Full Text of HB4270 095th General Assembly
HB4270 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB4270
Introduced , by Rep. William B. Black SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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5 ILCS 140/3 |
from Ch. 116, par. 203 |
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Amends the Freedom of Information Act. In responding to a request for inspection and copying of public records, requires that a public body provide them in any form or format requested, if they are readily reproducible in that form or format. Requires that a public body must make reasonable efforts to maintain its records in forms or formats that are reproducible. Requires that a public body shall make a reasonable effort to search for records in electronic format, unless that effort would significantly interfere with the operations of the public body's automated information system.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
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A BILL FOR
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HB4270 |
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LRB095 15190 JAM 41170 b |
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| AN ACT concerning government.
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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 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Section 3 as follows:
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| (5 ILCS 140/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
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| Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any | 8 |
| person for
inspection or copying all public records, except as | 9 |
| otherwise provided in
Section 7 of this Act.
Notwithstanding | 10 |
| any other law, a public body may not grant to any person
or | 11 |
| entity, whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the | 12 |
| exclusive right to
access and disseminate any public record as | 13 |
| defined in this Act.
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| (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act, | 15 |
| each public
body shall promptly provide, to any person who | 16 |
| submits a written request,
a copy of any public record required | 17 |
| to be disclosed
by subsection (a) of this Section and shall | 18 |
| certify such copy if so requested. The public body shall | 19 |
| provide the record in any form or format requested, if the | 20 |
| record is readily reproducible in that form or format. Each | 21 |
| public body shall make reasonable efforts to maintain the | 22 |
| records subject to public inspection and copying in forms or | 23 |
| formats that are reproducible. Each public body shall make |
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HB4270 |
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LRB095 15190 JAM 41170 b |
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| reasonable efforts to search for requested records, which are | 2 |
| subject to the public inspection and copying requirements, in | 3 |
| an electronic format, unless those efforts would significantly | 4 |
| interfere with the operations of the public body's automated | 5 |
| information system.
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| (c) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or | 7 |
| deny a written
request for public records within 7 working days | 8 |
| after its receipt. Denial
shall be by letter as provided in | 9 |
| Section 9 of this Act. Failure to respond to
a written request | 10 |
| within 7 working days after its receipt shall be considered a
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| denial of the request.
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| (d) The time limits prescribed in paragraph (c) of this | 13 |
| Section may be
extended in each case for not more than 7 | 14 |
| additional working days for any
of the following reasons:
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| (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in | 16 |
| part at other
locations
than the office having charge of | 17 |
| the requested records;
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| (ii) the request requires the collection of a | 19 |
| substantial number of
specified records;
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| (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and | 21 |
| requires an
extensive
search for the records responsive to | 22 |
| it;
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| (iv) the requested records have not been located in the | 24 |
| course of routine
search and additional efforts are being | 25 |
| made to locate them;
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| (v) the requested records require examination and |
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| evaluation by personnel
having the necessary competence | 2 |
| and discretion to determine if they are
exempt from | 3 |
| disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be | 4 |
| revealed
only with appropriate deletions;
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| (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by | 6 |
| the public body
within the time limits prescribed by | 7 |
| paragraph (c) of this Section without
unduly burdening or | 8 |
| interfering with the operations of the public body;
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| (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be | 10 |
| conducted with all
practicable speed, with another public | 11 |
| body or among two or more components
of a public body | 12 |
| having a substantial interest in the determination or in
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| the subject matter of the request.
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| (e) When additional time is required for any of the above | 15 |
| reasons, the
public body shall notify by letter the person | 16 |
| making the written request within
the time limits specified by | 17 |
| paragraph (c) of this Section of the reasons
for the delay and | 18 |
| the date by which the records will be made available or
denial | 19 |
| will be forthcoming. In no instance, may the delay in | 20 |
| processing
last longer than 7 working days. A failure to render | 21 |
| a decision within
7 working days shall be considered a denial | 22 |
| of the request.
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| (f) Requests calling for all records falling within a | 24 |
| category shall be
complied with unless compliance with the | 25 |
| request would be unduly burdensome
for the complying public | 26 |
| body and there is no way to narrow the request and the
burden |
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| on the public body outweighs the public interest in the | 2 |
| information.
Before invoking this exemption, the public body | 3 |
| shall extend to the person
making the request an opportunity to | 4 |
| confer with it in an attempt to reduce
the request to | 5 |
| manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical
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| request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its | 7 |
| operation and
the conditions described above are met, it shall | 8 |
| do so in writing, specifying
the reasons why it would be unduly | 9 |
| burdensome and the extent to which compliance
will so burden | 10 |
| the operations of the public body. Such a response shall
be | 11 |
| treated as a denial of the
request for information. Repeated | 12 |
| requests for the same public records by
the same person shall | 13 |
| be deemed unduly burdensome under this provision.
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| (g) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations | 15 |
| in conformity
with the provisions of this Section pertaining to | 16 |
| the availability of records
and procedures to be followed, | 17 |
| including:
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| (i) the times and places where such records will be | 19 |
| made available, and
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| (ii) the persons from whom such records may be | 21 |
| obtained.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-206, eff. 7-25-97.)
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