HB5466 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 20003 LNS 33454 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5466

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Camille Y. Lilly

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 996/10
110 ILCS 996/30

Amends the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program Act. Provides, that to be eligible for assistance under the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission must find that the applicant, among other requirements, at the time of application, is currently working as a behavioral health professional in a community mental health center. Provides that an applicant seeking a renewal award in a subsequent year must be employed by a community mental health center, behavioral health clinic, substance use treatment center, or State-operated psychiatric hospital in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in the State at the time of application and must provide evidence of continuous employment for the 12 months that precede the application for renewal. Defines "behavioral health professional". Effective July 1, 2026.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 30 as follows:

(110 ILCS 996/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Behavioral health professional" means a professional engaged in the delivery of behavioral health, mental health, or substance use disorder treatment or services.

"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

"Physician" means a person licensed by this State to practice medicine in all its branches and includes any person holding a temporary license, as provided in the Medical Practice Act of 1987.

"Program" means the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program.

"Psychiatrist" or "licensed psychiatrist" means a physician who has successfully completed a residency program in psychiatry accredited by either the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association.

(Source: P.A. 100-862, eff. 1-1-19.)

(110 ILCS 996/30)

Sec. 30. Eligibility; work requirement.

(a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of the following:

(1) He or she is a United States citizen or an eligible noncitizen.

(2) He or she is a resident of this State.

(3) At the time of application, he He or she is currently working has worked for at least 12 consecutive months as a behavioral health professional in a community mental health center, behavioral health clinic, substance use treatment center, or State-operated psychiatric hospital licensed or certified by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in this State.

(4) He or she is a borrower with an outstanding balance due on an educational loan.

(5) He or she has not defaulted on an educational loan.

(b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous recipient of a grant under the Program, provided that the recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this Section.

(c) A recipient of a grant under the Program must complete a separate 12-month period working in a community mental health center in an underserved or rural federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area in this State following his or her initial application for this grant. An applicant seeking a renewal award in a subsequent year must be employed by a facility identified in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) at the time of application and must provide evidence of continuous employment for the 12 months that precede the application for renewal for each grant that he or she is awarded.

(Source: P.A. 103-56, eff. 7-1-24.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026.