Public Act 103-0062
 
SB0203 EnrolledLRB103 25085 CPF 51420 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Pesticide Act is amended by
changing Section 24.1 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 60/24.1)  (from Ch. 5, par. 824.1)
    Sec. 24.1. Administrative actions and penalties.
    (1) The Director is authorized after an opportunity for an
administrative hearing to suspend, revoke, or modify any
license, permit, special order, registration, or certification
issued under this Act. This action may be taken in addition to
or in lieu of monetary penalties assessed as set forth in this
Section. When it is in the interest of the people of the State
of Illinois, the Director may, upon good and sufficient
evidence, suspend the registration, license, or permit until a
hearing has been held. In such cases, the Director shall issue
an order in writing setting forth the reasons for the
suspension. Such order shall be served personally on the
person or by registered or certified mail sent to the person's
business address as shown in the latest notification to the
Department. When such an order has been issued by the
Director, the person may request an immediate hearing.
    (2) Before initiating hearing proceedings, the Director
may issue an advisory letter to a violator of this Act or its
rules and regulations when the violation points total 6 or
less, as determined by the Department by the Use and Violation
Criteria established in this Section. When the Department
determines that the violation points total more than 6 but not
more than 13, the Director shall issue a warning letter to the
violator.
    (3) The hearing officer upon determination of a violation
or violations shall assess one or more of the following
penalties:
        (A) For any person applying pesticides without a
    license or misrepresenting certification or failing to
    comply with conditions of an agrichemical facility permit
    or failing to comply with the conditions of a written
    authorization for land application of agrichemical
    contaminated soils or groundwater, a penalty of $500 shall
    be assessed for the first offense and $1,000 for the
    second and subsequent offenses.
        (B) For violations of a stop use order imposed by the
    Director, the penalty shall be $2500.
        (C) For violations of a stop sale order imposed by the
    Director, the penalty shall be $1500 for each individual
    item of the product found in violation of the order.
        (D) For selling restricted use pesticides to a
    non-certified applicator the penalty shall be $1000.
        (E) For selling restricted use pesticides without a
    dealer's license the penalty shall be $1,000.
        (F) For constructing or operating without an
    agrichemical facility permit after receiving written
    notification, the penalty shall be $500 for the first
    offense and $1,000 for the second and subsequent offenses.
        (F-5) For any person found by the Department to have
    committed a use inconsistent with the label, as defined in
    subsection 40 of Section 4, that results in human exposure
    to a pesticide, the penalty shall be assessed in
    accordance with this paragraph (F-5). The Department shall
    impose a penalty under this paragraph (F-5) only if it
    represents an amount greater than the penalty assessed
    under subparagraph (G). The amount of the penalty under
    this paragraph (F-5) is calculated as follows:
            (a) If fewer than 3 humans are exposed, then the
        penalty shall be $500 for each human exposed.
            (b) If 3 or more humans but fewer than 5 humans are
        exposed, then the penalty shall be $750 for each human
        exposed.
            (c) If 5 or more humans are exposed, then the
        penalty shall be $1,250 for each human exposed.
        If a penalty is imposed under this paragraph (F-5),
    the Department shall redetermine the total violation
    points under subsection (4), less any points under
    subsection (4) stemming from human exposure, and impose
    any additional penalty under subparagraph (G) based on the
    new total. The reassessed total shall not affect any
    determination under subsection (2); any determination
    under subsection (2) shall be determined by the full
    application of points under subsection (4).
        (G) For violations of the Act and rules and
    regulations, administrative penalties will be based upon
    the total violation points as determined by the Use and
    Violation Criteria as set forth in paragraph (4) of this
    Section. The monetary penalties shall be as follows:
Total Violation PointsMonetary Penalties
14-16$750
17-19 $1000
20-21 $2500
22-25 $5000
26-29 $7500
30 and above$10,000
    (4) Subject to paragraph (F-5), the The following Use and
Violation Criteria establishes the point value which shall be
compiled to determine the total violation points and
administrative actions or monetary penalties to be imposed as
set forth in paragraph (3)(G) of this Section:
        (A) Point values shall be assessed upon the harm or
    loss incurred.
            (1) A point value of 1 shall be assessed for the
        following:
                (a) Exposure to a pesticide by plants, animals
            or humans with no symptoms or damage noted.
                (b) Fraudulent sales practices or
            representations with no apparent monetary losses
            involved.
            (2) A point value of 2 shall be assessed for the
        following:
                (a) Exposure to a pesticide which resulted in:
                    (1) Plants or property showing signs of
                damage including but not limited to leaf curl,
                burning, wilting, spotting, discoloration, or
                dying.
                    (2) Garden produce or an agricultural crop
                not being harvested on schedule.
                    (3) Fraudulent sales practices or
                representations resulting in losses under
                $500.
            (3) A point value of 4 shall be assessed for the
        following:
                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
            less than 3 days.
                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a
            loss below $1000.
                (c) Animals exhibiting symptoms of pesticide
            poisoning including but not limited to eye or skin
            irritations or lack of coordination.
                (d) Death to less than 5 animals.
                (e) Fraudulent sales practices or
            representations resulting in losses from $500 to
            $2000.
            (4) A point value of 6 shall be assessed for the
        following:
                (a) Exposure to a pesticide resulting in a
            human experiencing headaches, nausea, eye
            irritation and such other symptoms which persisted
            3 or more days.
                (b) Plant or property damage resulting in a
            loss of $1000 or more.
                (c) Death to 5 or more animals.
                (d) Fraudulent sales practices or
            representations resulting in losses over $2000.
        (B) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
    signal word on the label of the chemical involved:
     
Point ValueSignal Word
 1  Caution
 2  Warning
 4  Danger/Poison
        (C) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
    degree of responsibility.
Point ValueDegree of Responsibility
2Accidental (such as equipment
malfunction)
4Negligence
10Knowingly
        (D) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
    violator's history for the previous 3 years:
Point ValueRecord
2Advisory letter
3Warning letter
5
Previous criminal conviction of this Act or administrative violation resulting in a monetary penalty
7Certification, license or
registration currently
suspended or revoked
        (E) Point values shall be assessed based upon the
    violation type:
            (1) Application Oriented:
Point ValueViolation
1Inadequate records
2Lack of supervision
2Faulty equipment
            Use contrary to label directions:
2a. resulting in exposure to
applicator or operator
3b. resulting in exposure to
other persons or the
environment
3c. precautionary statements,
sites, rates, restricted use
requirements
3Water contamination
3Storage or disposal contrary
to label directions
3Pesticide drift
4Direct application to a
non-target site
6Falsification of records
6
Failure to secure a permit or violation of permit or special
order
            (2) Product Oriented:
Point ValueViolation
6Pesticide not registered
4Product label claims differ
from approved label
4
Product composition (active ingredients differs from
that of approved label)
4Product not colored as required
4Misbranding as set forth in
Section 5 of the Act (4
points will be assessed for
each count)
        (5) Any penalty not paid within 60 days of notice from
    the Department shall be submitted to the Attorney
    General's Office for collection. Failure to pay a penalty
    shall also be grounds for suspension or revocation of
    permits, licenses and registrations.
        (6) Private applicators, except those private
    applicators who have been found by the Department to have
    committed a "use inconsistent with the label" as defined
    in subsection 40 of Section 4 of this Act, are exempt from
    the Use and Violation Criteria point values.
(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 6/9/2023