HB4564 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19705 RXD 45446 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4564

Introduced 02/03/04, by Mike Boland

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Public Health Advocates Act. Creates the Public Health Advocates, a nonprofit membership corporation. Provides that the Public Health Advocates shall effectively represent and protect the interests of individual health care consumers in the State. Provides that the Public Health Advocates shall have the right to participate in a regulatory agency proceeding, unless the regulatory agency reasonably determines that the proceeding will not affect the interests of individual health care consumers of the State or does not relate to any public health issues. Establishes a Board of Directors to manage the affairs of the Public Health Advocates. Establishes the election and annual meeting procedures for the directors. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public health.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public Health Advocates Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to insure effective and democratic representation of individual health care consumers before regulatory agencies, legislative bodies, courts, and other public bodies, and to establish a practical means so that consumers can provide themselves with education and advice related to public health issues, decent health care services and products, prescription drugs, and the purchase and use of health insurance, by:

(a) creating a nonprofit organization, pursuant to the General Not For Profit Corporations Act of 1986, to represent the interests of health care consumers before regulatory agencies, legislative bodies, courts, and other public bodies, and provide educational and advisory services to health care consumers;

(b) providing for democratic accountability of the Board of Directors of the organization to its health care consumer constituency through open elections of Directors with thorough financial disclosure requirements and campaign spending limitations;

(c) encouraging active citizen participation in the regulatory process through involvement in the activities of the organization; and

(d) creating an efficient method of funding for the organization, involving no burden on the taxpayers of this State, whereby individual health care consumers and other citizens may voluntarily contribute to the organization.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Campaign contribution" means: (1) a gift subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money, or anything of value, made for the purpose of electing a candidate to the Board of Directors of the Corporation; or (2) a contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make any campaign contributions.

"Campaign contribution" does not include the value of services provided without compensation by individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or political committee; or the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's residential premises for activities related to the candidate's campaign, if the cumulative value of the activities by the individual on behalf of any candidate does not exceed $100 for any election.

"Campaign expenditure" means: (1) a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, made for the purpose of electing a candidate to the Board of Directors of the Corporation; or (2) a contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make any campaign expenditure. "Campaign expenditure" does not include the use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food, and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's residential premises for activities related to the candidate's campaign if the cumulative value of the activities by the individual on behalf of any candidate does not exceed $100 for any election.

"The Corporation" means Public Health Advocates.

"Director" means any person serving on the Board of Directors of the Corporation.

"District" means a corporation district, the boundaries of which are congruent with the boundaries of the State's Congressional districts.

"District director" means director elected from a district.

"Health care company" means a corporation or other entity engaged in the business of selling, within this State, health care services, or health care products, or both health care services and products.

"Health care consumer" means any resident of this State who receives, utilizes, or consumes health care services or products.

"Health care products" means products for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or relief of a physical or mental health condition, illness, injury or any other matter that concerning the provision and delivery of products to maintain good health. The term includes, but is not limited to, hospital, medical, surgical, dental, vision, psychological and pharmaceutical products.

"Health care services" means services for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or relief of a physical or mental health condition, illness, injury or any other matter concerning the provision and delivery of services to maintain good health. The term includes, but is not limited to, hospital, medical, surgical, dental, vision, psychological and pharmaceutical services. This term also includes health insurance and medical malpractice insurance.

"Health insurance" means a contract relating to health care where a person undertakes to indemnify or to pay a specified or determinable amount or benefit upon determinable contingencies.

"Immediate family" of a person means the person's spouse and legal dependants.

"Medical malpractice insurance" means a contract relating to medical malpractice where a person undertakes to indemnify or to pay a specified or determinable amount or benefit upon determinable contingencies.

"Member" means any person who meets the requirements for membership in the Corporation set forth in subsection (b) of Section 15.

"Political committee" means any committee, club, association, or other group of persons which makes campaign expenditures or receives campaign contributions during the year before an election of the Board of Directors.

"Proceeding" means any formal meeting of a regulatory agency or subdivision of a regulatory agency conducted by a hearing examiner or other agent of the regulatory agency, regarding the establishment or alteration of types, language, or clauses, for the provision or sale of health care services or health care products within this State; the establishment, abrogation, or amendment of rules or regulations concerning public health issues, individual health care consumers, health care companies, or policies affecting this State in regard to health care services, health care products and public health issues or concerning the conduct of regulatory agency proceedings themselves; or the adjudication of the claims or petitions of individual health care consumers, health care companies, or other persons or groups of persons.

"Public health issues" includes, but is not limited to, food safety, water quality, air quality, childhood immunization, vaccination, control of infectious diseases, cancer, hazardous waste disposal, lead abatement, bio-terrorism, public health programs, occupational safety, land use, transportation; contracts between public health agencies and health care companies; training and public education related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of defibulators, community-based health promotion and a healthy lifestyle; and any laws, ordinances, regulations and regulatory agency proceedings which affect any of the subjects previously listed.

"Regulatory agency" means any State or unit of local government agency or other public body with the legal authority to establish or to approve, reject, or modify proposals to offer for sale specific types of health care services and products in this State; formulate or review policies affecting individual health care consumers in this State in regard to health care services and products; formulate or review policies affecting this State in regard to public health issues; or otherwise to regulate the activities of health care service or product companies within this State.

Section 15. Creation of the Corporation; membership.

(a) There is created a nonprofit membership corporation to be known as the Public Health Advocates referred to as the Corporation.

(b) The membership of the Corporation shall consist of all individual health care consumers and other residents of this State who have contributed to the Corporation at least an amount set by the Board of Directors in either its preceding or its current fiscal year as a minimum fee; provided, that any person may resign from membership. The fee shall be no lower than $5.

Section 20. Duties, Rights, and Powers.

(a) It shall be the duty of the Corporation to effectively represent and protect the interests of individual health care consumers of this State. All actions which it undertakes under the provisions of this Act shall be directed toward that goal.

(b) The Corporation shall have all rights and powers accorded generally to, and shall be subject to all duties imposed generally upon, non-profit membership corporations under the laws of this State.

(c) The Corporation may seek tax-exempt status under State and federal law.

(d) The Corporation may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and loans, except as prohibited in this Act.

(e) The Corporation may conduct, support, and assist research, surveys, investigations, planning activities, conferences, demonstration projects, individual health care consumer counseling, and public information activities concerning the interests of individual health care consumers and public health issues.

(f) The Corporation may contract for services that cannot reasonably be performed by its employees.

(g) The Corporation may represent the interests of health care consumers before all legislative bodies of the State, county, and local government and all other public forums.

(h) The Corporation may represent interests of individual health care consumers before regulatory agencies and courts, except as this Act otherwise provides.

(i) The Corporation shall not sponsor, endorse, or otherwise support or oppose, any political party or the candidacy of any person for public office.

(j) The Corporation may support or oppose initiatives or referenda concerning public health issues or matters that it determines may affect the interests of individual health care consumers.

The Corporation shall have, in addition to the rights and powers enumerated in this Act, any other incidental rights and powers as are reasonably necessary for the effective representation of the interests of individual health care consumers.

Section 25. Representation of health care consumers in regulatory agency proceedings.

(a) Each regulatory agency of the State and all units of local government shall notify the Corporation in advance of the time, place, subject, and names of parties for each proceeding to which this Act applies, unless the regulatory agency reasonably determines that the proceeding will not affect the interests of individual health care consumers of this State or does not relate to any public health issues. The regulatory agency shall notify the Corporation at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the proceeding or within 5 days after the date is fixed, whichever is later.

(b) The Corporation may intervene as of right as a party or otherwise participate in any regulatory agency proceeding that the Corporation reasonably determines may affect the interests of individual health care consumers or pertains to public health issues. The intervention or participation of the Corporation in any such proceeding shall not affect the obligation of the regulatory agency to operate in the public interest.

When the Corporation intervenes or participates in a regulatory agency proceeding, it shall be subject to all laws and rules of procedure of general applicability governing the conduct of the proceeding and the rights of interveners and participants. The Corporation shall have the same rights regarding representation by counsel, participation in pre-hearing conferences, discovery, requests for issuance of subpoenas by the agency, stipulation of facts, presentation and cross-examination of witnesses, oral and written argument, participation in settlement negotiations, and other aspects of the proceeding as accorded to other interveners under the laws of this State, except as otherwise provided in this Act.

Section 30. Judicial review of regulatory agency decisions; enforcement actions. The Corporation shall be deemed to have an interest sufficient to maintain a civil action for the review or enforcement of any regulatory agency decision that the Corporation reasonably determines would adversely affect the interests of a member so long as the Corporation was a party to the regulatory proceeding that led to the regulatory agency decision.

Section 35. Representation of members in lawsuits.

(a) If the Board of Directors or Executive Director reasonably determines that bringing a civil action against a health care company on behalf of any member or group of members would further the general purposes of this Act, the Corporation, with the consent of the member or group of members, may provide the legal services necessary and the expert witnesses' services reasonably appropriate for prosecution of the action.

(b) Any member who receives money due to a settlement or judgment attained with assistance in litigation provided by the Corporation as described in subsection (a) shall reimburse the Corporation for its expenses in prosecution of the action; provided, that the reimbursement shall not exceed 10% of the money received by the member.

Section 40. Funding of the Corporation.

(a) In this Section:

(1) "Enclosure" means a card, leaflet, envelope or combination furnished by the Corporation under this Section.

(2) "Mailing" means any communication by a State or local unit of government agency that is sent through the United States Postal Service to more than 500 persons within a 12 month period.

(3) "Agency" means any officer, department, board, commission, institution or entity of the executive or legislative branches of State and local government.

(b) To accomplish its powers and duties under this Act, the Corporation may prepare and furnish to any agency an enclosure to be included with a mailing by that agency subject to the following limitations:

(1) An agency furnished with an enclosure shall include the enclosure within the mailing designated by the corporation.

(2) An enclosure furnished by the Corporation under this Section shall be provided to the agency a reasonable period of time in advance of the mailing.

(3) An enclosure furnished by the Corporation under this Section shall be limited to informing the reader of the purpose, nature, and activities of the Corporation as set forth in this Act and informing the reader that it may become a member in the Corporation, maintain membership in the Corporation, and contribute money to the Corporation directly.

(c) The Corporation shall reimburse each agency for all reasonable incremental costs incurred by the agency in complying with this Section, above the agency's normal mailing and handling costs, provided that the agency shall first furnish the Corporation with an itemized accounting of the additional cost; and the Corporation shall not be required to reimburse the agency for postage costs if the weight of the Corporation's enclosure does not exceed .35 ounce avoirdupois. If the Corporation's enclosure exceeds that weight, then it shall only be required to reimburse the agency for postage cost over and above what the agency's postage cost would have been had the enclosure weighed only .35 ounce avoirdupois.

(d) In the event that an agency is furnished with an enclosure by the Corporation and by the Citizens Utility Board, under Section 9 of the Citizens Utility Board Act designated for the same mailing, the agency shall include whichever enclosure it received first within the designated mailing. The agency shall inform the Corporation or the Citizens Utility Board that its mailing will not go out until the next mailing. It shall include the other enclosure with the next mailing designated by the entity that furnished it.

(e) No health care company or officer, employee, or agent of a health care company may interfere or threaten to interfere with or cause any interference with the delivery of any health care services or health care products to any person who contributes to the Corporation or participates in any of its activities, in retribution for such contribution or participation.

(f) No health care company or officer, employee, or agent of a health care company may prevent, interfere with, or hinder the activities described in this Section.

(g) The Corporation or any individual may borrow such moneys as it requires, including moneys which may be loaned by the State from funds appropriate for the purposes of meeting the necessary expenses of postage, preparing, and printing enclosures, initial organization and operation of the Corporation for the period commencing on the effective date of this Act and continuing until the first election of the board of directors under Section 50. Such moneys borrowed by the Corporation or any individual shall subsequently be repaid with appropriate interest over a reasonable period of time. Any loans that may be made to the Corporation by the State shall be repaid within 24 months from the date the loan is made.

Section 45. Board of Directors.

(a) The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by a Board of Directors.

(b) Election and terms of directors. There shall be one director for each board district. Corporation districts shall be divided into 2 groups for the purpose of establishing terms for which the directors shall be elected in each group. One group shall be comprised of the even numbered board districts and the other group shall be comprised of the odd numbered board districts.

(c) The interim board, within 60 days after their appointment, shall meet and publicly determine by lot which group shall be the first group and which group shall be the second. The Governor shall appoint the interim board members. The appointees shall reflect the geographical diversity of this State and shall include representation from minority groups, low-income persons, labor organizations, businesses, women, and senior citizens. The board members or their successors from the first group shall be elected for successive terms of 2 years, 2 years, and 4 years; and members or their successors from the second group shall be elected for successive terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 2 years.

(d) The first election of directors of the board is to be held no later than 8 months after the first meeting of the interim board. Subsequent elections of directors of the board shall be held every 2 years after the first election. The board may change the election date for the second election to up to one month before or after the second anniversary of the first election. All subsequent elections shall occur every 2 years on the anniversary of the second election. This cycle shall begin in the year following each decennial redistricting. If the election day falls on a weekend or holiday, the election shall occur on the next business day. In the year following a decennial redistricting, all director's terms shall end and elections for directors from the redrawn board districts shall be held.

(e) Interim and elected board members shall serve until their successors are elected and have qualified.

(f) Within 45 days after the redistricted board districts are enacted, the board shall publicly allocate terms by lot between the 2 groups of districts as provided in subsection (b). Board members or their successors from the first group shall be elected for successive terms of 2 years, 4 years, and 4 years; and members or their successors from the second group shall be elected for successive terms of 4 years, 4 years, and 2 years. In the year following a decennial redistricting all directors' terms shall end and elections for directors from the redrawn board districts shall be held.

(g) In the event that board districts are redrawn for reasons other than a decennial redistricting, within 45 days after the redistricted county board districts are enacted, the board shall publicly allocate terms by lot between the 2 groups of districts as provided in subsection (b). The board shall select terms for both groups in a manner consistent with subsection (f) to ensure staggered elections until a decennial redistricting occurs.

(h) Qualifications. Directors shall be residents of the State and members of the Corporation. No official of a regulatory agency or officer, employee, consultant, attorney, accountant, real estate agent, shareholder, bondholder, or member of the immediate family of an officer, employee, consultant, attorney, accountant, real estate agent, shareholder, or bondholder, or any health care company doing business in this State shall be eligible to become a director. A director shall be a resident of the district he or she represents and a member of the Corporation. No director may hold any elective position in federal, State, or local government.

(i) Employment of director's family members. No director or member of his or her immediate family shall, either directly or indirectly, be employed for compensation as a staff member or consultant of the Corporation.

(j) Meetings. The board shall hold regular meetings at least once every 3 months on the dates and at the places as it may determine. Special meetings may be called by the president or by a majority of the directors upon at least 7 days advance written notice. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, a majority of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum. In no event, however, shall a quorum consist of less than one-third of the board of directors. The act of the majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors unless the act of a greater number is required by this Act or its bylaws. A summary of the minutes of every board meeting shall be made available to each public library in the State upon request and to individuals upon request.

(k) Expenses. A director may not receive any compensation for his or her services, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses, including travel expenses incurred in the discharge of duties. The board shall establish standard allowances for mileage, room, and meals and the purposes for which allowances may be made. The board shall determine the reasonableness and necessity for reimbursements.

(l) Bonding. Directors and employees eligible to disburse funds shall be bonded. The costs of the bonds shall be paid by the Corporation.

(m) The appointed directors shall:

(1) inform health care consumers of the State, by the means provided for in this Act, of the existence, nature, and purposes of the Corporation, and shall encourage health care consumers to participate in the Corporation's activities and to contribute to its operating funds;

(2) elect officers as provided in Section 55;

(3) employ such staff as the directors deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act;

(4) make all necessary preparations for the first election of directors, oversee the election campaign, and tally the votes, as provided in Section 50; and

(5) carry out all other duties and exercise all other powers accorded to the Board of Directors in this Act.

(n) One director shall be elected from each district in the State, under procedures established in Section 50. Each director shall represent the interests of the health care consumers of his or her district. Each director shall have one vote in the Board of Directors. Elected directors shall be installed in office by the President of the outgoing Board of Directors.

(o) When a director dies, resigns, is disqualified, or otherwise vacates his or her office, the Board of Directors shall select within 3 months a successor from the same district as the director for the remainder of the director's term of office. Any director may nominate any qualified person as successor. The Board of Directors shall select the successor from among those nominated, by a two-thirds majority of the remaining directors present and voting. The successor shall be installed in office by the President of the Board of Directors.

(p) The elected Board of Directors shall have the following duties:

(1) to maintain up-to-date membership rolls and to keep them in confidence;

(2) to keep minutes, books, and records that shall reflect all the acts and transactions of the Board of Directors that shall be open to examination by any member during regular business hours;

(3) to make all reports, studies, and other information compiled by the Corporation under subsection (d) of Section 20, and all data pertaining to the finances of the Corporation, available for public inspection during regular business hours;

(4) to prepare quarterly statements of the financial and substantive operations of the Corporation, and make copies of the statements available to the general public;

(5) to cause the Corporation's books to be audited by a certified public accountant at least once each fiscal year, and make the audit available to the general public;

(6) to prepare and mail, as soon as practicable after the close of the Corporation's fiscal year, an annual report of the Corporation's financial and substantive operations to each member;

(7) to report to the membership meeting on the past and projected activities and policies of the Corporation;

(8) to employ an Executive Director and direct and supervise his or her activities; and

(9) to carry out all other duties and responsibilities imposed upon the Corporation and the Board of Directors by this Act.

(q) The Treasurer shall reimburse Directors for actual expenses necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties.

Section 50. Election of directors.

(a) The time of elections shall be as follows:

(1) when the membership of the Corporation has reached 1,000 persons and the Corporation has received $10,000 in contributions, the appointed directors shall promptly fix a date for the first election of directors. The election shall be held not less than 4 months and not more than 6 months after the membership and contributions have both reached the prescribed levels; and

(2) subsequent elections of directors shall be held at yearly intervals after the first election. The dates of the elections shall be fixed not less than 4 months in advance by the Board of Directors.

(b) To be eligible for election to the Board of Directors, a candidate must:

(1) meet the qualifications for directors prescribed in subsection (d) of Section 45;

(2) be a resident of the district that he or she seeks to represent;

(3) have his or her nomination certified by the Board of Directors under subsection (c);

(4) submit to the Board of Directors a statement of financial interests in accordance with subsection (d) and a statement of personal background and positions in accordance with subsection (e); and

(5) make the affirmation prescribed in paragraph (5) of subsection (f).

(c) A candidate for election to the Board of Directors shall submit to the Board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, a statement of intent to be a candidate. Upon receipt of the statement of intent the Board shall certify the nomination of the candidate.

(d) A candidate for election to the Board of Directors shall submit to the Board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, a statement of financial interest upon a form approved by the Board of Directors. The statement of financial interests shall include the following information:

(1) the occupation, employer, and position of the candidate and of his or her immediate family members;

(2) a list of all corporate directorships or other offices, and of all fiduciary relationships, held in the past 3 years by the candidate and by his or her immediate family members;

(3) the name of any corporation in which the candidate holds a security, the current market value of which is $2,500 or more;

(4) the name of any corporation in which the candidate's immediate family members hold a security, the current market value of which is $2,500 or more;

(5) an affirmation, subject to penalty of perjury, that the information contained in the statement of financial interest is true and complete.

(e) A candidate for election to the Board of Directors shall submit to the Board, not later than 60 days prior to the election, a 2-page statement concerning his or her personal background and positions on issues relating to public health initiatives, health care services, health care products, or the operations of the Corporation. The statement shall contain an affirmation, subject to penalty of perjury, that the candidate meets the qualifications prescribed for directors in subsection (d) of Section 45 and is a resident of the district that he or she seeks to represent. The Board of Directors may limit the number of words a candidate may use in the statement.

(f) Restrictions on and reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures shall be as follows:

(1) each candidate may accept no more than $100 in campaign contributions from any person or political committee from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election;

(2) each candidate shall keep complete records of all contributions to his or her campaign of $25 or more made from one year before the date of an election through the date of the election;

(3) each candidate who avails himself or herself of the Corporation's distribution of his or her statement of personal background and positions, may incur no more than $1,000 in campaign expenditures, from the time he or she commences circulation of petitions for nomination or from 4 months prior to the election, whichever is earlier, through the date of the election;

(4) each candidate shall keep complete records of his or her campaign expenditures, and shall make the records available for inspection during normal business hours to any member or employee of the Corporation; and

(5) no earlier than 14 days and no later than 8 days preceding the election, and no earlier than 21 days and no later than 30 days after the election, each candidate for election to the Board shall submit to the Board an accurate statement of his or her campaign contributions, swearing that he or she has fully complied with the requirements of this Section.

(g)Election Procedures shall be as follows:

(1) The Board of Directors shall send by first class mail to each member, in districts where more than one candidate has been certified, no sooner than 21 and not later than 14 days before the date fixed for the election:

(A) an official ballot listing all candidates for District Director from the member's district whose nominations the Board has certified and who have complied with the requirements of this Section;

(B) each candidate's statement of financial interest; and

(C) the statement of personal background and position of each candidate who requests the mailing of his or her statement at the time he or she submits it to the Board.

(2) Each member may cast a vote in the election by returning his or her official ballot, properly marked, to the head office of the Corporation by 8 p.m. on the date fixed for the election or if it is sent by mail, it shall be deemed to have been received on time if it is postmarked.

(3) Voting shall be by secret ballot.

(4)The Board of Directors shall tally votes with all reasonable speed and shall inform the membership promptly of the names of the candidates elected.

(5)In each District, the District director candidate with the most votes shall be declared elected.

(h) The President of the Board of Directors shall install, within 30 days after the election, all elected candidates who meet the qualifications under subsection (b).

(i) The Board of Directors may prescribe rules for the conduct of elections and election campaigns not inconsistent with this Act.

Section 55. Officers.

(a) At the first regular meeting of the Board of Directors, at which a quorum is present, subsequent to the initial appointments of directors and at the first regular meeting of the Board, at which a quorum is present, subsequent to the installation of new directors following each annual election, the Board shall elect by majority vote of members present and voting from among the directors a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Board shall also have the power to elect a Comptroller and any other officers as it deems necessary.

(b) Officers shall be installed by the President immediately upon their election. The term of office for officers shall be one year; provided that an officer may resign, or may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of all the directors. After an officer's term of office has expired, the officer shall continue to serve until his or her successor is installed. When an officer dies, resigns, is removed, or otherwise vacates his or her office, the Board of Directors shall elect a successor to serve out the officer's term of office.

(c) The officers shall exercise the powers and perform the duties as are prescribed under this Act or as delegated to them by the Board of Directors.

Section 60. Executive Director.

(a) The Board of Directors shall employ an Executive Director.

(b) The Executive Director shall have the following powers and duties, subject at all times to the directions and supervision of the Board of Directors:

(1) to decide upon the course of action of the Corporation regarding appearances before regulatory agencies, legislative bodies, courts, and other public bodies, and regarding other activities that the Corporation has the authority to perform under this Act;

(2) to employ and discharge employees of the Corporation;

(3) to supervise the offices, facilities, and work of the employees of the Corporation;

(4) to have custody of and to maintain the books, records, and membership rolls of the Corporation, in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(5) to prepare and submit to the Board of Directors annual and quarterly statements of the financial substantive operations of the Corporation, and financial estimates for the future operations of the Corporation;

(6) to attend and participate in meetings of the Board of Directors as a nonvoting director; and

(7) to exercise any other powers and perform any other duties as the Board of Directors delegates to him or her.

(c) The Executive Director may be discharged by two-thirds vote of all the directors.

Section 65. Annual membership meeting.

(a) An annual meeting of the membership shall be held once a year on a date and at a place within the State to be determined by the Board of Directors.

(b) All members shall be eligible to attend, participate in, and vote in the annual membership meeting.

(c) The form of the annual membership meeting shall be as provided in the law of this State regarding nonprofit membership corporations.

(d) The annual membership meeting shall be open to the public.

Section 70. Corrupt practices and conflicts of interest.

(a) Neither the Corporation nor its directors, employees, or agents shall offer anything of monetary value to, or accept anything of monetary value from, any public official or employee of any health care company or employer or agent covered by this Act, except as otherwise provided in this Act.

(b) No director shall personally or through any partner or agent render any professional service or make or perform any business contract with or for any health care company.

(c) No public official or employee of a health care company or employer covered by this Act or agent shall offer anything of monetary value to, or accept anything of monetary value from the Corporation or its directors, employees, or agents, except as otherwise provided in this Act.

(d) The office of a director found in violation of subsection (a) or (b) shall be declared vacant.

Section 75. Construction of the Act.

(a) The provisions of this Act shall be construed in a manner to enable the Corporation effectively to represent and protect the interests of the health care consumers of this State and promote public health issues.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the right of any person to initiate, intervene, or otherwise participate in any regulatory agency proceeding or court action, or to relieve any regulatory agency or court of any obligation, or to affect its discretion, to permit intervention or participation by any person in any proceeding or action.

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