Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB3152

LRB104 08889 SPS 18944 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3152

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. David Friess

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the General Assembly Privacy Act. Provides that government agencies shall not publicly post or display publicly available content that includes a member of the General Assembly's personal information, provided that the government agency has received a written request from the member. Prohibits a person, business, or association from soliciting, selling, or trading on the Internet a members's personal information with the intent to pose an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the member's immediate family. Allows for civil damages of not less than $10,000. Makes it a Class 3 felony to knowingly post personal information of the member's immediate family, if the person knows or reasonably should know the posting poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the member or the member's immediate family, and the posting is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the member or the member's immediate family.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Article 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1-1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the General Assembly Privacy Act.

Section 1-5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Government agency" includes all agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other bodies politic and corporate of the State created by the constitution or statute, whether in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch; all units and corporate outgrowths created by executive order of the Governor or any constitutional officer, by the Supreme Court, or by resolution of the General Assembly; or agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other bodies politic and corporate of a unit of local government, or school district.

"Home address" includes a member's permanent residence and any secondary residences affirmatively identified by the member, but does not include a member's work address.

"Immediate family" includes a member's spouse, child, parent, or any blood relative of the member or the member's spouse who lives in the same residence.

"Member" means a member of the Illinois General Assembly.

"Personal information" means a home address, home telephone number, mobile telephone number, pager number, personal email address, social security number, federal tax identification number, checking and savings account numbers, credit card numbers, marital status, and identity of children under the age of 18.

"Publicly available content" means any written, printed, or electronic document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled, or in the possession of a government agency that may be obtained by any person or entity, from the Internet, from the government agency upon request either free of charge or for a fee, or in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

"Publicly post" or "publicly display" means to communicate to another or otherwise make available to the general public.

"Written request" means written notice signed by a member or a representative of the member's employer requesting a government agency, person, business, or association to refrain from posting or displaying publicly available content that includes the member's personal information.

Article 5. CIVIL PROVISIONS

Section 5-1. Publicly posting or displaying a member's personal information by government agencies.

(a) Government agencies shall not publicly post or display publicly available content that includes a member's personal information, provided that the government agency has received a written request in accordance with Section 5-5 that it refrain from disclosing the member's personal information. After a government agency has received a written request, that agency shall remove the member's personal information from publicly available content within 5 business days. After the government agency has removed the member's personal information from publicly available content, the agency shall not publicly post or display the information and the member's personal information shall be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act unless the government agency has received consent from the member to make the personal information available to the public.

(b) Redress. If a government agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from disclosing personal information, the member may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 5-5. Publicly posting a member's personal information on the Internet by persons, businesses, and associations.

(a) Prohibited Conduct.

(1) All persons, businesses, and associations shall refrain from publicly posting or displaying on the Internet publicly available content that includes a member's personal information, provided that the member has made a written request to the person, business, or association that it refrain from disclosing the personal information.

(2) No person, business, or association shall solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet a member's personal information with the intent to pose an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the member or the member's immediate family.

(3) This subsection includes, but is not limited to, Internet phone directories, Internet search engines, Internet data aggregators, and Internet service providers.

(b) Required Conduct.

(1) After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a member to protect the privacy of the member's personal information, that person, business, or association shall have 72 hours to remove the personal information from the Internet.

(2) After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a member, that person, business, or association shall ensure that the member's personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person, business, or association.

(3) After receiving a member's written request, no person, business, or association shall transfer the member's personal information to any other person, business, or association through any medium.

(c) Redress. A member whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of this Act may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the person, business, or association responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the member's costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Section 5-10. Procedure for completing a written request.

(a) Requirement that a member make a written request. No government agency, person, business, or association shall be found to have violated any provision of this Act if the member fails to submit a written request calling for the protection of the member's personal information.

(b) Written request procedure. A written request shall be valid if the member, or an agent of the member, sends a written request directly to a government agency, person, business, or association.

(c) A representative of the member may submit a written request on the member's behalf, provided that the member gives written consent to the representative and provided that the representative agrees to furnish a copy of that consent when a written request is made. The representative shall submit the written request as provided in subsection (b).

(d) Information to be included in the written request. A member's written request shall specify what personal information shall be maintained private.

If a member wishes to identify a secondary residence as a home address, the designation shall be made in the written request.

A member shall disclose the identity of the member's immediate family and indicate that the personal information of these family members shall also be excluded to the extent that it could reasonably be expected to reveal the personal information of the member.

(e) Duration of the written request. A member's written request is valid until the member provides the government agency, person, business, or association with written permission to release the private information. A member's written request expires on death.

Article 10. CRIMINAL PROVISIONS

Section 10-1. Unlawful publication of personal information. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post on the Internet the personal information of the member's immediate family if the person knows or reasonably should know that publicly posting the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the member's immediate family, and the violation is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the member or the member's immediate family. A person who violates this Section is guilty of a Class 3 felony.

Section 10-5. Exceptions for employees of government agencies. Provided that the employee of a government agency has complied with the conditions set forth in Article 5, it is not a violation of Section 10-1 if an employee of a government agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.

Article 15. MISCELLANEOUS

Section 15-1. Construction. This Act and any rules adopted to implement this Act shall be construed broadly to favor the protection of the personal information of members.

Section 15-5. Severability. If any part of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is adjudged invalid, such adjudication or application shall not affect the validity of this Act as a whole or of any other part.