103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3364

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/3  from Ch. 116, par. 203

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body may require (rather than may not require) that a request be submitted on a standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose for a request. Provides that a person making a request may not make a request for any other individual, but may make a request for an organization if the person discloses the organization for whom the request is being made.


LRB103 30083 AWJ 56507 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3364LRB103 30083 AWJ 56507 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3 and 3.2 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
7    Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any
8person for inspection or copying all public records, except as
9otherwise provided in Sections 7 and 8.5 of this Act.
10Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to
11any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or
12otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any
13public record as defined in this Act.
14    (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
15each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who
16submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be
17disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify
18such copy if so requested.
19    (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in
20writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may
21be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
22telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public
23body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A

 

 

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1public body may not require that a request be submitted on a
2standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose
3for a request, except to determine whether the records are
4requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a
5request for a fee waiver. A person making a request may not
6make a request for any other individual, but may make a request
7for an organization if the person discloses the organization
8for whom the request is being made. All requests for
9inspection and copying received by a public body shall
10immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer
11or designee.
12    (d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with
13or deny a request for public records within 5 business days
14after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response
15is properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section.
16Denial shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this
17Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time
18for response, or deny a request within 5 business days after
19its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A
20public body that fails to respond to a request within the
21requisite periods in this Section but thereafter provides the
22requester with copies of the requested public records may not
23impose a fee for such copies. A public body that fails to
24respond to a request received may not treat the request as
25unduly burdensome under subsection (g).
26    (e) The time for response under this Section may be

 

 

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1extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days
2from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
3        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
4    part at other locations than the office having charge of
5    the requested records;
6        (ii) the request requires the collection of a
7    substantial number of specified records;
8        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
9    requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
10    it;
11        (iv) the requested records have not been located in
12    the course of routine search and additional efforts are
13    being made to locate them;
14        (v) the requested records require examination and
15    evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
16    and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
17    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
18    revealed only with appropriate deletions;
19        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with
20    by the public body within the time limits prescribed by
21    subsection (d) of this Section without unduly burdening or
22    interfering with the operations of the public body;
23        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
24    conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
25    body or among 2 or more components of a public body having
26    a substantial interest in the determination or in the

 

 

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1    subject matter of the request.
2    The person making a request and the public body may agree
3in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
4determined by the parties. If the requester and the public
5body agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by
6the public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall
7not be treated as a denial of the request for the records.
8    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above
9reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
10receipt of the request, notify the person making the request
11of the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
12response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
13time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
14the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
15within the time permitted for extension but thereafter
16provides the requester with copies of the requested public
17records may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body
18that requests an extension and subsequently fails to respond
19to the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
20under subsection (g).
21    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a
22category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
23request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
24body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
25on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
26information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body

 

 

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1shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity
2to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
3manageable proportions. If any public body responds to a
4categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly
5burden its operation and the conditions described above are
6met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it
7would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance
8will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a
9response shall be treated as a denial of the request for
10information.
11    Repeated requests from the same person for the same
12records that are unchanged or identical to records previously
13provided or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed
14unduly burdensome under this provision.
15    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
16in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining
17to the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
18including:
19        (i) the times and places where such records will be
20    made available, and
21        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
22    obtained.
23    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
24to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
25apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose,
26requests by a recurrent requester, or voluminous requests.

 

 

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1Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections
23.1, 3.2, and 3.6 of this Act, as applicable.
3(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)