Bill Text: IL HB2476 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that the Inspector General may require an ethics officer to provide relevant information as may be necessary to make an informed determination concerning whether to allow a former State employee to accept employment from a new employer in which he or she may have personally and substantially participated in decisions that benefited the new employer. Specifies requirements for written restricted determinations. Requires ethics officers to, among other requirements, successfully complete a training curriculum to be developed by the Executive Ethics Commission and thereafter successfully complete an annual training program. Provides that after an Executive Inspector General issues a summary report of an investigation, the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head may disclose Office of Executive Inspector General investigatory files and reports to agency staff who are necessary and responsible for determining and imposing discipline, and to an employee accused of wrongdoing for the purpose of determining and imposing appropriate discipline. Provides that the head and employees of a State agency affected by or involved in an investigation shall keep confidential and shall not disclose information exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or by the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides additional exceptions under which investigatory files, reports, and requests for documents may be disclosed. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code to modify a Section concerning revolving door prohibitions. Makes conforming changes. Contains a severability clause. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB2476 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB2476-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB2476 Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 430/5-45
5 ILCS 430/20-23
5 ILCS 430/20-50
5 ILCS 430/20-90
5 ILCS 430/20-95
30 ILCS 500/50-30
Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that the Inspector General may require an ethics officer to provide relevant information as may be necessary to make an informed determination concerning whether to allow a former State employee to accept employment from a new employer in which he or she may have personally and substantially participated in decisions that benefited the new employer. Specifies requirements for written restricted determinations. Requires ethics officers to, among other requirements, successfully complete a training curriculum to be developed by the Executive Ethics Commission and thereafter successfully complete an annual training program. Provides that after an Executive Inspector General issues a summary report of an investigation, the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head may disclose Office of Executive Inspector General investigatory files and reports to agency staff who are necessary and responsible for determining and imposing discipline, and to an employee accused of wrongdoing for the purpose of determining and imposing appropriate discipline. Provides that the head and employees of a State agency affected by or involved in an investigation shall keep confidential and shall not disclose information exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or by the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides additional exceptions under which investigatory files, reports, and requests for documents may be disclosed. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code to modify a Section concerning revolving door prohibitions. Makes conforming changes. Contains a severability clause. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
HB2476 LRB100 10113 RJF 20287 b
AN ACT concerning government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The State Officials and Employees Ethics Act is
amended by changing Sections 5-45, 20-23, 20-50, 20-90, and
20-95 as follows:
(5 ILCS 430/5-45)
Sec. 5-45. Procurement; revolving door prohibition.
(a) No former officer, member, or State employee, or spouse
or immediate family member living with such person, shall,
within a period of one year immediately after termination of
State employment, knowingly accept employment or receive
compensation or fees for services from a person or entity if
the officer, member, or State employee, during the year
immediately preceding termination of State employment,
participated personally and substantially in the award of State
contracts, or the issuance of State contract change orders,
with a cumulative value of $25,000 or more to the person or
entity, or its parent or subsidiary.
(b) No former officer of the executive branch or State
employee of the executive branch with regulatory or licensing
authority, or spouse or immediate family member living with
such person, shall, within a period of one year immediately

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after termination of State employment, knowingly accept
employment or receive compensation or fees for services from a
person or entity if the officer or State employee, during the
year immediately preceding termination of State employment,
participated personally and substantially in making a
regulatory or licensing decision that directly applied to the
person or entity, or its parent or subsidiary.
(c) Within 6 months after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each executive
branch constitutional officer and legislative leader, the
Auditor General, and the Joint Committee on Legislative Support
Services shall adopt a policy delineating which State positions
under his or her jurisdiction and control, by the nature of
their duties, may have the authority to participate personally
and substantially in the award of State contracts or in
regulatory or licensing decisions. The Governor shall adopt
such a policy for all State employees of the executive branch
not under the jurisdiction and control of any other executive
branch constitutional officer.
The policies required under subsection (c) of this Section
shall be filed with the appropriate ethics commission
established under this Act or, for the Auditor General, with
the Office of the Auditor General.
(d) Each Inspector General shall have the authority to
determine that additional State positions under his or her
jurisdiction, not otherwise subject to the policies required by

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subsection (c) of this Section, are nonetheless subject to the
notification requirement of subsection (f) below due to their
involvement in the award of State contracts or in regulatory or
licensing decisions.
(e) The Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services,
the Auditor General, and each of the executive branch
constitutional officers and legislative leaders subject to
subsection (c) of this Section shall provide written
notification to all employees in positions subject to the
policies required by subsection (c) or a determination made
under subsection (d): (1) upon hiring, promotion, or transfer
into the relevant position; and (2) at the time the employee's
duties are changed in such a way as to qualify that employee.
An employee receiving notification must certify in writing that
the person was advised of the prohibition and the requirement
to notify the appropriate Inspector General in subsection (f).
(f) Any State employee in a position subject to the
policies required by subsection (c) or to a determination under
subsection (d), but who does not fall within the prohibition of
subsection (h) below, who is offered non-State employment
during State employment or within a period of one year
immediately after termination of State employment shall, prior
to accepting such non-State employment, notify the appropriate
Inspector General. Within 10 calendar days after receiving
notification from an employee in a position subject to the
policies required by subsection (c), such Inspector General

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shall make a determination as to whether the State employee is
restricted from accepting such employment by subsection (a) or
(b). In making a determination, in addition to any other
relevant information, an Inspector General shall assess the
effect of the prospective employment or relationship upon
decisions referred to in subsections (a) and (b), based on the
totality of the participation by the former officer, member, or
State employee in those decisions. The Inspector General may
require an ethics officer to provide relevant information as
may be necessary to make an informed determination. A
determination by an Inspector General must be in writing,
signed and dated by the Inspector General, and delivered to the
subject of the determination within 10 calendar days after
receiving notification from the employee, or the person is
deemed eligible for the employment opportunity. A written
restricted determination shall identify the factual and legal
basis for the determination and provide the person subject to
the restricted determination with notice of the opportunity to
request the investigatory files and reports relied upon in
making the determination. If requested by the person subject to
a restricted determination, the Inspector General shall
provide a copy of the investigatory files and reports, subject
to subsection (d) of Section 20-95 of this Act, relied upon in
making the determination to the person subject to the
restricted determination within 3 business days. The Inspector
General may redact information in the investigatory files and

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reports that may reveal the identity of witnesses, or if the
Inspector General determines it is appropriate to protect the
identity of a person. For purposes of this subsection,
"appropriate Inspector General" means (i) for members and
employees of the legislative branch, the Legislative Inspector
General; (ii) for the Auditor General and employees of the
Office of the Auditor General, the Inspector General provided
for in Section 30-5 of this Act; and (iii) for executive branch
officers and employees, the Inspector General having
jurisdiction over the officer or employee. For purposes of this
subsection, "notification from the employee" may be defined by
the Executive Ethics Commission by rule. Notice of any
determination of an Inspector General and of any such appeal
shall be given to the ultimate jurisdictional authority, the
Attorney General, and the Executive Ethics Commission.
(g) An Inspector General's determination regarding
restrictions under subsection (a) or (b) may be appealed to the
appropriate Ethics Commission by the person subject to the
decision or the Attorney General no later than the 10th
calendar day after the date of the determination.
On appeal, the Ethics Commission or Auditor General shall
seek, accept, and consider written public comments regarding a
determination. In deciding whether to uphold an Inspector
General's determination, the appropriate Ethics Commission or
Auditor General shall assess, in addition to any other relevant
information, the effect of the prospective employment or

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relationship upon the decisions referred to in subsections (a)
and (b), based on the totality of the participation by the
former officer, member, or State employee in those decisions.
The Ethics Commission shall decide whether to uphold an
Inspector General's determination within 10 calendar days or
the person is deemed eligible for the employment opportunity.
(h) The following officers, members, or State employees
shall not, within a period of one year immediately after
termination of office or State employment, knowingly accept
employment or receive compensation or fees for services from a
person or entity if the person or entity or its parent or
subsidiary, during the year immediately preceding termination
of State employment, was a party to a State contract or
contracts with a cumulative value of $25,000 or more involving
the officer, member, or State employee's State agency, or was
the subject of a regulatory or licensing decision involving the
officer, member, or State employee's State agency, regardless
of whether he or she participated personally and substantially
in the award of the State contract or contracts or the making
of the regulatory or licensing decision in question:
(1) members or officers;
(2) members of a commission or board created by the
Illinois Constitution;
(3) persons whose appointment to office is subject to
the advice and consent of the Senate;
(4) the head of a department, commission, board,

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division, bureau, authority, or other administrative unit
within the government of this State;
(5) chief procurement officers, State purchasing
officers, and their designees whose duties are directly
related to State procurement; and
(6) chiefs of staff, deputy chiefs of staff, associate
chiefs of staff, assistant chiefs of staff, and deputy
governors.
(i) For the purposes of this Section, with respect to
officers or employees of a regional transit board, as defined
in this Act, the phrase "person or entity" does not include:
(i) the United States government, (ii) the State, (iii)
municipalities, as defined under Article VII, Section 1 of the
Illinois Constitution, (iv) units of local government, as
defined under Article VII, Section 1 of the Illinois
Constitution, or (v) school districts.
(j) For purposes of this Section, "compensation or fees for
services" includes compensation received directly or
indirectly from a person or entity. It does not include a small
portion of a person's compensation received as part of a
general profit sharing plan.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09; 97-653, eff. 1-13-12.)
(5 ILCS 430/20-23)
Sec. 20-23. Ethics Officers. Each officer and the head of
each State agency under the jurisdiction of the Executive

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Ethics Commission shall designate an Ethics Officer for the
office or State agency. The board of each Regional Transit
Board shall designate an Ethics Officer. Ethics Officers shall:
(1) act as liaisons between the State agency or
Regional Transit Board and the appropriate Executive
Inspector General and between the State agency or Regional
Transit Board and the Executive Ethics Commission;
(2) review statements of economic interest and
disclosure forms of officers, senior employees, and
contract monitors before they are filed with the Secretary
of State; and
(3) provide guidance to officers and employees in the
interpretation and implementation of this Act, which the
officer or employee may in good faith rely upon. Such
guidance shall be based, wherever possible, upon legal
precedent in court decisions, opinions of the Attorney
General, and the findings and opinions of the Executive
Ethics Commission; and .
(4) within 6 months after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, successfully
complete a training curriculum to be developed by the
Executive Ethics Commission and thereafter successfully
complete an annual training program. Thereafter, whenever
a new ethics officer is designated by a State agency, that
person shall successfully complete the training curriculum
within 30 days after assuming the position. Successful

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completion of the required training curriculum within the
periods provided shall be a prerequisite to continue
serving as an ethics officer.
(Source: P.A. 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11.)
(5 ILCS 430/20-50)
Sec. 20-50. Investigation reports.
(a) If an Executive Inspector General, upon the conclusion
of an investigation, determines that reasonable cause exists to
believe that a violation has occurred, then the Executive
Inspector General shall issue a summary report of the
investigation. The report shall be delivered to the appropriate
ultimate jurisdictional authority and to the head of each State
agency affected by or involved in the investigation, if
appropriate. The appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority
or agency head shall respond to the summary report within 20
days, in writing, to the Executive Inspector General. The
response shall include a description of any corrective or
disciplinary action to be imposed.
(b) The summary report of the investigation shall include
the following:
(1) A description of any allegations or other
information received by the Executive Inspector General
pertinent to the investigation.
(2) A description of any alleged misconduct discovered
in the course of the investigation.

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(3) Recommendations for any corrective or disciplinary
action to be taken in response to any alleged misconduct
described in the report, including but not limited to
discharge.
(4) Other information the Executive Inspector General
deems relevant to the investigation or resulting
recommendations.
(c) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head
under subsection (a), the Executive Inspector General shall
notify the Commission and the Attorney General if the Executive
Inspector General believes that a complaint should be filed
with the Commission. If the Executive Inspector General desires
to file a complaint with the Commission, the Executive
Inspector General shall submit the summary report and
supporting documents to the Attorney General. If the Attorney
General concludes that there is insufficient evidence that a
violation has occurred, the Attorney General shall notify the
Executive Inspector General and the Executive Inspector
General shall deliver to the Executive Ethics Commission a copy
of the summary report and response from the ultimate
jurisdictional authority or agency head. If the Attorney
General determines that reasonable cause exists to believe that
a violation has occurred, then the Executive Inspector General,
represented by the Attorney General, may file with the
Executive Ethics Commission a complaint. The complaint shall

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set forth the alleged violation and the grounds that exist to
support the complaint. The complaint must be filed with the
Commission within 18 months after the most recent act of the
alleged violation or of a series of alleged violations except
where there is reasonable cause to believe that fraudulent
concealment has occurred. To constitute fraudulent concealment
sufficient to toll this limitations period, there must be an
affirmative act or representation calculated to prevent
discovery of the fact that a violation has occurred. If a
complaint is not filed with the Commission within 6 months
after notice by the Inspector General to the Commission and the
Attorney General, then the Commission may set a meeting of the
Commission at which the Attorney General shall appear and
provide a status report to the Commission.
(c-5) Within 30 days after receiving a response from the
appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head
under subsection (a), if the Executive Inspector General does
not believe that a complaint should be filed, the Executive
Inspector General shall deliver to the Executive Ethics
Commission a statement setting forth the basis for the decision
not to file a complaint and a copy of the summary report and
response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency
head. An Inspector General may also submit a redacted version
of the summary report and response from the ultimate
jurisdictional authority if the Inspector General believes
either contains information that, in the opinion of the

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Inspector General, should be redacted prior to releasing the
report, may interfere with an ongoing investigation, or
identifies an informant or complainant.
(c-10) If, after reviewing the documents, the Commission
believes that further investigation is warranted, the
Commission may request that the Executive Inspector General
provide additional information or conduct further
investigation. The Commission may also appoint a Special
Executive Inspector General to investigate or refer the summary
report and response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority
to the Attorney General for further investigation or review. If
the Commission requests the Attorney General to investigate or
review, the Commission must notify the Attorney General and the
Inspector General. The Attorney General may not begin an
investigation or review until receipt of notice from the
Commission. If, after review, the Attorney General determines
that reasonable cause exists to believe that a violation has
occurred, then the Attorney General may file a complaint with
the Executive Ethics Commission. If the Attorney General
concludes that there is insufficient evidence that a violation
has occurred, the Attorney General shall notify the Executive
Ethics Commission and the appropriate Executive Inspector
General.
(d) A copy of the complaint filed with the Executive Ethics
Commission must be served on all respondents named in the
complaint and on each respondent's ultimate jurisdictional

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authority in the same manner as process is served under the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) A respondent may file objections to the complaint
within 30 days after notice of the petition has been served on
the respondent.
(f) The Commission shall meet, either in person or by
telephone, at least 30 days after the complaint is served on
all respondents in a closed session to review the sufficiency
of the complaint. The Commission shall issue notice by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Executive
Inspector General, Attorney General, and all respondents of the
Commission's ruling on the sufficiency of the complaint. If the
complaint is deemed to sufficiently allege a violation of this
Act, then the Commission shall include a hearing date scheduled
within 4 weeks after the date of the notice, unless all of the
parties consent to a later date. If the complaint is deemed not
to sufficiently allege a violation, then the Commission shall
send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice to
the Executive Inspector General, Attorney General, and all
respondents of the decision to dismiss the complaint.
(g) On the scheduled date the Commission shall conduct a
closed meeting, either in person or, if the parties consent, by
telephone, on the complaint and allow all parties the
opportunity to present testimony and evidence. All such
proceedings shall be transcribed.
(h) Within an appropriate time limit set by rules of the

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Executive Ethics Commission, the Commission shall (i) dismiss
the complaint, (ii) issue a recommendation of discipline to the
respondent and the respondent's ultimate jurisdictional
authority, (iii) impose an administrative fine upon the
respondent, (iv) issue injunctive relief as described in
Section 50-10, or (v) impose a combination of (ii) through
(iv).
(i) The proceedings on any complaint filed with the
Commission shall be conducted pursuant to rules promulgated by
the Commission.
(j) The Commission may designate hearing officers to
conduct proceedings as determined by rule of the Commission.
(k) In all proceedings before the Commission, the standard
of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence.
(l) Within 30 days after the issuance of a final
administrative decision that concludes that a violation
occurred, the Executive Ethics Commission shall make public the
entire record of proceedings before the Commission, the
decision, any recommendation, any discipline imposed, and the
response from the agency head or ultimate jurisdictional
authority to the Executive Ethics Commission.
(m) After the Executive Inspector General issues a summary
report of the investigation, the ultimate jurisdictional
authority or agency head may, as necessary, disclose Office of
Executive Inspector General investigatory files and reports to
agency staff who are necessary and responsible for determining

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and imposing discipline and, as strictly necessary, to an
employee accused of wrongdoing for the purpose of determining
and imposing appropriate discipline.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09.)
(5 ILCS 430/20-90)
Sec. 20-90. Confidentiality.
(a) The identity of any individual providing information or
reporting any possible or alleged misconduct to an Executive
Inspector General or the Executive Ethics Commission shall be
kept confidential and may not be disclosed without the consent
of that individual, unless the individual consents to
disclosure of his or her name or disclosure of the individual's
identity is otherwise required by law. The confidentiality
granted by this subsection does not preclude the disclosure of
the identity of a person in any capacity other than as the
source of an allegation.
(b) Subject to the provisions of Section 20-52,
commissioners, employees, and agents of the Executive Ethics
Commission, the Executive Inspectors General, and employees
and agents of each Office of an Executive Inspector General,
the Attorney General, and the employees and agents of the
office of the Attorney General, and the head and employees of a
State agency affected by or involved in an investigation, shall
keep confidential and shall not disclose information exempted
from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or by this

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Act, provided the identity of any individual providing
information or reporting any possible or alleged misconduct to
the Executive Inspector General for the Governor may be
disclosed to an Inspector General appointed or employed by a
Regional Transit Board in accordance with Section 75-10.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09; 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11.)
(5 ILCS 430/20-95)
Sec. 20-95. Exemptions.
(a) Documents generated by an ethics officer under this
Act, except Section 5-50, are exempt from the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act.
(b) Any allegations and related documents submitted to an
Executive Inspector General and any pleadings and related
documents brought before the Executive Ethics Commission are
exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act so
long as the Executive Ethics Commission does not make a finding
of a violation of this Act. If the Executive Ethics Commission
finds that a violation has occurred, the entire record of
proceedings before the Commission, the decision and
recommendation, and the response from the agency head or
ultimate jurisdictional authority to the Executive Ethics
Commission are not exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act but information contained therein that is
otherwise exempt from the Freedom of Information Act must be
redacted before disclosure as provided in the Freedom of

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Information Act. A summary report released by the Executive
Ethics Commission under Section 20-52 is a public record, but
information redacted by the Executive Ethics Commission shall
not be part of the public record.
(c) Meetings of the Commission are exempt from the
provisions of the Open Meetings Act.
(d) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, all
investigatory files, and reports, and requests for documents of
or by the Office of an Executive Inspector General, other than
monthly reports required under Section 20-85, are
confidential, are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, and shall not be divulged to any person or
agency, except as necessary (i) to a law enforcement authority,
(ii) to the ultimate jurisdictional authority, (iii) to the
Executive Ethics Commission, (iv) to another Inspector General
appointed pursuant to this Act, or (v) to an Inspector General
appointed or employed by a Regional Transit Board in accordance
with Section 75-10, (vi) to the head of a State agency affected
by or involved in the investigation, or (vii) to the person
subject to a restricted determination, the Attorney General, or
the Executive Ethics Commission, when the investigatory files
and reports relate to a revolving door determination under
Section 5-45 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-555, eff. 8-18-09; 96-1528, eff. 7-1-11.)
Section 10. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by

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changing Section 50-30 as follows:
(30 ILCS 500/50-30)
Sec. 50-30. Revolving door prohibition.
(a) Chief procurement officers, State purchasing officers,
procurement compliance monitors, their designees whose
principal duties are directly related to State procurement, and
executive officers confirmed by the Senate are expressly
prohibited for a period of 2 years after terminating an
affected position from engaging in any procurement activity
relating to the State agency most recently employing them, or
relating to the State agency most recently assigned to them to
oversee, in an affected position for a period of at least 6
months. The prohibition includes but is not limited to:
lobbying the procurement process; specifying; bidding;
proposing bid, proposal, or contract documents; on their own
behalf or on behalf of any firm, partnership, association, or
corporation. This subsection applies only to persons who
terminate an affected position on or after January 15, 1999.
(b) In addition to any other provisions of this Code,
employment of former State employees is subject to the State
Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-795, eff. 7-1-10 (see Section 5 of P.A. 96-793
for the effective date of changes made by P.A. 96-795).)
Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are

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severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.