Bill Text: IL SB1639 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Amends the Lobbyist Registration Act. Modifies the lobbyist registration and disclosure requirements. Requires the Secretary of State to create a publicly accessible and searchable database bringing together disclosures by registered lobbyists, contributions by registered lobbyists, and statements of economic interests required to be filed by State officials and employees. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 51-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-12-05 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0595 [SB1639 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB1639-Chaptered.html



Public Act 101-0595
SB1639 EnrolledLRB101 11010 HLH 56204 b
AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Lobbyist Registration Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 5, and 7 as follows:
(25 ILCS 170/2) (from Ch. 63, par. 172)
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires:
(a) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership,
committee, association, corporation, or any other organization
or group of persons.
(b) "Expenditure" means a payment, distribution, loan,
advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, and
includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not
legally enforceable, to make an expenditure, for the ultimate
purpose of influencing executive, legislative, or
administrative action, other than compensation as defined in
subsection (d).
(c) "Official" means:
(1) the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of
State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, and State
Comptroller;
(2) Chiefs of Staff for officials described in item
(1);
(3) Cabinet members of any elected constitutional
officer, including Directors, Assistant Directors and
Chief Legal Counsel or General Counsel;
(4) Members of the General Assembly; and
(5) Members of any board, commission, authority, or
task force of the State authorized or created by State law
or by executive order of the Governor.
(d) "Compensation" means any money, thing of value or
financial benefits received or to be received in return for
services rendered or to be rendered, for lobbying as defined in
subsection (e).
Monies paid to members of the General Assembly by the State
as remuneration for performance of their Constitutional and
statutory duties as members of the General Assembly shall not
constitute compensation as defined by this Act.
(e) "Lobby" and "lobbying" means any communication with an
official of the executive or legislative branch of State
government as defined in subsection (c) for the ultimate
purpose of influencing any executive, legislative, or
administrative action.
(f) "Influencing" means any communication, action,
reportable expenditure as prescribed in Section 6 or other
means used to promote, support, affect, modify, oppose or delay
any executive, legislative or administrative action or to
promote goodwill with officials as defined in subsection (c).
(g) "Executive action" means the proposal, drafting,
development, consideration, amendment, adoption, approval,
promulgation, issuance, modification, rejection or
postponement by a State entity of a rule, regulation, order,
decision, determination, contractual arrangement, purchasing
agreement or other quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial action
or proceeding.
(h) "Legislative action" means the development, drafting,
introduction, consideration, modification, adoption,
rejection, review, enactment, or passage or defeat of any bill,
amendment, resolution, report, nomination, administrative rule
or other matter by either house of the General Assembly or a
committee thereof, or by a legislator. Legislative action also
means the action of the Governor in approving or vetoing any
bill or portion thereof, and the action of the Governor or any
agency in the development of a proposal for introduction in the
legislature.
(i) "Administrative action" means the execution or
rejection of any rule, regulation, legislative rule, standard,
fee, rate, contractual arrangement, purchasing agreement or
other delegated legislative or quasi-legislative action to be
taken or withheld by any executive agency, department, board or
commission of the State.
(j) "Lobbyist" means any natural person who undertakes to
lobby State government as provided in subsection (e).
(k) "Lobbying entity" means any entity that hires, retains,
employs, or compensates a natural person to lobby State
government as provided in subsection (e).
(l) "Authorized agent" means the person designated by an
entity or lobbyist registered under this Act as the person
responsible for submission and retention of reports required
under this Act.
(m) "Client" means any person or entity that provides
compensation to a lobbyist to lobby State government as
provided in subsection (e) of this Section.
(n) "Client registrant" means a client who is required to
register under this Act.
(o) "Unit of local government" has the meaning ascribed to
it in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution and
also includes school districts and community college
districts.
(Source: P.A. 98-459, eff. 1-1-14.)
(25 ILCS 170/5)
Sec. 5. Lobbyist registration and disclosure. Every
natural person and every entity required to register under this
Act shall before any service is performed which requires the
natural person or entity to register, but in any event not
later than 2 business days after being employed or retained,
file in the Office of the Secretary of State a statement in a
format prescribed by the Secretary of State containing the
following information with respect to each person or entity
employing, retaining, or benefitting from the services of the
natural person or entity required to register:
(a) The registrant's name, permanent address, e-mail
address, if any, fax number, if any, business telephone
number, and temporary address, if the registrant has a
temporary address while lobbying.
(a-5) If the registrant is an entity, the information
required under subsection (a) for each natural person
associated with the registrant who will be lobbying,
regardless of whether lobbying is a significant part of his
or her duties.
(b) The name and address of the client or clients
employing or retaining the registrant to perform such
services or on whose behalf the registrant appears. If the
client employing or retaining the registrant is a client
registrant, the statement shall also include the name and
address of the client or clients of the client registrant
on whose behalf the registrant will be or anticipates
performing services.
(b-5) If the registrant employs or retains a
sub-registrant, the statement shall include the name and
address of the sub-registrant and identify the client or
clients of the registrant on whose behalf the
sub-registrant will be or is anticipated to be performing
services.
(c) A brief description of the executive, legislative,
or administrative action in reference to which such service
is to be rendered.
(c-5) Each executive and legislative branch agency the
registrant expects to lobby during the registration
period.
(c-6) The nature of the client's business, by
indicating all of the following categories that apply: (1)
banking and financial services, (2) manufacturing, (3)
education, (4) environment, (5) healthcare, (6) insurance,
(7) community interests, (8) labor, (9) public relations or
advertising, (10) marketing or sales, (11) hospitality,
(12) engineering, (13) information or technology products
or services, (14) social services, (15) public utilities,
(16) racing or wagering, (17) real estate or construction,
(18) telecommunications, (19) trade or professional
association, (20) travel or tourism, (21) transportation,
(22) agriculture, and (23) other (setting forth the nature
of that other business).
(d) A confirmation that the registrant has a sexual
harassment policy as required by Section 4.7, that such
policy shall be made available to any individual within 2
business days upon written request (including electronic
requests), that any person may contact the authorized agent
of the registrant to report allegations of sexual
harassment, and that the registrant recognizes the
Inspector General has jurisdiction to review any
allegations of sexual harassment alleged against the
registrant or lobbyists hired by the registrant.
(e) Each unit of local government in this State for
which the registrant is or expects to be required to
register to lobby the local government during the
registration period. "Lobby" shall have the meaning
ascribed to it by the relevant unit of local government.
(f) Each elected or appointed public office in this
State to be held by the registrant at any time during the
registration period.
Every natural person and every entity required to register
under this Act shall annually submit the registration required
by this Section on or before each January 31. The registrant
has a continuing duty to report any substantial change or
addition to the information contained in the registration.
Registrants registered as of the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly shall update their
registration to add the information required under subsections
(b-5), (e), and (f), if applicable, within 30 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General
Assembly.
The Secretary of State shall make all filed statements and
amendments to statements publicly available by means of a
searchable database that is accessible through the World Wide
Web. The Secretary of State shall provide all software
necessary to comply with this provision to all natural persons
and entities required to file. The Secretary of State shall
implement a plan to provide computer access and assistance to
natural persons and entities required to file electronically.
All natural persons and entities required to register under
this Act shall remit a single, annual, and nonrefundable $300
registration fee. Each natural person required to register
under this Act shall submit, on an annual basis, a picture of
the registrant. A registrant may, in lieu of submitting a
picture on an annual basis, authorize the Secretary of State to
use any photo identification available in any database
maintained by the Secretary of State for other purposes. Each
registration fee collected for registrations on or after
January 1, 2010 shall be deposited into the Lobbyist
Registration Administration Fund for administration and
enforcement of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 100-554, eff. 11-16-17.)
(25 ILCS 170/7) (from Ch. 63, par. 177)
Sec. 7. Duties of the Secretary of State.
(a) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to
provide appropriate forms for the registration and reporting of
information required by this Act and to keep such registrations
and reports on file in his office for 3 years from the date of
filing. He shall also provide and maintain a register with
appropriate blanks and indexes so that the information required
in Sections 5 and 6 of this Act may be accordingly entered.
Such records shall be considered public information and open to
public inspection.
(b) Within 5 business days after a filing deadline, the
Secretary of State shall notify persons he determines are
required to file but have failed to do so.
(c) The Secretary of State shall provide adequate software
to the persons required to file under this Act, and all
registrations, reports, statements, and amendments required to
be filed shall be filed electronically. The Secretary of State
shall promptly make all filed reports publicly available by
means of a searchable database that is accessible through the
World Wide Web. The Secretary of State shall provide all
software necessary to comply with this provision to all persons
required to file. The Secretary of State shall implement a plan
to provide computer access and assistance to persons required
to file electronically.
(d) The Secretary of State shall include registrants'
pictures when publishing or posting on his or her website the
information required in Section 5.
(d-5) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Secretary of
State shall create a publicly accessible and searchable
database bringing together disclosures by registered lobbyists
under this Act, contributions by registered lobbyists required
to be disclosed under the Election Code, and statements of
economic interests required to be filed by State officials and
employees under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.
(e) The Secretary of State shall receive and investigate
allegations of violations of this Act. Any employee of the
Secretary of State who receives an allegation shall immediately
transmit it to the Secretary of State Inspector General.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1358, eff. 7-28-10.)
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