Bill Text: IL SB2246 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the requirements by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Makes conforming changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-16 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2246 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB2246-Introduced.html


102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2246

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. David Koehler

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 120/7

Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the requirements by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Makes conforming changes.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 7 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 120/7)
7 Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
8presence.
9 (a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
10physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
11the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
12meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
13physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
14disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
15public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other
16means" is by video or audio conference.
17 (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
18the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
19public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
20impractical.
21 (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
22attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
23the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The

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1rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
2this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
3by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
4additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
5access to meetings.
6 (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
7closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
8jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
9over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
10miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
11a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
12(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
13specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
14(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
15bodies that do not have authority to make binding
16recommendations or determinations or to take any other
17substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
18bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
19with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
204,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
21jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
224,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
23jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
244,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
25meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
26extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the

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1body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
2innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
3areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
4Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
5legislation.
6 (e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but
7notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
8meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
9conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
10members, so long as the following conditions are met:
11 (1) (Blank); the Governor or the Director of the
12 Illinois 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 or
21 that conducting an audio or video conference is in the
22 best interest of the public body because of a disaster;
23 (3) all members of the body participating in the
24 meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
25 verified and can hear one another and can hear all
26 discussion and testimony;

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1 (4) for open meetings, members of the public present
2 at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all
3 discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of
4 the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting
5 location is not feasible due to the disaster, including
6 the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public
7 body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice
8 pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements
9 in a manner to allow any interested member of the public
10 access to contemporaneously hear all discussion,
11 testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a
12 telephone number or a web-based link;
13 (5) at least one member of the body, chief legal
14 counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically
15 present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible
16 due to a the disaster, including an the issued disaster
17 declaration; and
18 (6) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each
19 member's vote on each issue can be identified and
20 recorded.
21 (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
22 hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
23 pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
24 members of the public body, shall be posted on the website
25 of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news
26 media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to

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1 subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. If the public
2 body declares a bona fide emergency:
3 (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
4 (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
5 officer shall state the reason why an in-person
6 meeting or meeting conducted under this Act is not
7 practical or prudent or that conducting an audio or
8 video conference is in the best interest of the public
9 body nature of the emergency at the beginning of the
10 meeting.
11 (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim
12 recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
13 this Act.
14 (8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting
15 by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant
16 to this Section is considered present at the meeting for
17 purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all
18 proceedings.
19 (9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings
20 under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings
21 under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record
22 of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video
23 recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9)
24 shall be made available to the public under, and are
25 otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06.
26 (10) The public body shall bear all costs associated

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1 with compliance with this subsection (e).
2(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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