HB6050 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 15440 MGM 39725 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB6050

Introduced 2/11/2016, by Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
5 ILCS 140/7.5

Creates the Illinois New Motor Voter Act. Provides that the Secretary of State shall establish the Illinois New Motor Voter Program for the purpose of increasing opportunities for voter registration by any person who is qualified to vote. Requires the Secretary of State to provide specified information to the State Board of Elections. Establishes requirements for keeping records, disclosure of information, cancelling registration, confidentiality of voter registration information, and rulemaking. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts specified information from inspection and copying. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning elections.

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 Illinois New Motor Voter Act.

Section 5. Intent.

(a) Voter registration is one of the biggest barriers to participation in our democracy.

(b) In 1993, Congress enacted the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20501 et. seq.), commonly known as the "Motor Voter Law", with findings recognizing that the right of citizens to vote is a fundamental right; it is the duty of the federal, state, and local governments to promote the exercise of the right to vote and the primary purpose of the act is to increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote.

(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly to enact the Illinois New Motor Voter Program to provide Illinois citizens additional opportunities to participate in democracy through the exercise of their fundamental right to vote.

Section 10. Illinois New Motor Voter Program.

(a) The Secretary of State shall establish the Illinois New Motor Voter Program for the purpose of increasing opportunities for voter registration by any person who is qualified to be a voter under Article 3, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

(b) This Section shall not be construed as requiring the Secretary of State to determine eligibility for voter registration and voting. The State Board of Elections is solely responsible for determining eligibility for voter registration and voting.

Section 15. Implementation of the program.

(a) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the State Board of Elections, shall establish a schedule and method to electronically provide to the State Board of Elections the records specified in this Section.

(b) The Secretary of State shall provide to the State Board of Elections, in a manner and method consistent with Section 1A-16.5 of the Election Code, the following information associated with each person who submits an application for a driver's license or State identification card, renews a driver's license or State identification card, or who notifies the Secretary of State of a change of address:

(1) Name.

(2) Date of birth.

(3) Either or both of the following, as contained in the Department's records:

(A) residence address; or

(B) mailing address.

(4) Electronic signature, as defined in Section 3-100 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

(5) Telephone number, if available.

(6) Email address, if available.

(7) Language preference.

(8) Political party preference.

(9) Whether the person chooses to become a permanent "vote by mail" voter.

(10) Whether the person affirmatively declined to become registered to vote during a transaction with the Secretary of State.

(11) A notation that the applicant has attested that he or she meets all voter eligibility requirements, including United States citizenship, specified in paragraph (6) of subsection (d) of Section 1A-16 of the Election Code.

(12) Other information specified in regulations implementing this Act.

(c) The Secretary of State may provide the records described in subsection (b) of this Section to the State Board of Elections before the State Board of Elections certifies that all the conditions set forth in subdivision (g) of this Section have been satisfied. Records provided under this subsection (c) shall only be used for the purposes of outreach to and education of eligible voters under Section 1A-17 of the Election Code.

(d) The State Board of Elections shall provide materials created for purposes of outreach and education as described in this paragraph in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).

(e) The State Board of Elections shall not sell, transfer, or allow any third party access to the information acquired from the Secretary of State under this Act without the approval of the Secretary of State, except as permitted by this Act and Section 1A-25 of the Election Code.

(f) The Secretary of State shall not electronically provide records of a person who applies for or is issued a temporary visitor's driver's license because he or she is unable to submit satisfactory proof that his or her presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.

(g) The Secretary of State shall implement this Act within one year after the State Board of Elections certifies the following:

(1) The State has a statewide voter registration database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et. seq.).

(2) The General Assembly has appropriated the funds necessary for the Secretary of State and the State Board of Elections to implement and maintain the Illinois New Motor Voter Program.

(3) The rules required by this Act have been adopted.

(h) The Secretary of State shall not electronically provide records pursuant to this Section that contain a home address designated as confidential pursuant to any other federal or State law or court order.

Section 20. Disclosure of information.

(a) The willful, unauthorized disclosure of information obtained from the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 15 of this Act to any person, or the use of any false representation to obtain any of that information or the use of any of that information for a purpose other than as stated in Section 15 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both fine and imprisonment.

(b) The State Board of Elections shall establish procedures to protect the confidentiality of the information acquired from the Secretary of State under Section 15 of this Act. The disclosure of this information shall be governed by the Personal Information Protection Act, and the State Board of Elections shall account for any disclosures, including those due to security breaches, in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act.

Section 25. Records.

(a) The records of a person designated in subsection (b) of Section 15 shall constitute a completed affidavit of registration and the State Board of Elections shall register the person vote, unless any of the following conditions is satisfied:

(1) The person's records, as described in Section 15, reflect that he or she affirmatively declined to register to vote during a transaction with the Secretary of State.

(2) The person's records, as described in Section 15, do not reflect that he or she has attested to meeting all voter eligibility requirements specified in Section 3-1 of the Election Code; in such case, the State Board of Elections must mail a notice to the address of residence or mailing address that the person's voter registration is incomplete with directions to complete the registration process.

(3) The State Board of Elections determines that the person is ineligible to vote.

(b) If a person who is registered to vote under this Act does not provide a party preference, his or her party preference shall be designated as "Unknown" and he or she shall be treated as a "No Party Preference" voter.

(c) A person whose party preference is designated as "Unknown" pursuant to this Section shall not be counted for purposes of determining the total number of voters registered on the specified day preceding an election, as required by Sections 4-9, 5-8, and 6-36 of the Election Code.

Section 30. Cancelling registration. A person registered to vote under this Act may cancel his or her voter registration at any time by any method available to any other registered voter.

Section 35. Confidentiality of voter registration information. This Act does not affect the confidentiality of a person's voter registration information.

Section 40. Improper registration.

(a) If a person who is ineligible to vote becomes registered to vote under this Act in the absence of a violation by that person of a provision of Article 29 of the Election Code, that person's registration shall be presumed to have been effected with official authorization and not the fault of that person.

(b) If a person who is ineligible to vote becomes registered to vote under this Act and votes or attempts to vote in an election held after the effective date of the person's registration, that person shall be presumed to have acted with official authorization and shall not be guilty of fraudulently voting or attempting to vote pursuant to Section 29-10 of the Election Code unless that person willfully votes or attempts to vote knowing that he or she is not entitled to vote.

Section 45. Rules. The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules to implement this Act, including regulations addressing both of the following:

(a) A process for canceling the registration of a person who is ineligible to vote, but became registered under the Illinois New Motor Voter Program in the absence of any violation by that person of Article 29 of the Election Code.

(b) An education and outreach campaign informing voters about the Illinois New Motor Voter Program that the State Board of Elections will conduct to implement this Act. The State Board of Elections may use any public and private funds available for this and shall provide materials created for this outreach and education campaign in languages other than English, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503).

Section 900. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 7.5 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7.5)

Sec. 7.5. Statutory exemptions. To the extent provided for by the statutes referenced below, the following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) All information determined to be confidential under Section 4002 of the Technology Advancement and Development Act.

(b) Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials under the Library Records Confidentiality Act.

(c) Applications, related documents, and medical records received by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board and any and all documents or other records prepared by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board or its staff relating to applications it has received.

(d) Information and records held by the Department of Public Health and its authorized representatives relating to known or suspected cases of sexually transmissible disease or any information the disclosure of which is restricted under the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act.

(e) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing Act.

(f) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act.

(g) Information the disclosure of which is restricted and exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act.

(h) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, and records of any lawfully created State or local inspector general's office that would be exempt if created or obtained by an Executive Inspector General's office under that Act.

(i) Information contained in a local emergency energy plan submitted to a municipality in accordance with a local emergency energy plan ordinance that is adopted under Section 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(j) Information and data concerning the distribution of surcharge moneys collected and remitted by wireless carriers under the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act.

(k) Law enforcement officer identification information or driver identification information compiled by a law enforcement agency or the Department of Transportation under Section 11-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

(l) Records and information provided to a residential health care facility resident sexual assault and death review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team Act.

(m) Information provided to the predatory lending database created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, except to the extent authorized under that Article.

(n) Defense budgets and petitions for certification of compensation and expenses for court appointed trial counsel as provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital Crimes Litigation Act. This subsection (n) shall apply until the conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the prosecution chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior to trial or sentencing.

(o) Information that is prohibited from being disclosed under Section 4 of the Illinois Health and Hazardous Substances Registry Act.

(p) Security portions of system safety program plans, investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or information compiled, collected, or prepared by or for the Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair County Transit District under the Bi-State Transit Safety Act.

(q) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the Personnel Records Review Act.

(r) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the Illinois School Student Records Act.

(s) Information the disclosure of which is restricted under Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.

(t) All identified or deidentified health information in the form of health data or medical records contained in, stored in, submitted to, transferred by, or released from the Illinois Health Information Exchange, and identified or deidentified health information in the form of health data and medical records of the Illinois Health Information Exchange in the possession of the Illinois Health Information Exchange Authority due to its administration of the Illinois Health Information Exchange. The terms "identified" and "deidentified" shall be given the same meaning as in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability and Portability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191, or any subsequent amendments thereto, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

(u) Records and information provided to an independent team of experts under Brian's Law.

(v) Names and information of people who have applied for or received Firearm Owner's Identification Cards under the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act or applied for or received a concealed carry license under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, unless otherwise authorized by the Firearm Concealed Carry Act; and databases under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, records of the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, and law enforcement agency objections under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

(w) Personally identifiable information which is exempted from disclosure under subsection (g) of Section 19.1 of the Toll Highway Act.

(x) Information which is exempted from disclosure under Section 5-1014.3 of the Counties Code or Section 8-11-21 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(y) Confidential information under the Adult Protective Services Act and its predecessor enabling statute, the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, including information about the identity and administrative finding against any caregiver of a verified and substantiated decision of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult maintained in the Registry established under Section 7.5 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(z) Records and information provided to a fatality review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team Advisory Council under Section 15 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(aa) Information which is exempted from disclosure under Section 2.37 of the Wildlife Code.

(bb) Information which is or was prohibited from disclosure by the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

(cc) (bb) Recordings made under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, except to the extent authorized under that Act.

(dd) Information that is exempted from disclosure under Section 15 of the Illinois New Motor Voter Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13; 98-63, eff. 7-9-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1039, eff. 8-25-14; 98-1045, eff. 8-25-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-298, eff. 8-6-15; 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; revised 10-14-15.)

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.