Public Act 100-1108
 
SB3139 EnrolledLRB100 18054 RJF 33244 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Plain Language Task Force Act is
amended by changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 and by
adding Sections 30 and 35 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/5)
    Sec. 5. Purpose. The mission of the Illinois Plain Language
Task Force is to implement, monitor, and maintain the mission
of this Act, including developing training requirements and
other assistance, and to conduct a study on, and to propose any
additional legislative measures designed to realize:
        (1) the potential benefits of incorporating plain
    language in State government documents, statutes, and
    contracts into which the State enters; and
        (2) how plain language principles might be
    incorporated into the statutes governing contracts among
    private parties so as to provide additional protections to
    Illinois consumers, to reduce litigation between private
    parties over the meaning of contractual terms, and to
    foster judicial economy.
(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/10)
    Sec. 10. Definition. As used in this Act:
    "Plain language" shall have the same meaning as "plain
writing" as used in the federal Plain Writing Act of 2010, and
subsequent guidance documents, including the Federal Plain
Language Guidelines has the same meaning ascribed to it in the
Executive Memorandum of the President of the United States,
mandating that Federal Agencies and Federal Administrative
Rules employ plain language, issued June 1, 1998, namely that
"plain language" documents have logical organization,
easy-to-read design features, and use: (i) common, everyday
words, except for necessary technical terms; (ii) "you" and
other pronouns; (iii) the active voice; and (iv) short
sentences.
(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/15)
    Sec. 15. Task Force.
    (a) The Illinois Plain Language Task Force is hereby
created. The Illinois Plain Language Task Force shall be
chaired by the Governor or his or her designee and shall
consist of the following members: one member appointed by the
Illinois Attorney General; one member appointed by the Senate
President; one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
Senate; one member appointed by the Speaker of the House; one
member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House; and 3
members appointed by the Governor, one of whom represents the
interests of the banking industry, one of whom represents the
interests of the business community, and one of whom represents
the interests of the consumers.
    (b) Members of the Task Force must be appointed no later
than 90 days after the effective date of this Act.
    (c) If a vacancy occurs on the Task Force, it shall be
filled according to the guidelines of the initial appointment.
    (d) At the discretion of the chair, additional individuals
may participate as non-voting members in the meetings of the
Task Force.
    (e) Members of the Illinois Plain Language Task Force shall
serve without compensation. The Office of the Governor shall
provide staff and administrative services to the Task Force.
(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/20)
    Sec. 20. Duties. Once all members have been appointed, the
Task Force shall meet not less than once each quarter following
the effective date of this Act to carry out the duties
prescribed in this Act. An initial report delineating the Task
Force's findings, conclusions, and recommendations shall be
submitted to the Illinois General Assembly no later than May
31, 2019, unless such initial report has already been submitted
to the General Assembly prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. The report to the
General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
direct 9 months after the effective date of this Act.
Thereafter, the Task Force shall make periodic recommendations
on its own motion or at the urging of the Illinois General
Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/25)
    Sec. 25. Guidance. The Task Force shall be guided in its
discussions on the subject of plain language by the federal
Plain Writing Act of 2010 and subsequent guidance documents,
including, but not limited to, the Federal Plain Language
Guidelines the guidelines for plain language drafting
promulgated by the President of the United States on June 1,
1998, which accompanied his plain language Executive
Memorandum issued on the same day.
(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/30 new)
    Sec. 30. Plain language State government communications.
Recognizing the importance of plain language in communication
with the public:
        (1) the General Assembly shall draft legislation and
    other public-facing documents using plain language when
    practicable; and
        (2) the executive and judicial branches of State
    government are advised to make all efforts to draft
    executive orders, court documents, and other public facing
    documents using plain language.
 
    (20 ILCS 4090/35 new)
    Sec. 35. Construction. No provision of this Act shall be
construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable by any administrative or judicial
action. There shall be no judicial review of compliance or
noncompliance with any provision of this Act.
 
    Section 10. The Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force Act
is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 5105/20)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2019)
    Sec. 20. Report. On or before December 31 July 1, 2018, the
Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force shall report its findings
and recommendations to the General Assembly, by filing copies
of its report as provided in Section 3.1 of the General
Assembly Organization Act, and to the Governor. The report to
the General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House
of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in
electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the
Secretary shall direct.
(Source: P.A. 100-403, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.