HB3443 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 09566 BDA 19629 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB3443

Introduced 2/18/2025, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 120/2.01	from Ch. 102, par. 42.01
20 ILCS 4010/2004.5

Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that the requirement that a quorum be physically present at the location of an open meeting shall not apply to the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Amends the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities Law. Provides that a member of the Council may request permission of the chairperson to attend a meeting by video or audio conference, and that request shall be granted if the member is prevented from physically attending due to personal illness or disability or if the member is required to provide care to a family member who has a disability. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning government.

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

Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Section 2.01 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/2.01) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.01)

Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient and open to the public. No meeting required by this Act to be public shall be held on a legal holiday unless the regular meeting day falls on that holiday.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a quorum of members of a public body must be physically present at the location of an open meeting. If, however, an open meeting of a public body (i) with statewide jurisdiction, (ii) that is an Illinois library system with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, (iii) that is a municipal transit district with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or (iv) that is a local workforce investment area with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles is held simultaneously at one of its offices and one or more other locations in a public building, which may include other of its offices, through an interactive video conference and the public body provides public notice and public access as required under this Act for all locations, then members physically present in those locations all count towards determining a quorum. "Public building", as used in this Section, means any building or portion thereof owned or leased by any public body. The requirement that a quorum be physically present at the location of an open meeting shall not apply, however, to State advisory boards or bodies that do not have authority to make binding recommendations or determinations or to take any other substantive action, or to the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a quorum of members of a public body that is not (i) a public body with statewide jurisdiction, (ii) an Illinois library system with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, (iii) a municipal transit district with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or (iv) a local workforce innovation area with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles must be physically present at the location of a closed meeting. Other members who are not physically present at a closed meeting of such a public body may participate in the meeting by means of a video or audio conference. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing legislation.

(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)

Section 10. The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities Law is amended by changing Section 2004.5 as follows:

(20 ILCS 4010/2004.5)

Sec. 2004.5. Council membership. The General Assembly intends that the reduction in the membership of the Council shall occur through attrition between the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly and January 1, 2001. In the event that the terms of 10 voting members have not expired by January 1, 2001, members of the Council serving on that date shall continue to serve until their terms expire.

(a) The membership of the Council must reasonably represent the diversity of this State. Not less than 60% of the Council's membership must be individuals with developmental disabilities, parents or guardians of children with developmental disabilities, or immediate relatives or guardians of adults with developmental disabilities who cannot advocate for themselves.

The Council must also include representatives of State agencies that administer moneys under federal laws that relate to individuals with developmental disabilities; the State University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service; the State protection and advocacy system; and representatives of local and non-governmental agencies and private non-profit groups concerned with services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The members described in this paragraph must have sufficient authority to engage in policy-making, planning, and implementation on behalf of the department, agency, or program that they represent. Those members may not take part in any discussion of grants or contracts for which their departments, agencies, or programs are grantees, contractors, or applicants and must comply with any other relevant conflict of interest provisions in the Council's policies or bylaws.

(b) Seventeen voting members, appointed by the Governor, must be persons with developmental disabilities, parents or guardians of persons with developmental disabilities, or immediate relatives or guardians of persons with mentally-impairing developmental disabilities. None of these members may be employees of a State agency that receives funds or provides services under the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 6000 et seq.), as now or hereafter amended, managing employees of any other entity that receives moneys or provides services under the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 6000 et seq.), as now or hereafter amended, or persons with an ownership interest in or a controlling interest in such an entity. Of the members appointed under this subsection (b):

(1) at least 6 must be persons with developmental disabilities;

(2) at least 6 must be parents, immediate relatives, or guardians of children and adults with developmental disabilities, including individuals with mentally-impairing developmental disabilities who cannot advocate for themselves; and

(3) 5 members must be a combination of persons described in paragraphs (1) and (2); at least one of whom must be (i) an immediate relative or guardian of an individual with a developmental disability who resides or who previously resided in an institution or (ii) an individual with a developmental disability who resides or who previously resided in an institution.

(c) Two voting members, appointed by the Governor, must be representatives of local and non-governmental agencies and private non-profit groups concerned with services for individuals with developmental disabilities.

(d) Nine voting members shall be the Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or his or her designee; the Director of Aging, or his or her designee; the Director of Children and Family Services, or his or her designee; a representative of the State Board of Education; a representative of the State protection and advocacy system; a representative of the State University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service; representatives of the Office of Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Community Health and Prevention of the Department of Human Services (as the State's lead agency for Title V of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) designated by the Secretary of Human Services; and a representative of the State entity that administers federal moneys under the federal Rehabilitation Act.

(e) The Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, or his or her designee, shall be a non-voting member of the Council.

(f) The Governor must provide for the timely rotation of members.

Appointments to the Council shall be for terms of 3 years. Appointments to fill vacancies occurring before the expiration of a term shall be for the remainder of the term. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed.

The Council, at the discretion of the Governor, may coordinate and provide recommendations for new members to the Governor based upon their review of the Council's composition and on input received from other organizations and individuals representing persons with developmental disabilities, including the non-State agency members of the Council. The Council must, at least once each year, advise the Governor on the Council's membership requirements and vacancies, including rotation requirements.

No member may serve for more than 2 successive terms.

(g) Members may not receive compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses plus up to $50 per day for any loss of wages incurred in the performance of their duties.

(h) The total membership of the Council consists of the number of voting members, as defined in this Section, excluding any vacant positions. A quorum is a simple majority of the total membership and is sufficient to constitute the transaction of the business of the Council unless otherwise stipulated in the bylaws of the Council. A member of the Council may request permission of the chairperson to attend a meeting by video or audio conference. The request shall be granted, and the member shall be counted toward a quorum if the member is prevented from physically attending due to personal illness or disability or if the member is required to provide care to a family member who has a disability.

(i) The Council must meet at least quarterly.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

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