Rep. Margaret Croke
Filed: 5/14/2021
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1905
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| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1905 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| 4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
| 5 | Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act. | ||||||
| 7 | "Employee" means any individual permitted to work by an | ||||||
| 8 | employer. | ||||||
| 9 | "Employer" means an individual, partnership, corporation, | ||||||
| 10 | association, business, trust, person, or entity for whom | ||||||
| 11 | employees are gainfully employed in Illinois and includes the | ||||||
| 12 | State of Illinois, any State officer, department or agency, | ||||||
| 13 | any unit of local government, and any school district. | ||||||
| 14 | Section 10. Required disclosures. | ||||||
| 15 | (a) An employer that provides group health insurance | ||||||
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| 1 | coverage to its employees shall, upon hire, annually | ||||||
| 2 | thereafter, and upon request from an employee, provide all | ||||||
| 3 | employees eligible for the coverage a written list of the | ||||||
| 4 | covered benefits included in the group health insurance | ||||||
| 5 | coverage in a format that easily compares those covered | ||||||
| 6 | benefits with the essential health insurance benefits required | ||||||
| 7 | of individual health insurance coverage regulated by the State | ||||||
| 8 | of Illinois. | ||||||
| 9 | (b) The Department of Insurance shall provide information | ||||||
| 10 | outlining the essential health insurance benefits of | ||||||
| 11 | individual health insurance coverage regulated by the State of | ||||||
| 12 | Illinois, which an employer may use to inform eligible | ||||||
| 13 | employees of benefits included or not included in their health | ||||||
| 14 | insurance coverage. | ||||||
| 15 | (c) An employer may comply with the requirements of | ||||||
| 16 | subsection (a) by providing the required information by email | ||||||
| 17 | to its employees or providing the information on a website | ||||||
| 18 | that an employee is able to regularly access. | ||||||
| 19 | Section 15. Enforcement. It is the duty of the Department | ||||||
| 20 | of Labor to enforce the provisions of this Act. | ||||||
| 21 | The Department of Labor has the power to conduct | ||||||
| 22 | inspections in connection with the administration and | ||||||
| 23 | enforcement of this Act. Upon request of the Department of | ||||||
| 24 | Labor, the employer shall demonstrate that each employee | ||||||
| 25 | received the information required by Section 10 and maintain | ||||||
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| 1 | records of providing such information for one year. Upon | ||||||
| 2 | finding of a violation, the Department of Labor shall issue a | ||||||
| 3 | notice to show cause giving the employer 30 days to comply. | ||||||
| 4 | If the employer does not comply within 30 days, the | ||||||
| 5 | Department may impose a penalty as provided for in this Act. | ||||||
| 6 | The Department shall conduct hearings in accordance with the | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois Administrative Procedure Act upon written complaint | ||||||
| 8 | of a violation of the Act made by an investigator of the | ||||||
| 9 | Department or any interested person. After the hearing, if | ||||||
| 10 | supported by the evidence, the Department may determine the | ||||||
| 11 | amount of any civil penalty allowed by the Act. | ||||||
| 12 | Section 20. Review under Administrative Review Law. Any | ||||||
| 13 | party to a proceeding under this Act may apply for and obtain | ||||||
| 14 | judicial review of an order of the Department entered under | ||||||
| 15 | this Act in accordance with the provisions of the | ||||||
| 16 | Administrative Review Law, and the Department in proceedings | ||||||
| 17 | under the Act may obtain an order from the court for the | ||||||
| 18 | enforcement of its order. | ||||||
| 19 | Section 25. Penalties. | ||||||
| 20 | (a) The Department may impose civil penalties as follows: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) For an employer with fewer than 4 employees: a | ||||||
| 22 | penalty not to exceed $500 for a first offense; a penalty | ||||||
| 23 | not to exceed $1,000 for a second offense; and a penalty | ||||||
| 24 | not to exceed $3,000 for a third or subsequent offense. | ||||||
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| 1 | (2) For an employer with 4 or more employees: a | ||||||
| 2 | penalty not to exceed $1,000 for a first offense; a | ||||||
| 3 | penalty not to exceed $3,000 for a second offense; and a | ||||||
| 4 | penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a third or subsequent | ||||||
| 5 | offense. | ||||||
| 6 | (b) The appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the | ||||||
| 7 | employer, the good faith efforts made by the employer to | ||||||
| 8 | comply, and the gravity of the violation shall be considered | ||||||
| 9 | in determining the amount of the civil penalty. | ||||||
| 10 | (c) The amount of the penalty, when finally determined, | ||||||
| 11 | may be recovered in a civil action brought by the Director of | ||||||
| 12 | Labor in any circuit court. In this litigation, the Director | ||||||
| 13 | of Labor shall be represented by the Attorney General. | ||||||
| 14 | (d) Any administrative determination by the Department as | ||||||
| 15 | to the amount of each penalty shall be final unless reviewed as | ||||||
| 16 | provided in Section 20 of this Act.
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| 17 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 18 | becoming law.".
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