102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4012

 

Introduced 3/4/2021, by Rep. Anna Moeller

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Regulatory Sunrise Review Act. Establishes a process to investigate and review the necessity of new regulation over a previously unregulated profession or occupation or the expansion of the scope of practice thereof. Provides that any professional or occupational group or organization, any individual, or any other interested party may submit to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation an application for sunrise review of proposed legislation to regulate a profession or occupation that at the time of application does not require authorization by any agency of the State to practice or the expansion of the scope of practice of a licensed profession or occupation. Establishes minimum criteria for sunrise review. Provides that the Department shall establish the Sunrise Review Unit to consider applications for sunrise review. Specifies actions the Department may take in the course of considering an application for sunrise review. Provides that after evaluating the application, the Department shall submit its final report to the General Assembly. Effective July 1, 2022.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Regulatory Sunrise Review Act.
 
6    Section 5. Declaration of public policy.
7    (a) It is hereby declared that the Department of Financial
8and Professional Regulation is charged with protecting the
9health, safety, and welfare of Illinois residents and that
10creation of a Sunrise Review Unit within the Department of
11Financial and Professional Regulation to conduct comprehensive
12reviews of any proposed legislation to regulate a profession
13or occupation or expansion of scope of practice thereof, is
14necessary to ensure such legislation will be necessary to
15protect the public health, safety, or welfare from significant
16and discernible harm or damage.
17    (b) It is also declared that, if there is a need to protect
18the health, safety, and welfare by way of legislation to
19provide for licensure or title protection of an unregulated
20profession or occupation or an expansion of scope of practice
21thereof, the General Assembly shall consider the Sunrise
22Review Unit's recommendations as part of its legislative
23function. Nothing in this Act shall interfere with the General

 

 

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1Assembly otherwise considering legislation on any regulatory
2matter.
 
3    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
4    "Address of record" means the designated address recorded
5by the Department in the applicant's sunrise application file
6maintained by the Department.
7    "Applicant" means a person or entity requesting a sunrise
8review for legislation to regulate a profession or occupation
9or to expand the scope of practice of a regulated profession or
10occupation.
11    "Department" means the Department of Financial and
12Professional Regulation.
13    "Email address of record" means the designated email
14address recorded by the Department in the applicant's sunrise
15application file maintained by the Department.
16    "License" means the privilege conferred by the Department
17to a person that has fulfilled all the requirements
18prerequisite to any type of licensure under this Act.
19    "Licensee" means a person who holds or claims to hold a
20license. An unlicensed person or entity that holds himself,
21herself, or itself out as a licensee or engages in a licensed
22activity shall be deemed to be a licensee for the purposes of
23investigation or disciplinary action.
24    "Licensing" and "Licensure" means a process by which the
25Department grants to a person who has met certain prerequisite

 

 

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1qualifications the right to perform prescribed professional or
2occupational tasks and to use the title of the profession or
3occupation.
4    "Practitioner" means a person who is actively engaged in a
5specified profession or occupation.
6    "Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and
7Professional Regulation or a person authorized by the
8Secretary to act in the Secretary's stead.
9    "Sunrise application" means the application for review by
10an applicant for licensure of an unregulated profession,
11occupation, or respective scope thereof.
12    "Sunrise review" means the process as provided in this Act
13by which the Department shall assess the sunrise application.
 
14    Section 15. Address of record; email address of record.
15All applicants shall:
16        (1) provide a valid address and email address to the
17    Department, which shall serve as the address of record and
18    email address of record, respectively, at the time of
19    application for sunrise review; and
20        (2) inform the Department of any change of address of
21    record or email address of record within 14 days after
22    such change either through the Department's website or by
23    otherwise contacting the Department.
 
24    Section 20. Fees. The Department shall establish by rule a

 

 

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1schedule of fees for the administration and maintenance of
2this Act. The fees shall not be refundable.
 
3    Section 25. Returned checks; fines. Any person who
4delivers a check or other payment to the Department that is
5returned to the Department unpaid by the financial institution
6upon which it is drawn shall pay to the Department, in addition
7to the amount already owed to the Department, a fine of $50.
8The Department shall notify the person that payment of fees
9and fines shall be paid to the Department by certified check or
10money order within 30 calendar days of the notification. If,
11after the expiration of 30 days from the date of the
12notification, the person has failed to submit the necessary
13remittance, the Department shall automatically withdraw the
14applicant's sunrise application.
 
15    Section 30. Disposition of funds. All of the fees
16collected as authorized under this Act shall be deposited into
17the General Professions Dedicated Fund. The moneys deposited
18into the General Professions Dedicated Fund may be used for
19the expenses of the Department in the administration of this
20Act. Moneys from the Fund may also be used for direct and
21allocable indirect costs related to the public purposes of the
22Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Moneys in
23the Fund may be transferred to the Professions Indirect Cost
24Fund as authorized by Section 2105-300 of the Department of

 

 

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1Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administration Code
2of Illinois.
 
3    Section 35. Establishment of the Sunrise Review Unit
4within the Department. Subject to appropriation, the
5Department shall establish the Sunrise Review Unit to carry
6out the provisions of this Act. Subject to appropriation, the
7Secretary shall appoint 3 members to the Sunrise Review Unit
8from within the Department.
 
9    Section 40. Application for sunrise review.
10    (a) Any professional or occupational group or
11organization, any individual, or any other interested party
12seeking licensure of a profession or occupation or seeking to
13expand the scope of practice of a licensed profession or
14occupation shall submit a sunrise application. Applications
15for sunrise review shall be made to the Department in writing
16on forms provided by the Department and shall be accompanied
17by the required nonrefundable fee. All applications shall
18contain information that, in the judgment of the Department,
19will enable the Department to evaluate an application for
20sunrise review.
21    (b) Applicants for sunrise review shall have one year
22after the date of application to complete the application
23process for review by the Department's Sunrise Review Unit. If
24the process has not been completed in one year, the

 

 

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1application shall be denied, the fee shall be forfeited, and
2the applicant must reapply and meet the requirements in effect
3at the time of reapplication.
4    (c) Multiple applications for the same review made by the
5same applicant shall result in a denial of all applications
6for sunrise review in process by the Department. The fees
7shall be forfeited. The applicant shall be prohibited to
8reapply for sunrise review by the Department for one year from
9the date of the last application.
10    (d) The Department may adopt additional rules to
11administer this Section.
 
12    Section 45. Department procedures for sunrise reviews.
13    (a) Upon receipt of a completed application for sunrise
14review, the Department may, in the course of its review, do the
15following:
16        (1) request the applicant to provide notice, in a
17    format prescribed by the Department, of its sunrise
18    application and proposed legislation to regulate
19    practitioners of the profession or occupation, or an
20    expansion of scope of practice thereof, to the public, to
21    any professional organizations or associations that
22    include practitioners of the profession or occupation that
23    is proposed by the applicant to be regulated, as
24    determined by the Department, and to any opposition groups
25    to the proposed legislation, as determined by the

 

 

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1    Department; the applicant shall provide the Department a
2    copy of the notice and a list of the persons,
3    organizations or associations, or any opposition group to
4    whom the notice was sent;
5        (2) request information from state agencies that
6    contract with individuals in the unregulated profession or
7    occupation, the Attorney General Consumer Protection
8    division, and others knowledgeable of the profession or
9    occupation;
10        (3) identify evidence, if any, of present, significant
11    or discernible harm that the unregulated profession or
12    occupation or its current regulatory treatment has caused
13    to consumers;
14        (4) when deemed appropriate, provide notice and hold
15    public hearings subject to the Open Meetings Act to gather
16    additional information from members of the public and
17    anyone opposed or in favor of the proposed regulation;
18        (5) receive any information or documentation for
19    consideration to the Sunrise Review Unit from the public,
20    including professional and government organizations; and
21        (6) recommend if the proposed regulation is necessary
22    to protect consumers from present, significant, and
23    discernible harms.
24    (b) In conducting the sunrise review, the Sunrise Review
25Unit shall consider the information provided by the applicant
26as set forth in Section 50 of this Act to determine whether the

 

 

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1applicant has satisfied the minimum requirements. The
2applicant carries the burden of demonstrating to the Sunrise
3Review Unit that the proposed regulation is necessary to
4protect the public health, safety, or welfare from significant
5and discernible harm or damage.
6    (c) The Sunrise Review Unit shall commence its review
7within 12 months after receipt of a completed application and
8prepare a final report within 6 months of the review
9conclusion date. The Department may issue a report in advance
10of the time allotted. The report shall contain, but not be
11limited to, the following:
12        (1) a summary of proposed legislation to regulate an
13    unregulated profession or occupation, or the expansion of
14    scope of practice thereof, the criteria and standards
15    provided by the applicant, comments or arguments made by
16    the public or opponent groups, and any steps taken to
17    include the public and any opposition group in the sunrise
18    process;
19        (2) an analysis of whether the applicant's responses
20    to the criteria set forth in Section 50 demonstrate that
21    the proposed regulation is necessary to protect the public
22    health, safety, or welfare from significant and
23    discernible harm or damage; and
24        (3) a recommendation on whether legislation is needed
25    to regulate the profession or occupation, or expansion of
26    the scope of practice thereof, and, if so, the type and

 

 

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1    scope of regulation needed.
2    (d) The Department has the discretion to decline to
3conduct a sunrise review in certain circumstances, including,
4but not limited to, repeat applications where no new
5substantive information is provided and where the requested
6review is not applicable to the Department's regulatory
7oversight. When the Department exercises its discretion to
8decline to conduct a sunrise review, it shall provide a
9written explanation of its decision to the applicant.
 
10    Section 50. Minimum criteria for sunrise review. Prior to
11review as authorized under this Act, an applicant for sunrise
12review shall provide, at minimum, the following criteria in
13this Section:
14        (1) the name or type of profession or occupation or
15    expansion of scope of practice thereof that is requested
16    to be regulated or expanded;
17        (2) the types of harm to the public health, safety, or
18    welfare in this State that will be remedied by legislation
19    to regulate a profession or occupation or to expand the
20    scope of practice thereof;
21        (3) whether and how the public can reasonably expect
22    to benefit from an assurance of initial and continuing
23    professional or occupational competence;
24        (4) whether and how any current protections exist for
25    consumers of the goods and services provided by the

 

 

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1    unregulated profession or occupation or expansion of scope
2    of practice thereof;
3        (5) the nature of the potential or discernible harm or
4    threat to the public health, safety, or welfare if the
5    profession or occupation or expansion of scope of practice
6    thereof is not regulated or expanded, and an explanation
7    of why regulatory frameworks other than licensure would
8    not be adequate to protect the public;
9        (6) the approximate number of individuals or
10    businesses that would be subject to the legislation to
11    regulate the profession or occupation, or the expansion of
12    the scope of practice thereof, and a list of associations,
13    organizations, and other groups available to practitioners
14    of the profession or occupation;
15        (7) the existence of national accreditations or
16    national certification systems for the profession or
17    occupation;
18        (8) a list and description of State and federal laws
19    that have been enacted to protect the public with respect
20    to the profession or occupation;
21        (9) a copy of any federal legislation mandating
22    regulation;
23        (10) a list of states that regulate the profession or
24    occupation, the type of regulation, copies of other
25    states' laws and available evidence from those states of
26    the effects of regulation on the profession or occupation;

 

 

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1        (11) a description of any previous efforts in this
2    State to implement legislation to regulate the profession
3    or occupation or an expansion of scope of practice
4    thereof;
5        (12) a description of the extent that the legislation
6    to regulate will place unreasonable barriers to entry on
7    individuals that practice the profession or occupation, or
8    in the expansion of scope of practice thereof, including,
9    but not limited to, a description of any anticipated
10    barriers for practitioners based on criminal history and
11    any barriers for active military members and their
12    spouses;
13        (13) a description of how legislation to regulate a
14    profession or occupation, or the expansion of scope of
15    practice thereof, will increase the cost of goods or
16    services provided or affect the availability of goods or
17    services to the public;
18        (14) the cost that will be imposed on practitioners of
19    the profession or occupation, or the expansion of scope of
20    practice thereof, resulting from the regulation;
21        (15) the educational or training programs that exist,
22    the cost of such educational or training programs, the
23    relevance of such educational or training programs for the
24    full scope of practice proposed to be licensed, and
25    whether all applicants will be required to pass an
26    examination and, if an examination is required, its

 

 

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1    relevance to the skills of the profession or occupation,
2    by whom it will be developed, and how the costs of
3    development will be met;
4        (16) whether renewal will be based only upon payment
5    of a fee or whether renewal will involve continuing
6    education, reexamination, or other methodologies;
7        (17) the standards for licensure as compared with the
8    standards of other jurisdictions;
9        (18) the form, powers, and composition of a licensing
10    board if needed; and
11        (19) any other information the Department requests for
12    its analysis of the proposed legislation.
13    Additional criteria may be established by the Department
14by rule.
 
15    Section 55. Review by the General Assembly.
16    (a) After evaluating the application for sunrise review,
17the Department shall submit its final report to the General
18Assembly as provided for in subsection (c) of Section 45.
19    (b) The General Assembly shall consider the Department's
20recommendation.
 
21    Section 60. Severability. This Act is declared to be
22severable, and should any word, phrase, sentence, provision,
23or Section hereof be hereafter declared unconstitutional or
24otherwise invalid, the remainder of this Act shall not thereby

 

 

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1be affected, but shall remain valid and in full force and
2effect for all intents and purposes.
 
3    Section 65. Rulemaking authority. The Department may adopt
4rules for the administration and enforcement of this Act.
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
62022.