Bill Text: IL HB2265 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that a civil action for violation of the Act may be brought within 60 days after the discovery of failure to comply with specified notice requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB2265 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2265-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2265 Introduced , by Rep. Ryan Spain SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 120/3 from Ch. 102, par. 43
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that a civil action for violation of the Act may be brought within 60 days after the discovery of failure to comply with specified notice requirements.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
Section 3 as follows:
(5 ILCS 120/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
Sec. 3. (a) Where the provisions of this Act are not
complied with, or where there is probable cause to believe
that the provisions of this Act will not be complied with, any
person, including the State's Attorney of the county in which
such noncompliance may occur, may bring a civil action in the
circuit court for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur, or in which
the affected public body has its principal office. The civil
action described in this Section must be brought (i) , prior to
or within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in violation of
this Act; (ii) or, if facts concerning the meeting are not
discovered within the 60-day period, within 60 days of the
discovery of a violation by the State's Attorney if facts
concerning the meeting are not discovered within the 60-day
period described in item (i); (iii) or, if the person timely
files a request for review under Section 3.5, within 60 days of
the decision by the Attorney General to resolve a request for

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review by a means other than the issuance of a binding opinion
under subsection (e) of Section 3.5 if the person bringing the
action has timely filed a request for review under that
section; or (iv) within 60 days after the discovery of a
violation of this Act by the person bringing the action if the
public body against which the action is brought failed to
provide notice of the meeting in accordance with Section 2.02.
Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a
public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body
has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public.
Those records, while in the possession of the State's
Attorney, are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act.
(b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera
any portion of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of
the Act is alleged to have occurred, and may take such
additional evidence as it deems necessary.
(c) The court, having due regard for orderly
administration and the public interest, as well as for the
interests of the parties, may grant such relief as it deems
appropriate, including granting a relief by mandamus requiring
that a meeting be open to the public, granting an injunction
against future violations of this Act, ordering the public
body to make available to the public such portion of the
minutes of a meeting as is not authorized to be kept
confidential under this Act, or declaring null and void any

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final action taken at a closed meeting in violation of this
Act.
(d) The court may assess against any party, except a
State's Attorney, reasonable attorney's fees and other
litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who
substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance
with this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against
any private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to
this Section only upon the court's determination that the
action is malicious or frivolous in nature.
(Source: P.A. 99-714, eff. 8-5-16.)