Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2440 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	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
2	2	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206 5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
4	4	5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
5	5	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.
6	6	LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
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8	8	A BILL FOR
9	9	HB2440LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b HB2440 LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
10	10	HB2440 LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
11	11	1 AN ACT concerning government.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
15	15	5 changing Section 6 as follows:
16	16	6 (5 ILCS 140/6) (from Ch. 116, par. 206)
17	17	7 Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
18	18	8 (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
19	19	9 an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
20	20	10 electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. The
21	21	11 public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records
22	22	12 in a format that is readable by the requester if the format is
23	23	13 available to the public body and requested by the requester.
24	24	14 If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the
25	25	15 specified electronic format, then the public body shall
26	26	16 furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the
27	27	17 public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester.
28	28	18 A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of
29	29	19 purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape,
30	30	20 or other medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial
31	31	21 purpose or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge
32	32	22 the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the
33	33	23 records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
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37	37	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2440 Introduced , by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
38	38	5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206 5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
39	39	5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
40	40	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.
41	41	LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
42	42	LRB103 27218 AWJ 53588 b
43	43	A BILL FOR
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49	49	5 ILCS 140/6 from Ch. 116, par. 206
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68	68	1 the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
69	69	2 expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
70	70	3 public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be
71	71	4 applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
72	72	5 format.
73	73	6 (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records
74	74	7 and those records are not in a portable document format (PDF),
75	75	8 the public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2
76	76	9 megabytes of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than
77	77	10 4 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes
78	78	11 of data. If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
79	79	12 those records are in a portable document format, the public
80	80	13 body may charge up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of
81	81	14 data, up to $40 for more than 80 megabytes but not more than
82	82	15 160 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 160
83	83	16 megabytes of data. If the responsive electronic records are in
84	84	17 both a portable document format and not in a portable document
85	85	18 format, the public body may separate the fees and charge the
86	86	19 requester under both fee scales.
87	87	20 If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
88	88	21 (a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
89	89	22 fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the
90	90	23 request for public records.
91	91	24 (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
92	92	25 public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse
93	93	26 its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
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104	104	1 and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
105	105	2 body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
106	106	3 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
107	107	4 requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
108	108	5 or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
109	109	6 public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
110	110	7 letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
111	111	8 actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
112	112	9 actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
113	113	10 equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
114	114	11 body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
115	115	12 of the records or other personnel costs associated with
116	116	13 reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
117	117	14 provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
118	118	15 imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
119	119	16 made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
120	120	17 a record shall not exceed $1.
121	121	18 (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
122	122	19 reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the
123	123	20 person requesting the documents states the specific purpose
124	124	21 for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the
125	125	22 fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee
126	126	23 is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the
127	127	24 request is to access and disseminate information regarding the
128	128	25 health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general
129	129	26 public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or
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140	140	1 commercial benefit. For purposes of this subsection,
141	141	2 "commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests made by news
142	142	3 media when the principal purpose of the request is to access
143	143	4 and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and
144	144	5 welfare or the legal rights of the general public. In setting
145	145	6 the amount of the waiver or reduction, the public body may take
146	146	7 into consideration the amount of materials requested and the
147	147	8 cost of copying them.
148	148	9 (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with
149	149	10 subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of
150	150	11 access to public records for the purposes of judicial review.
151	151	12 (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
152	152	13 as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
153	153	14 approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as
154	154	15 a paper copy or as an electronic copy.
155	155	16 (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
156	156	17 by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested
157	157	18 record or examining the record for necessary redactions. No
158	158	19 fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel
159	159	20 in searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public
160	160	21 body may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
161	161	22 public records from an off-site storage facility when the
162	162	23 public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
163	163	24 under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
164	164	25 fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the
165	165	26 requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
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176	176	1 hours in connection with the request for public records. The
177	177	2 provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
178	178	3 requests.
179	179	4 (Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
180	180	5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
181	181	6 becoming law.
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