Rep. Deborah Conroy

Filed: 3/12/2013

 

 


 

 


 
09800HB2747ham001LRB098 10557 JDS 42499 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2747

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2747 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3 and 4 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
7    Sec. 3. Inspection and copying of public records.
8    (a) Each public body shall make available to any person for
9inspection or copying all public records, except as otherwise
10provided in Section 7 of this Act. Notwithstanding any other
11law, a public body may not grant to any person or entity,
12whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the exclusive right
13to access and disseminate any public record as defined in this
14Act.
15    (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
16each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who

 

 

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1submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be
2disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify
3such copy if so requested.
4    (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in
5writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may
6be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
7telefax, electronic mail, or any other means available to the
8public body. A public body may honor oral requests for
9inspection or copying. A public body may not require that a
10request be submitted on a standard form or require the
11requester to specify the purpose for a request, except to
12determine whether the records are requested for a commercial
13purpose or whether to grant a request for a fee waiver. All
14requests for inspection and copying received by a public body
15shall immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information
16officer or designee.
17    (d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or
18deny a request for public records within 5 business days after
19its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is
20properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section. Denial
21shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this Act.
22Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time for
23response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its
24receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A public
25body that fails to respond to a request within the requisite
26periods in this Section but thereafter provides the requester

 

 

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1with copies of the requested public records may not impose a
2fee for such copies. A public body that fails to respond to a
3request received may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
4under subsection (g).
5    (e) The time for response under this Section may be
6extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days
7from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
8        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
9    part at other locations than the office having charge of
10    the requested records;
11        (ii) the request requires the collection of a
12    substantial number of specified records;
13        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
14    requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
15    it;
16        (iv) the requested records have not been located in the
17    course of routine search and additional efforts are being
18    made to locate them;
19        (v) the requested records require examination and
20    evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
21    and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
22    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
23    revealed only with appropriate deletions;
24        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by
25    the public body within the time limits prescribed by
26    paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or

 

 

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1    interfering with the operations of the public body;
2        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
3    conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
4    body or among two or more components of a public body
5    having a substantial interest in the determination or in
6    the subject matter of the request.
7    The person making a request and the public body may agree
8in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
9determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body
10agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the
11public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be
12treated as a denial of the request for the records.
13    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above
14reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
15receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of
16the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
17response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
18time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
19the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
20within the time permitted for extension but thereafter provides
21the requester with copies of the requested public records may
22not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests
23an extension and subsequently fails to respond to the request
24may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection
25(g).
26    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a

 

 

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1category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
2request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
3body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
4on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
5information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body
6shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to
7confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
8manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical
9request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its
10operation and the conditions described above are met, it shall
11do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it would be unduly
12burdensome and the extent to which compliance will so burden
13the operations of the public body. Such a response shall be
14treated as a denial of the request for information.
15    Repeated requests from the same person for the same records
16that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided
17or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed unduly
18burdensome under this provision.
19    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
20in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining to
21the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
22including:
23        (i) the times and places where such records will be
24    made available, and
25        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
26    obtained.

 

 

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1    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
2to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
3apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose.
4Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3.1
5of this Act.
6(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
7    (5 ILCS 140/4)  (from Ch. 116, par. 204)
8    Sec. 4. Information concerning public body. Each public
9body shall prominently display at each of its administrative or
10regional offices, make available for inspection and copying,
11and send through the mail if requested, each of the following:
12        (a) A brief description of itself, which will include,
13    but not be limited to, a short summary of its purpose, a
14    block diagram giving its functional subdivisions, the
15    total amount of its operating budget, the number and
16    location of all of its separate offices, the approximate
17    number of full and part-time employees, and the
18    identification and membership of any board, commission,
19    committee, or council which operates in an advisory
20    capacity relative to the operation of the public body, or
21    which exercises control over its policies or procedures, or
22    to which the public body is required to report and be
23    answerable for its operations; and
24        (b) A brief description of the methods whereby the
25    public may request information and public records, a

 

 

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1    directory designating the Freedom of Information officer
2    or officers, the mailing address and an electronic mail
3    address where requests for public records should be
4    directed, and any fees allowable under Section 6 of this
5    Act.
6    A public body that maintains a website shall also post this
7information on its website.
8(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)".