101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1482

 

Introduced 2/13/2019, by Sen. David Koehler

 

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

    Amends the Illinois Pesticide Act. Increases the monetary penalties for violations of the Act. Effective January 1, 2020.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1482LRB101 07220 CPF 52258 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 $500 shall
17    be assessed for the first offense and $1,000 for the second
18    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 $500 for the first
5    offense and $1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses.
6        (G) For violations of the Act and Rules and
7    Regulations, administrative penalties will be based upon
8    the total violation points as determined by the Use and
9    Violation Criteria as set forth in paragraph (4) of this
10    Section. The monetary penalties shall be as follows:
11Total Violation PointsMonetary Penalties
1214-16  $2,250 $750
1317-19 $3,000 $1000
1420-21 $7,500 $2500
1522-25 $15,000 $5000
1626-29 $22,500 $7500
1730 and above$30,000 $10,000
18    (4) The following Use and Violation Criteria establishes
19the point value which shall be compiled to determine the total
20violation points and administrative actions or monetary
21penalties to be imposed as set forth in paragraph (3)(G) of
22this Section:
23        (A) Point values shall be assessed upon the harm or
24    loss incurred.
25            (1) A point value of 1 shall be assessed for the
26        following:

 

 

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1                (a) Exposure to a pesticide by plants, animals
2            or humans with no symptoms or damage noted.
3                (b) Fraudulent sales practices or
4            representations with no apparent monetary losses
5            involved.
6            (2) A point value of 2 shall be assessed for the
7        following:
8                (a) Exposure to a pesticide which resulted in:
9                    (1) Plants or property showing signs of
10                damage including but not limited to leaf curl,
11                burning, wilting, spotting, discoloration, or
12                dying.
13                    (2) Garden produce or an agricultural crop
14                not being harvested on schedule.
15                    (3) Fraudulent sales practices or
16                representations resulting in losses under
17                $500.
18            (3) A point value of 4 shall be assessed for the
19        following:
20                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
21            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
22            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
23            less than 3 days.
24                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a
25            loss below $1000.
26                (c) Animals exhibiting symptoms of pesticide

 

 

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1            poisoning including but not limited to eye or skin
2            irritations or lack of coordination.
3                (d) Death to less than 5 animals.
4                (e) Fraudulent sales practices or
5            representations resulting in losses from $500 to
6            $2000.
7            (4) A point value of 6 shall be assessed for the
8        following:
9                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
10            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
11            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
12            3 or more days.
13                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a
14            loss of $1000 or more.
15                (c) Death to 5 or more animals.
16                (d) Fraudulent sales practices or
17            representations resulting in losses over $2000.
18        (B) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
19    signal word on the label of the chemical involved:
     
20Point ValueSignal Word
21 1  Caution
22 2  Warning
23 4  Danger/Poison
24        (C) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
25degree of responsibility.
26Point ValueDegree of Responsibility

 

 

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12Accidental (such as equipment malfunction)
24Negligence
310Knowingly
4        (D) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
5violator's history for the previous 3 years:
6Point ValueRecord
72Advisory letter
83Warning letter
95
10
11
12 Previous criminal conviction of this Act or administrative violation resulting in a monetary penalty
137
14 Certification, license or registration currently suspended or revoked
15        (E) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
16violation type:
17(1) Application Oriented:
18Point ValueViolation
191Inadequate records
202Lack of supervision
212Faulty equipment
22Use contrary to label directions:
232 a. resulting in exposure to applicator or operator

 

 

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13
2 b. resulting in exposure to other persons or the environment
33
4 c. precautionary statements, sites, rates, restricted use requirements
53Water contamination
63 Storage or disposal contrary to label directions
73Pesticide drift
84Direct application to a non-target site
96Falsification of records
106
11 Failure to secure a permit or violation of permit or special order
12(2) Product Oriented:
13Point ValueViolation
146Pesticide not registered
154 Product label claims differ from approved label
164
17 Product composition (active ingredients differs from that of approved label)
184Product not colored as required

 

 

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14
2
3 Misbranding as set forth in Sec. 5 of the Act (4 points will be assessed for each count)
4        (5) Any penalty not paid within 60 days of notice from
5    the Department shall be submitted to the Attorney General's
6    Office for collection. Failure to pay a penalty shall also
7    be grounds for suspension or revocation of permits,
8    licenses and registrations.
9        (6) Private applicators, except those private
10    applicators who have been found by the Department to have
11    committed a "use inconsistent with the label" as defined in
12    subsection 40 of Section 4 of this Act, are exempt from the
13    Use and Violation Criteria point values.
14(Source: P.A. 90-403, eff. 8-15-97.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
161, 2020.