Sen. Pamela J. Althoff

Filed: 5/9/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5212

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5212 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Regulatory Sunrise Review Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and intent.
7    (a) It is the General Assembly's intent that no profession
8or occupation be subject to regulation by the State unless the
9regulation is necessary to protect the public health, safety,
10or welfare of the people of this State. If the need for new
11regulation is identified, the State may adopt the least
12restrictive form of regulation necessary to protect the public
13interest.
14    (b) The General Assembly finds that the regulatory
15environment in Illinois has grown overly burdensome and has
16become a strain on both the regulatory authority of the State

 

 

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1and the ability of the people of Illinois to enter into and
2work in various regulated professions. This Act is a means to
3promote economic growth and decrease barriers to entry into
4various professions in the State.
5    (c) This Act establishes a system to investigate and review
6the necessity of new State regulation over a previously
7unregulated profession or occupation. The Act further provides
8for a process to investigate what level of regulation is
9necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, or
10welfare.
 
11    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
12    "Applicant" means a professional group or organization, an
13individual, or any other interested party that proposes that a
14profession or occupation not licensed by the Department before
15January 1, 2018 be regulated through the licensure process.
16    "Department" means the Department of Financial and
17Professional Regulation.
 
18    Section 15. Policy. The General Assembly may not act upon
19legislation that proposes to license and regulate a profession
20or occupation not licensed by the Department before January 1,
212018 until a report as provided in this Act has been prepared
22and submitted to the Secretary of State.
 
23    Section 20. Resolution; petition for regulation; fee;

 

 

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1process of obtaining cost-benefit report.
2    (a) The General Assembly shall commence the process
3established by this Act to investigate and review the necessity
4of new State regulation over a previously unregulated
5profession or occupation by passage of a resolution.
6    (b) Upon passage by the General Assembly of the resolution,
7an applicant that proposes legislation to license and regulate
8a profession or occupation by the Department for which no
9Department licensure or regulation exists shall submit a
10petition for licensure, on forms provided by the Department,
11and a non-refundable petition fee of $1,000 to the Department
12within 30 days after introduction of the legislation. The
13petition for licensure shall request that a report be prepared
14assessing the need for the proposed new licensure. The petition
15fee shall be deposited in the General Professions Dedicated
16Fund and shall be appropriated to the Department for the
17ordinary and contingent expenses of the Department in the
18administration of this Act.
19    (c) Upon receipt of a complete petition and petition fee,
20the Department shall contract for the preparation of an
21independent report assessing the need for the proposed new
22licensure. The report shall be principally authored by a labor
23market economist with a doctoral degree currently associated
24with an Illinois post-secondary educational institution or by a
25person with an advanced quantitative degree and an expertise in
26cost-benefit analysis currently associated with an Illinois

 

 

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1post-secondary educational institution. If the Department is
2unable to contract with a person meeting the qualifications
3described in this subsection for the preparation of the
4independent report, the Department may contract with a person
5whose qualifications are substantially similar to those
6described in this subsection. If the Department is unable to
7enter into a contract for preparation of the independent report
8for a sum not to exceed $1,000, the Department may utilize
9existing funds to supplement the $1,000 fee collected.
10    (d) The report shall address the social and economic costs
11and benefits of licensure, as well as the impact on the labor
12market, impact on prices, and the rationale for policy
13intervention. The report shall use modern cost-benefit
14methods, including the following:
15        (1) defining the proposed licensed population,
16    including estimated number of participants, the users of
17    the services in question, and the Illinois economy
18    statewide;
19        (2) assessing a portfolio of alternatives to
20    licensing, as well as the impact of licensure;
21        (3) cataloging the potential impacts and selected
22    measurement indicators of licensure;
23        (4) predicting the quantitative impacts over the life
24    of the proposed license;
25        (5) monetizing all impacts;
26        (6) calculating the net present value;

 

 

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1        (7) identifying the distribution of costs and
2    benefits; and
3        (8) performing sensitivity testing.
4    (e) The report shall also address each of the factors and
5consider the criteria and standards described in Section 25,
6and shall make a recommendation regarding licensure or other
7applicable alternatives.
8    (f) A preliminary copy of the report shall be submitted to
9the Department for its review and comment for a period of at
10least 30 days. Any comments made by the Department shall be
11included in the report.
12    (g) The report, including any Department comments, shall be
13completed within 12 months after the effective date of the
14Department's contract for the report's creation. The completed
15report shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
16    (h) After the report is filed with the Secretary of State
17and after due consideration by the General Assembly, the bill
18proposing licensure of the profession or occupation may proceed
19for consideration by the General Assembly.
20    (i) Nothing in this Act shall interfere with the General
21Assembly otherwise considering legislation on any regulatory
22matter.
 
23    Section 25. List of factors; criteria and standards.
24    (a) The following factors shall be considered in the report
25submitted with a petition for proposed licensure and regulation

 

 

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1by the Department:
2        (1) whether regulation is necessary or beneficial,
3    including any potential harm or threat to the public if the
4    profession or occupation is not regulated or specific
5    examples of the harm or threat identified, if any;
6        (2) the extent to which the public will benefit from a
7    method of regulation that permits identification of
8    competent practitioners;
9        (3) the extent to which practitioners are autonomous,
10    as indicated by:
11            (A) the degree to which the profession or
12        occupation requires the use of independent judgment
13        and the skill or experience required in making such
14        judgment; and
15            (B) the degree to which practitioners are
16        supervised;
17        (4) the efforts that have been made to address any
18    concerns that give rise to the need for regulation,
19    including:
20            (A) voluntary efforts, if any, by members of the
21        profession or occupation to:
22                (i) establish a code of ethics;
23                (ii) help resolve disputes between
24            practitioners and consumers; and
25                (iii) establish requirements for continuing
26            education;

 

 

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1            (B) the existence of any national accreditation or
2        national certification systems for the profession or
3        occupation;
4            (C) recourse to and the extent of use of existing
5        law; and
6            (D) any prior attempts to regulate the profession
7        or occupation in Illinois;
8        (5) whether the following alternatives to licensure
9    would be adequate to protect the public interest:
10            (A) existing, new, or stronger civil remedies or
11        criminal sanctions;
12            (B) regulation of the service rather than the
13        individual practitioners;
14            (C) registration of all practitioners;
15            (D) market competition and third-party or
16        consumer-created ratings and reviews;
17            (E) voluntary or mandatory bonding or insurance;
18            (F) other alternatives;
19        (6) the benefit to the public if licensure is required,
20    including:
21            (A) whether regulation will result in reduction or
22        elimination of the harms or threats identified under
23        paragraph (1) of this subsection;
24            (B) the extent to which the public can be confident
25        that a practitioner is competent;
26            (C) whether renewal will be based only upon payment

 

 

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1        of a fee or whether renewal will require completion of
2        continuing education or any other requirements;
3            (D) the standards for registration or licensure as
4        compared with the standards of other jurisdictions;
5        and
6            (E) the nature and duration of the educational
7        requirement, if any, including: whether the
8        educational requirement includes a substantial amount
9        of supervised field experience; whether educational
10        programs exist in this State; whether there will be an
11        experience requirement; whether the experience must be
12        acquired under a registered, certified, or licensed
13        practitioner; whether there are alternative routes of
14        entry or methods of satisfying the eligibility
15        requirements and qualifications; whether all
16        applicants will be required to pass an examination;
17        and, if an examination is required, by whom it will be
18        developed and how the costs of development will be met;
19        (7) the extent to which regulation might harm the
20    public, including:
21            (A) whether regulation will restrict entry into
22        the profession or occupation, including:
23                (i) whether the standards are the least
24            restrictive necessary to ensure safe and effective
25            performance; and
26                (ii) whether persons who are registered or

 

 

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1            licensed in another jurisdiction that has
2            requirements that are substantially equivalent to
3            those of this State will be eligible for
4            endorsement or some form of reciprocity; and
5            (B) whether there are similar professions or
6        occupations that should be included or portions of the
7        profession or occupation that should be excluded from
8        regulation;
9        (8) how the standards of the profession or occupation
10    will be maintained, including:
11            (A) whether effective quality assurance standards
12        exist in the profession or occupation, such as legal
13        requirements associated with specific programs that
14        define or enforce standards or a code of ethics; and
15            (B) how the proposed form of regulation will ensure
16        quality, including:
17                (i) the extent to which a code of ethics, if
18            any, will be adopted; and
19                (ii) the grounds for suspension, revocation,
20            or refusal to renew registration, certification,
21            or licensure;
22        (9) how the additional cost that the Department will
23    incur in licensing the profession or occupation will be
24    recouped through licensing application and renewal fees;
25        (10) a profile of the practitioners in this State,
26    including a list of associations, organizations, and other

 

 

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1    groups representing the practitioners and including an
2    estimate of the number of practitioners in each group; and
3        (11) whether the profession or occupation is currently
4    regulated in any other state and what methods of regulation
5    each state utilizes.
6    (b) A profession or occupation shall be regulated by the
7State only when the following criteria are met:
8        (1) it can be demonstrated that the unregulated
9    practice of the profession or occupation can clearly harm
10    or endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the public
11    and the potential for the harm is recognizable and not
12    remote or speculative;
13        (2) the public can reasonably be expected to benefit
14    from an assurance of initial and continuing professional
15    ability;
16        (3) the public cannot be effectively protected by other
17    means; and
18        (4) regulation of the profession does not impose
19    significant new economic hardships on the public,
20    significantly diminish the supply of qualified
21    practitioners, or otherwise create barriers to service
22    that are not consistent with the public welfare or
23    interest.
 
24    Section 30. Review by the General Assembly. After
25evaluating the petition, report, and Department comments and

 

 

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1considering governmental and societal costs and benefits, if
2the General Assembly finds that it is necessary to regulate a
3profession or occupation, the least restrictive method of
4regulation may be imposed, consistent with the public interest
5and this Section. In addition, the items in the following list
6shall be considered in the following numbered order before
7making a determination:
8        (1) If existing common law and statutory civil remedies
9    and criminal sanctions are insufficient to reduce or
10    eliminate existing harm, regulation shall occur through
11    enactment of stronger civil remedies and criminal
12    sanctions.
13        (2) If there exists a national accreditation or
14    certification system for the profession or occupation that
15    adequately ensures quality and protects the public health,
16    safety, and welfare, regulation by the State shall be
17    restricted to addressing those concerns that are not
18    covered by the national program.
19        (3) If the threat to the public health, safety, or
20    welfare is insufficiently large to justify licensure,
21    regulation shall be through a system of registration.
22        (4) If it is apparent that the public cannot be
23    adequately protected by any other means, a system of
24    licensure shall be imposed.
 
25    Section 35. Severability. If any part of the application of

 

 

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1this Act is held invalid, the remainder of its application to
2other situations, groups, or persons shall not be affected.
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.".