Sen. Cristina Castro
Filed: 2/22/2022
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 932
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 932 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Section 7 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (5 ILCS 120/7)
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7 | Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical | ||||||
8 | presence. | ||||||
9 | (a) If a
quorum of the members of the public body is | ||||||
10 | physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of | ||||||
11 | the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the | ||||||
12 | meeting by other means if the member is prevented from | ||||||
13 | physically
attending because of: (i) personal illness or | ||||||
14 | disability; (ii) employment purposes or
the
business of the | ||||||
15 | public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency.
"Other | ||||||
16 | means" is by video or audio conference.
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1 | (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, | ||||||
2 | the
member must notify the
recording secretary or clerk of the
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3 | public body before the meeting unless
advance notice is | ||||||
4 | impractical.
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5 | (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to | ||||||
6 | attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to | ||||||
7 | the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The | ||||||
8 | rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of | ||||||
9 | this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance | ||||||
10 | by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of | ||||||
11 | additional notice to the public or further facilitate public | ||||||
12 | access to meetings.
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13 | (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i) | ||||||
14 | closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide | ||||||
15 | jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction | ||||||
16 | over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square | ||||||
17 | miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over | ||||||
18 | a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or | ||||||
19 | (D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a | ||||||
20 | specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or | ||||||
21 | (ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or | ||||||
22 | bodies that do not have authority to make binding | ||||||
23 | recommendations or determinations or to take any other | ||||||
24 | substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public | ||||||
25 | bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems | ||||||
26 | with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than |
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1 | 4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with | ||||||
2 | jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than | ||||||
3 | 4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with | ||||||
4 | jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than | ||||||
5 | 4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend | ||||||
6 | meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the | ||||||
7 | extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the | ||||||
8 | body.
For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce | ||||||
9 | innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or | ||||||
10 | areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal | ||||||
11 | Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing | ||||||
12 | legislation. | ||||||
13 | (e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but | ||||||
14 | notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed | ||||||
15 | meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video | ||||||
16 | conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the | ||||||
17 | members, so long as the following conditions are met: | ||||||
18 | (1) (A) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois | ||||||
19 | Department of Public Health has issued a disaster | ||||||
20 | declaration related to public health concerns because of a | ||||||
21 | disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency | ||||||
22 | Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction | ||||||
23 | of the public body is covered by the disaster area; or | ||||||
24 | (B) the elected or appointed presiding officer of the | ||||||
25 | public body determines that an in-person meeting conducted | ||||||
26 | under this Act would pose a risk to the health or safety of |
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1 | members of the public body or the public, and that | ||||||
2 | conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in | ||||||
3 | the best interest of the public body or the public, and | ||||||
4 | public notice of any meeting given under this subparagraph | ||||||
5 | (B) states the reason or reasons why the presiding officer | ||||||
6 | of the public body made such determination; | ||||||
7 | (2) (Blank); the head of the public body as defined in | ||||||
8 | subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information | ||||||
9 | Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting | ||||||
10 | conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent | ||||||
11 | because of a disaster; | ||||||
12 | (3) all members of the body participating in the | ||||||
13 | meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be | ||||||
14 | verified and can hear one another and can hear all | ||||||
15 | discussion and testimony; | ||||||
16 | (4) for open meetings, members of the public present | ||||||
17 | at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all | ||||||
18 | discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of | ||||||
19 | the body, or unless attendance at the regular meeting | ||||||
20 | location is not feasible due to the disaster, including | ||||||
21 | the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public | ||||||
22 | body makes arrangements and provides must make alternative | ||||||
23 | arrangements and provide notice pursuant to this | ||||||
24 | subsection (e) Section of such alternative arrangements in | ||||||
25 | a manner to allow any interested member of the public | ||||||
26 | access to contemporaneously hear all discussion, |
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1 | testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a | ||||||
2 | telephone number or a web-based link , and to provide a | ||||||
3 | method and notice by which members of the public may | ||||||
4 | provide public comment or address the public body as | ||||||
5 | authorized by subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by | ||||||
6 | telephone or web-based link, or by email or written | ||||||
7 | comment to be read aloud at the meeting consistent with | ||||||
8 | the public body's established and recorded rules for | ||||||
9 | public comment ; | ||||||
10 | (5) at least one member of the body, its chief legal | ||||||
11 | counsel, or its chief administrative officer is physically | ||||||
12 | present at the regular meeting location , unless unfeasible | ||||||
13 | due to the disaster, including the issued disaster | ||||||
14 | declaration ; and | ||||||
15 | (6) all votes are conducted by roll call, and so each | ||||||
16 | member's vote on each issue is can be identified and | ||||||
17 | recorded. | ||||||
18 | (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48 | ||||||
19 | hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held | ||||||
20 | pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all | ||||||
21 | members of the public body, shall be posted in compliance | ||||||
22 | with subsection (a) of Section 2.02 on the website of the | ||||||
23 | public body , and shall also be provided to any news media | ||||||
24 | who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to | ||||||
25 | subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. For a | ||||||
26 | determination made by an elected or appointed presiding |
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1 | officer under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this | ||||||
2 | Section, the meeting notice and agenda shall include the | ||||||
3 | following: (i) all information necessary for the public to | ||||||
4 | access the audio or video conference, including, but not | ||||||
5 | limited to, the telephone number, web-based link, meeting | ||||||
6 | identification number, passcode, or other method to obtain | ||||||
7 | access; and (ii) for meetings conducted without the public | ||||||
8 | present at the meeting location pursuant to subparagraphs | ||||||
9 | (4) and (5) of this Section, all additional specific | ||||||
10 | information necessary for members of the public to provide | ||||||
11 | public comment or address the public body as authorized by | ||||||
12 | subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by telephone | ||||||
13 | number, web-based link, email, or written comment. If the | ||||||
14 | public body declares a bona fide emergency: | ||||||
15 | (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection | ||||||
16 | (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding | ||||||
17 | officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the | ||||||
18 | beginning of the meeting. | ||||||
19 | (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim | ||||||
20 | recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of | ||||||
21 | this Act. | ||||||
22 | (8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting | ||||||
23 | by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant | ||||||
24 | to this Section is considered present at the meeting for | ||||||
25 | purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all | ||||||
26 | proceedings. |
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1 | (9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings | ||||||
2 | under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings | ||||||
3 | under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record | ||||||
4 | of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video | ||||||
5 | recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9) | ||||||
6 | shall be made available to the public under, and are | ||||||
7 | otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06. | ||||||
8 | (10) The public body shall bear all costs associated | ||||||
9 | with compliance with this subsection (e).
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10 | (Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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11 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
12 | becoming law.".
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