Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1922
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Full Text of SB1922  96th General Assembly

SB1922eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
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1     AN ACT concerning information referral.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 2-1-1
5 Service Act.
 
6     Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that the
7 implementation of a single, easy to use telephone number,
8 2-1-1, for public access to information and referral for health
9 and human services and information about access to services
10 after a natural or non-natural disaster will benefit the
11 citizens of this State by providing easier access to available
12 health and human services, by reducing inefficiencies in
13 connecting people with the desired service providers, and by
14 reducing duplication of efforts.
 
15     Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
16     "2-1-1" means the abbreviated dialing code assigned by the
17 Federal Communications Commission on July 21, 2000, for
18 consumer access to community information and referral
19 services.
20     "Department" means the Department of Human Services.
21     "Lead entity" means an Illinois 501(c)(3) non-profit
22 agency or organization designated by the Department to manage

 

 

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1 use of the 2-1-1 dialing code for the purpose of providing the
2 public access to information about health and human services.
3     "Approved 2-1-1 service provider" means a public or
4 nonprofit agency or other organization designated by the lead
5 entity to provide 2-1-1 services.
6     "2-1-1 service area" means an area of Illinois identified
7 by the lead entity as an area within which a recognized 2-1-1
8 service provider is authorized to provide 2-1-1 services.
9     "2-1-1 services" means information and referral services
10 provided through the use of 2-1-1 and intended to promote and
11 provide access to human services, and to aid in disaster
12 response and recovery.
13     "Recognized 2-1-1 service provider" means an organization
14 recognized by the lead entity as an appropriate administrator
15 and authorized user of the 2-1-1 dialing code in a 2-1-1
16 service area.
17     "Human services" means services provided by government,
18 nonprofit, or faith-based organizations to ensure the health
19 and well-being of Illinois residents. "Human services"
20 includes services designed to provide relief or assistance
21 after a natural or non-natural disaster.
22     "Pay telephone" means any coin, coinless, or credit card
23 reader telephone, provided that the end user pays or arranges
24 to pay for exchange and interexchange, intraMSA, and interMSA
25 calls from such instrument on an individual call basis.
26     "Private branch exchange" or "PBX" means a private

 

 

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1 telephone system and associated equipment located on the user's
2 property that provides communications between stations and
3 external networks.
4     "Telecommunications carrier" has the same meaning ascribed
5 to that term in Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act,
6 including those carriers acting as resellers of
7 telecommunications services. For the purpose of 2-1-1 service,
8 a telecommunications carrier may provide competitive or
9 noncompetitive local exchange telecommunications services or
10 any combination of the 2 as defined in Section 13-204 of the
11 Public Utilities Act.
 
12     Section 15. 2-1-1 System. "2-1-1" is created as the
13 official State dialing code for public access to information
14 and referral for health and human services and information
15 about access to services after a natural or non-natural
16 disaster.
 
17     Section 20. Designation of lead entity for 2-1-1.
18     (a) Subject to subsection (e) of this Section, the
19 Department is authorized to identify, designate, and enter into
20 a contract with a lead entity to provide governance and
21 oversight, including the ability to design, implement,
22 support, and coordinate a State-wide 2-1-1 system.
23     (b) Qualifications for designation of the lead entity shall
24 include:

 

 

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1         (1) a public or private governance structure with
2     representation from State health and human service
3     departments, specifically the Department, the Department
4     of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department on Aging,
5     the Department of Public Health, the Illinois Emergency
6     Management Agency, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and
7     non-governmental entity stakeholders; non-governmental
8     entity stakeholders shall constitute a minimum of
9     two-thirds of the representatives;
10         (2) demonstrated expertise or experience, or both, in
11     planning for a State-wide information and referral system;
12     and
13         (3) demonstrated support from community partners.
14     (c) The lead entity shall encourage the orderly and
15 efficient use of 2-1-1 to:
16         (1) provide access to human services; and
17         (2) collect needed information about human services
18     and the delivery of human services in Illinois.
19     (d) The lead entity shall provide periodic reports on
20 activities, accomplishments, and other issues to the
21 Department.
22     (e) In awarding the contract under subsection (a) of this
23 Section, the Department shall ensure that the 2-1-1 lead entity
24 has the organizational capacity to carry out the terms of the
25 contract and that the contract is cost-neutral to the
26 Department.
 

 

 

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1     Section 25. New information services. Before a State agency
2 that provides health and human services establishes a new
3 public information hotline to provide information and
4 referrals, the State agency shall consult with the Department
5 in conjunction with the lead entity about using the 2-1-1
6 system to provide public access to the information.
 
7     Section 30. 2-1-1 services. Only a service provider
8 approved by the lead entity may provide 2-1-1 telephone
9 services. The lead entity shall approve 2-1-1 service
10 providers, after considering all of the following:
11         (1) the ability of the proposed 2-1-1 service provider
12     to meet the national 2-1-1 standards recommended by the
13     Alliance of Information and Referral Systems;
14         (2) the financial stability and health of the proposed
15     2-1-1 service provider;
16         (3) the community support for the proposed 2-1-1
17     service provider;
18         (4) the relationships with other information and
19     referral services; and
20         (5) any other criteria as the lead entity deems
21     appropriate.
 
22     Section 35. Promotion of 2-1-1. A person or organization
23 may not disseminate information to the public about the

 

 

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1 availability of 2-1-1 or 2-1-1 services in an area of the State
2 except in accordance with rules established by the lead entity.
 
3     Section 45. Liability of 2-1-1 providers. A recognized
4 2-1-1 service provider and its employees, directors, officers,
5 and agents are not liable to any person in a civil action for
6 injuries or loss to persons or property as a result of an act,
7 omission, or delay of the recognized 2-1-1 service provider, or
8 its employees, directors, officers, or agents, in connection
9 with:
10         (1) developing, adopting, implementing, maintaining,
11     or operating a 2-1-1 system;
12         (2) making 2-1-1 available for use by the public; or
13         (3) providing 2-1-1 services;
14 except for injuries or loss resulting from the willful or
15 wanton misconduct of the 2-1-1 service provider or its
16 employees, directors, officers, or agents.
 
17     Section 50. 2-1-1 Account Fund. The 2-1-1 Account Fund is
18 established in the State treasury and is separate and distinct
19 from the General Revenue Fund. All moneys received by the
20 Department for the 2-1-1 system under this Section shall be
21 deposited into the Fund and may be spent only pursuant to
22 appropriation to the Department for grants to the lead entity
23 to use pursuant to Section 55 of this Act. The 2-1-1 Account
24 Fund consists of the following:

 

 

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1         (1) Money appropriated to the Fund by the General
2     Assembly.
3         (2) Funds received from the federal government for the
4     support of 2-1-1 services in this State.
5         (3) Earnings attributable to money in the Fund.
6         (4) Money received from any other source for deposit
7     into the Fund, including gifts and grants.
 
8     Section 55. Use of moneys for projects and activities in
9 support of 2-1-1-eligible activities.
10     (a) The lead entity shall study, design, implement,
11 support, coordinate, and evaluate a State-wide 2-1-1 system.
12     (b) Activities eligible for assistance from the 2-1-1
13 Account Fund include, but are not limited to:
14         (1) Creating a structure for a State-wide 2-1-1
15     resources database that will meet the Alliance for
16     Information and Referral Systems standards for information
17     and referral systems databases and that will be integrated
18     with local resources databases maintained by approved
19     2-1-1 service providers.
20         (2) Developing a State-wide resources database for the
21     2-1-1 system.
22         (3) Maintaining public information available from
23     State agencies, departments, and programs that provide
24     health and human services for access by 2-1-1 service
25     providers.

 

 

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1         (4) Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service
2     providers to design, develop, and implement 2-1-1 for its
3     2-1-1 service area.
4         (5) Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service
5     providers to enable 2-1-1 service providers to provide and
6     evaluate 2-1-1 service delivery on an ongoing basis.
7         (6) Providing grants to approved 2-1-1 service
8     providers to enable the provision of 2-1-1 services on a
9     24-hours per-day, 7-days per-week basis.
 
10     Section 60. Annual reports. The lead entity shall provide
11 an annual report to the General Assembly and the Commission
12 beginning in calendar year 2010.
 
13     Section 65. Compliance. All telecommunications carriers,
14 regardless of the technology they use to provide voice
15 communication, including, but not limited to, Internet
16 protocol and cellular radio service technologies, pay
17 telephone providers, and private branch exchange owners or
18 operators shall program or provision their equipment and
19 software to allow a calling party to dial and access 2-1-1
20 where it is being implemented in the State.
 
21     Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
22 Section 5.719 as follows:
 

 

 

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1     (30 ILCS 105/5.719 new)
2     Sec. 5.719. The 2-1-1 Account Fund.
 
3     Section 905. The Human Services 211 Collaboration Board Act
4 is amended by adding Section 90 as follows:
 
5     (20 ILCS 3956/90 new)
6     Sec. 90. Repealer. This Act is repealed upon designation by
7 the Secretary of Human Services that a lead entity is under
8 contract with the Department of Human Services to carry out the
9 provisions of the 2-1-1 Service Act. The Secretary shall
10 designate that a lead entity is under contract with the
11 Department of Human Services to carry out the provisions of the
12 2-1-1 Service Act by filing a statement with the Index
13 Department of the Secretary of State.
 
14     Section 997. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
15 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.