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Committee advances bill to require departments to post custodians of records and ENA documents online
Summary
Board Bill 96, sponsored by Alderman Aldridge, would require departments to list custodians for Sunshine Law requests and post documents related to Economic Notification Authority (ENA) hearings. The committee voted to pass the bill out with a 'do pass' recommendation.
Alderman Aldridge introduced Board Bill 96 on Jan. 28, 2025, proposing that each city department publicly identify its custodian of records for Sunshine Law requests and that documents related to ENA proceedings be posted online prior to hearings.
“A lot of times ... folks that are just trying to get documents ... don't know who to actually submit their sunshine request to because the city website is not updated,” Alderman Aldridge said. He told the committee he had discussed the draft with the registrar and that the registrar “doesn't have an issue with it.” Aldridge said the bill updates an existing listing that omitted offices created after the prior ordinance.
Alderman Cohn asked whether a designated list already exists; the sponsor replied that the departments were included in the board bill but that some departments created after the original ordinance were not listed and this bill would update the list. Alderman Narayan, Alderman Velasquez and others had no substantive objections.
The committee approved a motion to send Board Bill 96 to the full Board of Aldermen with a “do pass” recommendation; the roll call recorded five ayes. The clerk announced “we have 5 aye votes.” The committee instructed the sponsor to remain available for follow-up.
