SB1339 EngrossedLRB099 10614 JLK 30847 b

1    AN ACT concerning transparency.
 
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
5Sections 2.02 and 3.5 and by adding Section 2.07 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/2.02)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42.02)
7    Sec. 2.02. Public notice of all meetings, whether open or
8closed to the public, shall be given as follows:
9    (a) Every public body shall give public notice of the
10schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar
11or fiscal year and shall state the regular dates, times, and
12places of such meetings. An agenda for each regular meeting
13shall be posted at the principal office of the public body and
14at the location where the meeting is to be held at least 48
15hours in advance of the holding of the meeting, except as
16otherwise provided in Section 2.07 of this Act. A public body
17that has a website that the full-time staff of the public body
18maintains shall also post on its website the agenda of any
19regular meetings of the governing body of that public body. Any
20agenda of a regular meeting that is posted on a public body's
21website shall remain posted on the website until the regular
22meeting is concluded. The requirement of a regular meeting
23agenda shall not preclude the consideration of items not

 

 

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1specifically set forth in the agenda. Public notice of any
2special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a bona
3fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of
4any reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before
5such meeting, except as otherwise provided in Section 2.07 of
6this Act which notice shall also include the agenda for the
7special, rescheduled, or reconvened meeting, but the validity
8of any action taken by the public body which is germane to a
9subject on the agenda shall not be affected by other errors or
10omissions in the agenda. The requirement of public notice of
11reconvened meetings does not apply to any case where the
12meeting was open to the public and (1) it is to be reconvened
13within 24 hours, or (2) an announcement of the time and place
14of the reconvened meeting was made at the original meeting and
15there is no change in the agenda. Notice of an emergency
16meeting shall be given as soon as practicable, but in any event
17prior to the holding of such meeting, to any news medium which
18has filed an annual request for notice under subsection (b) of
19this Section.
20    (b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the
21notice at the principal office of the body holding the meeting
22or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the
23meeting is to be held. In addition, a public body that has a
24website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains
25shall post notice on its website of all meetings of the
26governing body of the public body. Any notice of an annual

 

 

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1schedule of meetings shall remain on the website until a new
2public notice of the schedule of regular meetings is approved.
3Any notice of a regular meeting that is posted on a public
4body's website shall remain posted on the website until the
5regular meeting is concluded. The body shall supply copies of
6the notice of its regular meetings, and of the notice of any
7special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any
8news medium that has filed an annual request for such notice.
9Any such news medium shall also be given the same notice of all
10special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the
11same manner as is given to members of the body provided such
12news medium has given the public body an address or telephone
13number within the territorial jurisdiction of the public body
14at which such notice may be given. The failure of a public body
15to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of
16any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions
17taken at a meeting.
18    (c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth
19the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that
20will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public
21body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least one
22copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is
23continuously available for public review during the entire
2448-hour period preceding the meeting, or during the entire
2572-hour period preceding the meeting for those public bodies
26subject to Section 2.07 of this Act. Posting of the notice and

 

 

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1agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body
2satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this
3subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously
4available for the full 48-hour or 72-hour period due to actions
5outside of the control of the public body, then that lack of
6availability does not invalidate any meeting or action taken at
7a meeting.
8(Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)
 
9    (5 ILCS 120/2.07 new)
10    Sec. 2.07. Video of meetings; posting of agendas.
11    (a) This Section shall apply to only public bodies to which
12the Governor makes at least one appointment to the body that is
13subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
14    (b) Each public body shall post video of its meetings on
15the public body's official website within 2 business days
16following the scheduled beginning of the meeting. This
17requirement shall not apply to portions of the meeting that are
18properly closed pursuant to this Act. Each public body must
19keep the video of each meeting on its official website for a
20period of 2 years after the meeting date or until the meeting
21has been reduced to written minutes in compliance with
22subsection (a) of Section 2.06 of this Act, whichever is later.
23After the video is removed from the official website, the
24public body must retain the video of each meeting for a period
25of at least 5 years after the meeting date. Such video shall be

 

 

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1available to the public upon request.
2    (c) Each public body must post its meeting agenda on its
3official website at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. In the
4case of an emergency meeting, each public body must post that
5agenda as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the
6holding of such meeting.
7    (d) The failure of a public body to provide video or to
8post meeting agendas due to technical difficulties shall not
9invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at the meeting.
10    (e) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any
11public body meetings occurring before the effective date of
12this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.
 
13    (5 ILCS 120/3.5)
14    Sec. 3.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
15    (a) A person who believes that a violation of this Act by a
16public body has occurred may file a request for review with the
17Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the
18Attorney General not later than 60 days after the alleged
19violation. The request for review must be in writing, must be
20signed by the requester, and must include a summary of the
21facts supporting the allegation.
22    (a-5) A person who believes that a violation of Section
232.07 of this Act has occurred may file a request for review
24with the Public Access Counselor for the purpose of reviewing
25whether the public body timely posted its agenda.

 

 

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1    (b) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access
2Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted.
3If the Public Access Counselor determines from the request for
4review that the alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall
5so advise the requester and the public body and no further
6action shall be undertaken. In all other cases, the Public
7Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for review
8to the public body within 7 working days. The Public Access
9Counselor shall specify the records or other documents that the
10public body shall furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7
11working days after receipt of the request for review, the
12public body shall provide copies of the records requested and
13shall otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access
14Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish specified records
15pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise necessary, the
16Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any person or public
17body having knowledge of or records pertaining to an alleged
18violation of this Act. For purposes of conducting a thorough
19review, the Public Access Counselor has the same right to
20examine a verbatim recording of a meeting closed to the public
21or the minutes of a closed meeting as does a court in a civil
22action brought to enforce this Act.
23    (c) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a
24request for review and request for production of records from
25the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not
26required to, answer the allegations of the request for review.

 

 

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1The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum.
2Upon request, the public body may also furnish the Public
3Access Counselor with a redacted copy of the answer excluding
4specific references to any matters at issue. The Public Access
5Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer or redacted
6answer, if furnished, to the person submitting the request for
7review. The requester may, but is not required to, respond in
8writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a
9copy of the response to the public body.
10    (d) In addition to the request for review, and the answer
11and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body
12may furnish affidavits and records concerning any matter
13germane to the review.
14    (e) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by
15no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the
16requester and public body that includes a statement of the
17reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address
18the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the
19Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records,
20shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall
21issue to the requester and the public body an opinion within 60
22days after initiating review. The opinion shall be binding upon
23both the requester and the public body, subject to
24administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act.
25    In responding to any written request under this Section
263.5, the Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion

 

 

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1and choose to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a
2means other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The
3decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be
4reviewable.
5    Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a
6violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall
7either take necessary action as soon as practical to comply
8with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate
9administrative review under Section 7.5. If the opinion
10concludes that no violation of the Act has occurred, the
11requester may initiate administrative review under Section
127.5.
13    (f) If the requester files suit under Section 3 with
14respect to the same alleged violation that is the subject of a
15pending request for review, the requester shall notify the
16Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall
17take no further action with respect to the request for review
18and shall so notify the public body.
19    (g) Records that are obtained by the Public Access
20Counselor from a public body for purposes of addressing a
21request for review under this Section 3.5 may not be disclosed
22to the public, including the requester, by the Public Access
23Counselor. Those records, while in the possession of the Public
24Access Counselor, shall be exempt from disclosure by the Public
25Access Counselor under the Freedom of Information Act.
26    (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions

 

 

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1to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review
2may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the
3head of the public body or its attorney. The request must
4contain sufficient accurate facts from which a determination
5can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional
6information from the public body in order to facilitate the
7review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory
8opinion of the Attorney General in complying with the
9requirements of this Act is not liable for penalties under this
10Act, so long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have
11been fully and fairly disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
12(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
13    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
141, 2016.