Bill Text: IL SB1619 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, so long as the following additional requirements are met: (1) the public body makes available a dedicated meeting space where those individuals who do not have access to the Internet may participate in the meeting; (2) the public body ensures that a means of remote participation other than audio-only communication is made available to those individuals who are interested in participating in the meeting; (3) the public body ensures that all cameras used for remote participation are operating properly; and (4) the public body maintains a written record of those individuals who participated in the meeting and a description of whether those individuals participated in person or by remote means. Makes technical and other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-31 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB1619 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1619-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1619 Introduced 2/8/2023, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 120/7
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that an open or closed meeting may be conducted by audio or video conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, so long as the following additional requirements are met: (1) the public body makes available a dedicated meeting space where those individuals who do not have access to the Internet may participate in the meeting; (2) the public body ensures that a means of remote participation other than audio-only communication is made available to those individuals who are interested in participating in the meeting; (3) the public body ensures that all cameras used for remote participation are operating properly; and (4) the public body maintains a written record of those individuals who participated in the meeting and a description of whether those individuals participated in person or by remote means. Makes technical and other changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning government.
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
Section 7 as follows:
(5 ILCS 120/7)
Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
presence.
(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other
means" is by video or audio conference.
(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
impractical.
(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The

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rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
access to meetings.
(d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
bodies that do not have authority to make binding
recommendations or determinations or to take any other
substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the

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body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
legislation.
(e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but
notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
members, so long as the following conditions are met:
(1) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois
Department of Public Health has issued a disaster
declaration related to public health concerns because of a
disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction
of the public body is covered by the disaster area;
(2) the head of the public body as defined in
subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information
Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent
because of a disaster;
(3) all members of the body participating in the
meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
verified and can hear one another and can hear all
discussion and testimony;
(4) for open meetings, members of the public present

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at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all
discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of
the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting
location is not feasible due to the disaster, including
the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public
body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice
pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements
in a manner to allow any interested member of the public
access to contemporaneously hear all discussion,
testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a
telephone number or a web-based link;
(5) there shall be physically present at the regular
meeting location at least one member of the body or, if a
greater number of members is required under the rules of
the public body to be physically present at the regular
meeting location, that greater number of members of the
public body, unless infeasible due to the disaster or the
issued disaster declaration; , chief legal counsel, or
chief administrative officer is physically present at the
regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the
disaster, including the issued disaster declaration; and
(5.5) there shall be physically present at the regular
meeting location the chief legal counsel of the public
body or the chief administrative officer of the public
body, unless infeasible due to the disaster or the issued
disaster declaration;

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(6) all votes shall be are conducted by roll call, and
, so each member's vote on each issue shall can be
identified and recorded; .
(7) the public body, except in the case in which it
declares a bona fide emergency, shall give Except in the
event of a bona fide emergency, 48 hours' notice shall be
given of a meeting to be held pursuant to this Section, and
that notice . Notice shall be given to all members of the
public body, shall be posted on the website of the public
body, and shall also be provided to any news medium that
media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to
subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act; . If the public
body declares a bona fide emergency:
(A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
(a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the
beginning of the meeting.
(B) The public body must comply with the verbatim
recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
this Act.
(7.5) the public body, in the case in which it
declares a bona fide emergency, shall give notice pursuant
to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, shall have
the presiding officer state the nature of the emergency at
the beginning of the meeting, and shall comply with the
verbatim recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06

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of this Act;
(8) each Each member of the body participating in a
meeting by audio or video conference for a meeting held
pursuant to this Section shall be is considered present at
the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and
participating in all proceedings; .
(9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings
under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings
under this subsection (e) must also keep the public body,
in addition to the requirements for open meetings under
Section 2.06, shall keep a verbatim record of its all
their meetings in the form of an audio or video recording,
and those records . Verbatim records made under this
paragraph (9) shall be made available to the public under,
and are otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section
2.06; .
(10) the The public body shall bear all costs
associated with compliance with this subsection (e); .
(11) the public body shall make available a dedicated
meeting space where those individuals who do not have
access to the Internet may participate in the meeting;
(12) the public body shall ensure that a means of
remote participation other than audio-only communication
is made available to those individuals who are interested
in participating in the meeting;
(13) the public body shall ensure that all cameras

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used for remote participation are operating properly; and
(14) the public body shall maintain a written record
of those individuals who participated in the meeting and a
description of whether those individuals participated in
person or by remote means.
(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)