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90_SB0745
New Act
Creates the Illinois Campaign Finance Oversight
Commission Act. Creates the Illinois Campaign Finance
Oversight Commission. Requires the occupation and employer
of individual contributors to be reported. Requires any
committee, union, corporation, or association that spends
more than $1,000 in support of or in opposition to any
candidate shall file reports of the expenditures with the
State Board of Elections. Requires the State Board of
Elections to maintain financial disclosure reports and other
forms in an electronic database. Limits the amount of a
contribution an individual, corporation, labor union, or
association may make to a candidate. Provides that no member
of or candidate for the General Assembly may hold a
fundraising function within 50 miles of Springfield during
the months of March, April, May, and June. Provides that the
primary shall be held in August. Contains other provisions.
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1 AN ACT to create the Illinois Campaign Finance Oversight
2 Commission Act.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Illinois Campaign Finance Oversight Commission Act.
7 Section 5. Illinois Campaign Finance Oversight
8 Commission.
9 (a) There shall be established an Illinois Campaign
10 Finance Oversight Commission, that shall be made up of 8
11 members, whose duty it will be to monitor all matters
12 relating to the financing of campaigns and to make a report
13 to the Governor and the General Assembly after each general
14 election discussing problems and recommendations for change
15 concerning campaign finance.
16 (b) The Governor shall appoint 4 citizens who currently
17 do not hold any elective office to the Illinois Campaign
18 Finance Oversight Commission with no more than 2 persons
19 affiliated with the same political party.
20 (c) The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
21 House, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority
22 Leader of the House of Representatives will each appoint 1
23 legislator from their respective chambers to serve on the
24 Illinois Campaign Finance Oversight Commission.
25 Section 10. Inspection of records. The State Board of
26 Elections shall be prohibited from keeping a record of any
27 person who requests to inspect or purchases any public record
28 maintained by the Board.
29 Section 15. Reports.
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1 (a) Any political committee required to make reports to
2 the State Board of Elections shall include in any report the
3 occupation and employer, if any, of every individual
4 contributor.
5 (b) Any political committee that fails to obtain the
6 occupation and employer, if any, of an individual contributor
7 must use reasonable efforts to obtain the information in a
8 timely manner and if the information cannot be obtained must
9 return the contribution to the individual within 30 days.
10 Section 20. Expenditures. Any committee, union,
11 corporation, or association, however described or organized,
12 that spends more than $1,000 in money or the fair value of
13 their services in support of or in opposition to any
14 candidate for public office of this State shall file the same
15 financial disclosure reports with the State Board of
16 Elections as are required of candidates for public office.
17 Section 25. State Board of Elections; database; fees.
18 (a) The State Board of Elections shall develop and
19 provide free of charge the software for digitally based
20 electronic filing forms in a standard database format for the
21 filing of all financial disclosure reports under this Act,
22 shall require their use as soon as possible, and shall
23 maintain the database in a manner that is easily accessible
24 to the public through the use of off-site computers.
25 (b) The State Board of Elections shall develop a website
26 for financial disclosure reports and other relevant public
27 information and make all public records available by the
28 digital transmission of data through available on-line
29 computer services and the Internet. The State Board of
30 Elections may contract with an on-line service to assist in
31 the dissemination of the information and may charge
32 reasonable fees designed to cover the direct costs of the
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1 dissemination or contracted service.
2 (c) All fees charged by the State Board of Elections for
3 the access to or copying of public records shall be
4 reasonable.
5 Section 30. Transfers from political committees. No
6 political committee of any elected official, candidate for
7 public office, or political party, may transfer a sum greater
8 than $25,000 to any other individual, committee, corporation,
9 labor union, or association of individuals no matter how
10 organized or described to provide assistance to promote or
11 defeat a candidate for public office in a primary election or
12 more than $25,000 in a general election.
13 Section 35. Contributions to political committees.
14 (a) No individual, corporation, labor union, or
15 association of individuals no matter how organized or
16 described, may make a contribution of more than $2,000 to a
17 political committee of any candidate for public office or
18 elected official for a primary election or $2,000 for a
19 general election.
20 (b) No corporation or entity with a contract to do
21 business with the State or which is regulated in its business
22 functions by a State agency or commission may contribute more
23 than $250 to any candidate for public office or elected
24 official for a primary election or $250 for a general
25 election, or more than $1,000 to any political committee
26 other than a candidate for public office or elected official
27 for the primary or the general election.
28 Section 40. Single political committee. No elected
29 official of the State and candidates for offices of the
30 State, including both constitutional offices and seats in the
31 General Assembly, may establish more than one political
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1 committee.
2 Section 45. Contributions to candidates, elected
3 officials and political committees.
4 (a) No individual or political committee may contribute
5 more than $200,000 to all candidates, elected officials, or
6 political committees for the primary election or more than
7 $200,000 for the general election.
8 (b) No corporation or other entity with a contract to do
9 business with the State or which is regulated by the State
10 may contribute more than $25,000 to all candidates, elected
11 officials, or political committees for the primary election
12 or more than $25,000 for the general election.
13 Section 50. Dissolution of political committee; use of
14 funds.
15 (a) Any elected official who leaves office due to
16 retirement or defeat, as well as candidates for public office
17 who have been defeated, must close their political committees
18 and disburse any remaining funds within 5 years after leaving
19 office or losing an election, unless they file for another
20 elected office.
21 (b) No person having a political committee may convert
22 campaign funds or other assets for personal use or authorize
23 the transfer of campaign funds or other assets for
24 non-electoral expenditures or use to any other person,
25 committee, corporation, labor union or association of
26 individuals no matter how organized or described.
27 (c) Upon the dissolution of any campaign committee, the
28 person responsible for the committee shall take
29 responsibility for the disbursement of funds or transfer of
30 assets to one or more of the following: other political
31 committees, charitable causes, and recognized educational
32 institutions.
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1 (d) The State Board of Elections may establish rules and
2 regulations for the dissolution of campaign committees
3 consistent with this Act, and may determine, investigate, and
4 rule on what constitutes an authorized or unauthorized
5 expenditure or transfer under this Act.
6 Section 55. No fundraiser within 50 miles of
7 Springfield. No member of the General Assembly or candidate
8 for such office may hold a fundraising function within 50
9 miles of Springfield, Illinois during the months of March,
10 April, May, and June.
11 Section 60. Surplus funds. No elected official who is
12 not up for re-election may carry a surplus of more than
13 $25,000 in the year following his or her last successful
14 election. Carryover funds in excess of $25,000 may be
15 returned to contributors or donated to charities or
16 recognized educational institutions.
17 Section 65. Candidate guidebooks. The State Board of
18 Elections shall publish and mail to all registered voters
19 candidate guidebooks containing profiles of and statements
20 from all candidates for all State offices, including
21 constitutional offices and the General Assembly, for both the
22 primary and general election.
23 Section 70. Attorney General; court actions. The
24 Attorney General of Illinois shall represent the State before
25 the United States Supreme Court in a friend of the court
26 brief in any case involving campaign spending and urge
27 reversal of Buckley v. Valeo which held that legislative
28 limits on campaign spending violated the First Amendment
29 right of free speech.
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1 Section 75. Primary date. The primary election shall be
2 held on the last Tuesday in August.