HB3953 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 12710 CMG 18049 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3953

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 1020/1.5 new

Amends the Private College Campus Police Act. Provides that information and records in the custody or possession of a campus police department subject to the Act shall be open to inspection or copying to the extent the information and records relate to the members of the campus police department's exercise of the powers of municipal peace officers or county sheriffs. Lists the types of records that are and are not subject to inspection and copying. Sets forth provisions concerning record requests, and provides that any person denied access to any record required to be publicly available may file a request for review with the Office of the Attorney General Public Access Counselor.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Private College Campus Police Act is amended by adding Section 1.5 as follows:

(110 ILCS 1020/1.5 new)

Sec. 1.5. Records.

(a) Information and records in the custody or possession of a campus police department subject to this Act shall be open to inspection or copying as described in this Section to the extent the information and records relate to the members of the campus police department's exercise of the powers of municipal peace officers or county sheriffs, as provided in Section 1 of this Act.

(b) The following records are subject to inspection and copying under subsection (a) of this Section:

(1) traffic stop and field contact information, including, but not limited to, date, time, location, reason for the stop, whether a search was conducted, disposition, and race and gender of the person stopped;

(2) department directives;

(3) daily crime log information for all crimes reported to the campus police department that is maintained pursuant to the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, 20 U.S.C. 1092(f) and its implementing regulations, including, but not limited to, the date the crime was reported, the date and time the crime occurred, the nature and location of the crime, and the disposition of the complaint, if known;

(4) arrest report information, including, but not limited to, information that identifies the arrestee, when and if available, information detailing any charges relating to the arrest, the time and location of the arrest, the name of the investigating or arresting law enforcement agency, if the individual is detained, the amount of any bail or bond, and the time and date that the individual was received into, discharged from, or transferred from the arresting agency's custody;

(5) broadcast radio communications between or among officers and dispatchers of the campus police department concerning traffic stops, field contacts, and arrests; and

(6) crime data and statistics that are required to be reported pursuant to the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

(c) The following records are not subject to inspection and copying under subsection (a) of this Section:

(1) records that are in the custody or possession of a campus police department that do not pertain to the exercise of power of a municipal peace officer or county sheriff;

(2) records regarding employment matters, including grievances and disciplinary matters, unless such records relate to cases in which a member of the campus police department's exercise of the powers of a municipal peace officer or a county sheriff results in the imposition of discipline; however, nothing in this subdivision (2) shall be construed to limit, alter, or modify any of the terms, conditions, or provisions of a collective bargaining agreement existing on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, and nothing in this subdivision (2) precludes a private college or private university and the exclusive bargaining representative from agreeing to and implementing this subdivision (2) prior to the termination of the existing collective bargaining agreement;

(3) records regarding labor contract negotiations;

(4) wage information;

(5) information about insurance;

(6) records relating to all ongoing investigations or security threats the disclosure of which would jeopardize public safety;

(7) records relating to students and related disciplinary proceedings and actions, including, but not limited to, those prohibited by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act;

(8) arrest records protected by the Juvenile Court Act of 1987;

(9) records relating to campus building access;

(10) records, tapes, and other digital media from campus security cameras;

(11) non-criminal campus incident reports; and

(12) documents exempted from or not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

(d) A person may request records as described in this Section, and a campus police department shall make records available for public inspection. No fees shall be charged for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal-sized copies. The fee for black and white, letter or legal-sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page; for color copies or copies of other sizes, the campus police department may charge up to its actual cost for reproducing the records. A campus police department is not required to copy a record that is published on the department's, college's, or university's Internet website. The campus police department shall notify the requester that the record is available online and direct the requester to the website where the record can be reasonably accessed.

(e) Each campus police department shall designate one or more employees to receive requests submitted to the campus police department pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section and ensure that the campus police department responds to requests within 5 business days, or a different period of time if agreed to by the requester and the campus police department. The campus police department may notify a requester that the department requires an additional 5 business days to respond to requests.

(f) Each campus police department that maintains an Internet website shall post on its website a brief description of the methods whereby the public may request information and records. If the campus police department does not maintain a website, such information shall be prominently displayed in its offices and made available for inspection and copying. A campus police department may train employees regarding compliance with this Act by using the training program made available by the Office of the Attorney General Public Access Counselor.

(g) When a request is made to inspect or copy a record that contains information that would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (including, but not limited to, exemptions listed in Sections 2.15 and 7 of the Freedom of Information Act), the campus police department may redact the information subject to the exemptions.

(h) Any person denied access to any record required to be publicly available under subsection (a) of this Section by a campus police department may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor not later than 60 days after the date of the denial. The request for review must be in writing, signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy of the request for access to records and (ii) any responses from the campus police department.

(i) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines that the alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the requester and the campus police department, and no further action shall be undertaken. Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by no more than 30 business days by sending written notice to the requester and the campus police department that includes a statement of the reasons for the extension in the notice or decides to address the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall issue to the requester and the campus police department an opinion in response to the request for review within 60 days after its receipt. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester and the campus police department, subject to review in circuit court. In responding to any request under this Section, the Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable. Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a violation of this Section has occurred, the campus police department shall either take necessary action immediately to comply with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate review proceedings. A binding opinion granting or denying in whole or part the request shall be subject to review in the circuit court of Cook or Sangamon County.