1. (a) The board, upon a finding made pursuant to section 1-93 that there has been a violation of any provision of this part, shall have the authority to order the violator to do any or all of the following:

   1. (1) Cease and desist the violation of this part; (2) file any report, statement or other information as required by this part; or (3) pay a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation of this part. The board may prohibit any person who intentionally violates any provision of this part from engaging in the profession of lobbyist for a period of not more than two years. The board may impose a civil penalty on any person who knowingly enters into a contingent fee agreement in violation of subsection (b) of section 1-97 or terminates a lobbying contract as the result of the outcome of an administrative or legislative action. The civil penalty shall be equal to the amount of compensation which the registrant was required to be paid under the agreement.
2. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the board may, after a hearing conducted in accordance with sections 4-176e to 4-184, inclusive, upon the concurring vote of two-thirds of its members present and voting, impose a civil penalty not to exceed ten dollars per day upon any registrant who fails to file any report, statement or other information as required by this part. Each distinct violation of this subsection shall be a separate offense and, in case of a continued violation, each day thereof shall be deemed a separate offense. In no event shall the aggregate penalty imposed for such failure to file exceed ten thousand dollars.
3. (c) The board may also report its finding to the Chief State's Attorney for any action deemed necessary.
4. (d) Any civil penalty imposed by the board pursuant to this section may be enforced by the Office of State Ethics as a money judgment in accordance with chapter 906.

(P.A. 77-605, S. 10, 21; P.A. 79-615, S. 8, 10; P.A. 80-483, S. 4, 186; P.A. 83-249, S. 13, 14; 83-586, S. 13, 14; P.A. 84-546, S. 147, 173; P.A. 88-317, S. 43, 107; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1, S. 18; P.A. 94-132, S. 8; P.A. 04-38, S. 6; 04-204, S. 8; P.A. 05-183, S. 25, 29; P.A. 17-235, S. 9.)

History: P.A. 79-615 provided for civil penalty for failure to file required information; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; P.A. 83-249 amended Subsec. (b) to require concurring vote of five members; P.A. 83-586 allowed commission to prohibit any person who intentionally violates code from engaging in the profession of lobbyist for up to two years; P.A. 84-546 made technical change to Subsec. (a); P.A. 88-317 substituted “4-176e” for “4-177” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-1 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize commission to impose civil penalties re contingent fee agreements and termination of contract due to administrative or legislative action; P.A. 94-132 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by changing maximum penalty from $1,000 to $2,000; P.A. 04-38 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the maximum penalty from $2,000 to $10,000 and amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change and increase the maximum aggregate penalty from $2,000 to $10,000, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-204 amended Subsec. (b) to increase vote required for imposition of civil penalty from five to six members and to make a technical change, effective June 3, 2004; P.A. 05-183 replaced “commission” with “board” throughout the section and amended Subsec. (b) to change the requirement for a finding of a violation from a vote of six members to a vote of two-thirds of the members, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 17-235 amended Subsec. (b) to add “present and voting” re vote of members for finding of violation and added Subsec. (d) re civil penalty to be enforced as money judgment.