093_HB1707
LRB093 04865 MBS 04924 b
1 AN ACT concerning public safety.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Hazardous Materials Emergency Act is
5 amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
6 (430 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 127, par. 1251)
7 Sec. 1. Findings. It is the finding of the General
8 Assembly:
9 (a) That the use, transportation, storage and
10 manufacture of hazardous materials creates a substantial risk
11 that accidents will occur involving such hazardous materials;
12 (b) That accidents involving hazardous materials create
13 an unreasonable risk to the health, safety and welfare of the
14 People of Illinois;
15 (c) That the federal government promulgates regulations
16 for the interstate transportation of hazardous materials, but
17 that the People of Illinois can benefit by having such
18 precautions as those included in federal regulation extended
19 to intrastate transportation and other activities which
20 might result in an accident involving hazardous materials;
21 (d) That often the emergency agency which first responds
22 to an accident involving a hazardous material is unable to
23 determine the nature of the material and is unfamiliar with
24 precautionary measures which must be exercised in handling
25 the material, with resulting use of incorrect emergency
26 procedures endangering both members of the emergency agency
27 and the public; and
28 (e) That response to hazardous materials emergencies can
29 be accomplished more rapidly and with greater efficiency if
30 one agency of State government with the necessary
31 communications network is designated as the central
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1 reporting agency in case of emergency.
2 (Source: P.A. 79-1442.)