93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB7323


 
Introduced 8/24/2004, by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		














5 ILCS 140/6
  from Ch. 116, par. 206







    Amends the Freedom of Information Act.  Unless otherwise provided by law, sets the maximum fee a public body may charge for copying and certifying records at 10 cents per page.  Effective immediately.
















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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
















 


 


A BILL FOR









 











HB7323

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    AN ACT concerning freedom of information.

 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:


 
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    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended  by 
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changing Section 6 as follows:
 



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    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)



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    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees. 

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    (a) Each public body may charge fees
reasonably
calculated 
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to
reimburse
its actual cost for reproducing and certifying 
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public records and for the
use, by any person, of the equipment 
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of the public body to copy records.
Such fees shall exclude the 
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costs of any search for and review of the record,
and shall not 
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exceed the lesser of 10 cents per page or the actual cost of 
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reproduction and certification,
unless otherwise provided by 
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State statute.  Such fees shall be imposed
according to a 
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standard scale of fees, established and made public by the
body 
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imposing them.

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    (b) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a 
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reduced
charge, as determined by the public body, if the person 
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requesting the
documents states the specific purpose for the 
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request and indicates that a
waiver or reduction of the fee is 
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in the public interest.  Waiver or
reduction of the fee is in 
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the public interest if the principal purpose of
the request is 
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to access and disseminate information regarding the health,

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safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public 
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and is not for
the principal purpose of personal or commercial 
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benefit.
For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit" 
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shall not apply to
requests
made by news media when the 
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principal purpose of the request is to access and
disseminate 
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information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the 
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legal
rights of the general public.
In setting the
amount of 
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the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into

 


 






HB7323
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consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of 
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copying
them.

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    (c) The purposeful imposition of a fee not consistent with 
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subsections
(6)(a) and (b) of this Act shall be considered a 
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denial of access to public
records for the purposes of judicial 
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review.

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    (d) The fee for an abstract of a driver's record shall be 
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as provided
in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", 
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approved September 29,
1969, as amended.

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(Source: P.A. 90-144, eff. 7-23-97.)

 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.