Bill Text: IL SB1537 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Allows meetings to be held by audio or video conference if the head of the public body determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting is not in the best interests of the public body or its members. Makes conforming changes. Modifies the requirements for meetings held by audio or video conference. Allows news outlets to receive notice of all special, emergency, rescheduled, or reconvened meetings by email. Removes provisions concerning meetings held on a legal holiday and certain quorum requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-31 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB1537 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1537-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1537

Introduced 2/8/2023, by Sen. Christopher Belt

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 120/2.01 from Ch. 102, par. 42.01
5 ILCS 120/2.02 from Ch. 102, par. 42.02
5 ILCS 120/2.03 from Ch. 102, par. 42.03
5 ILCS 120/2.06 from Ch. 102, par. 42.06
5 ILCS 120/7

Amends the Open Meetings Act. Allows meetings to be held by audio or video conference if the head of the public body determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting is not in the best interests of the public body or its members. Makes conforming changes. Modifies the requirements for meetings held by audio or video conference. Allows news outlets to receive notice of all special, emergency, rescheduled, or reconvened meetings by email. Removes provisions concerning meetings held on a legal holiday and certain quorum requirements.
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A BILL FOR

SB1537LRB103 27822 DTM 54200 b
1 AN ACT concerning State 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
5Sections 2.01, 2.02, 2.03, 2.06, and 7 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 120/2.01) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.01)
7 Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public
8shall be held at specified times and places that which are
9convenient and open to the public or through websites that are
10accessible to the public. No meeting required by this Act to be
11public shall be held on a legal holiday unless the regular
12meeting day falls on that holiday.
13 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a quorum of
14members of a public body must be physically present at the
15location of an open meeting. If, however, an open meeting of a
16public body (i) with statewide jurisdiction, (ii) that is an
17Illinois library system with jurisdiction over a specific
18geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, (iii) that is
19a municipal transit district with jurisdiction over a specific
20geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or (iv) that
21is a local workforce investment area with jurisdiction over a
22specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles is
23held simultaneously at one of its offices and one or more other

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1locations in a public building, which may include other of its
2offices, through an interactive video conference and the
3public body provides public notice and public access as
4required under this Act for all locations, then members
5physically present in those locations all count towards
6determining a quorum. "Public building", as used in this
7Section, means any building or portion thereof owned or leased
8by any public body. The requirement that a quorum be
9physically present at the location of an open meeting shall
10not apply, however, to State advisory boards or bodies that do
11not have authority to make binding recommendations or
12determinations or to take any other substantive action.
13 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a quorum of
14members of a public body that is not (i) a public body with
15statewide jurisdiction, (ii) an Illinois library system with
16jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
174,500 square miles, (iii) a municipal transit district with
18jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
194,500 square miles, or (iv) a local workforce innovation area
20with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
214,500 square miles must be physically present at the location
22of a closed meeting. Other members who are not physically
23present at a closed meeting of such a public body may
24participate in the meeting by means of a video or audio
25conference. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
26innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or

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1areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
2Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
3legislation.
4(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
5 (5 ILCS 120/2.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)
6 Sec. 2.02. Public notice of all meetings, whether open or
7closed to the public, shall be given as follows:
8 (a) Every public body shall give public notice of the
9schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar
10or fiscal year and shall state the regular dates, times, and
11places of such meetings and the websites, if any, through
12which those meetings may be accessed. An agenda for each
13regular meeting shall be posted at the principal office of the
14public body and at the location where an in-person the meeting
15is to be held at least 48 hours in advance of the holding of
16the meeting. A public body that has a website that the
17full-time staff of the public body maintains shall also post
18on its website the agenda of any regular meetings of the
19governing body of that public body. Any agenda of a regular
20meeting that is posted on a public body's website shall remain
21posted on the website until the regular meeting is concluded.
22The requirement of a regular meeting agenda shall not preclude
23the consideration of items not specifically set forth in the
24agenda. Public notice of any special meeting except a meeting
25held in the event of a bona fide emergency, or of any

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1rescheduled regular meeting, or of any reconvened meeting,
2shall be given at least 48 hours before such meeting, which
3notice shall also include the agenda for the special,
4rescheduled, or reconvened meeting, but the validity of any
5action taken by the public body which is germane to a subject
6on the agenda shall not be affected by other errors or
7omissions in the agenda. The requirement of public notice of
8reconvened meetings does not apply to any case where the
9meeting was open to the public and (1) it is to be reconvened
10within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of the time and place
11of the reconvened meeting, and the website, if any, through
12which it is accessible, was made at the original meeting and
13there is no change in the agenda. Notice of an emergency
14meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in any event
15prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news medium which
16has filed an annual request for notice under subsection (b) of
17this Section.
18 (b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the
19notice at the principal office of the body holding the meeting
20or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the
21in-person meeting is to be held. In addition to posting the
22public notice at the principal office or the building in which
23the meeting is to be held, a public body that has a website
24that the full-time staff of the public body maintains shall
25post notice on its website of all meetings of the governing
26body of the public body and the website, if any, through which

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1those meetings may be accessed. Any notice of an annual
2schedule of meetings shall remain on the website until a new
3public notice of the schedule of regular meetings is approved.
4Any notice of a regular meeting that is posted on a public
5body's website shall remain posted on the website until the
6regular meeting is concluded. If a public body that is
7conducting an audio or video conference meeting does not have
8a principal office or a website that the full-time staff of the
9public body maintains, notices shall be posted as provided in
10Section 2.03 for public bodies without a principal office or
11website. The body shall provide supply copies of the notice of
12its regular meetings, and of the notice of any special,
13emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any news
14medium that has filed an annual request for such notice. Any
15such news medium shall also be given the same notice of all
16special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the
17same manner as is given to members of the body provided such
18news medium has given the public body an address, email
19address, or telephone number within the territorial
20jurisdiction of the public body at which such notice may be
21given. The failure of a public body to post on its website
22notice of any meeting or the agenda of any meeting shall not
23invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at a meeting.
24 (c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth
25the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that
26will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public

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1body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least
2one copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is
3continuously available for public review during the entire
448-hour period preceding the meeting. Posting of the notice
5and agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body
6satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this
7subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously
8available for the full 48-hour period due to actions outside
9of the control of the public body, then that lack of
10availability does not invalidate any meeting or action taken
11at a meeting.
12(Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)
13 (5 ILCS 120/2.03) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.03)
14 Sec. 2.03. In addition to the notice required by Section
152.02, each body subject to this Act must, at the beginning of
16each calendar or fiscal year, prepare and make available a
17schedule of all its regular meetings for such calendar or
18fiscal year, listing the times and places of such meetings and
19the website, if any, through which those meetings may be
20accessed.
21 If a change is made in regular meeting dates, at least 10
22days' notice of such change shall be given by publication in a
23newspaper of general circulation in the area in which such
24body functions or on the public body's website. However, in
25the case of bodies of local governmental units with a

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1population of less than 500 in which no newspaper is published
2and that do not have a website, such 10 days' notice may be
3given by posting a notice of such change in at least 3
4prominent places within the governmental unit. Notice of such
5change shall also be posted at the principal office of the
6public body or on its website, or, if no such office or website
7exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held or
8on the county's website. Notice of such change shall also be
9supplied to those news media which have filed an annual
10request for notice as provided in paragraph (b) of Section
112.02.
12(Source: Laws 1967, p. 1960.)
13 (5 ILCS 120/2.06) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)
14 Sec. 2.06. Minutes; right to speak.
15 (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all
16their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record
17of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video
18recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
19 (1) the date, time, and place of the meeting or the
20 website, if any, through which it may be accessed;
21 (2) the members of the public body recorded as either
22 present or absent and whether the members were physically
23 present or present by means of video or audio conference;
24 and
25 (3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed,

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1 deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
2 (b) A public body shall approve the minutes of its open
3meeting within 30 days after that meeting or at the public
4body's second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later.
5The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available
6for public inspection within 10 days after the approval of
7such minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, at the
8time it complies with the other requirements of this
9subsection, a public body that has a website that the
10full-time staff of the public body maintains shall post the
11minutes of a regular meeting of its governing body open to the
12public on the public body's website within 10 days after the
13approval of the minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1,
142006, any minutes of meetings open to the public posted on the
15public body's website shall remain posted on the website for
16at least 60 days after their initial posting.
17 (c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without
18notification to or the approval of a records commission or the
19State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State
20Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the
21meeting recorded but only after:
22 (1) the public body approves the destruction of a
23 particular recording; and
24 (2) the public body approves minutes of the closed
25 meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of
26 subsection (a) of this Section.

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1 (d) Each public body shall periodically meet to review
2minutes of all closed meetings. Meetings to review minutes
3shall occur every 6 months, or as soon thereafter as is
4practicable, taking into account the nature and meeting
5schedule of the public body. Committees which are ad hoc in
6nature shall review closed session minutes at the later of (1)
76 months from the date of the last review of closed session
8minutes or (2) at the next scheduled meeting of the ad hoc
9committee. At such meetings a determination shall be made, and
10reported in an open session that (1) the need for
11confidentiality still exists as to all or part of those
12minutes or (2) that the minutes or portions thereof no longer
13require confidential treatment and are available for public
14inspection. The failure of a public body to strictly comply
15with the semi-annual review of closed session written minutes,
16whether before or after the effective date of this amendatory
17Act of the 94th General Assembly, shall not cause the written
18minutes or related verbatim record to become public or
19available for inspection in any judicial proceeding, other
20than a proceeding involving an alleged violation of this Act,
21if the public body, within 60 days of discovering its failure
22to strictly comply with the technical requirements of this
23subsection, reviews the closed session minutes and determines
24and thereafter reports in open session that either (1) the
25need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part of the
26minutes or verbatim record, or (2) that the minutes or

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1recordings or portions thereof no longer require confidential
2treatment and are available for public inspection.
3 (e) Unless the public body has made a determination that
4the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential
5treatment or otherwise consents to disclosure, the verbatim
6record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for
7public inspection or subject to discovery in any
8administrative or judicial proceeding other than one brought
9to enforce this Act. In the case of a civil action brought to
10enforce this Act, the court, if the judge believes such an
11examination is necessary, must conduct such in camera
12examination of the verbatim record as it finds appropriate in
13order to determine whether there has been a violation of this
14Act. In the case of a criminal proceeding, the court may
15conduct an examination in order to determine what portions, if
16any, must be made available to the parties for use as evidence
17in the prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held
18in camera. If the court determines that a complaint or suit
19brought for noncompliance under this Act is valid it may, for
20the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the
21meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify
22under the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this
23subsection do not supersede the privacy or confidentiality
24provisions of State or federal law. Access to verbatim
25recordings shall be provided to duly elected officials or
26appointed officials filling a vacancy of an elected office in

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1a public body, and access shall be granted in the public body's
2main office or official storage location, in the presence of a
3records secretary, an administrative official of the public
4body, or any elected official of the public body. No verbatim
5recordings shall be recorded or removed from the public body's
6main office or official storage location, except by vote of
7the public body or by court order. Nothing in this subsection
8(e) is intended to limit the Public Access Counselor's access
9to those records necessary to address a request for
10administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act.
11 (f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be
12available only after the public body determines that it is no
13longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy
14of an individual by keeping them confidential, except that
15duly elected officials or appointed officials filling a
16vacancy of an elected office in a public body shall be provided
17access to minutes of meetings closed to the public. Access to
18minutes shall be granted in the public body's main office or
19official storage location, in the presence of a records
20secretary, an administrative official of the public body, or
21any elected official of the public body. No minutes of
22meetings closed to the public shall be removed from the public
23body's main office or official storage location, except by
24vote of the public body or by court order. Nothing in this
25subsection (f) is intended to limit the Public Access
26Counselor's access to those records necessary to address a

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1request for administrative review under Section 7.5 of this
2Act.
3 (g) Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to
4address public officials under the rules established and
5recorded by the public body.
6 (h) When a public body is dissolved, disbanded,
7eliminated, or consolidated by executive action, legislative
8action, or referendum, and its functions and responsibilities
9are assumed by a unit of local government, the unit of local
10government which assumes the functions of the prior public
11body shall review the closed session minutes of that public
12body pursuant to subsection (d).
13(Source: P.A. 102-653, eff. 1-1-22.)
14 (5 ILCS 120/7)
15 Sec. 7. Audio or video conference meetings. Attendance by
16a means other than physical presence.
17 (a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
18physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
19the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
20meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
21physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
22disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
23public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other
24means" is by video or audio conference.
25 (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,

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1the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
2public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
3impractical.
4 (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
5attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
6the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The
7rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
8this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
9by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
10additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
11access to meetings.
12 (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
13closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
14jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
15over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
16miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
17a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
18(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
19specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
20(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
21bodies that do not have authority to make binding
22recommendations or determinations or to take any other
23substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
24bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
25with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
264,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with

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1jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
24,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
3jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
44,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
5meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
6extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the
7body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
8innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
9areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
10Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
11legislation.
12(e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but
13notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
14meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
15conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
16members, so long as the following conditions are met:
17 (1) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois
18 Department of Public Health has issued a disaster
19 declaration related to public health concerns because of a
20 disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency
21 Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction
22 of the public body is covered by the disaster area;
23 (1) (2) the head of the public body as defined in
24 subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information
25 Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
26 conducted under this Act is not in the best interests of

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1 the public body or its members practical or prudent
2 because of a disaster;
3 (2) (3) all members of the body participating in the
4 meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
5 verified and can hear one another and can hear all
6 discussion and testimony;
7 (3) (4) for open meetings, members of the public
8 attending the meeting present at the regular meeting
9 location of the body can hear all discussion and testimony
10 and all votes of the members of the body, and all attendees
11 can unless attendance at the regular meeting location is
12 not feasible due to the disaster, including the issued
13 disaster declaration, in which case the public body must
14 make alternative arrangements and provide notice pursuant
15 to this Section of such alternative arrangements in a
16 manner to allow any interested member of the public access
17 to contemporaneously hear all discussion, testimony, and
18 roll call votes, such as by offering a telephone number or
19 a web-based link;
20 (5) at least one member of the body, chief legal
21 counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically
22 present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible
23 due to the disaster, including the issued disaster
24 declaration; and
25 (4) (6) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each
26 member's vote on each issue can be identified and

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1 recorded; .
2 (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
3 hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
4 pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
5 members of the public body, shall be posted on the website
6 of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news
7 media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to
8 subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. If the public
9 body declares a bona fide emergency:
10 (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
11 (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
12 officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the
13 beginning of the meeting.
14 (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim
15 recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
16 this Act.
17 (5) each (8) Each member of the body participating in
18 a meeting by audio or video conference for a meeting held
19 pursuant to this Section is considered present at the
20 meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and
21 participating in all proceedings; .
22 (6) in (9) In addition to the requirements for open
23 meetings under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open
24 meetings under this Section subsection (e) must also keep
25 a verbatim record of all their meetings in the form of an
26 audio or video recording. Verbatim records made under this

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1 paragraph (9) shall be made available to the public under,
2 and are otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section
3 2.06; and .
4 (7) the (10) The public body shall bear all costs
5 associated with compliance with this Section subsection
6 (e).
7(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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