Bill Text: IL HB4045 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "settlement agreement" and "severance agreement". Provides that a settlement agreement or severance agreement that is funded in whole or part by public moneys or that releases a claim against a public body shall not require or impose any condition on any party to keep allegations, evidence, settlement amounts, or any other information confidential, except that which is necessary to protect a trade secret, proprietary information, or information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-27 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4045 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB4045-Introduced.html


99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB4045

Introduced , by Rep. Frances Ann Hurley

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/2 from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/2.21 new

Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "settlement agreement" and "severance agreement". Provides that a settlement agreement or severance agreement that is funded in whole or part by public moneys or that releases a claim against a public body shall not require or impose any condition on any party to keep allegations, evidence, settlement amounts, or any other information confidential, except that which is necessary to protect a trade secret, proprietary information, or information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Act.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5adding Sections 2 and 2.21 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
7 Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8 (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
9administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
10universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
11villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
12municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
13commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
14foregoing including but not limited to committees and
15subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
16under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
17include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
18Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
19Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or
20the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
21Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
22Advisory Board Act.
23 (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,

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1partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
2individually or as a group.
3 (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
4writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
5photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
6data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
7information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
8the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form
9or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having
10been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or
11under the control of any public body.
12 (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
13including a person's social security number, driver's license
14number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
15personal financial information, passwords or other access
16codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and
17personal email addresses. Private information also includes
18home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise
19provided by law or when compiled without possibility of
20attribution to any person.
21 (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
22public record or records, or information derived from public
23records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
24advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
25definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
26scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered

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1to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
2purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
3information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii)
4for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public,
5or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
6research or education.
7 (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
8by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
9process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
10available to the public body.
11 (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
12chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
13manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
14executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
15such person's duly authorized designee.
16 (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
17issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
18format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a
19radio station, a television station, a television network, a
20community antenna television service, or a person or
21corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
22picture news for public showing.
23 (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
24Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
25preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
26(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15

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1requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum
2of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes
3of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
4scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
5in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods
6in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests
7is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news
8and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or
9features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of
10academic, scientific, or public research or education.
11 For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
12written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
13to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
14personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
15means available to the public body and that identifies the
16particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
17identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
18 (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) includes
19more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different
20categories of records or a combination of individual requests
21that total requests for more than 5 different categories of
22records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) requires the
23compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of
24public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500
25pages. "Single requested record" may include, but is not
26limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book,

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1map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
2 "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
3news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
4organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
5to access and disseminate information concerning news and
6current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
7features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
8academic, scientific, or public research or education.
9 For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
10written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
11to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
12personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
13means available to the public body and that identifies the
14particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
15request may identify multiple individual records to be
16inspected or copied.
17 (i) "Settlement agreement" means any arrangement for
18payment in exchange for the adjudication or release of a civil
19claim established by an agreement between some or all of the
20parties to the claim.
21 (j) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
22any public body and its employee for the employee's resignation
23in exchange for payment by the public body.
24(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-806, eff. 1-1-15;
2598-1129, eff. 12-3-14; revised 12-19-14.)

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1 (5 ILCS 140/2.21 new)
2 Sec. 2.21. Confidential settlement agreements and
3confidential severance agreements prohibited.
4 (a) A settlement agreement that is funded in whole or part
5by public moneys or that releases a claim against a public body
6shall not require or impose any condition on any party to keep
7allegations, evidence, settlement amounts, or any other
8information confidential, except that which is necessary to
9protect a trade secret, proprietary information, or
10information otherwise exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of
11this Act.
12 (b) A severance agreement that is funded in whole or part
13by public moneys or that releases a claim against a public body
14shall not require or impose any condition on any party to keep
15allegations, evidence, settlement amounts, or any other
16information confidential, except that which is necessary to
17protect a trade secret, proprietary information, or
18information otherwise exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of
19this Act.
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