SB2203sam002 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. David Koehler

Filed: 4/11/2011

09700SB2203sam002 LRB097 08645 JDS 54290 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2203

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2203, AS AMENDED, by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9.5 and by adding Section 3.2 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 201)

Sec. 1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest.

The General Assembly hereby declares that it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that access by all persons to public records promotes the transparency and accountability of public bodies at all levels of government. It is a fundamental obligation of government to operate openly and provide public records as expediently and efficiently as possible in compliance with this Act.

This Act is not intended to cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, nor to allow the requests of a commercial enterprise to unduly burden public resources, nor to allow vexatious requests for records to unduly burden public resources, nor or to disrupt the duly-undertaken work of any public body independent of the fulfillment of any of the fore-mentioned rights of the people to access to information.

This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the part of any public body to maintain or prepare any public record which was not maintained or prepared by such public body at the time when this Act becomes effective, except as otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law.

Restraints on access to information, to the extent permitted by this Act, are limited exceptions to the principle that the people of this State have a right to full disclosure of information relating to the decisions, policies, procedures, rules, standards, and other aspects of government activity that affect the conduct of government and the lives of any or all of the people. The provisions of this Act shall be construed in accordance with this principle. This Act shall be construed to require disclosure of requested information as expediently and efficiently as possible and adherence to the deadlines established in this Act.

The General Assembly recognizes that this Act imposes fiscal obligations on public bodies to provide adequate staff and equipment to comply with its requirements. The General Assembly declares that providing records in compliance with the requirements of this Act is a primary duty of public bodies to the people of this State, and this Act should be construed to this end, fiscal obligations notwithstanding.

The General Assembly further recognizes that technology may advance at a rate that outpaces its ability to address those advances legislatively. To the extent that this Act may not expressly apply to those technological advances, this Act should nonetheless be interpreted to further the declared policy of this Act that public records shall be made available upon request except when denial of access furthers the public policy underlying a specific exemption.

This Act shall be the exclusive State statute on freedom of information, except to the extent that other State statutes might create additional restrictions on disclosure of information or other laws in Illinois might create additional obligations for disclosure of information to the public.

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)

(5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child Death Review Team Act.

(b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.

(c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, electronic communications, recorded information and all other documentary materials pertaining to the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or under the control of any public body. Communications and materials exchanged between a lobbyist and a public body that concern either lobbying performed on behalf of the public body by the lobbyist or the expenditure of public moneys for goods or services provided on behalf of the public body by the lobbyist are public records and are not exempt from inspection and copying unless exempt under Section 7.

(c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, including a person's social security number, driver's license number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial information, passwords or other access codes, medical records or information (such as treatment histories, descriptions of injuries, information regarding the hospital to which an injured person is taken, insurance policy numbers, and pregnancy status), home or personal telephone numbers, dates of birth, the names of applicants for public employment, completed applications for public employment, and personal email addresses. Private information also includes home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person.

(c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the purpose or intent to use of any part of a public record or records, or information derived from public records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services or to otherwise further a commercial, trade, or profit interest or enterprise, as those terms are commonly understood. For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education. For purposes of this definition, requests made by a member or employee of a public body to either the public body of which the person is a member or employee or to another public body shall not be considered to be made for a commercial purpose if the information will be used by that person in his or her official capacity or as part of his or her employment.

(d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and available to the public body.

(e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent, manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary executive and administrative authority for the public body, or such person's duly authorized designee.

(f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a radio station, a television station, a television network, a community antenna television service, or a person or corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.

(g) "Vexatious request for records" means a request for records that is made by a person who, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body (i) a minimum of 48 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 10 requests for records within a 30-day period, (iii) a minimum of 5 requests for records within a 7-day period, (iv) one or more requests for records that required a response by the public body consisting of at least 1,500 pages in the aggregate, or (v) one or more requests for records that have sought a minimum of 20 different categories of records. For the purposes of this definition, a request made by news media shall not be considered a vexatious request for records when the principal purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events or (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public.

(h) "Business day" means any calendar day except a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. For public bodies that are organized or established pursuant to the School Code, "business day" does not include any non-pupil attendance days between the opening and closing of the school term specified in the calendar established in accordance with Section 10-19 of the School Code.

(Source: P.A. 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(5 ILCS 140/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 203)

Sec. 3. Inspection or copying of public records; no exclusive right to access and dissemination; request procedure.

(a) Each public body shall make available to any person for inspection or copying all public records, except as otherwise provided in Section 7 of this Act. Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any public record as defined in this Act.

(b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act, each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify such copy if so requested.

(c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail, telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A public body may not require that a request be submitted on a standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose for a request, except to determine whether the records are requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and copying received by a public body shall immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee.

(d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or deny a request for public records within 5 business days after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section. Denial shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time for response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request within the requisite periods in this Section but thereafter provides the requester with copies of the requested public records may not impose a fee for such copies. A public body that fails to respond to a request received may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection (g).

(e) The time for response under this Section may be extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days from the original due date for any of the following reasons:

(i) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;

(ii) the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;

(iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;

(iv) the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;

(v) the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;

(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;

(vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request.

The person making a request and the public body may agree in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be treated as a denial of the request for the records.

(f) When additional time is required for any of the above reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of the reasons for the extension and the date by which the response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request within the time permitted for extension but thereafter provides the requester with copies of the requested public records may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests an extension and subsequently fails to respond to the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection (g).

(g) Requests calling for all records falling within a category shall be complied with unless compliance with the request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden on the public body outweighs the public interest in the information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its operation and the conditions described above are met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a response shall be treated as a denial of the request for information.

Repeated requests from the same person for the same records that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed unduly burdensome under this provision.

(h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining to the availability of records and procedures to be followed, including:

(i) the times and places where such records will be made available, and

(ii) the persons from whom such records may be obtained.

(i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose. Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3.1 of this Act.

(j) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the contrary, if a public body receives a request from a person who is incarcerated in a State correctional institution, it may forward the request to the Freedom of Information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections within 5 business days after receipt of the request. The Freedom of Information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections shall attempt to locate all public records that are responsive to the request and shall forward those public records to the requester within 5 business days after he or she receives the request. If the Freedom of Information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections is unable to locate all public records that are responsive to a request, he or she shall submit a request for any outstanding public records to the public body that is in possession or control of those public records within 10 business days after the Freedom of Information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections is forwarded a request from another public body. Upon receipt of the forwarded request the public body shall respond within the time limits otherwise set forth in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)

(5 ILCS 140/3.2 new)

Sec. 3.2. Vexatious request for records.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a public body shall respond to a vexatious request for records within 21 working days after receipt. The response shall (i) provide to the requester an estimate of the time required by the public body to provide the records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the public body may require the person to pay in full before copying the requested documents, (ii) deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in this Act, (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions, or (iv) provide the records requested.

(b) Within 5 working days after receiving a vexatious request for records, the public body shall notify the requester (i) that the public body is treating the request as a vexatious request for records, (ii) of the reasons why the public body is treating the request as a vexatious request for records, and (iii) that the public body will send an initial response within 21 working days after receipt in accordance with subsection (a) of this Section. The public body shall also notify the requester of the proposed responses that can be asserted pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.

(c) Unless the records are exempt from disclosure, a public body shall comply with a request within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request, and prioritizing non-commercial or commercial requests for records over vexatious requests for records.

(d) The Public Access Counselor shall adopt by administrative rule procedures to create and maintain a log for public bodies that are governed by subsection (a) of Section 9.5 of this Act to use for tracking vexatious requests for records. The log shall track all requests submitted by a person who has filed a vexatious request for records within the 12-month period described in the definition of "vexatious request for records" in Section 2 of this Act. Upon receiving a vexatious request for records, a public body shall promptly send to the Public Access Counselor any information that is necessary to complete an entry in the log.

(5 ILCS 140/6) (from Ch. 116, par. 206)

Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.

(a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other medium. A public body may not charge the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records only as permitted in subsection (f) of this Section. Except to the extent that the General Assembly expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic format.

(b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a public body provides copies in color or in a size other than letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public body shall not include the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records except as provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying a record shall not exceed $1.

(c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests made by news media when the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the general public. In setting the amount of the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of copying them.

(d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to public records for the purposes of judicial review.

(e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as a paper copy or as an electronic copy.

(f) A public body may charge up to $25 for each hour spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record. No fees shall be charged for the first 2 hours spent by personnel in searching for or retrieving a requested record, unless the request is made for a commercial purpose, in which case fees may be charged for the first 2 hours.

A public body may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting public records from an off-site storage facility when the public records are maintained by a third-party storage company under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request for public records.

(g) When a public body determines or estimates that fees to be charged under this Section will amount to more than $100, the public body shall notify the requester of the actual or estimated amount of the fees, unless the requester has indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. If the public body is able to estimate only a portion of the expected fee, the public body shall advise the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total fee. If a public body notifies a requester that the actual or estimated fees will exceed $100 and requests advance payment or deposit of a specific amount by the requester, the public body does not have to expend additional resources on the request until the requester makes an advance payment or deposit of the specific amount.

(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this Section to the contrary, no fees shall be imposed on the person making the request if (i) he or she is a member or employee of a public body and (ii) he or she intends to use the requested information in his or her official capacity or as part of his or her employment.

(i) If a requester has previously failed to pay a properly charged fee to the public body within 30 days after the date of billing, the public body may require the requester to pay the full amount due and to make an advance payment of the full amount of any anticipated fee before the public body begins to process a new request or continues to process a pending request from that requester.

(j) If a public body reasonably believes that a requester or group of requesters acting together is attempting to divide a request into multiple series of requests for the purpose of avoiding fees, the public body may aggregate those requests and charge accordingly, provided that the public body notifies the requester or requesters before taking that action.

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)

(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)

Sec. 7. Exemptions.

(1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure under this Section, but also contains information that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the information that is exempt. The public body shall make the remaining information available for inspection and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing federal or State law.

(b) Private information, unless disclosure is required by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order.

(b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and specifically designed to provide information to one or more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or mental status of one or more individual subjects.

(c) Personal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information.

"Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information. The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy.

(d) Records in the possession of any public body created in the course of administrative enforcement proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that disclosure would:

(i) interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency that is the recipient of the request;

(ii) interfere with active administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by any the public body that is the recipient of the request;

(iii) create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial hearing;

(iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a confidential source, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source, or persons who file complaints with or provide information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or penal agencies; except that the identities of witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of local government, except when disclosure would interfere with an active criminal investigation conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the request;

(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative techniques other than those generally used and known or disclose internal documents of correctional agencies related to detection, observation, or investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public body that is the recipient of the request;

(vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel or any other person; or

(vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation by the agency that is the recipient of the request.

For the purposes of this paragraph (d), if the recipient of the request for records is other than (i) the public body that is contemplating or conducting the administrative enforcement proceeding or investigation or (ii) the law enforcement or correctional agency that is contemplating or conducting the law enforcement proceeding or investigation, then the original recipient of the request shall transmit the request to the Freedom of Information officer of the public body that is contemplating or conducting the proceeding or investigation within 2 business days after the receipt of the request. The original recipient of the request shall notify the requester that the request for records was transmitted to another public body and shall identify the public body to which the request was forwarded. Upon receipt of the forwarded request, the public body shall respond to the request within the time limits otherwise set forth in this Act.

(e) Records that relate to or affect the security of correctional institutions and detention facilities.

(f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and any other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

(g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or commercial or financial information are furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, privileged or confidential, and that disclosure of the trade secrets or commercial or financial information would cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only insofar as the claim directly applies to the records requested.

The information included under this exemption includes all trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating a potential investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the aggregate financial performance information of a private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or general partners. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the identity of a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held company may cause competitive harm.

Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be construed to prevent a person or business from consenting to disclosure.

(h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or agreement, including information which if it were disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contractor agreement with the body, until an award or final selection is made. Information prepared by or for the body in preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an award or final selection is made.

(i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss. The exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the general public.

(j) The following information pertaining to educational matters:

(i) test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer an academic examination;

(ii) information received by a primary or secondary school, college, or university under its procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by their academic peers;

(iii) information concerning a school or university's adjudication of student disciplinary cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and

(iv) course materials or research materials used by faculty members.

(k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical submissions, and other construction related technical documents for projects not constructed or developed in whole or in part with public funds and the same for projects constructed or developed with public funds, including but not limited to power generating and distribution stations and other transmission and distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise security.

(l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the public body makes the minutes available to the public under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.

(m) Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, and materials prepared or compiled with respect to internal audits of public bodies. However, communications and materials exchanged between a lobbyist and a public body that concern either lobbying performed on behalf of the public body by the lobbyist or the expenditure of public moneys for goods or services provided on behalf of the public body by the lobbyist are public records and are not exempt from inspection and copying based solely on the lobbyist's status as an attorney or auditor.

(n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of cases in which discipline is imposed.

(o) Administrative or technical information associated with automated data processing operations, including but not limited to software, operating protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object modules, load modules, user guides, documentation pertaining to all logical and physical design of computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security of the system or its data or the security of materials exempt under this Section.

(p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters between public bodies and their employees or representatives, except that any final contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.

(q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to determine the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment.

(r) The records, documents, and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated.

(s) Any and all proprietary information and records related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk management association or self-insurance pool or jointly self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool. Insurance or self insurance (including any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications.

(t) Information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State law.

(u) Information that would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of secret or confidential information, codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be used to create electronic or digital signatures under the Electronic Commerce Security Act.

(v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies or plans that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's population or systems, facilities, or installations, the destruction or contamination of which would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community, but only to the extent that disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement them or the public. Information exempt under this item may include such things as details pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to tactical operations.

(w) (Blank).

(x) Maps and other records regarding the location or security of generation, transmission, distribution, storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the Illinois Power Agency.

(y) Information contained in or related to proposals, bids, or negotiations related to electric power procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

(z) Information about students exempted from disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the School Code, and information about undergraduate students enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit Card Marketing Act of 2009.

(aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.

(bb) Records and information provided to a mortality review team and records maintained by a mortality review team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team Act.

(cc) (bb) Information regarding interments, entombments, or inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable.

(dd) The names, addresses, or other personal information of participants, volunteers, and registrants in programs of park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation associations.

(ee) The names of subscribers to any magazine, newsletter, periodical, or other publication of a public body.

(ff) Personally identifiable information exempted from disclosure by subsection (g) of Section 19.1 of the Toll Highway Act.

(gg) Utility bills for individual customers of a municipally owned or operated gas, electric, telephone, or water utility company. However, this exemption does not apply to any utility bills of a public body.

(hh) Investigative or crime scene photographs or video recordings of a deceased person, a part of a deceased person, or any part of a person's extreme, severe, or acute injuries. However, that information shall be released in accordance with this Act to the person depicted in the photographs or video recordings, or if the person is deceased, that information shall be released to the person's surviving spouse, parents, adult siblings, or adult children. This information shall also be released to any public body or federal agency in furtherance of its official duties and pursuant to a written request to the public body in possession of the records.

(2) A public record that is not in the possession of a public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, for purposes of this Act.

(3) This Section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07; 95-941, eff. 8-29-08; 95-988, eff. 6-1-09; 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-558, eff. 1-1-10; 96-736, eff. 7-1-10; 96-863, eff. 3-1-10; 96-1378, eff. 7-29-10; revised 9-2-10.)

(5 ILCS 140/9.5)

Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.

(a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the date of the final 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 public body.

(b) A public body that receives a request for records, and asserts that the records are exempt under subsection (1)(c) or (1)(f) of Section 7 of this Act, shall, within the time periods provided for responding to a request, provide written notice to the requester and the Public Access Counselor of its intent to deny the request in whole or in part. The notice shall include: (i) a copy of the request for access to records; (ii) the proposed response from the public body; and (iii) a detailed summary of the public body's basis for asserting the exemption. Upon receipt of a notice of intent to deny from a public body, the Public Access Counselor shall determine whether further inquiry is warranted. Within 5 working days after receipt of the notice of intent to deny, the Public Access Counselor shall notify the public body and the requester whether further inquiry is warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines that further inquiry is warranted, the procedures set out in this Section regarding the review of denials, including the production of documents, shall also be applicable to the inquiry and resolution of a notice of intent to deny from a public body. Times for response or compliance by the public body under Section 3 of this Act shall be tolled until the Public Access Counselor concludes his or her inquiry.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (b), a public body that receives a request for records and asserts that those records are exempt under subsection (1)(c) or (1)(f) of Section 7 of this Act has no duty to provide a written notice of its intent not to disclose a date of birth, medical or health information, the names of applicants for public employment, or completed applications for public employment.

(c) 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 public body and no further action shall be undertaken. In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for review to the public body within 7 working days after receipt and shall specify the records or other documents that the public body shall furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7 working days after receipt of the request for review, the public body shall provide copies of records requested and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish specified records pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise necessary, the Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any person or public body having knowledge of or records pertaining to a request for review of a denial of access to records under the Act. To the extent that records or documents produced by a public body contain information that is claimed to be exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act, the Public Access Counselor shall not further disclose that information.

(d) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a request for review and request for production of records from the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not required to, answer the allegations of the request for review. The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer to the person submitting the request for review, with any alleged confidential information to which the request pertains redacted from the copy. The requester may, but is not required to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.

(e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter germane to the review.

(f) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the requester and the public body 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 public body 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 public body, subject to administrative review under Section 11.5.

In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, 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 Act has occurred, the public body shall either take necessary action immediately to comply with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative review under Section 11.5. If the opinion concludes that no violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate administrative review under Section 11.5.

A public body that discloses records in accordance with an opinion of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities by reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under this Act.

(g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending request for review, the requester shall notify the Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take no further action with respect to the request for review and shall so notify the public body.

(h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional information from the public body in order to assist in the review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)

Section 10. The Toll Highway Act is amended by adding Section 19.1 as follows:

(605 ILCS 10/19.1 new)

Sec. 19.1. Confidentiality of personally identifiable information obtained through electronic toll collection system.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the Authority may not sell or otherwise provide to any person or entity personally identifiable information of any electronic toll collection system user that the Authority obtains through the operation of its electronic toll collection system.

(b) The Authority may, within practical business and cost constraints, store personally identifiable information of an electronic toll collection system user only if the information is required to perform account functions, such as billing, account settlement, or toll violation enforcement activities.

(c) By no later than December 31, 2011, the Authority shall establish a privacy policy regarding the collection and use of personally identifiable information. Upon its adoption, the policy shall be posted on the Authority's website and a copy shall be included with each transponder transmitted to a user. The policy shall include but need not be limited to the following:

(1) A description of the types of personally identifiable information collected by the Authority.

(2) The categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the Authority may share personally identifiable information and for what purposes that information is shared.

(3) The process by which the Authority notifies electronic toll collection system users of material changes to its privacy policy.

(4) The process by which an electronic toll collection system user may review and request changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information.

(5) The effective date of the privacy policy.

(d) This Section does not prohibit the Authority from:

(1) providing aggregated traveler information derived from collective data relating to a group or category of electronic toll collection system users from which personally identifiable information has been removed;

(2) sharing data with another transportation agency or third-party vendor to comply with interoperability specifications and standards regarding electronic toll collection devices and technologies, provided that the other transportation agency or third-party vendor may not use personally identifiable information obtained under this Section for a purpose other than described in this Section;

(3) performing financial, legal and accounting functions such as billing, account settlement, toll violation enforcement, or other activities required to operate and manage its toll collection system;

(4) communicating about products and services offered by itself, a business partner, or another public agency;

(5) using personally identifiable information in research projects, provided that appropriate confidentiality restrictions are employed to protect against the unauthorized release of such information;

(6) releasing personally identifiable information in response to a warrant, subpoena or lawful order from a court of competent jurisdiction;

(7) releasing personally identifiable information to law enforcement agencies in the case of an emergency when obtaining a warrant or subpoena would be impractical; and

(8) releasing personally identifiable information to the Authority's Inspector General or, at the Inspector General's direction, to law enforcement agencies under paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (f) of Section 8.5 of this Act.

(e) For purposes of this Section:

"Electronic toll collection system" is a system where a transponder, camera-based vehicle identification system, or other electronic medium is used to deduct payment of a toll from a subscriber's account or to establish an obligation to pay a toll.

"Electronic toll collection system user" means any natural person who subscribes to an electronic toll collection system or any natural person who uses a tolled transportation facility that employs the Authority's electronic toll collection system.

"Personally identifiable information" means any information that identifies or describes an electronic toll collection system user, including but not limited to travel pattern data, address, telephone number, e-mail address, license plate number, photograph, vehicle location, bank account information, or credit card number.

(f) In any agreement allowing another public entity to use the Authority's toll collection system in a transportation facility, the Authority shall require the other public entity to comply with the requirements of this Section.

(g) Personally identifiable information generated through the Authority's toll collection process that reveals the date, time, location or direction of travel by an electronic toll collection system user shall be exempt from release under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The exemption in this subsection shall not apply to information that concerns (i) the public duties of public employees; (ii) whether an electronic toll collection system user has paid tolls; (iii) whether the Authority is enforcing toll violation penalties against electronic toll collection users who do not pay tolls; (iv) accidents or other incidents that occur on highways under the jurisdiction of the Authority; or (v) other operations of the Authority.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".