Public Act 0829 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4257 Enrolled LRB099 13154 KTG 37043 b

Public Act 099-0829

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The General Assembly finds that individuals with developmental or mental disabilities may sometimes have a difficult time communicating. This can be especially true in high stress situations, such as, but not limited to, interacting with criminal justice professionals. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a solution to de-escalate these situations by providing a way for individuals with disabilities to help inform or notify criminal justice professionals of the individual's disability.

Section 5. The Illinois Identification Card Act is amended by adding Section 4A-1 as follows:

(15 ILCS 335/4A-1 new)

Sec. 4A-1. Person with a disability wallet card.

(a) Upon approval of an applicant's Illinois Person with a Disability Identification Card, the Secretary of State shall inform the applicant of the availability of a Person with a Disability Wallet Card that specifies that the cardholder has been medically diagnosed with a disability, and shall provide that Wallet Card upon the applicant's request. This Wallet Card may only be available to applicants with a Type Two or Type Five Disability as defined in Section 4A of this Act.

(b) The Department of Human Services shall design the Wallet Card in consultation with the Secretary of State, after which, the Department of Human Services shall produce and distribute the cards to the Secretary of State.

(c) The Secretary of State shall work with the Department of Human Services to adopt rules in the administration of the Wallet Card.

Effective Date: 1/1/2017