The media coverage of this legislation has highlighted the lobbyist registration and reporting aspects only. Part of this new law contains those provisions. The other portion of the bill substantially rewrites the law concerning which individuals are required to file statements of economic interests. Those changes will have a significant impact on which local governmental employees will be required to file statements of economic interests.
The standard for who must file a statement of economic interests is contained in Chapter 5, Section 420/4A-101, and requires the following individuals to file: (1) persons elected to an office in a unit of local government or school district and candidates for nomination or election to such office; (2) persons appointed to a zoning board, or zoning board of appeals, or to a regional, county, or municipal plan commission; (3) any employee of local government who is compensated for services as an employee and not as an independent contractor at the rate of $35,000 per year or more.
Until December 31, 1993, the law was straightforward and most officials and employees knew whether they were required to file an economic interests statement. On January 1, 1994, the old objective standard will be eliminated and a new subjective standard will become the law. It will take a thorough review and analysis to determine whether an employee must file a statement. The first two subsections are familiar and follow existing law. Subsection (i) and its six categories contain the new language that may become the most troublesome.
"(g) Persons who are elected to office in a unit of local government, and candidates for nomination or election to that office.
(h) Persons appointed to the governing board of a unit of local government . . . and persons appointed to the zoning board, or zoning board of appeals, or to a regional, county, or municipal planning commission ... and persons appointed to a board or commission of a unit of local government.
(i) Persons who are employed by a unit of local government and are compensated for services as employees and not as independent contractors and who:
(1) are, or function as, the head of a department, division, bureau, authority or other administrative unit within the unit of local government, or who exercise similar authority within the unit of local government;
(2) have direct supervisory authority over, or direct responsibility for the formulation, negotiation, issuance or execution of contracts entered into by the unit of local government in the amount of $1,000 or greater;
(3) have authority to approve licenses and permits by the unit of local government;
(4) adjudicate, arbitrate, or decide any judicial or administrative proceeding, or review the adjudication, arbitration or decision of any judicial or administrative proceeding within the authority of the unit of local government;
(5) have authority to issue or promulgate rules and regulations within areas under the authority of the unit of local government; or,
(6) have supervisory authority for 20 or more employees of the unit of local government."
The last paragraph of Section 420/4A-101 provides that "This Section shall not be construed to prevent any unit of local government from enacting financial disclosure requirements that require more information than required by this Act." The State has essentially set the minimum subjective standards and local governments
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have the authority now to approve more stringent ethic filing statements.
Next, the methodology for notification has been
changed. The chief administrative officer, an undefined term in the Act, now has the responsibility to select which employees must file. Starting January 1, 1994, Section 420/4A-106 will impose the following statutory responsibility:
"On or before February 1 annually . . . the chief administrative officer of each unit of local government employing persons described in items (i) and (k) of Section 4A-101 shall certify to the clerk or secretary of the unit of local government the names and mailing addresses of those persons, who shall then certify to the appropriate county clerk a list of names and addresses of persons described in items (i) and(k) of Section 4A-101 that are required to file because of their relationship to the entity represented by the clerk or secretary. In preparing the lists, each clerk or secretary shall set out the names in alphabetical order by county of residence, and shall send a list of persons required to file to the county clerks of the counties in which those persons reside, or if any persons resides outside of Illinois, to the
county clerk of the county in which the principal office of the unit of government with which the person is associated is located.
On or before April 1 annually, the county clerk
of each county shall notify all persons whose names have been certified to him under items (g), (h), (i), and (k) of Section 4A-101, other than candidates for office who have filed their statements with their nominating petitions, of the requirements for filing statements of economic interests.
From the lists certified to him under this Section of persons described in items (g), (h), (i), and(k) of Section 4A-101, the clerk of each county shall compile an alphabetical listing of persons required to file statements of economic interests in his office under any of those items. As the statements are filed
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in his office, the county clerk shall cause the fact of that filing to be indicated on the alphabetical listing of persons who are required to file statements. Within 30 days after the due dates, the county clerk shall mail to the State Board of Elections a true copy of that listing showing those who have filed statements.
The county clerk of each county shall note upon the alphabetical listing the names of all persons required to file a statement of economic interests who failed to file a statement on or before May 1. It shall be the duty of the several county clerks to give notice as provided in Section 4A-101 to any person who has failed to file his or her statement with the clerk on or before May 1."
Finally, the penalty provisions for late filing remain the same as contained in Section 420/4A-105. However, a new paragraph was added to the end of the Section:
"Failure to file a statement of economic interests within the time prescribed shall not result in a fine or ineligibility for, or forfeiture of, office or position of employment, as the case may be; provided that the failure to file results from not being included for notification by the appropriate agency, clerk, secretary, officer or unit of government, as the case may be, and that a statement is filed within 30 days of actual notice of the failure to file."
The new subjective standards for which individuals must file statements of economic interests are sure to cause confusion. The Illinois Municipal League will be forming a committee to work in conjunction with the Illinois State Bar Association's Local Government Section to try and render some assistance as to who must file. At this point, if you are in doubt, have the chief administrative officer include the individual's name in the certified list on February 1 of each year.
It will take some time to resolve all the issues. •
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