HB4597 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17930 BDA 31367 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4597

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Rep. Sharon Chung

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 140/6

from Ch. 116, par. 206

Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body may impose a fee upon a requester for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of redacting recorded audio or video content recordings made under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that the public body may not impose the fee under specified circumstances. Requires the public body to provide the requester, in writing, with an estimate of the amount of the fee to be charged before before fulfilling the request.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning government.

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

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

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

Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.

(a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic format.

(a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a voluminous request is for electronic records and those records are in a portable document format, the public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data, and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the responsive electronic records are in both a portable document format and not in a portable document format, the public body may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee scales.

If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection (a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request for public records.

(b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a public body provides copies in color or in a size other than letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public body shall not include the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying a record shall not exceed $1.

(c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit" shall not apply to requests made by news media when the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the general public. In setting the amount of the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of copying them.

(d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections (6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to public records for the purposes of judicial review.

(e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as a paper copy or as an electronic copy.

(f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record or examining the record for necessary redactions. No fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public body may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting public records from an off-site storage facility when the public records are maintained by a third-party storage company under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request for public records. The provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial requests.

(g) A public body may impose a fee upon a requester for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of redacting, whether by pixelization or other means, recorded audio or video content recordings made under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act to the extent redaction is necessary to comply with the law. When calculating the fee imposed under this subsection, the rate for an actual, necessary, and direct charge for staff time spent redacting shall be based on the pay rate of the public body's lowest paid employee capable of performing the task. A public body may not impose a fee under this subsection for a request for records containing audio or video content if:

(1) the requester:

(A) is an individual that provides written certification to the public body that the requester will not use the audio or video content for financial gain, except for seeking an award of damages in a civil action; and

(B) during the calendar year in which the public body receives the request, has not made more than 10 requests, including the current request but not including any request that satisfied the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3), to the public body for records containing audio or video content;

(2) the requester is:

(A) directly involved in the events depicted on the audio or video content;

(B) an attorney representing an individual directly involved in the events depicted on the audio or video content; or

(C) the parent or guardian of an individual under the age of 18 who is depicted on the audio or video recording;

(3) the audio or video content depicts an officer-involved shooting, as defined in Section 1-30 of the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act; or

(4) the public body did not provide the requester, in writing, with an estimate of the amount of the fee to be charged before fulfilling the request.

(h) If an individual provides a false certification under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subsection (g), then the individual shall be subject to a fine of $10,000 for each violation.

(Source: P.A. 97-579, eff. 8-26-11; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14.)