Full Text of HB4023 94th General Assembly
HB4023ham001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Judiciary I - Civil Law Committee
Filed: 3/9/2005
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LRB094 11300 RLC 43452 a |
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4023
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4023 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by adding | 5 |
| Articles 12A and 12B as follows: | 6 |
| (720 ILCS 5/Art. 12A heading new)
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| ARTICLE 12A. VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES | 8 |
| (720 ILCS 5/12A-1 new)
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| Sec. 12A-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as the | 10 |
| Violent Video Games Law.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12A-5 new)
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| Sec. 12A-5. Findings.
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| (a) The General Assembly finds that minors who play violent | 14 |
| video games are more likely to:
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| (1) Exhibit violent, asocial, or aggressive behavior. | 16 |
| (2) Experience feelings of aggression. | 17 |
| (3) Experience a reduction of activity in the frontal | 18 |
| lobes of the brain which is responsible for controlling | 19 |
| behavior. | 20 |
| (b) While the video game industry has adopted its own | 21 |
| voluntary standards describing which games are appropriate for | 22 |
| minors, those standards are not adequately enforced. |
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| (c) Minors are capable of purchasing and do purchase | 2 |
| violent video games. | 3 |
| (d) The State has a compelling interest in assisting | 4 |
| parents in protecting their minor children from violent video | 5 |
| games.
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| (e) The State has a compelling interest in preventing | 7 |
| violent, aggressive, and asocial behavior. | 8 |
| (f) The State has a compelling interest in preventing | 9 |
| psychological harm to minors who play violent video games. | 10 |
| (g) The State has a compelling interest in eliminating any | 11 |
| societal factors that may inhibit the physiological and | 12 |
| neurological development of its youth. | 13 |
| (h) The State has a compelling interest in facilitating the | 14 |
| maturation of Illinois' children into law-abiding, productive | 15 |
| adults.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12A-10 new)
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| Sec. 12A-10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, | 18 |
| the following terms have the following meanings:
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| (a) "Video game retailer" means a person who sells or rents | 20 |
| video games to the public.
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| (b) "Video game" means an object or device that stores | 22 |
| recorded data or instructions, receives data or instructions | 23 |
| generated by a person who uses it, and, by processing the data | 24 |
| or instructions, creates an interactive game capable of being | 25 |
| played, viewed, or experienced on or through a computer, gaming | 26 |
| system, console, or other technology. | 27 |
| (c) "Minor" means a person under 18 years of age. | 28 |
| (d) "Person" includes but is not limited to an individual, | 29 |
| corporation, partnership, and association.
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| (e) "Violent" video games include depictions of or | 31 |
| simulations of human-on-human violence in which the player | 32 |
| kills, seriously injures, or otherwise causes serious physical | 33 |
| harm to another human, including but not limited to depictions |
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| of death, dismemberment, amputation, decapitation, maiming, | 2 |
| disfigurement, mutilation of body parts, or rape.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12A-15 new)
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| Sec. 12A-15. Restricted sale or rental of violent video | 5 |
| games. | 6 |
| (a) A person who sells, rents, or permits to be sold or | 7 |
| rented, any violent video game to any minor, commits a Class A | 8 |
| misdemeanor for which a fine of $5,000 may be imposed. | 9 |
| (b) A person who sells, rents, or permits to be sold or | 10 |
| rented any violent video game via electronic scanner must | 11 |
| program the electronic scanner to prompt sales clerks to check | 12 |
| identification before the sale or rental transaction is | 13 |
| completed. A person who violates this subsection (b) commits a | 14 |
| Class A misdemeanor for which a fine of $5,000 may be imposed. | 15 |
| (c) A person may not sell or rent, or permit to be sold or | 16 |
| rented, any violent video game through a self-scanning checkout | 17 |
| mechanism. A person who violates this subsection (c) commits a | 18 |
| Class A misdemeanor for which a fine of $5,000 may be imposed.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12A-20 new)
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| Sec. 12A-20. Affirmative defenses. In any prosecution | 21 |
| arising under this Article, it is an affirmative defense: | 22 |
| (1) that the defendant was a family member of the minor for | 23 |
| whom the game was purchased. "Family member" for the purpose of | 24 |
| this Section, includes a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, | 25 |
| uncle, or first cousin; or | 26 |
| (2) that the minor who purchased the game exhibited a draft | 27 |
| card, driver's license, birth certificate or other official or | 28 |
| apparently official document purporting to establish that the | 29 |
| minor was 18 years of age or older, which the defendant | 30 |
| reasonably relied on and reasonably believed to be authentic.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12A-25 new)
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| Sec. 12A-25. Labeling of violent video games. | 2 |
| (a) Video game retailers shall label all violent video | 3 |
| games as defined in this Article, with a solid white "18" | 4 |
| outlined in black. The "18" shall have dimensions of no less | 5 |
| than 2 inches by 2 inches. The "18" shall be displayed on the | 6 |
| front face of the video game package. | 7 |
| (b) A retailer's failure to comply with this Section is a | 8 |
| petty offense punishable by a fine of $1,000 for the first 3 | 9 |
| violations, and a business offense punishable by a fine of | 10 |
| $5,000 for every subsequent violation.
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| (720 ILCS 5/Art. 12B heading new)
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| ARTICLE 12B. SEXUALLY EXPLICIT VIDEO GAMES | 13 |
| (720 ILCS 5/12B-1 new)
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| Sec. 12B-1. Short title. This Article may be cited as the | 15 |
| Sexually Explicit Video Games Law.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-5 new)
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| Sec. 12B-5. Findings. The General Assembly finds sexually | 18 |
| explicit video games inappropriate for minors and that the | 19 |
| State has a compelling interest in assisting parents in | 20 |
| protecting their minor children from sexually explicit video | 21 |
| games.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-10 new)
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| Sec. 12B-10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article, | 24 |
| the following terms have the following meanings:
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| (a) "Video game retailer" means a person who sells or rents | 26 |
| video games to the public.
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| (b) "Video game" means an object or device that stores | 28 |
| recorded data or instructions, receives data or instructions | 29 |
| generated by a person who uses it, and, by processing the data | 30 |
| or instructions, creates an interactive game capable of being |
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| played, viewed, or experienced on or through a computer, gaming | 2 |
| system, console, or other technology.
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| (c) "Minor" means a person under 18 years of age.
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| (d) "Person" includes but is not limited to an individual, | 5 |
| corporation, partnership, and association.
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| (e) "Sexually explicit" video games include those that the | 7 |
| average person, applying contemporary community standards | 8 |
| would find, with respect to minors, is designed to appeal or | 9 |
| pander to the prurient interest and depicts or represents in a | 10 |
| manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or | 11 |
| simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated | 12 |
| normal or perverted sexual act or a lewd exhibition of the | 13 |
| genitals or post-pubescent female breast.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-15 new)
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| Sec. 12B-15. Restricted sale or rental of sexually explicit | 16 |
| video games. | 17 |
| (a) A person who sells, rents, or permits to be sold or | 18 |
| rented, any sexually explicit video game to any minor, commits | 19 |
| a Class A misdemeanor for which a fine of $5,000 may be | 20 |
| imposed. | 21 |
| (b) A person who sells, rents, or permits to be sold or | 22 |
| rented any sexually explicit video game via electronic scanner | 23 |
| must program the electronic scanner to prompt sales clerks to | 24 |
| check identification before the sale or rental transaction is | 25 |
| completed. A person who violates this subsection (b) commits a | 26 |
| Class A misdemeanor for which a fine of $5,000 may be imposed. | 27 |
| (c) A person may not sell or rent, or permit to be sold or | 28 |
| rented, any sexually explicit video game through a | 29 |
| self-scanning checkout mechanism. A person who violates this | 30 |
| subsection (c) commits a Class A misdemeanor for which a fine | 31 |
| of $5,000 may be imposed.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-20 new)
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LRB094 11300 RLC 43452 a |
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| Sec. 12B-20. Affirmative defenses. In any prosecution | 2 |
| arising under this Article, it is an affirmative defense: | 3 |
| (1) that the defendant was a family member of the minor for | 4 |
| whom the game was purchased. "Family member" for the purpose of | 5 |
| this Section, includes a parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, | 6 |
| uncle, or first cousin; or | 7 |
| (2) that the minor who purchased the game exhibited a draft | 8 |
| card, driver's license, birth certificate or other official or | 9 |
| apparently official document purporting to establish that the | 10 |
| minor was 18 years of age or older, which the defendant | 11 |
| reasonably relied on and reasonably believed to be authentic.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-25 new)
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| Sec. 12B-25. Labeling of sexually explicit video games. | 14 |
| (a) Video game retailers shall label all sexually explicit | 15 |
| video games as defined in this Act, with a solid white "18" | 16 |
| outlined in black. The "18" shall have dimensions of no less | 17 |
| than 2 inches by 2 inches. The "18" shall be displayed on the | 18 |
| front face of the video game package. | 19 |
| (b) A retailer who fails to comply with this Section is | 20 |
| guilty of a petty offense punishable by a fine of $1,000 for | 21 |
| the first 3 violations, and a business offense punishable by a | 22 |
| $5,000 fine for every subsequent violation.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-30 new)
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| Sec. 12B-30. Posting notification of video games rating | 25 |
| system.
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| (a) A retailer who sells or rents video games shall post a | 27 |
| sign that notifies customers that a video game rating system, | 28 |
| created by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, is | 29 |
| available to aid in the selection of a game. The sign shall be | 30 |
| prominently posted in, or within 5 feet of, the area in which | 31 |
| games are displayed for sale or rental, at the information desk | 32 |
| if one exists, and at the point of purchase. |
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| (b) The lettering of each sign shall be printed, at a | 2 |
| minimum, in 36-point type and shall be in black ink against a | 3 |
| light colored background, with dimensions of no less than 18 by | 4 |
| 24 inches. | 5 |
| (c) A retailer's failure to comply with this Section is a | 6 |
| petty offense punishable by a fine of $1,000 for the first 3 | 7 |
| violations, and a business offense punishable by a $5,000 fine | 8 |
| for every subsequent violation.
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| (720 ILCS 5/12B-35 new)
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| Sec. 12B-35. Availability of brochure describing rating | 11 |
| system.
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| (a) A video game retailer shall make available upon request | 13 |
| a brochure to customers that explains the Entertainment | 14 |
| Software Ratings Board ratings system. | 15 |
| (b) A retailer who fails to comply with this Section shall | 16 |
| receive the punishment described in subsection (b) of Section | 17 |
| 12B-25.
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| Section 98. Severability. If any provision of this Act or | 19 |
| the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held | 20 |
| invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of such | 21 |
| provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be | 22 |
| affected thereby.
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| Section 99. Effective Date. This Act takes effect upon | 24 |
| becoming law.".
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