| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning regulation. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly: | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Fire Sprinkler Contractor Licensing Act is | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | amended by changing Section 35 as follows: | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | (225 ILCS 317/35) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sec. 35. Fees, renewals, continuing education, and | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | required insurance. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | (a) The fees for an initial license and each renewal and | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | for duplicate copies of licenses shall be determined by the | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Office by rule. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | (b) Each license shall be renewed every 2 years. Each | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | licensee shall complete at least 16 hours of continuing | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | education in the 2-year period following the licensee's | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | renewal or initial licensure, with at least 8 hours of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | continuing education completed during each year of the current | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | license. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | To satisfy the continuing education requirement for fire | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | sprinkler contractors, continuing education shall be completed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | by the designated certified person or responsible managing | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | employee on behalf of the fire sprinkler contractor licensee. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | Current licensure as a professional engineer or proof of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | current NICET Level III or IV certification in water-based | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | fire protection systems layout shall satisfy the continuing | ||||||
| 2 | education requirement for designated certified persons. | ||||||
| 3 | Continuing education offered through nationally recognized | ||||||
| 4 | building and fire code organizations and their affiliates; | ||||||
| 5 | nationally recognized fire sprinkler organizations and their | ||||||
| 6 | affiliates; institutions of higher education; educational | ||||||
| 7 | bodies specializing in automatic fire suppression system | ||||||
| 8 | technology; as well as other entities approved by the Office | ||||||
| 9 | shall be also acceptable. All continuing education entities | ||||||
| 10 | seeking to be approved providers of continuing education shall | ||||||
| 11 | make application to the Office and offer programs that: | ||||||
| 12 | (1) contribute to the advancement, extension, or | ||||||
| 13 | enhancement of the professional skills or technical | ||||||
| 14 | knowledge of the licensee in the practice of fire | ||||||
| 15 | sprinkler contracting; and | ||||||
| 16 | (2) are developed and presented by persons with | ||||||
| 17 | education or experience in the subject manner of the | ||||||
| 18 | program. | ||||||
| 19 | (c) Any person who fails to file a renewal application by | ||||||
| 20 | the date of expiration of a license shall be assessed a late | ||||||
| 21 | filing fee, which shall be determined by the Office by rule. | ||||||
| 22 | (d) Any fee required by this Act is not refundable in the | ||||||
| 23 | event that the initial application or application for renewal | ||||||
| 24 | is denied. | ||||||
| 25 | (e) Every application for an initial license or renewal of | ||||||
| 26 | a fire sprinkler contractor license shall be accompanied by a | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company | ||||||
| 2 | authorized to do business in the State of Illinois or by a risk | ||||||
| 3 | retention or purchasing group formed pursuant to the federal | ||||||
| 4 | Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, which provides primary, | ||||||
| 5 | first dollar public liability coverage of the applicant or | ||||||
| 6 | licensee for personal injuries for not less than $500,000 per | ||||||
| 7 | person or $1,000,000 per occurrence, and, in addition, for not | ||||||
| 8 | less than $1,000,000 per occurrence for property damage. The | ||||||
| 9 | insurance policy shall be in effect at all times during the | ||||||
| 10 | license year and a new certificate of insurance shall be filed | ||||||
| 11 | with the Office within 30 days after the renewal of the | ||||||
| 12 | insurance policy. | ||||||
| 13 | (f) The Office shall prepare a report evaluating the | ||||||
| 14 | effectiveness and industry impacts of the continuing education | ||||||
| 15 | requirements established under this Section. The report | ||||||
| 16 | required under this subsection shall include recommendations | ||||||
| 17 | for statutory or rule changes and shall be delivered to the | ||||||
| 18 | General Assembly by December 31, 2026. | ||||||
| 19 | (Source: P.A. 102-612, eff. 8-27-21.) | ||||||
| 20 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 21 | becoming law. | ||||||