101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB3545

 

Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/9-8.5

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that during an election cycle, a candidate political committee established to elect a candidate to the General Assembly may not accept contributions with an aggregate value over $5,000 from any individual, corporation, political party, or immediate family member (rather than an unlimited amount for immediate family members and a limit of $10,000 for corporations). Provides that any other contribution limit not contrary to the provisions applies to a candidate political committee established to elect a candidate to the General Assembly. Effective immediately.


LRB101 10635 SMS 55741 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3545LRB101 10635 SMS 55741 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section
59-8.5 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/9-8.5)
7    Sec. 9-8.5. Limitations on campaign contributions.
8    (a) It is unlawful for a political committee to accept
9contributions except as provided in this Section.
10    (b) Except as provided in subsection (c-15), during During
11an election cycle, a candidate political committee may not
12accept contributions with an aggregate value over the
13following: (i) $5,000 from any individual, (ii) $10,000 from
14any corporation, labor organization, or association, or (iii)
15$50,000 from a candidate political committee or political
16action committee. A candidate political committee may accept
17contributions in any amount from a political party committee
18except during an election cycle in which the candidate seeks
19nomination at a primary election. During an election cycle in
20which the candidate seeks nomination at a primary election, a
21candidate political committee may not accept contributions
22from political party committees with an aggregate value over
23the following: (i) $200,000 for a candidate political committee

 

 

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1established to support a candidate seeking nomination to
2statewide office, (ii) $125,000 for a candidate political
3committee established to support a candidate seeking
4nomination to the Senate, the Supreme Court or Appellate Court
5in the First Judicial District, or an office elected by all
6voters in a county with 1,000,000 or more residents, (iii)
7$75,000 for a candidate political committee established to
8support a candidate seeking nomination to the House of
9Representatives, the Supreme Court or Appellate Court for a
10Judicial District other than the First Judicial District, an
11office elected by all voters of a county of fewer than
121,000,000 residents, and municipal and county offices in Cook
13County other than those elected by all voters of Cook County,
14and (iv) $50,000 for a candidate political committee
15established to support the nomination of a candidate to any
16other office. A candidate political committee established to
17elect a candidate to the General Assembly may accept
18contributions from only one legislative caucus committee. A
19candidate political committee may not accept contributions
20from a ballot initiative committee or from an independent
21expenditure committee.
22    (c) During an election cycle, a political party committee
23may not accept contributions with an aggregate value over the
24following: (i) $10,000 from any individual, (ii) $20,000 from
25any corporation, labor organization, or association, or (iii)
26$50,000 from a political action committee. A political party

 

 

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1committee may accept contributions in any amount from another
2political party committee or a candidate political committee,
3except as provided in subsection (c-5). Nothing in this Section
4shall limit the amounts that may be transferred between a
5political party committee established under subsection (a) of
6Section 7-8 of this Code and an affiliated federal political
7committee established under the Federal Election Code by the
8same political party. A political party committee may not
9accept contributions from a ballot initiative committee or from
10an independent expenditure committee. A political party
11committee established by a legislative caucus may not accept
12contributions from another political party committee
13established by a legislative caucus.
14    (c-5) During the period beginning on the date candidates
15may begin circulating petitions for a primary election and
16ending on the day of the primary election, a political party
17committee may not accept contributions with an aggregate value
18over $50,000 from a candidate political committee or political
19party committee. A political party committee may accept
20contributions in any amount from a candidate political
21committee or political party committee if the political party
22committee receiving the contribution filed a statement of
23nonparticipation in the primary as provided in subsection
24(c-10). The Task Force on Campaign Finance Reform shall study
25and make recommendations on the provisions of this subsection
26to the Governor and General Assembly by September 30, 2012.

 

 

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1This subsection becomes inoperative on July 1, 2013 and
2thereafter no longer applies.
3    (c-10) A political party committee that does not intend to
4make contributions to candidates to be nominated at a general
5primary election or consolidated primary election may file a
6Statement of Nonparticipation in a Primary Election with the
7Board. The Statement of Nonparticipation shall include a
8verification signed by the chairperson and treasurer of the
9committee that (i) the committee will not make contributions or
10coordinated expenditures in support of or opposition to a
11candidate or candidates to be nominated at the general primary
12election or consolidated primary election (select one) to be
13held on (insert date), (ii) the political party committee may
14accept unlimited contributions from candidate political
15committees and political party committees, provided that the
16political party committee does not make contributions to a
17candidate or candidates to be nominated at the primary
18election, and (iii) failure to abide by these requirements
19shall deem the political party committee in violation of this
20Article and subject the committee to a fine of no more than
21150% of the total contributions or coordinated expenditures
22made by the committee in violation of this Article. This
23subsection becomes inoperative on July 1, 2013 and thereafter
24no longer applies.
25    (c-15) During an election cycle, a candidate political
26committee established to elect a candidate to the General

 

 

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1Assembly may not accept contributions with an aggregate value
2over $5,000 from any individual, corporation, political party,
3or immediate family member. Any other contribution limit not
4contrary to those in this subsection (c-15) applies to a
5candidate political committee established to elect a candidate
6to the General Assembly.
7    (d) During an election cycle, a political action committee
8may not accept contributions with an aggregate value over the
9following: (i) $10,000 from any individual, (ii) $20,000 from
10any corporation, labor organization, political party
11committee, or association, or (iii) $50,000 from a political
12action committee or candidate political committee. A political
13action committee may not accept contributions from a ballot
14initiative committee or from an independent expenditure
15committee.
16    (e) A ballot initiative committee may accept contributions
17in any amount from any source, provided that the committee
18files the document required by Section 9-3 of this Article and
19files the disclosure reports required by the provisions of this
20Article.
21    (e-5) An independent expenditure committee may accept
22contributions in any amount from any source, provided that the
23committee files the document required by Section 9-3 of this
24Article and files the disclosure reports required by the
25provisions of this Article.
26    (f) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a political

 

 

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1committee from dividing the proceeds of joint fundraising
2efforts; provided that no political committee may receive more
3than the limit from any one contributor, and provided that an
4independent expenditure committee may not conduct joint
5fundraising efforts with a candidate political committee or a
6political party committee.
7    (g) On January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the State Board
8of Elections shall adjust the amounts of the contribution
9limitations established in this Section for inflation as
10determined by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
11as issued by the United States Department of Labor and rounded
12to the nearest $100. The State Board shall publish this
13information on its official website.
14    (h) Self-funding candidates. If a public official, a
15candidate, or the public official's or candidate's immediate
16family contributes or loans to the public official's or
17candidate's political committee or to other political
18committees that transfer funds to the public official's or
19candidate's political committee or makes independent
20expenditures for the benefit of the public official's or
21candidate's campaign during the 12 months prior to an election
22in an aggregate amount of more than (i) $250,000 for statewide
23office or (ii) $100,000 for all other elective offices, then
24the public official or candidate shall file with the State
25Board of Elections, within one day, a Notification of
26Self-funding that shall detail each contribution or loan made

 

 

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1by the public official, the candidate, or the public official's
2or candidate's immediate family. Within 2 business days after
3the filing of a Notification of Self-funding, the notification
4shall be posted on the Board's website and the Board shall give
5official notice of the filing to each candidate for the same
6office as the public official or candidate making the filing,
7including the public official or candidate filing the
8Notification of Self-funding. Notice shall be sent via first
9class mail to the candidate and the treasurer of the
10candidate's committee. Notice shall also be sent by e-mail to
11the candidate and the treasurer of the candidate's committee if
12the candidate and the treasurer, as applicable, have provided
13the Board with an e-mail address. Upon posting of the notice on
14the Board's website, all candidates for that office, including
15the public official or candidate who filed a Notification of
16Self-funding, shall be permitted to accept contributions in
17excess of any contribution limits imposed by subsection (b). If
18a public official or candidate filed a Notification of
19Self-funding during an election cycle that includes a general
20primary election or consolidated primary election and that
21public official or candidate is nominated, all candidates for
22that office, including the nominee who filed the notification
23of self-funding, shall be permitted to accept contributions in
24excess of any contribution limit imposed by subsection (b) for
25the subsequent election cycle. For the purposes of this
26subsection, "immediate family" means the spouse, parent, or

 

 

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1child of a public official or candidate.
2    (h-5) If a natural person or independent expenditure
3committee makes independent expenditures in support of or in
4opposition to the campaign of a particular public official or
5candidate in an aggregate amount of more than (i) $250,000 for
6statewide office or (ii) $100,000 for all other elective
7offices in an election cycle, as reported in a written
8disclosure filed under subsection (a) of Section 9-8.6 or
9subsection (e-5) of Section 9-10, then the State Board of
10Elections shall, within 2 business days after the filing of the
11disclosure, post the disclosure on the Board's website and give
12official notice of the disclosure to each candidate for the
13same office as the public official or candidate for whose
14benefit or detriment the natural person or independent
15expenditure committee made independent expenditures. Upon
16posting of the notice on the Board's website, all candidates
17for that office in that election, including the public official
18or candidate for whose benefit or detriment the natural person
19or independent expenditure committee made independent
20expenditures, shall be permitted to accept contributions in
21excess of any contribution limits imposed by subsection (b).
22    (h-10) If the State Board of Elections receives
23notification or determines that a natural person or persons, an
24independent expenditure committee or committees, or
25combination thereof has made independent expenditures in
26support of or in opposition to the campaign of a particular

 

 

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1public official or candidate in an aggregate amount of more
2than (i) $250,000 for statewide office or (ii) $100,000 for all
3other elective offices in an election cycle, then the Board
4shall, within 2 business days after discovering the independent
5expenditures that, in the aggregate, exceed the threshold set
6forth in (i) and (ii) of this subsection, post notice of this
7fact on the Board's website and give official notice to each
8candidate for the same office as the public official or
9candidate for whose benefit or detriment the independent
10expenditures were made. Notice shall be sent via first class
11mail to the candidate and the treasurer of the candidate's
12committee. Notice shall also be sent by e-mail to the candidate
13and the treasurer of the candidate's committee if the candidate
14and the treasurer, as applicable, have provided the Board with
15an e-mail address. Upon posting of the notice on the Board's
16website, all candidates of that office in that election,
17including the public official or candidate for whose benefit or
18detriment the independent expenditures were made, may accept
19contributions in excess of any contribution limits imposed by
20subsection (b).
21    (i) For the purposes of this Section, a corporation, labor
22organization, association, or a political action committee
23established by a corporation, labor organization, or
24association may act as a conduit in facilitating the delivery
25to a political action committee of contributions made through
26dues, levies, or similar assessments and the political action

 

 

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1committee may report the contributions in the aggregate,
2provided that: (i) contributions made through dues, levies, or
3similar assessments paid by any natural person, corporation,
4labor organization, or association in a calendar year may not
5exceed the limits set forth in this Section; (ii) the
6corporation, labor organization, association, or a political
7action committee established by a corporation, labor
8organization, or association facilitating the delivery of
9contributions maintains a list of natural persons,
10corporations, labor organizations, and associations that paid
11the dues, levies, or similar assessments from which the
12contributions comprising the aggregate amount derive; and
13(iii) contributions made through dues, levies, or similar
14assessments paid by any natural person, corporation, labor
15organization, or association that exceed $500 in a quarterly
16reporting period shall be itemized on the committee's quarterly
17report and may not be reported in the aggregate. A political
18action committee facilitating the delivery of contributions or
19receiving contributions shall disclose the amount of
20contributions made through dues delivered or received and the
21name of the corporation, labor organization, association, or
22political action committee delivering the contributions, if
23applicable. On January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the State
24Board of Elections shall adjust the amounts of the contribution
25limitations established in this subsection for inflation as
26determined by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers

 

 

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1as issued by the United States Department of Labor and rounded
2to the nearest $100. The State Board shall publish this
3information on its official website.
4    (j) A political committee that receives a contribution or
5transfer in violation of this Section shall dispose of the
6contribution or transfer by returning the contribution or
7transfer, or an amount equal to the contribution or transfer,
8to the contributor or transferor or donating the contribution
9or transfer, or an amount equal to the contribution or
10transfer, to a charity. A contribution or transfer received in
11violation of this Section that is not disposed of as provided
12in this subsection within 30 days after the Board sends
13notification to the political committee of the excess
14contribution by certified mail shall escheat to the General
15Revenue Fund and the political committee shall be deemed in
16violation of this Section and subject to a civil penalty not to
17exceed 150% of the total amount of the contribution.
18    (k) For the purposes of this Section, "statewide office"
19means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
20Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.
21    (l) This Section is repealed if and when the United States
22Supreme Court invalidates contribution limits on committees
23formed to assist candidates, political parties, corporations,
24associations, or labor organizations established by or
25pursuant to federal law.
26(Source: P.A. 97-766, eff. 7-6-12; 98-115, eff. 7-29-13.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.