Full Text of HB6109 99th General Assembly
HB6109enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning domestic violence.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Supreme Court Act is amended by adding | 5 | | Section 7.5 as follows: | 6 | | (705 ILCS 5/7.5 new) | 7 | | Sec. 7.5. Electronic filing pilot program. The Supreme | 8 | | Court may establish a pilot program for the filing of petitions | 9 | | for temporary orders of protection by electronic means and for | 10 | | the issuance of such orders by audio-visual means pursuant to | 11 | | the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. The administrative | 12 | | director shall maintain an up-to-date and publicly-available | 13 | | listing of the sites, if any, at which a petition for an ex | 14 | | parte temporary order of protection may be filed, and at which | 15 | | electronic appearances in support of the petition may be made, | 16 | | in accordance with the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. | 17 | | In developing the pilot program, the administrative director | 18 | | shall strive for a program that is regionally diverse and takes | 19 | | into consideration, among other things, the availability of | 20 | | public transportation, population density, and the | 21 | | availability of facilities for conducting the program. | 22 | | Section 10. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is |
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| 1 | | amended by changing Section 202 as follows:
| 2 | | (750 ILCS 60/202) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-2)
| 3 | | Sec. 202. Commencement of action; filing fees; dismissal.
| 4 | | (a) How to commence action. Actions for orders of | 5 | | protection are commenced:
| 6 | | (1) Independently: By filing a petition for an order of | 7 | | protection in
any civil court, unless specific courts are | 8 | | designated by local rule or order.
| 9 | | (2) In conjunction with another civil proceeding: By
| 10 | | filing a petition for an order of protection under the same | 11 | | case number
as another civil proceeding involving the | 12 | | parties, including but not
limited to: (i) any proceeding | 13 | | under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage | 14 | | Act, Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, Nonsupport of Spouse | 15 | | and
Children Act, Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement | 16 | | of Support Act or an
action for nonsupport brought under | 17 | | Article 10 of the
Illinois Public Aid
Code, provided that a | 18 | | petitioner and
the respondent are a party to or the subject | 19 | | of that proceeding or (ii) a
guardianship proceeding under | 20 | | the Probate Act of
1975, or a proceeding for involuntary
| 21 | | commitment under the Mental Health and Developmental | 22 | | Disabilities Code, or
any proceeding, other than a | 23 | | delinquency petition, under the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987, | 24 | | provided that a petitioner or the
respondent is a party to | 25 | | or the subject of such proceeding.
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| 1 | | (3) In conjunction with a delinquency petition or a
| 2 | | criminal prosecution: By filing a petition
for an order of | 3 | | protection, under the same case number as the delinquency
| 4 | | petition or criminal prosecution, to be
granted during | 5 | | pre-trial release of a defendant, with any dispositional | 6 | | order
issued under Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act | 7 | | of 1987
or as a condition of release, supervision, | 8 | | conditional discharge,
probation, periodic imprisonment, | 9 | | parole, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised | 10 | | release, or
in conjunction with imprisonment or a bond | 11 | | forfeiture warrant; provided that:
| 12 | | (i) the violation is alleged in an information, | 13 | | complaint, indictment
or delinquency petition on file, | 14 | | and the alleged offender and victim are
family or | 15 | | household members or persons protected by this Act; and
| 16 | | (ii) the petition, which is filed by the State's | 17 | | Attorney, names a
victim of the alleged crime as a | 18 | | petitioner.
| 19 | | (b) Filing, certification, and service fees. No fee shall | 20 | | be charged
by the clerk for filing, amending, vacating, | 21 | | certifying, or photocopying
petitions or orders; or for issuing | 22 | | alias summons; or for any
related filing service. No
fee shall | 23 | | be charged by the sheriff for service by the sheriff of a
| 24 | | petition,
rule, motion, or order in an action commenced under | 25 | | this Section.
| 26 | | (c) Dismissal and consolidation. Withdrawal or dismissal |
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| 1 | | of any
petition for an order of protection prior to | 2 | | adjudication where the
petitioner is represented by the State | 3 | | shall operate as a dismissal without
prejudice. No action for | 4 | | an order of protection shall be dismissed because
the | 5 | | respondent is being prosecuted for a crime against the | 6 | | petitioner. An
independent action may be consolidated with | 7 | | another civil proceeding, as
provided by paragraph (2) of | 8 | | subsection (a) of this Section. For any
action commenced under | 9 | | paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of this Section,
| 10 | | dismissal of the conjoined case (or a finding of not guilty) | 11 | | shall not
require dismissal of the action
for the order of | 12 | | protection; instead, it may be treated as an
independent action | 13 | | and, if necessary and appropriate, transferred to a
different | 14 | | court or division. Dismissal of any conjoined case shall not | 15 | | affect
the
validity of any previously issued order of | 16 | | protection, and thereafter
subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) of | 17 | | Section 220 shall be inapplicable to
such order.
| 18 | | (d) Pro se petitions. The court shall provide, through the | 19 | | office of
the clerk of the court, simplified forms and clerical | 20 | | assistance to help
with the writing and filing of a petition | 21 | | under this Section by any person
not represented by counsel. In | 22 | | addition, that assistance may be provided
by the state's | 23 | | attorney.
| 24 | | (e)
As provided in this subsection, the administrative | 25 | | director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, | 26 | | with the approval of the administrative board of the courts, |
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| 1 | | may adopt rules to establish and implement a pilot program to | 2 | | allow the electronic filing of petitions for temporary orders | 3 | | of protection and the issuance of such orders by audio-visual | 4 | | means to accommodate litigants for whom attendance in court to | 5 | | file for and obtain emergency relief would constitute an undue | 6 | | hardship or would constitute a risk of harm to the litigant. | 7 | | (1) As used in this subsection: | 8 | | (A) "Electronic means" means any method of | 9 | | transmission of information between computers or other | 10 | | machines designed for the purpose of sending or | 11 | | receiving electronic transmission and that allows for | 12 | | the recipient of information to reproduce the | 13 | | information received in a tangible medium of | 14 | | expression. | 15 | | (B) "Independent audio-visual system" means an | 16 | | electronic system for the transmission and receiving | 17 | | of audio and visual signals, including those with the | 18 | | means to preclude the unauthorized reception and | 19 | | decoding of the signals by commercially available | 20 | | television receivers, channel converters, or other | 21 | | available receiving devices. | 22 | | (C) "Electronic appearance" means an appearance in | 23 | | which one or more of the parties are not present in the | 24 | | court, but in which, by means of an independent | 25 | | audio-visual system, all of the participants are | 26 | | simultaneously able to see and hear reproductions of |
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| 1 | | the voices and images of the judge, counsel, parties, | 2 | | witnesses, and any other participants. | 3 | | (2) Any pilot program under this subsection (e) shall | 4 | | be developed by the administrative director or his or her | 5 | | delegate in consultation with at least one local | 6 | | organization providing assistance to domestic violence | 7 | | victims. The program plan shall include but not be limited | 8 | | to: | 9 | | (A) identification of agencies equipped with or | 10 | | that have access to an independent audio-visual system | 11 | | and electronic means for filing documents; and | 12 | | (B) identification of one or more organizations | 13 | | who are trained and available to assist petitioners in | 14 | | preparing and filing petitions for temporary orders of | 15 | | protection and in their electronic appearances before | 16 | | the court to obtain such orders; and | 17 | | (C) identification of the existing resources | 18 | | available in local family courts for the | 19 | | implementation and oversight of the pilot program; and | 20 | | (D) procedures for filing petitions and documents | 21 | | by electronic means, swearing in the petitioners and | 22 | | witnesses, preparation of a transcript of testimony | 23 | | and evidence presented, and a prompt transmission of | 24 | | any orders issued to the parties; and | 25 | | (E) a timeline for implementation and a plan for | 26 | | informing the public about the availability of the |
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| 1 | | program; and | 2 | | (F) a description of the data to be collected in | 3 | | order to evaluate and make recommendations for | 4 | | improvements to the pilot program. | 5 | | (3) In conjunction with an electronic appearance, any | 6 | | petitioner for an ex parte temporary order of protection | 7 | | may, using the assistance of a trained advocate if | 8 | | necessary, commence the proceedings by filing a petition by | 9 | | electronic means. | 10 | | (A) A petitioner who is seeking an ex parte | 11 | | temporary order of protection using an electronic | 12 | | appearance must file a petition in advance of the | 13 | | appearance and may do so electronically. | 14 | | (B) The petitioner must show that traveling to or | 15 | | appearing in court would constitute an undue hardship | 16 | | or create a risk of harm to the petitioner. In granting | 17 | | or denying any relief sought by the petitioner, the | 18 | | court shall state the names of all participants and | 19 | | whether it is granting or denying an appearance by | 20 | | electronic means and the basis for such a | 21 | | determination. A party is not required to file a | 22 | | petition or other document by electronic means or to | 23 | | testify by means of an electronic appearance. | 24 | | (C) Nothing in this subsection (e) affects or | 25 | | changes any existing laws governing the service of | 26 | | process, including requirements for personal service |
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| 1 | | or the sealing and confidentiality of court records in | 2 | | court proceedings or access to court records by the | 3 | | parties to the proceedings. | 4 | | (4) Appearances. | 5 | | (A) All electronic appearances by a petitioner | 6 | | seeking an ex parte temporary order of protection under | 7 | | this subsection (e) are strictly voluntary and the | 8 | | court shall obtain the consent of the petitioner on the | 9 | | record at the commencement of each appearance. | 10 | | (B) Electronic appearances under this subsection | 11 | | (e) shall be recorded and preserved for transcription. | 12 | | Documentary evidence, if any, referred to by a party or | 13 | | witness or the court may be transmitted and submitted | 14 | | and introduced by electronic means. | 15 | | (Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14; 99-85, eff. 1-1-16 .)
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