Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 093-0249
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Public Act 093-0249


 

Public Act 93-0249 of the 93rd General Assembly


Public Act 93-0249

HB0006 Enrolled                      LRB093 02058 MKM 02086 b

    AN ACT concerning public health emergencies.

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

    Section  5.   The  Disaster  Relief  Act  is  amended  by
changing Section 1 as follows:

    (15 ILCS 30/1) (from Ch. 127, par. 293.1)
    Sec. 1.  As used in this Act:
    "Disaster" means an occurrence or threat of widespread or
severe  damage,  injury or loss of life or property resulting
from any natural or technological cause,  including  but  not
limited  to  fire,  flood, earthquake, wind, storm, hazardous
material  spill  or  other  water   contamination   requiring
emergency  action  to  avert  danger or damage, epidemic, air
contamination,  blight,  extended  periods  of   severe   and
inclement  weather,  drought, infestation, critical shortages
of essential fuels and energy, explosion,  riot,  or  hostile
military  or  paramilitary action, public health emergencies,
or acts of domestic terrorism.
    "Disaster area" means the area directly  affected  by  or
threatened with a disaster.
(Source: P.A. 85-845.)

    Section  10.   The Department of Public Health Powers and
Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code  of  Illinois  is
amended by adding Section 2310-50.5 as follows:

    (20 ILCS 2310/2310-50.5 new)
    Sec.  2310-50.5.  Coordination  concerning  public health
emergencies.   To  coordinate  with  the  Illinois  Emergency
Management Agency with respect to planning for and responding
to public health emergencies, as defined in Section 4 of  the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.

    Section 15.  The Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act
is amended by changing Sections 4, 5 and 9 as follows:

    (20 ILCS 3305/4) (from Ch. 127, par. 1054)
    Sec.  4.  Definitions.   As  used in this Act, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words  and
terms have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section:
    "Coordinator"  means the staff assistant to the principal
executive officer of a political subdivision with the duty of
coordinating  the  emergency  management  programs  of   that
political subdivision.
    "Disaster" means an occurrence or threat of widespread or
severe  damage,  injury or loss of life or property resulting
from any natural or technological cause,  including  but  not
limited  to  fire,  flood, earthquake, wind, storm, hazardous
materials  spill  or  other  water  contamination   requiring
emergency  action  to  avert  danger or damage, epidemic, air
contamination,  blight,  extended  periods  of   severe   and
inclement  weather,  drought, infestation, critical shortages
of essential  fuels  and  energy,  explosion,  riot,  hostile
military  or  paramilitary action, public health emergencies,
or acts of domestic terrorism.
    "Emergency Management" means the efforts of the State and
the  political  subdivisions  to  develop,   plan,   analyze,
conduct,   provide,   implement  and  maintain  programs  for
disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
    "Emergency Services and Disaster Agency" means the agency
by this name, by the name Emergency Management Agency, or  by
any  other  name  that  is  established by ordinance within a
political subdivision to coordinate the emergency  management
program  within  that  political subdivision and with private
organizations, other political subdivisions,  the  State  and
federal governments.
    "Emergency Operations Plan" means the written plan of the
State and political subdivisions describing the organization,
mission,  and  functions  of  the  government  and supporting
services for responding to and recovering from disasters.
    "Emergency Services" means the coordination of  functions
by  the  State  and  its  political  subdivision,  other than
functions   for   which   military   forces   are   primarily
responsible, as  may  be  necessary  or  proper  to  prevent,
minimize,  repair,  and alleviate injury and damage resulting
from any natural or technological  causes.   These  functions
include,  without  limitation, fire fighting services, police
services, emergency aviation  services,  medical  and  health
services,     rescue,    engineering,    warning    services,
communications,  radiological,  chemical  and  other  special
weapons defense,  evacuation  of  persons  from  stricken  or
threatened  areas,  emergency  assigned  functions  of  plant
protection,  temporary restoration of public utility services
and other functions related to civilian protection,  together
with   all   other  activities  necessary  or  incidental  to
protecting life or property.
    "Exercise" means a planned event realistically simulating
a disaster, conducted  for  the  purpose  of  evaluating  the
political   subdivision's  coordinated  emergency  management
capabilities, including, but  not  limited  to,  testing  the
emergency operations plan.
    "Illinois  Emergency  Management Agency" means the agency
established by this Act within the executive branch of  State
Government   responsible  for  coordination  of  the  overall
emergency management program of the State  and  with  private
organizations,   political   subdivisions,  and  the  federal
government. Illinois Emergency Management Agency  also  means
the  State  Emergency Response Commission responsible for the
implementation of Title III of the Superfund  Amendments  and
Reauthorization Act of 1986.
    "Mobile  Support  Team"  means  a  group  of  individuals
designated  as  a  team  by the Governor or Director to train
prior to and  to  be  dispatched,  if  the  Governor  or  the
Director  so  determines,  to aid and reinforce the State and
political  subdivision  emergency   management   efforts   in
response to a disaster.
    "Municipality"  means any city, village, and incorporated
town.
    "Political Subdivision" means any county, city,  village,
or  incorporated  town  or  township  if the township is in a
county having a population of more than 2,000,000.
    "Principal Executive Officer"  means chair of the  county
board,  supervisor  of  a  township  if  the township is in a
county having a population of more than 2,000,000, mayor of a
city or incorporated town, president  of  a  village,  or  in
their   absence  or  disability,  the  interim  successor  as
established  under  Section  7  of  the   Emergency   Interim
Executive Succession Act.
    "Public   health   emergency"   means  an  occurrence  or
imminent threat of an illness or health condition that:
         (a)  is  believed  to  be  caused  by  any  of   the
    following:
              (i)  bioterrorism;
              (ii)  the  appearance  of a novel or previously
         controlled  or  eradicated   infectious   agent   or
         biological toxin;
              (iii)  a natural disaster;
              (iv)  a  chemical attack or accidental release;
         or
              (v)  a nuclear attack or accident; and
         (b)  poses  a  high  probability  of  any   of   the
    following harms:
              (i)  a  large  number of deaths in the affected
         population;
              (ii)  a large number of  serious  or  long-term
         disabilities in the affected population; or
              (iii)  widespread  exposure to an infectious or
         toxic  agent  that  poses  a  significant  risk   of
         substantial  future harm to a large number of people
         in the affected population.
(Source: P.A. 92-73, eff. 1-1-02.)

    (20 ILCS 3305/5) (from Ch. 127, par. 1055)
    Sec. 5.  Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
    (a)  There is created within the executive branch of  the
State  Government an Illinois Emergency Management Agency and
a Director  of  the  Illinois  Emergency  Management  Agency,
herein  called  the "Director" who shall be the head thereof.
The Director shall be appointed by  the  Governor,  with  the
advice  and consent of the Senate, and shall serve for a term
of 2 years beginning on the third Monday in  January  of  the
odd-numbered year, and until a successor is appointed and has
qualified;  except  that  the  term  of  the  first  Director
appointed  under this Act shall expire on the third Monday in
January,  1989.   The  Director  shall  not  hold  any  other
remunerative public office. The  Director  shall  receive  an
annual salary as set by the Governor from time to time or the
amount  set  by  the  Compensation Review Board, whichever is
higher.  If set by the Governor, the Director's annual salary
may not exceed 85% of the Governor's annual salary.
    (b)  The  Illinois  Emergency  Management  Agency   shall
obtain,   under   the   provisions  of  the  Personnel  Code,
technical, clerical, stenographic  and  other  administrative
personnel, and may make expenditures within the appropriation
therefor as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this
Act.   The  agency  created  by  this Act is intended to be a
successor to the agency created under the Illinois  Emergency
Services  and  Disaster Agency Act of 1975 and the personnel,
equipment, records, and appropriations  of  that  agency  are
transferred  to the successor agency as of the effective date
of this Act.
    (c)  The Director, subject to the direction  and  control
of  the Governor, shall be the executive head of the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency and the State Emergency  Response
Commission  and  shall  be responsible under the direction of
the Governor, for carrying  out  the  program  for  emergency
management  of  this State.  The Director shall also maintain
liaison  and  cooperate   with   the   emergency   management
organizations  of  this  State  and  other  states and of the
federal government.
    (d)  The Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall  take
an integral part in the development and revision of political
subdivision   emergency   operations   plans  prepared  under
paragraph (f) of Section 10.  To this end it shall employ  or
otherwise  secure  the services of professional and technical
personnel capable  of  providing  expert  assistance  to  the
emergency  services  and  disaster agencies.  These personnel
shall consult with emergency services and  disaster  agencies
on  a  regular basis and shall make field examinations of the
areas,  circumstances,   and   conditions   that   particular
political subdivision emergency operations plans are intended
to apply.
    (e)  The   Illinois    Emergency  Management  Agency  and
political  subdivisions  shall  be  encouraged  to  form   an
emergency  management  advisory committee composed of private
and public personnel representing  the  emergency  management
phases  of  mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee, as created under  the
Illinois  Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act,
shall  serve  as  an  advisory  committee  to  the  emergency
services and disaster agency or agencies serving  within  the
boundaries   of   that  Local  Emergency  Planning  Committee
planning district for:
         (1)  the development of  emergency  operations  plan
    provisions for hazardous chemical emergencies; and
         (2)  the    assessment    of    emergency   response
    capabilities related to hazardous chemical emergencies.
    (f)  The Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall:
         (1)  Coordinate  the  overall  emergency  management
    program of the State.
         (2)  Cooperate with local governments,  the  federal
    government  and any public or private agency or entity in
    achieving any purpose of this  Act  and  in  implementing
    emergency    management    programs    for    mitigation,
    preparedness, response, and recovery.
         (2.5)  Cooperate  with  the  Department  of  Nuclear
    Safety  in  development  of  the  comprehensive emergency
    preparedness and response plan for any  nuclear  accident
    in  accordance  with Section 2005-65 of the Department of
    Nuclear Safety Law of the Civil  Administrative  Code  of
    Illinois  and  in  development  of  the  Illinois Nuclear
    Safety Preparedness program in accordance with Section  8
    of the Illinois Nuclear Safety Preparedness Act.
         (2.6)  Coordinate  with  the  Department  of  Public
    Health  with  respect  to  planning for and responding to
    public health emergencies.
         (3)  Prepare,  for   issuance   by   the   Governor,
    executive   orders,  proclamations,  and  regulations  as
    necessary or appropriate in coping with disasters.
         (4)  Promulgate rules and requirements for political
    subdivision  emergency  operations  plans  that  are  not
    inconsistent with  and  are  at  least  as  stringent  as
    applicable federal laws and regulations.
         (5)  Review and approve, in accordance with Illinois
    Emergency  Management  Agency rules, emergency operations
    plans for those political subdivisions required  to  have
    an  emergency  services  and  disaster agency pursuant to
    this Act.
         (5.5)  Promulgate rules  and  requirements  for  the
    political  subdivision  emergency  management  exercises,
    including, but not limited to, exercises of the emergency
    operations plans.
         (5.10)  Review, evaluate, and approve, in accordance
    with   Illinois   Emergency   Management   Agency  rules,
    political subdivision emergency management exercises  for
    those   political   subdivisions   required  to  have  an
    emergency services and disaster agency pursuant  to  this
    Act.
         (6)  Determine  requirements  of  the  State and its
    political subdivisions  for  food,  clothing,  and  other
    necessities in event of a disaster.
         (7)  Establish  a  register of persons with types of
    emergency management training and skills  in  mitigation,
    preparedness, response, and recovery.
         (8)  Establish  a register of government and private
    response resources available for use in a disaster.
         (9)  Expand the Earthquake Awareness Program and its
    efforts to distribute earthquake  preparedness  materials
    to  schools,  political  subdivisions,  community groups,
    civic organizations, and  the  media.  Emphasis  will  be
    placed  on  those areas of the State most at risk from an
    earthquake.  Maintain the list of all  school  districts,
    hospitals,  airports,  power  plants,  including  nuclear
    power  plants, lakes, dams, emergency response facilities
    of all types, and  all  other  major  public  or  private
    structures  which are at the greatest risk of damage from
    earthquakes under circumstances where  the  damage  would
    cause  subsequent harm to the surrounding communities and
    residents.
         (10)  Disseminate all  information,  completely  and
    without delay, on water levels for rivers and streams and
    any  other data pertaining to potential flooding supplied
    by the Division of Water Resources within the  Department
    of Natural Resources to all political subdivisions to the
    maximum extent possible.
         (11)  Develop  agreements, if feasible, with medical
    supply and equipment firms to  supply  resources  as  are
    necessary  to  respond  to  an  earthquake  or  any other
    disaster as defined in this Act.  These resources will be
    made available upon notifying the vendor of the disaster.
    Payment for the resources  will  be  in  accordance  with
    Section 7 of this Act.  The Illinois Department of Public
    Health  shall  determine which resources will be required
    and requested.
         (12)  Out of funds appropriated for these  purposes,
    award   capital   and   non-capital  grants  to  Illinois
    hospitals or health care facilities located outside of  a
    city  with a population in excess of 1,000,000 to be used
    for purposes  that  include,  but  are  not  limited  to,
    preparing  to  respond  to mass casualties and disasters,
    maintaining and improving patient safety and  quality  of
    care,  and  protecting  the  confidentiality  of  patient
    information.    No single grant for a capital expenditure
    shall exceed $300,000.  No single grant for a non-capital
    expenditure shall exceed  $100,000.    In  awarding  such
    grants, preference shall be given to hospitals that serve
    a  significant  number of Medicaid recipients, but do not
    qualify for disproportionate  share  hospital  adjustment
    payments  under the Illinois Public Aid Code.  To receive
    such a grant, a hospital or  health  care  facility  must
    provide  funding  of  at  least  50%  of  the cost of the
    project for which the  grant  is  being  requested.    In
    awarding  such  grants  the Illinois Emergency Management
    Agency shall consider the recommendations of the Illinois
    Hospital Association.
         (13)  Do all other things necessary,  incidental  or
    appropriate for the implementation of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 91-25, eff. 6-9-99; 92-73, eff. 1-1-02; 92-597,
eff. 6-28-02.)

    (20 ILCS 3305/9) (from Ch. 127, par. 1059)
    Sec. 9.  Financing.
    (a)  It  is the intent of the Legislature and declared to
be the policy of the State that funds to meet disasters shall
always be available.
    (b)  It is the legislative intent that the first recourse
shall  be  to  funds  regularly  appropriated  to  State  and
political  subdivision  departments  and  agencies.   If  the
Governor finds that the demands placed upon  these  funds  in
coping with a particular disaster are unreasonably great, the
Governor  may  make  funds available from the Disaster Relief
Fund. If monies available from the Fund are insufficient, and
if the Governor finds that other sources  of  money  to  cope
with  the disaster are not available or are insufficient, the
Governor  shall  request  the  General  Assembly   to   enact
legislation  as  it may deem necessary to transfer and expend
monies appropriated for other purposes or borrow, for a  term
not  to  exceed  2 years from the United States government or
other public or private source.  If the General  Assembly  is
not  sitting in regular session to enact such legislation for
the transfer, expenditure or loan of  such  monies,  and  the
President  of the Senate and the Speaker of the House certify
that the Senate and House are not in session, the Governor is
authorized  to  carry  out  those  decisions,  by  depositing
transfers or loan proceeds into and making expenditures  from
the  Disaster Relief Fund, until such time as a quorum of the
General Assembly can convene in a  regular  or  extraordinary
session.    The  General Assembly shall, to the extent moneys
become available, restore  moneys  used  from  other  sources
under this Section.
    (c)  Nothing contained in this Section shall be construed
to  limit  the  Governor's authority to apply for, administer
and expend grants, gifts  or  payments  in  aid  of  disaster
mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery.
(Source: P.A. 92-73, eff. 1-1-02.)

    Section 20. The Emergency Medical Services Systems Act is
amended by adding Section 3.21 as follows:

    (210 ILCS 50/3.21 new)
    Sec.   3.21.  Hospital   first  responders.  The  General
Assembly  finds  that  in  the  event  of   terrorist   acts,
especially  those involving the release of biological agents,
bacteria, viruses, or other agents intended to cause  illness
or  injury, hospitals serve as first responders in diagnosing
and treating the victims of those acts. As first  responders,
hospitals  are  on  the  front lines of the State's emergency
management  efforts.  Given   the   increased   demands   for
equipment,  materials,  and  training  associated  with their
responsibility as first responders in the event of  terrorist
acts,  hospitals  would  benefit from additional resources to
enable them to be better prepared  to  protect  and  aid  the
residents of the State. In awarding funds to support disaster
preparedness  by  first  responders,  the  Department and any
other State agencies shall take  into  account  the  role  of
hospitals  in  being  prepared  to  respond to emergencies or
disasters.

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

Effective Date: 07/22/03