102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB0482   Introduced 2/23/2021, by Sen. Cristina Castro   SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:   5 ILCS 120/7     Amends the Open Meetings Act. Modifies the requirements 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. Makes conforming changes. LRB102 02713 RJF 12716 b     A BILL FOR
SB0482 LRB102 02713 RJF 12716 b
1		AN ACT concerning government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5		Section 7 as follows:
6		(5 ILCS 120/7)
7		Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
8		presence.
9		(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
10		physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
11		the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
12		meeting by other means if the member is prevented from
13		physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
14		disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
15		public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency. "Other
16		means" is by video or audio conference.
17		(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
18		the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
19		public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
20		impractical.
21		(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
22		attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
23		the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The

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1		rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
2		this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
3		by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
4		additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
5		access to meetings.
6		(d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)
7		closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
8		jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
9		over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
10		miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
11		a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
12		(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
13		specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
14		(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
15		bodies that do not have authority to make binding
16		recommendations or determinations or to take any other
17		substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
18		bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
19		with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
20		4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
21		jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
22		4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
23		jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
24		4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
25		meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
26		extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the

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

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1		(4) for open meetings, members of the public present
2		at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all
3		discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of
4		the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting
5		location is not feasible due to the disaster, including
6		the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public
7		body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice
8		pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements
9		in a manner to allow any interested member of the public
10		access to contemporaneously hear all discussion,
11		testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a
12		telephone number or a web-based link;
13		(5) at least one member of the body, chief legal
14		counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically
15		present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible
16		due to a the disaster, including an the issued disaster
17		declaration; and
18		(6) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each
19		member's vote on each issue can be identified and
20		recorded.
21		(7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
22		hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
23		pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
24		members of the public body, shall be posted on the website
25		of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news
26		media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to

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1		subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. If the public
2		body declares a bona fide emergency:
3		(A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
4		(a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
5		officer shall state the reason why an in-person
6		meeting or meeting conducted under this Act is not
7		practical or prudent or that conducting an audio or
8		video conference is in the best interest of the public
9		body nature of the emergency at the beginning of the
10		meeting.
11		(B) The public body must comply with the verbatim
12		recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
13		this Act.
14		(8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting
15		by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant
16		to this Section is considered present at the meeting for
17		purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all
18		proceedings.
19		(9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings
20		under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings
21		under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record
22		of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video
23		recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9)
24		shall be made available to the public under, and are
25		otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06.
26		(10) The public body shall bear all costs associated

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1		with compliance with this subsection (e).
2		(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 101-640, eff. 6-12-20.)