Public Act 098-0452
 
HB2777 EnrolledLRB098 09576 DRJ 39722 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act 
is amended  by changing Section 3.85 as follows:
 



    (210 ILCS 50/3.85)



    Sec. 3.85. Vehicle Service Providers. 

    (a) "Vehicle Service Provider" means an entity
licensed by 
the Department to provide emergency or
non-emergency medical 
services in compliance with this Act,
the rules promulgated by 
the Department pursuant to this
Act, and an operational plan 
approved by its EMS System(s),
utilizing at least ambulances or 
specialized emergency
medical service vehicles (SEMSV).


        (1) "Ambulance" means any publicly or
privately owned 
    on-road vehicle that is specifically designed,
constructed 
    or modified and equipped, and is intended to be
used for, 
    and is maintained or operated for the emergency

    transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded or

    otherwise incapacitated or helpless, or the non-emergency

    medical transportation of persons who require the presence

    of medical personnel to monitor the individual's condition

    or medical apparatus being used on such individuals.


        (2) "Specialized Emergency Medical Services
Vehicle" 
    or "SEMSV" means a vehicle or conveyance, other
than those 
    owned or operated by the federal government, that
is 
    primarily intended for use in transporting the sick or

    injured by means of air, water, or ground transportation,

    that is not an ambulance as defined in this Act.  The term

    includes watercraft, aircraft and special purpose ground

    transport vehicles or conveyances not intended for use on

    public roads.


        (3) An ambulance or SEMSV may also be
designated as a 
    Limited Operation Vehicle or Special-Use Vehicle:


            (A) "Limited Operation Vehicle" means a
vehicle 
        which is licensed by the Department to provide
basic, 
        intermediate or advanced life support emergency or

        non-emergency medical services that are exclusively 
        limited
to specific events or locales.


            (B) "Special-Use Vehicle" means any
publicly or 
        privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed,

        constructed or modified and equipped, and is intended 
        to be
used for, and is maintained or operated solely 
        for the
emergency or non-emergency transportation of a 
        specific
medical class or category of persons who are 
        sick, injured,
wounded or otherwise incapacitated or 
        helpless (e.g.
high-risk obstetrical patients, 
        neonatal patients).

            (C) "Reserve Ambulance" means a vehicle that meets 
        all criteria set forth in this Section and all 
        Department rules, except for the required inventory of 
        medical supplies and durable medical equipment, which 
        may be rapidly transferred from a fully functional 
        ambulance to a reserve ambulance without the use of 
        tools or special mechanical expertise. 
    (b) The Department shall have the authority and

responsibility to:


        (1) Require all Vehicle Service Providers, both

    publicly and privately owned, to function within an EMS

    System.


        (2) Require a Vehicle Service Provider
utilizing 
    ambulances to have a primary affiliation with an EMS System

    within the EMS Region in which its Primary Service Area is

    located, which is the geographic areas in which the 
    provider
renders the majority of its emergency responses.  
    This
requirement shall not apply to Vehicle Service 
    Providers
which exclusively utilize Limited Operation 
    Vehicles.


        (3) Establish licensing standards and
requirements for 
    Vehicle Service Providers, through rules
adopted pursuant 
    to this Act, including but not limited to:


            (A) Vehicle design, specification,
operation and 
        maintenance standards, including standards for the use 
        of reserve ambulances;


            (B) Equipment requirements;


            (C) Staffing requirements; and


            (D) License renewal at intervals determined by the 
        Department, which shall be not less than every 4 years 
        Annual license renewal.
        The Department's standards and requirements with 
    respect to vehicle staffing must allow for an alternative 
    rural staffing model for those vehicle service providers 
    that serve a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or 
    fewer inhabitants and exclusively uses volunteers, 
    paid-on-call, or a combination thereof.


        (4) License all Vehicle Service Providers
that have met 
    the Department's requirements for licensure, unless
such 
    Provider is owned or licensed by the federal
government.  
    All Provider licenses issued by the Department
shall 
    specify the level and type of each vehicle covered by
the 
    license (BLS, ILS, ALS, ambulance, SEMSV, limited

    operation vehicle, special use vehicle, reserve 
    ambulance).


        (5) Annually inspect all licensed vehicles operated by 
    Vehicle
Service Providers, and relicense such Providers 
    that have met the
Department's requirements for license 
    renewal.


        (6) Suspend, revoke, refuse to issue or refuse to
renew 
    the license of any Vehicle Service Provider, or that

    portion of a license pertaining to a specific vehicle

    operated by the Provider, after an opportunity for a

    hearing, when findings show that the Provider or one or 
    more
of its vehicles has failed to comply with the 
    standards and
requirements of this Act or rules adopted by 
    the Department
pursuant to this Act.


        (7) Issue an Emergency Suspension Order for
any 
    Provider or vehicle licensed under this Act, when the

    Director or his designee has determined that an immediate

    and serious danger to the public health, safety and welfare

    exists.  Suspension or revocation proceedings which offer 
    an
opportunity for hearing shall be promptly initiated 
    after
the Emergency Suspension Order has been issued.


        (8) Exempt any licensed vehicle from
subsequent 
    vehicle design standards or specifications required by the

    Department, as long as said vehicle is continuously in

    compliance with the vehicle design standards and

    specifications originally applicable to that vehicle, or

    until said vehicle's title of ownership is transferred.


        (9) Exempt any vehicle (except an SEMSV)
which was 
    being used as an ambulance on or before December 15,
1980, 
    from vehicle design standards and specifications
required 
    by the Department, until said vehicle's title of
ownership 
    is transferred.  Such vehicles shall not be exempt
from all 
    other licensing standards and requirements
prescribed by 
    the Department.


        (10) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider
from 
    advertising, identifying its vehicles, or disseminating

    information in a false or misleading manner concerning the

    Provider's type and level of vehicles, location, primary

    service area, response times, level of personnel, 
    licensure
status or System participation.

        (10.5) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider, whether 
    municipal, private, or hospital-owned, from advertising 
    itself as a critical care transport provider unless it 
    participates in a Department-approved EMS System critical 
    care transport plan. 

        (11) Charge each Vehicle Service Provider a
fee per 
    transport vehicle, due annually at time of inspection to be 
    submitted with each application for licensure and
license 
    renewal. The fee per transport vehicle shall be set by 
    administrative rule by the Department and shall not exceed 
    100 vehicles per provider.

(Source: P.A. 96-1469, eff. 1-1-11; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 
97-1014, eff. 1-1-13.)