101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB2130

 

Introduced 2/15/2019, by Sen. Linda Holmes

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
415 ILCS 60/24.1  from Ch. 5, par. 824.1

    Amends the Illinois Pesticide Act. Increases the first offense penalty for applying pesticides without a license, misrepresenting certification, failing to comply with conditions of an agrichemical facility permit, failing to comply with the conditions of a written authorization for land application of agrichemical contaminated soils or groundwater, or for constructing or operating without an agrichemical facility permit after receiving written notification from $500 to $750. Increases the subsequent offense penalty for these violations from $1,000 to $1,500. Makes various changes to the violation point structure used for assessing administrative penalties for violations of the Act and rules, including increasing the monetary penalties by specified amounts and adding a $500 penalty for a 12 to 13 point violation.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2130LRB101 05178 CPF 50190 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Pesticide Act is amended by
5changing Section 24.1 as follows:
 
6    (415 ILCS 60/24.1)  (from Ch. 5, par. 824.1)
7    Sec. 24.1. Administrative actions and penalties.
8    (1) The Director is authorized after an opportunity for an
9administrative hearing to suspend, revoke, or modify any
10license, permit, special order, registration, or certification
11issued under this Act. This action may be taken in addition to
12or in lieu of monetary penalties assessed as set forth in this
13Section. When it is in the interest of the people of the State
14of Illinois, the Director may, upon good and sufficient
15evidence, suspend the registration, license, or permit until a
16hearing has been held. In such cases, the Director shall issue
17an order in writing setting forth the reasons for the
18suspension. Such order shall be served personally on the person
19or by registered or certified mail sent to the person's
20business address as shown in the latest notification to the
21Department. When such an order has been issued by the Director,
22the person may request an immediate hearing.
23    (2) Before initiating hearing proceedings, the Director

 

 

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1may issue an advisory letter to a violator of this Act or its
2rules and regulations when the violation points total 6 or
3less, as determined by the Department by the Use and Violation
4Criteria established in this Section. When the Department
5determines that the violation points total more than 6 but not
6more than 13, the Director shall issue a warning letter to the
7violator.
8    (3) The hearing officer upon determination of a violation
9or violations shall assess one or more of the following
10penalties:
11        (A) For any person applying pesticides without a
12    license or misrepresenting certification or failing to
13    comply with conditions of an agrichemical facility permit
14    or failing to comply with the conditions of a written
15    authorization for land application of agrichemical
16    contaminated soils or groundwater, a penalty of $750 $500
17    shall be assessed for the first offense and $1,500 $1,000
18    for the second and subsequent offenses.
19        (B) For violations of a stop use order imposed by the
20    Director, the penalty shall be $2500.
21        (C) For violations of a stop sale order imposed by the
22    Director, the penalty shall be $1500 for each individual
23    item of the product found in violation of the order.
24        (D) For selling restricted use pesticides to a
25    non-certified applicator the penalty shall be $1000.
26        (E) For selling restricted use pesticides without a

 

 

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1    dealer's license the penalty shall be $1,000.
2        (F) For constructing or operating without an
3    agrichemical facility permit after receiving written
4    notification, the penalty shall be $750 $500 for the first
5    offense and $1,500 $1,000 for the second and subsequent
6    offenses.
7        (G) For violations of the Act and Rules and
8    Regulations, administrative penalties will be based upon
9    the total violation points as determined by the Use and
10    Violation Criteria as set forth in paragraph (4) of this
11    Section. The monetary penalties shall be as follows:
12Total Violation PointsMonetary Penalties
1312-13 $500
1414-16$1,000 $750
1517-19 $2,500 $1000
1620-22 20-21 $5,000 $2500
1723-25 22-25 $7,500 $5000
1826-29 $10,000 $7500
1930 and above$15,000 $10,000
20    (4) The following Use and Violation Criteria establishes
21the point value which shall be compiled to determine the total
22violation points and administrative actions or monetary
23penalties to be imposed as set forth in paragraph (3)(G) of
24this Section:
25        (A) Point values shall be assessed upon the harm or
26    loss incurred.

 

 

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1            (1) A point value of 1 shall be assessed for the
2        following:
3                (a) Exposure to a pesticide by plants, animals
4            or humans with no symptoms or damage noted.
5                (b) Fraudulent sales practices or
6            representations with no apparent monetary losses
7            involved.
8            (2) A point value of 2 shall be assessed for the
9        following:
10                (a) Exposure to a pesticide which resulted in:
11                    (1) Plants or property showing signs of
12                damage including but not limited to leaf curl,
13                burning, wilting, spotting, discoloration, or
14                dying.
15                    (2) Garden produce or an agricultural crop
16                not being harvested on schedule.
17                    (3) Fraudulent sales practices or
18                representations resulting in losses under
19                $500.
20            (3) A point value of 4 shall be assessed for the
21        following:
22                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
23            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
24            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
25            less than 3 days.
26                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a

 

 

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1            loss below $1000.
2                (c) Animals exhibiting symptoms of pesticide
3            poisoning including but not limited to eye or skin
4            irritations or lack of coordination.
5                (d) Death to less than 5 animals.
6                (e) Fraudulent sales practices or
7            representations resulting in losses from $500 to
8            $2000.
9            (4) A point value of 6 shall be assessed for the
10        following:
11                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
12            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
13            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
14            3 or more days.
15                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a
16            loss of $1000 or more.
17                (c) Death to 5 or more animals.
18                (d) Fraudulent sales practices or
19            representations resulting in losses over $2000.
20        (B) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
21    signal word on the label of the chemical involved:
     
22Point ValueSignal Word
23 1  Caution
24 2  Warning
25 4  Danger/Poison

 

 

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1        (C) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
2degree of responsibility.
3Point ValueDegree of Responsibility
42Accidental (such as equipment malfunction)
54Negligence
610Knowingly
7        (D) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
8violator's history for the previous 3 years:
9Point ValueRecord
102Advisory letter
113Warning letter
125
13
14
15 Previous criminal conviction of this Act or administrative violation resulting in a monetary penalty
167
17 Certification, license or registration currently suspended or revoked
18        (E) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
19violation type:
20(1) Application Oriented:
21Point ValueViolation
221Inadequate records
232Lack of supervision
242Faulty equipment

 

 

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1Use contrary to label directions:
22 a. resulting in exposure to applicator or operator
33
4 b. resulting in exposure to other persons or the environment
53
6 c. precautionary statements, sites, rates, restricted use requirements
73Water contamination
83 Storage or disposal contrary to label directions
93Pesticide drift
104Direct application to a non-target site
116Falsification of records
126
13 Failure to secure a permit or violation of permit or special order
14(2) Product Oriented:
15Point ValueViolation
166Pesticide not registered
174 Product label claims differ from approved label

 

 

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14
2 Product composition (active ingredients differs from that of approved label)
34Product not colored as required
44
5
6 Misbranding as set forth in Sec. 5 of the Act (4 points will be assessed for each count)
7        (5) Any penalty not paid within 60 days of notice from
8    the Department shall be submitted to the Attorney General's
9    Office for collection. Failure to pay a penalty shall also
10    be grounds for suspension or revocation of permits,
11    licenses and registrations.
12        (6) Private applicators, except those private
13    applicators who have been found by the Department to have
14    committed a "use inconsistent with the label" as defined in
15    subsection 40 of Section 4 of this Act, are exempt from the
16    Use and Violation Criteria point values.
17(Source: P.A. 90-403, eff. 8-15-97.)