Bill Text: IL SB1619 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, so long as the following additional requirements are met: (1) the public body makes available a dedicated meeting space where those individuals who do not have access to the Internet may participate in the meeting; (2) the public body ensures that a means of remote participation other than audio-only communication is made available to those individuals who are interested in participating in the meeting; (3) the public body ensures that all cameras used for remote participation are operating properly; and (4) the public body maintains a written record of those individuals who participated in the meeting and a description of whether those individuals participated in person or by remote means. Makes technical and other changes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-31 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB1619 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SB1619-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning government.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 7 as follows:
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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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17 | (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | the
member must notify the
recording secretary or clerk of the
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19 | public body before the meeting unless
advance notice is | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | impractical.
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21 | (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The |
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1 | rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of | ||||||
2 | this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance | ||||||
3 | by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of | ||||||
4 | additional notice to the public or further facilitate public | ||||||
5 | access to meetings.
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6 | (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i) | ||||||
7 | closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide | ||||||
8 | jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction | ||||||
9 | over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square | ||||||
10 | miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over | ||||||
11 | a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or | ||||||
12 | (D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a | ||||||
13 | specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or | ||||||
14 | (ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or | ||||||
15 | bodies that do not have authority to make binding | ||||||
16 | recommendations or determinations or to take any other | ||||||
17 | substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public | ||||||
18 | bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems | ||||||
19 | with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than | ||||||
20 | 4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with | ||||||
21 | jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than | ||||||
22 | 4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with | ||||||
23 | jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than | ||||||
24 | 4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend | ||||||
25 | meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the | ||||||
26 | extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the |
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1 | body.
For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce | ||||||
2 | innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or | ||||||
3 | areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal | ||||||
4 | Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing | ||||||
5 | legislation. | ||||||
6 | (e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but | ||||||
7 | notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed | ||||||
8 | meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video | ||||||
9 | conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the | ||||||
10 | members, so long as the following conditions are met: | ||||||
11 | (1) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois | ||||||
12 | Department of Public Health has issued a disaster | ||||||
13 | declaration related to public health concerns because of a | ||||||
14 | disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency | ||||||
15 | Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction | ||||||
16 | of the public body is covered by the disaster area; | ||||||
17 | (2) the head of the public body as defined in | ||||||
18 | subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information | ||||||
19 | Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting | ||||||
20 | conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent | ||||||
21 | because of a disaster; | ||||||
22 | (3) all members of the body participating in the | ||||||
23 | meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be | ||||||
24 | verified and can hear one another and can hear all | ||||||
25 | discussion and testimony; | ||||||
26 | (4) for open meetings, members of the public present |
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1 | at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all | ||||||
2 | discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of | ||||||
3 | the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting | ||||||
4 | location is not feasible due to the disaster, including | ||||||
5 | the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public | ||||||
6 | body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice | ||||||
7 | pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements | ||||||
8 | in a manner to allow any interested member of the public | ||||||
9 | access to contemporaneously hear all discussion, | ||||||
10 | testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a | ||||||
11 | telephone number or a web-based link; | ||||||
12 | (5) there shall be physically present at the regular | ||||||
13 | meeting location at least one member of the body or, if a | ||||||
14 | greater number of members is required under the rules of | ||||||
15 | the public body to be physically present at the regular | ||||||
16 | meeting location, that greater number of members of the | ||||||
17 | public body, unless infeasible due to the disaster or the | ||||||
18 | issued disaster declaration; , chief legal counsel, or | ||||||
19 | chief administrative officer is physically present at the | ||||||
20 | regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the | ||||||
21 | disaster, including the issued disaster declaration; and | ||||||
22 | (5.5) there shall be physically present at the regular | ||||||
23 | meeting location the chief legal counsel of the public | ||||||
24 | body or the chief administrative officer of the public | ||||||
25 | body, unless infeasible due to the disaster or the issued | ||||||
26 | disaster declaration; |
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1 | (6) all votes shall be are conducted by roll call , and | ||||||
2 | , so each member's vote on each issue shall can be | ||||||
3 | identified and recorded ; . | ||||||
4 | (7) the public body, except in the case in which it | ||||||
5 | declares a bona fide emergency, shall give Except in the | ||||||
6 | event of a bona fide emergency, 48 hours' notice shall be | ||||||
7 | given of a meeting to be held pursuant to this Section , and | ||||||
8 | that notice . Notice shall be given to all members of the | ||||||
9 | public body, shall be posted on the website of the public | ||||||
10 | body, and shall also be provided to any news medium that | ||||||
11 | media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to | ||||||
12 | subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act ; . If the public | ||||||
13 | body declares a bona fide emergency: | ||||||
14 | (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection | ||||||
15 | (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding | ||||||
16 | officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the | ||||||
17 | beginning of the meeting. | ||||||
18 | (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim | ||||||
19 | recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of | ||||||
20 | this Act. | ||||||
21 | (7.5) the public body, in the case in which it | ||||||
22 | declares a bona fide emergency, shall give notice pursuant | ||||||
23 | to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, shall have | ||||||
24 | the presiding officer state the nature of the emergency at | ||||||
25 | the beginning of the meeting, and shall comply with the | ||||||
26 | verbatim recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 |
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1 | of this Act; | ||||||
2 | (8) each Each member of the body participating in a | ||||||
3 | meeting by audio or video conference for a meeting held | ||||||
4 | pursuant to this Section shall be is considered present at | ||||||
5 | the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and | ||||||
6 | participating in all proceedings ; . | ||||||
7 | (9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings | ||||||
8 | under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings | ||||||
9 | under this subsection (e) must also keep the public body, | ||||||
10 | in addition to the requirements for open meetings under | ||||||
11 | Section 2.06, shall keep a verbatim record of its all | ||||||
12 | their meetings in the form of an audio or video recording , | ||||||
13 | and those records . Verbatim records made under this | ||||||
14 | paragraph (9) shall be made available to the public under, | ||||||
15 | and are otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section | ||||||
16 | 2.06 ; . | ||||||
17 | (10) the The public body shall bear all costs | ||||||
18 | associated with compliance with this subsection (e) ; .
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19 | (11) the public body shall make available a dedicated | ||||||
20 | meeting space where those individuals who do not have | ||||||
21 | access to the Internet may participate in the meeting; | ||||||
22 | (12) the public body shall ensure that a means of | ||||||
23 | remote participation other than audio-only communication | ||||||
24 | is made available to those individuals who are interested | ||||||
25 | in participating in the meeting; | ||||||
26 | (13) the public body shall ensure that all cameras |
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1 | used for remote participation are operating properly; and | ||||||
2 | (14) the public body shall maintain a written record | ||||||
3 | of those individuals who participated in the meeting and a | ||||||
4 | description of whether those individuals participated in | ||||||
5 | person or by remote means. | ||||||
6 | (Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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