HB0682eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0682 Engrossed LRB100 06308 RJF 16346 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local Initiative Sunshine Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to provide full and complete disclosure to the public of the recipients of local initiatives.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Local initiative" means an enacted appropriation to a specific unit of local government, specific school district, specific not-for-profit organization, or specific non-governmental entity to provide a grant of State funds for infrastructure improvements or operating expenses. Grants that are part of a Statewide program and are based on generally applicable standards of eligibility are not local initiatives.

"Infrastructure improvements" include without limitation capital improvements, capital projects, planning, construction, reconstruction, equipment, utilities, vehicles, and all costs associated with economic development, community programs, educational programs, public health, and public safety.

"Initiative recipient" means an individual or entity that is designated to receive or receives a local initiative.

"Searchable database website" means a website that allows the public to (i) search the database by name of initiative recipient, funding agency, and location; and (ii) download data included in item (i), including outcomes from searches.

Section 15. Initiative recipient database.

(a) Beginning on January 1, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller shall create and maintain a searchable database website containing information concerning initiative recipients. The database shall include for each initiative recipient:

(1) the name of the initiative recipient;

(2) the location of the initiative recipient and the primary location of the performance of the local initiative;

(3) the State Representative and State Senator within whose legislative district the primary location of the performance of the local initiative is located;

(4) the amount of the local initiative;

(5) the funding agency and the funding source;

(6) the purpose of each local initiative; and

(7) the portion of the local initiative spent by the initiative recipient, and the portion that lapsed upon completion of the local initiative.

(b) Funding agencies shall be responsible for submitting the information required by subsection (a) of this Section to the Comptroller, in a form to be prescribed by the Comptroller.

(c) The database website shall also provide an opportunity for the public to provide input about the utility of the website and recommendations for improvements.

(d) The database website shall not be considered in compliance with this Act if it relies upon links to other existing websites and databases, unless each of those sites has information from all agencies and each category of information required to be itemized can be searched electronically by field in a single search.

(e) The database website must contain a summary of the requirements of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act and the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act, to the extent the requirements of those Acts will apply to the funding initiatives.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.