HB1038ham001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Executive Committee

Filed: 3/16/2005

09400HB1038ham001 LRB094 07115 JAM 43892 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1038

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1038 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Sections 1.02, 2.01, 2.05, and 2.06 and by adding Section 7 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)

Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act:

"Meeting" means any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof. "Public body" includes tourism boards and convention or civic center boards located in counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations of more than 250,000 but less than 300,000. "Public body" includes the Health Facilities Planning Board. "Public body" does not include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child Death Review Team Act or an ethics commission acting under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-468, eff. 8-22-01; 93-617, eff. 12-9-03.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.01) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.01)

Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient and open to the public. No meeting required by this Act to be public shall be held on a legal holiday unless the regular meeting day falls on that holiday.

A quorum of members of a public body must be physically present at the location of the meeting. Other members who are not physically present at the meeting may participate in the meeting and vote on all matters, if they are voting members, by means of a video or audio conference.

(Source: P.A. 88-621, eff. 1-1-95.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.05) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.05)

Sec. 2.05. Recording meetings. Subject to the provisions of Section 8-701 of the Code of Civil Procedure "An Act in relation to the rights of witnesses at proceedings conducted by a court, commission, administrative agency or other tribunal in this State which are televised or broadcast or at which motion pictures are taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended, any person may record the proceedings at meetings required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means. The authority holding the meeting shall prescribe reasonable rules to govern the right to make such recordings.

If a witness at any meeting required to be open by this Act which is conducted by a commission, administrative agency or other tribunal, refuses to testify on the grounds that he may not be compelled to testify if any portion of his testimony is to be broadcast or televised or if motion pictures are to be taken of him while he is testifying, the authority holding the meeting shall prohibit such recording during the testimony of the witness. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to extend the right to refuse to testify at any meeting not subject to the provisions of Section 8-701 of the Code of Civil Procedure "An Act in relation to the rights of witnesses at proceedings conducted by a court, commission, administrative agency or other tribunal in this State which are televised or broadcast or at which motion pictures are taken", approved July 14, 1953, as amended.

(Source: P.A. 82-378.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.06) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)

Sec. 2.06. Minutes. (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) the date, time and place of the meeting;

(2) the members of the public body recorded as either present or absent and whether the members were physically present or present by means of video or audio conference; and

(3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.

(b) The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available for public inspection within 7 days of the approval of such minutes by the public body.

(c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without notification to or the approval of a records commission or the State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the meeting recorded but only after:

(1) the public body approves the destruction of a particular recording; and

(2) the public body approves minutes of the closed meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) Each public body shall periodically, but no less than semi-annually, meet to review minutes of all closed meetings. At such meetings a determination shall be made, and reported in an open session that (1) the need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part of those minutes or (2) that the minutes or portions thereof no longer require confidential treatment and are available for public inspection.

(e) Unless the public body has made a determination that the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential treatment or otherwise consents to disclosure, the verbatim record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for public inspection or subject to discovery in any administrative or judicial proceeding other than one brought to enforce this Act. In the case of a civil action brought to enforce this Act, the court, if the judge believes such an examination is necessary, must conduct such in camera examination of the verbatim record as it finds appropriate in order to determine whether there has been a violation of this Act. In the case of a criminal proceeding, the court may conduct an examination in order to determine what portions, if any, must be made available to the parties for use as evidence in the prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held in camera. If the court determines that a complaint or suit brought for noncompliance under this Act is valid it may, for the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify under the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this subsection do not supersede the privacy or confidentiality provisions of State or federal law.

(f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be available only after the public body determines that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy of an individual by keeping them confidential.

(Source: P.A. 93-523, eff. 1-1-04; 93-974, eff. 1-1-05.)

(5 ILCS 120/7 new)

Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical presence.

(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is physically present at the place designated in the notice of the meeting, a majority of the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the meeting by other means if the member is prevented from physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other means" is by video or audio conference.

(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the public body before the meeting unless advance notice is impractical.

(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of additional notice to the public or further facilitate public access to meetings.".