(50 ILCS 754/45)

Sec. 45. Regional Advisory Committees.

(a) The Division of Mental Health shall establish Regional Advisory Committees in each EMS Region to advise on regional issues related to emergency response systems for mental and behavioral health. The Secretary of Human Services shall appoint the members of the Regional Advisory Committees. Each Regional Advisory Committee shall consist of:

(1) representatives of the 9-1-1 PSAPs in the region;

(2) representatives of the EMS Medical Directors Committee, as constituted under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, or other similar committee serving the medical needs of the jurisdiction;

(3) representatives of law enforcement officials with jurisdiction in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Regions;

(4) representatives of both the EMS providers and the unions representing EMS or emergency mental and behavioral health responders, or both; and

(5) advocates from the mental health, behavioral health, intellectual disability, and developmental disability communities.

If no person is willing or available to fill a member's seat for one of the required areas of representation on a Regional Advisory Committee under paragraphs (1) through (5), the Secretary of Human Services shall adopt procedures to ensure that a missing area of representation is filled once a person becomes willing and available to fill that seat.

(b) The majority of advocates on the Regional Advisory Committee must either be individuals with a lived experience of a condition commonly regarded as a mental health or behavioral health disability, developmental disability, or intellectual disability or be from organizations primarily composed of such individuals. The members of the Committee shall also reflect the racial demographics of the jurisdiction served. To achieve the requirements of this subsection, the Division of Mental Health must establish a clear plan and regular course of action to engage, recruit, and sustain areas of established participation. The plan and actions taken must be shared with the general public.

(c) Subject to the oversight of the Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, the EMS Medical Directors Committee is responsible for convening the meetings of the committee. Impacted units of local government may also have representatives on the committee subject to approval by the Division of Mental Health, if this participation is structured in such a way that it does not give undue weight to any of the groups represented.

(Source: P.A. 102-580, eff. 1-1-22; 103-105, eff. 6-27-23.)