093_SB1507sam002

 










                                     LRB093 06301 WGH 13796 a

 1                    AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1507

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend Senate Bill 1507 by  replacing
 3    everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 4        "Section  1.   Short title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Consumer Contract Plain Language Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions.  As used in this Act, unless the
 7    context clearly requires otherwise:
 8        "Consumer"  means  an  individual  who,   primarily   for
 9    personal, family, or household purposes, gives or promises to
10    give money or other consideration in exchange for an interest
11    in services or personal property, including money.
12        "Consumer  contract"  means  a  written  contract  with a
13    consumer in which the price, excluding  interest  or  finance
14    charges, is $35,000 or less.

15        Section 10.  Plain language required.  Except as provided
16    in  Section  15,  every  consumer  contract  made  after  the
17    effective  date  of  this Act shall meet all of the following
18    criteria:
19             (1)  The  contract  shall  adequately   inform   the
20        consumer of the rights and duties fixed by the contract.
21             (2)  The  contract  shall  be sufficiently clear and
 
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 1        readable for the ordinary reader, using,  so  far  as  is
 2        practical, words with common, everyday meanings.
 3             (3)  The  contract  shall  be  appropriately divided
 4        into sections and  paragraphs,  and  the  sections  shall
 5        contain captions.
 6             (4)  The  contract  shall  be printed in 10-point or
 7        larger type, with at least one point of  leading  between
 8        lines,  and  in  ink that contrasts sufficiently with the
 9        paper; however, consumer contracts made on or before  the
10        third  anniversary of the effective date of this Act that
11        are related to the sale or lease of an automobile may  be
12        printed in 8-point or larger type.

13        Section  15.  Exceptions.  This Act does not prohibit the
14    use of the following in consumer contracts:
15             (1)  Words  or  phrases,  or  forms  of   agreement,
16        required by State or federal law or by rule or regulation
17        of a State or federal governmental instrumentality.
18             (2)  Technical  terms  used to describe a service or
19        property that is the subject of the contract if (i) those
20        terms are customarily used  by  consumers  in  connection
21        with  the  service  or  property  or  (ii)  there  is  no
22        sufficiently  clear  and  readable  substitute  for those
23        terms.

24        Section 20.  Violation.
25        (a)  A violation of Section 10 does not render a consumer
26    contract void or voidable, nor does it constitute  a  defense
27    to  an  action or proceeding for breach of the contract or to
28    enforce the contract.
29        (b)  If the Attorney General has reason to believe that a
30    business entity is using or has used a consumer contract that
31    violates Section 10 and determines that an action under  this
32    subsection  would  be  in  the  public interest, the Attorney
 
                            -3-      LRB093 06301 WGH 13796 a
 1    General may bring an action, in the name of the People of the
 2    State of Illinois, against that business entity  to  restrain
 3    the use of that consumer contract.".