Bill Text: IL HB4583 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that certain notice provisions that currently apply to regular meetings of a public body shall also apply to special meetings of a public body. Requires a public body that has a website maintained by a full-time staff to post the agenda and notice of meetings for both the governing body and all subsidiary bodies of the public body. Removes a provision stating that the failure of a public body to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at a meeting. Requires a public body that has a website to post the minutes of a regular, special, or emergency meeting of its governing body (currently, only regular meeting). Allows a court to declare null and void any final action taken at a meeting in violation of the Act, regardless of whether or not the meeting was a closed meeting. Provides that a court shall (rather than 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 under specified provisions of the Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB4583 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HB4583-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that certain notice provisions that currently apply to regular meetings of a public body shall also apply to special meetings of a public body. Requires a public body that has a website maintained by a full-time staff to post the agenda and notice of meetings for both the governing body and all subsidiary bodies of the public body. Removes a provision stating that the failure of a public body to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at a meeting. Requires a public body that has a website to post the minutes of a regular, special, or emergency meeting of its governing body (currently, only regular meeting). Allows a court to declare null and void any final action taken at a meeting in violation of the Act, regardless of whether or not the meeting was a closed meeting. Provides that a court shall (rather than 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 under specified provisions of the Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB4583 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HB4583-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 | Sections 2.02, 2.06, and 3 as follows:
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6 | (5 ILCS 120/2.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)
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7 | Sec. 2.02. Public notice of all meetings, whether open or | |||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | closed to
the public, shall be given as follows:
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9 | (a) Every public body shall give public notice
of the | |||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar | |||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | or fiscal
year and shall state the regular dates, times, and | |||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | places of such meetings.
An agenda for each regular or special | |||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | meeting shall be posted at the principal office of
the public | |||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | body and at the location where the meeting is to be held at | |||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | least 48 hours in
advance of the holding of the meeting. A | |||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | public body that has a website that the full-time staff of the | |||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | public body maintains shall also post on its website the agenda | |||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | of any regular or special meetings of the governing body and of | |||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | all subsidiary bodies of that public body. Any agenda of a | |||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | regular or special meeting that is posted on a public body's | |||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | website shall remain posted on the website until the regular or | |||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | special meeting is concluded. The requirement of a regular
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23 | meeting agenda shall not preclude the consideration of items |
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1 | not specifically
set forth in the agenda.
Public
notice of any | ||||||
2 | special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a
bona | ||||||
3 | fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of | ||||||
4 | any
reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before | ||||||
5 | such
meeting, which notice shall also include the agenda for | ||||||
6 | the special,
rescheduled,
or reconvened meeting, but the | ||||||
7 | validity of any action taken by the public
body which is | ||||||
8 | germane to a subject on the agenda shall not be affected by
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9 | other errors or omissions in the agenda. The requirement
of | ||||||
10 | public notice of reconvened meetings does
not apply to any case | ||||||
11 | where the meeting was open to the public and (1)
it is to be | ||||||
12 | reconvened within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of
the time | ||||||
13 | and place of the reconvened meeting was
made at the original | ||||||
14 | meeting and there is no change in the agenda. Notice
of an | ||||||
15 | emergency meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in | ||||||
16 | any
event prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news | ||||||
17 | medium which has
filed an annual request for notice under | ||||||
18 | subsection (b) of this Section.
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19 | (b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the | ||||||
20 | notice at the
principal office of the body holding the meeting | ||||||
21 | or, if no such office exists,
at the building in which the | ||||||
22 | meeting
is to be held. In addition, a public body that has a | ||||||
23 | website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains | ||||||
24 | shall post notice on its website of all meetings of the | ||||||
25 | governing body and of all subsidiary bodies of the public body. | ||||||
26 | Any notice of an annual schedule of meetings shall remain on |
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1 | the website until a new public notice of the schedule of | ||||||
2 | regular meetings is approved. Any notice of a regular or | ||||||
3 | special meeting that is posted on a public body's website shall | ||||||
4 | remain posted on the website until the regular or special | ||||||
5 | meeting is concluded. The body shall supply copies of the | ||||||
6 | notice of its regular
meetings, and of the notice of any | ||||||
7 | special,
emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any | ||||||
8 | news medium
that has filed an annual request for such notice. | ||||||
9 | Any such news
medium shall also be given the same notice of all | ||||||
10 | special,
emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the | ||||||
11 | same manner as
is given to members of the body provided such | ||||||
12 | news medium has given the
public body an address or telephone | ||||||
13 | number within the territorial jurisdiction
of the public body | ||||||
14 | at which such notice may be given. The failure of a public body | ||||||
15 | to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of | ||||||
16 | any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions | ||||||
17 | taken at a meeting.
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18 | (c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth | ||||||
19 | the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that | ||||||
20 | will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public | ||||||
21 | body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least one | ||||||
22 | copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is | ||||||
23 | continuously available for public review during the entire | ||||||
24 | 48-hour period preceding the meeting. Posting of the notice and | ||||||
25 | agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body | ||||||
26 | satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this |
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1 | subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously | ||||||
2 | available for the full 48-hour period due to actions outside of | ||||||
3 | the control of the public body, then that lack of availability | ||||||
4 | does not invalidate any meeting or action taken at a meeting. | ||||||
5 | (Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)
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6 | (5 ILCS 120/2.06) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 2.06. Minutes; right to speak. | ||||||
8 | (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all | ||||||
9 | their
meetings, whether open or closed,
and a verbatim
record | ||||||
10 | of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video | ||||||
11 | recording.
Minutes
shall include, but need not be limited to: | ||||||
12 | (1) the date, time and place of the meeting; | ||||||
13 | (2) the members of the public body recorded as either | ||||||
14 | present or absent and whether the members were physically | ||||||
15 | present or present by means of video or audio conference;
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16 | and | ||||||
17 | (3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed, | ||||||
18 | deliberated,
or decided, and a record of any votes taken. | ||||||
19 | (b) A public body shall approve the minutes of its open | ||||||
20 | meeting within 30 days after that meeting or at the public | ||||||
21 | body's second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later. | ||||||
22 | The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available | ||||||
23 | for
public inspection within 10 days after the approval of such | ||||||
24 | minutes by the public
body. Beginning July 1, 2006, at the time | ||||||
25 | it complies with the other requirements of this subsection, a |
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1 | public body that has a website that the full-time staff of the | ||||||
2 | public body maintains shall post the minutes of a regular , | ||||||
3 | special, or emergency meeting of its governing body open to the | ||||||
4 | public on the public body's website within 10 days after the | ||||||
5 | approval of the minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, | ||||||
6 | 2006, any minutes of meetings open to the public posted on the | ||||||
7 | public body's website shall remain posted on the website for at | ||||||
8 | least 60 days after their initial posting.
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9 | (c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without | ||||||
10 | notification to or the
approval of a records commission or the | ||||||
11 | State Archivist under the Local Records
Act or the State | ||||||
12 | Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the
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13 | meeting recorded but only after: | ||||||
14 | (1) the public body
approves the destruction of a | ||||||
15 | particular recording; and | ||||||
16 | (2) the public body approves minutes of the closed | ||||||
17 | meeting that meet the
written minutes requirements of | ||||||
18 | subsection (a) of this Section. | ||||||
19 | (d) Each public body shall periodically, but no less than
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20 | semi-annually,
meet to review minutes of all closed meetings. | ||||||
21 | At such
meetings a determination shall be made, and reported in | ||||||
22 | an open session that
(1) the need for confidentiality still | ||||||
23 | exists as to all or part of those
minutes or (2) that the | ||||||
24 | minutes or portions thereof no
longer require
confidential
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25 | treatment and are available for public inspection. The failure | ||||||
26 | of a public body to strictly comply with the semi-annual review |
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1 | of closed session written minutes, whether before or after the | ||||||
2 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
3 | Assembly, shall not cause the written minutes or related | ||||||
4 | verbatim record to become public or available for inspection in | ||||||
5 | any judicial proceeding, other than a proceeding involving an | ||||||
6 | alleged violation of this Act, if the public body, within 60 | ||||||
7 | days of discovering its failure to strictly comply with the | ||||||
8 | technical requirements of this subsection, reviews the closed | ||||||
9 | session minutes and determines and thereafter reports in open | ||||||
10 | session that either (1) the need for confidentiality still | ||||||
11 | exists as to all or part of the minutes or verbatim record, or | ||||||
12 | (2) that the minutes or recordings or portions thereof no | ||||||
13 | longer require confidential treatment and are available for | ||||||
14 | public inspection. | ||||||
15 | (e) Unless the public body has made a determination that | ||||||
16 | the verbatim
recording no longer requires confidential | ||||||
17 | treatment or otherwise consents to
disclosure, the verbatim | ||||||
18 | record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be
open for | ||||||
19 | public inspection or subject to discovery in any administrative
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20 | or judicial proceeding other than one brought to enforce this | ||||||
21 | Act. In the case of a civil
action brought to enforce this Act, | ||||||
22 | the court, if the judge believes such an examination is | ||||||
23 | necessary, must conduct such in camera
examination of the | ||||||
24 | verbatim record as it finds appropriate in order to
determine | ||||||
25 | whether there has been a violation of this Act. In the case of | ||||||
26 | a
criminal proceeding, the court may conduct an
examination in |
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1 | order to
determine what portions, if any, must be made | ||||||
2 | available to the parties for use
as evidence in the | ||||||
3 | prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held in | ||||||
4 | camera. If the court
determines that a complaint or suit | ||||||
5 | brought for noncompliance under this Act
is valid it may, for | ||||||
6 | the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the
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7 | meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify | ||||||
8 | under the
attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this | ||||||
9 | subsection do not supersede
the privacy or confidentiality | ||||||
10 | provisions of State or federal law. Access to verbatim | ||||||
11 | recordings shall be provided to duly elected officials or | ||||||
12 | appointed officials filling a vacancy of an elected office in a | ||||||
13 | public body, and access shall be granted in the public body's | ||||||
14 | main office or official storage location, in the presence of a | ||||||
15 | records secretary, an administrative official of the public | ||||||
16 | body, or any elected official of the public body. No verbatim | ||||||
17 | recordings shall be recorded or removed from the public body's | ||||||
18 | main office or official storage location, except by vote of the | ||||||
19 | public body or by court order. Nothing in this subsection (e) | ||||||
20 | is intended to limit the Public Access Counselor's access to | ||||||
21 | those records necessary to address a request for administrative | ||||||
22 | review under Section 7.5 of this Act. | ||||||
23 | (f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be | ||||||
24 | available only after
the public body determines that it is no | ||||||
25 | longer necessary to protect the public
interest or the privacy | ||||||
26 | of an individual by keeping them confidential, except that duly |
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1 | elected officials or appointed officials filling a vacancy of | ||||||
2 | an elected office in a public body shall be provided access to | ||||||
3 | minutes of meetings closed to the public. Access to minutes | ||||||
4 | shall be granted in the public body's main office or official | ||||||
5 | storage location, in the presence of a records secretary, an | ||||||
6 | administrative official of the public body, or any elected | ||||||
7 | official of the public body. No minutes of meetings closed to | ||||||
8 | the public shall be removed from the public body's main office | ||||||
9 | or official storage location, except by vote of the public body | ||||||
10 | or by court order. Nothing in this subsection (f) is intended | ||||||
11 | to limit the Public Access Counselor's access to those records | ||||||
12 | necessary to address a request for administrative review under | ||||||
13 | Section 7.5 of this Act. | ||||||
14 | (g) Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address | ||||||
15 | public officials under the rules established and recorded by | ||||||
16 | the public body. | ||||||
17 | (Source: P.A. 99-515, eff. 6-30-16.)
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18 | (5 ILCS 120/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
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19 | Sec. 3.
(a) Where the provisions of this Act are not | ||||||
20 | complied with, or
where there is probable cause to believe that | ||||||
21 | the provisions of this Act
will not be complied with, any | ||||||
22 | person, including the State's Attorney
of the county in which | ||||||
23 | such noncompliance
may occur, may bring a civil action in the | ||||||
24 | circuit court for the judicial
circuit in which the alleged | ||||||
25 | noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur,
or in which |
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1 | the affected public body has its principal office, prior to
or | ||||||
2 | within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in
violation of | ||||||
3 | this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered
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4 | within the 60-day period,
within 60 days of the discovery of a | ||||||
5 | violation by the State's
Attorney or, if the person timely | ||||||
6 | files a request for review under Section 3.5, within 60 days of | ||||||
7 | the decision by the Attorney General to resolve a request for | ||||||
8 | review by a means other than the issuance of a binding opinion | ||||||
9 | under subsection (e) of Section 3.5.
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10 | Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a | ||||||
11 | public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body | ||||||
12 | has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public. | ||||||
13 | Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney, | ||||||
14 | are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information | ||||||
15 | Act. | ||||||
16 | (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera | ||||||
17 | any portion
of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of | ||||||
18 | the Act is alleged to
have occurred, and may take such | ||||||
19 | additional evidence as it deems necessary.
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20 | (c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration | ||||||
21 | and the public
interest, as well as for the interests of the | ||||||
22 | parties, may grant such
relief as it deems appropriate, | ||||||
23 | including granting a relief
by mandamus requiring that a | ||||||
24 | meeting be open
to the public, granting an injunction against | ||||||
25 | future violations of this
Act, ordering the public body to make | ||||||
26 | available to the public such portion
of the minutes of a |
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1 | meeting as is not
authorized to be kept confidential under this | ||||||
2 | Act, or declaring null and
void any final action taken at a | ||||||
3 | closed meeting in violation of this Act.
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4 | (d) The court shall may assess against any party, except a | ||||||
5 | State's Attorney,
reasonable attorney's fees and other | ||||||
6 | litigation costs reasonably incurred
by any other party who | ||||||
7 | substantially prevails in any action brought in
accordance with | ||||||
8 | this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against
any | ||||||
9 | private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this | ||||||
10 | Section
only upon the court's determination that the action is | ||||||
11 | malicious or frivolous
in nature.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 99-714, eff. 8-5-16.)
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