SB3139enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Plain Language Task Force Act is
5amended by changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 and by
6adding Sections 30 and 35 as follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 4090/5)
8    Sec. 5. Purpose. The mission of the Illinois Plain Language
9Task Force is to implement, monitor, and maintain the mission
10of this Act, including developing training requirements and
11other assistance, and to conduct a study on, and to propose any
12additional legislative measures designed to realize:
13        (1) the potential benefits of incorporating plain
14    language in State government documents, statutes, and
15    contracts into which the State enters; and
16        (2) how plain language principles might be
17    incorporated into the statutes governing contracts among
18    private parties so as to provide additional protections to
19    Illinois consumers, to reduce litigation between private
20    parties over the meaning of contractual terms, and to
21    foster judicial economy.
22(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 

 

 

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1    (20 ILCS 4090/10)
2    Sec. 10. Definition. As used in this Act:
3    "Plain language" shall have the same meaning as "plain
4writing" as used in the federal Plain Writing Act of 2010, and
5subsequent guidance documents, including the Federal Plain
6Language Guidelines has the same meaning ascribed to it in the
7Executive Memorandum of the President of the United States,
8mandating that Federal Agencies and Federal Administrative
9Rules employ plain language, issued June 1, 1998, namely that
10"plain language" documents have logical organization,
11easy-to-read design features, and use: (i) common, everyday
12words, except for necessary technical terms; (ii) "you" and
13other pronouns; (iii) the active voice; and (iv) short
14sentences.
15(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
16    (20 ILCS 4090/15)
17    Sec. 15. Task Force.
18    (a) The Illinois Plain Language Task Force is hereby
19created. The Illinois Plain Language Task Force shall be
20chaired by the Governor or his or her designee and shall
21consist of the following members: one member appointed by the
22Illinois Attorney General; one member appointed by the Senate
23President; one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
24Senate; one member appointed by the Speaker of the House; one
25member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House; and 3

 

 

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1members appointed by the Governor, one of whom represents the
2interests of the banking industry, one of whom represents the
3interests of the business community, and one of whom represents
4the interests of the consumers.
5    (b) Members of the Task Force must be appointed no later
6than 90 days after the effective date of this Act.
7    (c) If a vacancy occurs on the Task Force, it shall be
8filled according to the guidelines of the initial appointment.
9    (d) At the discretion of the chair, additional individuals
10may participate as non-voting members in the meetings of the
11Task Force.
12    (e) Members of the Illinois Plain Language Task Force shall
13serve without compensation. The Office of the Governor shall
14provide staff and administrative services to the Task Force.
15(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
16    (20 ILCS 4090/20)
17    Sec. 20. Duties. Once all members have been appointed, the
18Task Force shall meet not less than once each quarter following
19the effective date of this Act to carry out the duties
20prescribed in this Act. An initial report delineating the Task
21Force's findings, conclusions, and recommendations shall be
22submitted to the Illinois General Assembly no later than May
2331, 2019, unless such initial report has already been submitted
24to the General Assembly prior to the effective date of this
25amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. The report to the

 

 

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1General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
2Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
3form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
4direct 9 months after the effective date of this Act.
5Thereafter, the Task Force shall make periodic recommendations
6on its own motion or at the urging of the Illinois General
7Assembly.
8(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
9    (20 ILCS 4090/25)
10    Sec. 25. Guidance. The Task Force shall be guided in its
11discussions on the subject of plain language by the federal
12Plain Writing Act of 2010 and subsequent guidance documents,
13including, but not limited to, the Federal Plain Language
14Guidelines the guidelines for plain language drafting
15promulgated by the President of the United States on June 1,
161998, which accompanied his plain language Executive
17Memorandum issued on the same day.
18(Source: P.A. 96-350, eff. 8-13-09.)
 
19    (20 ILCS 4090/30 new)
20    Sec. 30. Plain language State government communications.
21Recognizing the importance of plain language in communication
22with the public:
23        (1) the General Assembly shall draft legislation and
24    other public-facing documents using plain language when

 

 

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1    practicable; and
2        (2) the executive and judicial branches of State
3    government are advised to make all efforts to draft
4    executive orders, court documents, and other public facing
5    documents using plain language.
 
6    (20 ILCS 4090/35 new)
7    Sec. 35. Construction. No provision of this Act shall be
8construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or
9procedural, enforceable by any administrative or judicial
10action. There shall be no judicial review of compliance or
11noncompliance with any provision of this Act.
 
12    Section 10. The Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force Act
13is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
 
14    (20 ILCS 5105/20)
15    (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2019)
16    Sec. 20. Report. On or before December 31 July 1, 2018, the
17Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force shall report its findings
18and recommendations to the General Assembly, by filing copies
19of its report as provided in Section 3.1 of the General
20Assembly Organization Act, and to the Governor. The report to
21the General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House
22of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in
23electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the

 

 

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1Secretary shall direct.
2(Source: P.A. 100-403, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.