SB2640 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB094 14565 RSP 49508 b

94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
SB2640

Introduced 1/20/2006, by Sen. Susan Garrett

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

420 ILCS 56/10
420 ILCS 56/15
420 ILCS 56/20
420 ILCS 56/22
420 ILCS 56/25
420 ILCS 56/30
420 ILCS 56/35
420 ILCS 56/40
420 ILCS 56/45
420 ILCS 56/50
420 ILCS 56/60
420 ILCS 56/65

Amends the Laser System Act of 1997 to reflect the Illinois Emergency Management Agency's assumption of duties assigned to the Agency's predecessor, the Department of Nuclear Safety. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

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

Section 5. The Laser System Act of 1997 is amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 20, 22, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, and 65 as follows:

(420 ILCS 56/10)

Sec. 10. Legislative purpose. It is the purpose of this Act to provide for a program of effective regulation of laser systems for the protection of human health, welfare, and safety. The Agency Department shall therefore regulate laser systems under this Act to ensure the safe use and operation of those systems.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/15)

Sec. 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. "Department" means the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety.

(2) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Nuclear Safety.

(3) "FDA" means the Food and Drug Administration of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

(4) "Laser installation" means a location or facility where laser systems are produced, stored, disposed of, or used for any purpose.

(5) "Laser machine" means a device that is capable of producing laser radiation when associated controlled devices are operated.

(6) "Laser radiation" means an electromagnetic radiation emitted from a laser system and includes all reflected radiation, any secondary radiation, or other forms of energy resulting from the primary laser beam.

(7) "Laser system" means a device, machine, equipment, or other apparatus that applies a source of energy to a gas, liquid, crystal, or other solid substances or combination thereof in a manner that electromagnetic radiations of a relatively uniform wave length are amplified and emitted in a cohesive beam capable of transmitting the energy developed in a manner that may be harmful to living tissues, including but not limited to electromagnetic waves in the range of visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light. Such systems in schools, colleges, occupational schools, and State colleges and other State institutions are also included in the definition of "laser systems".

(8) "Operator" is an individual, group of individuals, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity conducting the business or activities carried on within a laser installation.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97; 91-188, eff. 7-20-99.)

(420 ILCS 56/20)

Sec. 20. Registration requirements. An operator of a laser installation, unless otherwise exempted, shall register the installation with the Agency Department before the installation is placed in operation. The registration shall be filed annually on a form prescribed by the Agency Department. If any change occurs in a laser installation, the change or changes shall be registered with the Agency Department within 30 days. If registering a change in each source of laser radiation or the type or strength of each source of radiation is impractical, the Agency Department, upon request of the operator, may approve blanket registration of the installation. Laser installations registered with the Department of Nuclear Safety on July 25, 1997 (the effective date of Public Act 90-209) this Act shall retain their registration.

Registration of a laser installation shall not imply approval of manufacture, storage, use, handling, operation, or disposal of laser systems or laser radiation, but shall serve merely as notice to the Agency Department of the location and character of radiation sources in this State.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/22)

Sec. 22. State regulation of federal entities. The Agency Department is authorized to regulate laser installations operated by federal entities (or their contractors) if the federal entities agree to be regulated by the State or the regulation is otherwise allowed under federal law. The Agency Department may, by rule, establish fees to support the regulation.

(Source: P.A. 91-188, eff. 7-20-99.)

(420 ILCS 56/25)

Sec. 25. Exemptions. The registration requirements of this Act shall not apply to the following:

(1) a laser system that is not considered to be an acute hazard to the skin and eyes from direct radiation as determined by the FDA classification scheme established in 21 C.F.R. Section 1040.10.

(2) a laser system being transported on railroad cars, motor vehicles, aircraft, or vessels in conformity with rules adopted by an agency having jurisdiction over safety during transportation, or laser systems that have been installed on aircraft, munitions, or other equipment that is subject to the regulations of, and approved by an appropriate agency of, the federal government.

(3) a laser system where the hazard to public health, in the opinion of the Agency Department, is absent or negligible.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/30)

Sec. 30. Registration fee. The Agency Department may establish by rule a registration fee for operators of laser machines required to register under this Act. The Director may by rule exempt public institutions from the registration fee requirement. Registration fees assessed shall be due and payable within 60 days after the date of billing. If, after 60 days, the registration fee is not paid, the Agency Department may issue an order directing the operator of the installation to cease use of the laser machines for which the fee is outstanding or take other appropriate enforcement action as provided in Section 36 of the Radiation Protection Act of 1990. An order issued by the Agency Department shall afford the operator a right to a hearing before the Agency Department. A written request for a hearing must be served on the Agency Department within 10 days of notice of the order. If the operator fails to file a timely request for a hearing with the Agency Department, the operator shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to a hearing. All moneys received by the Agency Department under this Act shall be deposited into the Radiation Protection Fund and are not refundable. Pursuant to appropriation, moneys deposited into the Fund may be used by the Agency Department to administer and enforce this Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/35)

Sec. 35. Agency Department rules. The Agency Department is authorized to adopt rules for the administration and enforcement of this Act and to enter upon, inspect, and investigate the premises and operations of all laser systems of this State, whether or not the systems are required to be registered by this Act. In adopting rules authorized by this Section and in exempting certain laser systems from the registration requirements of Section 20, the Agency Department may seek advice and consultation from engineers, physicists, physicians, or other persons with special knowledge of laser systems and of the medical and biological effects of laser systems.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/40)

Sec. 40. Reports of accidental injuries. The operator of a laser system shall promptly report to the Agency Department an accidental injury to an individual in the course of use, handling, operation, manufacture, or discharge of a laser system.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/45)

Sec. 45. Agency Department authority in case of immediate threat to health. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, whenever the Agency Department finds that a condition exists that constitutes an immediate threat to the public health or safety, the Agency Department is authorized to do all of the following:

(a) Enter onto public or private property and take possession of or require the immediate cessation of use of laser systems that pose an immediate threat to health or safety.

(b) Enter an order for abatement of a violation of a provision of this Act or a rule adopted or an order issued under this Act that requires immediate action to protect the public health or safety. The order shall recite the existence of the immediate threat and the findings of the Agency Department pertaining to the threat. The order shall direct a response that the Agency Department determines appropriate under the circumstances, including but not limited to all of the following:

(1) Discontinuance of the violation.

(2) Rendering the laser system inoperable.

(3) Impounding of a laser system possessed by a person engaging in the violation.

Such order shall be effective immediately but shall include notice of the time and place of a public hearing before the Agency Department to be held within 30 days of the date of the order to assure the justification of the order. On the basis of the public hearing, the Agency Department shall continue its order in effect, revoke it, or modify it. Any party affected by an order of the Agency Department shall have the right to waive the public hearing proceedings.

(c) Direct the Attorney General to obtain an injunction against a person responsible for causing or allowing the continuance of the immediate threat to health or safety.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/50)

Sec. 50. Public nuisance; injunctive relief. The conducting of any business or the carrying on of activities within a laser installation without registering a laser installation or without complying with the provisions of this Act relating to the laser installation is declared to be inimical to the public welfare and public safety and to constitute a public nuisance. It is the duty of the Attorney General, upon the request of the Agency Department, to bring an action in the name of the People of the State of Illinois to enjoin an operator from unlawfully engaging in the business or activity conducted within the laser installation until the operator of the installation complies with the provisions of this Act. This injunctive remedy shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any criminal penalty provided in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/60)

Sec. 60. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act are hereby expressly adopted and shall apply to all administrative rules and procedures of the Agency Department of Nuclear Safety under this Act, except that Section 5 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act relating to procedures for rulemaking does not apply to the adoption of any rule required by federal law in connection with which the Agency Department is precluded from exercising any discretion.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

(420 ILCS 56/65)

Sec. 65. Administrative Review Law. All final administrative decisions of the Department of Nuclear Safety or its successor agency, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, under this Act shall be subject to judicial review under the provisions of the Administrative Review Law and its rules. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(Source: P.A. 90-209, eff. 7-25-97.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.