HB3186eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3186 Engrossed LRB098 10920 DRJ 41464 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act is amended by changing Section 3.50 as follows:

(210 ILCS 50/3.50)

Sec. 3.50. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Licensure.

(a) "Emergency Medical Technician-Basic" or "EMT-B" means a person who has successfully completed a course of instruction in basic life support as prescribed by the Department, is currently licensed by the Department in accordance with standards prescribed by this Act and rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and practices within an EMS System.

(b) "Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate" or "EMT-I" means a person who has successfully completed a course of instruction in intermediate life support as prescribed by the Department, is currently licensed by the Department in accordance with standards prescribed by this Act and rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and practices within an Intermediate or Advanced Life Support EMS System.

(c) "Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic" or "EMT-P" means a person who has successfully completed a course of instruction in advanced life support care as prescribed by the Department, is licensed by the Department in accordance with standards prescribed by this Act and rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act, and practices within an Advanced Life Support EMS System.

(d) The Department shall have the authority and responsibility to:

(1) Prescribe education and training requirements, which includes training in the use of epinephrine, for all levels of EMT, based on the respective national curricula of the United States Department of Transportation and any modifications to such curricula specified by the Department through rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

(2) Prescribe licensure testing requirements for all levels of EMT, which shall include a requirement that all phases of instruction, training, and field experience be completed before taking the EMT licensure examination. Candidates may elect to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians examination in lieu of the Department's examination, but are responsible for making their own arrangements for taking the National Registry examination. In prescribing licensure testing requirements for honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States under this paragraph (2), the Department shall ensure that a candidate's military emergency medical training, emergency medical curriculum completed, and clinical experience, as described in paragraph (2.5), are recognized.

(2.5) Review applications for EMT licensure from honorably discharged members of the armed forces of the United States with military emergency medical training. Applications shall be filed with the Department within one year after military discharge and shall contain: (i) proof of successful completion of military emergency medical training; (ii) a detailed description of the emergency medical curriculum completed; and (iii) a detailed description of the applicant's clinical experience. The Department may request additional and clarifying information. The Department shall evaluate the application, including the applicant's training and experience, consistent with the standards set forth under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 3.10. If the application clearly demonstrates that the training and experience meets such standards, the Department shall offer the applicant the opportunity to successfully complete a Department-approved EMT examination for which the applicant is qualified. Upon passage of an examination, the Department shall issue a license, which shall be subject to all provisions of this Act that are otherwise applicable to the class of EMT license issued.

(3) License individuals as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P who have met the Department's education, training and examination requirements.

(4) Prescribe annual continuing education and relicensure requirements for all levels of EMT. If an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P has been actively involved in serving as an EMT in a rural area on a volunteer or paid-on-call basis, or a combination of volunteer and paid-on-call, during the period since he or she was licensed or last relicensed (whichever occurred later), the Department shall deem that service as satisfying 50% of the number of hours of continuing education otherwise required for relicensure. The Department shall adopt rules defining "actively involved" and "rural area".

(5) Relicense individuals as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or EMT-P every 4 years, based on their compliance with continuing education and relicensure requirements. An Illinois licensed Emergency Medical Technician whose license has been expired for less than 36 months may apply for reinstatement by the Department. Reinstatement shall require that the applicant (i) submit satisfactory proof of completion of continuing medical education and clinical requirements to be prescribed by the Department in an administrative rule; (ii) submit a positive recommendation from an Illinois EMS Medical Director attesting to the applicant's qualifications for retesting; and (iii) pass a Department approved test for the level of EMT license sought to be reinstated.

(6) Grant inactive status to any EMT who qualifies, based on standards and procedures established by the Department in rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

(7) Charge a fee for EMT examination, licensure, and license renewal.

(8) Suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew the license of any licensee, after an opportunity for an impartial hearing before a neutral administrative law judge appointed by the Director, where the preponderance of the evidence shows one or more of the following:

(A) The licensee has not met continuing education or relicensure requirements as prescribed by the Department;

(B) The licensee has failed to maintain proficiency in the level of skills for which he or she is licensed;

(C) The licensee, during the provision of medical services, engaged in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public;

(D) The licensee has failed to maintain or has violated standards of performance and conduct as prescribed by the Department in rules adopted pursuant to this Act or his or her EMS System's Program Plan;

(E) The licensee is physically impaired to the extent that he or she cannot physically perform the skills and functions for which he or she is licensed, as verified by a physician, unless the person is on inactive status pursuant to Department regulations;

(F) The licensee is mentally impaired to the extent that he or she cannot exercise the appropriate judgment, skill and safety for performing the functions for which he or she is licensed, as verified by a physician, unless the person is on inactive status pursuant to Department regulations;

(G) The licensee has violated this Act or any rule adopted by the Department pursuant to this Act; or

(H) The licensee has been convicted (or entered a plea of guilty or nolo-contendere) by a court of competent jurisdiction of a Class X, Class 1, or Class 2 felony in this State or an out-of-state equivalent offense.

(9) An EMT who is a member of the Illinois National Guard or an Illinois State Trooper or who exclusively serves as a volunteer for units of local government with a population base of less than 5,000 or as a volunteer for a not-for-profit organization that serves a service area with a population base of less than 5,000 may submit an application to the Department for a waiver of the these fees described under paragraph (7) on a form prescribed by the Department.

The education requirements prescribed by the Department under this subsection must allow for the suspension of those requirements in the case of a member of the armed services or reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Illinois National Guard who is on active duty pursuant to an executive order of the President of the United States, an act of the Congress of the United States, or an order of the Governor at the time that the member would otherwise be required to fulfill a particular education requirement. Such a person must fulfill the education requirement within 6 months after his or her release from active duty.

(e) In the event that any rule of the Department or an EMS Medical Director that requires testing for drug use as a condition for EMT licensure conflicts with or duplicates a provision of a collective bargaining agreement that requires testing for drug use, that rule shall not apply to any person covered by the collective bargaining agreement.

(Source: P.A. 96-540, eff. 8-17-09; 96-1149, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1469, eff. 1-1-11; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-509, eff. 8-23-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1014, eff. 1-1-13; revised 10-17-12.)