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92_HB1027
LRB9207188REdv
1 AN ACT concerning the General Assembly.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The General Assembly Compensation Act is
5 amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
6 (25 ILCS 115/4) (from Ch. 63, par. 15.1)
7 Sec. 4. Office allowance. Beginning July 1, 1989, each
8 member of the House of Representatives is authorized to
9 approve the expenditure of not more than $57,000 per year and
10 each member of the Senate is authorized to approve the
11 expenditure of not more than $67,000 per year to pay for
12 "personal services", "contractual services", "commodities",
13 "printing", "travel", "operation of automotive equipment",
14 "telecommunications services", as defined in the State
15 Finance Act, and the compensation of one or more legislative
16 assistants authorized pursuant to this Section, in connection
17 with his or her legislative duties and not in connection with
18 any political campaign. A member may purchase office
19 equipment if the member certifies to the Secretary of the
20 Senate or the Clerk of the House, as applicable, that the
21 purchase price, whether paid in lump sum or installments,
22 amounts to less than would be charged for renting or leasing
23 the equipment over its anticipated useful life. All such
24 equipment must be purchased through the Secretary of the
25 Senate or the Clerk of the House, as applicable, for proper
26 identification and verification of purchase.
27 Each member of the General Assembly is authorized to
28 employ one or more legislative assistants, who shall be
29 solely under the direction and control of that member, for
30 the purpose of assisting the member in the performance of his
31 or her official duties. A legislative assistant may be
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1 employed pursuant to this Section either under contract or as
2 a State employee, at the discretion of the member. If
3 employed as a State employee, a legislative assistant shall
4 receive employment benefits on the same terms and conditions
5 that apply to other employees of the General Assembly.
6 As used in this Section the term "personal services"
7 shall include contributions of the State under the Federal
8 Insurance Contribution Act and under Article 14 of the
9 Illinois Pension Code. As used in this Section the term
10 "contractual services" shall not include improvements to real
11 property unless those improvements are the obligation of the
12 lessee under the lease agreement. Beginning July 1, 1989, as
13 used in the Section, the term "travel" shall be limited to
14 travel in connection with a member's legislative duties and
15 not in connection with any political campaign. Beginning
16 July 1, 1989, as used in this Section, the term "printing"
17 includes congratulatory mailings, including but not limited
18 to greeting or welcome messages, anniversary or birthday
19 cards, and congratulations for prominent achievement cards.
20 As used in this Section, the term "printing" includes fees
21 for non-substantive resolutions charged by the Clerk of the
22 House of Representatives under subsection (c-5) of Section 1
23 of the Legislative Materials Act. Nothing in this Section
24 shall be construed to authorize expenditures for lodging and
25 meals while a member is in attendance at sessions of the
26 General Assembly.
27 Any utility bill for service provided to a member's
28 district office for a period including portions of 2
29 consecutive fiscal years may be paid from funds appropriated
30 for such expenditure in either fiscal year. Utility services
31 provided to a member's district office may be prepaid for a
32 reasonable advance period, but prepayments may not exceed
33 estimated billings for more than 6 months or beyond the
34 member's term.
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1 If a vacancy occurs in the office of Senator or
2 Representative in the General Assembly, any office equipment
3 in the possession of the vacating member shall transfer to
4 the member's successor; if the successor does not want such
5 equipment, it shall be transferred to the Secretary of the
6 Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives, as the case
7 may be, and if not wanted by other members of the General
8 Assembly then to the Department of Central Management
9 Services for treatment as surplus property under the State
10 Property Control Act. Each member, on or before June 30th of
11 each year, shall conduct an inventory of all equipment
12 purchased pursuant to this Act. Such inventory shall be
13 filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the
14 House, as the case may be. Whenever a vacancy occurs, the
15 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House, as the
16 case may be, shall conduct an inventory of equipment
17 purchased.
18 In the event that a member leaves office during his or
19 her term, any unexpended or unobligated portion of the
20 allowance granted under this Section shall lapse. The
21 vacating member's successor shall be granted an allowance in
22 an amount, rounded to the nearest dollar, computed by
23 dividing the annual allowance by 365 and multiplying the
24 quotient by the number of days remaining in the fiscal year.
25 From any appropriation for the purposes of this Section
26 for a fiscal year which overlaps 2 General Assemblies, no
27 more than 1/2 of the annual allowance per member may be spent
28 or encumbered by any member of either the outgoing or
29 incoming General Assembly, except that any member of the
30 incoming General Assembly who was a member of the outgoing
31 General Assembly may encumber or spend any portion of his
32 annual allowance within the fiscal year.
33 The appropriation for the annual allowances permitted by
34 this Section shall be included in an appropriation to the
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1 President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of
2 Representatives for their respective members. The President
3 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall voucher for
4 payment individual members' expenditures from their annual
5 office allowances to the State Comptroller, subject to the
6 authority of the Comptroller under Section 9 of the State
7 Comptroller Act.
8 (Source: P.A. 90-569, eff. 1-28-98.)