Sen. Scott M. Bennett

Filed: 4/15/2015

 

 


 

 


 
09900SB1339sam002LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1339

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1339 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 2 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

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

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 3 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1    (b) Public notice shall be given by posting a copy of the
2notice at the principal office of the body holding the meeting
3or, if no such office exists, at the building in which the
4meeting is to be held. In addition, a public body that has a
5website that the full-time staff of the public body maintains
6shall post notice on its website of all meetings of the
7governing body of the public body. Any notice of an annual
8schedule of meetings shall remain on the website until a new
9public notice of the schedule of regular meetings is approved.
10Any notice of a regular meeting that is posted on a public
11body's website shall remain posted on the website until the
12regular meeting is concluded. The body shall supply copies of
13the notice of its regular meetings, and of the notice of any
14special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meeting, to any
15news medium that has filed an annual request for such notice.
16Any such news medium shall also be given the same notice of all
17special, emergency, rescheduled or reconvened meetings in the
18same manner as is given to members of the body provided such
19news medium has given the public body an address or telephone
20number within the territorial jurisdiction of the public body
21at which such notice may be given. The failure of a public body
22to post on its website notice of any meeting or the agenda of
23any meeting shall not invalidate any meeting or any actions
24taken at a meeting.
25    (c) Any agenda required under this Section shall set forth
26the general subject matter of any resolution or ordinance that

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 4 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1will be the subject of final action at the meeting. The public
2body conducting a public meeting shall ensure that at least one
3copy of any requested notice and agenda for the meeting is
4continuously available for public review during the entire
548-hour period preceding the meeting, or during the entire
672-hour period preceding the meeting for those public bodies
7subject to Section 2.07 of this Act. Posting of the notice and
8agenda on a website that is maintained by the public body
9satisfies the requirement for continuous posting under this
10subsection (c). If a notice or agenda is not continuously
11available for the full 48-hour or 72-hour period due to actions
12outside of the control of the public body, then that lack of
13availability does not invalidate any meeting or action taken at
14a meeting.
15(Source: P.A. 97-827, eff. 1-1-13.)
 
16    (5 ILCS 120/2.07 new)
17    Sec. 2.07. Video of meetings; posting of agendas.
18    (a) This Section shall apply to only public bodies to which
19the Governor makes at least one appointment to the body that is
20subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
21    (b) Each public body shall post video of its meetings on
22the public body's official website within 2 business days
23following the scheduled beginning of the meeting. This
24requirement shall not apply to portions of the meeting that are
25properly closed pursuant to this Act. Each public body must

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 5 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1keep the video of each meeting on its official website for a
2period of 2 years after the meeting date or until the meeting
3has been reduced to written minutes in compliance with
4subsection (a) of Section 2.06 of this Act or written
5transcripts, whichever is later. After the video is removed
6from the official website, the public body must retain the
7video of each meeting for a period of at least 5 years after
8the meeting date. Such video shall be available to the public
9upon request.
10    (c) Each public body must post its meeting agenda on its
11official website at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. In the
12case of an emergency meeting, each public body must post that
13agenda as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the
14holding of such meeting.
15    (d) The failure of a public body to provide video or to
16post meeting agendas due to technical difficulties shall not
17invalidate any meeting or any actions taken at the meeting.
18    (e) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any
19public body meetings occurring before the effective date of
20this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.
 
21    (5 ILCS 120/3.5)
22    Sec. 3.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
23    (a) A person who believes that a violation of this Act by a
24public body has occurred may file a request for review with the
25Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 6 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1Attorney General not later than 60 days after the alleged
2violation. The request for review must be in writing, must be
3signed by the requester, and must include a summary of the
4facts supporting the allegation.
5    (a-5) A person who believes that a violation of Section
62.07 of this Act has occurred may file a request for review
7with the Public Access counselor for the purpose of reviewing
8whether the public body timely posted its agenda.
9    (b) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access
10Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted.
11If the Public Access Counselor determines from the request for
12review that the alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall
13so advise the requester and the public body and no further
14action shall be undertaken. In all other cases, the Public
15Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for review
16to the public body within 7 working days. The Public Access
17Counselor shall specify the records or other documents that the
18public body shall furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7
19working days after receipt of the request for review, the
20public body shall provide copies of the records requested and
21shall otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access
22Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish specified records
23pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise necessary, the
24Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any person or public
25body having knowledge of or records pertaining to an alleged
26violation of this Act. For purposes of conducting a thorough

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 7 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1review, the Public Access Counselor has the same right to
2examine a verbatim recording of a meeting closed to the public
3or the minutes of a closed meeting as does a court in a civil
4action brought to enforce this Act.
5    (c) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a
6request for review and request for production of records from
7the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not
8required to, answer the allegations of the request for review.
9The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum.
10Upon request, the public body may also furnish the Public
11Access Counselor with a redacted copy of the answer excluding
12specific references to any matters at issue. The Public Access
13Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer or redacted
14answer, if furnished, to the person submitting the request for
15review. The requester may, but is not required to, respond in
16writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a
17copy of the response to the public body.
18    (d) In addition to the request for review, and the answer
19and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body
20may furnish affidavits and records concerning any matter
21germane to the review.
22    (e) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by
23no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the
24requester and public body that includes a statement of the
25reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address
26the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 8 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records,
2shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall
3issue to the requester and the public body an opinion within 60
4days after initiating review. The opinion shall be binding upon
5both the requester and the public body, subject to
6administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act.
7    In responding to any written request under this Section
83.5, the Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion
9and choose to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a
10means other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The
11decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be
12reviewable.
13    Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a
14violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall
15either take necessary action as soon as practical to comply
16with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate
17administrative review under Section 7.5. If the opinion
18concludes that no violation of the Act has occurred, the
19requester may initiate administrative review under Section
207.5.
21    (f) If the requester files suit under Section 3 with
22respect to the same alleged violation that is the subject of a
23pending request for review, the requester shall notify the
24Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall
25take no further action with respect to the request for review
26and shall so notify the public body.

 

 

09900SB1339sam002- 9 -LRB099 10614 JLK 33873 a

1    (g) Records that are obtained by the Public Access
2Counselor from a public body for purposes of addressing a
3request for review under this Section 3.5 may not be disclosed
4to the public, including the requester, by the Public Access
5Counselor. Those records, while in the possession of the Public
6Access Counselor, shall be exempt from disclosure by the Public
7Access Counselor under the Freedom of Information Act.
8    (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions
9to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review
10may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the
11head of the public body or its attorney. The request must
12contain sufficient accurate facts from which a determination
13can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional
14information from the public body in order to facilitate the
15review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory
16opinion of the Attorney General in complying with the
17requirements of this Act is not liable for penalties under this
18Act, so long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have
19been fully and fairly disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
20(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
221, 2016.".