HB5522 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 20497 AWJ 45020 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB5522

Introduced , by Rep. Jeanne M Ives

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Amends the Open Meetings Act. Requires a unit of local government or school district with an operating budget of $1 million or more to maintain an Internet website and post to that website, for the current calendar or fiscal year, the following information: (1) information about elected and appointed officials; (2) notice of and materials prepared for meetings; (3) procedures for requesting information from the unit of local government or school district; (4) annual budget; (5) ordinances; (6) procedures to apply for building permits and zoning variances; (7) financial reports and audits; (8) information concerning employee compensation; (9) contracts with lobbying firms; (10) taxes and fees imposed by the unit of local government or school district; (11) rules governing the award of contracts; (12) bids and contracts worth $25,000 or more; (13) a debt disclosure report; and (14) public notices. Provides that any citizen who is a resident of the unit of local government or school district may bring a mandamus or injunction action to compel the unit of local government or school district to comply with the Internet posting requirements. Limits home rule powers. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides for a statutory exemption for any electronic copy of a record or information maintained on specified websites. Amends the Department of Central Management Services Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois to make conforming changes. Amends the Notice By Publication Act. Provides that whenever an officer of a court, unit of local government, or school district is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper, publishing website address to the document will be sufficient. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 1. The Open Meetings Act is amended by adding Section 2.03.5 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/2.03.5 new)

Sec. 2.03.5. Internet posting requirements.

(a) A unit of local government or school district with an operating budget of $1 million or more shall maintain an Internet website and post to its website for the current calendar or fiscal year, as the case may be, the following information:

(1) The contact information, including the phone number and e-mail address, for all elected and appointed officials, the Freedom of Information Officer, the chief administrator, and the head administrator for each department.

(2) The agenda, board packets, and any other prepared materials of all regular meetings shall be posted at least 72 hours before a meeting. The agenda, board packets, and any other prepared materials of all special or emergency meetings shall be posted at least 24 hours before a meeting. The posting shall indicate if the agendas are in draft form. The minutes from any regular or special meeting shall be posted within 72 hours of approval.

(3) In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, the procedure for requesting information from the unit of local government or school district.

(4) The annual budget and appropriation ordinances.

(5) The ordinances under which the unit of local government or school district operates as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly and all ordinances thereafter adopted.

(6) The procedures required to apply for building permits and zoning variances.

(7) Any budget, financial audit, audit schedule, or special project report, including without limitation the comprehensive annual financial report, performance audits, and reports required under the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act in the Illinois Municipal Code. All reports should include the following:

(A) All actual revenues and expenditures for at least the 3 previous fiscal years. Any report focusing on any subset of Total should specify that only partial amounts are shown and identify the Total amount and the nature of items not included in the report.

(B) Revenues should be broken out by source, including the broad categories of local, State, and federal tax dollars.

(C) Expenditures should be separated into current operating, capital, and debt service.

(D) Expenditure summaries for units of local government should reflect the per-resident calculation for comparison to other governmental bodies. For schools, a per-pupil calculation should be made based on full-time or equivalent enrollment.

(E) Audits should include a management letter.

(8) A detailed list of the total compensation paid to each employee including wages, salary, overtime, and benefits, including health, dental, life, and pension.

(9) Contracts with lobbying firms hired by the unit of local government or school district. The name and amount of money paid to lobbying associations by the unit of local government or school district.

(10) A detailed list of the taxes and fees imposed by the unit of local government or school district.

(11) The ordinances and rules governing the award of all bids and contracts for purchase in the amount of $25,000 or more.

(12) All bids and contracts for purchase in the amount of $25,000 or more.

(13) A debt disclosure report that includes the following:

(A) sum total of all debts and liabilities;

(B) sum total of gross tax levy for the most recent tax year;

(C) gross operating budget revenue for the most recent fiscal year;

(D) total pension liability;

(E) total unfunded pension liability; and

(F) actuarial cost method used to calculate total pension liability and total unfunded pension liability, and other post-employment benefits, including:

(i) projected investment rate of return;

(ii) actual investment rate of return over the past 10 years;

(iii) annual rate of salary increases;

(iv) participant mortality rate; and

(v) healthcare cost trend rate for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB).

(14) Public notices.

(b) No later than one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, each unit of local government or school district shall develop, maintain, and make publicly available, in any format the unit of local government or school district would otherwise utilize for its own purposes, information concerning moneys collected and expended by the unit of local government or school distract. This information shall include the following:

(1) the name and principal location or address of the entity receiving moneys, except that information concerning a payment to an employee of the unit of local government or school district shall identify the individual employee by name and business address or location only;

(2) the amount of expended moneys;

(3) the funding source of the expended moneys;

(4) the date of the expenditure;

(5) the name of the budget program, activity, or category supporting the expenditure;

(6) a description of the purpose for the expenditure; and

(7) to the extent possible, a unique identifier for each expenditure.

The website shall contain only information that is a public record or that is not confidential or otherwise protected from public disclosure pursuant to State or federal law.

The unit of local government or school district shall update the financial data contained on the website at least monthly, and archive the financial data, which shall remain accessible on the website. The financial data must be easily accessible from the main page of the unit of local government or school district's website. The unit of local government or school district shall create and make easily accessible an automated Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed to which users of the website may subscribe for notification of updates to the information.

The unit of local government or school district may meet all requirements of this subsection by having the information and data required to be included on the unit's website database posted in the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal. The unit of local government or school district may also meet each requirement of this subsection by supplying labeled links on the unit of local government's or school district's website to the website of other units of local government or school districts that independently post and maintain the information and data online.

This subsection shall not apply until 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

(c) The information required to be posted under subsection (a) must be easily accessible from the unit of local government's or school district's home page and searchable.

(d) The postings required by this Section are in addition to any other posting requirements required by law or ordinance.

(e) If a unit of local government or school district fails to comply with this Section, then any citizen who is a resident of the unit of local government or school district may file suit in the circuit court for the county where the unit of local government or school district is located. The citizen may bring a mandamus or injunction action to compel the unit of local government or school district to comply with the requirements set forth in subsection (a). The court may impose any penalty or other sanction as it deems appropriate. The court, in its discretion, may also award to the citizen bringing the action reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

(f) No home rule unit may adopt posting requirements that are less restrictive than this Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.

(g) All local records required to be posted by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly shall remain posted on the entity's website, or subsequent websites, for 10 years.

(h) This Section shall not apply to the Department of Juvenile Justice School District.

Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 7.5 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7.5)

Sec. 7.5. Statutory exemptions. To the extent provided for by the statutes referenced below, the following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:

(a) All information determined to be confidential under Section 4002 of the Technology Advancement and Development Act.

(b) Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials under the Library Records Confidentiality Act.

(c) Applications, related documents, and medical records received by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board and any and all documents or other records prepared by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board or its staff relating to applications it has received.

(d) Information and records held by the Department of Public Health and its authorized representatives relating to known or suspected cases of sexually transmissible disease or any information the disclosure of which is restricted under the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act.

(e) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing Act.

(f) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act.

(g) Information the disclosure of which is restricted and exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act.

(h) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, and records of any lawfully created State or local inspector general's office that would be exempt if created or obtained by an Executive Inspector General's office under that Act.

(i) Information contained in a local emergency energy plan submitted to a municipality in accordance with a local emergency energy plan ordinance that is adopted under Section 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(j) Information and data concerning the distribution of surcharge moneys collected and remitted by wireless carriers under the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act.

(k) Law enforcement officer identification information or driver identification information compiled by a law enforcement agency or the Department of Transportation under Section 11-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

(l) Records and information provided to a residential health care facility resident sexual assault and death review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team Act.

(m) Information provided to the predatory lending database created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, except to the extent authorized under that Article.

(n) Defense budgets and petitions for certification of compensation and expenses for court appointed trial counsel as provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital Crimes Litigation Act. This subsection (n) shall apply until the conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the prosecution chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior to trial or sentencing.

(o) Information that is prohibited from being disclosed under Section 4 of the Illinois Health and Hazardous Substances Registry Act.

(p) Security portions of system safety program plans, investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or information compiled, collected, or prepared by or for the Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair County Transit District under the Bi-State Transit Safety Act.

(q) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the Personnel Records Review Act.

(r) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the Illinois School Student Records Act.

(s) Information the disclosure of which is restricted under Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.

(t) All identified or deidentified health information in the form of health data or medical records contained in, stored in, submitted to, transferred by, or released from the Illinois Health Information Exchange, and identified or deidentified health information in the form of health data and medical records of the Illinois Health Information Exchange in the possession of the Illinois Health Information Exchange Authority due to its administration of the Illinois Health Information Exchange. The terms "identified" and "deidentified" shall be given the same meaning as in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability and Portability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191, or any subsequent amendments thereto, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

(u) Records and information provided to an independent team of experts under Brian's Law.

(v) Names and information of people who have applied for or received Firearm Owner's Identification Cards under the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act or applied for or received a concealed carry license under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, unless otherwise authorized by the Firearm Concealed Carry Act; and databases under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, records of the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, and law enforcement agency objections under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

(w) Personally identifiable information which is exempted from disclosure under subsection (g) of Section 19.1 of the Toll Highway Act.

(x) Information which is exempted from disclosure under Section 5-1014.3 of the Counties Code or Section 8-11-21 of the Illinois Municipal Code.

(y) Confidential information under the Adult Protective Services Act and its predecessor enabling statute, the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, including information about the identity and administrative finding against any caregiver of a verified and substantiated decision of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an eligible adult maintained in the Registry established under Section 7.5 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(z) Records and information provided to a fatality review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team Advisory Council under Section 15 of the Adult Protective Services Act.

(aa) Information which is exempted from disclosure under Section 2.37 of the Wildlife Code.

(bb) Information which is or was prohibited from disclosure by the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

(cc) (bb) Recordings made under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, except to the extent authorized under that Act.

(dd) Any record or information that a unit of local government or school district maintains an electronic copy of on its Internet website in order to comply with the Open Meetings Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-49, eff. 7-1-13; 98-63, eff. 7-9-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1039, eff. 8-25-14; 98-1045, eff. 8-25-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-298, eff. 8-6-15; 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; revised 10-14-15.)

Section 10. The Department of Central Management Services Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section 405-335 as follows:

(20 ILCS 405/405-335)

Sec. 405-335. Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP).

(a) The Department, within 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, shall establish and maintain a website, known as the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP), with a full-time webmaster tasked with compiling and updating the ITAP database with information received from all State agencies as defined in this Section. Within 6 months of the effective date of this amendatory Act, ITAP shall have the capability to compile and update the ITAP database with information received from all school districts and units of local government including, but not limited to, counties, townships, library districts, and municipalities. Subject to appropriation, the full-time webmaster must also compile and update the ITAP database with information received from all school districts and units of local government including, but not limited to, counties, townships, library districts, and municipalities.

(b) For purposes of this Section:

"State agency" means the offices of the constitutional officers identified in Article V of the Illinois Constitution, executive agencies, and departments, boards, commissions, and Authorities under the Governor.

"Contracts" means payment obligations with vendors on file with the Office of the Comptroller to purchase goods and services exceeding $10,000 in value (or, in the case of professional or artistic services, exceeding $5,000 in value).

"Appropriation" means line-item detail of spending approved by the General Assembly and Governor, categorized by object of expenditure.

"Individual consultants" means temporary workers eligible to receive State benefits paid on a State payroll.

"Recipients" means State agencies receiving appropriations.

(c) The ITAP shall provide direct access to each of the following:

(1) A database of all current State employees and individual consultants, except sworn law enforcement officers, sorted separately by:

(i) Name.

(ii) Employing State agency.

(iii) Employing State division.

(iv) Employment position title.

(v) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.

(2) A database of all current State expenditures, sorted separately by agency, category, recipient, and Representative District.

(3) A database of all development assistance reportable pursuant to the Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act, sorted separately by tax credit category, taxpayer, and Representative District.

(4) A database of all revocations and suspensions of State occupation and use tax certificates of registration and all revocations and suspensions of State professional licenses, sorted separately by name, geographic location, and certificate of registration number or license number, as applicable. Professional license revocations and suspensions shall be posted only if resulting from a failure to pay taxes, license fees, or child support.

(5) A database of all current State contracts, sorted separately by contractor name, awarding officer or agency, contract value, and goods or services provided.

(6) A database of all employees hired after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 2010, sorted searchably by each of the following at the time of employment:

(i) Name.

(ii) Employing State agency.

(iii) Employing State division.

(iv) Employment position title.

(v) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.

(vi) County of employment location.

(vii) Rutan status.

(viii) Status of position as subject to collective bargaining, subject to merit compensation, or exempt under Section 4d of the Personnel Code.

(ix) Employment status as probationary, trainee, intern, certified, or exempt from certification.

(x) Status as a military veteran.

(7) A searchable database of all current county, township, library district, and municipal employees sorted separately by:

(i) Employing unit of local government.

(ii) Employment position title.

(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.

(8) A searchable database of all county, township, and municipal employees hired on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, sorted separately by each of the following at the time of employment:

(i) Employing unit of local government.

(ii) Employment position title.

(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.

(9) A searchable database of all library district employees hired on or after August 9, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act 98-246), sorted separately by each of the following at the time of employment:

(i) Employing unit of local government.

(ii) Employment position title.

(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.

(10) A link to a website maintained by the Department that contains a list of contact information for each State agency, including a telephone number and a link to the Agency's website. Each State agency shall be responsible for providing and updating the Department with this information.

(11) Information provided to ITAP pursuant to Section 2.03.5 of the Open Meetings Act.

(d) The ITAP shall include all information required to be published by subsection (c) of this Section that is available to the Department in a format the Department can compile and publish on the ITAP. The Department shall update the ITAP as additional information becomes available in a format that can be compiled and published on the ITAP by the Department.

(e) Each State agency, county, township, library district, and municipality shall cooperate with the Department in furnishing the information necessary for the implementation of this Section within a timeframe specified by the Department.

(f) Each county, township, library district, or municipality submitting information to be displayed on the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP) is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided.

(g) The Department, within 6 months after January 1, 2014 (the effective date of Public Act 98-283), shall distribute a spreadsheet or otherwise make data entry available to each State agency to facilitate the collection of data on the State's annual workforce characteristics, workforce compensation, and employee mobility. The Department shall determine the data to be collected by each State agency. Each State agency shall cooperate with the Department in furnishing the data necessary for the implementation of this subsection within the timeframe specified by the Department. The Department shall publish the data received from each State agency on the ITAP or another open data site annually.

(Source: P.A. 97-744, eff. 1-1-13; 98-246, eff. 8-9-13; 98-283, eff. 1-1-14; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1084, eff. 1-1-15.)

Section 15. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by changing Section 2.1 as follows:

(715 ILCS 5/2.1)

Sec. 2.1. Internet publication Statewide website.

(a) Whenever notice by publication in a newspaper is required by law, order of court, or contract, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to government, place the notice on the statewide website established and maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.

(b) Whenever an officer of a court, unit of local government, or school district is required by law to provide notice by publication in a newspaper, it is sufficient to publish, in lieu of the entire text of the notice, the following information:

(1) a citation to the statutory basis for the requirement that the notice be published; and

(2) the Internet website where the full text of the notice may be found.

(Source: P.A. 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.40 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.40 new)

Sec. 8.40. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.