Public Act 0975 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4612 Enrolled LRB093 18160 RXD 43853 b

Public Act 093-0975

AN ACT concerning health improvement.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section 5-565 as follows:

(20 ILCS 5/5-565) (was 20 ILCS 5/6.06)

Sec. 5-565. In the Department of Public Health.

(a) The General Assembly declares it to be the public policy of this State that all citizens of Illinois are entitled to lead healthy lives. Governmental public health has a specific responsibility to ensure that a system is in place to allow the public health mission to be achieved. To develop a system requires certain core functions to be performed by government. The State Board of Health is to assume the leadership role in advising the Director in meeting the following functions:

(1) Needs assessment.

(2) Statewide health objectives.

(3) Policy development.

(4) Assurance of access to necessary services.

There shall be a State Board of Health composed of 17 persons, all of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate for those appointed by the Governor on and after June 30, 1998, and one of whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or over. Five members shall be physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, one representing a medical school faculty, one who is board certified in preventive medicine, and one 2 who is are engaged in private practice. One member shall be a dentist; one an environmental health practitioner; one a local public health administrator; one a local board of health member; one a registered nurse; one a veterinarian; one a public health academician; one a health care industry representative; one a representative of the business community; one a representative of the non-profit public interest community; and 2 4 shall be citizens at large.

The terms of Board of Health members shall be 3 years, except that members shall continue to serve on the Board of Health until a replacement is appointed. Upon the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, in the appointment of the Board of Health members appointed to vacancies or positions with terms expiring on or before December 31, 2004, the Governor shall appoint up to 6 members to serve for terms of 3 years; up to 6 members to serve for terms of 2 years; and up to 5 members to serve for a term of one year, so that the term of no more than 6 members expire in the same year. In the appointment of the first Board of Health members appointed after September 19, 1991 (the effective date of Public Act 87-633), the Governor shall appoint 5 members to serve for terms of 5 years; 5 members to serve for terms of 2 years; and 5 members to serve for a term of one year. Members appointed thereafter shall be appointed for terms of 3 years, except that when an appointment is made to fill a vacancy, the appointment shall be for the remaining term of the position vacated. The initial terms for the 2 additional members of the board who are citizens at large appointed under Public Act 90-607 shall be for 3 years each, with these positions thereafter being filled as with other members appointed by the Governor. All members shall be legal residents of the State of Illinois. The duties of the Board shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) To advise the Department of ways to encourage public understanding and support of the Department's programs.

(2) To evaluate all boards, councils, committees, authorities, and bodies advisory to, or an adjunct of, the Department of Public Health or its Director for the purpose of recommending to the Director one or more of the following:

(i) The elimination of bodies whose activities are not consistent with goals and objectives of the Department.

(ii) The consolidation of bodies whose activities encompass compatible programmatic subjects.

(iii) The restructuring of the relationship between the various bodies and their integration within the organizational structure of the Department.

(iv) The establishment of new bodies deemed essential to the functioning of the Department.

(3) To serve as an advisory group to the Director for public health emergencies and control of health hazards.

(4) To advise the Director regarding public health policy, and to make health policy recommendations regarding priorities to the Governor through the Director.

(5) To present public health issues to the Director and to make recommendations for the resolution of those issues.

(6) To recommend studies to delineate public health problems.

(7) To make recommendations to the Governor through the Director regarding the coordination of State public health activities with other State and local public health agencies and organizations.

(8) To report on or before February 1 of each year on the health of the residents of Illinois to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the public.

(9) To review the final draft of all proposed administrative rules, other than emergency or preemptory rules and those rules that another advisory body must approve or review within a statutorily defined time period, of the Department after September 19, 1991 (the effective date of Public Act 87-633). The Board shall review the proposed rules within 90 days of submission by the Department. The Department shall take into consideration any comments and recommendations of the Board regarding the proposed rules prior to submission to the Secretary of State for initial publication. If the Department disagrees with the recommendations of the Board, it shall submit a written response outlining the reasons for not accepting the recommendations.

In the case of proposed administrative rules or amendments to administrative rules regarding immunization of children against preventable communicable diseases designated by the Director under the Communicable Disease Prevention Act, after the Immunization Advisory Committee has made its recommendations, the Board shall conduct 3 public hearings, geographically distributed throughout the State. At the conclusion of the hearings, the State Board of Health shall issue a report, including its recommendations, to the Director. The Director shall take into consideration any comments or recommendations made by the Board based on these hearings.

(10) To deliver to the Governor for presentation to the General Assembly a State Health Improvement Plan. The first and second such plans shall be delivered to the Governor on January 1, 2006 and on January 1, 2009 respectively, and then every 4 years thereafter.

The Plan shall recommend priorities and strategies to improve the public health system and the health status of Illinois residents, taking into consideration national health objectives and system standards as frameworks for assessment.

The Plan shall also take into consideration priorities and strategies developed at the community level through the Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN) and any regional health improvement plans that may be developed. The Plan shall focus on prevention as a key strategy for long-term health improvement in Illinois.

The Plan shall examine and make recommendations on the contributions and strategies of the public and private sectors for improving health status and the public health system in the State. In addition to recommendations on health status improvement priorities and strategies for the population of the State as a whole, the Plan shall make recommendations regarding priorities and strategies for reducing and eliminating health disparities in Illinois; including racial, ethnic, gender, age, socio-economic and geographic disparities.

The Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health shall appoint a Planning Team that includes a range of public, private, and voluntary sector stakeholders and participants in the public health system. This Team shall include: the directors of State agencies with public health responsibilities (or their designees), including but not limited to the Illinois Departments of Public Health and Department of Human Services, representatives of local health departments, representatives of local community health partnerships, and individuals with expertise who represent an array of organizations and constituencies engaged in public health improvement and prevention.

The State Board of Health shall hold at least 3 public hearings addressing drafts of the Plan in representative geographic areas of the State. Members of the Planning Team shall receive no compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for their necessary expenses. To make recommendations to the Governor through the Director concerning the development and periodic updating of Statewide health objectives encompassing, in part, the periodically published federal health objectives for the nation, which will provide the basis for the policy development and assurance roles of the State Health Department, and to make recommendations to the Governor through the Director regarding legislation and funding necessary to implement the objectives.

(11) Upon the request of the Governor, to recommend to the Governor candidates for Director of Public Health when vacancies occur in the position.

(12) To adopt bylaws for the conduct of its own business, including the authority to establish ad hoc committees to address specific public health programs requiring resolution.

Upon appointment, the Board shall elect a chairperson from among its members.

Members of the Board shall receive compensation for their services at the rate of $150 per day, not to exceed $10,000 per year, as designated by the Director for each day required for transacting the business of the Board and shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The Board shall meet from time to time at the call of the Department, at the call of the chairperson, or upon the request of 3 of its members, but shall not meet less than 4 times per year.

(b) (Blank).

(c) An Advisory Board on Necropsy Service to Coroners, which shall counsel and advise with the Director on the administration of the Autopsy Act. The Advisory Board shall consist of 11 members, including a senior citizen age 60 or over, appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be designated as chairman by a majority of the members of the Board. In the appointment of the first Board the Governor shall appoint 3 members to serve for terms of 1 year, 3 for terms of 2 years, and 3 for terms of 3 years. The members first appointed under Public Act 83-1538 shall serve for a term of 3 years. All members appointed thereafter shall be appointed for terms of 3 years, except that when an appointment is made to fill a vacancy, the appointment shall be for the remaining term of the position vacant. The members of the Board shall be citizens of the State of Illinois. In the appointment of members of the Advisory Board the Governor shall appoint 3 members who shall be persons licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of Illinois, at least 2 of whom shall have received post-graduate training in the field of pathology; 3 members who are duly elected coroners in this State; and 5 members who shall have interest and abilities in the field of forensic medicine but who shall be neither persons licensed to practice any branch of medicine in this State nor coroners. In the appointment of medical and coroner members of the Board, the Governor shall invite nominations from recognized medical and coroners organizations in this State respectively. Board members, while serving on business of the Board, shall receive actual necessary travel and subsistence expenses while so serving away from their places of residence.

(Source: P.A. 90-607, eff. 6-30-98; 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; 91-798, eff. 7-9-00.)