100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB0766

 

Introduced , by Rep. Steven A. Andersson

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/2  from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/6  from Ch. 116, par. 206

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Excludes from the definition of "public records" executable programs or source codes used to store and access electronic data processing records or other electronic communications. Provides that a public body is not required to furnish the executable programs or source codes required to access the information. Effective immediately.


LRB100 07409 HEP 17473 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0766LRB100 07409 HEP 17473 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 2 and 6 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/2)  (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
7    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8    (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
9administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
10universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
11villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
12municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
13commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
14foregoing including but not limited to committees and
15subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
16under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
17include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
18Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
19Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or
20the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
21Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
22Advisory Board Act.
23    (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,

 

 

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1partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
2individually or as a group.
3    (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
4writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
5photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
6data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
7information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
8the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form
9or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having
10been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or
11under the control of any public body. "Public records" does not
12include executable programs or source codes used to store and
13access electronic data processing records or other electronic
14communications.
15    (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
16including a person's social security number, driver's license
17number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
18personal financial information, passwords or other access
19codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and
20personal email addresses. Private information also includes
21home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise
22provided by law or when compiled without possibility of
23attribution to any person.
24    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
25public record or records, or information derived from public
26records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or

 

 

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1advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
2definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
3scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
4to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
5purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
6information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii)
7for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public,
8or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
9research or education.
10    (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
11by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
12process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
13available to the public body.
14    (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
15chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
16manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
17executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
18such person's duly authorized designee.
19    (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
20issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
21format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a
22radio station, a television station, a television network, a
23community antenna television service, or a person or
24corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
25picture news for public showing.
26    (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this

 

 

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1Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
2preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
3(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
4requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum
5of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes
6of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
7scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
8in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods
9in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests
10is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news
11and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or
12features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of
13academic, scientific, or public research or education.
14    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
15written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
16to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
17personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
18means available to the public body and that identifies the
19particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
20identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
21    (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) includes
22more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different
23categories of records or a combination of individual requests
24that total requests for more than 5 different categories of
25records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) requires the
26compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of

 

 

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1public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500
2pages. "Single requested record" may include, but is not
3limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book,
4map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
5    "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
6news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
7organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
8to access and disseminate information concerning news and
9current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
10features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
11academic, scientific, or public research or education.
12    For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
13written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
14to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
15personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
16means available to the public body and that identifies the
17particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
18request may identify multiple individual records to be
19inspected or copied.
20    (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
21any public body and its employee for the employee's resignation
22in exchange for payment by the public body.
23(Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14;
2499-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16.)
 
25    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)

 

 

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1    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
2    (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
3an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
4electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. The
5public body is not required to furnish the executable programs
6or source codes required to access the information. If it is
7not feasible to furnish the public records in the specified
8electronic format, then the public body shall furnish it in the
9format in which it is maintained by the public body, or in
10paper format at the option of the requester. A public body may
11charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the
12recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other
13medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose
14or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge the
15requester for the costs of any search for and review of the
16records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
17the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
18expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
19public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be
20applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
21format.
22    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
23those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the
24public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes
25of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes
26of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a

 

 

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1voluminous request is for electronic records and those records
2are in a portable document format, the public body may charge
3up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for
4more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data,
5and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the
6responsive electronic records are in both a portable document
7format and not in a portable document format, the public body
8may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee
9scales.
10    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
11(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
12fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request
13for public records.
14    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
15public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse
16its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
17and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
18body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
19pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
20requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
21or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
22public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
23letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
24actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
25actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
26equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public

 

 

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1body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
2of the records or other personnel costs associated with
3reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
4provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
5imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
6made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
7a record shall not exceed $1.
8    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
9reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person
10requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the
11request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is
12in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in
13the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is
14to access and disseminate information regarding the health,
15safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public
16and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial
17benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit"
18shall not apply to requests made by news media when the
19principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
20information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the
21legal rights of the general public. In setting the amount of
22the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into
23consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of
24copying them.
25    (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections
26(6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to

 

 

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1public records for the purposes of judicial review.
2    (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
3as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
4approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as a
5paper copy or as an electronic copy.
6    (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
7by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record
8or examining the record for necessary redactions. No fees shall
9be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in
10searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public body
11may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
12public records from an off-site storage facility when the
13public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
14under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
15fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the
16requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
17hours in connection with the request for public records. The
18provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
19requests.
20(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22becoming law.