|
|
||||
| Public Act 094-0369 |
||||
| ||||
| ||||
AN ACT concerning public health.
| ||||
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||
Section 5. The Radon Industry Licensing Act is amended by | ||||
changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, 50, 55, 60, | ||||
65, and 70 as follows:
| ||||
(420 ILCS 44/5)
| ||||
Sec. 5. Legislative declaration. The General Assembly | ||||
declares that it is
in the interest of the people of Illinois | ||||
to establish a comprehensive program
for determining the extent | ||||
to which radon and radon progeny are present
in dwellings and | ||||
other buildings in Illinois at concentrations
levels that pose | ||||
a
potential risk to the occupants and for determining measures | ||||
that can be taken
to reduce and prevent such risk. The General | ||||
Assembly also finds that public
concerns over the dangers from | ||||
radon and radon progeny may give rise to
unscrupulous practices | ||||
that exploit those concerns but do not mitigate the
dangers | ||||
from radon and radon progeny.
It is therefore declared to be
| ||||
the public policy of this State that in order to
safeguard the | ||||
health, property, and public welfare of its citizens, persons
| ||||
engaged in the
business of measuring
detecting the presence of | ||||
radon or radon progeny in dwellings and
reducing the presence | ||||
of radon and radon progeny in the indoor
atmosphere
shall be | ||||
regulated by the State through licensing requirements.
| ||||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||||
(420 ILCS 44/10)
| ||||
Sec. 10. Primary responsibility with Illinois Emergency | ||||
Management Agency
Department of Nuclear Safety. The
Illinois | ||||
Emergency Management Agency
Department shall have primary | ||||
responsibility for coordination, oversight, and
implementation | ||||
of all State functions in matters concerning the presence,
| ||||
effects, measurement, and mitigation of risks of radon and | ||
radon progeny in
dwellings and other buildings. The Department | ||
of Natural Resources,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the | ||
Department of Public Health, and other
State agencies shall | ||
consult and cooperate with the Agency
Department as requested | ||
and
as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/15)
| ||
Sec. 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the | ||
context
requires otherwise:
| ||
(a) "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management | ||
Agency
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Nuclear | ||
Safety.
| ||
(b) "Client" means any person who contracts for measurement | ||
or mitigation services. | ||
(c) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency | ||
Management Agency.
| ||
(d)
(b) "Interfere" means to adversely or potentially
| ||
adversely impact the successful completion of an indoor radon | ||
measurement by
changing the radon or radon progeny | ||
concentrations or altering the performance
of measurement | ||
equipment or an indoor radon mitigation system installation or
| ||
operation.
| ||
(e)
(c) "Laboratory analysis" means the act of analyzing | ||
the
determining radon or radon
progeny concentrations with
in | ||
air, water, soil, or passive radon testing devices, or the act | ||
of calibrating radon or radon progeny measurement devices, or
| ||
the act of exposing radon or radon progeny devices to known | ||
concentrations of
radon or radon progeny as a compensated | ||
service.
| ||
(f)
(d) "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering | ||
a building or
building design for the purpose in whole or in | ||
part of reducing the
concentration of radon in the indoor | ||
atmosphere.
| ||
(g)
(e) "Person" means entities, including, but not limited | ||
to, an individual, company, corporation, firm, group, | ||
association, partnership,
joint venture, trust, or government | ||
agency or subdivision.
| ||
(h)
(f) "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product | ||
of uranium
or thorium.
| ||
(i)
(g) "Radon contractor" or "contractor" means a person | ||
licensed to perform
radon or
radon progeny mitigation or to | ||
perform radon measurements of
to detect radon or
radon progeny | ||
in an indoor atmosphere.
| ||
(j)
(h) "Radon progeny" means any combination of the | ||
radioactive decay products
of radon.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/20)
| ||
Sec. 20. General powers.
| ||
(a) The Agency
Department may undertake
projects to | ||
determine whether and to what extent radon and radon progeny | ||
are
present in dwellings and other buildings, to determine to | ||
what
extent their presence constitutes a risk to public health, | ||
and to determine
what measures are effective in reducing and | ||
preventing the risk to public
health.
| ||
(b) In addition
to other powers granted under this Act, the | ||
Agency
Department is authorized to:
| ||
(1) Establish a program for measuring radon or radon | ||
progeny in dwellings
and other buildings.
| ||
(2) Conduct surveys and studies in cooperation with the | ||
Department of
Natural Resources and the Department of | ||
Public Health to determine the
distribution and | ||
concentration of radon or radon progeny in dwellings and
| ||
other buildings and the associated health risk and to | ||
evaluate
measures that may be used to mitigate a present or | ||
potential health risk.
| ||
(3) Enter into dwellings and other buildings with the | ||
consent of the owner
or occupant to engage in monitoring | ||
activities or to conduct remedial action
studies or | ||
programs.
| ||
(4) Enter into contracts for projects undertaken | ||
pursuant to subsection
(a).
| ||
(5) Enter into agreements with other departments, | ||
agencies, and
subdivisions of
the federal government, the | ||
State, and units of local government to implement
this Act.
| ||
(6) Establish training and educational programs.
| ||
(7) Apply for, accept, and use grants or other | ||
financial assistance and
accept and use gifts of money or | ||
property to implement this Act.
| ||
(8) Provide technical assistance to persons and to | ||
other State
departments,
agencies, political subdivisions, | ||
units of local government, and
school
districts.
| ||
(9) Prescribe forms for application for a license
| ||
licensure.
| ||
(10) Establish the minimum qualifications for
a | ||
license
licensure, including requirements for examinations | ||
or performance testing, and
issue licenses to persons found | ||
to be qualified.
| ||
(10.5) Investigate any unlicensed activity.
| ||
(11) Conduct hearings or proceedings to revoke, | ||
suspend, or
refuse to
issue
or renew a license, or assess | ||
civil penalties.
| ||
(12) Adopt rules for the administration and
| ||
enforcement of this Act.
| ||
(13) Establish by rule fees to recover the cost of the | ||
application and inspection
fees for the licensing program.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/25)
| ||
Sec. 25. License requirement. Beginning January 1, 1998, no | ||
person
shall sell a device or
perform a service for | ||
compensation to detect the presence of radon or radon
progeny | ||
in the indoor atmosphere, perform laboratory analysis, or | ||
perform a service to reduce the
presence of radon or radon
| ||
progeny in the indoor atmosphere unless the
person has been | ||
licensed by the
Agency
Department. The application procedures | ||
for a license
licensure shall be established
by rule of the | ||
Agency
Department. This Section does not apply to retail stores | ||
that only sell or distribute radon sampling devices but are not | ||
engaged in a relationship with the client for other services | ||
such as home inspection or representation as in a real estate | ||
transaction and that do not perform laboratory analysis, | ||
measurement, or mitigation services.
This Section does not | ||
apply to
persons selling or
distributing, but not placing, | ||
radon sampling devices supplied by a laboratory
if the results | ||
of the laboratory analysis are reported directly to the owner | ||
or
occupant of the building sampled.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/30)
| ||
Sec. 30. Reporting of information. Within 45 days after | ||
testing for
radon or radon progeny, a
person
performing the | ||
testing shall report to his or her client
the owner or occupant | ||
of the building
the
results of the testing. In addition, if the | ||
client is not the owner or occupant of the building, a person | ||
shall report to the owner or occupant upon request. To the | ||
extent that the testing results contain
information pertaining
| ||
to the medical condition of an identified individual or the | ||
concentration
level of radon
or radon progeny in an
identified | ||
dwelling, information obtained by the Agency
Department
| ||
pursuant to this
Act is exempt from the disclosure requirements | ||
of the Freedom of Information
Act, except that the
Agency
| ||
Department shall make the information available to the | ||
identified individual or
the owner or occupant on request.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/35)
| ||
Sec. 35. Penalties.
| ||
(a) A person required to be licensed under Section 25 of | ||
this Act who
sells a device or performs a service without being | ||
properly licensed under this
Act may be assessed a civil | ||
penalty by the Agency not to the exclusion of any other penalty | ||
authorized by law
shall, in addition to any other penalty | ||
provided by law, pay a civil
penalty to the
Department in an | ||
amount not to exceed $5,000, for each offense, as determined
by
| ||
the Agency
Department. Any person assessed a civil penalty | ||
under this Section shall
be afforded an opportunity for hearing | ||
in accordance with Agency
Department
regulations prior to final | ||
action by the Agency
Department. The civil penalty must be
paid | ||
within 30 days after the order becomes a final and binding | ||
administrative
determination.
| ||
(b) A person who violates a provision of this
Act shall be | ||
guilty of a business offense and may
shall be
fined not less | ||
than $500 nor more than $1,000 for the first offense and shall
| ||
be
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense.
| ||
Each day that a violation continues constitutes a
separate | ||
offense. A
licensed radon contractor found guilty of a | ||
violation of
a provision of this Act may
shall automatically
| ||
have his or her license terminated
by the Agency
Department.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/45)
| ||
Sec. 45. Grounds for disciplinary action. The Agency
| ||
Department may refuse to
issue or to renew, or may revoke, | ||
suspend, place on probation, reprimand or
take other | ||
disciplinary action as the Agency
Department may deem proper, | ||
including
fines not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, with | ||
regard to any license for
any one or combination of the | ||
following causes:
| ||
(a) Violation of this Act or its rules.
| ||
(b) Conviction of a crime under the laws of any United | ||
States jurisdiction
that is
a felony or a misdemeanor, an | ||
essential element of which is
dishonesty, or of any crime that | ||
directly relates to the practice of
detecting or reducing the | ||
presence of radon or radon progeny.
| ||
(c) Making a misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining | ||
a license.
| ||
(d) Professional incompetence or gross negligence in the | ||
practice of
detecting or reducing the presence of radon or | ||
radon progeny.
| ||
(e) Gross malpractice, prima facie evidence of which may be | ||
a conviction or
judgment of malpractice in a court of competent | ||
jurisdiction.
| ||
(f) Aiding or assisting another person in violating a | ||
provision of this
Act or its rules.
| ||
(g) Failing, within 60 days, to provide information in | ||
response to a written
request made by the Agency
Department | ||
that has been sent by certified or registered
mail to the | ||
licensee's last known address.
| ||
(h) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional | ||
conduct of a
character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the | ||
public.
| ||
(i) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol, | ||
narcotics,
stimulants,
or any other chemical agent or drug that | ||
results in the inability to practice
with reasonable judgment, | ||
skill, or safety.
| ||
(j) Discipline by another United States jurisdiction or | ||
foreign nation, if
at least
one of the grounds for the | ||
discipline is the same or substantially equivalent
to those set | ||
forth in this Section.
| ||
(k) Directly or indirectly giving to or receiving from a | ||
person, firm,
corporation, partnership, or association any | ||
fee, commission, rebate, or other
form of compensation for a | ||
professional service not actually or personally
rendered.
| ||
(l) A finding by the Agency
Department that the licensee | ||
has violated the terms of a license , after having his or her
| ||
license
placed on probationary status, has violated the terms | ||
of probation.
| ||
(m) Conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, either | ||
within or
outside of this State, of a violation of a law | ||
governing the practice of
detecting or reducing the presence of | ||
radon or radon progeny if the Agency
Department
determines | ||
after investigation that
the person has not been sufficiently | ||
rehabilitated to warrant the public
trust.
| ||
(n) A finding by the Agency
Department that a license
| ||
licensure has been applied for or
obtained by fraudulent
means.
| ||
(o) Practicing or attempting to practice under a name other | ||
than the full
name as shown on the license or any other | ||
authorized name.
| ||
(p) Gross and willful overcharging for professional | ||
services, including
filing false statements for collection of | ||
fees or moneys for which services are
not rendered.
| ||
(q) Failure to file a return or to pay the tax, penalty, or | ||
interest shown
in a filed return, or to pay any final | ||
assessment of tax, penalty, or interest,
as required by a tax | ||
Act administered by the Department of Revenue,
until such time | ||
as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.
| ||
(r) Failure to repay
The Department shall deny an original | ||
or renewal license under this Act
to a
person who has defaulted | ||
on an educational loans
loan guaranteed by the Illinois
Student | ||
Assistance
State Scholarship Commission, as provided in | ||
Section 80 of the Nuclear Safety Law of 2004. However, the | ||
Agency
Department may issue an original or
renewal license if | ||
the person in default has established a satisfactory
repayment
| ||
record as determined by the Illinois Student Assistance
State | ||
Scholarship Commission.
| ||
(s) Failure to meet child support orders, as provided in | ||
Section 10-65 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
| ||
(t) Failure to pay a fee or civil penalty properly assessed | ||
by the Agency.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/50)
| ||
Sec. 50. Summary suspension. The Director may
summarily | ||
suspend the license of a radon contractor without a hearing,
| ||
simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a | ||
hearing, if the
Director finds that evidence in his or her | ||
possession indicates that
continuation of the contractor in
| ||
practice would constitute an imminent danger to the public. If
| ||
the Director summarily suspends a license without a hearing, a | ||
hearing by the
Agency
Department shall be held within 30 days | ||
after the suspension has occurred and
shall be concluded | ||
without appreciable delay.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/55)
| ||
Sec. 55. Liability. The Agency
Department and other persons
| ||
under contract or agreement with the Agency
Department under | ||
this Act, and their
officers,
agents, and employees, shall not | ||
be liable for
conduct in the course of administering or | ||
enforcing this
Act unless the conduct was malicious.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/60)
| ||
Sec. 60. Deposit of moneys. All moneys received by the | ||
Agency
Department under
this Act shall be deposited into the | ||
Radiation Protection Fund and are not
refundable. Moneys | ||
deposited into the Fund may be used by the Agency
Department,
| ||
pursuant to appropriation, for the administration and | ||
enforcement of this Act.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/65)
| ||
Sec. 65. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The | ||
provisions of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act are | ||
hereby expressly adopted and shall
apply to all administrative | ||
rules and procedures of the Agency
Department under this
Act, | ||
except that Section 5-35 of the Illinois Administrative
| ||
Procedure Act, relating to procedures for rulemaking, does not | ||
apply
to the adoption of any rule required by federal law in | ||
connection with which
the Agency
Department is precluded from | ||
exercising any discretion.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
| ||
(420 ILCS 44/70)
| ||
Sec. 70. Administrative Review Law. All final | ||
administrative decisions of
the Agency
Department under this | ||
Act shall be subject to judicial review under
the provisions of
| ||
the Administrative Review Law
and its rules. The term | ||
"administrative
decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the | ||
Code of Civil Procedure.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
| ||
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
| ||