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1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The General Assembly Compensation Act is amended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | by changing Section 4 as follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | (25 ILCS 115/4) (from Ch. 63, par. 15.1)
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7 | Sec. 4. Office allowance. Beginning July 1, 2001 through | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | June 30, 2015 , each member
of the House
of Representatives is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | authorized to approve the expenditure of not more than
$61,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | per year and each member of the
Senate is authorized to approve | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | the
expenditure of not more than $73,000 per
year to pay for | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | "personal services",
"contractual services", "commodities", | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | "printing", "travel",
"operation of automotive equipment", | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | "telecommunications services", as
defined in the State Finance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | Act, and the compensation of one or more
legislative assistants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | authorized pursuant to this Section, in connection
with his or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | her legislative duties and not in connection with any political
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18 | campaign.
On July 1, 2002 and on July 1 of each year thereafter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | until 2014 , the amount authorized
per year under this Section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | for each member of the Senate and each member of
the House of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | Representatives shall be increased by a percentage increase
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22 | equivalent to the lesser of (i) the increase in the designated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | cost of living
index or (ii) 5%. The designated cost of living |
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1 | index is the index known as
the "Employment Cost Index, Wages | ||||||
2 | and Salaries, By
Occupation and Industry Groups: State and | ||||||
3 | Local Government Workers: Public
Administration" as published | ||||||
4 | by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of | ||||||
5 | Labor for the calendar year immediately preceding the year of | ||||||
6 | the
respective July 1st increase date. The increase shall be | ||||||
7 | added to the then
current amount, and the adjusted amount so | ||||||
8 | determined shall be the annual
amount beginning July 1 of the | ||||||
9 | increase year until July 1 of the next year. No
increase under | ||||||
10 | this provision shall be less than zero.
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11 | Beginning July 1, 2015, each member of the House of | ||||||
12 | Representatives is authorized to approve the expenditure of not | ||||||
13 | more than $101,000 per year and each member of the Senate is | ||||||
14 | authorized to approve the expenditure of not more than $113,000 | ||||||
15 | per year to pay for "personal services", "contractual | ||||||
16 | services", "commodities", "printing", "travel", "operation of | ||||||
17 | automotive equipment", "telecommunications services", as | ||||||
18 | defined in the State Finance Act, and the compensation of one | ||||||
19 | or more legislative assistants authorized pursuant to this | ||||||
20 | Section, in connection with his or her legislative duties and | ||||||
21 | not in connection with any political campaign. Any member | ||||||
22 | representing a "high need district" is authorized to approve | ||||||
23 | expenditures under this Section of up to an additional $10,000 | ||||||
24 | each year. For the purposes of this Section, "high need | ||||||
25 | district" include districts affected by high rates of poverty | ||||||
26 | or crime. On July 1, 2016 and on July 1 of each year |
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1 | thereafter, the amount authorized per year under this Section | ||||||
2 | for each member of the Senate and each member of the House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives shall be increased by a percentage increase | ||||||
4 | equivalent to the lesser of (i) the increase in the designated | ||||||
5 | cost of living index or (ii) 5%. | ||||||
6 | A member may purchase office equipment if the member | ||||||
7 | certifies
to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the | ||||||
8 | House, as applicable,
that the purchase price, whether paid in | ||||||
9 | lump sum or installments, amounts
to less than would be charged | ||||||
10 | for renting or leasing the equipment over
its anticipated | ||||||
11 | useful life. All such equipment must be purchased through
the | ||||||
12 | Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as | ||||||
13 | applicable, for
proper identification and verification of | ||||||
14 | purchase.
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15 | Each member of the General Assembly is authorized to employ | ||||||
16 | one or more
legislative assistants, who shall be solely under | ||||||
17 | the direction and control
of that member, for the purpose of | ||||||
18 | assisting the member in the performance
of his or her official | ||||||
19 | duties. A legislative assistant may be employed
pursuant to | ||||||
20 | this Section as a full-time employee, part-time employee, or
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21 | contractual employee, at
the discretion of the member. If | ||||||
22 | employed as a State employee, a
legislative assistant shall | ||||||
23 | receive employment benefits on the same terms
and conditions | ||||||
24 | that apply to other employees of the General Assembly.
Each | ||||||
25 | member shall adopt and implement personnel policies
for | ||||||
26 | legislative assistants under his or her direction and
control |
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1 | relating to work time requirements, documentation for | ||||||
2 | reimbursement for
travel on official State business, | ||||||
3 | compensation, and the earning and accrual of
State benefits for | ||||||
4 | those legislative assistants who may be eligible to receive
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5 | those benefits.
The policies shall also require legislative | ||||||
6 | assistants to
periodically submit time sheets documenting, in | ||||||
7 | quarter-hour increments, the
time
spent each day on official | ||||||
8 | State business.
The
policies shall require the time sheets to | ||||||
9 | be submitted on paper,
electronically, or both and to be | ||||||
10 | maintained in either paper or electronic
format by the | ||||||
11 | applicable fiscal office
for a period of at least 2 years.
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12 | Contractual employees may satisfy
the time sheets requirement | ||||||
13 | by complying with the terms of their contract,
which shall | ||||||
14 | provide for a means of compliance with this requirement.
A | ||||||
15 | member may
satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by | ||||||
16 | adopting and implementing the
personnel policies promulgated | ||||||
17 | by that
member's legislative leader under the State Officials | ||||||
18 | and Employees Ethics
Act
with respect to that member's | ||||||
19 | legislative
assistants.
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20 | As used in this Section the term "personal services" shall | ||||||
21 | include
contributions of the State under the Federal Insurance | ||||||
22 | Contribution Act and
under Article 14 of the Illinois Pension | ||||||
23 | Code. As used in this Section the
term "contractual services" | ||||||
24 | shall not include improvements to real property
unless those | ||||||
25 | improvements are the obligation of the lessee under the lease
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26 | agreement. Beginning July 1, 1989, as used in the Section, the |
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1 | term "travel"
shall be limited to travel in connection with a | ||||||
2 | member's legislative duties and
not in connection with any | ||||||
3 | political campaign. Beginning on the effective
date of this | ||||||
4 | amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, as
used
in this | ||||||
5 | Section, the term "printing" includes, but is not limited to,
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6 | newsletters,
brochures, certificates,
congratulatory
mailings,
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7 | greeting or welcome messages, anniversary or
birthday cards, | ||||||
8 | and congratulations for prominent achievement cards. As used
in | ||||||
9 | this Section, the term "printing" includes fees for | ||||||
10 | non-substantive
resolutions charged by the Clerk of the House | ||||||
11 | of Representatives under
subsection (c-5) of Section 1 of the | ||||||
12 | Legislative Materials Act.
No newsletter or brochure that is | ||||||
13 | paid for, in whole or in part, with
funds
provided under this | ||||||
14 | Section may be printed or mailed during a period
beginning | ||||||
15 | February 1 of the year of a general primary
election and ending | ||||||
16 | the day after the general primary election and during a
period | ||||||
17 | beginning September 1 of the year of a general election and | ||||||
18 | ending the
day after the general election, except that such a | ||||||
19 | newsletter or brochure may
be mailed during
those times if it | ||||||
20 | is mailed to a constituent in response to that constituent's
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21 | inquiry concerning the needs of that constituent or questions | ||||||
22 | raised by that
constituent.
Nothing in
this Section shall be | ||||||
23 | construed to authorize expenditures for lodging and meals
while | ||||||
24 | a member is in attendance at sessions of the General Assembly.
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25 | Any utility bill for service provided to a member's | ||||||
26 | district office for
a period including portions of 2 |
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1 | consecutive fiscal years may be paid from
funds appropriated | ||||||
2 | for such expenditure in either fiscal year.
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3 | If a vacancy occurs in the office of Senator or | ||||||
4 | Representative in the General
Assembly, any office equipment in | ||||||
5 | the possession of the vacating member
shall transfer to the | ||||||
6 | member's successor; if the successor does not want
such | ||||||
7 | equipment, it shall be transferred to the Secretary of the | ||||||
8 | Senate or
Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case | ||||||
9 | may be, and if not
wanted by other members of the General | ||||||
10 | Assembly then to the Department of
Central Management Services | ||||||
11 | for treatment as surplus property under the
State Property | ||||||
12 | Control Act. Each member, on or before June 30th of each
year, | ||||||
13 | shall conduct an inventory of all equipment purchased pursuant | ||||||
14 | to
this Act. Such inventory shall be filed with the Secretary | ||||||
15 | of the Senate
or the Clerk of the House, as the case may be. | ||||||
16 | Whenever a vacancy occurs,
the Secretary of the Senate or the | ||||||
17 | Clerk of the House, as the case may be,
shall conduct an | ||||||
18 | inventory of equipment purchased.
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19 | In the event that a member leaves office during his or her | ||||||
20 | term, any
unexpended or unobligated portion of the allowance | ||||||
21 | granted under this Section
shall lapse. The vacating member's | ||||||
22 | successor shall be granted an allowance
in an amount, rounded | ||||||
23 | to the nearest dollar, computed by dividing the annual
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24 | allowance by 365 and multiplying the quotient by the number of | ||||||
25 | days remaining
in the fiscal year.
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26 | From any appropriation for the purposes of this Section for |
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1 | a
fiscal year which overlaps 2 General Assemblies, no more than | ||||||
2 | 1/2 of the
annual allowance per member may be spent or | ||||||
3 | encumbered by any member of
either the outgoing or incoming | ||||||
4 | General Assembly, except that any member
of the incoming | ||||||
5 | General Assembly who was a member of the outgoing General
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6 | Assembly may encumber or spend any portion of his annual | ||||||
7 | allowance within
the fiscal year.
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8 | The appropriation for the annual allowances permitted by | ||||||
9 | this Section
shall be included in an appropriation to the | ||||||
10 | President of the Senate and to
the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
11 | Representatives for their respective members.
The President of | ||||||
12 | the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall voucher for
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13 | payment individual members' expenditures from their annual | ||||||
14 | office
allowances to the State Comptroller, subject to the | ||||||
15 | authority of the
Comptroller under Section 9 of the State | ||||||
16 | Comptroller Act.
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17 | Nothing in this Section prohibits the expenditure of | ||||||
18 | personal funds or the funds of a political committee controlled | ||||||
19 | by an officeholder to defray the customary and reasonable | ||||||
20 | expenses of an officeholder in connection with the performance | ||||||
21 | of governmental and public service functions. | ||||||
22 | (Source: P.A. 95-6, eff. 6-20-07; 96-555, eff. 8-18-09; 96-886, | ||||||
23 | eff. 1-1-11 .)
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