SB1339eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1339 Engrossed LRB099 10614 JLK 30847 b

AN ACT concerning transparency.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Sections 2.02 and 3.5 and by adding Section 2.07 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/2.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)

Sec. 2.02. Public notice of all meetings, whether open or closed to the public, shall be given as follows:

(a) Every public body shall give public notice of the schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar or fiscal year and shall state the regular dates, times, and places of such meetings. An agenda for each regular meeting shall be posted at the principal office of the public body and at the location where the meeting is to be held at least 48 hours in advance of the holding of the meeting, except as otherwise provided in Section 2.07 of this Act. A public body that has a website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains shall also post on its website the agenda of any regular meetings of the governing body of that public body. Any agenda of a regular meeting that is posted on a public body's website shall remain posted on the website until the regular meeting is concluded. The requirement of a regular meeting agenda shall not preclude the consideration of items not specifically set forth in the agenda. Public notice of any special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a bona fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of any reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before such meeting, except as otherwise provided in Section 2.07 of this Act which notice shall also include the agenda for the special, rescheduled, or reconvened meeting, but the validity of any action taken by the public body which is germane to a subject on the agenda shall not be affected by other errors or omissions in the agenda. The requirement of public notice of reconvened meetings does not apply to any case where the meeting was open to the public and (1) it is to be reconvened within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of the time and place of the reconvened meeting was made at the original meeting and there is no change in the agenda. Notice of an emergency meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice under subsection (b) of this Section.

(b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the notice at the principal office of the body holding the meeting or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held. In addition, a public body that has a website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains shall post notice on its website of all meetings of the governing body of the public body. Any notice of an annual schedule of meetings shall remain on the website until a new public notice of the schedule of regular meetings is approved. Any notice of a regular meeting that is posted on a public body's website shall remain posted on the website until the regular meeting is concluded. The body shall supply copies of the notice of its regular meetings, and of the notice of any special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any news medium that has filed an annual request for such notice. Any such news medium shall also be given the same notice of all special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the same manner as is given to members of the body provided such news medium has given the public body an address or telephone number within the territorial jurisdiction of the public body at which such notice may be given. 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.

(c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least one copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is continuously available for public review during the entire 48-hour period preceding the meeting, or during the entire 72-hour period preceding the meeting for those public bodies subject to Section 2.07 of this Act. Posting of the notice and agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously available for the full 48-hour or 72-hour period due to actions outside of the control of the public body, then that lack of availability does not invalidate any meeting or action taken at a meeting.

(Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)

(5 ILCS 120/2.07 new)

Sec. 2.07. Video of meetings; posting of agendas.

(a) This Section shall apply to only public bodies to which the Governor makes at least one appointment to the body that is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

(b) Each public body shall post video of its meetings on the public body's official website within 2 business days following the scheduled beginning of the meeting. This requirement shall not apply to portions of the meeting that are properly closed pursuant to this Act. Each public body must keep the video of each meeting on its official website for a period of 2 years after the meeting date or until the meeting has been reduced to written minutes in compliance with subsection (a) of Section 2.06 of this Act, whichever is later. After the video is removed from the official website, the public body must retain the video of each meeting for a period of at least 5 years after the meeting date. Such video shall be available to the public upon request.

(c) Each public body must post its meeting agenda on its official website at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. In the case of an emergency meeting, each public body must post that agenda as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the holding of such meeting.

(d) The failure of a public body to provide video or to post meeting agendas due to technical difficulties shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at the meeting.

(e) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any public body meetings occurring before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

(5 ILCS 120/3.5)

Sec. 3.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.

(a) A person who believes that a violation of this Act by a public body has occurred may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the alleged violation. The request for review must be in writing, must be signed by the requester, and must include a summary of the facts supporting the allegation.

(a-5) A person who believes that a violation of Section 2.07 of this Act has occurred may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor for the purpose of reviewing whether the public body timely posted its agenda.

(b) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines from the request for review that the alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the requester and the public body and no further action shall be undertaken. In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for review to the public body within 7 working days. The Public Access Counselor shall specify the records or other documents that the public body shall furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7 working days after receipt of the request for review, the public body shall provide copies of the records requested and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish specified records pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise necessary, the Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any person or public body having knowledge of or records pertaining to an alleged violation of this Act. For purposes of conducting a thorough review, the Public Access Counselor has the same right to examine a verbatim recording of a meeting closed to the public or the minutes of a closed meeting as does a court in a civil action brought to enforce this Act.

(c) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a request for review and request for production of records from the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not required to, answer the allegations of the request for review. The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. Upon request, the public body may also furnish the Public Access Counselor with a redacted copy of the answer excluding specific references to any matters at issue. The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer or redacted answer, if furnished, to the person submitting the request for review. The requester may, but is not required to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.

(d) In addition to the request for review, and the answer and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body may furnish affidavits and records concerning any matter germane to the review.

(e) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the requester and public body that includes a statement of the reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall issue to the requester and the public body an opinion within 60 days after initiating review. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester and the public body, subject to administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act.

In responding to any written request under this Section 3.5, the Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable.

Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall either take necessary action as soon as practical to comply with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative review under Section 7.5. If the opinion concludes that no violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate administrative review under Section 7.5.

(f) If the requester files suit under Section 3 with respect to the same alleged violation that is the subject of a pending request for review, the requester shall notify the Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take no further action with respect to the request for review and shall so notify the public body.

(g) Records that are obtained by the Public Access Counselor from a public body for purposes of addressing a request for review under this Section 3.5 may not be disclosed to the public, including the requester, by the Public Access Counselor. Those records, while in the possession of the Public Access Counselor, shall be exempt from disclosure by the Public Access Counselor under the Freedom of Information Act.

(h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the head of the public body or its attorney. The request must contain sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional information from the public body in order to facilitate the review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory opinion of the Attorney General in complying with the requirements of this Act is not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.