(210 ILCS 50/33)

Sec. 33. Continuation of Act; validation.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1) When the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act was originally enacted by Public Act 81-1518, effective December 15, 1980, it included a Section 25, which repealed the Act on January 1, 1986. This Section appeared in the Laws of Illinois, but was not included in Illinois revised statutes.

(2) Public Act 84-1064, effective November 27, 1985, added a new Section 25, relating to violations and penalties; it did not explicitly refer to or strike out the existing Section 25. The new Section 25 is the only Section 25 to appear in subsequent publications of the Illinois Revised Statutes.

(3) The Statute on Statutes sets forth general rules on the repeal of statutes and the construction of multiple amendments, but Section 1 of that Act also states that these rules will not be observed when the result would be "inconsistent with the manifest intent of the General Assembly or repugnant to the context of the statute".

(4) The General Assembly later amended the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act in Public Act 84-1404, effective September 18, 1986, which contained important provisions for establishing trauma centers throughout the State. The Act has also been amended by every subsequent General Assembly, and has been administered without interruption by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

(5) This history of continuing amendments to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, including the addition of important new programs, clearly manifests the intention of the General Assembly to remove the old Section 25 repealer and have the Act continue in effect beyond January 1, 1986.

(6) The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act contains a number of programs that are essential to the continuing health and safety of the people of this State. Any construction of Section 25 that results in the repeal of the Act on January 1, 1986 would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the General Assembly and repugnant to the context of the statute, and would create serious potential risks to the health and safety of the people of Illinois.

(b) It is hereby declared to have been the intent of the General Assembly, in enacting Public Act 84-1064, that the old Section 25 be replaced by the new Section 25, and that the Act therefore not be subject to repeal on January 1, 1986.

(c) The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act shall be deemed to have been in continuous effect since its enactment, and it shall continue to be in effect henceforward until it is otherwise lawfully repealed. All previously enacted amendments to the Act taking effect on or after January 1, 1986, are hereby validated.

(d) All actions taken in reliance on or pursuant to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act by the Illinois Department of Public Health or any other person or entity are hereby validated.

(e) In order to ensure the continuing effectiveness of this Act, it is set forth in full and re-enacted by this amendatory Act of 1993. This re-enactment is intended as a continuation of the Act. It is not intended to supersede any amendment to the Act that is enacted by the 88th General Assembly.

(f) This Act applies to all claims, civil actions, and proceedings pending on or filed on or before the effective date of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 88-1.)