093_SB0699enr

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning electronic transmissions.

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

 4        Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended  by  changing
 5    Sections  1.02,  2.02, 2.05, and 2.06 and by adding Section 7
 6    as follows:

 7        (5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)
 8        Sec. 1.02.  For the purposes of this Act:
 9        "Meeting" means any gathering of a majority of  a  quorum
10    of  the  members  of  a  public  body held for the purpose of
11    discussing public business, whether present physically within
12    the territorial limits of the public body, by teleconference,
13    video conference, or by other electronic means  that  enables
14    identifiable  voices  or  other  transmissions to be received
15    from any location and enables concurrent  actual  ability  to
16    communicate  with  the  member  who is not physically present
17    within the territorial limits of the public body.
18        "Public  body"  includes  all   legislative,   executive,
19    administrative  or  advisory  bodies  of the State, counties,
20    townships,  cities,  villages,  incorporated  towns,   school
21    districts  and  all  other  municipal  corporations,  boards,
22    bureaus,  committees  or  commissions  of this State, and any
23    subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including  but  not
24    limited  to  committees and subcommittees which are supported
25    in whole or in part by  tax  revenue,  or  which  expend  tax
26    revenue,  except  the  General  Assembly  and  committees  or
27    commissions  thereof.  "Public  body" includes tourism boards
28    and convention or civic center  boards  located  in  counties
29    that are contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations
30    of  more  than  250,000 but less than 300,000.  "Public body"
31    includes the Health Facilities Planning Board.  "Public body"
 
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 1    does not include a child death review team  or  the  Illinois
 2    Child  Death Review Teams Executive Council established under
 3    the Child Death Review Team  Act  or  an  ethics  commission,
 4    ethics  officer,  or ultimate jurisdictional authority acting
 5    under the State Gift Ban Act as provided  by  Section  80  of
 6    that Act.
 7    (Source: P.A. 91-782, eff. 6-9-00; 92-468, eff. 8-22-01.)

 8        (5 ILCS 120/2.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)
 9        Sec.  2.02.   Public notice of all meetings, whether open
10    or closed to the public, shall be given as follows:
11        (a)  Every public body shall give public  notice  of  the
12    schedule  of  regular  meetings  at  the  beginning  of  each
13    calendar  or  fiscal  year and shall state the regular dates,
14    times, and places of such meetings.  For  meetings  at  which
15    one  or  more  members  are  present by teleconference, video
16    conference, or other electronic means, all locations at which
17    the public may participate in the meeting must  be  disclosed
18    in  the  agenda.  An agenda for each regular meeting shall be
19    posted at the principal office of the public body and at  the
20    location where the meeting is to be held at least 48 hours in
21    advance  of the holding of the meeting.  The requirement of a
22    regular meeting agenda shall not preclude  the  consideration
23    of  items  not  specifically  set forth in the agenda. Public
24    notice of any special meeting except a meeting  held  in  the
25    event of a bona fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular
26    meeting,  or  of  any  reconvened  meeting, shall be given at
27    least 48 hours before such meeting, which notice  shall  also
28    include   the   agenda   for  the  special,  rescheduled,  or
29    reconvened meeting, but the validity of any action  taken  by
30    the  public  body which is germane to a subject on the agenda
31    shall not be affected by other errors  or  omissions  in  the
32    agenda.   The  requirement  of  public  notice  of reconvened
33    meetings does not apply to any case  where  the  meeting  was
 
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 1    open  to  the public and (1) it is to be reconvened within 24
 2    hours, or (2) an announcement of the time and  place  of  the
 3    reconvened meeting was made at the original meeting and there
 4    is  no  change  in the agenda. Notice of an emergency meeting
 5    shall be given as soon as practicable, but in any event prior
 6    to the holding of such meeting, to any news medium which  has
 7    filed  an  annual  request for notice under subsection (b) of
 8    this Section.
 9        (b)  Public notice shall be given by posting  a  copy  of
10    the  notice  at  the principal office of the body holding the
11    meeting or, if no such office  exists,  at  the  building  in
12    which the meeting is to be held. The body shall supply copies
13    of  the  notice of its regular meetings, and of the notice of
14    any special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to
15    any news medium that has filed an  annual  request  for  such
16    notice.  Any  such  news  medium shall also be given the same
17    notice of all special, emergency, rescheduled  or  reconvened
18    meetings  in  the  same  manner as is given to members of the
19    body provided such news medium has given the public  body  an
20    address   or   telephone   number   within   the  territorial
21    jurisdiction of the public body at which such notice  may  be
22    given.
23    (Source: P.A. 88-621, eff. 1-1-95; 89-86, eff. 6-30-95.)

24        (5 ILCS 120/2.05) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.05)
25        Sec. 2.05.  Recording meetings.
26        (a)  Subject  to  the  provisions of Section 8-701 of the
27    Code of Civil Procedure "An Act in relation to the rights  of
28    witnesses  at  proceedings  conducted by a court, commission,
29    administrative agency or other tribunal in this  State  which
30    are  televised  or  broadcast or at which motion pictures are
31    taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended,  any  person  may
32    record  the  proceedings  at  meetings required to be open by
33    this Act by tape, film or other means.  The authority holding
 
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 1    the meeting shall prescribe reasonable rules  to  govern  the
 2    right to make such recordings.
 3        If  a  witness at any meeting required to be open by this
 4    Act which is conducted by a commission, administrative agency
 5    or other tribunal, refuses to testify on the grounds that  he
 6    may  not  be  compelled  to  testify  if  any  portion of his
 7    testimony is to  be  broadcast  or  televised  or  if  motion
 8    pictures  are  to be taken of him while he is testifying, the
 9    authority holding the meeting shall prohibit  such  recording
10    during the testimony of the witness.  Nothing in this Section
11    shall  be  construed to extend the right to refuse to testify
12    at any meeting not subject to the provisions of Section 8-701
13    of the Code of Civil Procedure "An Act  in  relation  to  the
14    rights  of  witnesses  at  proceedings  conducted by a court,
15    commission, administrative agency or other tribunal  in  this
16    State  which  are  televised  or broadcast or at which motion
17    pictures are taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended.
18        (b)  In any contested case, as defined  by  the  Illinois
19    Administrative  Procedure  Act,  no  live  testimony  may  be
20    offered  except  upon  the  physical  presence  of the person
21    testifying unless all parties to the contested case waive the
22    requirement of physical presence.   Affidavits,  depositions,
23    or  other  recorded  evidence  are  otherwise  admissible  as
24    provided by law.
25    (Source: P.A. 82-378.)

26        (5 ILCS 120/2.06) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)
27        Sec.  2.06.   (a)  All  public  bodies shall keep written
28    minutes of all their meetings, whether open or  closed.  Such
29    minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
30             (1)  the date, time and place of the meeting;
31             (2)  the  members  of  the  public  body recorded as
32        either present or absent and  whether  the  members  were
33        physically present or present by electronic means; and
 
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 1             (3)  a   summary   of   discussion  on  all  matters
 2        proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a  record  of  any
 3        votes taken.
 4        (b)  The  minutes of meetings open to the public shall be
 5    available for public inspection within 7 days of the approval
 6    of such minutes by  the  public  body.  Minutes  of  meetings
 7    closed to the public shall be available only after the public
 8    body determines that it is no longer necessary to protect the
 9    public  interest  or  the privacy of an individual by keeping
10    them confidential.
11        (c)  Each public body shall  periodically,  but  no  less
12    than  semi-annually,  meet  to  review  minutes of all closed
13    meetings.  At such meetings a determination  shall  be  made,
14    and  reported  in  an  open  session  that  (1)  the need for
15    confidentiality still exists as  to  all  or  part  of  those
16    minutes or (2) that the minutes or portions thereof no longer
17    require  confidential  treatment and are available for public
18    inspection.
19    (Source: P.A. 88-621, eff. 1-1-95.)

20        (5 ILCS 120/7 new)
21        Sec. 7.  Attendance by electronic means.
22        (a)  At any regular, special, emergency, rescheduled,  or
23    reconvened  meeting  held  pursuant  to the public notice and
24    agenda requirements of this Act, so long as a majority  of  a
25    quorum  of  the members of the public body are present at the
26    place designated in the notice of the meeting, a member of  a
27    public body may attend the meeting by electronic means if the
28    member is prevented from physically attending because of: (i)
29    personal   illness  or  disability;  (ii)  absence  from  the
30    territorial limits of the public body for  personal  reasons,
31    for  employment  purposes,  or for the business of the public
32    body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. Unless  a  member
33    presents  a  document  from his or her physician attesting to
 
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 1    the member's inability to  physically  attend  a  meeting  or
 2    meetings,  a  member  may not attend by electronic means more
 3    than half of the regularly scheduled meetings of that  public
 4    body held in a calendar year.
 5        (b)  If a member wishes to attend a meeting by electronic
 6    means,  the  member  shall  notify the recording secretary or
 7    clerk of the public body at least 48 hours before the meeting
 8    unless impracticable. The public body shall determine if  the
 9    notice requirement is impracticable on a case-by-case basis.
10        (c)  A member shall be considered present for purposes of
11    determining  a  quorum and voting if the member is present by
12    electronic means; provided, however, that if the public  body
13    is  (i)  voting  on an ordinance or a resolution authorizing,
14    approving, or providing for the issuance of  bonds  (as  that
15    term  is  defined in the Local Government Debt Reform Act) or
16    (ii) conducting any hearing required by law, then any  member
17    attending the meeting by electronic means shall be considered
18    absent for purposes of determining a quorum and voting.
19        (d)  If  one  or more members are present at a meeting by
20    electronic means, the  public  body  shall  issue  a  written
21    notice at the meeting stating the following: (i) the names of
22    the  members present by electronic means; (ii) the electronic
23    means that the member will use to  attend  the  meeting;  and
24    (iii)  the  location of the monitor or speakerphone receiving
25    communications from the member present by electronic means.
26        (e)  If one or more members of the public body  attend  a
27    meeting by electronic means, then all votes of the body shall
28    be by roll call.
29        (f)  If a member is present by electronic means, then the
30    member  must  identify  himself  or  herself  by  name and be
31    recognized by the presiding officer before communicating.
32        (g)  Any voice,  electronic,  or  other  transmission  by
33    electronic  means  made during the meeting by a member who is
34    attending a public meeting by electronic means shall be  made
 
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 1    available  to  the  public  concurrent  with the transmission
 2    except for  those  meetings  subject  to  the  exceptions  in
 3    subsection (c) of Section 2 of this Act.
 4        (h)  A   public   body  may  promulgate  any  rules,  not
 5    inconsistent with this Act, concerning attendance at meetings
 6    by  electronic  means  and  may  prescribe   more   stringent
 7    requirements,  which  shall  be binding upon the public body,
 8    that would give further notice to the public  and  facilitate
 9    public access to meetings.