Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5486

HB5486 Engrossed LRB104 17770 TRT 31202 b

AN ACT concerning 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 Office of Genealogical Affairs Study Commission Act.

Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Illinois has a documented history of slavery, coerced labor, family separation, racial violence, and State-sanctioned discrimination, including, but not limited to, the enslavement of African Americans at State-operated salt mines, the enforcement of Black Codes, and the long-term exclusion of African American families from full civic participation.

(2) These historical practices resulted in the systematic destruction, fragmentation, or non-creation of genealogical records for African American families and other historically displaced populations, impairing their ability to document family identity, lineage, and inheritance.

(3) Illinois recognizes genealogical access as a public service and democratic good through its archival, records preservation, and genealogical programs, and it recognizes family identity as a legally protected interest for the purposes of adoption, parentage, and child welfare law.

(4) Genealogical knowledge serves not only administrative purposes but also reparative, forensic, public health, and psychosocial functions, including identity formation, family reunification, historical accountability, and access to health-related genetic information.

(5) The State lacks an integrated framework for delivering genealogical services across restorative, forensic, and administrative domains, particularly where traditional documentation is absent.

(b) Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to commission a comprehensive study on the establishment of an Office of Genealogical Affairs, grounded in Illinois law and public service traditions, to determine how the State may equitably provide genealogical services that support identity repair, historical accountability, and, where applicable, administrative determinations.

Section 10. Office of Genealogical Affairs Study Commission.

(a) The Office of Genealogical Affairs Study Commission is created. The members of the Commission shall be as follows:

(1) 10 public members appointed by the Governor with specialties in the following areas or with the following expertise:

(A) expertise in anthropology and population genetics genealogy;

(B) expertise in biological anthropology;

(C) expertise in cultural anthropology;

(D) specialty in archival studies;

(E) specialty in historical studies;

(F) specialty in genealogy;

(G) specialty in psycho-social or psycho-mental health; and

(H) specialty in data governance, privacy, and security;

(2) 2 members that are descendant community leadership representatives appointed by the Governor;

(3) one public health professional from a nongovernmental organization or academic institution appointed by the Governor;

(4) one member appointed by the President of the Senate;

(5) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(6) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(7) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and

(8) 3 ex officio members:

(A) the Secretary of State, as the State Archivist, or the Secretary's designee; and

(B) the Director of the Illinois State Archives, or the Director's designee.

(C) a Director of the Illinois State Genealogical Society or a Director's designee.

(b) Commission members appointed under paragraphs (3) through (6) of subsection (a) shall co-chair the Commission.

(c) Each Commission member shall serve for a term of 2 years or until his or her successor is appointed and qualified, except in the case of initial appointees who shall serve for a period of 2 years after the effective date of this Act.

(d) Beginning August 2026, the Commission shall meet monthly, whether in-person or virtually, or as called by the co-chairs of the Commission.

Section 15. Duties of the Commission.

(a) The Commission shall have the following duties:

(1) to examine the feasibility, scope, and structure of a permanent Office of Genealogical Affairs within State government;

(2) to examine how an Office of Genealogical Affairs could operationalize reparative genealogical services;

(3) to examine how an Office of Genealogical Affairs could support forensic and historical accountability efforts; and

(4) to examine how an Office of Genealogical Affairs could support administrative genealogical determinations.

(b) The Commission may engage with experts with the approval of the chairperson or co-chairs and shall receive the cooperation of those State agencies it deems appropriate to assist the Commission in carrying out its duties.

(c) The Commission may consult with the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Archives, and the African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission to provide information or related data to support the Commission's work.

Section 20. Report to the Governor and General Assembly. No later than 20 months after the effective date of this Act, the Commission shall prepare a report to the Governor and the General Assembly, which shall include, but shall not be limited to:

(1) a recommended statutory placement, governance structure, and staffing model for an Office of Genealogical Affairs;

(2) a phased implementation plan prioritizing reparative forensic services;

(3) an ethical, legal, and data-governance framework for genealogical and genetic genealogy services;

(4) a description of the estimated costs, funding mechanisms, and interagency coordination needs; and

(5) a description of the options for pilot programs and statewide scaling.

Section 25. Construction. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to mandate genetic testing, limit access to existing genealogical services, or authorize the use of genealogical data for surveillance or for law enforcement purposes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.