General Assembly Considering Bill to Require All Local Ordinances & Resolutions be Filed with State

February 13, 2014

The Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate are currently considering similar bills which, if passed and signed by the Governor, would require counties, municipalities, and townships to file all ordinances, resolutions, and other laws passed by those bodies with the office of the State Comptroller.

House Bill 4572 and Senate Bill 2967 would require these filings to be done in an electronic format so they could be posted on the Comptroller's website.

It is not clear as to whether the local governments would be required to provide copies of local laws already passed in addition to those enacted going forward, but it is clear that the deadline for the first wave of filings would be on or before June 1, 2015, with quarterly updates required beginning October 15, 2015. 

If the information is not provided, the Comptroller may institute financial penalties.

At first glance, these bills (again, if enacted into law) may cause certain public bodies to invest in additional software/computers, and the bills would not remove any obligation for the public bodies to continue to house the records in their offices or to provide this information to anyone who should request it through the Freedom of Information Act.

Heyl Royster will continue to monitor this and other bills that may influence your local government. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Click to view both bills: House Bill 4572 and Senate Bill 2967