Public Act 097-0788
 
HB5444 EnrolledLRB097 18690 WGH 65640 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by
adding Section 1900.2 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 405/1900.2 new)
    Sec. 1900.2. Economic Data Task Force.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that substantial public
benefit is derived from enhanced access to State data and
particularly to data generated by the Department and that this
benefit takes the form both of private sector economic
development and of opportunities to improve public policy. The
General Assembly further finds that protecting the
confidentiality of individuals and companies in Illinois is
imperative for reasons both ethical and legal. Consequently,
the General Assembly seeks to understand the potential uses and
users of such data, as well as its applications for economic
development and other public purposes, and, in the context of
those uses, the best ways to make as much data as possible
available to those constituencies to serve those purposes while
protecting confidentiality and minimizing cost to the State.
    (b) The Economic Data Task Force is created within the
Department. The Task Force shall consist of 11 members. The
following members shall be appointed within 60 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General
Assembly: one member appointed by the President of the Senate;
one member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; one member
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; one
member appointed by the House Minority Leader; one member
appointed by the Governor; and the Director, who shall serve as
ex officio chairman and who shall appoint 5 additional members:
one of whom shall be a representative citizen chosen from the
employee class, one of whom shall be a representative citizen
chosen from the employing class, one of whom shall be an
employee of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
(hereinafter referred to as "BLS")(or, if no BLS employee is
available, a government employee from outside of Illinois with
appropriate expertise), and 2 of whom shall be academic
researchers with appropriate expertise. All members shall be
voting members. Members shall serve without compensation, but
may be reimbursed for expenses associated with the Task Force.
The Task Force shall begin to conduct business upon the
appointment of all members. For purposes of Task Force
meetings, a quorum is 6 members. If a vacancy occurs on the
Task Force, a successor member shall be appointed by the
original appointing authority. Meetings of the Task Force are
subject to the Open Meetings Act.
    (c) The Task Force shall analyze the potential benefits and
the feasibility of expanding public access to data produced and
maintained by the Department including, but not limited to,
data collected, estimated, and maintained under cooperative
agreement with the United States Department of Labor or other
federal agencies. The analysis shall include an analysis of
potential uses of these data and the public benefit of those
uses, and a review of current federal and State practices for
providing public access to the data, as well as potential
alternate processes by which the public could access data in
the Department's possession. The Task Force shall hold at least
3 public hearings as part of its analysis. The Task Force may
establish any committees it deems necessary.
    (d) All findings, recommendations, public postings, and
other relevant information pertaining to the Task Force shall
be posted on the Department's website, subject to the
confidentiality requirements established under federal and
State law including, but not limited to, the federal
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency
Act of 2002 and Section 1900. The Department shall provide
staff and administrative support to the Task Force. The Task
Force shall report its findings and recommendations to the
Governor and the General Assembly no later than June 30, 2013,
and shall be dissolved upon submission of the report. All
recommendations shall be consistent with confidentiality
requirements established under federal law including, but not
limited to, disclosure proofing standards.
    (e) Each member of the Task Force and each Department
employee must be designated as an agent of BLS pursuant to the
federal Confidential Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act of 2002 subject to the civil and criminal
sanctions for unauthorized disclosure of information protected
by that Act as a condition of being able to participate in any
activities of the Task Force and shall also be subject to the
civil and criminal sanctions established under subsection C of
Section 1900 for unauthorized disclosure of information
protected by Section 1900. For purposes of this Section,
information protected by Section 1900 includes, but is not
limited to, the statistical formulation of disclosure-proofing
methods.