Full Text of SB2630 96th General Assembly
SB2630 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 SB2630
Introduced 1/21/2010, by Sen. Heather Steans SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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New Act |
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5 ILCS 160/9 |
from Ch. 116, par. 43.12 |
5 ILCS 160/22d new |
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Creates the Government Electronic Records Act. Authorizes and requires the use of electronic records in the executive branch, rather than hard copy, if appropriate. Sets forth exceptions and opt-out provisions. Requires the adoption of rules. Amends the State Records Act concerning retention of electronic records. Effective July 1, 2011.
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A BILL FOR
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SB2630 |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| AN ACT concerning electronic records.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Government Electronic Records Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Policy. It is the policy of the State of | 7 |
| Illinois to support efforts to reduce government use of our | 8 |
| natural resources and to look for ways to implement | 9 |
| efficiencies. To that end, this Act supersedes and supplants | 10 |
| all statutes that require production and retention of paper | 11 |
| documents. Government agencies should look for ways to employ | 12 |
| practices that allow for either or both of the following: (1) | 13 |
| electronic storage of documents and (2) electronic transfer of | 14 |
| documents. These environmentally-friendly practices will | 15 |
| reduce the State's reliance on paper and will ultimately save | 16 |
| the State money by reducing costs associated with storage of | 17 |
| paper documents. | 18 |
| Section 10. Definitions. | 19 |
| "Electronic transfer" means transfer of documents or | 20 |
| reports by electronic means. Appropriate electronic transfer | 21 |
| includes, but is not limited to, transfer by electronic mail, | 22 |
| facsimile transmission, or posting downloadable versions on an |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| Internet website, with electronic notice of that posting.
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| "Government agency" means all agencies, departments, | 3 |
| offices, parts, boards, and commissions of the executive branch | 4 |
| of the State government, including but not limited to, State | 5 |
| colleges and universities and their governing boards and all | 6 |
| departments established under the Civil Administrative Code of | 7 |
| Illinois. | 8 |
| "Record" has the meaning ascribed to it in the Illinois | 9 |
| State Records Act (5 ILCS 160/). | 10 |
| Section 15. Electronic records. | 11 |
| (a) An electronic record is considered the same as and has | 12 |
| the same force and effect as those records not produced by | 13 |
| electronic means. | 14 |
| (b) Nothing in this Act requires any government agency or | 15 |
| person to use an electronic record or an electronic signature | 16 |
| if so doing could jeopardize the efficient operation of State | 17 |
| government. | 18 |
| (c) Notwithstanding the requirements of this Act, | 19 |
| government agencies that obtain, store, or use electronic | 20 |
| records shall not refuse to accept hard copy, non-electronic | 21 |
| forms, reports, and other paper documents for submission or | 22 |
| filing, except as otherwise provided by law. | 23 |
| (d) Any government agency that uses electronic records | 24 |
| shall allow any person or entity that uses the agency's | 25 |
| services to obtain access to those records as permitted by the |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/) or other applicable | 2 |
| law in paper form in accordance with the fees prescribed by | 3 |
| statute. | 4 |
| Section 20. Electronic transfer of records. | 5 |
| Notwithstanding any statutory requirement to the contrary, all | 6 |
| government agencies are encouraged to employ electronic means | 7 |
| of transferring records when appropriate. Electronic transfer | 8 |
| of records includes transmission by e-mail account and posting | 9 |
| on an Internet website and allowing for download. In accordance | 10 |
| with rules adopted by the Secretary of State, government | 11 |
| agencies are required to send by electronic transmission any | 12 |
| document, report, or record that State law would otherwise | 13 |
| require to be placed in the U.S. mail, sent by certified mail, | 14 |
| or otherwise delivered. Those electronic records are protected | 15 |
| as required by the Electronic Commerce Security Act (5 ILCS | 16 |
| 175/).
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| Section 25. Electronic retention of documents. | 18 |
| Notwithstanding any statutory requirement to the contrary, all | 19 |
| government agencies are encouraged to employ electronic means | 20 |
| of retaining State records, all in accordance with the State | 21 |
| Records Act (5 ILCS 160/). | 22 |
| Section 30. Documents included. | 23 |
| (a) This Act applies to all records produced in relation to |
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| any government agency activity or transaction, including, but | 2 |
| not limited to, any record created, generated, sent, published, | 3 |
| communicated, received, or stored by a government agency.
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| (b) This Act does not apply to any record or document | 5 |
| specifically exempted from the scope of this Act by the State | 6 |
| Records Commission. | 7 |
| Section 35. Application. This Act supersedes and supplants | 8 |
| any State law requiring a government agency to transfer a | 9 |
| record by mail or to retain a hard copy record. This Act does | 10 |
| not affect any State law that requires publication of | 11 |
| information in newspapers of general circulation. | 12 |
| Section 40. Opt-out for documents. Before January 1, 2012, | 13 |
| each government agency shall publish on its Internet website a | 14 |
| full list of all documents that are now available for | 15 |
| electronic dissemination. The government agency shall also | 16 |
| publish documentation showing its electronic record retention | 17 |
| system, in conformity with the State Records Act (5 ILCS 160/). | 18 |
| Government agencies shall further identify which statutory | 19 |
| requirements will continue to remain in effect.
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| Section 45. Rulemaking. Within 6 months after the effective | 21 |
| date of this Act, the Secretary of State shall promulgate rules | 22 |
| to implement and administer this Act. |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| Section 90. The State Records Act is amended by changing | 2 |
| Section 9 and by adding Section 22d as follows:
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| (5 ILCS 160/9) (from Ch. 116, par. 43.12)
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| Sec. 9.
The head of each agency shall establish, and | 5 |
| maintain an active,
continuing program for the economical and | 6 |
| efficient management of the
records of the agency. Before | 7 |
| January 1, 2012, each agency head shall develop a plan for | 8 |
| retaining records produced as of that date and thereafter in | 9 |
| electronic format. The plan must be in conformity with the | 10 |
| requirements developed by the State Archives Advisory Board | 11 |
| before July 1, 2012, pursuant to Section 22d of this Act. The | 12 |
| plan shall be called the Electronic Retention of State Records | 13 |
| Plan and shall be posted on the agency's Internet website. Each | 14 |
| agency head shall retain the discretion to exempt from | 15 |
| electronic storage any record that the agency head concludes is | 16 |
| better suited to retention in paper format.
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| Such program:
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| (1) shall provide for effective controls over the creation, | 19 |
| maintenance,
and use of records in the conduct of current | 20 |
| business and shall ensure that
agency electronic records, as | 21 |
| specified in Section 5-135 of the Electronic
Commerce Security | 22 |
| Act, are retained in a trustworthy manner so that the
records, | 23 |
| and the information contained in the records, are accessible | 24 |
| and
usable for reference
for the duration of the retention | 25 |
| period; all computer tape or disk maintenance
and preservation |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| procedures
must be fully applied and, if equipment or programs | 2 |
| providing access to the
records are updated or replaced, the | 3 |
| existing data must remain accessible in
the successor format | 4 |
| for the duration of the approved retention period;
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| (2) shall provide for cooperation with the Secretary in | 6 |
| appointing a
records officer and in applying
standards, | 7 |
| procedures, and techniques to improve the management of | 8 |
| records,
promote the maintenance and security of records deemed | 9 |
| appropriate for
preservation, and facilitate the segregation | 10 |
| and disposal of records of
temporary value; and
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| (3) shall provide for compliance with the provisions of | 12 |
| this Act and the
rules and regulations issued thereunder.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-866, eff. 1-3-03.)
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| (5 ILCS 160/22d new) | 15 |
| Sec. 22d. Rules for electronic records. Before January 1, | 16 |
| 2012, the State Archives Advisory Board shall meet and | 17 |
| promulgate rules for the safe retention of State records in an | 18 |
| electronic format. Those rules shall be posted on the Internet | 19 |
| website of the Secretary of State and shall be distributed to | 20 |
| all government agencies, as that term is defined in the | 21 |
| Government Electronic Records Act. Those rules must advise | 22 |
| government agencies on the safest manner of electronic | 23 |
| retention and provide alternatives for appropriate electronic | 24 |
| record retention. Electronic records retention plans should | 25 |
| allow for the creation of electronic records currently and in |
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LRB096 18379 RCE 33756 b |
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| the future and for converting past records of an agency into an | 2 |
| electronic format.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | 4 |
| 2011.
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