HB4629 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 18875 AJO 45016 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB4629

Introduced , by Rep. James H. Meyer

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Authorizes the creation of Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams to identify and review the circumstances that led to domestic violence related homicides and identify strategies to prevent future fatalities. Allows, for the limited purpose of domestic violence fatality reviews, the disclosure to Team members of any information deemed confidential, privileged, or prohibited from disclosure by any other Act. Provides that confidential information obtained by a Team shall remain confidential and may not be disclosed by the Team. Provides that the proceedings, records, opinions, and deliberations of a Team shall be privileged. Limits the liability for a Team member or a person providing information to a Team for civil damages arising out of an official act or an omission during the gathering or processing of information by a Team, except for willful or wanton misconduct or acts performed outside the scope of the authority of the Team. Provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall convene a statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Advisory Council with specified duties. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts information gathered by a Team from the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning domestic violence.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is amended by adding Article V as follows:

(750 ILCS 60/Art. V heading new)

ARTICLE V

FATALITY REVIEW TEAMS

(750 ILCS 60/501 new)

Sec. 501. Short title. This Article may be cited as the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team Law.

(750 ILCS 60/505 new)

Sec. 505. Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to allow creation of teams to identify and review the circumstances that led to domestic violence-related homicides and identify strategies to prevent future fatalities.

(750 ILCS 60/510 new)

Sec. 510. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams.

(a) A county or group of counties or a municipality with a population over 2,000,000 may establish a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. The Team shall identify intimate partner violence-related homicides, review the circumstances that led to those deaths, and identify strategies to prevent future fatalities. For the purposes of this Article, "intimate partners" include: (i) spouses or former spouses; (ii) persons who have or allegedly have a child in common; and (iii) persons who have or had a dating or engagement relationship.

(b) Teams may determine which intimate partner violence-related homicides to review, but may not review cases under investigation by law enforcement or while an action is pending in criminal or civil court.

(c) Teams may be comprised of members who serve on an ongoing basis and members who serve on a case-specific basis.

(d) Teams shall include, but are not limited to, representatives from the following:

(1) coroners or medical examiners;

(2) judges and courts;

(3) the investigating law enforcement agency;

(4) prosecutors;

(5) a local domestic violence agency;

(6) health care professionals or emergency response personnel; and

(7) child welfare representatives.

(e) Teams may also include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) mental health treatment providers;

(2) corrections and domestic partner abuse intervention providers;

(3) representatives from domestic violence programs;

(4) representatives from an area institution of higher education;

(5) city council members;

(6) survivors of domestic violence;

(7) county commissioners;

(8) local members of the clergy; and

(9) a family member of a decedent whose death resulted from domestic abuse.

(f) Teams shall have access to all appropriate information and records in possession of public and private agencies that are relevant to the review of a domestic violence fatality. This access includes, but is not limited to, access to victims and perpetrators' medical, dental, and mental health records, pathologists reports, coroners and medical examiners' records, direct service records, records of law enforcement agencies, records from the Department of Corrections and parole and probation departments, reports from states and governments, court records and information, and employment records. For the limited purpose of domestic violence fatality reviews, this subsection (f) permits the disclosure to Team members of any information deemed confidential, privileged, or prohibited from disclosure by any other Act. Release of confidential communication between domestic violence advocates and a domestic violence victim shall follow subsection (d) of Section 227 of this Act, which allows for the waiver of privilege afforded to guardians or executors or administrators of the estate of the domestic violence victim.

(750 ILCS 60/515 new)

Sec. 515. Information; confidentiality. Meetings of Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams shall be closed to the public and not subject to the Open Meetings Act. Confidential information obtained by a Team shall remain confidential and may not be disclosed by the Team. The proceedings, records, opinions, and deliberations of a Team are privileged and are not subject to discovery, subpoena, the Freedom of Information Act, or introduction into evidence in any civil action in any manner that would directly or indirectly identify specific persons or cases reviewed by the Team. Release of confidential communications between domestic violence advocates and a domestic violence victim shall follow the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 227 of this Act, which allows for the waiver of privilege afforded to guardians or executors or administrators of the estate of the domestic violence victim.

(750 ILCS 60/520 new)

Sec. 520. Liability. No member of a Team and no person providing information to a Team is liable for civil damages arising out of an official act or omission during the gathering or processing of information by a Team, except for acts or omissions that constitute willful or wanton misconduct on the part of the member or person providing information, or acts performed outside the scope of the authority of the Team.

(750 ILCS 60/525 new)

Sec. 525. Statewide coordination.

(a) The Office of the Attorney General shall convene a statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Advisory Council including, but not limited to, representatives from the following professions:

(1) coroners or medical examiners;

(2) judges and courts;

(3) law enforcement;

(4) prosecutors;

(5) domestic violence programs and partner abuse intervention programs; and

(6) health care.

The Council shall advise regarding the development and implementation of Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams.

(b) Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams shall report annually to the Office of the Attorney General for compilation.

(c) The Council shall also study the feasibility of an electronic database of orders of protection issued in Illinois, accessible only to law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, prosecutorial staff, judges, and court personnel.

(750 ILCS 60/530 new)

Sec. 530. Report to General Assembly. A biennial statewide report on Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams shall be issued by the Office of the Attorney General and the Advisory Council to the Illinois General Assembly in December of even-numbered years. The annual report in December of 2010 shall contain a recommendation as to whether or not the domestic violence review process provided for in this Article should continue or be terminated.

Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)

Sec. 7. Exemptions.

(1) The following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations adopted under federal or State law.

(b) Information that, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information. The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy. Information exempted under this subsection (b) shall include but is not limited to:

(i) files and personal information maintained with respect to clients, patients, residents, students or other individuals receiving social, medical, educational, vocational, financial, supervisory or custodial care or services directly or indirectly from federal agencies or public bodies;

(ii) personnel files and personal information maintained with respect to employees, appointees or elected officials of any public body or applicants for those positions;

(iii) files and personal information maintained with respect to any applicant, registrant or licensee by any public body cooperating with or engaged in professional or occupational registration, licensure or discipline;

(iv) information required of any taxpayer in connection with the assessment or collection of any tax unless disclosure is otherwise required by State statute;

(v) information revealing the identity of persons who file complaints with or provide information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement or penal agencies; provided, however, that identification of witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident reports, and rescue reports may be provided by agencies of local government, except in a case for which a criminal investigation is ongoing, without constituting a clearly unwarranted per se invasion of personal privacy under this subsection; and

(vi) the names, addresses, or other personal information of participants and registrants in park district, forest preserve district, and conservation district programs.

(c) Records compiled by any public body for administrative enforcement proceedings and any law enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement purposes or for internal matters of a public body, but only to the extent that disclosure would:

(i) interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by any law enforcement or correctional agency;

(ii) interfere with pending administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by any public body;

(iii) deprive a person of a fair trial or an impartial hearing;

(iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a confidential source or confidential information furnished only by the confidential source;

(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative techniques other than those generally used and known or disclose internal documents of correctional agencies related to detection, observation or investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct;

(vi) constitute an invasion of personal privacy under subsection (b) of this Section;

(vii) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel or any other person; or

(viii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation.

(d) Criminal history record information maintained by State or local criminal justice agencies, except the following which shall be open for public inspection and copying:

(i) chronologically maintained arrest information, such as traditional arrest logs or blotters;

(ii) the name of a person in the custody of a law enforcement agency and the charges for which that person is being held;

(iii) court records that are public;

(iv) records that are otherwise available under State or local law; or

(v) records in which the requesting party is the individual identified, except as provided under part (vii) of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this Section.

"Criminal history record information" means data identifiable to an individual and consisting of descriptions or notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, pre-trial proceedings, trials, or other formal events in the criminal justice system or descriptions or notations of criminal charges (including criminal violations of local municipal ordinances) and the nature of any disposition arising therefrom, including sentencing, court or correctional supervision, rehabilitation and release. The term does not apply to statistical records and reports in which individuals are not identified and from which their identities are not ascertainable, or to information that is for criminal investigative or intelligence purposes.

(e) Records that relate to or affect the security of correctional institutions and detention facilities.

(f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

(g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business where the trade secrets or information are proprietary, privileged or confidential, or where disclosure of the trade secrets or information may cause competitive harm, including:

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

(ii) All trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating a potential investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the aggregate financial performance information of a private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or general partners. The exemption contained in this item does not apply to the identity of a privately held company within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held company may cause competitive harm.

Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be construed to prevent a person or business from consenting to disclosure.

(h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or agreement, including information which if it were disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contractor agreement with the body, until an award or final selection is made. Information prepared by or for the body in preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an award or final selection is made.

(i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss. The exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the general public.

(j) Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer an academic examination or determined the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment.

(k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical submissions, and other construction related technical documents for projects not constructed or developed in whole or in part with public funds and the same for projects constructed or developed with public funds, but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise security, including but not limited to water treatment facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings.

(l) Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials.

(m) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the public body makes the minutes available to the public under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.

(n) Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, and materials prepared or compiled with respect to internal audits of public bodies.

(o) Information received by a primary or secondary school, college or university under its procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by their academic peers.

(p) Administrative or technical information associated with automated data processing operations, including but not limited to software, operating protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object modules, load modules, user guides, documentation pertaining to all logical and physical design of computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security of the system or its data or the security of materials exempt under this Section.

(q) Documents or materials relating to collective negotiating matters between public bodies and their employees or representatives, except that any final contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.

(r) Drafts, notes, recommendations and memoranda pertaining to the financing and marketing transactions of the public body. The records of ownership, registration, transfer, and exchange of municipal debt obligations, and of persons to whom payment with respect to these obligations is made.

(s) The records, documents and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated.

(t) Any and all proprietary information and records related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk management association or self-insurance pool or jointly self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.

(u) Information concerning a university's adjudication of student or employee grievance or disciplinary cases, to the extent that disclosure would reveal the identity of the student or employee and information concerning any public body's adjudication of student or employee grievances or disciplinary cases, except for the final outcome of the cases.

(v) Course materials or research materials used by faculty members.

(w) Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of a public body.

(x) Information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State law.

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

(z) Manuals or instruction to staff that relate to establishment or collection of liability for any State tax or that relate to investigations by a public body to determine violation of any criminal law.

(aa) 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.

(bb) Insurance or self insurance (including any intergovernmental risk management association or self insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management information, records, data, advice or communications.

(cc) 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.

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

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

(ff) 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.

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

(hh) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

(ii) Beginning July 1, 1999, information that would disclose or might lead to the disclosure of secret or confidential information, codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be used to create electronic or digital signatures under the Electronic Commerce Security Act.

(jj) 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.

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

(ll) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies or plans that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's population or systems, facilities, or installations, the destruction or contamination of which would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community, but only to the extent that disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement them or the public. Information exempt under this item may include such things as details pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to tactical operations.

(mm) Maps and other records regarding the location or security of generation, transmission, distribution, storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities owned by a utility or by the Illinois Power Agency.

(nn) 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.

(oo) 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.

(pp) 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.

(qq) 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 (qq) 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.

(rr) Information contained in or related to proposals, bids, or negotiations related to electric power procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce Commission.

(ss) Information gathered by a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team under Article V of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.

(2) This Section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-508, eff. 1-1-06; 94-664, eff. 1-1-06; 94-931, eff. 6-26-06; 94-953, eff. 6-27-06; 94-1055, eff. 1-1-07; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07.)