Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1756
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Full Text of SB1756  101st General Assembly

SB1756eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Regulatory Sunrise Review Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and intent.
7    (a) It is the General Assembly's intent that no profession
8or occupation be subject to regulation by the State unless the
9regulation is necessary to protect the public health, safety,
10or welfare of the people of this State. If the need for new
11regulation is identified, the State may adopt the least
12restrictive form of regulation necessary to protect the public
13interest.
14    (b) The General Assembly finds that the regulatory
15environment in Illinois has grown overly burdensome and has
16become a strain on both the regulatory authority of the State
17and the ability of the people of Illinois to enter into and
18work in various regulated professions. This Act is a means to
19promote economic growth and decrease barriers to entry into
20various professions in the State.
21    (c) This Act establishes a system to investigate and review
22the necessity of new State regulation over a previously
23unregulated profession or occupation. The Act further provides

 

 

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1for a process to investigate what level of regulation is
2necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, or
3welfare.
 
4    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
5    "Applicant" means a professional group or organization, an
6individual, or any other interested party that proposes that a
7profession or occupation not licensed by the Department before
8January 1, 2019 be regulated through the licensure process.
9    "Department" means the Department of Financial and
10Professional Regulation.
 
11    Section 15. Policy. The General Assembly may not act upon
12legislation that proposes to license and regulate a profession
13or occupation not licensed by the Department before January 1,
142019 until a report as provided in this Act has been prepared
15and submitted to the Secretary of State.
 
16    Section 20. Resolution; petition for regulation; fee;
17process of obtaining cost-benefit report.
18    (a) The General Assembly shall commence the process
19established by this Act to investigate and review the necessity
20of new State regulation over a previously unregulated
21profession or occupation by passage of a resolution.
22    (b) Upon passage by the General Assembly of the resolution,
23an applicant that proposes legislation to license and regulate

 

 

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1a profession or occupation by the Department for which no
2Department licensure or regulation exists shall submit a
3petition for licensure, on forms provided by the Department,
4and a non-refundable petition fee of $1,000 to the Department
5within 30 days after introduction of the legislation. The
6petition for licensure shall request that a report be prepared
7assessing the need for the proposed new licensure. The petition
8fee shall be deposited in the General Professions Dedicated
9Fund and shall be appropriated to the Department for the
10ordinary and contingent expenses of the Department in the
11administration of this Act.
12    (c) Upon receipt of a complete petition and petition fee,
13the Department shall contract for the preparation of an
14independent report assessing the need for the proposed new
15licensure. The report shall be principally authored by a labor
16market economist with a doctoral degree currently associated
17with an Illinois post-secondary educational institution or by a
18person with an advanced quantitative degree and an expertise in
19cost-benefit analysis currently associated with an Illinois
20post-secondary educational institution. If the Department is
21unable to contract with a person meeting the qualifications
22described in this subsection for the preparation of the
23independent report, the Department may contract with a person
24whose qualifications are substantially similar to those
25described in this subsection. If the Department is unable to
26enter into a contract for preparation of the independent report

 

 

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1for a sum not to exceed $1,000, the Department may utilize
2existing funds to supplement the $1,000 fee collected.
3    (d) The report shall address the social and economic costs
4and benefits of licensure, as well as the impact on the labor
5market, impact on prices, and the rationale for policy
6intervention. The report shall use modern cost-benefit
7methods, including the following:
8        (1) defining the proposed licensed population,
9    including estimated number of participants, the users of
10    the services in question, and the Illinois economy
11    statewide;
12        (2) assessing a portfolio of alternatives to
13    licensing, as well as the impact of licensure;
14        (3) cataloging the potential impacts and selected
15    measurement indicators of licensure;
16        (4) predicting the quantitative impacts over the life
17    of the proposed license;
18        (5) monetizing all impacts;
19        (6) calculating the net present value;
20        (7) identifying the distribution of costs and
21    benefits; and
22        (8) performing sensitivity testing.
23    (e) The report shall also address each of the factors and
24consider the criteria and standards described in Section 25,
25and shall make a recommendation regarding licensure or other
26applicable alternatives.

 

 

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1    (f) A preliminary copy of the report shall be submitted to
2the Department for its review and comment for a period of at
3least 30 days. Any comments made by the Department shall be
4included in the report.
5    (g) The report, including any Department comments, shall be
6completed within 12 months after the effective date of the
7Department's contract for the report's creation. The completed
8report shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
9    (h) After the report is filed with the Secretary of State
10and after due consideration by the General Assembly, the bill
11proposing licensure of the profession or occupation may proceed
12for consideration by the General Assembly.
13    (i) Nothing in this Act shall interfere with the General
14Assembly otherwise considering legislation on any regulatory
15matter.
 
16    Section 25. List of factors; criteria and standards.
17    (a) The following factors shall be considered in the report
18submitted with a petition for proposed licensure and regulation
19by the Department:
20        (1) whether regulation is necessary or beneficial,
21    including any potential harm or threat to the public if the
22    profession or occupation is not regulated or specific
23    examples of the harm or threat identified, if any;
24        (2) the extent to which the public will benefit from a
25    method of regulation that permits identification of

 

 

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1    competent practitioners;
2        (3) the extent to which practitioners are autonomous,
3    as indicated by:
4            (A) the degree to which the profession or
5        occupation requires the use of independent judgment
6        and the skill or experience required in making such
7        judgment; and
8            (B) the degree to which practitioners are
9        supervised;
10        (4) the efforts that have been made to address any
11    concerns that give rise to the need for regulation,
12    including:
13            (A) voluntary efforts, if any, by members of the
14        profession or occupation to:
15                (i) establish a code of ethics;
16                (ii) help resolve disputes between
17            practitioners and consumers; and
18                (iii) establish requirements for continuing
19            education;
20            (B) the existence of any national accreditation or
21        national certification systems for the profession or
22        occupation;
23            (C) recourse to and the extent of use of existing
24        law; and
25            (D) any prior attempts to regulate the profession
26        or occupation in Illinois;

 

 

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1        (5) whether the following alternatives to licensure
2    would be adequate to protect the public interest:
3            (A) existing, new, or stronger civil remedies or
4        criminal sanctions;
5            (B) regulation of the service rather than the
6        individual practitioners;
7            (C) registration of all practitioners;
8            (D) market competition and third-party or
9        consumer-created ratings and reviews;
10            (E) voluntary or mandatory bonding or insurance;
11            (F) other alternatives;
12        (6) the benefit to the public if licensure is required,
13    including:
14            (A) whether regulation will result in reduction or
15        elimination of the harms or threats identified under
16        paragraph (1) of this subsection;
17            (B) the extent to which the public can be confident
18        that a practitioner is competent;
19            (C) whether renewal will be based only upon payment
20        of a fee or whether renewal will require completion of
21        continuing education or any other requirements;
22            (D) the standards for registration or licensure as
23        compared with the standards of other jurisdictions;
24        and
25            (E) the nature and duration of the educational
26        requirement, if any, including: whether the

 

 

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1        educational requirement includes a substantial amount
2        of supervised field experience; whether educational
3        programs exist in this State; whether there will be an
4        experience requirement; whether the experience must be
5        acquired under a registered, certified, or licensed
6        practitioner; whether there are alternative routes of
7        entry or methods of satisfying the eligibility
8        requirements and qualifications; whether all
9        applicants will be required to pass an examination;
10        and, if an examination is required, by whom it will be
11        developed and how the costs of development will be met;
12        (7) the extent to which regulation might harm the
13    public, including:
14            (A) whether regulation will restrict entry into
15        the profession or occupation, including:
16                (i) whether the standards are the least
17            restrictive necessary to ensure safe and effective
18            performance; and
19                (ii) whether persons who are registered or
20            licensed in another jurisdiction that has
21            requirements that are substantially equivalent to
22            those of this State will be eligible for
23            endorsement or some form of reciprocity; and
24            (B) whether there are similar professions or
25        occupations that should be included or portions of the
26        profession or occupation that should be excluded from

 

 

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1        regulation;
2        (8) how the standards of the profession or occupation
3    will be maintained, including:
4            (A) whether effective quality assurance standards
5        exist in the profession or occupation, such as legal
6        requirements associated with specific programs that
7        define or enforce standards or a code of ethics; and
8            (B) how the proposed form of regulation will ensure
9        quality, including:
10                (i) the extent to which a code of ethics, if
11            any, will be adopted; and
12                (ii) the grounds for suspension, revocation,
13            or refusal to renew registration, certification,
14            or licensure;
15        (9) how the additional cost that the Department will
16    incur in licensing the profession or occupation will be
17    recouped through licensing application and renewal fees;
18        (10) a profile of the practitioners in this State,
19    including a list of associations, organizations, and other
20    groups representing the practitioners and including an
21    estimate of the number of practitioners in each group; and
22        (11) whether the profession or occupation is currently
23    regulated in any other state and what methods of regulation
24    each state utilizes.
25    (b) A profession or occupation shall be regulated by the
26State only when the following criteria are met:

 

 

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1        (1) it can be demonstrated that the unregulated
2    practice of the profession or occupation can clearly harm
3    or endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the public
4    and the potential for the harm is recognizable and not
5    remote or speculative;
6        (2) the public can reasonably be expected to benefit
7    from an assurance of initial and continuing professional
8    ability;
9        (3) the public cannot be effectively protected by other
10    means; and
11        (4) regulation of the profession does not impose
12    significant new economic hardships on the public,
13    significantly diminish the supply of qualified
14    practitioners, or otherwise create barriers to service
15    that are not consistent with the public welfare or
16    interest.
 
17    Section 30. Review by the General Assembly. After
18evaluating the petition, report, and Department comments and
19considering governmental and societal costs and benefits, if
20the General Assembly finds that it is necessary to regulate a
21profession or occupation, the least restrictive method of
22regulation may be imposed, consistent with the public interest
23and this Section. In addition, the items in the following list
24shall be considered in the following numbered order before
25making a determination:

 

 

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1        (1) If existing common law and statutory civil remedies
2    and criminal sanctions are insufficient to reduce or
3    eliminate existing harm, regulation shall occur through
4    enactment of stronger civil remedies and criminal
5    sanctions.
6        (2) If there exists a national accreditation or
7    certification system for the profession or occupation that
8    adequately ensures quality and protects the public health,
9    safety, and welfare, regulation by the State shall be
10    restricted to addressing those concerns that are not
11    covered by the national program.
12        (3) If the threat to the public health, safety, or
13    welfare is insufficiently large to justify licensure,
14    regulation shall be through a system of registration.
15        (4) If it is apparent that the public cannot be
16    adequately protected by any other means, a system of
17    licensure shall be imposed.
 
18    Section 35. Severability. If any part of the application of
19this Act is held invalid, the remainder of its application to
20other situations, groups, or persons shall not be affected.
 
21    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
22becoming law.