Full Text of HB0248 99th General Assembly
HB0248 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB0248 Introduced , by Rep. Dwight Kay SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 5 ILCS 120/3 | from Ch. 102, par. 43 |
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Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that the court may declare null and void any final action taken at a closed or open meeting (instead of only a closed meeting) in violation of the Act. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | | HB0248 | | LRB099 04859 JLK 24888 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning government.
| 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 | | Section 3 as follows:
| 6 | | (5 ILCS 120/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
| 7 | | Sec. 3.
(a) Where the provisions of this Act are not | 8 | | complied with, or
where there is probable cause to believe that | 9 | | the provisions of this Act
will not be complied with, any | 10 | | person, including the State's Attorney
of the county in which | 11 | | such noncompliance
may occur, may bring a civil action in the | 12 | | circuit court for the judicial
circuit in which the alleged | 13 | | noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur,
or in which | 14 | | the affected public body has its principal office, prior to
or | 15 | | within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in
violation of | 16 | | this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered
| 17 | | within the 60-day period,
within 60 days of the discovery of a | 18 | | violation by the State's
Attorney.
| 19 | | Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a | 20 | | public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body | 21 | | has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public. | 22 | | Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney, | 23 | | are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information |
| | | HB0248 | - 2 - | LRB099 04859 JLK 24888 b |
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| 1 | | Act. | 2 | | (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera | 3 | | any portion
of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of | 4 | | the Act is alleged to
have occurred, and may take such | 5 | | additional evidence as it deems necessary.
| 6 | | (c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration | 7 | | and the public
interest, as well as for the interests of the | 8 | | parties, may grant such
relief as it deems appropriate, | 9 | | including granting a relief
by mandamus requiring that a | 10 | | meeting be open
to the public, granting an injunction against | 11 | | future violations of this
Act, ordering the public body to make | 12 | | available to the public such portion
of the minutes of a | 13 | | meeting as is not
authorized to be kept confidential under this | 14 | | Act, or declaring null and
void any final action taken at a | 15 | | closed or open meeting in violation of this Act.
| 16 | | (d) The court may assess against any party, except a | 17 | | State's Attorney,
reasonable attorney's fees and other | 18 | | litigation costs reasonably incurred
by any other party who | 19 | | substantially prevails in any action brought in
accordance with | 20 | | this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against
any | 21 | | private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this | 22 | | Section
only upon the court's determination that the action is | 23 | | malicious or frivolous
in nature.
| 24 | | (Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
| 25 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 26 | | becoming law.
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