102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4005

 

Introduced 3/4/2021, by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

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

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records in a format that is readable by the requester, including, but not limited to, making the record available in any format that is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately.


LRB102 17230 HEP 22691 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4005LRB102 17230 HEP 22691 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 Section 6 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)
7    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
8    (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
9an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
10electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. The
11public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records
12in a format that is readable by the requester, including, but
13not limited to, making the record available in any format that
14is available to the public body and requested by the
15requester. If it is not feasible to furnish the public records
16in the specified electronic format, then the public body shall
17furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the
18public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester.
19A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of
20purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape,
21or other medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial
22purpose or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge
23the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the

 

 

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1records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
2the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
3expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
4public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be
5applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
6format.
7    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records
8and those records are not in a portable document format (PDF),
9the public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2
10megabytes of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than
114 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes
12of data. If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
13those records are in a portable document format, the public
14body may charge up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of
15data, up to $40 for more than 80 megabytes but not more than
16160 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 160
17megabytes of data. If the responsive electronic records are in
18both a portable document format and not in a portable document
19format, the public body may separate the fees and charge the
20requester under both fee scales.
21    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
22(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
23fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the
24request for public records.
25    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
26public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse

 

 

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1its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
2and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
3body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
4pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
5requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
6or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
7public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
8letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
9actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
10actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
11equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
12body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
13of the records or other personnel costs associated with
14reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
15provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
16imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
17made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
18a record shall not exceed $1.
19    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
20reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the
21person requesting the documents states the specific purpose
22for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the
23fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee
24is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the
25request is to access and disseminate information regarding the
26health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general

 

 

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1public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or
2commercial benefit. For purposes of this subsection,
3"commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests made by news
4media when the principal purpose of the request is to access
5and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and
6welfare or the legal rights of the general public. In setting
7the amount of the waiver or reduction, the public body may take
8into consideration the amount of materials requested and the
9cost of copying them.
10    (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with
11subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of
12access to public records for the purposes of judicial review.
13    (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
14as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
15approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as
16a paper copy or as an electronic copy.
17    (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
18by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested
19record or examining the record for necessary redactions. No
20fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel
21in searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public
22body may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
23public records from an off-site storage facility when the
24public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
25under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
26fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the

 

 

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1requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
2hours in connection with the request for public records. The
3provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
4requests.
5(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.