ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of July 9, 2015
ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews legislation in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers Personal Information Protection Act (Senate Bill 1833), Decriminalization of cannabis (House Bill 218), New criminal law procedures (House Bill 1121), Body cameras (Senate Bill 1304) and Open Meetings Act (House Bill 175). More information on each bill is available below the video.
Personal Information Protection Act. Senate Bill 1833 (Biss, D-Skokie; Williams, D-Chicago) will expand the type of information that triggers a breach notification to consumers, including medical information outside of federal privacy laws, biometric data, contact information if combined with identifying information, and login credentials for online accounts. The bill also requires entities holding sensitive information to take reasonable steps to protect the information, to post a privacy policy describing their data collection practices, and to notify the Attorney General’s office when breaches occur.
Drop date August 27, 2015; effective January 1, 2016.
Decriminalization of cannabis. House Bill 218 (Cassidy, D-Chicago; Noland, D-Elgin) imposes a fine of no more than $125 for possession of 15 grams or less of cannabis. (2) Establishes a per se standard for Cannabis-DUI of 15 nano/milliliter of blood or 25 nano/milliliter of saliva in system instead of a trace of cannabis. (3) Allows for alternative ways to test for cannabis DUI using “any bodily substance” (including saliva) for testing. This is an expansion from current law of breath, blood, and urine. (4) Keeps juvenile ordinance and civil violation dispositions confidential to reflect the intent of the Juvenile Court Act and limit collateral damage to minors.
Drop date August 17, 2015; effective January 1, 2016.
New criminal law procedures. House Bill 1121 (Lang, D-Skokie; J. Cullerton, D-Chicago) implements the crime victim constitutional amendment adopted in the 2014 general election. Reorganizes and modifies listing of rights of crime victims and establishes additional procedures for enforcing the victim’s rights. Provides that the Act does not grant any person a cause of action in equity or law for compensation for damages or attorney’s fees nor create a ground for relief requested by the defendant in a criminal case. Provides that presentence reports shall be open for inspection to the victim of a crime as set forth in the Act.
Drop date August 27, 2015; effective immediately.
Body cameras. Senate Bill 1304 (Raoul, D-Chicago; Sims, D-Chicago) is a comprehensive package that includes authorization and minimum standards for officer-worn video cameras. It permits use of body cameras and establishes minimum standards for retention (90 days for flagged incidents) for individuals captured on camera. It requires independent investigation of officer-involved incidents where members of the public are killed, mandates minimum training for those principally investigating those incidents and clarifies the process by which an independent prosecutor ought to be appointed to review such incidents. Adds a new requirement for officers to provide persons subjected to “Terry Stops” with a stop receipt which would include officer identifying information and the rationale for the stop.
Drop date August 24, 2015; effective January 1, 2016 for most of these changes.
Open Meetings Act. House Bill 175 (McSweeney, R-Cary; Duffy, R-Barrington) creates what is essentially a statute of repose for requests for review to be filed with the Public Access Counselor. If the facts concerning the violation are not discovered within 60 days of the violation but are discovered at a later date by a person using reasonable diligence, the request must be made within two years from the alleged violation.
Drop date August 27, 2015; effective immediately.