Rep. Jay Hoffman
Filed: 3/25/2025
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2570 | ||||||
| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2570 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | ||||||
| 4 | "Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
| 5 | Section 5.1030 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 5.1030. The Surrogacy Agreement Escrow Protection | ||||||
| 8 | Fund. | ||||||
| 9 | Section 10. The Gestational Surrogacy Act is amended by | ||||||
| 10 | adding Section 57 as follows: | ||||||
| 11 | (750 ILCS 47/57 new) | ||||||
| 12 | Sec. 57. Surrogacy Agreement Escrow Protection Fund. | ||||||
| 13 | (a) The Surrogacy Agreement Escrow Protection Fund is | ||||||
| 14 | created as a special fund in the State treasury. | ||||||
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| 1 | (b) All moneys paid into the Fund together with all | ||||||
| 2 | accumulated undistributed income shall be held as a special | ||||||
| 3 | fund in the State treasury. Moneys deposited into the Fund | ||||||
| 4 | shall be used solely for the purpose of providing restitution | ||||||
| 5 | to those who have suffered monetary loss arising out of an | ||||||
| 6 | escrow transaction related to a gestational surrogacy contract | ||||||
| 7 | regulated under this Act. | ||||||
| 8 | (c) The Fund shall be applied only to restitution ordered | ||||||
| 9 | by the Director of Public Health. Restitution may not exceed | ||||||
| 10 | the amount actually lost. The Fund may not be used for the | ||||||
| 11 | payment of attorney's fees or other fees. | ||||||
| 12 | (d) The Fund shall be subrogated to the amount of the | ||||||
| 13 | restitution, and the Director shall request the Attorney | ||||||
| 14 | General to engage in all reasonable collection steps to | ||||||
| 15 | collect restitution from the party responsible for the loss | ||||||
| 16 | and reimburse the Fund. | ||||||
| 17 | (e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section, | ||||||
| 18 | the payment of restitution from the Fund shall be a matter of | ||||||
| 19 | grace and not of right, and no person shall have any vested | ||||||
| 20 | rights in the Fund as a beneficiary or otherwise. Before | ||||||
| 21 | seeking restitution from the Fund, the person or beneficiary | ||||||
| 22 | shall apply for restitution on a form provided by the | ||||||
| 23 | Director. The form shall include any information the Director | ||||||
| 24 | may reasonably require to determine that restitution is | ||||||
| 25 | appropriate. | ||||||
| 26 | (f) Any person who suffered a monetary loss that would | ||||||
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| 1 | qualify them for restitution under this Section on or after | ||||||
| 2 | January 1, 2023 may apply for restitution. | ||||||
| 3 | (g) Every entity in the State engaged in escrow | ||||||
| 4 | transactions as required by this Act shall be assessed an | ||||||
| 5 | annual fee of $1,000. These fees shall be collected by the | ||||||
| 6 | Department of Public Health on or before June 30, 2026, and | ||||||
| 7 | every June 30 thereafter. | ||||||
| 8 | (h) If the Director orders restitution in an amount | ||||||
| 9 | greater than the remaining balance of the Fund, payment may be | ||||||
| 10 | delayed until the balance of the Fund becomes sufficient to | ||||||
| 11 | dispense the restitution ordered. Alternatively, at the | ||||||
| 12 | Director's discretion, a special fee may be assessed on each | ||||||
| 13 | entity engaging in escrow transactions regulated by this Act, | ||||||
| 14 | with each entity being assessed a percentage of the total | ||||||
| 15 | restitution ordered in an amount equal to the percentage of | ||||||
| 16 | escrow funds each entity handled in the previous calendar | ||||||
| 17 | year.". | ||||||