Bill Text: IL HB4401 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Freedom of Information Act and the Local Records Act. In the definition provisions of those Acts, defines the term "junk mail" and specifies that the term "public record" does not include junk mail.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4401 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4401-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4401

Introduced , by Rep. Daniel Didech

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/2 from Ch. 116, par. 202
50 ILCS 205/3 from Ch. 116, par. 43.103

Amends the Freedom of Information Act and the Local Records Act. In the definition provisions of those Acts, defines the term "junk mail" and specifies that the term "public record" does not include junk mail.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Section 2 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
7 Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8 (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
9administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
10universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
11villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
12municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
13commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
14foregoing including but not limited to committees and
15subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
16under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
17include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
18Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
19Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or
20the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
21Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
22Advisory Board Act.
23 (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,

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1partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
2individually or as a group.
3 (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
4writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
5photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
6data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
7information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
8the transaction of public business, regardless of physical
9form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or
10having been or being used by, received by, in the possession
11of, or under the control of any public body. "Public records"
12does not include junk mail.
13 (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
14including a person's social security number, driver's license
15number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
16personal financial information, passwords or other access
17codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers,
18and personal email addresses. Private information also
19includes home address and personal license plates, except as
20otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility
21of attribution to any person. For a public body that is a
22HIPAA-covered entity, "private information" includes
23electronic medical records and all information, including
24demographic information, contained within or extracted from an
25electronic medical records system operated or maintained by
26the public body in compliance with State and federal medical

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1privacy laws and regulations, including, but not limited to,
2the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and
3its regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this
4subsection, "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to
5the term "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103.
6 (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
7public record or records, or information derived from public
8records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
9advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
10definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
11scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
12to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
13purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
14information concerning news and current or passing events,
15(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the
16public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or
17public research or education.
18 (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
19by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
20process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
21available to the public body.
22 (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
23chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
24manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
25executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
26such person's duly authorized designee.

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1 (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
2issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
3format, a news service whether in print or electronic format,
4a radio station, a television station, a television network, a
5community antenna television service, or a person or
6corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
7picture news for public showing.
8 (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
9Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
10preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
11(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
12requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a
13minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
14purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
15non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
16considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
17time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
18the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
19concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
20articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
21(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
22research or education.
23 For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
24written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
25to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
26personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other

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1means available to the public body and that identifies the
2particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
3identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
4 (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i)
5includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5
6different categories of records or a combination of individual
7requests that total requests for more than 5 different
8categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii)
9requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or
10legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested
11record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may
12include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail,
13letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
14 "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
15news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
16organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
17to access and disseminate information concerning news and
18current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
19features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
20academic, scientific, or public research or education.
21 For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
22written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
23to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
24personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
25means available to the public body and that identifies the
26particular public record or records the requester seeks. One

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1request may identify multiple individual records to be
2inspected or copied.
3 (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
4any public body and its employee for the employee's
5resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
6 (j) "Junk mail" means (i) any unsolicited commercial mail
7sent to a public body and not responded to by an official,
8employee, or agent of the public body or (ii) any unsolicited
9commercial electronic communication sent to a public body and
10not responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the
11public body.
12(Source: P.A. 103-554, eff. 1-1-24.)
13 Section 10. The Local Records Act is amended by changing
14Section 3 as follows:
15 (50 ILCS 205/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 43.103)
16 Sec. 3. Except where the context indicates otherwise, the
17terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
18 "Agency" means any court, and all parts, boards,
19departments, bureaus and commissions of any county, municipal
20corporation or political subdivision.
21 "Archivist" means the Secretary of State.
22 "Born-digital electronic material" means electronic
23material created in digital form rather than converted from
24print or analog form to digital form.

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1 "Commission" means a Local Records Commission.
2 "Court" means a court, other than the Supreme Court.
3 "Digitized electronic material" means electronic material
4converted from print or analog form to digital form.
5 "Junk mail" means (i) any unsolicited commercial mail sent
6to a public body and not responded to by an official, employee,
7or agent of the public body or (ii) any unsolicited commercial
8electronic communication sent to a public body and not
9responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the public
10body.
11 "Officer" means any elected or appointed official of a
12court, county, municipal corporation or political subdivision.
13 "Public record" means any book, paper, map, photograph,
14born-digital electronic material, digitized electronic
15material, electronic material with a combination of digitized
16and born-digital material, or other official documentary
17material, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
18made, produced, executed or received by any agency or officer
19pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of
20public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation
21by such agency or officer, or any successor thereof, as
22evidence of the organization, function, policies, decisions,
23procedures, or other activities thereof, or because of the
24informational data contained therein. Library and museum
25material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference
26or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved

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