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

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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

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

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

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

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to making appointments to that office, subject to the
provisions of this Section. The Governor shall file with the
Secretary of the Senate the name of any person who the Governor
designates as an acting appointee under this Section. The form
of the message designating an appointee as acting shall be
established by the Senate under its rules. No person who has
been designated by the Governor to serve as an acting
appointee to any office to which appointment requires the
advice and consent of the Senate shall, except at the Senate's
request, be designated again as an acting appointee for that
office at the same session of that Senate, subject to the
provisions of this Section.
During the term of a General Assembly, the Governor may
not designate a person to serve as an acting appointee to any
office to which appointment requires the advice and consent of
the Senate if that person's nomination to serve as the
appointee for the same office was rejected by the Senate of the
same General Assembly.
For the purposes of this subsection (c), "acting
appointee" means a person designated by the Governor to serve
as an acting director or acting secretary pursuant to Section
5-605 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. "Acting
appointee" also means a person designated by the Governor
pursuant to any other statute to serve as an acting holder of
any office, to execute the duties and functions of any office,
or both.

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(d) The provisions of this Section apply notwithstanding
any law to the contrary. However, the provisions of this
Section do not apply to appointments made under Article 1A of
the Election Code or to the appointment of any person to serve
as Director of the Illinois Power Agency.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by law, 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 that
person's partisanship for his or her term of office. 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. After being
appointed to an office, no person shall be disqualified from
continuing in that office during the term for which that
person was appointed, or for holding over thereafter, based on
that person's voting in a general primary election after his
or her appointment.

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This subsection (e) shall apply to a person who is
nominated by the Governor on or after the effective date of
this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly and shall
apply to all appointments, including those which are acting or
temporary.
(Source: P.A. 97-582, eff. 8-26-11; 97-719, eff. 6-29-12;
98-692, eff. 7-1-14.)