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1 | AN ACT concerning regulation.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize Barriers Task | ||||||
6 | Force Act. | ||||||
7 | Section 5. Declaration of public policy. | ||||||
8 | (a) The State finds that persons from historically and | ||||||
9 | economically disadvantaged groups have been directly and | ||||||
10 | indirectly excluded from opportunity and shared prosperity and | ||||||
11 | that it is in the public policy interest of the State to foster | ||||||
12 | an environment where all people, particularly those | ||||||
13 | equity-focused populations subjected to arbitrary barriers, | ||||||
14 | have the freedom to create their own path to success and | ||||||
15 | self-actualization. | ||||||
16 | (b) The State also finds that the freedom and access to | ||||||
17 | opportunities needed to achieve one's highest potential | ||||||
18 | through a lawful occupation is critically important to the | ||||||
19 | well-being of people in the State, and that the right to pursue | ||||||
20 | a lawful occupation is a fundamental right of all people. | ||||||
21 | (c) Therefore, it is in the public policy interest of the | ||||||
22 | State to minimize and remove unnecessary, arbitrary, and | ||||||
23 | ineffective barriers to employment and economic prosperity |
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1 | that disproportionately exclude persons from historically and | ||||||
2 | economically disadvantaged groups. | ||||||
3 | (d) The General Assembly finds that occupational licensing | ||||||
4 | procedures and programs can unintentionally erect costly | ||||||
5 | barriers to employment for low-income persons, persons who | ||||||
6 | identify as black, indigenous, and people of color, formerly | ||||||
7 | convicted or incarcerated persons, women, and other | ||||||
8 | historically and economically disadvantaged populations. | ||||||
9 | (e) It is in the public policy interest of the State to | ||||||
10 | ensure that costly, unnecessary personal qualification | ||||||
11 | requirements or procedures in current occupational licensing | ||||||
12 | policies are minimized or removed in order to expand equitable | ||||||
13 | access to employment opportunities for persons in historically | ||||||
14 | and economically disadvantaged populations. | ||||||
15 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||
16 | "Department" means the Department of Financial and | ||||||
17 | Professional Regulation. | ||||||
18 | "Low-income and middle-income licensed occupations" means | ||||||
19 | any licensed occupation regulated by the Department where the | ||||||
20 | average annual income of those employed in the occupation in | ||||||
21 | this State is equal to or less than the median annual income | ||||||
22 | for residents of this State as determined by the 2020 United | ||||||
23 | States Census. | ||||||
24 | "Task Force" means the Comprehensive Licensing Information | ||||||
25 | to Minimize Barriers Task Force. |
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1 | Section 15. Task Force. | ||||||
2 | (a) The Comprehensive Licensing Information to Minimize | ||||||
3 | Barriers Task Force is hereby created within the Department of | ||||||
4 | Financial and Professional Regulation. | ||||||
5 | (b) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, | ||||||
6 | the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the | ||||||
7 | chairperson of the Task Force and the President of the Senate | ||||||
8 | shall appoint the vice-chairperson. | ||||||
9 | (c) Within 90 days after the appointment of the | ||||||
10 | chairperson and vice-chairperson, the chairperson and | ||||||
11 | vice-chairperson of the Task Force shall unanimously appoint | ||||||
12 | the following members of the Task Force: | ||||||
13 | (1) one representative from a nonprofit organization | ||||||
14 | that focuses on workforce development; | ||||||
15 | (2) one representative from a nonprofit organization | ||||||
16 | that focuses on reintegrating citizens returning from a | ||||||
17 | period of incarceration; | ||||||
18 | (3) one member of the public that works in a | ||||||
19 | low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds | ||||||
20 | an active license in good standing who has faced barriers | ||||||
21 | to employment through licensure, who may be recommended by | ||||||
22 | the member described in paragraph (1); | ||||||
23 | (4) one member of the public that works in a | ||||||
24 | low-income or middle-income licensed occupation and holds | ||||||
25 | an active license in good standing who has faced barriers |
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1 | to employment through licensure specifically due to a | ||||||
2 | period of incarceration, who may be recommended by the | ||||||
3 | member described in paragraph (2); | ||||||
4 | (5) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an | ||||||
5 | expert in the field of licensing, workforce development, | ||||||
6 | or labor economics and is currently either a member of the | ||||||
7 | faculty at an accredited college or university in this | ||||||
8 | State or conducting related research through a research | ||||||
9 | institute affiliated with an accredited college or | ||||||
10 | university in this State; and | ||||||
11 | (6) one member who holds an advanced degree and is an | ||||||
12 | expert in the field of public health and safety regulation | ||||||
13 | and is currently either a member of the faculty at an | ||||||
14 | accredited college or university in this State or | ||||||
15 | conducting related research through a research institute | ||||||
16 | affiliated with an accredited college or university in | ||||||
17 | this State. | ||||||
18 | (d) Within 90 days after the appointment of the | ||||||
19 | chairperson and vice-chairperson, the following members shall | ||||||
20 | be appointed to the Task Force: | ||||||
21 | (1) the Secretary of Financial and Professional | ||||||
22 | Regulation, or the Secretary's appointed designee; | ||||||
23 | (2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
24 | House of Representatives; and | ||||||
25 | (3) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the | ||||||
26 | Senate. |
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1 | (e) Members of the Task Force shall serve without | ||||||
2 | compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses | ||||||
3 | incurred in the performance of their duties from funds | ||||||
4 | appropriated for that purpose. | ||||||
5 | (f) The Department shall provide administrative support to | ||||||
6 | the Task Force. | ||||||
7 | (g) Within 60 days after the final selection and | ||||||
8 | appointment of the members of the Task Force, the chairperson | ||||||
9 | shall convene the first meeting of the Task Force. | ||||||
10 | (h) Meetings of the Task Force shall be held monthly, with | ||||||
11 | at least 30 days between the previous meeting and the upcoming | ||||||
12 | meeting. Meetings shall be posted publicly. | ||||||
13 | Section 20. Report. | ||||||
14 | (a) The Task Force shall conduct an analysis of | ||||||
15 | occupational licensing, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
16 | processes, procedures, and statutory requirements for | ||||||
17 | licensure administered by the Department. The findings of this | ||||||
18 | analysis shall be delivered to the General Assembly, the | ||||||
19 | Office of Management and Budget, the Department, and the | ||||||
20 | public in the form of a final report. For the purpose of | ||||||
21 | ensuring that historically and economically disadvantaged | ||||||
22 | populations are centered in this analysis, the Task Force | ||||||
23 | shall identify low-income and middle-income licensed | ||||||
24 | occupations in this State and aggregate the information from | ||||||
25 | those occupations under the occupations' respective regulatory |
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1 | board overseen by the Department to form the basis of the | ||||||
2 | report. | ||||||
3 | (b) The report shall contain, to the extent available, | ||||||
4 | information collected from sources including, but not limited | ||||||
5 | to, the Department, department licensure boards, other State | ||||||
6 | boards, relevant departments, or other bodies of the State, | ||||||
7 | and supplementary data including, but not limited to, census | ||||||
8 | statistics, federal reporting, or published research as | ||||||
9 | follows: | ||||||
10 | (1) the number of license applications submitted | ||||||
11 | compared with the number of licenses issued; | ||||||
12 | (2) data concerning the reason why licenses were | ||||||
13 | denied or revoked and a ranking of the most common reasons | ||||||
14 | for denial or revocation; | ||||||
15 | (3) an analysis of the information required of license | ||||||
16 | applicants by the Department compared with the information | ||||||
17 | that the Department is required by statute to verify, to | ||||||
18 | ascertain if applicants are required to submit superfluous | ||||||
19 | information; | ||||||
20 | (4) demographic information for the last 5 years of | ||||||
21 | (i) active license holders, (ii) license holders who were | ||||||
22 | disciplined in that period, (iii) license holders whose | ||||||
23 | licenses were revoked in that period, and (iv) license | ||||||
24 | applicants who were not issued licenses; | ||||||
25 | (5) data aggregated from the last 5 years of monthly | ||||||
26 | enforcement reports, including a ranking of the most |
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1 | common reasons for public discipline; | ||||||
2 | (6) the cost of licensure to the individual, | ||||||
3 | including, but not limited to, the fees for initial | ||||||
4 | licensure and renewal, the average cost of training and | ||||||
5 | testing required for initial licensure, and the average | ||||||
6 | cost of meeting continuing education requirements for | ||||||
7 | license renewal; | ||||||
8 | (7) the locations within this State of each program or | ||||||
9 | school that provides the required training and testing | ||||||
10 | needed to obtain or renew a license, and whether the | ||||||
11 | required training and testing can be fulfilled online; | ||||||
12 | (8) the languages in which the required training or | ||||||
13 | testing is offered; | ||||||
14 | (9) the acceptance rates, graduation rates, and | ||||||
15 | dropout rates of the training facilities that provide | ||||||
16 | required training; | ||||||
17 | (10) the percentage of students at each school that | ||||||
18 | offers required training who financed the required | ||||||
19 | training through student loans; and | ||||||
20 | (11) the average annual salary of those in the | ||||||
21 | occupation. | ||||||
22 | (c) The final report shall also contain a general | ||||||
23 | description of the steps taken by the Task Force to fulfill the | ||||||
24 | report criteria and shall include in an appendix of the report | ||||||
25 | any results of the Task Force's analysis in the form of graphs, | ||||||
26 | charts, or other data visualizations. The Task Force shall |
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1 | also exercise due care in the reporting of this information to | ||||||
2 | protect sensitive information of personal or proprietary value | ||||||
3 | or information that would risk the security of residents of | ||||||
4 | this State. | ||||||
5 | (d) The Task Force shall publish the final report by | ||||||
6 | December 1, 2023 with recommendations to the General Assembly, | ||||||
7 | including recommendations for continued required reporting | ||||||
8 | from the Department to better support the General Assembly in | ||||||
9 | revoking, modifying, or creating new licensing Acts.
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10 | Section 90. Repeal. This Act is repealed December 1, 2024. | ||||||
11 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
12 | becoming law. |