Bill Text: IL SB2332 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "public body official" as an elected or appointed officeholder of a public body. Provides that "public body official" does not include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent the public body. Provides that a public body's freedom of information officer must be a public body official or employee of the public body.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-02-10 - Referred to Assignments [SB2332 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SB2332-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||||
5 | changing Sections 2 and 3.5 as follows:
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6 | (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
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7 | Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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8 | (a) "Public body" means all legislative,
executive, | |||||||||||||||||||||
9 | administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state | |||||||||||||||||||||
10 | universities
and colleges, counties, townships, cities, | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 | villages, incorporated towns,
school districts and all other | |||||||||||||||||||||
12 | municipal corporations,
boards, bureaus, committees, or | |||||||||||||||||||||
13 | commissions of this State, any
subsidiary
bodies of any of the | |||||||||||||||||||||
14 | foregoing including but not limited to committees and
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15 | subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created | |||||||||||||||||||||
16 | under
Article 1E of the School Code.
"Public body" does not | |||||||||||||||||||||
17 | include a child death review team
or the Illinois Child Death | |||||||||||||||||||||
18 | Review Teams
Executive Council
established under
the Child | |||||||||||||||||||||
19 | Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or | |||||||||||||||||||||
20 | the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the | |||||||||||||||||||||
21 | Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth | |||||||||||||||||||||
22 | Advisory Board Act.
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23 | (a-5) "Public body official" means an elected or appointed |
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1 | officeholder of a public body. "Public body official" does not | ||||||
2 | include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent | ||||||
3 | the public body. | ||||||
4 | (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, | ||||||
5 | partnership, firm,
organization
or association, acting | ||||||
6 | individually or as a group.
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7 | (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, | ||||||
8 | writings, letters,
memoranda, books, papers, maps, | ||||||
9 | photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes,
recordings,
electronic | ||||||
10 | data processing records, electronic communications, recorded | ||||||
11 | information and all other
documentary
materials pertaining to | ||||||
12 | the transaction of public business, regardless of physical | ||||||
13 | form or characteristics, having been
prepared by or for, or | ||||||
14 | having been or being used by, received by, in the possession | ||||||
15 | of, or under the
control
of
any public body. | ||||||
16 | (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, | ||||||
17 | including a person's social security number, driver's license | ||||||
18 | number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, | ||||||
19 | personal financial information, passwords or other access | ||||||
20 | codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, | ||||||
21 | and personal email addresses. Private information also | ||||||
22 | includes home address and personal license plates, except as | ||||||
23 | otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility | ||||||
24 | of attribution to any person. | ||||||
25 | (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a | ||||||
26 | public record or records, or information derived from public |
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1 | records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or | ||||||
2 | advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this | ||||||
3 | definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, | ||||||
4 | scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered | ||||||
5 | to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal | ||||||
6 | purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate | ||||||
7 | information concerning news and current or passing events, | ||||||
8 | (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the | ||||||
9 | public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or | ||||||
10 | public research or education.
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11 | (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record | ||||||
12 | by means of any
photographic, electronic, mechanical or other | ||||||
13 | process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and | ||||||
14 | available to the public body.
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15 | (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, | ||||||
16 | chairman,
presiding
officer, director, superintendent, | ||||||
17 | manager, supervisor or individual otherwise
holding primary | ||||||
18 | executive and administrative authority for the public
body, or | ||||||
19 | such person's duly authorized designee.
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20 | (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical | ||||||
21 | issued at regular
intervals whether in print or electronic | ||||||
22 | format, a news service whether
in print or electronic format, | ||||||
23 | a radio
station, a television station, a television network, a | ||||||
24 | community
antenna television service, or a person or | ||||||
25 | corporation engaged in making news
reels or other motion | ||||||
26 | picture news for public showing.
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1 | (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this | ||||||
2 | Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately | ||||||
3 | preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body | ||||||
4 | (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 | ||||||
5 | requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a | ||||||
6 | minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For | ||||||
7 | purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and | ||||||
8 | non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be | ||||||
9 | considered in calculating the number of requests made in the | ||||||
10 | time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of | ||||||
11 | the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information | ||||||
12 | concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for | ||||||
13 | articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or | ||||||
14 | (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public | ||||||
15 | research or education. | ||||||
16 | For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a | ||||||
17 | written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses | ||||||
18 | to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via | ||||||
19 | personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other | ||||||
20 | means available to the public body and that identifies the | ||||||
21 | particular public record the requester seeks. One request may | ||||||
22 | identify multiple records to be inspected or copied. | ||||||
23 | (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) | ||||||
24 | includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 | ||||||
25 | different categories of records or a combination of individual | ||||||
26 | requests that total requests for more than 5 different |
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1 | categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) | ||||||
2 | requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or | ||||||
3 | legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested | ||||||
4 | record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may | ||||||
5 | include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail, | ||||||
6 | letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording. | ||||||
7 | "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by | ||||||
8 | news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic | ||||||
9 | organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1) | ||||||
10 | to access and disseminate information concerning news and | ||||||
11 | current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or | ||||||
12 | features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of | ||||||
13 | academic, scientific, or public research or education. | ||||||
14 | For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a | ||||||
15 | written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses | ||||||
16 | to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via | ||||||
17 | personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other | ||||||
18 | means available to the public body and that identifies the | ||||||
19 | particular public record or records the requester seeks. One | ||||||
20 | request may identify multiple individual records to be | ||||||
21 | inspected or copied. | ||||||
22 | (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between | ||||||
23 | any public body and its employee for the employee's | ||||||
24 | resignation in exchange for payment by the public body. | ||||||
25 | (Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14; | ||||||
26 | 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16 .)
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1 | (5 ILCS 140/3.5) | ||||||
2 | Sec. 3.5. Freedom of Information officers. | ||||||
3 | (a) Each public body shall designate one or more public | ||||||
4 | body officials or employees to act as its Freedom of | ||||||
5 | Information officer or officers. Except in instances when | ||||||
6 | records are furnished immediately, Freedom of Information | ||||||
7 | officers, or their designees, shall receive requests submitted | ||||||
8 | to the public body under this Act, ensure that the public body | ||||||
9 | responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses | ||||||
10 | under this Act. Freedom of Information officers shall develop | ||||||
11 | a list of documents or categories of records that the public | ||||||
12 | body shall immediately disclose upon request. | ||||||
13 | Upon receiving a request for a public record, the Freedom | ||||||
14 | of Information officer shall: | ||||||
15 | (1) note the date the public body receives the written | ||||||
16 | request; | ||||||
17 | (2) compute the day on which the period for response | ||||||
18 | will expire and make a notation of that date on the written | ||||||
19 | request; | ||||||
20 | (3) maintain an electronic or paper copy of a written | ||||||
21 | request, including all documents submitted with the | ||||||
22 | request until the request has been complied with or | ||||||
23 | denied; and | ||||||
24 | (4) create a file for the retention of the original | ||||||
25 | request, a copy of the response, a record of written |
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1 | communications with the requester, and a copy of other | ||||||
2 | communications. | ||||||
3 | (b) All Freedom of Information officers shall, within 6 | ||||||
4 | months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
5 | 96th General Assembly, successfully complete an electronic | ||||||
6 | training curriculum to be developed by the Public Access | ||||||
7 | Counselor and thereafter successfully complete an annual | ||||||
8 | training program. Thereafter, whenever a new Freedom of | ||||||
9 | Information officer is designated by a public body, that | ||||||
10 | person shall successfully complete the electronic training | ||||||
11 | curriculum within 30 days after assuming the position. | ||||||
12 | Successful completion of the required training curriculum | ||||||
13 | within the periods provided shall be a prerequisite to | ||||||
14 | continue serving as a Freedom of Information officer.
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15 | (Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
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