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91_HB1834eng HB1834 Engrossed LRB9103139PTmb 1 AN ACT concerning public records. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing 5 Section 1.02 as follows: 6 (5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02) 7 Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act: 8 "Meeting" means any gathering of a majority of a quorum 9 of the commissioners of a public body held for the purpose of 10 discussing public business. 11 "Public body" includes all legislative, executive, 12 administrative or advisory bodies of the state, counties, 13 townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school 14 districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, 15 bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any 16 subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not 17 limited to municipal convention or civic center boards, local 18 tourism boards and councils, economic development boards, and 19 all committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole 20 or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, 21 except the General Assembly and committees or commissions 22 thereof."Public body" includes tourism boards and convention23or civic center boards located in counties that are24contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations of more25than 250,000 but less than 300,000."Public body" does not 26 include a child death review team established under the Child 27 Death Review Team Act or an ethics commission, ethics 28 officer, or ultimate jurisdictional authority acting under 29 the State Gift Ban Act as provided by Section 80 of that Act. 30 (Source: P.A. 90-517, eff. 8-22-97; 90-737, eff. 1-1-99.) HB1834 Engrossed -2- LRB9103139PTmb 1 Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by 2 changing Sections 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 as follows: 3 (5 ILCS 140/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 201) 4 Sec. 1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the 5 American constitutional form of government, it is declared to 6 be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all 7 persons are entitled to full and complete information 8 regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and 9 policies of those who represent them as public officials and 10 public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such 11 access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their 12 duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making 13 informed political judgments and monitoring government to 14 ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest. 15 This Act is not intended to be used to violate individual 16 privacy, nor for the purpose of furthering a commercial 17 enterprise, or to disrupt the duly-undertaken work of any 18 public body independent of the fulfillment of any of the 19 fore-mentioned rights of the people to access to information. 20 This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the 21 part of any public body to maintain or prepare any public 22 record which was not maintained or prepared by such public 23 body at the time when this Act becomes effective, except as 24 otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law. 25 These restraints on information access should be seen as 26 limited exceptions to the general rule that the people have a 27 right to know the decisions, policies, procedures, rules, 28 standards, and other aspects of government activity that 29 affect the conduct of government and the lives of any or all 30 of the people. The exemptions to public disclosure cited in 31 this Act are in derogation of the requirement that public 32 records be disclosed upon request. These exemptions are to 33 be strictly construed and extend only to public records HB1834 Engrossed -3- LRB9103139PTmb 1 clearly within the scope of the exemptions. Each exemption 2 shall be applied by balancing the strong interest in 3 disclosure of public records and the specific interest to be 4 protected by the exemption. The provisions of this Act shall 5 be construed to this end. 6 This Act shall be the exclusive State statute on freedom 7 of information, except to the extent that other State 8 statutes might create additional restrictions on disclosure 9 of information or other laws in Illinois might create 10 additional obligations for disclosure of information to the 11 public. 12 (Source: P.A. 83-1013.) 13 (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202) 14 Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act: 15 (a) "Public body" means any legislative, executive, 16 administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state 17 universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, 18 villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other 19 municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or 20 commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any 21 of the foregoing including but not limited to municipal civic 22 centers, local tourism boards and councils, economic 23 development boards, and all committees and subcommittees 24 which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or 25 which expend tax revenue. "Public body" does not include a 26 child death review team established under the Child Death 27 Review Team Act. 28 (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, 29 partnership, firm, organization or association, acting 30 individually or as a group. 31 (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, 32 writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, 33 photographs, microfilms, cards, magnetic or other tapes, HB1834 Engrossed -4- LRB9103139PTmb 1 recordings, electronic data processing records, recorded 2 information and all other documentary materials, regardless 3 of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared, or 4 having been or being used, received, possessed or under the 5 control of any public body. "Public records" includes, but 6 is expressly not limited to: (i) administrative manuals, 7 procedural rules, and instructions to staff, unless exempted 8 by Section 7(p) of this Act; (ii) final opinions and orders 9 made in the adjudication of cases, except an educational 10 institution's adjudication of student or employee grievance 11 or disciplinary cases; (iii) substantive rules; (iv) 12 statements and interpretations of policy which have been 13 adopted by a public body; (v) final planning policies, 14 recommendations, and decisions; (vi) factual reports, 15 inspection reports, and studies whether prepared by or for 16 the public body; (vii) all information in any account, 17 voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure 18 of public or other funds of public bodies; (viii) the names, 19 salaries, titles, and dates of employment of all employees 20 and officers of public bodies; (ix) materials containing 21 opinions concerning the rights of the state, the public, a 22 subdivision of state or a local government, or of any private 23 persons; (x) the name of every official and the final records 24 of voting in all proceedings of public bodies; (xi) 25 applications for any contract, permit, grant, or agreement 26 except as exempted from disclosure by subsection (g) of 27 Section 7 of this Act; (xii) each report, document, study, or 28 publication prepared by independent consultants or other 29 independent contractors for the public body; (xiii) all other 30 information required by law to be made available for public 31 inspection or copying; (xiv) information relating to any 32 grant or contract made by or between a public body and 33 another public body or private organization; (xv) waiver 34 documents filed with the State Superintendent of Education or HB1834 Engrossed -5- LRB9103139PTmb 1 the president of the University of Illinois under Section 2 30-12.5 of the School Code, concerning nominees for General 3 Assembly scholarships under Sections 30-9, 30-10, and 30-11 4 of the School Code and (xvi) complaints, results of 5 complaints, and Department of Children and Family Services 6 staff findings of licensing violations at day care 7 facilities, provided that personal and identifying 8 information is not released. 9 (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public 10 record by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical 11 or other process, device or means. 12 (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, 13 mayor, chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent, 14 manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary 15 executive and administrative authority for the public body, 16 or such person's duly authorized designee. 17 (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical 18 issued at regular intervals, a news service, a radio station, 19 a television station, a community antenna television service, 20 or a person or corporation engaged in making news reels or 21 other motion picture news for public showing. 22 (Source: P.A. 89-681, eff. 12-13-96; 90-144, eff. 7-23-97; 23 90-670, eff. 7-31-98.) 24 (5 ILCS 140/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 203) 25 Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to 26 any person for inspection or copying all public records, 27 except as otherwise provided in Section 7 of this Act. 28 Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to 29 any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or 30 otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any 31 public record as defined in this Act. 32 (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this 33 Act, each public body shall promptly provide, to any person HB1834 Engrossed -6- LRB9103139PTmb 1who submits a written request, a copy of any public record 2 required to be disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section 3 and shall certify such copy if so requested. Each public body 4 may require a written request for copies of public records. 5 (c) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with 6 or deny a written request for public records within 7 working 7 days after its receipt. Denial shall be by letter as 8 provided in Section 9 of this Act. Failure to respond to a 9 written request within 7 working days after its receipt shall 10 be considered a denial of the request. 11 (d) The time limits prescribed in paragraph (c) of this 12 Section may be extended in each case for not more than 7 13 additional working days for any of the following reasons: 14 (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in 15 part at other locations than the office having charge of 16 the requested records; 17 (ii) the request requires the collection of a 18 substantial number of specified records; 19 (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms 20 and requires an extensive search for the records 21 responsive to it; 22 (iv) the requested records have not been located in 23 the course of routine search and additional efforts are 24 being made to locate them; 25 (v) the requested records require examination and 26 evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence 27 and discretion to determine if they are exempt from 28 disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be 29 revealed only with appropriate deletions; 30 (vi) the request for records cannot be complied 31 with by the public body within the time limits prescribed 32 by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening 33 or interfering with the operations of the public body; 34 (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall HB1834 Engrossed -7- LRB9103139PTmb 1 be conducted with all practicable speed, with another 2 public body or among two or more components of a public 3 body having a substantial interest in the determination 4 or in the subject matter of the request. 5 (e) When additional time is required for any of the 6 above reasons, the public body shall notify by letter the 7 person making the written request within the time limits 8 specified by paragraph (c) of this Section of the reasons for 9 the delay and the date by which the records will be made 10 available or denial will be forthcoming. In no instance, may 11 the delay in processing last longer than 7 working days. A 12 failure to render a decision within 7 working days shall be 13 considered a denial of the request. 14 (f) Requests calling for all records falling within a 15 category shall be complied with unless compliance with the 16 request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public 17 body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden 18 on the public body outweighs the public interest in the 19 information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body 20 shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity 21 to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to 22 manageable proportions. If any body responds to a 23 categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly 24 burden its operation and the conditions described above are 25 met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it 26 would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance 27 will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a 28 response shall be treated as a denial of the request for 29 information. Repeated requests for the same public records 30 by the same person shall be deemed unduly burdensome under 31 this provision. 32 (g) Each public body may promulgate rules and 33 regulations in conformity with the provisions of this Section 34 pertaining to the availability of records and procedures to HB1834 Engrossed -8- LRB9103139PTmb 1 be followed, including: 2 (i) the times and places where such records will be 3 made available, and 4 (ii) the persons from whom such records may be 5 obtained. 6 (Source: P.A. 90-206, eff. 7-25-97.) 7 (5 ILCS 140/6) (from Ch. 116, par. 206) 8 Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees. 9 (a) Each public body may charge fees reasonably 10 calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and 11 certifying public records and for the use, by any person, of 12 the equipment of the public body to copy records. Such fees 13 shall exclude the costs of any search for and review of the 14 record, and shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction 15 and certification, regardless of the format of the record, 16 unless otherwise provided by State statute. Except when 17 responding to a request that necessitates the creation of a 18 new document, "actual costs" shall be limited to direct 19 chargeable costs related to copying or reproduction of the 20 record and shall not include the cost of labor used to copy 21 or reproduce the record. Such fees shall be imposed 22 according to a standard scale of fees, established and made 23 public by the body imposing them. Nothing in this Section 24 shall require the creation of a new document by the public 25 body. 26 (b) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a 27 reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the 28 person requesting the documents states the specific purpose 29 for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of 30 the fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of 31 the fee is in the public interest if the principal purpose of 32 the request is to access and disseminate information 33 regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights HB1834 Engrossed -9- LRB9103139PTmb 1 of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of 2 personal or commercial benefit. For purposes of this 3 subsection, "commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests 4 made by news media when the principal purpose of the request 5 is to access and disseminate information regarding the 6 health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the 7 general public. In setting the amount of the waiver or 8 reduction, the public body may take into consideration the 9 amount of materials requested and the cost of copying them. 10 (c) The purposeful imposition of a fee not consistent 11 with subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act shall be 12 considered a denial of access to public records for the 13 purposes of judicial review. 14 (d) The fee for an abstract of a driver's record shall 15 be as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle 16 Code", approved September 29, 1969, as amended. 17 (Source: P.A. 90-144, eff. 7-23-97.) 18 (5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207) 19 Sec. 7. Exemptions. 20 (1) The following shall be exempt from inspection and 21 copying: 22 (a) Information specifically prohibited from 23 disclosure by federal or State law or rules and 24 regulations adopted under federal or State law. 25 (b) Information that, if disclosed, would 26 constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal 27 privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing 28 by the individual subjects of the information. The 29 disclosure of information that bears on the public duties 30 of public employees and officials shall not be considered 31 an invasion of personal privacy. Information exempted 32 under this subsection (b) shall include but is not 33 limited to: HB1834 Engrossed -10- LRB9103139PTmb 1 (i) files and personal information maintained 2 with respect to clients, patients, residents, 3 students or other individuals receiving social, 4 medical, educational, vocational, financial, 5 supervisory or custodial care or services directly 6 or indirectly from federal agencies or public 7 bodies; 8 (ii) personnel files and personal information 9 maintained with respect to employees, appointees or 10 elected officials of any public body or applicants 11 for those positions; 12 (iii) files and personal information 13 maintained with respect to any applicant, registrant 14 or licensee by any public body cooperating with or 15 engaged in professional or occupational 16 registration, licensure or discipline; 17 (iv) information required of any taxpayer in 18 connection with the assessment or collection of any 19 tax unless disclosure is otherwise required by State 20 statute; and 21 (v) information revealing the identity of 22 persons who file complaints with or provide 23 information to administrative, investigative, law 24 enforcement or penal agencies; provided, however, 25 that identification of witnesses to traffic 26 accidents, traffic accident reports, and rescue 27 reports may be provided by agencies of local 28 government, except in a case for which a criminal 29 investigation is ongoing, without constituting a 30 clearly unwarranted per se invasion of personal 31 privacy under this subsection. 32 (c) Records compiled by any public body for 33 administrative enforcement proceedings and any law 34 enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement HB1834 Engrossed -11- LRB9103139PTmb 1 purposes or for internal matters of a public body, but 2 only to the extent that disclosure would: 3 (i) interfere with pending or actually and 4 reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings 5 conducted by any law enforcement or correctional 6 agency; 7 (ii) interfere with pending administrative 8 enforcement proceedings conducted by any public 9 body; 10 (iii) deprive a person of a fair trial or an 11 impartial hearing; 12 (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a 13 confidential source or confidential information 14 furnished only by the confidential source; 15 (v) disclose unique or specialized 16 investigative techniques other than those generally 17 used and known or disclose internal documents of 18 correctional agencies related to detection, 19 observation or investigation of incidents of crime 20 or misconduct; 21 (vi) constitute an invasion of personal 22 privacy under subsection (b) of this Section; 23 (vii) endanger the life or physical safety of 24 law enforcement personnel or any other person; or 25 (viii) obstruct an ongoing criminal 26 investigation. 27 (d) Criminal history record information maintained 28 by State or local criminal justice agencies, except the 29 following which shall be open for public inspection and 30 copying: 31 (i) chronologically maintained arrest 32 information, such as traditional arrest logs or 33 blotters; 34 (ii) the name of a person in the custody of a HB1834 Engrossed -12- LRB9103139PTmb 1 law enforcement agency and the charges for which 2 that person is being held; 3 (iii) court records that are public; 4 (iv) records that are otherwise available 5 under State or local law; or 6 (v) records in which the requesting party is 7 the individual identified, except as provided under 8 part (vii) of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of 9 this Section. 10 "Criminal history record information" means data 11 identifiable to an individual and consisting of 12 descriptions or notations of arrests, detentions, 13 indictments, informations, pre-trial proceedings, trials, 14 or other formal events in the criminal justice system or 15 descriptions or notations of criminal charges (including 16 criminal violations of local municipal ordinances) and 17 the nature of any disposition arising therefrom, 18 including sentencing, court or correctional supervision, 19 rehabilitation and release. The term does not apply to 20 statistical records and reports in which individuals are 21 not identified and from which their identities are not 22 ascertainable, or to information that is for criminal 23 investigative or intelligence purposes. 24 (e) Records that relate to or affect the security 25 of correctional institutions and detention facilities. 26 (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, 27 memoranda and other records in which opinions are 28 expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except 29 that a specific record or relevant portion of a record 30 shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and 31 identified or publicly distributed bythe head ofthe 32 public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) 33 extends to all those records of officers and agencies of 34 the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of HB1834 Engrossed -13- LRB9103139PTmb 1 legislative documents. 2 (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial 3 information obtained from a person or business where the 4 trade secrets or information are proprietary, privileged 5 or confidential, or where disclosure of the trade secrets 6 or information may cause competitive harm, including all 7 information determined to be confidential under Section 8 4002 of the Technology Advancement and Development Act. 9 Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be 10 construed to prevent a person or business from consenting 11 to disclosure. 12 (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or 13 agreement, including information which if it were 14 disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an 15 advantage to any person proposing to enter into a 16 contractor agreement with the body, until an award or 17 final selection is made. Information prepared by or for 18 the body in preparation of a bid solicitation shall be 19 exempt until an award or final selection is made. 20 (i) Valuable formulae, designs, drawings and 21 research data obtained or produced by any public body 22 when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce 23 private gain or public loss. 24 (j) Test questions, scoring keys and other 25 examination data used to administer an academic 26 examination or determined the qualifications of an 27 applicant for a license or employment. 28 (k) Architects' plans and engineers' technical 29 submissions for projects not constructed or developed in 30 whole or in part with public funds and for projects 31 constructed or developed with public funds, to the extent 32 that disclosure would compromise security. 33 (l) Library circulation and order records 34 identifying library users with specific materials. HB1834 Engrossed -14- LRB9103139PTmb 1 (m) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to 2 the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the 3 public body makes the minutes available to the public 4 under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act. 5 (n) Communications between a public body and an 6 attorney or auditor representing the public body that 7 would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and 8 materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in 9 anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative 10 proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the 11 public body, and materials prepared or compiled with 12 respect to internal audits of public bodies. 13 (o) Information received by a primary or secondary 14 school, college or university under its procedures for 15 the evaluation of faculty members by their academic 16 peers. 17 (p) Administrative or technical information 18 associated with automated data processing operations, 19 including but not limited to software, operating 20 protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, 21 source listings, object modules, load modules, user 22 guides, documentation pertaining to all logical and 23 physical design of computerized systems, employee 24 manuals, and any other information that, if disclosed, 25 would jeopardize the security of the system or its data 26 or the security of materials exempt under this Section. 27 (q) Documents or materials relating to collective 28 negotiating matters between public bodies and their 29 employees or representatives, except that any final 30 contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and 31 copying. 32 (r) Drafts, notes, recommendations and memoranda 33 pertaining to the financing and marketing transactions of 34 the public body. The records of ownership, registration, HB1834 Engrossed -15- LRB9103139PTmb 1 transfer, and exchange of municipal debt obligations, and 2 of persons to whom payment with respect to these 3 obligations is made. 4 (s) The records, documents and information relating 5 to real estate purchase negotiations until those 6 negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. 7 With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually 8 and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding 9 under Article VII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 10 records, documents and information relating to that 11 parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under 12 discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. 13 The records, documents and information relating to a real 14 estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated. 15 (t) Any and all proprietary information and records 16 related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk 17 management association or self-insurance pool or jointly 18 self-administered health and accident cooperative or 19 pool. 20 (u) Information concerning a university's 21 adjudication of student or employee grievance or 22 disciplinary cases, to the extent that disclosure would 23 reveal the identity of the student or employee and 24 information concerning any public body's adjudication of 25 student or employee grievances or disciplinary cases, 26 except for the final outcome of the cases. 27 (v) Course materials or research materials used by 28 faculty members. 29 (w) Information related solely to the internal 30 personnel rules and practices of a public body. 31 (x) Information contained in or related to 32 examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, 33 on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible 34 for the regulation or supervision of financial HB1834 Engrossed -16- LRB9103139PTmb 1 institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is 2 otherwise required by State law. 3 (y) Information the disclosure of which is 4 restricted under Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities 5 Act. 6 (z) Manuals or instruction to staff that relate to 7 establishment or collection of liability for any State 8 tax or that relate to investigations by a public body to 9 determine violation of any criminal law. 10 (aa) Applications, related documents, and medical 11 records received by the Experimental Organ 12 Transplantation Procedures Board and any and all 13 documents or other records prepared by the Experimental 14 Organ Transplantation Procedures Board or its staff 15 relating to applications it has received. 16 (bb) Insurance or self insurance (including any 17 intergovernmental risk management association or self 18 insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management 19 information, records, data, advice or communications. 20 (cc) Information and records held by the Department 21 of Public Health and its authorized representatives 22 relating to known or suspected cases of sexually 23 transmissible disease or any information the disclosure 24 of which is restricted under the Illinois Sexually 25 Transmissible Disease Control Act. 26 (dd) Information the disclosure of which is 27 exempted under Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing 28 Act. 29 (ee) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 30 of the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying 31 Qualifications Based Selection Act. 32 (ff) Security portions of system safety program 33 plans, investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, 34 data, or information compiled, collected, or prepared by HB1834 Engrossed -17- LRB9103139PTmb 1 or for the Regional Transportation Authority under 2 Section 2.11 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act 3 or the State of Missouri under the Bi-State Transit 4 Safety Act. 5 (gg) Information the disclosure of which is 6 restricted and exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois 7 Prepaid Tuition Act. 8 (hh) Information the disclosure of which is 9 exempted under Section 80 of the State Gift Ban Act. 10 (ii) Beginning July 1, 1999,(hh)information that 11 would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of secret 12 or confidential information, codes, algorithms, programs, 13 or private keys intended to be used to create electronic 14 or digital signatures under the Electronic Commerce 15 Security Act. 16 (2) This Section does not authorize withholding of 17 information or limit the availability of records to the 18 public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise 19 provided in this Act. 20 (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97; 90-273, eff. 7-30-97; 21 90-546, eff. 12-1-97; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 90-737, eff. 22 1-1-99; 90-759, eff. 7-1-99; revised 9-8-98.) 23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 24 becoming law.