(110 ILCS 975/9.1)

Sec. 9.1. Transfer of functions from the Department to the Commission.

(a) On July 1, 2022, or as soon thereafter as practical, all functions performed by the Department under this Act, together with all of the powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities of the Department relating to those functions, are transferred from the Department to the Commission.

(1) The Department and the Commission shall cooperate to ensure that the transfer of functions is completed as soon as practical.

(2) To the extent necessary or prudent to select scholarship recipients and award scholarships pursuant to this Act, following the application cycle which begins on March 1, 2022, the Department and the Commission may enter into interagency agreements pursuant to Section 3 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act to ensure scholarships are awarded for the 2022-2023 academic year.

(b) Neither the functions transferred under this Section, nor any powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities relating to those functions, are altered or changed by this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, except that all such functions, powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities shall be performed or exercised by the Commission as of July 1, 2022.

(c) All books, records, papers, documents, contracts, and pending business pertaining to the functions transferred under this Section, including but not limited to material in electronic or magnetic format and necessary computer hardware and software, shall be transferred to the Commission. The transfer of that information shall not, however, violate any applicable confidentiality constraints.

(d) Whenever reports or notices are required to be made or given or papers or documents furnished or served by any person to or upon the Department in connection with any of the functions transferred under this Section, the same shall be made, given, furnished, or served in the same manner to or upon the Commission.

The Department shall transfer to the Commission any such reports, notices, papers, or documents received by the Department after July 1, 2022. The Department and the Commission shall cooperate to ensure that the transfer of any such reports, notices, papers, or documents is completed as soon as is practical.

(e) This Section shall not affect any act done, ratified, or canceled, or any right occurring or established, or any action or proceeding had or commenced in an administrative, civil, or criminal case, regarding the functions of the Department before July 1, 2022; such actions may be prosecuted, defended, or continued by the Department.

(f) Any rules of the Department that (1) relate to the functions transferred under this Section, (2) that are in full force on July 1, 2022, and (3) that have been duly adopted by the Department, shall become the rules of the Commission. This Section shall not affect the legality of any such rules in the Illinois Administrative Code. Any proposed rules filed with the Secretary of State by the Department that are pending in the rulemaking process on July 1, 2022, and that pertain to the functions transferred, shall be deemed to have been filed by the Commission. As soon as practicable after July 1, 2022, the Commission may revise and clarify the rules transferred to it under this Section and propose and adopt new rules that relate to the functions transferred in this Section.

(g) The powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities relating to the functions transferred under this Section are vested in and shall be exercised by the Commission. Each act done in exercise of those powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities shall have the same legal effect as if done by the Department or its divisions, officers, or employees.

(h) Whenever a provision of law, including, but not limited to, the provisions of this Act, refers to the Department in connection with its performance of a function that is transferred to the Commission under this Section, that provision shall be deemed to refer to the Commission on and after July 1, 2022.

(Source: P.A. 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)