Public Act 100-0856
 
HB4822 EnrolledLRB100 16401 AMC 35884 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local
Government Electronic Notification Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose and construction.
    (a) This Act is intended to facilitate communication from
units of local government or county officers to residents and
taxpayers.
    (b) The General Assembly finds the following:
        (1) Illinois law requires notification by United
    States mail to interested parties in many circumstances.
        (2) Many Illinois residents and taxpayers desire to
    receive notifications electronically for ease, speed,
    efficiency, security, and accountability.
        (3) Electronic communications can be less expensive
    while providing a greater service to taxpayers and
    residents.
        (4) No resident or taxpayer should ever be required to
    receive electronically any notifications that are
    currently required to be sent out by United States mail.
 
    Section 7. Applicability.
    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any
electronic notifications authorized by statute shall continue
to be authorized and the General Assembly by law may authorize
other electronic notifications.
    (b) This Act does not apply to a school district.
 
    Section 10. Definitions.
    (a) As used in this Act:
    "Electronic notification delivery system" means a computer
program that notifies interested parties of a unit of local
government's action and that may have features that confirm
physical addresses and email addresses, confirm ownership, and
confirm receipt of an electronic notification.
    "Electronic notification recipient" means a person who
affirmatively informs a unit of local government or county
officer that he or she would like to receive electronically a
notification that would have been sent by the unit of local
government or county officer via United States mail.
    (b) For the purposes of this Act, an identity is confirmed
if:
        (1) the electronic notification recipient provides a
    birthdate and Social Security number that can be matched
    with the records of the Secretary of State or the county
    clerk;
        (2) a mailing sent by United States mail to the
    electronic notification recipient is responded to
    digitally with a unique code;
        (3) the electronic notification recipient uses a
    digital signature as defined in the Electronic Commerce
    Security Act; or
        (4) the electronic notification recipient signs up in
    person with the unit of local government or county officer
    and provides a government-issued identification.
    (c) For the purposes of this Act, a physical address of an
electronic notification recipient is confirmed if the
electronic notification recipient's address is matched with
the records of the Secretary of State and an email address of
an electronic notification recipient is confirmed when an email
to that email address has been delivered and affirmatively
responded to in a way that can be tracked by the electronic
notification delivery system.
    (d) For the purposes of this Act, an electronic
notification recipient's ownership is confirmed if his or her
name is matched with the records of the county recorder of
deeds.
    (e) For the purposes of this Act, the receipt of an
electronic notification is confirmed if an electronic
notification recipient:
        (1) responds to the electronic notification; or
        (2) reads the electronic notification in an electronic
    notification delivery system that is able to track that an
    email has been opened.
 
    Section 15. Electronic notification system. Units of local
government and county officers may establish a process to allow
people to select electronic notifications through an
electronic notification delivery system for governmental
mailings that are being sent by United States mail. Any process
established for this purpose:
        (1) must not require all notifications from the unit of
    local government or county officer be electronic and must
    allow people to opt in or opt out for specific types of
    mailings;
        (2) must include a mechanism for confirming the
    identity of individuals opting in for statutorily required
    notifications;
        (3) must include a mechanism to confirm ownership of
    property where the statutory notification requirement is
    based on ownership;
        (4) must present to the submitter, prior to completion
    of the application to receive electronic notifications, a
    message in substantially the following form:
            "By completing this form, I understand that I have
        agreed to be notified via email or other electronic
        means regarding those governmental notifications that
        I have selected. I understand that, regarding those
        issues for which I have selected electronic
        notification, I will possibly not receive
        notifications through the United States mail. I
        understand that any unit of local government or county
        officer may rescind this agreement by electronic
        notification and that any unit of local government may
        also notify me regarding any issue through the United
        States mail if the unit of local government or county
        officer desires in addition to the electronic
        notification I have selected."; and
        (5) must allow an electronic notification recipient to
    rescind his or her electronic notification request either
    through the mail or electronically.
 
    Section 25. Ancillary uses. Upon request of an electronic
notification recipient, a unit of local government or county
officer may utilize the electronic notification delivery
system to notify people of information that is not statutorily
required.
 
    Section 30. Intergovernmental cooperation. A unit of local
government or county officer may enter into an
intergovernmental agreement with another unit of local
government or county officer to provide electronic
notifications as provided in this Act and to share data for
that purpose.