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Public Act 094-0369
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| HB1549 Enrolled |
LRB094 08376 RSP 41086 b |
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AN ACT concerning public health.
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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 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:
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(420 ILCS 44/5)
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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
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the public policy of this State that in order to
safeguard the |
health, property, and public welfare of its citizens, persons
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/10)
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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,
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/15)
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Sec. 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the |
context
requires otherwise:
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(a) "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management |
Agency
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Nuclear |
Safety.
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(b) "Client" means any person who contracts for measurement |
or mitigation services. |
(c) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency |
Management Agency.
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(d)
(b) "Interfere" means to adversely or potentially
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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
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operation.
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(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
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the act of exposing radon or radon progeny devices to known |
concentrations of
radon or radon progeny as a compensated |
service.
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(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.
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(g)
(e) "Person" means entities, including, but not limited |
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to, an individual, company, corporation, firm, group, |
association, partnership,
joint venture, trust, or government |
agency or subdivision.
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(h)
(f) "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product |
of uranium
or thorium.
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(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.
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(j)
(h) "Radon progeny" means any combination of the |
radioactive decay products
of radon.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/20)
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Sec. 20. General powers.
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(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.
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(b) In addition
to other powers granted under this Act, the |
Agency
Department is authorized to:
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(1) Establish a program for measuring radon or radon |
progeny in dwellings
and other buildings.
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(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
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other buildings and the associated health risk and to |
evaluate
measures that may be used to mitigate a present or |
potential health risk.
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(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.
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(4) Enter into contracts for projects undertaken |
pursuant to subsection
(a).
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(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.
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(6) Establish training and educational programs.
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(7) Apply for, accept, and use grants or other |
financial assistance and
accept and use gifts of money or |
property to implement this Act.
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(8) Provide technical assistance to persons and to |
other State
departments,
agencies, political subdivisions, |
units of local government, and
school
districts.
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(9) Prescribe forms for application for a license
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licensure.
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(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.
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(10.5) Investigate any unlicensed activity.
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(11) Conduct hearings or proceedings to revoke, |
suspend, or
refuse to
issue
or renew a license, or assess |
civil penalties.
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(12) Adopt rules for the administration and
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enforcement of this Act.
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(13) Establish by rule fees to recover the cost of the |
application and inspection
fees for the licensing program.
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(Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
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(420 ILCS 44/25)
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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
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progeny in the indoor atmosphere unless the
person has been |
licensed by the
Agency
Department. The application procedures |
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/30)
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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
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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
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pursuant to this
Act is exempt from the disclosure requirements |
of the Freedom of Information
Act, except that the
Agency
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Department shall make the information available to the |
identified individual or
the owner or occupant on request.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/35)
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Sec. 35. Penalties.
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(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 |
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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
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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.
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(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
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be
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense.
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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
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have his or her license terminated
by the Agency
Department.
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(Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
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(420 ILCS 44/45)
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Sec. 45. Grounds for disciplinary action. The Agency
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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:
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(a) Violation of this Act or its rules.
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(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.
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(c) Making a misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining |
a license.
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(d) Professional incompetence or gross negligence in the |
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practice of
detecting or reducing the presence of radon or |
radon progeny.
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(e) Gross malpractice, prima facie evidence of which may be |
a conviction or
judgment of malpractice in a court of competent |
jurisdiction.
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(f) Aiding or assisting another person in violating a |
provision of this
Act or its rules.
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(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.
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(h) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional |
conduct of a
character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the |
public.
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(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.
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(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.
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(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.
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(l) A finding by the Agency
Department that the licensee |
has violated the terms of a license , after having his or her
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license
placed on probationary status, has violated the terms |
of probation.
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(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.
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(n) A finding by the Agency
Department that a license
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licensure has been applied for or
obtained by fraudulent
means.
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(o) Practicing or attempting to practice under a name other |
than the full
name as shown on the license or any other |
authorized name.
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(p) Gross and willful overcharging for professional |
services, including
filing false statements for collection of |
fees or moneys for which services are
not rendered.
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(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.
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(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
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record as determined by the Illinois Student Assistance
State |
Scholarship Commission.
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(s) Failure to meet child support orders, as provided in |
Section 10-65 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
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(t) Failure to pay a fee or civil penalty properly assessed |
by the Agency.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/50)
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Sec. 50. Summary suspension. The Director may
summarily |
suspend the license of a radon contractor without a hearing,
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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
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practice would constitute an imminent danger to the public. If
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the Director summarily suspends a license without a hearing, a |
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hearing by the
Agency
Department shall be held within 30 days |
after the suspension has occurred and
shall be concluded |
without appreciable delay.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/55)
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Sec. 55. Liability. The Agency
Department and other persons
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/60)
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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,
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pursuant to appropriation, for the administration and |
enforcement of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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(420 ILCS 44/65)
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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
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
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(420 ILCS 44/70)
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Sec. 70. Administrative Review Law. All final |