SB2595 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 12865 OMW 47407 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB2595

Introduced 10/9/2013, by Sen. William E. Brady

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

70 ILCS 3615/3B.02	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703B.02
70 ILCS 3615/3B.03	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703B.03
70 ILCS 3615/5.06 new

Amends the Regional Transportation Authority Act. Requires approval by city, county, and township boards for appointments to the Commuter Rail Board. On the effective date of this amendatory Act, removes all directors currently serving on the Commuter Rail Board and provides that they may not be reappointed. Provides that new directors shall be appointed to fill these board vacancies and that each director newly appointed shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the former director that he or she is appointed to replace. Permits directors appointed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act to be reappointed, but prohibits consecutive reappointments. Sets forth procedures for city, county, or township boards to remove a director which they have appointed from office. Adds a new Section that sets forth procedures with regard to ex parte communications received by any of the Regional Transit Boards, Regional Transit Board heads, or other Regional Transit Board employees. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Regional Transportation Authority Act is amended by changing Sections 3B.02 and 3B.03 and by adding Section 5.06 as follows:

(70 ILCS 3615/3B.02) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703B.02)

Sec. 3B.02. Commuter Rail Board.

(a) Until April 1, 2008, the governing body of the Commuter Rail Division shall be a board consisting of 7 directors appointed pursuant to Sections 3B.03 and 3B.04, as follows:

(1) One director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board of DuPage County with the advice and consent of the County Board of DuPage County and shall reside in DuPage County.

(2) Two directors appointed by the Chairmen of the County Boards of Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties with the concurrence of not less than a majority of the chairmen from such counties, from nominees by the Chairmen. Each such chairman may nominate not more than two persons for each position. Each such director shall reside in a county in the metropolitan region other than Cook or DuPage County.

(3) Three directors appointed by the members of the Cook County Board elected from that part of Cook County outside of Chicago, or, in the event such Board of Commissioners becomes elected from single member districts, by those Commissioners elected from districts, a majority of the residents of which reside outside Chicago. In either case, such appointment shall be with the concurrence of four such Commissioners. Each such director shall reside in that part of Cook County outside Chicago.

(4) One director appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago, with the advice and consent of the City Council of the City of Chicago. Such director shall reside in the City of Chicago.

(5) The chairman shall be appointed by the directors, from the members of the board, with the concurrence of 5 of such directors.

(b) After April 1, 2008 the governing body of the Commuter Rail Division shall be a board consisting of 11 directors appointed, pursuant to Sections 3B.03 and 3B.04, as follows:

(1) One Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the DuPage County Board and shall reside in DuPage County. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under item (1) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in DuPage County, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(2) One Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the McHenry County Board with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the McHenry County Board and shall reside in McHenry County. To implement the change in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under item (2) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in McHenry County, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(3) One Director shall be appointed by the Will County Executive with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the Will County Board and shall reside in Will County. To implement the change in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under item (2) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in Will County, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(4) One Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Lake County Board with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the Lake County Board and shall reside in Lake County.

(5) One Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Kane County Board with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the Kane County Board and shall reside in Kane County.

(6) One Director shall be appointed by the Mayor of the City of Chicago with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the City Council of the City of Chicago and shall reside in the City of Chicago. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under item (4) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in the City of Chicago, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(7) Five Directors residing in Cook County outside of the City of Chicago, as follows:

(i) One Director who resides in Cook County outside of the City of Chicago, appointed by the President of the Cook County Board with the advice and consent, by a two-thirds majority vote, of the members of the Cook County Board.

(ii) One Director who resides in the township of Barrington, Palatine, Wheeling, Hanover, Schaumburg, or Elk Grove. The Director shall be approved by a majority vote of at least 4 of the township boards. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in the geographic area described in this subparagraph, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(iii) One Director who resides in the township of Northfield, New Trier, Maine, Niles, Evanston, Leyden, Norwood Park, River Forest, or Oak Park. The Director shall be approved by a majority vote of at least 6 of the township boards.

(iv) One Director who resides in the township of Proviso, Riverside, Berwyn, Cicero, Lyons, Stickney, Lemont, Palos, or Orland. The Director shall be approved by a majority vote of at least 6 of the township boards. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in the geographic area described in this subparagraph and whose term of office had not expired as of August 1, 2007, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(v) One Director who resides in the township of Worth, Calumet, Bremen, Thornton, Rich, or Bloom. The Director shall be approved by a majority vote of at least 4 of the township boards. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Director appointed under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Section who resides in the geographic area described in this subparagraph and whose term of office had expired as of August 1, 2007, a Director shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(vi) The Directors identified under the provisions of subparagraphs (ii) through (v) of this paragraph (7) shall be appointed by the members of the Cook County Board. Each individual Director shall be appointed by those members of the Cook County Board whose Board districts overlap in whole or in part with the geographic territory described in the relevant subparagraph. The vote of County Board members eligible to appoint directors under the provisions of subparagraphs (ii) through (v) of this paragraph (7) shall be weighted by the number of electors residing in those portions of their Board districts within the geographic territory described in the relevant subparagraph (ii) through (v) of this paragraph (7).

(8) The Chairman shall be appointed by the Directors, from the members of the Board, with the concurrence of 8 of such Directors. To implement the changes in appointing authority under this Section, upon the expiration of the term of or vacancy in office of the Chairman appointed under item (5) of subsection (a) of this Section, a Chairman shall be appointed under this subparagraph.

(c) No director, while serving as such, shall be an officer, a member of the board of directors or trustee or an employee of any transportation agency, or be an employee of the State of Illinois or any department or agency thereof, or of any unit of local government or receive any compensation from any elected or appointed office under the Constitution and laws of Illinois.

(d) Each appointment made under subsections (a) and (b) of this Section and under Section 3B.03 shall be certified by the appointing authority to the Commuter Rail Board which shall maintain the certifications as part of the official records of the Commuter Rail Board.

(Source: P.A. 95-708, eff. 1-18-08.)

(70 ILCS 3615/3B.03) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 703B.03)

Sec. 3B.03. Terms, Vacancies.

(a) Each director shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, and until his successor has been appointed and qualified. A vacancy shall occur upon the resignation, death, conviction of a felony, or removal from office of a director. Any director may be removed from office (i) upon the concurrence of not less than 8 directors, on a formal finding of incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, or (ii) by the Governor in response to a summary report received from the Executive Inspector General in accordance with Section 20-50 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, provided he or she has an opportunity to be publicly heard in person or by counsel prior to removal, or (iii) by that director's appointing authority, with the consent of the relevant local legislative body or bodies under Section 3B.02 of this Act, in the same manner as provided for consent in Section 3B.02 of this Act. Within 30 days after the office of any director becomes vacant for any reason, the appropriate appointing authorities of such director, as provided in Section 3B.02, shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all directors holding office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly are hereby removed from office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly and may not be reappointed. New directors shall be appointed to fill the vacancies created under this subsection pursuant to Section 3B.02 of this Act. Each director newly appointed under this subsection shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the former director that he or she is appointed to replace. Directors appointed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly may be reappointed, but may not be reappointed for consecutive terms.

(Source: P.A. 95-708, eff. 1-18-08; 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11.)

(70 ILCS 3615/5.06 new)

Sec. 5.06. Ex parte communications.

(a) "Ex parte communication" means any written or oral communication by any person that imparts or requests material information or makes a material argument regarding potential action concerning regulatory, quasi-adjudicatory, investment, or licensing matters pending before or under consideration by any of the Regional Transit Boards. "Ex parte communication" shall also include any written or oral communication made by a person that imparts or requests material information or makes a material argument concerning procurement or personnel decisions by any of the Regional Transit Boards. "Ex parte communication" does not include the following: (i) statements by a person publicly made in a public forum; (ii) statements regarding matters of procedure and practice, such as format, the number of copies required, the manner of filing, and the status of a matter; and (iii) statements made by an employee of a Regional Transit Board to the head or other employees of that Regional Transit Board.

(b) An ex parte communication received by a Regional Transit Board, or by the head or other employee of a Regional Transit Board, from an interested party or his or her official representative or attorney shall promptly be memorialized and made a part of the record.

(c) An ex parte communication received by any Regional Transit Board, or by the head or other employee of a Regional Transit Board, other than an ex parte communication described in subsection (b), shall immediately be reported to that Regional Transit Board's ethics officer by the recipient of the communication and by any other employee of that Regional Transit Board who responds to the communication. The ethics officer shall require that the ex parte communication be promptly made a part of the public record and made available to the public. The ethics officer shall promptly file the ex parte communication with the Office of the Executive Inspector General, including all written communications, all written responses to the communications, and a memorandum prepared by the ethics officer stating the nature and substance of all oral communications, the identity and job title of the person to whom each communication was made, all responses made, the identity and job title of the person making each response, the identity of each person from whom the written or oral ex parte communication was received, the individual or entity represented by that person, any action the person requested or recommended, and any other pertinent information. The disclosure shall also contain the date of any ex parte communication.

(d) Any person who fails to (i) report an ex parte communication to an ethics officer, (ii) make information part of the record, or (iii) make a filing with the Office of the Executive Inspector General as required by this Section is guilty of a business offense and is subject to a fine of at least $1,001 and up to $5,000.

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