Bill Text: IL SB0237 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Provides that, for purposes of determining the partisanship of any person who is appointed by the Governor to an office that either requires specific partisanship or limits the number of appointees from a single political party that may be appointed, the vote of that person in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment shall determine his or her partisanship for that person's term of office. Provides that a person who did not vote, or who voted but did not request a partisan ballot, in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment or who voted but requested partisan ballots for 2 or more different political parties in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment shall be deemed an independent for purposes of determining partisanship for that person's term of office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-01-31 - Referred to Assignments [SB0237 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB0237-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0237

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Sen. Jil Tracy

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 420/3A-40

Amends the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Provides that, for purposes of determining the partisanship of any person who is appointed by the Governor to an office that either requires specific partisanship or limits the number of appointees from a single political party that may be appointed, the vote of that person in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment shall determine his or her partisanship for that person's term of office. Provides that a person who did not vote, or who voted but did not request a partisan ballot, in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment or who voted but requested partisan ballots for 2 or more different political parties in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment shall be deemed an independent for purposes of determining partisanship for that person's term of office.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act is amended
5by changing Section 3A-40 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 420/3A-40)
7 Sec. 3A-40. Appointees with expired terms; temporary and
8acting appointees.
9 (a) A person who is nominated by the Governor on or after
10August 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-582) for
11any affected office to which appointment requires the advice
12and consent of the Senate, who is appointed pursuant to that
13advice and consent, and whose term of office expires on or
14after August 26, 2011 shall not continue in office longer than
1560 calendar days after the expiration of that term of office.
16After that 60th day, each such office is considered vacant and
17shall be filled only pursuant to the law applicable to making
18appointments to that office, subject to the provisions of this
19Section.
20 A person who has been nominated by the Governor before
21August 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-582) for
22any affected office to which appointment requires the advice
23and consent of the Senate, who has been appointed pursuant to

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1that advice and consent, and whose term of office has expired
2shall not continue in office longer than 60 calendar days
3after the date upon which his or her term of office has
4expired. After that 60 days, each such office is considered
5vacant and shall be filled only pursuant to the law applicable
6to making appointments to that office, subject to the
7provisions of this Section. If the term of office of a person
8who is subject to this paragraph expires more than 60 calendar
9days prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
1097th General Assembly, then that office is considered vacant
11on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th
12General Assembly, and that vacancy shall be filled only
13pursuant to the law applicable to making appointments to that
14office. For the purposes of this subsection (a), "affected
15office" means (i) an office in which one receives any form of
16compensation, including salary or per diem, but not including
17expense reimbursement, or (ii) membership on the board of
18trustees of a public university.
19 (b) A person who is appointed by the Governor on or after
20August 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-582) to
21serve as a temporary appointee during a recess of the Senate,
22pursuant to Article V, Section 9(b) of the Illinois
23Constitution or any other applicable statute, to any office to
24which appointment requires the advice and consent of the
25Senate shall not continue in office after the next meeting of
26the Senate unless the Governor has filed a message with the

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1Secretary of the Senate nominating that person to fill that
2office on or before that meeting date. After that meeting
3date, each such office is considered vacant and shall be
4filled only pursuant to the law applicable to making
5appointments to that office, subject to the provisions of this
6Section. Any temporary appointment made pursuant to subsection
7(b) of Section 9 of Article V of the Illinois Constitution or
8any applicable statute shall be filed with the Secretary of
9State and the Secretary of the Senate. The form of the
10temporary appointment message shall be established by the
11Senate under its rules.
12 For the purposes of this subsection (b), a meeting of the
13Senate does not include a perfunctory session day as
14designated by the Senate under its rules. For the purposes of
15this subsection (b), the Senate is in recess on a day in which
16it is not in session and does not include a perfunctory session
17day as designated by the Senate under its rules.
18 (c) A person who is designated by the Governor on or after
19August 26, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-582) to
20serve as an acting appointee to any office to which
21appointment requires the advice and consent of the Senate
22shall not continue in office more than 60 calendar days unless
23the Governor files a message with the Secretary of the Senate
24nominating that person to fill that office within that 60
25days. After that 60 days, each such office is considered
26vacant and shall be filled only pursuant to the law applicable

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1to making appointments to that office, subject to the
2provisions of this Section. The Governor shall file with the
3Secretary of the Senate the name of any person who the Governor
4designates as an acting appointee under this Section. The form
5of the message designating an appointee as acting shall be
6established by the Senate under its rules. No person who has
7been designated by the Governor to serve as an acting
8appointee to any office to which appointment requires the
9advice and consent of the Senate shall, except at the Senate's
10request, be designated again as an acting appointee for that
11office at the same session of that Senate, subject to the
12provisions of this Section.
13 During the term of a General Assembly, the Governor may
14not designate a person to serve as an acting appointee to any
15office to which appointment requires the advice and consent of
16the Senate if that person's nomination to serve as the
17appointee for the same office was rejected by the Senate of the
18same General Assembly.
19 For the purposes of this subsection (c), "acting
20appointee" means a person designated by the Governor to serve
21as an acting director or acting secretary pursuant to Section
225-605 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. "Acting
23appointee" also means a person designated by the Governor
24pursuant to any other statute to serve as an acting holder of
25any office, to execute the duties and functions of any office,
26or both.

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1 (d) The provisions of this Section apply notwithstanding
2any law to the contrary. However, the provisions of this
3Section do not apply to appointments made under Article 1A of
4the Election Code or to the appointment of any person to serve
5as Director of the Illinois Power Agency.
6 (e) Except as otherwise provided by law, for purposes of
7determining the partisanship of any person who is appointed by
8the Governor to an office that either requires specific
9partisanship or limits the number of appointees from a single
10political party that may be appointed, the vote of that person
11in the 3 general primary elections immediately preceding the
12effective date of the appointment shall determine that
13person's partisanship for his or her term of office. A person
14who did not vote, or who voted but did not request a partisan
15ballot, in the 3 general primary elections immediately
16preceding the effective date of the appointment or who voted
17but requested partisan ballots for 2 or more different
18political parties in the 3 general primary elections
19immediately preceding the effective date of the appointment
20shall be deemed an independent for purposes of determining
21partisanship for that person's term of office. After being
22appointed to an office, no person shall be disqualified from
23continuing in that office during the term for which that
24person was appointed, or for holding over thereafter, based on
25that person's voting in a general primary election after his
26or her appointment.

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1 This subsection (e) shall apply to a person who is
2nominated by the Governor on or after the effective date of
3this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and shall
4apply to all appointments, including those which are acting or
5temporary.
6(Source: P.A. 97-582, eff. 8-26-11; 97-719, eff. 6-29-12;
798-692, eff. 7-1-14.)
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