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1 | AN ACT concerning State 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: | |||||||||||||||||||
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) Either: | ||||||
12 | (A) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois | ||||||
13 | Department of Public Health has issued a disaster | ||||||
14 | declaration related to public health concerns because | ||||||
15 | of a disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois | ||||||
16 | Emergency Management Agency Act, and all or part of | ||||||
17 | the jurisdiction of the public body is covered by the | ||||||
18 | disaster area; or | ||||||
19 | (B) the chief elected or appointed official of the | ||||||
20 | public body determines that an in-person meeting | ||||||
21 | conducted under this Act would pose a risk to the | ||||||
22 | health or safety of members of the public body or the | ||||||
23 | public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or | ||||||
24 | video conference is in the best interest of the public | ||||||
25 | body or the public, and the public notice of any | ||||||
26 | meeting given under this subparagraph (B) states the |
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1 | reason or reasons for such determination. | ||||||
2 | (2) (Blank). the head of the public body as defined in | ||||||
3 | subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information | ||||||
4 | Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting | ||||||
5 | conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent | ||||||
6 | because of a disaster; | ||||||
7 | (3) All all members of the body participating in the | ||||||
8 | meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be | ||||||
9 | verified and can hear one another and can hear all | ||||||
10 | discussion and testimony . ; | ||||||
11 | (4) For for open meetings, members of the public | ||||||
12 | present at the regular meeting location of the body can | ||||||
13 | hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the | ||||||
14 | members of the body, or unless attendance at the regular | ||||||
15 | meeting location is not feasible due to the disaster, | ||||||
16 | including the issued disaster declaration, in which case | ||||||
17 | the public body makes arrangements and provides must make | ||||||
18 | alternative arrangements and provide notice pursuant to | ||||||
19 | this subsection (e) Section of such alternative | ||||||
20 | arrangements in a manner to allow any interested member of | ||||||
21 | the public access to contemporaneously hear all | ||||||
22 | discussion, testimony, and roll call votes, such as by | ||||||
23 | offering a telephone number or a web-based link , and to | ||||||
24 | provide a method and notice by which members of the public | ||||||
25 | may provide public comment or address the public body as | ||||||
26 | authorized by subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by |
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1 | telephone or web-based link, or by email or written | ||||||
2 | comment to be read aloud at the meeting, consistent with | ||||||
3 | the public body's established and recorded rules for | ||||||
4 | public comment, and to be included in the meeting record. ; | ||||||
5 | (5) At at least one member of the body, its chief legal | ||||||
6 | counsel, or an chief administrative officer of the public | ||||||
7 | body is physically present at the regular meeting | ||||||
8 | location , unless unfeasible due to the disaster, including | ||||||
9 | the issued disaster declaration; and . | ||||||
10 | (6) All all votes are conducted by roll call, and so | ||||||
11 | each member's vote on each issue is can be identified and | ||||||
12 | recorded. | ||||||
13 | (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48 | ||||||
14 | hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held | ||||||
15 | pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all | ||||||
16 | members of the public body, shall be posted in compliance | ||||||
17 | with subsection (a) of Section 2.02 on the website of the | ||||||
18 | public body , and shall also be provided to any news media | ||||||
19 | who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to | ||||||
20 | subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. For a | ||||||
21 | determination made by a chief elected or appointed | ||||||
22 | official under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this | ||||||
23 | subsection (e), the meeting notice and agenda shall | ||||||
24 | include the following: (i) all information necessary for | ||||||
25 | the public to access the audio or video conference, | ||||||
26 | including, but not limited to, the telephone number, |
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1 | web-based link, meeting identification number, passcode, | ||||||
2 | or other method to obtain access; and (ii) for meetings | ||||||
3 | conducted without the public present at the meeting | ||||||
4 | location pursuant to paragraphs (4) and (5) of this | ||||||
5 | subsection (e), all additional specific information | ||||||
6 | necessary for members of the public to provide public | ||||||
7 | comment or address the public body as authorized by | ||||||
8 | subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by telephone | ||||||
9 | number, web-based link, email, or written comment. If the | ||||||
10 | public body declares a bona fide emergency: | ||||||
11 | (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection | ||||||
12 | (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding | ||||||
13 | officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the | ||||||
14 | beginning of the meeting. | ||||||
15 | (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim | ||||||
16 | recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of | ||||||
17 | this Act. | ||||||
18 | (8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting | ||||||
19 | by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant | ||||||
20 | to this Section shall be is considered present at the | ||||||
21 | meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and | ||||||
22 | participating in all proceedings. | ||||||
23 | (9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings | ||||||
24 | under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings | ||||||
25 | under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record | ||||||
26 | of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video |
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1 | recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9) | ||||||
2 | shall be made available to the public under, and are | ||||||
3 | otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06. | ||||||
4 | (10) A determination by the chief elected or appointed | ||||||
5 | official of the public body, consistent with subparagraph | ||||||
6 | (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (e), shall be | ||||||
7 | required for any subsidiary body of the public body to | ||||||
8 | conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video | ||||||
9 | conference in accordance with this subsection (e). | ||||||
10 | (11) (10) The public body shall bear all costs | ||||||
11 | associated with compliance with this subsection (e).
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12 | (Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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13 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
14 | becoming law. |