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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 1.05 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (5 ILCS 120/1.05)
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| 7 | Sec. 1.05. Training. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) Every public body shall designate employees, officers, | ||||||
| 9 | or members to receive training on compliance with this Act. | ||||||
| 10 | Each public body shall submit a list of designated employees, | ||||||
| 11 | officers, or members to the Public Access Counselor. Within 6 | ||||||
| 12 | months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
| 13 | 96th General Assembly, the designated employees, officers, and | ||||||
| 14 | members must successfully complete an electronic training | ||||||
| 15 | curriculum, developed and administered by the Public Access | ||||||
| 16 | Counselor, and thereafter must successfully complete an annual | ||||||
| 17 | training program. Thereafter, whenever a public body | ||||||
| 18 | designates an additional employee, officer, or member to | ||||||
| 19 | receive this training, that person must successfully complete | ||||||
| 20 | the electronic training curriculum within 30 days after that | ||||||
| 21 | designation.
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| 22 | (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each | ||||||
| 23 | elected or appointed member of a public body subject to this | ||||||
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| 1 | Act who is such a member on the effective date of this | ||||||
| 2 | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly must successfully | ||||||
| 3 | complete the electronic training curriculum developed and | ||||||
| 4 | administered by the Public Access Counselor. For these members, | ||||||
| 5 | the training must be completed within one year after the | ||||||
| 6 | effective date of this amendatory Act. | ||||||
| 7 | Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each elected | ||||||
| 8 | or appointed member of a public body subject to this Act who | ||||||
| 9 | becomes such a member after the effective date of this | ||||||
| 10 | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall successfully | ||||||
| 11 | complete the electronic training curriculum developed and | ||||||
| 12 | administered by the Public Access Counselor. For these members, | ||||||
| 13 | the training must be completed not later than the 90th day | ||||||
| 14 | after the date the member: | ||||||
| 15 | (1) takes the oath of office, if the member is required | ||||||
| 16 | to take an oath of office to assume the person's duties as | ||||||
| 17 | a member of the public body; or | ||||||
| 18 | (2) otherwise assumes responsibilities as a member of | ||||||
| 19 | the public body, if the member is not required to take an | ||||||
| 20 | oath of office to assume the person's duties as a member of | ||||||
| 21 | the governmental body. | ||||||
| 22 | Each member successfully completing the electronic | ||||||
| 23 | training curriculum shall file a copy of the certificate of | ||||||
| 24 | completion with the public body. | ||||||
| 25 | Completing the required training as a member of the public | ||||||
| 26 | body satisfies the requirements of this Section with regard to | ||||||
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| 1 | the member's service on a committee or subcommittee of the | ||||||
| 2 | public body and the member's ex officio service on any other | ||||||
| 3 | public body. | ||||||
| 4 | The failure of one or more members of a public body to | ||||||
| 5 | complete the training required by this Section does not affect | ||||||
| 6 | the validity of an action taken by the public body. | ||||||
| 7 | An elected or appointed member of a public body subject to | ||||||
| 8 | this Act who has successfully completed the training required | ||||||
| 9 | under this subsection (b) and filed a copy of the certificate | ||||||
| 10 | of completion with the public body is not required to | ||||||
| 11 | subsequently complete the training required under this | ||||||
| 12 | subsection (b). | ||||||
| 13 | (c) An elected school board member may satisfy the training | ||||||
| 14 | requirements of this Section by participating in a course of | ||||||
| 15 | training sponsored or conducted by an organization created | ||||||
| 16 | under Article 23 of the School Code. The course of training | ||||||
| 17 | shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in: | ||||||
| 18 | (1) the general background of the legal requirements | ||||||
| 19 | for open meetings; | ||||||
| 20 | (2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies; | ||||||
| 21 | (3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums, | ||||||
| 22 | notice, and record-keeping under this Act; | ||||||
| 23 | (4) procedures and requirements for holding an open | ||||||
| 24 | meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act; | ||||||
| 25 | and | ||||||
| 26 | (5) penalties and other consequences for failing to | ||||||
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| 1 | comply with this Act. | ||||||
| 2 | If an organization created under Article 23 of the School | ||||||
| 3 | Code provides a course of training under this subsection (c), | ||||||
| 4 | it must provide a certificate of course completion to each | ||||||
| 5 | school board member who successfully completes that course of | ||||||
| 6 | training. | ||||||
| 7 | (d) A commissioner of a drainage district may satisfy the | ||||||
| 8 | training requirements of this Section by participating in a | ||||||
| 9 | course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization | ||||||
| 10 | that represents the drainage districts created under the | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois Drainage Code. The course of training shall include, | ||||||
| 12 | but not be limited to, instruction in: | ||||||
| 13 | (1) the general background of the legal requirements | ||||||
| 14 | for open meetings; | ||||||
| 15 | (2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies; | ||||||
| 16 | (3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums, | ||||||
| 17 | notice, and record-keeping under this Act; | ||||||
| 18 | (4) procedures and requirements for holding an open | ||||||
| 19 | meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act; | ||||||
| 20 | and | ||||||
| 21 | (5) penalties and other consequences for failing to | ||||||
| 22 | comply with this Act. | ||||||
| 23 | If an organization that represents the drainage districts | ||||||
| 24 | created under the Illinois Drainage Code provides a course of | ||||||
| 25 | training under this subsection (d), it must provide a | ||||||
| 26 | certificate of course completion to each commissioner who | ||||||
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| 1 | successfully completes that course of training. | ||||||
| 2 | (e) A director of a soil and water conservation district | ||||||
| 3 | may satisfy the training requirements of this Section by | ||||||
| 4 | participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted by | ||||||
| 5 | an organization that represents soil and water conservation | ||||||
| 6 | districts created under the Soil and Water Conservation | ||||||
| 7 | Districts Act. The course of training shall include, but not be | ||||||
| 8 | limited to, instruction in: | ||||||
| 9 | (1) the general background of the legal requirements | ||||||
| 10 | for open meetings; | ||||||
| 11 | (2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies; | ||||||
| 12 | (3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums, | ||||||
| 13 | notice, and record-keeping under this Act; | ||||||
| 14 | (4) procedures and requirements for holding an open | ||||||
| 15 | meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act; | ||||||
| 16 | and | ||||||
| 17 | (5) penalties and other consequences for failing to | ||||||
| 18 | comply with this Act. | ||||||
| 19 | If an organization that represents the soil and water | ||||||
| 20 | conservation districts created under the Soil and Water | ||||||
| 21 | Conservation Districts Act provides a course of training under | ||||||
| 22 | this subsection (e), it must provide a certificate of course | ||||||
| 23 | completion to each director who successfully completes that | ||||||
| 24 | course of training. | ||||||
| 25 | (f) An elected or appointed member of a public body of a | ||||||
| 26 | park district, forest preserve district, or conservation | ||||||
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| 1 | district may satisfy the training requirements of this Section | ||||||
| 2 | by participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted | ||||||
| 3 | by an organization that represents the park districts created | ||||||
| 4 | in the Park District Code. The course of training shall | ||||||
| 5 | include, but not be limited to, instruction in: | ||||||
| 6 | (1) the general background of the legal requirements | ||||||
| 7 | for open meetings; | ||||||
| 8 | (2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies; | ||||||
| 9 | (3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums, | ||||||
| 10 | notice, and record-keeping under this Act; | ||||||
| 11 | (4) procedures and requirements for holding an open | ||||||
| 12 | meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act; | ||||||
| 13 | and | ||||||
| 14 | (5) penalties and other consequences for failing to | ||||||
| 15 | comply with this Act. | ||||||
| 16 | If an organization that represents the park districts | ||||||
| 17 | created in the Park District Code provides a course of training | ||||||
| 18 | under this subsection (f), it must provide a certificate of | ||||||
| 19 | course completion to each elected or appointed member of a | ||||||
| 20 | public body who successfully completes that course of training. | ||||||
| 21 | (g) An elected or appointed member of a public body of a | ||||||
| 22 | municipality may satisfy the training requirements of this | ||||||
| 23 | Section by participating in a course of training sponsored or | ||||||
| 24 | conducted by an organization that represents municipalities as | ||||||
| 25 | designated in Section 1-8-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code. The | ||||||
| 26 | course of training shall include, but not be limited to, | ||||||
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| 1 | instruction in: | ||||||
| 2 | (1) the general background of the legal requirements | ||||||
| 3 | for open meetings; | ||||||
| 4 | (2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies; | ||||||
| 5 | (3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums, | ||||||
| 6 | notice, and record-keeping under this Act; | ||||||
| 7 | (4) procedures and requirements for holding an open | ||||||
| 8 | meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act; | ||||||
| 9 | and | ||||||
| 10 | (5) penalties and other consequences for failing to | ||||||
| 11 | comply with this Act. | ||||||
| 12 | If an organization that represents municipalities as | ||||||
| 13 | designated in Section 1-8-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code | ||||||
| 14 | provides a course of training under this subsection (g), it | ||||||
| 15 | must provide a certificate of course completion to each elected | ||||||
| 16 | or appointed member of a public body who successfully completes | ||||||
| 17 | that course of training. | ||||||
| 18 | (Source: P.A. 97-504, eff. 1-1-12; 97-1153, eff. 1-25-13; | ||||||
| 19 | 98-900, eff. 8-15-14.)
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