103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , 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 if the format is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately. LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206 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 if the format is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately. LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b A BILL FOR
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206 5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
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 if the format is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately.
LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
A BILL FOR
HB2440LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b HB2440 LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
HB2440 LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5 changing 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
9 an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
10 electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. The
11 public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records
12 in a format that is readable by the requester if the format is
13 available to the public body and requested by the requester.
14 If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the
15 specified electronic format, then the public body shall
16 furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the
17 public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester.
18 A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of
19 purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape,
20 or other medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial
21 purpose or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge
22 the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the
23 records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206 5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
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 if the format is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately.
LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
A BILL FOR
5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
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1 the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
2 expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
3 public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be
4 applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
5 format.
6 (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records
7 and those records are not in a portable document format (PDF),
8 the public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2
9 megabytes of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than
10 4 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes
11 of data. If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
12 those records are in a portable document format, the public
13 body may charge up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of
14 data, up to $40 for more than 80 megabytes but not more than
15 160 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 160
16 megabytes of data. If the responsive electronic records are in
17 both a portable document format and not in a portable document
18 format, the public body may separate the fees and charge the
19 requester under both fee scales.
20 If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
21 (a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
22 fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the
23 request for public records.
24 (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
25 public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse
26 its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
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1 and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
2 body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
3 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
4 requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
5 or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
6 public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
7 letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
8 actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
9 actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
10 equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
11 body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
12 of the records or other personnel costs associated with
13 reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
14 provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
15 imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
16 made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
17 a record shall not exceed $1.
18 (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
19 reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the
20 person requesting the documents states the specific purpose
21 for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the
22 fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee
23 is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the
24 request is to access and disseminate information regarding the
25 health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general
26 public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or
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1 commercial benefit. For purposes of this subsection,
2 "commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests made by news
3 media when the principal purpose of the request is to access
4 and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and
5 welfare or the legal rights of the general public. In setting
6 the amount of the waiver or reduction, the public body may take
7 into consideration the amount of materials requested and the
8 cost of copying them.
9 (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with
10 subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of
11 access to public records for the purposes of judicial review.
12 (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
13 as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
14 approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as
15 a paper copy or as an electronic copy.
16 (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
17 by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested
18 record or examining the record for necessary redactions. No
19 fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel
20 in searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public
21 body may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
22 public records from an off-site storage facility when the
23 public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
24 under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
25 fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the
26 requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
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1 hours in connection with the request for public records. The
2 provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
3 requests.
4 (Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6 becoming law.
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