99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB1323

 

Introduced 2/4/2015, by Rep. Sam Yingling

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/2.02  from Ch. 102, par. 42.02
5 ILCS 120/2.06  from Ch. 102, par. 42.06

    Amends the Open Meetings Act. Removes requirements that a public body's website must be maintained by the public body's full-time staff in order to post public notice of meetings and minutes under the Act.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB1323LRB099 06870 MLM 26949 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Sections 2.02 and 2.06 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/2.02)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)
7    Sec. 2.02. Public notice of all meetings, whether open or
8closed to the public, shall be given as follows:
9    (a) Every public body shall give public notice of the
10schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar
11or fiscal year and shall state the regular dates, times, and
12places of such meetings. An agenda for each regular meeting
13shall be posted at the principal office of the public body and
14at the location where the meeting is to be held at least 48
15hours in advance of the holding of the meeting. A public body
16that has a website that the full-time staff of the public body
17maintains shall also post on its website the agenda of any
18regular meetings of the governing body of that public body. Any
19agenda of a regular meeting that is posted on a public body's
20website shall remain posted on the website until the regular
21meeting is concluded. The requirement of a regular meeting
22agenda shall not preclude the consideration of items not
23specifically set forth in the agenda. Public notice of any

 

 

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1special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a bona
2fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of
3any reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before
4such meeting, which notice shall also include the agenda for
5the special, rescheduled, or reconvened meeting, but the
6validity of any action taken by the public body which is
7germane to a subject on the agenda shall not be affected by
8other errors or omissions in the agenda. The requirement of
9public notice of reconvened meetings does not apply to any case
10where the meeting was open to the public and (1) it is to be
11reconvened within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of the time
12and place of the reconvened meeting was made at the original
13meeting and there is no change in the agenda. Notice of an
14emergency meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in
15any event prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news
16medium which has filed an annual request for notice under
17subsection (b) of this Section.
18    (b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the
19notice at the principal office of the body holding the meeting
20or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the
21meeting is to be held. In addition, a public body that has a
22website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains
23shall post notice on its website of all meetings of the
24governing body of the public body. Any notice of an annual
25schedule of meetings shall remain on the website until a new
26public notice of the schedule of regular meetings is approved.

 

 

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1Any notice of a regular meeting that is posted on a public
2body's website shall remain posted on the website until the
3regular meeting is concluded. The body shall supply copies of
4the notice of its regular meetings, and of the notice of any
5special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any
6news medium that has filed an annual request for such notice.
7Any such news medium shall also be given the same notice of all
8special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the
9same manner as is given to members of the body provided such
10news medium has given the public body an address or telephone
11number within the territorial jurisdiction of the public body
12at which such notice may be given. The failure of a public body
13to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of
14any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions
15taken at a meeting.
16    (c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth
17the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that
18will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public
19body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least one
20copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is
21continuously available for public review during the entire
2248-hour period preceding the meeting. Posting of the notice and
23agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body
24satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this
25subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously
26available for the full 48-hour period due to actions outside of

 

 

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1the control of the public body, then that lack of availability
2does not invalidate any meeting or action taken at a meeting.
3(Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)
 
4    (5 ILCS 120/2.06)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)
5    Sec. 2.06. Minutes; right to speak.
6    (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all
7their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record
8of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video
9recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
10        (1) the date, time and place of the meeting;
11        (2) the members of the public body recorded as either
12    present or absent and whether the members were physically
13    present or present by means of video or audio conference;
14    and
15        (3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed,
16    deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
17    (b) A public body shall approve the minutes of its open
18meeting within 30 days after that meeting or at the public
19body's second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later.
20The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available
21for public inspection within 10 days after the approval of such
22minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, at the time
23it complies with the other requirements of this subsection, a
24public body that has a website that the full-time staff of the
25public body maintains shall post the minutes of a regular

 

 

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1meeting of its governing body open to the public on the public
2body's website within 10 days after the approval of the minutes
3by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, any minutes of
4meetings open to the public posted on the public body's website
5shall remain posted on the website for at least 60 days after
6their initial posting.
7    (c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without
8notification to or the approval of a records commission or the
9State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State
10Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the
11meeting recorded but only after:
12        (1) the public body approves the destruction of a
13    particular recording; and
14        (2) the public body approves minutes of the closed
15    meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of
16    subsection (a) of this Section.
17    (d) Each public body shall periodically, but no less than
18semi-annually, meet to review minutes of all closed meetings.
19At such meetings a determination shall be made, and reported in
20an open session that (1) the need for confidentiality still
21exists as to all or part of those minutes or (2) that the
22minutes or portions thereof no longer require confidential
23treatment and are available for public inspection. The failure
24of a public body to strictly comply with the semi-annual review
25of closed session written minutes, whether before or after the
26effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General

 

 

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1Assembly, shall not cause the written minutes or related
2verbatim record to become public or available for inspection in
3any judicial proceeding, other than a proceeding involving an
4alleged violation of this Act, if the public body, within 60
5days of discovering its failure to strictly comply with the
6technical requirements of this subsection, reviews the closed
7session minutes and determines and thereafter reports in open
8session that either (1) the need for confidentiality still
9exists as to all or part of the minutes or verbatim record, or
10(2) that the minutes or recordings or portions thereof no
11longer require confidential treatment and are available for
12public inspection.
13    (e) Unless the public body has made a determination that
14the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential
15treatment or otherwise consents to disclosure, the verbatim
16record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for
17public inspection or subject to discovery in any administrative
18or judicial proceeding other than one brought to enforce this
19Act. In the case of a civil action brought to enforce this Act,
20the court, if the judge believes such an examination is
21necessary, must conduct such in camera examination of the
22verbatim record as it finds appropriate in order to determine
23whether there has been a violation of this Act. In the case of
24a criminal proceeding, the court may conduct an examination in
25order to determine what portions, if any, must be made
26available to the parties for use as evidence in the

 

 

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1prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held in
2camera. If the court determines that a complaint or suit
3brought for noncompliance under this Act is valid it may, for
4the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the
5meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify
6under the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this
7subsection do not supersede the privacy or confidentiality
8provisions of State or federal law.
9    (f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be
10available only after the public body determines that it is no
11longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy
12of an individual by keeping them confidential.
13    (g) Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address
14public officials under the rules established and recorded by
15the public body.
16(Source: P.A. 96-1473, eff. 1-1-11.)