093_SB1507

 
                                     LRB093 06301 WGH 06419 b

 1        AN ACT concerning consumer contracts.

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

 4        Section  1.   Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Consumer Contract Plain Language Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions.  As used in this Act, unless the
 7    context clearly requires otherwise:
 8        "Consumer"  means  an  individual  who,   primarily   for
 9    personal, family, or household purposes, either: (i) gives or
10    promises to give money or other consideration in exchange for
11    an  interest  in  services  or  real  or  personal  property,
12    including  money,  or  (ii) leases residential premises for a
13    term not exceeding 3 years.
14        "Consumer contract"  means  a  written  contract  with  a
15    consumer  in  which  the price, excluding interest or finance
16    charges, is $100,000 or less.

17        Section 10.  Plain language required.  Except as provided
18    in  Section  15,  every  consumer  contract  made  after  the
19    effective date of this Act shall meet all  of  the  following
20    criteria:
21             (1)  The   contract   shall  adequately  inform  the
22        consumer of the rights and duties fixed by the contract.
23             (2)  The contract shall be  sufficiently  clear  and
24        readable  for  the  ordinary  reader, using, so far as is
25        practical, words with common, everyday meanings.
26             (3)  The contract  shall  be  appropriately  divided
27        into  sections  and  paragraphs,  and  the sections shall
28        contain captions.
29             (4)  The contract shall be printed  in  10-point  or
30        larger  type,  with at least one point of leading between
 
                            -2-      LRB093 06301 WGH 06419 b
 1        lines, and in ink that contrasts  sufficiently  with  the
 2        paper.

 3        Section  15.  Exceptions.  This Act does not prohibit the
 4    use of the following in consumer contracts:
 5             (1)  Words  or  phrases,  or  forms  of   agreement,
 6        required by State or federal law or by rule or regulation
 7        of a State or federal governmental instrumentality.
 8             (2)  Technical  terms  used to describe a service or
 9        property that is the subject of the contract if (i) those
10        terms are customarily used  by  consumers  in  connection
11        with  the  service  or  property  or  (ii)  there  is  no
12        sufficiently  clear  and  readable  substitute  for those
13        terms.

14        Section 20.  Violation.
15        (a)  A violation of Section 10 does not render a consumer
16    contract void or voidable, nor does it constitute  a  defense
17    to  an  action or proceeding for breach of the contract or to
18    enforce the contract.
19        (b)  If the Attorney General has reason to believe that a
20    business entity is using or has used a consumer contract that
21    violates Section 10 and determines that an action under  this
22    subsection  would  be  in  the  public interest, the Attorney
23    General may bring an action, in the name of the People of the
24    State of Illinois, against that business entity  to  restrain
25    the use of that consumer contract.