
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1 advisory referenda under this Act shall be held as part of
2 the general election immediately following their submission.
3 Section 30. Severability. The provisions of this Act
4 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
5 Section 95. The Election Code is amended by changing
6 Section 28-1 as follows:
7 (10 ILCS 5/28-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-1)
8 Sec. 28-1. The initiation and submission of all public
9 questions to be voted upon by the electors of the State or of
10 any political subdivision or district or precinct or
11 combination of precincts shall be subject to the provisions
12 of this Article.
13 Questions of public policy which have any legal effect
14 shall be submitted to referendum only as authorized by a
15 statute which so provides or by the Constitution. Advisory
16 questions of public policy shall be submitted to referendum
17 pursuant to Section 28-5 or pursuant to a statute which so
18 provides.
19 The method of initiating the submission of a public
20 question shall be as provided by the statute authorizing such
21 public question, or as provided by the Constitution.
22 All public questions shall be initiated, submitted and
23 printed on the ballot in the form required by Section 16-7 of
24 this Act, except as may otherwise be specified in the statute
25 authorizing a public question.
26 Whenever a statute provides for the initiation of a
27 public question by a petition of electors, the provisions of
28 such statute shall govern with respect to the number of
29 signatures required, the qualifications of persons entitled
30 to sign the petition, the contents of the petition, the
31 officer with whom the petition must be filed, and the form of
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1 the question to be submitted. If such statute does not
2 specify any of the foregoing petition requirements, the
3 corresponding petition requirements of Section 28-6 shall
4 govern such petition.
5 Irrespective of the method of initiation, not more than 3
6 public questions other than (a) back door referenda, (b)
7 referenda to determine whether a disconnection may take place
8 where a city coterminous with a township is proposing to
9 annex territory from an adjacent township or (c) referenda
10 held under the provisions of the Property Tax Extension
11 Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code may be submitted to
12 referendum with respect to a political subdivision at the
13 same election.
14 If more than 3 propositions are timely initiated or
15 certified for submission at an election with respect to a
16 political subdivision, the first 3 validly initiated, by the
17 filing of a petition or by the adoption of a resolution or
18 ordinance of a political subdivision, as the case may be,
19 shall be printed on the ballot and submitted at that
20 election. However, except as expressly authorized by law not
21 more than one proposition to change the form of government of
22 a municipality pursuant to Article VII of the Constitution
23 may be submitted at an election. If more than one such
24 proposition is timely initiated or certified for submission
25 at an election with respect to a municipality, the first
26 validly initiated shall be the one printed on the ballot and
27 submitted at that election.
28 No public question shall be submitted to the voters of a
29 political subdivision at any regularly scheduled election at
30 which such voters are not scheduled to cast votes for any
31 candidates for nomination for, election to or retention in
32 public office, except that if, in any existing or proposed
33 political subdivision in which the submission of a public
34 question at a regularly scheduled election is desired, the
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1 voters of only a portion of such existing or proposed
2 political subdivision are not scheduled to cast votes for
3 nomination for, election to or retention in public office at
4 such election, but the voters in one or more other portions
5 of such existing or proposed political subdivision are
6 scheduled to cast votes for nomination for, election to or
7 retention in public office at such election, the public
8 question shall be voted upon by all the qualified voters of
9 the entire existing or proposed political subdivision at the
10 election.
11 Not more than 3 advisory public questions may be
12 submitted to the voters of the entire state at a general
13 election. If more than 3 such advisory propositions are
14 initiated, the first 3 timely and validly initiated shall be
15 the questions printed on the ballot and submitted at that
16 election; provided however, that a question for a proposed
17 amendment to Article IV of the Constitution pursuant to
18 Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution, or for a question
19 submitted under the Property Tax Cap Referendum Law, or for
20 advisory referenda submitted under the Illinois Advisory
21 Referenda Act, shall not be included in the foregoing
22 limitation.
23 (Source: P.A. 88-116; 89-510, eff. 7-11-96.)