SB2111 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 14369 WGH 43432 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
SB2111

Introduced 2/14/2008, by Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 100/10-50	from Ch. 127, par. 1010-50
735 ILCS 5/3-102	from Ch. 110, par. 3-102
735 ILCS 5/3-103	from Ch. 110, par. 3-103
735 ILCS 5/3-107	from Ch. 110, par. 3-107
735 ILCS 5/3-113

Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Provides that each final order must contain the name and the address of all parties of record to be named as defendants in judicial review. Amends the Administrative Review Law of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that the Administrative Review Law shall be liberally construed in the interests of justice to grant an orderly method of judicial review of administrative agency decisions. Changes provisions regarding amendment of a complaint to allow the addition as a party of any person or entity whom the court finds to have been a party to the administrative hearing that is the subject of review who was not otherwise named in the original complaint; also provides that the new party or parties must be added within 35 days after the court makes such a finding. Provides that, except as otherwise provided, in an action to review a final decision of an administrative agency, the administrative agency and all persons, other than the plaintiff or petitioner, who were identified in the final order as parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made defendants or respondents and may be served with summons at the address listed for each such party in the final written decision of the agency; also deletes certain language regarding naming of, and service upon, an unnamed party as a defendant or respondent. Contains applicability provisions. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning administrative review.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is amended by changing Section 10-50 as follows:

(5 ILCS 100/10-50) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-50)

Sec. 10-50. Decisions and orders.

(a) A final decision or order adverse to a party (other than the agency) in a contested case shall be in writing or stated in the record. A final decision shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings. If, in accordance with agency rules, a party submitted proposed findings of fact, the decision shall include a ruling upon each proposed finding. Parties or their agents appointed to receive service of process shall be notified either personally or by registered or certified mail of any decision or order. Upon request a copy of the decision or order shall be delivered or mailed forthwith to each party and to his attorney of record.

(b) All agency orders shall specify whether they are final and subject to the Administrative Review Law. Each final order must contain the names and addresses of all parties of record to be named as defendants in judicial review.

(c) A decision by any agency in a contested case under this Act shall be void unless the proceedings are conducted in compliance with the provisions of this Act relating to contested cases, except to the extent those provisions are waived under Section 10-70 and except to the extent the agency has adopted its own rules for contested cases as authorized in Section 1-5.

(Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)

Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Sections 3-102, 3-103, 3-107, and 3-113 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/3-102) (from Ch. 110, par. 3-102)

Sec. 3-102. Scope of Article. Article III of this Act shall apply to and govern every action to review judicially a final decision of any administrative agency where the Act creating or conferring power on such agency, by express reference, adopts the provisions of Article III of this Act or its predecessor, the Administrative Review Act. This Article shall be known as the "Administrative Review Law". In all such cases, any other statutory, equitable or common law mode of review of decisions of administrative agencies heretofore available shall not hereafter be employed.

Unless review is sought of an administrative decision within the time and in the manner herein provided, the parties to the proceeding before the administrative agency shall be barred from obtaining judicial review of such administrative decision. In an action to review any final decision of any administrative agency brought under Article III, if a judgment is reversed or entered against the plaintiff, or the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, neither the plaintiff nor his or her heirs, executors, or administrators may commence a new action within one year or within the remaining period of limitation, whichever is greater. All proceedings in the court for revision of such final decision shall terminate upon the date of the entry of any Order under either Section 2-1009 or Section 13-217. Such Order shall cause the final administrative decision of any administrative agency to become immediately enforceable. If under the terms of the Act governing the procedure before an administrative agency an administrative decision has become final because of the failure to file any document in the nature of objections, protests, petition for hearing or application for administrative review within the time allowed by such Act, such decision shall not be subject to judicial review hereunder excepting only for the purpose of questioning the jurisdiction of the administrative agency over the person or subject matter.

This Act shall be liberally construed in the interests of justice to grant an orderly method of judicial review of administrative agency decisions.

(Source: P.A. 88-1.)

(735 ILCS 5/3-103) (from Ch. 110, par. 3-103)

Sec. 3-103. Commencement of action. Every action to review a final administrative decision shall be commenced by the filing of a complaint and the issuance of summons within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision, except that:

(1) in municipalities with a population of 500,000 or less a complaint filed within the time limit established by this Section may be subsequently amended to add a police chief or a fire chief in cases brought under the Illinois Municipal Code's provisions providing for the discipline of fire fighters and police officers; and

(2) in other actions for review of a final administrative decision, a complaint filed within the time limit established by this Section may be amended to add as a party any person or entity whom the court finds to have been a party to the administrative hearing that is the subject of review who was not otherwise named in the original complaint. The new party or parties must be added within 35 days after the court makes such a finding an employee, agent, or member of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, who acted in an official capacity as a party of record to the administrative proceeding, if the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity is a party to the administrative review action. If the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, is a party to the administrative review, a complaint filed within the time limit established by this Section may be amended to add the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity.

The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business.

The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court.

This amendatory Act of 1993 applies to all cases involving discipline of fire fighters and police officers pending on its effective date and to all cases filed on or after its effective date.

The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 88-1; 88-110; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-685, eff. 6-1-97.)

(735 ILCS 5/3-107) (from Ch. 110, par. 3-107)

Sec. 3-107. Defendants.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), in any action to review any final decision of an administrative agency, the administrative agency and all persons, other than the plaintiff, who were identified in the final order as parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made defendants and may be served with summons at the address listed for each such party in the final written decision of the agency. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an employee, agent, or member, who acted in his or her official capacity, of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, has been named as a defendant as provided in this Section. Naming the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, shall be deemed to include as defendant the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity that the named defendants direct or head. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, has been named as a defendant as provided in this Section.

If, during the course of a review action, the court determines that a party of record to the administrative proceedings was not made a defendant as required by the preceding paragraph, and only if that party was not named by the administrative agency in its final order as a party of record, then the court shall grant the plaintiff 21 days from the date of the determination in which to name and serve the unnamed party as a defendant. The court shall permit the newly served defendant to participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice may require.

(b) With respect to actions to review decisions of a zoning board of appeals in a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more inhabitants under Division 13 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code, "parties of record" means only the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the names of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice.

(c) With respect to actions to review decisions of a hearing officer or a county zoning board of appeals under Division 5-12 of Article 5 of the Counties Code, "parties of record" means only the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the name of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice. This subsection (c) applies to zoning proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(d) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 95-321, eff. 8-21-07.)

(735 ILCS 5/3-113)

Sec. 3-113. Direct review of administrative orders by the appellate court.

(a) Unless another time is provided specifically by the law authorizing the review, an action for direct review of a final administrative decision of an administrative agency by the appellate court shall be commenced by the filing of a petition for review in the appellate court within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision. The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business.

(b) The petition for review shall be filed in the appellate court and shall specify the parties seeking review and shall designate the respondent and the order or part thereof to be reviewed. The administrative agency and all persons, other than the petitioner, who were identified in the final order as other

parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made named respondents and may be served with summons at the address listed for each such party in the final written decision of the agency. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an employee, agent, or member, who acted in his or her official capacity, of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, has been named as a respondent as provided in this Section. Naming the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, shall be deemed to include as respondent the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity that the named respondents direct or head. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, has been named as a respondent as provided in this Section. If, during the course of a review action, the court determines that a party of record to the administrative proceedings was not made a defendant as required by the preceding paragraph, and only if that party was not named by the administrative agency in its final order as a party of record, then the court shall grant the plaintiff 35 21 days from the date of the determination in which to name and serve the unnamed party as a defendant. The court shall permit the newly served defendant to participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice may require.

(c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly and to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 88-1; 89-438, eff. 12-15-95.)

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