103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1986

 

Introduced 2/9/2023, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 430/1-5
5 ILCS 430/5-15

    Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Prohibits a member from refusing casework service to an individual who resides in the member's district based solely upon the individual's political affiliation. Defines "casework service". Effective immediately.


LRB103 28905 DTM 55291 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1986LRB103 28905 DTM 55291 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is
5amended by changing Sections 1-5 and 5-15 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 430/1-5)
7    Sec. 1-5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8    "Appointee" means a person appointed to a position in or
9with a State agency, regardless of whether the position is
10compensated.
11    "Board members of Regional Transit Boards" means any
12person appointed to serve on the governing board of a Regional
13Transit Board.
14    "Campaign for elective office" means any activity in
15furtherance of an effort to influence the selection,
16nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any
17federal, State, or local public office or office in a
18political organization, or the selection, nomination, or
19election of Presidential or Vice-Presidential electors, but
20does not include activities (i) relating to the support or
21opposition of any executive, legislative, or administrative
22action (as those terms are defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist
23Registration Act), (ii) relating to collective bargaining, or

 

 

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1(iii) that are otherwise in furtherance of the person's
2official State duties.
3    "Candidate" means a person who has filed nominating papers
4or petitions for nomination or election to an elected State
5office, or who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in
6nomination, and who remains eligible for placement on the
7ballot at either a general primary election or general
8election.
9    "Casework service" means any of the following types of
10actions taken by a member or the member's staff on behalf of an
11individual, business, school, non-for-profit organization, or
12governmental entity who resides in the member's district:
13        (1) requesting information or a status report from a
14    State agency in the executive branch;
15        (2) urging fair and ethical consideration of a matter
16    by a State agency in the executive branch; or
17        (3) arranging for meetings or interviews with a State
18    agency in the executive branch.
19    "Collective bargaining" has the same meaning as that term
20is defined in Section 3 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations
21Act.
22    "Commission" means an ethics commission created by this
23Act.
24    "Compensated time" means any time worked by or credited to
25a State employee that counts toward any minimum work time
26requirement imposed as a condition of employment with a State

 

 

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1agency, but does not include any designated State holidays or
2any period when the employee is on a leave of absence.
3    "Compensatory time off" means authorized time off earned
4by or awarded to a State employee to compensate in whole or in
5part for time worked in excess of the minimum work time
6required of that employee as a condition of employment with a
7State agency.
8    "Contribution" has the same meaning as that term is
9defined in Section 9-1.4 of the Election Code.
10    "Employee" means (i) any person employed full-time,
11part-time, or pursuant to a contract and whose employment
12duties are subject to the direction and control of an employer
13with regard to the material details of how the work is to be
14performed or (ii) any appointed or elected commissioner,
15trustee, director, or board member of a board of a State
16agency, including any retirement system or investment board
17subject to the Illinois Pension Code or (iii) any other
18appointee.
19    "Employment benefits" include but are not limited to the
20following: modified compensation or benefit terms; compensated
21time off; or change of title, job duties, or location of office
22or employment. An employment benefit may also include
23favorable treatment in determining whether to bring any
24disciplinary or similar action or favorable treatment during
25the course of any disciplinary or similar action or other
26performance review.

 

 

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1    "Executive branch constitutional officer" means the
2Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of
3State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.
4    "Gift" means any gratuity, discount, entertainment,
5hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other tangible or
6intangible item having monetary value including, but not
7limited to, cash, food and drink, and honoraria for speaking
8engagements related to or attributable to government
9employment or the official position of an employee, member, or
10officer. The value of a gift may be further defined by rules
11adopted by the appropriate ethics commission or by the Auditor
12General for the Auditor General and for employees of the
13office of the Auditor General.
14    "Governmental entity" means a unit of local government
15(including a community college district) or a school district
16but not a State agency or a Regional Transit Board.
17    "Leave of absence" means any period during which a State
18employee does not receive (i) compensation for State
19employment, (ii) service credit towards State pension
20benefits, and (iii) health insurance benefits paid for by the
21State.
22    "Legislative branch constitutional officer" means a member
23of the General Assembly and the Auditor General.
24    "Legislative leader" means the President and Minority
25Leader of the Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the
26House of Representatives.

 

 

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1    "Member" means a member of the General Assembly.
2    "Officer" means an executive branch constitutional officer
3or a legislative branch constitutional officer.
4    "Political" means any activity in support of or in
5connection with any campaign for elective office or any
6political organization, but does not include activities (i)
7relating to the support or opposition of any executive,
8legislative, or administrative action (as those terms are
9defined in Section 2 of the Lobbyist Registration Act), (ii)
10relating to collective bargaining, or (iii) that are otherwise
11in furtherance of the person's official State duties or
12governmental and public service functions.
13    "Political organization" means a party, committee,
14association, fund, or other organization (whether or not
15incorporated) that is required to file a statement of
16organization with the State Board of Elections or a county
17clerk under Section 9-3 of the Election Code, but only with
18regard to those activities that require filing with the State
19Board of Elections or a county clerk.
20    "Prohibited political activity" means:
21        (1) Preparing for, organizing, or participating in any
22    political meeting, political rally, political
23    demonstration, or other political event.
24        (2) Soliciting contributions, including but not
25    limited to the purchase of, selling, distributing, or
26    receiving payment for tickets for any political

 

 

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1    fundraiser, political meeting, or other political event.
2        (3) Soliciting, planning the solicitation of, or
3    preparing any document or report regarding any thing of
4    value intended as a campaign contribution.
5        (4) Planning, conducting, or participating in a public
6    opinion poll in connection with a campaign for elective
7    office or on behalf of a political organization for
8    political purposes or for or against any referendum
9    question.
10        (5) Surveying or gathering information from potential
11    or actual voters in an election to determine probable vote
12    outcome in connection with a campaign for elective office
13    or on behalf of a political organization for political
14    purposes or for or against any referendum question.
15        (6) Assisting at the polls on election day on behalf
16    of any political organization or candidate for elective
17    office or for or against any referendum question.
18        (7) Soliciting votes on behalf of a candidate for
19    elective office or a political organization or for or
20    against any referendum question or helping in an effort to
21    get voters to the polls.
22        (8) Initiating for circulation, preparing,
23    circulating, reviewing, or filing any petition on behalf
24    of a candidate for elective office or for or against any
25    referendum question.
26        (9) Making contributions on behalf of any candidate

 

 

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1    for elective office in that capacity or in connection with
2    a campaign for elective office.
3        (10) Preparing or reviewing responses to candidate
4    questionnaires in connection with a campaign for elective
5    office or on behalf of a political organization for
6    political purposes.
7        (11) Distributing, preparing for distribution, or
8    mailing campaign literature, campaign signs, or other
9    campaign material on behalf of any candidate for elective
10    office or for or against any referendum question.
11        (12) Campaigning for any elective office or for or
12    against any referendum question.
13        (13) Managing or working on a campaign for elective
14    office or for or against any referendum question.
15        (14) Serving as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a
16    political party convention.
17        (15) Participating in any recount or challenge to the
18    outcome of any election, except to the extent that under
19    subsection (d) of Section 6 of Article IV of the Illinois
20    Constitution each house of the General Assembly shall
21    judge the elections, returns, and qualifications of its
22    members.
23    "Prohibited source" means any person or entity who:
24        (1) is seeking official action (i) by the member or
25    officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, by the employee
26    or by the member, officer, State agency, or other employee

 

 

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1    directing the employee;
2        (2) does business or seeks to do business (i) with the
3    member or officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, with
4    the employee or with the member, officer, State agency, or
5    other employee directing the employee;
6        (3) conducts activities regulated (i) by the member or
7    officer or (ii) in the case of an employee, by the employee
8    or by the member, officer, State agency, or other employee
9    directing the employee;
10        (4) has interests that may be substantially affected
11    by the performance or non-performance of the official
12    duties of the member, officer, or employee;
13        (5) is registered or required to be registered with
14    the Secretary of State under the Lobbyist Registration
15    Act, except that an entity not otherwise a prohibited
16    source does not become a prohibited source merely because
17    a registered lobbyist is one of its members or serves on
18    its board of directors; or
19        (6) is an agent of, a spouse of, or an immediate family
20    member who is living with a "prohibited source".
21    "Regional Transit Boards" means (i) the Regional
22Transportation Authority created by the Regional
23Transportation Authority Act, (ii) the Suburban Bus Division
24created by the Regional Transportation Authority Act, (iii)
25the Commuter Rail Division created by the Regional
26Transportation Authority Act, and (iv) the Chicago Transit

 

 

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1Authority created by the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act.
2    "State agency" includes all officers, boards, commissions
3and agencies created by the Constitution, whether in the
4executive or legislative branch; all officers, departments,
5boards, commissions, agencies, institutions, authorities,
6public institutions of higher learning as defined in Section 2
7of the Higher Education Cooperation Act (except community
8colleges), and bodies politic and corporate of the State; and
9administrative units or corporate outgrowths of the State
10government which are created by or pursuant to statute, other
11than units of local government (including community college
12districts) and their officers, school districts, and boards of
13election commissioners; and all administrative units and
14corporate outgrowths of the above and as may be created by
15executive order of the Governor. "State agency" includes the
16General Assembly, the Senate, the House of Representatives,
17the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker
18and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the
19Senate Operations Commission, and the legislative support
20services agencies. "State agency" includes the Office of the
21Auditor General. "State agency" does not include the judicial
22branch.
23    "State employee" means any employee of a State agency.
24    "Ultimate jurisdictional authority" means the following:
25        (1) For members, legislative partisan staff, and
26    legislative secretaries, the appropriate legislative

 

 

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1    leader: President of the Senate, Minority Leader of the
2    Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, or
3    Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
4        (2) For State employees who are professional staff or
5    employees of the Senate and not covered under item (1),
6    the Senate Operations Commission.
7        (3) For State employees who are professional staff or
8    employees of the House of Representatives and not covered
9    under item (1), the Speaker of the House of
10    Representatives.
11        (4) For State employees who are employees of the
12    legislative support services agencies, the Joint Committee
13    on Legislative Support Services.
14        (5) For State employees of the Auditor General, the
15    Auditor General.
16        (6) For State employees of public institutions of
17    higher learning as defined in Section 2 of the Higher
18    Education Cooperation Act (except community colleges), the
19    board of trustees of the appropriate public institution of
20    higher learning.
21        (7) For State employees of an executive branch
22    constitutional officer other than those described in
23    paragraph (6), the appropriate executive branch
24    constitutional officer.
25        (8) For State employees not under the jurisdiction of
26    paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7), the

 

 

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1    Governor.
2        (9) For employees of Regional Transit Boards, the
3    appropriate Regional Transit Board.
4        (10) For board members of Regional Transit Boards, the
5    Governor.
6(Source: P.A. 96-6, eff. 4-3-09; 96-555, eff. 8-18-09;
796-1528, eff. 7-1-11; 96-1533, eff. 3-4-11; 97-813, eff.
87-13-12.)
 
9    (5 ILCS 430/5-15)
10    Sec. 5-15. Prohibited political activities.
11    (a) State employees shall not intentionally perform any
12prohibited political activity during any compensated time
13(other than vacation, personal, or compensatory time off).
14State employees shall not intentionally misappropriate any
15State property or resources by engaging in any prohibited
16political activity for the benefit of any campaign for
17elective office or any political organization.
18    (b) At no time shall any executive or legislative branch
19constitutional officer or any official, director, supervisor,
20or State employee intentionally misappropriate the services of
21any State employee by requiring that State employee to perform
22any prohibited political activity (i) as part of that
23employee's State duties, (ii) as a condition of State
24employment, or (iii) during any time off that is compensated
25by the State (such as vacation, personal, or compensatory time

 

 

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1off).
2    (c) A State employee shall not be required at any time to
3participate in any prohibited political activity in
4consideration for that State employee being awarded any
5additional compensation or employee benefit, in the form of a
6salary adjustment, bonus, compensatory time off, continued
7employment, or otherwise.
8    (d) A State employee shall not be awarded any additional
9compensation or employee benefit, in the form of a salary
10adjustment, bonus, compensatory time off, continued
11employment, or otherwise, in consideration for the State
12employee's participation in any prohibited political activity.
13    (e) Nothing in this Section prohibits activities that are
14otherwise appropriate for a State employee to engage in as a
15part of his or her official State employment duties or
16activities that are undertaken by a State employee on a
17voluntary basis as permitted by law.
18    (f) No person either (i) in a position that is subject to
19recognized merit principles of public employment or (ii) in a
20position the salary for which is paid in whole or in part by
21federal funds and that is subject to the Federal Standards for
22a Merit System of Personnel Administration applicable to
23grant-in-aid programs, shall be denied or deprived of State
24employment or tenure solely because he or she is a member or an
25officer of a political committee, of a political party, or of a
26political organization or club.

 

 

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1    (g) No member shall refuse casework service to an
2individual who resides in the member's district based solely
3upon the individual's political affiliation.
4(Source: P.A. 93-615, eff. 11-19-03.)
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.