Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB1408 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB1408 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 5 ILCS 120/7 Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the conditions by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Provides that a meeting may be held without the physical presence of a quorum of the members if, among other requirements, the chief elected or appointed official of the public body determines that an in-person meeting would pose a risk to the health or safety of members of the public body or the public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in the best interests of the public body or the public and public notice of that meeting states the reason or reasons for such determination. Provides that such a determination by the chief elected or appointed official of the public body shall be required for any subsidiary body of the public body to conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference. Specifies further requirements concerning notice and public comment. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 05306 DTM 50324 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB1408 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 5 ILCS 120/7 5 ILCS 120/7 Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the conditions by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Provides that a meeting may be held without the physical presence of a quorum of the members if, among other requirements, the chief elected or appointed official of the public body determines that an in-person meeting would pose a risk to the health or safety of members of the public body or the public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in the best interests of the public body or the public and public notice of that meeting states the reason or reasons for such determination. Provides that such a determination by the chief elected or appointed official of the public body shall be required for any subsidiary body of the public body to conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference. Specifies further requirements concerning notice and public comment. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 05306 DTM 50324 b LRB103 05306 DTM 50324 b A BILL FOR
2	2	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB1408 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	5 ILCS 120/7 5 ILCS 120/7
4	4	5 ILCS 120/7
5	5	Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the conditions by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Provides that a meeting may be held without the physical presence of a quorum of the members if, among other requirements, the chief elected or appointed official of the public body determines that an in-person meeting would pose a risk to the health or safety of members of the public body or the public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in the best interests of the public body or the public and public notice of that meeting states the reason or reasons for such determination. Provides that such a determination by the chief elected or appointed official of the public body shall be required for any subsidiary body of the public body to conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference. Specifies further requirements concerning notice and public comment. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately.
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8	8	A BILL FOR
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10	10	HB1408 LRB103 05306 DTM 50324 b
11	11	1 AN ACT concerning State government.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
15	15	5 Section 7 as follows:
16	16	6 (5 ILCS 120/7)
17	17	7 Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
18	18	8 presence.
19	19	9 (a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
20	20	10 physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
21	21	11 the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
22	22	12 meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
23	23	13 physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
24	24	14 disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
25	25	15 public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other
26	26	16 means" is by video or audio conference.
27	27	17 (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
28	28	18 the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
29	29	19 public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
30	30	20 impractical.
31	31	21 (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
32	32	22 attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
33	33	23 the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The
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37	37	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB1408 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
38	38	5 ILCS 120/7 5 ILCS 120/7
39	39	5 ILCS 120/7
40	40	Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the conditions by which an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of the members. Provides that a meeting may be held without the physical presence of a quorum of the members if, among other requirements, the chief elected or appointed official of the public body determines that an in-person meeting would pose a risk to the health or safety of members of the public body or the public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or video conference is in the best interests of the public body or the public and public notice of that meeting states the reason or reasons for such determination. Provides that such a determination by the chief elected or appointed official of the public body shall be required for any subsidiary body of the public body to conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference. Specifies further requirements concerning notice and public comment. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately.
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43	43	A BILL FOR
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68	68	1 rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
69	69	2 this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
70	70	3 by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
71	71	4 additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
72	72	5 access to meetings.
73	73	6 (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
74	74	7 closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
75	75	8 jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
76	76	9 over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
77	77	10 miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
78	78	11 a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
79	79	12 (D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
80	80	13 specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
81	81	14 (ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
82	82	15 bodies that do not have authority to make binding
83	83	16 recommendations or determinations or to take any other
84	84	17 substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
85	85	18 bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
86	86	19 with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
87	87	20 4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
88	88	21 jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
89	89	22 4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
90	90	23 jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
91	91	24 4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
92	92	25 meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
93	93	26 extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the
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104	104	1 body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
105	105	2 innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
106	106	3 areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
107	107	4 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
108	108	5 legislation.
109	109	6 (e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but
110	110	7 notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
111	111	8 meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
112	112	9 conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
113	113	10 members, so long as the following conditions are met:
114	114	11 (1) Either:
115	115	12 (A) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois
116	116	13 Department of Public Health has issued a disaster
117	117	14 declaration related to public health concerns because
118	118	15 of a disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois
119	119	16 Emergency Management Agency Act, and all or part of
120	120	17 the jurisdiction of the public body is covered by the
121	121	18 disaster area; or
122	122	19 (B) the chief elected or appointed official of the
123	123	20 public body determines that an in-person meeting
124	124	21 conducted under this Act would pose a risk to the
125	125	22 health or safety of members of the public body or the
126	126	23 public and that conducting a meeting by an audio or
127	127	24 video conference is in the best interest of the public
128	128	25 body or the public, and the public notice of any
129	129	26 meeting given under this subparagraph (B) states the
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140	140	1 reason or reasons for such determination.
141	141	2 (2) (Blank). the head of the public body as defined in
142	142	3 subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information
143	143	4 Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
144	144	5 conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent
145	145	6 because of a disaster;
146	146	7 (3) All all members of the body participating in the
147	147	8 meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
148	148	9 verified and can hear one another and can hear all
149	149	10 discussion and testimony. ;
150	150	11 (4) For for open meetings, members of the public
151	151	12 present at the regular meeting location of the body can
152	152	13 hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the
153	153	14 members of the body, or unless attendance at the regular
154	154	15 meeting location is not feasible due to the disaster,
155	155	16 including the issued disaster declaration, in which case
156	156	17 the public body makes arrangements and provides must make
157	157	18 alternative arrangements and provide notice pursuant to
158	158	19 this subsection (e) Section of such alternative
159	159	20 arrangements in a manner to allow any interested member of
160	160	21 the public access to contemporaneously hear all
161	161	22 discussion, testimony, and roll call votes, such as by
162	162	23 offering a telephone number or a web-based link, and to
163	163	24 provide a method and notice by which members of the public
164	164	25 may provide public comment or address the public body as
165	165	26 authorized by subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by
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176	176	1 telephone or web-based link, or by email or written
177	177	2 comment to be read aloud at the meeting, consistent with
178	178	3 the public body's established and recorded rules for
179	179	4 public comment, and to be included in the meeting record. ;
180	180	5 (5) At at least one member of the body, its chief legal
181	181	6 counsel, or an chief administrative officer of the public
182	182	7 body is physically present at the regular meeting
183	183	8 location, unless unfeasible due to the disaster, including
184	184	9 the issued disaster declaration; and .
185	185	10 (6) All all votes are conducted by roll call, and so
186	186	11 each member's vote on each issue is can be identified and
187	187	12 recorded.
188	188	13 (7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
189	189	14 hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
190	190	15 pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
191	191	16 members of the public body, shall be posted in compliance
192	192	17 with subsection (a) of Section 2.02 on the website of the
193	193	18 public body, and shall also be provided to any news media
194	194	19 who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to
195	195	20 subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. For a
196	196	21 determination made by a chief elected or appointed
197	197	22 official under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of this
198	198	23 subsection (e), the meeting notice and agenda shall
199	199	24 include the following: (i) all information necessary for
200	200	25 the public to access the audio or video conference,
201	201	26 including, but not limited to, the telephone number,
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212	212	1 web-based link, meeting identification number, passcode,
213	213	2 or other method to obtain access; and (ii) for meetings
214	214	3 conducted without the public present at the meeting
215	215	4 location pursuant to paragraphs (4) and (5) of this
216	216	5 subsection (e), all additional specific information
217	217	6 necessary for members of the public to provide public
218	218	7 comment or address the public body as authorized by
219	219	8 subsection (g) of Section 2.06, such as by telephone
220	220	9 number, web-based link, email, or written comment. If the
221	221	10 public body declares a bona fide emergency:
222	222	11 (A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
223	223	12 (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
224	224	13 officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the
225	225	14 beginning of the meeting.
226	226	15 (B) The public body must comply with the verbatim
227	227	16 recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
228	228	17 this Act.
229	229	18 (8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting
230	230	19 by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant
231	231	20 to this Section shall be is considered present at the
232	232	21 meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and
233	233	22 participating in all proceedings.
234	234	23 (9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings
235	235	24 under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings
236	236	25 under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record
237	237	26 of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video
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248	248	1 recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9)
249	249	2 shall be made available to the public under, and are
250	250	3 otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06.
251	251	4 (10) A determination by the chief elected or appointed
252	252	5 official of the public body, consistent with subparagraph
253	253	6 (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection (e), shall be
254	254	7 required for any subsidiary body of the public body to
255	255	8 conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video
256	256	9 conference in accordance with this subsection (e).
257	257	10 (11) (10) The public body shall bear all costs
258	258	11 associated with compliance with this subsection (e).
259	259	12 (Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)
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