093_HB2179

                                     LRB093 10221 AMC 10475 b

 1        AN ACT concerning hypnosis.

 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
 5    Hypnosis Consumer Protection Act.

 6        Section 5.  Purpose and findings.
 7        (a)  The  use  of  hypnotism  as  a  helpful  practice to
 8    increase self-control and to improve personal productivity is
 9    well documented in numerous studies.   The  Illinois  General
10    Assembly  has  recognized  in  the  past  that  hypnotism for
11    nontherapeutic purposes is a lawful  activity  by  unlicensed
12    persons  and  has  exempted such persons from the requirement
13    for psychological licensure as there is no demonstration that
14    their practice poses an imminent risk of significant harm  to
15    the   public's   health   and  safety.  Notwithstanding  this
16    exemption, some providers of  hypnotism  services  have  held
17    their services out to the public in technical compliance with
18    the  law,  but  using  titles,  representations,  or academic
19    degree designations that could  lead  reasonable  persons  to
20    believe   that  the  provider  was  a  licensed  health  care
21    practitioner able to treat, diagnose, or prescribe.  This has
22    resulted in confusion among the public as to the  appropriate
23    limits  of  practice  of an unlicensed person, uncertainty in
24    how to  weigh  advice  given  by  such  persons,  and  unfair
25    marketing practices by some providers at the expense of those
26    who  are  careful  to  hold  services  out to the public in a
27    manner that is not deceptive.
28        (b)  The  General  Assembly  finds  that  the  unlicensed
29    practice  by  persons  providing   nontherapeutic   hypnotism
30    services  is  not  harmful to the public's health and safety.
31    The General Assembly intends, by  passage  of  this  Act,  to
 
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 1    allow  public access to nontherapeutic hypnotism services and
 2    to protect the public from unlicensed providers of  hypnotism
 3    services who hold themselves out to the public in a deceptive
 4    or  misleading manner or who seek to increase their authority
 5    with  consumers  by  using  bogus  or  unaccredited  academic
 6    degrees.

 7        Section  10.  Nontherapeutic   practice   of   hypnotism;
 8    violation.
 9        (a)  Nothing  in this Act shall be construed to limit the
10    activities  and  services  provided  by  a   person   legally
11    regulated in this State by any other Act from engaging in the
12    practice  of  hypnotism  if  the regulatory Act governing the
13    person contains a scope of practice that might reasonably  be
14    interpreted to include the use of hypnotism.
15        (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person
16    who  is not otherwise licensed to provide some form of health
17    care by a valid Illinois  regulatory  Act  and  who  provides
18    hypnotism  services in accordance with this Section shall not
19    be in violation of any of the health care profession practice
20    Acts and shall be deemed to be engaged in the  nontherapeutic
21    practice  of  hypnotism,  unless  that person does any of the
22    following:
23             (1)  Willfully diagnoses or independently  treats  a
24        physical  or  mental  illness  of  any person and thereby
25        causes an imminent risk  of  significant  bodily  injury,
26        significant physical or mental illness, or death.
27             (2)  Conducts  surgery or any other procedure on any
28        person that punctures the skin.
29             (3)  Prescribes or administers  x-ray  radiation  to
30        any person.
31             (4)  Prescribes   or  administers  legend  drugs  or
32        controlled substances to any person.
33             (5)  Recommends to any person the discontinuance  of
 
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 1        legend  drugs  or  controlled  substances prescribed by a
 2        licensed physician or the discontinuance of mental health
 3        care provided by a licensed health care practitioner.
 4             (6)  Holds out, states,  indicates,  advertises,  or
 5        implies  to  any  person  that  he  or she is an Illinois
 6        licensed health care professional.

 7        Section 15.  Disclosure; advertising.
 8        (a)  An unlicensed person  providing  hypnotism  services
 9    shall,  prior  to  providing  those services, disclose to the
10    client in a  plainly-worded  written  statement  all  of  the
11    following:
12             (1)  That  he  or  she  is  not  a  physician  or an
13        Illinois licensed health care practitioner.
14             (2)  The nature of the services to be  provided  and
15        the theory upon which the services are based.
16             (3)  The  academic  or  professional  degrees  held,
17        including  the  accreditation or lack of accreditation of
18        such degrees by an agent recognized by the United  States
19        Department of Education.
20             (4)  His  or  her training, experience, credentials,
21        or other qualifications regarding the hypnotism  services
22        being  provided,  including  whether or not such training
23        was obtained from a school that has been approved by  the
24        State  to offer such training or from a school in another
25        state that has licensure, accreditation, or approval that
26        is at least as rigorous from its state government.
27             (5)  That the consumer of hypnotism services has the
28        right to continuity of care, the right to refuse services
29        at any time, the right to be free of physical, verbal, or
30        sexual abuse, the right to know the expected duration  of
31        services  and  the  costs of those services, and that the
32        client may assert any right without retaliation.
33        (b)  An unlicensed person  providing  hypnotism  services
 
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 1    shall  obtain  a  written  acknowledgement  from  the  client
 2    stating that he or she has been provided with the information
 3    described in subsection (a), which shall be maintained by the
 4    person  providing the services for 3 years.  The client shall
 5    be provided with a copy of this written acknowledgement.
 6        (c)  An unlicensed person  providing  hypnotism  services
 7    shall  state  in  any  advertisement that he or she is not an
 8    Illinois licensed health care practitioner.

 9        Section 25.  Violations; civil penalty.
10        (a)  An unlicensed person providing hypnotism services in
11    violation of Section 15 or engaging in the activities  listed
12    in  subsection  (b)  of  Section  10  of  this  Act shall, in
13    addition to any other penalty provided by law,  pay  a  civil
14    penalty  to  the  Department of Professional Regulation in an
15    amount not to exceed $5,000 for each offense as determined by
16    the Department.  The civil penalty shall be assessed  by  the
17    Department  after  a  hearing  is held in accordance with the
18    procedures set for in the Illinois  Administrative  Procedure
19    Act.
20        (b)  The  Department  has  the  authority  and  power  to
21    investigate any violation of this Act.
22        (c)  The civil penalty shall be paid within 60 days after
23    the  effective  date of the order imposing the civil penalty.
24    The order shall constitute a judgment and may  be  filed  and
25    execution had thereon in the same manner as any judgment from
26    a court of record.

27        Section  30.  Application.  Nothing in this Act or in any
28    of the  Acts  licensing  health  care  professions  shall  be
29    construed   to   prohibit   the  practice  of  nontherapeutic
30    hypnotism services in compliance with this Act by persons not
31    licensed to practice a health care profession.