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| Public Act 103-0557 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Department of Natural Resources | ||||
(Conservation) Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of | ||||
Illinois is amended by adding Section 805-72 as follows: | ||||
(20 ILCS 805/805-72 new) | ||||
Sec. 805-72. Lyme Disease Innovation Program. | ||||
(a) The Department shall consult with the Department of | ||||
Agriculture, the Department of Public Health, and members of | ||||
the University of Illinois' INHS Medical Entomology Program to | ||||
establish the Lyme Disease Innovation Program no later than | ||||
one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||||
103rd General Assembly. The Department shall contract with an | ||||
Illinois not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to raise | ||||
awareness of tick-borne diseases with the public and the | ||||
medical community to operate the Program. The Program's | ||||
purpose is to raise awareness with the public and to assist | ||||
persons at risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases | ||||
with education and awareness materials and campaigns while | ||||
developing evidence-based approaches that are cost-effective. | ||||
(b) The Program shall implement a statewide interagency | ||||
and multipronged approach to combat Lyme disease and other | ||||
tick-borne diseases in Illinois, including adopting an | ||
evidence-based model that recognizes the key roles that | ||
patients, advocates, and not-for-profit organizations have in | ||
fighting Lyme disease and tick-borne diseases. The Program's | ||
objectives include issuing grants, subject to the approval of | ||
the Department, to State agencies and Illinois not-for profit | ||
organizations from moneys in the Lyme Disease Awareness Fund, | ||
which is hereby established as a special fund in the State | ||
treasury, and other appropriations for the following purposes: | ||
(1) Bringing awareness of Lyme disease and tick-borne | ||
diseases by any one or more of the following methods: | ||
(A) creating innovative ideas and collaborations | ||
for raising awareness about risks and prevention; | ||
(B) amplifying and improving access to essential | ||
information supporting innovations in prevention, | ||
education, and care with open data and science; | ||
(C) fostering the development of new, | ||
community-based education and prevention efforts; and | ||
(D) using programs, website advertising, | ||
pamphlets, or other methods to increase the awareness | ||
of Lyme disease and tick-borne diseases; | ||
(2) Engaging stakeholders to facilitate | ||
patient-centered innovations by (i) building trust among | ||
stakeholders through listening sessions, roundtables, and | ||
other learning approaches that ground innovations in lived | ||
experience, (ii) engaging stakeholders in identifying | ||
current areas of need to promote targeted innovations that | ||
will make real-world improvements in quality of care, and | ||
(iii) gaining insight into patient needs and priorities | ||
through stakeholders' collective wisdom and applying that | ||
wisdom in shaping future innovation challenges and events. | ||
(3) Advancing stakeholder driven interdisciplinary and | ||
interagency collaborations by providing resources to | ||
not-for-profit organizations whose purpose is to raise | ||
awareness of tick-borne diseases with the public and the | ||
medical community in order to (i) facilitate the | ||
stakeholder engagement and collaborations and | ||
patient-centered innovations and support groups, (ii) | ||
identify ways to better collect and share data while | ||
raising awareness of tick-borne illnesses, and (iii) | ||
assist with the development of outreach and education | ||
materials and approaches for State agencies. | ||
(4) The University of Illinois' INHS Medical | ||
Entomology Program maintaining a passive tick and | ||
tick-borne pathogen surveillance program, based on ticks | ||
contributed by the Illinois public, and including tick | ||
identifications and disease-agent testing of a subset of | ||
identified ticks; compiling evidence and conducting | ||
research on tick bite prevention and risk of tick and | ||
tick-borne pathogen exposure; and providing evidence, | ||
results, and analysis and insight from both the passive | ||
surveillance program, on tick species and tick-borne | ||
disease-agent distributions and diversity in the State, | ||
and its related research on tick bite exposure and | ||
prevention, to support the Lyme Disease Innovation Program | ||
objectives. | ||
(c) The Program shall be funded through moneys deposited | ||
into the Lyme Disease Awareness Fund and other appropriations. | ||
The not-for-profit organization contracted with to operate the | ||
Program shall be paid, subject to the approval of the | ||
Department, for its operation of the Program from moneys | ||
deposited into the Fund or from other appropriations. | ||
The University of Illinois' Prairie Research Institute | ||
shall be paid, subject to the approval of the Department, for | ||
the INHS Medical Entomology Program's operation of a passive | ||
tick surveillance and research program from moneys deposited | ||
into the Fund or from other appropriations. | ||
(d) The Department must adopt rules to implement this | ||
Section. | ||
(e) The requirements of this Section are subject to | ||
appropriation by the General Assembly being made to the | ||
Department to implement the requirements. | ||
Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||
Section 5.990 as follows: | ||
(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new) | ||
Sec. 5.990. The Lyme Disease Awareness Fund. | ||
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law. | ||