SB2644 EngrossedLRB103 34708 JDS 64555 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Secretary of State Act is amended by adding
5Section 34 as follows:
 
6    (15 ILCS 305/34 new)
7    Sec. 34. Advance Directive Registry.
8    (a) By January 1, 2027, the Secretary of State shall
9establish an electronic registry, to be known as the Advance
10Directive Registry, through which residents of the State of
11Illinois may deposit, with the Secretary of State, a completed
12Department of Public Health Uniform Practitioner Order for
13Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. In calendar year 2026,
14the Secretary of State shall, in good faith, promote the
15Advance Directive Registry throughout the State by
16disseminating information about the Advance Directive Registry
17in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of State.
18    (b) Information in the Advance Directive Registry shall be
19made available electronically to hospitals licensed under the
20Hospital Licensing Act and hospitals organized under the
21University of Illinois Hospital Act, and those hospitals may
22rely on information obtained from the Advance Directive
23Registry as an accurate copy of the documents filed with the

 

 

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1Advance Directive Registry.
2    (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit the right to amend
3or revoke a Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form
4previously filed with the Advance Directive Registry.
5    (d) The Secretary of State shall adopt any rules necessary
6to implement this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
7Assembly, and the Secretary of State shall also provide on the
8Secretary of State's website information regarding use of the
9Advance Directive Registry.
10    (e) In the absence of gross negligence or willful
11misconduct, the Secretary of State and employees of the
12Secretary of State are immune from any civil or criminal
13liability in connection with the creation and maintenance of
14the Advance Directive Registry described in this Section.
15    (f) A person who knowingly submits a document to the
16Advance Directive Registry without authorization or assists in
17such submission shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
18    (g) Nothing in this Section requires a health care
19professional or health care provider, including a hospital
20licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act and a hospital
21organized under the University of Illinois Hospital Act, to
22(i) inquire whether a patient has a Department of Public
23Health Uniform POLST form registered on the Advance Directive
24Registry or (ii) access or search the Advance Directive
25Registry to determine whether a patient has registered a
26Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form or the terms of

 

 

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1the form.
2    (h) A health care professional or health care provider,
3including a hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act
4and a hospital organized under the University of Illinois
5Hospital Act, is not subject to civil or criminal liability or
6professional discipline for failure to access or search the
7Advance Directive Registry. Notwithstanding any other
8provision of this Section, a health care professional or
9health care provider who relies in good faith on the
10provisions of a Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form
11retrieved from the Advance Directive Registry is immune from
12criminal and civil liability as described in subsection (d) of
13Section 65 of the Health Care Surrogate Act.