HB4058 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 14796 CPF 20149 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4058

Introduced 4/6/2021, by Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority Act. Creates the Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority to facilitate the development of a statewide health professions pipeline that identifies, educates, recruits, and retains a diverse, appropriately geographically distributed and culturally competent quality workforce. Provides for the appointment of an executive director, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provides for the powers and responsibilities of the Authority, including monitoring, collecting, and tracking data pertaining to health care delivery, training, and education from Illinois educational institutions and other entities as needed, together with assessing policies, engaging in policy development, and making policy recommendations. Provides the Authority with rulemaking authority. Exempts the Authority from the provisions of the Personnel Code and the Illinois Procurement Code. Requires the Authority to make an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority Act.

Section 5. Definition. In this Act, "Authority" means the Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority.

Section 10. Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority; mission; responsibilities.

(a) There is hereby created a State agency known as the Illinois Health Workforce Development Authority. The Authority shall be led by an executive director appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years. The compensation of the executive director shall be set by the Governor at the time of his or her appointment.

(b) The mission of the Authority is to facilitate the development of a statewide health professions pipeline that identifies, educates, recruits, and retains a diverse, appropriately geographically distributed and culturally competent quality workforce. To accomplish this mission, the responsibilities of the Authority include, but are not limited to:

(1) providing the statewide infrastructure required for health workforce needs assessment and planning that maintains engagement by health professions training programs in decision making and program implementation;

(2) coordinating with and serving as a resource to relevant State, regional, and local entities including, but not limited to, the Health Facilities and Services Review Board, the Illinois Medical District Commission, the Mid-Illinois Medical District Commission, the Mid-America Medical District Commission, and the Roseland Community Medical District Commission;

(3) informing State and local policy development regarding health care delivery, training, and education;

(4) identifying and promoting evidence-based strategies for health workforce pipeline development and interdisciplinary health care service models, particularly those affecting rural and other underserved areas;

(5) supporting communities in their health workforce recruitment and retention efforts, developing partnerships, and promoting models of participatory engagement with business, community-based, and social organizations to foster integration of health care training and education;

(6) advocating for programs that will result in reducing the debt load of newly-trained health professionals;

(7) identifying high priority target areas within each region of the State and working toward health workforce development initiatives that improve health measurably in those areas; and

(8) fostering or creating innovative health workforce development models that provide both health and economic benefits to the regions they serve.

Section 15. Authorizations; authority; exemptions.

(a) The Authority is authorized to serve as the incorporated consortium of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in Illinois, as required by federal statute to qualify for the receipt of Area Health Education Centers programs, legislatively mandated under the federal Public Health Service Act, as amended (Title VII, Section 751, and 42 U.S.C. 294a), and to administer federal, State, and local programs as needed to carry out its public purpose and objectives. The Authority is further authorized to exercise independently the powers conferred by this Section in furtherance of its mission and purposes to benefit all who might be served by the Authority.

(b) The Authority is authorized to monitor, collect, and track data pertaining to health care delivery, training, and education from Illinois educational institutions and other entities as needed to carry out its public purpose and objectives in areas where such data efforts do not already exist.

(c) The Authority shall assess policies, engage in policy development, and make policy recommendations.

(d) The Authority has the authority to:

(1) apply for and accept federal, State, and local public and private grants, loans, appropriations, and donations;

(2) hire and compensate such staff as the Executive Director may determine;

(3) rent, lease, buy, own, acquire, and dispose of property, real or personal;

(4) participate in joint ventures, including entering into contracts, intergovernmental agreements, and other agreements with public and private entities in order to carry out its mission and purposes; and

(5) adopt rules under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Act.

(e) The Authority shall be exempt from the provisions of the Personnel Code and the Illinois Procurement Code.

Section 20. Annual report. The Authority shall report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on its activities, including its progress towards achieving its mission and carrying out its purposes, together with recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes needed to better carry out its mission and purposes.