Full Text of HB1549 94th General Assembly
HB1549enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning public health.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Radon Industry Licensing Act is amended by | 5 |
| changing Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, 50, 55, 60, | 6 |
| 65, and 70 as follows:
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| (420 ILCS 44/5)
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| Sec. 5. Legislative declaration. The General Assembly | 9 |
| declares that it is
in the interest of the people of Illinois | 10 |
| to establish a comprehensive program
for determining the extent | 11 |
| to which radon and radon progeny are present
in dwellings and | 12 |
| other buildings in Illinois at concentrations
levels that pose | 13 |
| a
potential risk to the occupants and for determining measures | 14 |
| that can be taken
to reduce and prevent such risk. The General | 15 |
| Assembly also finds that public
concerns over the dangers from | 16 |
| radon and radon progeny may give rise to
unscrupulous practices | 17 |
| that exploit those concerns but do not mitigate the
dangers | 18 |
| from radon and radon progeny.
It is therefore declared to be
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| the public policy of this State that in order to
safeguard the | 20 |
| health, property, and public welfare of its citizens, persons
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| engaged in the
business of measuring
detecting the presence of | 22 |
| radon or radon progeny in dwellings and
reducing the presence | 23 |
| of radon and radon progeny in the indoor
atmosphere
shall be | 24 |
| regulated by the State through licensing requirements.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/10)
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| Sec. 10. Primary responsibility with Illinois Emergency | 28 |
| Management Agency
Department of Nuclear Safety . The
Illinois | 29 |
| Emergency Management Agency
Department shall have primary | 30 |
| responsibility for coordination, oversight, and
implementation | 31 |
| of all State functions in matters concerning the presence,
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| effects, measurement, and mitigation of risks of radon and | 2 |
| radon progeny in
dwellings and other buildings. The Department | 3 |
| of Natural Resources,
the Environmental Protection Agency, the | 4 |
| Department of Public Health, and other
State agencies shall | 5 |
| consult and cooperate with the Agency
Department as requested | 6 |
| and
as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/15)
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| Sec. 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the | 10 |
| context
requires otherwise:
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| (a) "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management | 12 |
| Agency
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Nuclear | 13 |
| Safety .
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| (b) "Client" means any person who contracts for measurement | 15 |
| or mitigation services. | 16 |
| (c) "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Emergency | 17 |
| Management Agency.
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| (d)
(b) "Interfere" means to adversely or potentially
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| adversely impact the successful completion of an indoor radon | 20 |
| measurement by
changing the radon or radon progeny | 21 |
| concentrations or altering the performance
of measurement | 22 |
| equipment or an indoor radon mitigation system installation or
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| operation.
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| (e)
(c) "Laboratory analysis" means the act of analyzing | 25 |
| the
determining radon or radon
progeny concentrations with
in | 26 |
| air, water, soil, or passive radon testing devices , or the act | 27 |
| of calibrating radon or radon progeny measurement devices, or
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| the act of exposing radon or radon progeny devices to known | 29 |
| concentrations of
radon or radon progeny as a compensated | 30 |
| service.
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| (f)
(d) "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering | 32 |
| a building or
building design for the purpose in whole or in | 33 |
| part of reducing the
concentration of radon in the indoor | 34 |
| atmosphere.
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| (g)
(e) "Person" means entities, including, but not limited |
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| to, an individual, company, corporation, firm, group, | 2 |
| association, partnership,
joint venture, trust, or government | 3 |
| agency or subdivision.
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| (h)
(f) "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product | 5 |
| of uranium
or thorium.
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| (i)
(g) "Radon contractor" or "contractor" means a person | 7 |
| licensed to perform
radon or
radon progeny mitigation or to | 8 |
| perform radon measurements of
to detect radon or
radon progeny | 9 |
| in an indoor atmosphere.
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| (j)
(h) "Radon progeny" means any combination of the | 11 |
| radioactive decay products
of radon.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/20)
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| Sec. 20. General powers.
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| (a) The Agency
Department may undertake
projects to | 16 |
| determine whether and to what extent radon and radon progeny | 17 |
| are
present in dwellings and other buildings, to determine to | 18 |
| what
extent their presence constitutes a risk to public health, | 19 |
| and to determine
what measures are effective in reducing and | 20 |
| preventing the risk to public
health.
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| (b) In addition
to other powers granted under this Act, the | 22 |
| Agency
Department is authorized to:
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| (1) Establish a program for measuring radon or radon | 24 |
| progeny in dwellings
and other buildings.
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| (2) Conduct surveys and studies in cooperation with the | 26 |
| Department of
Natural Resources and the Department of | 27 |
| Public Health to determine the
distribution and | 28 |
| concentration of radon or radon progeny in dwellings and
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| other buildings and the associated health risk and to | 30 |
| evaluate
measures that may be used to mitigate a present or | 31 |
| potential health risk.
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| (3) Enter into dwellings and other buildings with the | 33 |
| consent of the owner
or occupant to engage in monitoring | 34 |
| activities or to conduct remedial action
studies or | 35 |
| programs.
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| (4) Enter into contracts for projects undertaken | 2 |
| pursuant to subsection
(a).
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| (5) Enter into agreements with other departments, | 4 |
| agencies, and
subdivisions of
the federal government, the | 5 |
| State, and units of local government to implement
this Act.
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| (6) Establish training and educational programs.
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| (7) Apply for, accept, and use grants or other | 8 |
| financial assistance and
accept and use gifts of money or | 9 |
| property to implement this Act.
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| (8) Provide technical assistance to persons and to | 11 |
| other State
departments,
agencies, political subdivisions, | 12 |
| units of local government, and
school
districts.
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| (9) Prescribe forms for application for a license
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| licensure .
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| (10) Establish the minimum qualifications for
a | 16 |
| license
licensure , including requirements for examinations | 17 |
| or performance testing, and
issue licenses to persons found | 18 |
| to be qualified.
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| (10.5) Investigate any unlicensed activity.
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| (11) Conduct hearings or proceedings to revoke, | 21 |
| suspend, or
refuse to
issue
or renew a license, or assess | 22 |
| civil penalties.
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| (12) Adopt rules for the administration and
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| enforcement of this Act.
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| (13) Establish by rule fees to recover the cost of the | 26 |
| application and inspection
fees for the licensing program.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/25)
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| Sec. 25. License requirement. Beginning January 1, 1998, no | 30 |
| person
shall sell a device or
perform a service for | 31 |
| compensation to detect the presence of radon or radon
progeny | 32 |
| in the indoor atmosphere , perform laboratory analysis, or | 33 |
| perform a service to reduce the
presence of radon or radon
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| progeny in the indoor atmosphere unless the
person has been | 35 |
| licensed by the
Agency
Department . The application procedures |
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| for a license
licensure shall be established
by rule of the | 2 |
| Agency
Department . This Section does not apply to retail stores | 3 |
| that only sell or distribute radon sampling devices but are not | 4 |
| engaged in a relationship with the client for other services | 5 |
| such as home inspection or representation as in a real estate | 6 |
| transaction and that do not perform laboratory analysis, | 7 |
| measurement, or mitigation services.
This Section does not | 8 |
| apply to
persons selling or
distributing, but not placing, | 9 |
| radon sampling devices supplied by a laboratory
if the results | 10 |
| of the laboratory analysis are reported directly to the owner | 11 |
| or
occupant of the building sampled.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/30)
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| Sec. 30. Reporting of information. Within 45 days after | 15 |
| testing for
radon or radon progeny, a
person
performing the | 16 |
| testing shall report to his or her client
the owner or occupant | 17 |
| of the building
the
results of the testing. In addition, if the | 18 |
| client is not the owner or occupant of the building, a person | 19 |
| shall report to the owner or occupant upon request. To the | 20 |
| extent that the testing results contain
information pertaining
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| to the medical condition of an identified individual or the | 22 |
| concentration
level of radon
or radon progeny in an
identified | 23 |
| dwelling, information obtained by the Agency
Department
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| pursuant to this
Act is exempt from the disclosure requirements | 25 |
| of the Freedom of Information
Act, except that the
Agency
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| Department shall make the information available to the | 27 |
| identified individual or
the owner or occupant on request.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/35)
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| Sec. 35. Penalties.
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| (a) A person required to be licensed under Section 25 of | 32 |
| this Act who
sells a device or performs a service without being | 33 |
| properly licensed under this
Act may be assessed a civil | 34 |
| penalty by the Agency not to the exclusion of any other penalty |
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| authorized by law
shall, in addition to any other penalty | 2 |
| provided by law, pay a civil
penalty to the
Department in an | 3 |
| amount not to exceed $5,000, for each offense, as determined
by
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| the Agency
Department . Any person assessed a civil penalty | 5 |
| under this Section shall
be afforded an opportunity for hearing | 6 |
| in accordance with Agency
Department
regulations prior to final | 7 |
| action by the Agency
Department . The civil penalty must be
paid | 8 |
| within 30 days after the order becomes a final and binding | 9 |
| administrative
determination.
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| (b) A person who violates a provision of this
Act shall be | 11 |
| guilty of a business offense and may
shall be
fined not less | 12 |
| than $500 nor more than $1,000 for the first offense and shall
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| be
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense.
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| Each day that a violation continues constitutes a
separate | 15 |
| offense. A
licensed radon contractor found guilty of a | 16 |
| violation of
a provision of this Act may
shall automatically
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| have his or her license terminated
by the Agency
Department .
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| (Source: P.A. 92-387, eff. 8-16-01.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/45)
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| Sec. 45. Grounds for disciplinary action. The Agency
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| Department may refuse to
issue or to renew, or may revoke, | 22 |
| suspend, place on probation, reprimand or
take other | 23 |
| disciplinary action as the Agency
Department may deem proper, | 24 |
| including
fines not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, with | 25 |
| regard to any license for
any one or combination of the | 26 |
| following causes:
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| (a) Violation of this Act or its rules.
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| (b) Conviction of a crime under the laws of any United | 29 |
| States jurisdiction
that is
a felony or a misdemeanor, an | 30 |
| essential element of which is
dishonesty, or of any crime that | 31 |
| directly relates to the practice of
detecting or reducing the | 32 |
| presence of radon or radon progeny.
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| (c) Making a misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining | 34 |
| a license.
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| (d) Professional incompetence or gross negligence in the |
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| practice of
detecting or reducing the presence of radon or | 2 |
| radon progeny.
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| (e) Gross malpractice, prima facie evidence of which may be | 4 |
| a conviction or
judgment of malpractice in a court of competent | 5 |
| jurisdiction.
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| (f) Aiding or assisting another person in violating a | 7 |
| provision of this
Act or its rules.
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| (g) Failing, within 60 days, to provide information in | 9 |
| response to a written
request made by the Agency
Department | 10 |
| that has been sent by certified or registered
mail to the | 11 |
| licensee's last known address.
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| (h) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional | 13 |
| conduct of a
character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the | 14 |
| public.
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| (i) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol, | 16 |
| narcotics,
stimulants,
or any other chemical agent or drug that | 17 |
| results in the inability to practice
with reasonable judgment, | 18 |
| skill, or safety.
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| (j) Discipline by another United States jurisdiction or | 20 |
| foreign nation, if
at least
one of the grounds for the | 21 |
| discipline is the same or substantially equivalent
to those set | 22 |
| forth in this Section.
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| (k) Directly or indirectly giving to or receiving from a | 24 |
| person , firm,
corporation, partnership, or association any | 25 |
| fee, commission, rebate, or other
form of compensation for a | 26 |
| professional service not actually or personally
rendered.
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| (l) A finding by the Agency
Department that the licensee | 28 |
| has violated the terms of a license , after having his or her
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| license
placed on probationary status, has violated the terms | 30 |
| of probation .
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| (m) Conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, either | 32 |
| within or
outside of this State, of a violation of a law | 33 |
| governing the practice of
detecting or reducing the presence of | 34 |
| radon or radon progeny if the Agency
Department
determines | 35 |
| after investigation that
the person has not been sufficiently | 36 |
| rehabilitated to warrant the public
trust.
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| (n) A finding by the Agency
Department that a license
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| licensure has been applied for or
obtained by fraudulent
means.
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| (o) Practicing or attempting to practice under a name other | 4 |
| than the full
name as shown on the license or any other | 5 |
| authorized name.
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| (p) Gross and willful overcharging for professional | 7 |
| services, including
filing false statements for collection of | 8 |
| fees or moneys for which services are
not rendered.
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| (q) Failure to file a return or to pay the tax, penalty, or | 10 |
| interest shown
in a filed return, or to pay any final | 11 |
| assessment of tax, penalty, or interest,
as required by a tax | 12 |
| Act administered by the Department of Revenue,
until such time | 13 |
| as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.
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| (r) Failure to repay
The Department shall deny an original | 15 |
| or renewal license under this Act
to a
person who has defaulted | 16 |
| on an educational loans
loan guaranteed by the Illinois
Student | 17 |
| Assistance
State Scholarship Commission , as provided in | 18 |
| Section 80 of the Nuclear Safety Law of 2004 . However, the | 19 |
| Agency
Department may issue an original or
renewal license if | 20 |
| the person in default has established a satisfactory
repayment
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| record as determined by the Illinois Student Assistance
State | 22 |
| Scholarship Commission.
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| (s) Failure to meet child support orders, as provided in | 24 |
| Section 10-65 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
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| (t) Failure to pay a fee or civil penalty properly assessed | 26 |
| by the Agency.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/50)
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| Sec. 50. Summary suspension. The Director may
summarily | 30 |
| suspend the license of a radon contractor without a hearing,
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| simultaneously with the institution of proceedings for a | 32 |
| hearing, if the
Director finds that evidence in his or her | 33 |
| possession indicates that
continuation of the contractor in
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| practice would constitute an imminent danger to the public. If
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| the Director summarily suspends a license without a hearing, a |
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| hearing by the
Agency
Department shall be held within 30 days | 2 |
| after the suspension has occurred and
shall be concluded | 3 |
| without appreciable delay.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/55)
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| Sec. 55. Liability. The Agency
Department and other persons
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| under contract or agreement with the Agency
Department under | 8 |
| this Act, and their
officers,
agents, and employees, shall not | 9 |
| be liable for
conduct in the course of administering or | 10 |
| enforcing this
Act unless the conduct was malicious.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/60)
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| Sec. 60. Deposit of moneys. All moneys received by the | 14 |
| Agency
Department under
this Act shall be deposited into the | 15 |
| Radiation Protection Fund and are not
refundable. Moneys | 16 |
| deposited into the Fund may be used by the Agency
Department ,
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| pursuant to appropriation, for the administration and | 18 |
| enforcement of this Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/65)
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| Sec. 65. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The | 22 |
| provisions of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act are | 23 |
| hereby expressly adopted and shall
apply to all administrative | 24 |
| rules and procedures of the Agency
Department under this
Act, | 25 |
| except that Section 5-35 of the Illinois Administrative
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| Procedure Act, relating to procedures for rulemaking, does not | 27 |
| apply
to the adoption of any rule required by federal law in | 28 |
| connection with which
the Agency
Department is precluded from | 29 |
| exercising any discretion.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
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| (420 ILCS 44/70)
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| Sec. 70. Administrative Review Law. All final |
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| administrative decisions of
the Agency
Department under this | 2 |
| Act shall be subject to judicial review under
the provisions of
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| the Administrative Review Law
and its rules. The term | 4 |
| "administrative
decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the | 5 |
| Code of Civil Procedure.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-262, eff. 7-30-97.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 |
| becoming law.
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