HB1038eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1038 Engrossed LRB094 07115 MKM 37704 b

AN ACT concerning open meetings.

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 Sections 1.02, 2.01, 2.05, and 2.06 and by adding Section 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)

Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act:

"Meeting" means any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof. "Public body" includes tourism boards and convention or civic center boards located in counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations of more than 250,000 but less than 300,000. "Public body" includes the Health Facilities Planning Board. "Public body" does not include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child Death Review Team Act or an ethics commission acting under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01; 93-617, eff. 12-9-03.)

(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.

A quorum of members of a public body must be physically present at the location of an open meeting. Other members who are not physically present at the open meeting may participate in the meeting and vote on all matters, if they are voting members, by means of a video or audio conference; provided, however, that the requirement that a quorum be physically present at the location of an open meeting shall not apply to State advisory boards or bodies that do not have authority to make binding recommendations or determinations or to take any other substantive action.

(Source: P.A. 88-621, eff. 1-1-95.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.05) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.05)

Sec. 2.05. Recording meetings. Subject to the provisions of Section 8-701 of the Code of Civil Procedure "An Act in relation to the rights of witnesses at proceedings conducted by a court, commission, administrative agency or other tribunal in this State which are televised or broadcast or at which motion pictures are taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended, any person may record the proceedings at meetings required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means. The authority holding the meeting shall prescribe reasonable rules to govern the right to make such recordings.

If a witness at any meeting required to be open by this Act which is conducted by a commission, administrative agency or other tribunal, refuses to testify on the grounds that he may not be compelled to testify if any portion of his testimony is to be broadcast or televised or if motion pictures are to be taken of him while he is testifying, the authority holding the meeting shall prohibit such recording during the testimony of the witness. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to extend the right to refuse to testify at any meeting not subject to the provisions of Section 8-701 of the Code of Civil Procedure "An Act in relation to the rights of witnesses at proceedings conducted by a court, commission, administrative agency or other tribunal in this State which are televised or broadcast or at which motion pictures are taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended.

(Source: P.A. 82-378.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.06) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)

Sec. 2.06. Minutes. (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) the date, time and place of the meeting;

(2) the members of the public body recorded as either present or absent and whether the members were physically present or present by means of video or audio conference; and

(3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.

(b) The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available for public inspection within 7 days of the approval of such minutes by the public body.

(c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without notification to or the approval of a records commission or the State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the meeting recorded but only after:

(1) the public body approves the destruction of a particular recording; and

(2) the public body approves minutes of the closed meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) Each public body shall periodically, but no less than semi-annually, meet to review minutes of all closed meetings. At such meetings a determination shall be made, and reported in an open session that (1) the need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part of those minutes or (2) that the minutes or portions thereof no longer require confidential treatment and are available for public inspection.

(e) Unless the public body has made a determination that the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential treatment or otherwise consents to disclosure, the verbatim record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for public inspection or subject to discovery in any administrative or judicial proceeding other than one brought to enforce this Act. In the case of a civil action brought to enforce this Act, the court, if the judge believes such an examination is necessary, must conduct such in camera examination of the verbatim record as it finds appropriate in order to determine whether there has been a violation of this Act. In the case of a criminal proceeding, the court may conduct an examination in order to determine what portions, if any, must be made available to the parties for use as evidence in the prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held in camera. If the court determines that a complaint or suit brought for noncompliance under this Act is valid it may, for the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify under the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this subsection do not supersede the privacy or confidentiality provisions of State or federal law.

(f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be available only after the public body determines that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy of an individual by keeping them confidential.

(Source: P.A. 93-523, eff. 1-1-04; 93-974, eff. 1-1-05.)

(5 ILCS 120/7 new)

Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical presence.

(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is physically present at the place designated in the notice of the meeting, a majority of the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the meeting by other means if the member is prevented from physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other means" is by video or audio conference.

(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the public body before the meeting unless advance notice is impractical.

(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of additional notice to the public or further facilitate public access to meetings.

(d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to State advisory boards or bodies that do not have authority to make binding recommendations or determinations or to take any other substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, however, may permit members to attend meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the body.

Section 10. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by changing Section 5 as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1005)

Sec. 5. Pollution Control Board.

(a) There is hereby created an independent board to be known as the Pollution Control Board.

Until July 1, 2003 or when all of the new members to be initially appointed under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later, the Board shall consist of 7 technically qualified members, no more than 4 of whom may be of the same political party, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The term of each appointed member of the Board who is in office on June 30, 2003 shall terminate at the close of business on that date or when all of the new members to be initially appointed under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later.

Beginning on July 1, 2003 or when all of the new members to be initially appointed under this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly have been appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs later, the Board shall consist of 5 technically qualified members, no more than 3 of whom may be of the same political party, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members shall have verifiable technical, academic, or actual experience in the field of pollution control or environmental law and regulation.

Of the members initially appointed pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, one shall be appointed for a term ending July 1, 2004, 2 shall be appointed for terms ending July 1, 2005, and 2 shall be appointed for terms ending July 1, 2006. Thereafter, all members shall hold office for 3 years from the first day of July in the year in which they were appointed, except in case of an appointment to fill a vacancy. In case of a vacancy in the office when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, when he or she shall nominate some person to fill such office; and any person so nominated, who is confirmed by the Senate, shall hold the office during the remainder of the term.

Members of the Board shall hold office until their respective successors have been appointed and qualified. Any member may resign from office, such resignation to take effect when a successor has been appointed and has qualified.

Board members shall be paid $37,000 per year or an amount set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater, and the Chairman shall be paid $43,000 per year or an amount set by the Compensation Review Board, whichever is greater. Each member shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the office, and shall hold no other office or position of profit, nor engage in any other business, employment, or vocation. Each member shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred and shall make a financial disclosure upon appointment.

Each Board member may employ one secretary and one assistant, and the Chairman one secretary and 2 assistants. The Board also may employ and compensate hearing officers to preside at hearings under this Act, and such other personnel as may be necessary. Hearing officers shall be attorneys licensed to practice law in Illinois.

The Board may have an Executive Director; if so, the Executive Director shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The salary and duties of the Executive Director shall be fixed by the Board.

The Governor shall designate one Board member to be Chairman, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

The Board shall hold at least one meeting each month and such additional meetings as may be prescribed by Board rules. In addition, special meetings may be called by the Chairman or by any 2 Board members, upon delivery of 24 hours written notice to the office of each member. All Board meetings shall be open to the public, and public notice of all meetings shall be given at least 24 hours in advance of each meeting. In emergency situations in which a majority of the Board certifies that exigencies of time require the requirements of public notice and of 24 hour written notice to members may be dispensed with, and Board members shall receive such notice as is reasonable under the circumstances.

If there is no vacancy on the Board, 3 4 members of the Board shall constitute a quorum to transact business; otherwise, a majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum to transact business, and no vacancy shall impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of the Board. Every action approved by a majority of the members of the Board shall be deemed to be the action of the Board. The Board shall keep a complete and accurate record of all its meetings.

(b) The Board shall determine, define and implement the environmental control standards applicable in the State of Illinois and may adopt rules and regulations in accordance with Title VII of this Act.

(c) The Board shall have authority to act for the State in regard to the adoption of standards for submission to the United States under any federal law respecting environmental protection. Such standards shall be adopted in accordance with Title VII of the Act and upon adoption shall be forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency for submission to the United States pursuant to subsections (l) and (m) of Section 4 of this Act. Nothing in this paragraph shall limit the discretion of the Governor to delegate authority granted to the Governor under any federal law.

(d) The Board shall have authority to conduct proceedings upon complaints charging violations of this Act, any rule or regulation adopted under this Act, any permit or term or condition of a permit, or any Board order; upon administrative citations; upon petitions for variances or adjusted standards; upon petitions for review of the Agency's final determinations on permit applications in accordance with Title X of this Act; upon petitions to remove seals under Section 34 of this Act; and upon other petitions for review of final determinations which are made pursuant to this Act or Board rule and which involve a subject which the Board is authorized to regulate. The Board may also conduct other proceedings as may be provided by this Act or any other statute or rule.

(e) In connection with any proceeding pursuant to subsection (b) or (d) of this Section, the Board may subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence reasonably necessary to resolution of the matter under consideration. The Board shall issue such subpoenas upon the request of any party to a proceeding under subsection (d) of this Section or upon its own motion.

(f) The Board may prescribe reasonable fees for permits required pursuant to this Act. Such fees in the aggregate may not exceed the total cost to the Agency for its inspection and permit systems. The Board may not prescribe any permit fees which are different in amount from those established by this Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-574, eff. 6-26-02; 93-152, eff. 7-10-03; 93-509, eff. 8-11-03; revised 9-11-03.)