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91_HB0487ham002
LRB9102441WHdvam03
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 487
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 487, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
5 "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Year 2000 Citizens' Protection Act.
7 Section 5. Legislative declaration.
8 (1) The General Assembly finds that society is heavily
9 reliant upon computers, technology, and the rapid electronic
10 transfer and exchange of accurate information and data. The
11 General Assembly further finds that society relies heavily
12 upon computer technology for most aspects of daily living and
13 business, including but not limited to financial
14 transactions. The General Assembly further finds that the
15 rapid growth of technology has often outpaced the
16 capabilities of the electronic equipment, software, and
17 hardware that our society uses for the exchange and transfer
18 of data and other information. The General Assembly finds
19 that recently developed computer technology is the
20 operational basis for much of our current hardware and
21 software, and yet it may not recognize the year 2000 date
22 change. The General Assembly finds that the result may be
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1 that in the year 2000, many computer-based systems may fail
2 or cause incorrect data or other information to be processed.
3 This potentially world-wide deficiency in computers is often
4 referred to as the "Y2K bug" and may cause significant
5 problems in the transfer and exchange of data and information
6 in the year 2000 and beyond.
7 (2) Accordingly, the General Assembly determines that,
8 to protect the citizens of the State of Illinois, it is
9 appropriate to limit their liability against adverse
10 financial ramifications resulting from electronic computing
11 device failures associated with the year 2000 date change.
12 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
13 context otherwise requires:
14 (1) "Electronic computing device" means any
15 computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded
16 chip, process control equipment, or other information
17 system that:
18 (A) is used to capture, store, manipulate, or
19 process data; or
20 (B) controls, monitors, or assists in the
21 operation of physical apparatus that is not
22 primarily used as a computer but that relies on
23 automation or digital technology to function,
24 including but not limited to vehicles, vessels,
25 buildings, structures, facilities, elevators,
26 medical equipment, traffic signals, and factory
27 machinery.
28 (2) "Small business" means a corporation or a
29 concern, including its affiliates, that is independently
30 owned and operated, not dominant in its field, and
31 employs fewer than 50 full-time employees or has gross
32 annual sales of less than $4,000,000.
33 (3) "Individual" means a natural person.
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1 Section 15. Limitation on actions against citizens for
2 electronic failures associated with the year 2000.
3 (1) Except as otherwise provided by federal law, no
4 person or entity who transacts business with the citizens of
5 this State on matters directly or indirectly affecting real
6 or personal property, whether tangible or intangible,
7 mortgages, credit accounts, banking and financial
8 transactions, or property interests in this State may
9 initiate or cause to be initiated any foreclosure proceeding,
10 default, or other enforcement action or impose any late
11 payment charge or similar penalty against any individual or
12 small business until April 1, 2000 due to the improper or
13 incorrect transmission of data or resulting from the
14 inability of a financial transaction to occur in a timely
15 manner, as a result of a failure of an electronic computing
16 device in the possession or control of a person or entity
17 other than the individual or small business owing on the
18 obligation to accurately compute, recognize, or timely
19 process the year 2000 date change.
20 (2) Except as otherwise provided by federal law, the
21 prohibitions set forth in subsection (1) of this Section
22 apply but are not limited to the following types of
23 transactions: mortgages, contracts, landlord and tenant
24 relations, consumer credit obligations, utilities, and
25 banking transactions.
26 (3) The prohibitions set forth in subsection (1) of this
27 Section may be raised as an affirmative defense to any
28 actions or charges initiated in violation of subsection (1)
29 provided:
30 (A) the individual or small business establishes
31 that the default, failure to pay, breach, or other
32 omission that is the basis of the enforcement action or
33 late payment charge was caused by the failure of an
34 electronic computing device in the possession or control
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1 of a person or entity other than the individual or small
2 business to accurately compute, recognize, or timely
3 process the year 2000 date change, and, if it were not
4 for this failure, the individual or small business would
5 have been able to satisfy the underlying obligation that
6 is the basis of the enforcement action or late payment
7 charge; and
8 (B) the individual or small business establishes
9 that the individual or small business notified the person
10 or entity bringing the enforcement action or imposing the
11 late payment charge of the information in subdivision
12 (3)(A) in writing within 21 days of the date the
13 individual or small business received actual or
14 constructive notice of the failure.
15 (4) This Section does not affect transactions upon which
16 a default occurred before any disruption of financial or data
17 transfer operations attributable to the year 2000 date
18 change.
19 (5) This Section does not dissolve but only suspends the
20 enforcement of the underlying obligations to which it
21 applies.
22 (6) An individual may dispute directly with a credit
23 reporting agency operating in this State any negative credit
24 information resulting from the failure of an electronic
25 computing device in the possession or control of a person or
26 entity other than the individual owing on the obligation to
27 transmit data or timely process a financial transaction due
28 to the failure of the electronic computing device in the
29 possession or control of a person or entity other than the
30 consumer to accurately compute, recognize, or timely process
31 the year 2000 date change. If requested by the individual
32 pursuant to this subsection (6), the credit reporting agency
33 shall include a statement prepared by the individual of no
34 more than 100 words in the individual's consumer file
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1 explaining an item of information relating to the year
2 2000-related failure of an electronic computing device as
3 described in the preceding sentence that the consumer
4 reporting agency denies is inaccurate. The credit reporting
5 agency shall include the individual's statement in any report
6 it provides to any person or entity regarding the individual.
7 The credit reporting agency shall not charge the individual a
8 fee for the inclusion of this statement in the individual's
9 consumer file.
10 (7) This Section shall apply only to claims, actions, or
11 late payment charge accruing on or after January 1, 2000.
12 Section 90. Application. If there is a conflict between
13 this Act and any other law of this State, this Act shall
14 control.
15 Section 95. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
16 2007.
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18 becoming law.".