SB2665 EngrossedLRB103 35673 AWJ 65748 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 7 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/7)
7    Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
8presence.
9    (a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
10physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
11the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
12meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
13physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
14disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
15public body; (iii) a family or other emergency; or (iv)
16unexpected childcare obligations; or (v) performance of active
17military duty as a service member. "Other means" is by video or
18audio conference. As used in this subsection:
19    "Active military duty" has the meaning given to "active
20service" in Section 1-10 of the Service Member Employment and
21Reemployment Rights Act.
22    "Service member" means a resident of Illinois who is a
23member of any component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the

 

 

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1National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, a
2commonwealth, or a territory of the United States.
3    (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
4the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
5public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
6impractical.
7    (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
8attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
9the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The
10rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
11this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
12by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
13additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
14access to meetings.
15    (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
16closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
17jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
18over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
19miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
20a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
21(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
22specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
23(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
24bodies that do not have authority to make binding
25recommendations or determinations or to take any other
26substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public

 

 

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1bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
2with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
34,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
4jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
54,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
6jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
74,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
8meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
9extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the
10body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
11innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
12areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
13Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
14legislation.
15    (e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but
16notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
17meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
18conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
19members, so long as the following conditions are met:
20        (1) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois
21    Department of Public Health has issued a disaster
22    declaration related to public health concerns because of a
23    disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency
24    Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction
25    of the public body is covered by the disaster area;
26        (2) the head of the public body as defined in

 

 

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1    subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information
2    Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
3    conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent
4    because of a disaster;
5        (3) all members of the body participating in the
6    meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
7    verified and can hear one another and can hear all
8    discussion and testimony;
9        (4) for open meetings, members of the public present
10    at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all
11    discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of
12    the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting
13    location is not feasible due to the disaster, including
14    the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public
15    body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice
16    pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements
17    in a manner to allow any interested member of the public
18    access to contemporaneously hear all discussion,
19    testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a
20    telephone number or a web-based link;
21        (5) at least one member of the body, chief legal
22    counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically
23    present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible
24    due to the disaster, including the issued disaster
25    declaration; and
26        (6) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each

 

 

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1    member's vote on each issue can be identified and
2    recorded.
3        (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
4    hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
5    pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
6    members of the public body, shall be posted on the website
7    of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news
8    media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to
9    subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. If the public
10    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 is considered present at the meeting for
21    purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all
22    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) The public body shall bear all costs associated
5    with compliance with this subsection (e).
6(Source: P.A. 103-311, eff. 7-28-23.)