Ethics Reform
State Officials and Employees Ethics Act of 2003 Updates
June 12, 2003
The Illinois Campaign Reform Coalition has issued a statement in response to Governor Blagojevich's announcement that he plans to revise HB 3412, the ethics reform legislation, with an amendatory veto.
Press release from the Governor's office: http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=1&R...
What is an "Amendatory Veto"?
In addition to signing bills or vetoing them outright, Illinois' constitution allows the governor to "return a bill together with specific changes" to the legislature (Article IV, Section 9(e)). When a governor issues an amendatory veto, the legislature must decide whether to concur with the changes or to override them. Concurring with an amendatory veto requires a simple majority in both chambers, while overriding an amendatory veto takes a three-fifths vote in both chambers. If the legislature fails to concur with the veto or override it, the bill dies and does not become law.
May 31, 2003
On the last day of the 2003 spring legislative session - members of the Illinois Senate "debated" ethics reform legislation for the first time in the session.
Earlier in the week, the Illinois House had voted 106 to 0 in favor of SB 703, a comprehensive package of reforms that included inspectors general to investigate and ethics commissions to enforce the new restrictions. Despite the overwhelming support in the House, leadership of the Senate would not even allow its members to vote on SB 703.
Instead, the Senate drafted a new piece of legislation using much of the same language as SB 703 but omitting the enforcement mechanism. A few hours before adjournment, that weakened language was attached to HB 3412 and passed by the Senate. The House accepted the new language and sent HB 3412 to the Governor's desk.
Click here for a chart that explains the differences between SB 703 and HB 3412.
Click here for the complete text of the bill.
The Illinois Ethics Reform Project
In the wake of ongoing federal investigations into public corruption, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has joined a broad coalition of organizations from across Illinois to support five principles of government. These reform groups now call upon the legislature to enhance Illinois' ethics laws to include the following provisions:
Banning solicitation of campaign funds from government employees and appointees by those who supervise them or approve their pay rates, vacations, or transfers;
Banning public employees, appointees and elected officials from accepting gifts from those seeking to influence public business [part of the 1998 Gift Ban Act, recently upheld by The Illinois Supreme Court and strengthened by the 2002 Ethics Act];
Enacting full disclosure on matters related to public business and the use of public resources;
Instituting ongoing ethics training for government officials and employees;
Establishing a state commission to investigate and rule on ethical concerns and complaints
For more information, visit The Illinois Ethics Reform Project.
