97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3139

 

Introduced 2/1/2012, by Sen. Christine Radogno

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 2305/2  from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22

    Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the powers of the Department.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Public Health Act is amended
5by changing Section 2 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2305/2)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22)
7    Sec. 2. Powers.
8    (a) The The State Department of Public Health has general
9supervision of the interests of the health and lives of the
10people of the State. It has supreme authority in matters of
11quarantine and isolation, and may declare and enforce
12quarantine and isolation when none exists, and may modify or
13relax quarantine and isolation when it has been established.
14The Department may adopt, promulgate, repeal and amend rules
15and regulations and make such sanitary investigations and
16inspections as it may from time to time deem necessary for the
17preservation and improvement of the public health, consistent
18with law regulating the following:
19        (1) Transportation of the remains of deceased persons.
20        (2) Sanitary practices relating to drinking water made
21    accessible to the public for human consumption or for
22    lavatory or culinary purposes.
23        (3) Sanitary practices relating to rest room

 

 

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1    facilities made accessible to the public or to persons
2    handling food served to the public.
3        (4) Sanitary practices relating to disposal of human
4    wastes in or from all buildings and places where people
5    live, work or assemble.
6    The provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
7Act are hereby expressly adopted and shall apply to all
8administrative rules and procedures of the Department of Public
9Health under this Act, except that Section 5-35 of the Illinois
10Administrative Procedure Act relating to procedures for
11rule-making does not apply to the adoption of any rule required
12by federal law in connection with which the Department is
13precluded by law from exercising any discretion.
14    All local boards of health, health authorities and
15officers, police officers, sheriffs and all other officers and
16employees of the state or any locality shall enforce the rules
17and regulations so adopted and orders issued by the Department
18pursuant to this Section.
19    The Department of Public Health shall conduct a public
20information campaign to inform Hispanic women of the high
21incidence of breast cancer and the importance of mammograms and
22where to obtain a mammogram. This requirement may be satisfied
23by translation into Spanish and distribution of the breast
24cancer summaries required by Section 2310-345 of the Department
25of Public Health Powers and Duties Law (20 ILCS 2310/2310-345).
26The information provided by the Department of Public Health

 

 

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1shall include (i) a statement that mammography is the most
2accurate method for making an early detection of breast cancer,
3however, no diagnostic tool is 100% effective and (ii)
4instructions for performing breast self-examination and a
5statement that it is important to perform a breast
6self-examination monthly.
7    The Department of Public Health shall investigate the
8causes of dangerously contagious or infectious diseases,
9especially when existing in epidemic form, and take means to
10restrict and suppress the same, and whenever such disease
11becomes, or threatens to become epidemic, in any locality and
12the local board of health or local authorities neglect or
13refuse to enforce efficient measures for its restriction or
14suppression or to act with sufficient promptness or efficiency,
15or whenever the local board of health or local authorities
16neglect or refuse to promptly enforce efficient measures for
17the restriction or suppression of dangerously contagious or
18infectious diseases, the Department of Public Health may
19enforce such measures as it deems necessary to protect the
20public health, and all necessary expenses so incurred shall be
21paid by the locality for which services are rendered.
22    (b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c), the
23Department may order a person or group of persons to be
24quarantined or isolated or may order a place to be closed and
25made off limits to the public to prevent the probable spread of
26a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, including

 

 

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1non-compliant tuberculosis patients, until such time as the
2condition can be corrected or the danger to the public health
3eliminated or reduced in such a manner that no substantial
4danger to the public's health any longer exists. Orders for
5isolation of a person or quarantine of a place to prevent the
6probable spread of a sexually transmissible disease shall be
7governed by the provisions of Section 7 of the Illinois
8Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act and not this
9Section.
10    (c) Except as provided in this Section, no person or a
11group of persons may be ordered to be quarantined or isolated
12and no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to
13the public except with the consent of the person or owner of
14the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent
15jurisdiction. The Department may, however, order a person or a
16group of persons to be quarantined or isolated or may order a
17place to be closed and made off limits to the public on an
18immediate basis without prior consent or court order if, in the
19reasonable judgment of the Department, immediate action is
20required to protect the public from a dangerously contagious or
21infectious disease. In the event of an immediate order issued
22without prior consent or court order, the Department shall, as
23soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the order,
24obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a petition
25requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or
26quarantine or closure. When exigent circumstances exist that

 

 

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1cause the court system to be unavailable or that make it
2impossible to obtain consent or file a petition within 48 hours
3after issuance of an immediate order, the Department must
4obtain consent or file a petition requesting a court order as
5soon as reasonably possible. To obtain a court order, the
6Department, by clear and convincing evidence, must prove that
7the public's health and welfare are significantly endangered by
8a person or group of persons that has, that is suspected of
9having, that has been exposed to, or that is reasonably
10believed to have been exposed to a dangerously contagious or
11infectious disease including non-compliant tuberculosis
12patients or by a place where there is a significant amount of
13activity likely to spread a dangerously contagious or
14infectious disease. The Department must also prove that all
15other reasonable means of correcting the problem have been
16exhausted and no less restrictive alternative exists. For
17purposes of this subsection, in determining whether no less
18restrictive alternative exists, the court shall consider
19evidence showing that, under the circumstances presented by the
20case in which an order is sought, quarantine or isolation is
21the measure provided for in a rule of the Department or in
22guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and
23Prevention or the World Health Organization. Persons who are or
24are about to be ordered to be isolated or quarantined and
25owners of places that are or are about to be closed and made
26off limits to the public shall have the right to counsel. If a

 

 

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1person or owner is indigent, the court shall appoint counsel
2for that person or owner. Persons who are ordered to be
3isolated or quarantined or who are owners of places that are
4ordered to be closed and made off limits to the public, shall
5be given a written notice of such order. The written notice
6shall additionally include the following: (1) notice of the
7right to counsel; (2) notice that if the person or owner is
8indigent, the court will appoint counsel for that person or
9owner; (3) notice of the reason for the order for isolation,
10quarantine, or closure; (4) notice of whether the order is an
11immediate order, and if so, the time frame for the Department
12to seek consent or to file a petition requesting a court order
13as set out in this subsection; and (5) notice of the
14anticipated duration of the isolation, quarantine, or closure.
15    (d) The Department may order physical examinations and
16tests and collect laboratory specimens as necessary for the
17diagnosis or treatment of individuals in order to prevent the
18probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious
19disease. Physical examinations, tests, or collection of
20laboratory specimens must not be such as are reasonably likely
21to lead to serious harm to the affected individual. To prevent
22the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease,
23the Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection
24(c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine any person whose
25refusal of physical examination or testing or collection of
26laboratory specimens results in uncertainty regarding whether

 

 

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1he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously
2contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to
3the public's health. An individual may refuse to consent to a
4physical examination, test, or collection of laboratory
5specimens. An individual shall be given a written notice that
6shall include notice of the following: (i) that the individual
7may refuse to consent to physical examination, test, or
8collection of laboratory specimens; (ii) that if the individual
9consents to physical examination, tests, or collection of
10laboratory specimens, the results of that examination, test, or
11collection of laboratory specimens may subject the individual
12to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of
13subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that if the individual
14refuses to consent to physical examination, tests, or
15collection of laboratory specimens and that refusal results in
16uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or
17is infected with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease
18or otherwise poses a danger to the public's health, the
19individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine pursuant
20to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; and (iv)
21that if the individual refuses to consent to physical
22examinations, tests, or collection of laboratory specimens and
23becomes subject to isolation and quarantine as provided in this
24subsection (d), he or she shall have the right to counsel
25pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section.
26To the extent feasible without endangering the public's health,

 

 

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1the Department shall respect and accommodate the religious
2beliefs of individuals in implementing this subsection.
3    (e) The Department may order the administration of
4vaccines, medications, or other treatments to persons as
5necessary in order to prevent the probable spread of a
6dangerously contagious or infectious disease. A vaccine,
7medication, or other treatment to be administered must not be
8such as is reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the
9affected individual. To prevent the spread of a dangerously
10contagious or infectious disease, the Department may, pursuant
11to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate or
12quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive
13vaccines, medications, or other treatments pursuant to this
14Section. An individual may refuse to receive vaccines,
15medications, or other treatments. An individual shall be given
16a written notice that shall include notice of the following:
17(i) that the individual may refuse to consent to vaccines,
18medications, or other treatments; (ii) that if the individual
19refuses to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments,
20the individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine
21pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section;
22and (iii) that if the individual refuses to receive vaccines,
23medications, or other treatments and becomes subject to
24isolation or quarantine as provided in this subsection (e), he
25or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the
26provisions of subsection (c) of this Section. To the extent

 

 

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1feasible without endangering the public's health, the
2Department shall respect and accommodate the religious beliefs
3of individuals in implementing this subsection.
4    (f) The Department may order observation and monitoring of
5persons to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously
6contagious or infectious disease. To prevent the spread of a
7dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department
8may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this
9Section, isolate or quarantine persons whose refusal to undergo
10observation and monitoring results in uncertainty regarding
11whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a
12dangerously contagious or infectious disease or otherwise
13poses a danger to the public's health. An individual may refuse
14to undergo observation and monitoring. An individual shall be
15given written notice that shall include notice of the
16following: (i) that the individual may refuse to undergo
17observation and monitoring; (ii) that if the individual
18consents to observation and monitoring, the results of that
19observation and monitoring may subject the individual to
20isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of
21subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that if the individual
22refuses to undergo observation and monitoring and that refusal
23results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been
24exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or
25infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's
26health, the individual may be subject to isolation or

 

 

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1quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this
2Section; and (iv) that if the individual refuses to undergo
3observation and monitoring and becomes subject to isolation or
4quarantine as provided in this subsection (f), he or she shall
5have the right to counsel pursuant to the provisions of
6subsection (c) of this Section.
7    (g) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or
8infectious disease among humans, the Department may examine,
9test, disinfect, seize, or destroy animals or other related
10property believed to be sources of infection. An owner of such
11animal or other related property shall be given written notice
12regarding such examination, testing, disinfection, seizure, or
13destruction. When the Department determines that any animal or
14related property is infected with or has been exposed to a
15dangerously contagious or infectious disease, it may agree with
16the owner upon the value of the animal or of any related
17property that it may be found necessary to destroy, and in case
18such an agreement cannot be made, the animals or related
19property shall be appraised by 3 competent and disinterested
20appraisers, one to be selected by the Department, one by the
21claimant, and one by the 2 appraisers thus selected. The
22appraisers shall subscribe to an oath made in writing to fairly
23value the animals or related property in accordance with the
24requirements of this Act. The oath, together with the valuation
25fixed by the appraisers, shall be filed with the Department and
26preserved by it. Upon the appraisal being made, the owner or

 

 

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1the Department shall immediately destroy the animals by "humane
2euthanasia" as that term is defined in Section 2.09 of the
3Humane Care for Animals Act. Dogs and cats, however, shall be
4euthanized pursuant to the provisions of the Humane Euthanasia
5in Animal Shelters Act. The owner or the Department shall
6additionally, dispose of the carcasses, and disinfect, change,
7or destroy the premises occupied by the animals, in accordance
8with rules prescribed by the Department governing such
9destruction and disinfection. Upon his or her failure so to do
10or to cooperate with the Department, the Department shall cause
11the animals or related property to be destroyed and disposed of
12in the same manner, and thereupon the owner shall forfeit all
13right to receive any compensation for the destruction of the
14animals or related property. All final administrative
15decisions of the Department hereunder shall be subject to
16judicial review pursuant to the provisions of the
17Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and
18modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto.
19The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section
203-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
21    (h) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or
22infectious disease, the Department, local boards of health, and
23local public health authorities shall have emergency access to
24medical or health information or records or data upon the
25condition that the Department, local boards of health, and
26local public health authorities shall protect the privacy and

 

 

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1confidentiality of any medical or health information or records
2or data obtained pursuant to this Section in accordance with
3federal and State law. Additionally, any such medical or health
4information or records or data shall be exempt from inspection
5and copying under the Freedom of Information Act. Other than a
6hearing for the purpose of this Act, any information, records,
7reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data in the
8possession of the Department, local boards of health, or local
9public health authorities shall not be admissible as evidence,
10nor discoverable in any action of any kind in any court or
11before any tribunal, board, agency, or person. The access to or
12disclosure of any of this information or data by the
13Department, a local board of health, or a local public
14authority shall not waive or have any effect upon its
15non-discoverability or non-admissibility. Any person,
16facility, institution, or agency that provides emergency
17access to health information and data under this subsection
18shall have immunity from any civil or criminal liability, or
19any other type of liability that might otherwise result by
20reason of these actions except in the event of willful and
21wanton misconduct. The privileged quality of communication
22between any professional person or any facility shall not
23constitute grounds for failure to provide emergency access.
24Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the sharing of
25information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act. The
26disclosure of any of this information, records, reports,

 

 

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1statements, notes, memoranda, or other data obtained in any
2activity under this Act, except that necessary for the purposes
3of this Act, is unlawful, and any person convicted of violating
4this provision is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
5        (i) (A) The Department, in order to prevent and control
6    disease, injury, or disability among citizens of the State
7    of Illinois, may develop and implement, in consultation
8    with local public health authorities, a Statewide system
9    for syndromic data collection through the access to
10    interoperable networks, information exchanges, and
11    databases. The Department may also develop a system for the
12    reporting of comprehensive, integrated data to identify
13    and address unusual occurrences of disease symptoms and
14    other medical complexes affecting the public's health.
15        (B) The Department may enter into contracts or
16    agreements with individuals, corporations, hospitals,
17    universities, not-for-profit corporations, governmental
18    entities, or other organizations, whereby those
19    individuals or entities agree to provide assistance in the
20    compilation of the syndromic data collection and reporting
21    system.
22        (C) The Department shall not release any syndromic data
23    or information obtained pursuant to this subsection to any
24    individuals or entities for purposes other than the
25    protection of the public health. All access to data by the
26    Department, reports made to the Department, the identity of

 

 

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1    or facts that would tend to lead to the identity of the
2    individual who is the subject of the report, and the
3    identity of or facts that would tend to lead to the
4    identity of the author of the report shall be strictly
5    confidential, are not subject to inspection or
6    dissemination, and shall be used only for public health
7    purposes by the Department, local public health
8    authorities, or the Centers for Disease Control and
9    Prevention. Entities or individuals submitting reports or
10    providing access to the Department shall not be held liable
11    for the release of information or confidential data to the
12    Department in accordance with this subsection.
13        (D) Nothing in this subsection prohibits the sharing of
14    information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act.
15    (j) This Section shall be considered supplemental to the
16existing authority and powers of the Department and shall not
17be construed to restrain or restrict the Department in
18protecting the public health under any other provisions of the
19law.
20    (k) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates
21any false information or report concerning the existence of any
22dangerously contagious or infectious disease in connection
23with the Department's power of quarantine, isolation and
24closure or refuses to comply with a quarantine, isolation or
25closure order is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
26    (l) The Department of Public Health may establish and

 

 

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1maintain a chemical and bacteriologic laboratory for the
2examination of water and wastes, and for the diagnosis of
3diphtheria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, malarial fever and
4such other diseases as it deems necessary for the protection of
5the public health.
6    As used in this Act, "locality" means any governmental
7agency which exercises power pertaining to public health in an
8area less than the State.
9    The terms "sanitary investigations and inspections" and
10"sanitary practices" as used in this Act shall not include or
11apply to "Public Water Supplies" or "Sewage Works" as defined
12in the Environmental Protection Act. The Department may adopt
13rules that are reasonable and necessary to implement and
14effectuate this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
15    (m) The public health measures set forth in subsections (a)
16through (h) of this Section may be used by the Department to
17respond to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events.
18The individual provisions of subsections (a) through (h) of
19this Section apply to any order issued by the Department under
20this Section. The provisions of subsection (k) apply to
21chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events. Prior to
22the Department issuing an order for public health measures set
23forth in this Act for chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents
24or events as authorized in subsection (m), the Department and
25the Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall consult in
26accordance with the Illinois emergency response framework.

 

 

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1When responding to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or
2events, the Department shall determine the health related risks
3and appropriate public health response measures and provide
4recommendations for response to the Illinois Emergency
5Management Agency. Nothing in this Section shall supersede the
6current National Incident Management System and the Illinois
7Emergency Operation Plan or response plans and procedures
8established pursuant to IEMA statutes.
9(Source: P.A. 96-698, eff. 8-25-09.)