Sen. Michael Noland

Filed: 5/13/2008

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1029

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1029 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4     "AN ACT concerning consumer contracts."; and
 
5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
6 following:
 
7     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
8 Consumer Contract Plain Language Act.
 
9     Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
10 context clearly requires otherwise:
11     "Consumer" means an individual who, primarily for
12 personal, family, or household purposes, either: (i) gives or
13 promises to give money or other consideration in exchange for
14 an interest in services or real or personal property, including
15 money, or (ii) leases residential premises for a term not

 

 

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1 exceeding 3 years.
2     "Consumer contract" means a written contract with a
3 consumer in which the price, excluding interest or finance
4 charges, is $100,000 or less.
 
5     Section 10. Plain language required. Except as provided in
6 Section 15, every consumer contract made with an alternative
7 gas supplier after the effective date of this Act shall meet
8 all of the following criteria:
9         (1) The contract shall adequately inform the consumer
10     of the rights and duties fixed by the contract.
11         (2) The contract shall be sufficiently clear and
12     readable for the ordinary reader, using, so far as is
13     practical, words with common, everyday meanings.
14         (3) The contract shall be appropriately divided into
15     sections and paragraphs, and the sections shall contain
16     captions.
17         (4) The contract shall be printed in a clear and
18     conspicuous manner, as defined in the Uniform Commercial
19     Code.
 
20     Section 15. Exceptions.
21     (a) This Act does not prohibit the use of the following in
22 consumer contracts with alternative gas suppliers:
23         (1) Words or phrases, or forms of agreement, required
24     by State or federal law or by rule or regulation of a State

 

 

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1     or federal governmental instrumentality.
2         (2) Technical terms used to describe a service or
3     property that is the subject of the contract if (i) those
4     terms are customarily used by consumers in connection with
5     the service or property or (ii) there is no sufficiently
6     clear and readable substitute for those terms.
7     (b) Other than the provisions delineated in subsection (c)
8 of this Section, this Act does not apply in any manner to:
9         (1) a State bank or national bank, as those terms are
10     defined in the Illinois Banking Act, or any subsidiary of a
11     State bank or national bank;
12         (2) a bank holding company, as that term is defined in
13     the Illinois Bank Holding Company Act of 1957, or any
14     subsidiary of a bank holding company;
15         (3) a foreign banking corporation, its subsidiary, or
16     its representative office, as those terms are defined in
17     the Foreign Banking Office Act, provided that such
18     subsidiaries and representative offices are engaged in the
19     provision of banking services to Illinois consumers;
20         (4) a corporate fiduciary, as that term is defined in
21     the Corporate Fiduciary Act, or any subsidiary of a
22     corporate fiduciary that also meets the definition of
23     corporate fiduciary outlined in the Corporate Fiduciary
24     Act;
25         (5) a savings bank organized under the Savings Bank
26     Act, or a federal savings bank organized under federal law,

 

 

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1     or any subsidiary of a savings bank or federal savings
2     bank;
3         (6) a savings bank holding company organized under the
4     Savings Bank Act, or any subsidiary of a savings bank
5     holding company;
6         (7) an association or federal association, as those
7     terms are defined in the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of
8     1985, or any subsidiary of an association or federal
9     association;
10         (8) a foreign savings and loan association or foreign
11     savings bank subject to the Illinois Savings and Loan Act
12     of 1985, or any subsidiary of a foreign savings and loan
13     association or foreign savings bank;
14         (9) a savings and loan association holding company, as
15     that term is defined in the Illinois Savings and Loan Act
16     of 1985, or any subsidiary of a savings and loan
17     association holding company; or
18         (10) a credit union, as that term is defined in the
19     Illinois Credit Union Act, or any subsidiary of a credit
20     union.
21     (c) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation, no
22 retail store that in any manner associates with any entity
23 referenced in subsection (b) of this Section to provide
24 financing to customers of the retail outlets is exempt from any
25 applicable requirement of the Act. Nothing in this Section
26 shall be construed to exempt any entity other than those

 

 

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1 specifically delineated in subsection (b) of this Section from
2 adhering to the requirements of this Section.
 
3     Section 20. Violation.
4     (a) A violation of Section 10 does not render a consumer
5 contract with an alternative gas supplier void or voidable, nor
6 does it constitute a defense to an action or proceeding for
7 breach of the contract or to enforce the contract.
8     (b) If the Attorney General has reason to believe that a
9 business entity is using or has used a consumer contract that
10 violates Section 10 and determines that an action under this
11 subsection would be in the public interest, the Attorney
12 General may bring an action, in the name of the People of the
13 State of Illinois, against that business entity to restrain the
14 use of that consumer contract.".