Public Act 0568 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2394 Enrolled LRB103 28365 AMQ 54745 b

Public Act 103-0568

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is amended by adding Section 5-45.35 as follows:

(5 ILCS 100/5-45.35 new)

Sec. 5-45.35. Emergency rulemaking; this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. To provide for the expeditious and timely implementation of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, emergency rules implementing this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly may be adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The adoption of emergency rules authorized by Section 5-45 and this Section is deemed to be necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.

This Section is repealed one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

Section 10. The Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 2105-380 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2105/2105-380 new)

Sec. 2105-380. Extension of expiration dates or renewal periods for specified licenses, registrations, or certificates.

(a) If the Secretary finds that there is a significant operational need to do so or that it is necessary to do so to avoid undue hardship on a class of individuals whose professional licenses, registrations, or certificates are issued by the Department, then the Secretary shall extend the expiration date or renewal period of the license, registration, or certificate of those individuals for a period not to exceed the standard renewal period for those licenses, registrations, or certificates. Factors that may be considered by the Secretary when determining whether to extend the expiration date or renewal period shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) the number of applications pending;

(2) the percentage of applicants or licensees, registrants, or certificate holders waiting for Department action on their applications compared to the number of licensees, registrants, or certificate holders in the profession;

(3) the number of licenses, registrations, or certificates that have expired while pending Department action on renewal;

(4) whether there is a shortage of licensees, registrants, or certificate holders providing the professional service;

(5) the potential impact on the Department's operational budget; and

(6) any other licensing-related factors that are deemed relevant by the Department and are prescribed by rule.

(b) The Secretary shall waive the payment of late fees for a licensee, registrant, or certificate holder in a profession whose expiration date or renewal period has been extended under this Section and in those cases where Department processing delays result in the expiration of a license, registration, or certificate.

(c) The Department may adopt rules or emergency rules to implement and administer this Section.

(d) This Section is repealed one year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

Section 15. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by adding Section 20-25.2 as follows:

(30 ILCS 500/20-25.2 new)

Sec. 20-25.2. Procurement of licensing software by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or any law to the contrary, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall identify a method of source selection that will make it possible to implement a software solution to support the Department's mandates to enforce the professional licensing Acts that it administers and rules adopted under those Acts. The source selection method identified by the Department is not limited to those otherwise set forth in this Code. The software solution selected by the Department shall electronically provide for the issuance of licenses, registrations, or certificates issued by the Department in accordance with the professional Acts and rules that it administers, shall provide for the electronic processing of license, registration, or certificate fees and fine payments, shall interface with third-party applications necessary for the fulfillment of licensing requirements, shall provide applicants and licensees, registrants, or certificate holders with online access to license, registration, or certificate status and history, and shall provide for oversight and enforcement of the professional Acts administered by the Department.

(b) The method of source selection shall be by an expedited, competitive process approved by the Department's Chief Procurement Officer. All potential contractors shall be registered in the Illinois Procurement Gateway vendor portal prior to contract execution.

(c) Except for Sections 5-5, 5-7, 10-10, 20-80, 20-120, 20-155, 20-160, and 25-60 and Article 50 of this Code and any rules adopted under those Sections and Article, this Code does not apply to procurements required by this Section notwithstanding any other provision of this Code or any law to the contrary.

(d) The contracts for the software solution shall be executed no later than 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. Implementation of the software solution shall begin no later than 90 days after the contract execution date.

(e) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall consult with the Department of Innovation and Technology to ensure the resulting contracts provide cybersecurity protection and are consistent with information technology standards as determined by the Department of Innovation and Technology. The term of the contracts shall not exceed 10 years.

(f) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall publish notice of each contract entered into under this Section in the Procurement Bulletin within 14 calendar days after the execution of the contract. The Department's Chief Procurement Officer shall prescribe the form and content of the notice. A copy of the contract shall be made available to the Department's Chief Procurement Officer immediately upon request.

(g) This Section is inoperative one year after effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

Effective Date: 12/8/2023