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Public Act 096-0666
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| HB0880 Enrolled |
LRB096 10402 ASK 20572 b |
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AN ACT concerning regulation.
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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 Professional Geologist Licensing Act is |
amended by changing Sections 15, 20, 35, and 50 and by adding |
Section 17 as follows:
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(225 ILCS 745/15)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
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Sec. 15. Definitions. In this Act:
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"Board" means the Board of Licensing for Professional |
Geologists.
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"Department" means the Department of Financial and |
Professional Regulation.
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"Director" means the Director of Professional Regulation.
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"Geologist" means an individual who, by reason of his or |
her knowledge of
geology, mathematics, and the physical and |
life sciences, acquired by education
and practical experience |
as defined by this Act, is capable of practicing the
science of |
geology.
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"Geology" means the science that includes the treatment of |
the earth and its
origin and history including, but not limited |
to, (i) the investigation of the
earth's crust and
interior and |
the solids and fluids, including all surface and
underground |
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waters, gases, and other materials that compose the earth as |
they
may relate to geologic processes; (ii) the study of the |
natural agents, forces,
and
processes that cause changes in the |
earth; and (iii) the utilization of this
knowledge of the earth |
and its solids, fluids, and gases, and their collective
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properties and processes, for the benefit of humankind.
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"Person" or "individual" means a natural person.
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"Practice of professional geology" means the performance |
of,
or the offer to perform, the services of a geologist, |
including consultation,
investigation, evaluation, planning, |
mapping, inspection of geologic work, and
other services that |
require extensive knowledge of geologic laws, formulas,
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principles, practice, and methods of data interpretation.
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A person shall be construed to practice or offer to |
practice professional
geology, within the meaning and intent of |
this Act, if that person (i) by
verbal claim, sign,
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advertisement, letterhead, card, or any other means, |
represents himself or
herself
to be a professional geologist or |
through the use of some title implies
that he or she is a |
professional geologist or is licensed under this
Act or (ii) |
holds himself or herself out as able to perform or does perform
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services or work defined in this Act as the practice of
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professional geology.
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Examples of the practice of professional geology include, |
but are not limited
to, the
conduct of, or responsible charge |
for, the following types of activities: (i)
mapping,
sampling,
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and analysis of earth materials, interpretation of data, and |
the preparation of
oral or written testimony regarding the |
probable geological causes of
events;
(ii) planning, review, |
and supervision of data gathering activities,
interpretation |
of geological data gathered by direct and indirect means,
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preparation of geological maps, cross-sections, interpretive |
maps and reports
for the purpose of evaluating regional or site |
specific geological conditions;
(iii) the planning, review, |
and supervision of data
gathering activities and |
interpretation of data on regional or site specific
geological |
characteristics affecting groundwater;
(iv) the interpretation |
of
geological conditions on the surface and at depth at a |
specific site on the
Earth's surface for the purpose of |
determining whether those conditions
correspond to a geologic |
map of the site; and (v) the conducting of
environmental |
property audits.
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"Licensed professional geologist" means an individual who |
is licensed under
this Act to engage in the practice of |
professional geology in
Illinois.
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"Responsible charge" means the independent control and |
direction, by use of
initiative, skill, and independent |
judgment, of geological work or the
supervision of that work. |
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and |
Professional Regulation.
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(Source: P.A. 89-366, eff. 7-1-96.)
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(225 ILCS 745/17 new)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016) |
Sec. 17. References to Department or Director of |
Professional Regulation. References in this Act (i) to the |
Department of Professional Regulation are deemed, in |
appropriate contexts, to be references to the Department of |
Financial and Professional Regulation and (ii) to the Director |
of Professional Regulation are deemed, in appropriate |
contexts, to be references to the Secretary of Financial and |
Professional Regulation.
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(225 ILCS 745/20)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
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Sec. 20. Exemptions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed |
to restrict
the use of the title "geologist" or similar words |
by any person engaged in a
practice of geology exempted under |
this Act, provided the person does not hold
himself or herself |
out as being a licensed professional geologist or does not
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practice
professional geology in a manner requiring licensure |
under this Act.
Performance of the following activities does |
not require licensure as a
licensed professional geologist |
under this Act:
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(a) The practice of professional geology by an employee or |
a subordinate of
a licensee under this Act, provided the work |
does not include responsible
charge of geological work and is |
performed under the direct
supervision of a licensed |
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professional geologist who is responsible for
the work.
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(b) The practice of professional geology by officers and |
employees of the
United States government within the scope of |
their employment.
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(c) The practice of professional geology as geologic |
research to advance
basic knowledge for the purpose of offering |
scientific papers, publications, or
other presentations (i) |
before meetings of scientific societies, (ii) internal
to a
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partnership, corporation, proprietorship, or government |
agency, or (iii) for
publication
in scientific journals, or in |
books.
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(d) The teaching of geology in schools, colleges, or |
universities, as
defined by rule.
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(e) The practice of professional geology exclusively in the |
exploration for
or development of energy resources or base, |
precious and nonprecious minerals,
including sand, gravel, and |
aggregate, that does not require, by law, rule,
or ordinance, |
the submission of reports, documents, or oral or written
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testimony
to public agencies. Public agencies may, by law or by |
rule, allow required
oral
or written testimony, reports, permit |
applications, or other documents based on
the science of |
geology to be submitted to them by persons not licensed under
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this Act. Unless otherwise required by State or federal law, |
public agencies
may not require that the geology-based aspects |
of testimony, reports, permits,
or other documents so exempted |
be reviewed by,
approved, or otherwise certified by any person |
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who is not a licensed
professional geologist. Licensure is not |
required for the
submission and review of reports or documents |
or the provision of oral or
written
testimony made under the |
Well Abandonment Act, the Illinois
Oil and Gas Act, the Surface |
Coal Mining Land Conservation and Reclamation Act,
or the |
Surface-Mined Land Conservation and Reclamation Act.
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(f) The practice of professional engineering as defined in |
the Professional
Engineering Practice Act of 1989.
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(g) The practice of structural engineering as defined in |
the Structural
Engineering
Practice Act of 1989.
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(h) The practice of architecture as defined in the Illinois |
Architecture
Practice Act of 1989.
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(i) The practice of land surveying as defined in the |
Illinois Professional
Land Surveyor
Act of 1989.
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(j) The practice of landscape architecture as defined in |
the Illinois
Landscape Architecture Act of 1989.
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(k) The practice of professional geology for a period not |
to exceed 9 months by any person pursuing a course of study |
leading to a degree in geology from an accredited college or |
university, as set forth in this Act and as established by |
rule, provided that (i) such practice constitutes a part of a |
supervised course of study, (ii) the person is under the |
supervision of a geologist licensed under this Act, and (iii) |
the person is designated by a title that clearly indicates his |
or her status as a student or trainee. |
(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00.)
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(225 ILCS 745/35)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
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Sec. 35. Board of Licensing for Professional Geologists; |
members;
qualifications; duties.
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(a) The Director shall appoint a Board of Licensing
for
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Professional Geologists which shall serve in an advisory |
capacity to the
Director. The Board shall be composed of 8 |
persons, 7 of whom shall be voting
members appointed by the |
Director, who shall give due consideration to
recommendations |
by members of the profession of geology and of geology
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organizations within the State. In addition, the State |
Geologist or his
or her
designated representative, shall be an |
advisory, non-voting member of the
Board.
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(b) Insofar as possible, the geologists appointed to serve
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on the Board shall be generally representative of the |
occupational and
geographical distribution
of geologists |
within this State.
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(c) Of the 7 appointed voting members of the Board, 6 shall |
be geologists
and one shall be a member of the general public |
with no family or business
connection with the practice of |
geology.
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(d) Each of the first appointed geologist members of the |
Board shall have at
least 10 years of active geological |
experience and shall possess the education
and experience |
required for licensure. Each subsequently appointed
geologist |
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member of the Board shall be a professional geologist licensed
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under this Act.
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(e) Of the initial appointments, the Director shall appoint |
3 voting members
for a term of
4 years, 2 voting members for a |
term of 3 years, and 2 voting members for a
term of 2 years. |
Thereafter, voting members shall be appointed for 4-year
terms. |
Terms shall commence on the 3rd Monday in January.
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(f) Members shall hold office until the expiration of their |
terms or until
their successors have been appointed and have |
qualified.
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(g) No voting member of the Board shall serve more than 2 |
consecutive full
terms.
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(h) Vacancies in the membership of the Board shall be |
filled by appointment
for the unexpired term.
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(i) The Director may remove or suspend any member of the |
Board for cause at
any time before the expiration of his or her |
term.
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(j) The Board shall annually elect one of its members as |
chairperson.
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(k) The members of the Board shall be reimbursed for all |
legitimate
and necessary expenses authorized by the Department |
incurred in attending the
meetings of the
Board.
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(l) The Board may make recommendations to the Director to |
establish the
examinations and their method of grading.
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(m) The Board may submit written recommendations to the |
Director
concerning
formulation of rules and a Code of |
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Professional Conduct and Ethics. The Board
may recommend or |
endorse revisions and amendments to the Code and to the
rules |
from time to time.
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(n) The Board may make recommendations on matters relating |
to continuing
education of licensed professional geologists, |
including the number of hours
necessary for license renewal, |
waivers for those unable to meet that
requirement, and |
acceptable course content. These recommendations shall not
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impose an undue burden on the Department or an unreasonable |
restriction on
those seeking a license renewal. |
(o) Four voting Board members constitutes a quorum. A |
quorum is required for all Board decisions.
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(Source: P.A. 89-366, eff. 7-1-96.)
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(225 ILCS 745/50)
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(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
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Sec. 50. Qualifications for licensure.
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(a) The Department may issue a license to practice as a |
licensed
professional geologist to any applicant who meets the |
following qualifications:
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(1) The applicant has completed an application form and |
paid submitted the
required fees.
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(2) The applicant is of good ethical character, |
including compliance with
the Code of Professional Conduct |
and Ethics under this Act, and
has not
committed any act or |
offense in any jurisdiction that would constitute the
basis |
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for disciplining a professional geologist licensed under |
this Act.
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(3) The applicant has earned a degree in geology from |
an accredited
college or university, as established by |
rule, with a minimum of 30 semester or
45 quarter hours of
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course credits in geology, of which 24 semester or 36 |
quarter hours are in
upper level courses. The Department |
may, upon the recommendation of the
Board, allow the |
substitution of
appropriate experience as a geologist for |
prescribed educational requirements
as established by |
rule.
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(4) The applicant has a documented record of a minimum |
of 4 years of
professional experience, obtained after |
completion of the education
requirements specified in this |
Section, in geologic or directly related work,
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demonstrating that the applicant is qualified to assume |
responsible charge of
such work upon licensure as a |
professional geologist or such specialty of
professional |
geology that the
Board may recommend and the Department may |
recognize. The Department may
require evidence acceptable |
to it that up to 2 years of professional experience
have |
been gained under the supervision of a person licensed |
under this Act or
similar Acts in any other state, or under |
the supervision of others who, in the
opinion of the |
Department, are qualified to have responsible charge of
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geological work under this Act.
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(5) The applicant has passed an examination authorized |
by the Department
for the practice of
professional geology.
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(6) The applicant has complied with all other |
requirements of this Act and
rules established for the |
implementation of this Act.
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(b) A license to practice professional geology shall not be |
denied any
applicant because of the applicant's race, religion, |
creed, national origin,
political beliefs or activities, age, |
sex, sexual orientation, or physical
impairment.
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(Source: P.A. 89-366, eff. 7-1-96.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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