Public Act 094-0620
 		





HB1589 Enrolled
LRB094 09848 RSP 40104 b






    AN ACT in relation to State government. 

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

 
    Section 1. Short title.   This Act may be cited as the Human 
Voice Contact
Act.



 
    Section 5. Legislative findings.   The General Assembly 
finds that:


        (1)  the people of this State, from time to time, need 
    contact with State
agencies
because of problems or 
    concerns;


        (2)  often when a person calls a State agency that 
    person needs to talk to
an
individual, and it is not 
    necessarily convenient or practical for that person
to 
    leave a message or to
follow an automated menu;


        (3)  the purpose of State agencies is to serve the 
    people of this State in
a manner
that is as accessible, 
    efficient, and responsive as possible;


        (4)  when a person calls a State agency and receives an 
    automated operator
or an
automated menu instead of a live 
    operator, often that person is not able to
adequately 
    receive
assistance or services; and


        (5)  the number of people calling a State agency and not 
    getting the
assistance or
services that they are entitled 
    to because the State agency does not have a
live operator 
    answering
incoming phone calls grows by the day.



 
    Section 10. Definition.   In this Act, "State agency" means 
the same as in
Section 1-7 of
the Illinois State Auditing Act.



 
    Section 15. Automated telephone answering equipment.  A 
State agency that
uses
automated telephone answering equipment 
to answer incoming telephone calls
must, during the normal

business hours of the agency, provide the caller with the

option of speaking to a
live operator.  This Section does not 
apply to field offices, telephone lines dedicated as  hot lines 
for
emergency services, telephone lines dedicated to  providing 
general information, and  any system that is designed to permit 
an individual to conduct a complete transaction with the State 
agency over the telephone solely by pressing one or more touch 
tone telephone keys in response to automated prompts.

 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
1, 2007.



Effective Date:  1/1/2007