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HB 4888

LOC GOV-RECORD DISPOSAL

104th Regular Session Introduced by Janet Yang Rohr

The bill shifts public-record disposal from written Local Records Commission approval to compliance with an agency’s approved disposal authority application.

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Bill Summary · HB 4888

Summary of HB4888 (104th Illinois General Assembly)

Purpose and intent

  • Updates the Local Records Act to change the process for disposing of public records.
  • The bill provides that, except as otherwise required by law, public records may be disposed of only in compliance with an application for authority to dispose of local records, rather than requiring the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission first.

Key provisions and changes

  • Definitions (Section 3) clarifies terms used in the Act, including:
    • “Application for authority to dispose of local records” as an agency-specific document created and approved by a commission that lists all public records held by the agency and their required retention timeframes.
    • Other terms related to records, including “Archivist” (Secretary of State), “Born-digital electronic material,” “Digitized electronic material,” “Public record,” and “Junk mail.”
  • Disposition rules (Section 7):
    • Replaces the prerequisite of obtaining written approval from the Local Records Commission with compliance with an application for authority to dispose.
    • The Commission will issue regulations that bind all officers/agencies, covering:
    • Procedures for notifying, compiling, and submitting lists/schedules of records proposed for disposal.
    • Procedures for physical destruction or other disposal of records.
    • Management and preservation standards for electronically generated/maintained records.
    • Standards for reproducing records by photography, microfilm, or digitized formats (including quality, preparation, identification, and ensuring complete record detail).
    • Allowance for disposing of the original record when reproduced in a durable medium that accurately reproduces the original, the reproduction is retained for the prescribed retention period, and the Commission is notified on both the disposal of the original and the reproduced record.
    • The State Archivist may retain records that have historical value and may place them in the State Archives, a library, or with a historical society/museum.
  • Retention and disposal oversight (Section 10):
    • Agency heads must submit lists/schedules to the Commission identifying records no longer needed for current business and proposing retention periods for record series.
    • The Commission determines which records have no administrative, legal, research, or historical value and should be destroyed or disposed of.
    • Destruction must comply with law; destruction cannot occur contrary to the application for authority to dispose and cannot occur without Commission oversight.
    • Court records are exempt from this section (governed by Section 4).

Who/what is affected

  • Illinois state and local agencies, including courts (as defined in the Act), counties, municipal corporations, and political subdivisions that maintain public records.
  • Local Records Commissions (the bodies that oversee disposal) and the State Archivist (Secretary of State) in their capacity to authorize and regulate record disposition and archival retention.
  • Agencies responsible for maintaining electronic records, including born-digital and digitized materials, and those responsible for reproducing records (film, microfilm, or digital formats).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Agencies must follow a new process centered on an “application for authority to dispose of local records,” to be approved by the appropriate Local Records Commission.
  • Commissions will promulgate regulations detailing:
    • How to notify and submit disposal lists/schedules.
    • How to carry out physical destruction or other disposal.
    • How to manage and preserve electronically generated records.
    • Standards for reproducing records and ensuring fidelity and accessibility of copies.
  • Upon disposal, agencies must notify the Commission about both the disposal of the original and of the reproduced records.
  • The Commission’s oversight extends to determining non-value records and approving their destruction, subject to legal constraints and the exception for court records.

Effective date and status

  • The bill is introduced in the 104th General Assembly and would amend the Local Records Act sections 3, 7, and 10 if enacted.

Note: The sponsor listed is Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (co-sponsor).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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