101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5020

 

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/6  from Ch. 116, par. 206

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records in a format that is readable by the requester, including, but not limited to, making the record available in any format that is available to the public body and requested by the requester. Effective immediately.


LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5020LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Section 6 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)
7    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
8    (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
9an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
10electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. The
11public body shall take all reasonable steps to provide records
12in a format that is readable by the requester, including, but
13not limited to, making the record available in any format that
14is available to the public body and requested by the requester.
15If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the
16specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish
17it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body,
18or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public
19body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing
20the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other
21medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose
22or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge the
23requester for the costs of any search for and review of the

 

 

HB5020- 2 -LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

1records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
2the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
3expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
4public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be
5applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
6format.
7    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
8those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the
9public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes
10of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes
11of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a
12voluminous request is for electronic records and those records
13are in a portable document format, the public body may charge
14up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for
15more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data,
16and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the
17responsive electronic records are in both a portable document
18format and not in a portable document format, the public body
19may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee
20scales.
21    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
22(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
23fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request
24for public records.
25    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
26public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse

 

 

HB5020- 3 -LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

1its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
2and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
3body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
4pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
5requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
6or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
7public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
8letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
9actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
10actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
11equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
12body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
13of the records or other personnel costs associated with
14reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
15provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
16imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
17made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
18a record shall not exceed $1.
19    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
20reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person
21requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the
22request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is
23in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in
24the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is
25to access and disseminate information regarding the health,
26safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public

 

 

HB5020- 4 -LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

1and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial
2benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit"
3shall not apply to requests made by news media when the
4principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
5information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the
6legal rights of the general public. In setting the amount of
7the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into
8consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of
9copying them.
10    (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections
11(6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to
12public records for the purposes of judicial review.
13    (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
14as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
15approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as a
16paper copy or as an electronic copy.
17    (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
18by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record
19or examining the record for necessary redactions. No fees shall
20be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in
21searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public body
22may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
23public records from an off-site storage facility when the
24public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
25under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
26fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the

 

 

HB5020- 5 -LRB101 19434 HEP 68906 b

1requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
2hours in connection with the request for public records. The
3provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
4requests.
5(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.