101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5021

 

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, unless the request is made for a commercial purpose, a public body may not charge a fee to a requester who is a taxpayer within the jurisdiction of the public body. Effective immediately.


LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5021LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 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. If
11it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the
12specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish
13it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body,
14or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public
15body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing
16the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other
17medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose
18or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge the
19requester for the costs of any search for and review of the
20records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
21the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly
22expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of
23public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be

 

 

HB5021- 2 -LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 b

1applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic
2format.
3    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
4those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the
5public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes
6of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes
7of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a
8voluminous request is for electronic records and those records
9are in a portable document format, the public body may charge
10up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for
11more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data,
12and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the
13responsive electronic records are in both a portable document
14format and not in a portable document format, the public body
15may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee
16scales.
17    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
18(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
19fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request
20for public records.
21    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
22public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse
23its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
24and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
25body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
26pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies

 

 

HB5021- 3 -LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 b

1requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
2or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
3public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
4letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
5actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
6actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
7equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
8body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
9of the records or other personnel costs associated with
10reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
11provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
12imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
13made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
14a record shall not exceed $1.
15    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
16reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person
17requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the
18request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is
19in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in
20the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is
21to access and disseminate information regarding the health,
22safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public
23and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial
24benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit"
25shall not apply to requests made by news media when the
26principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate

 

 

HB5021- 4 -LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 b

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

 

 

HB5021- 5 -LRB101 19432 HEP 68904 b

1    (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a
2public body may not charge a fee to a requester who is a
3taxpayer within the jurisdiction of the public body. This
4subsection does not apply to requests made for a commercial
5purpose, as that term is defined in Section 2.
6(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.