SB2402 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 10371 AAS 20446 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2402

Introduced 2/7/2025, by Sen. Willie Preston

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the PRIOR Act. Defines terms. Provides that a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment shall be completed and presented to the General Assembly before legislation creating a new occupational regulation, expanding the scope of practice of a licensed occupation, or increasing the personal qualification for an occupational regulation can be voted on by a committee or the General Assembly. Provides that, on or before the first day of the General Assembly's legislative session, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Chair of each relevant committee shall assign to the relevant committee or legislative staff the responsibility to analyze legislation creating a new occupational regulation, expanding the scope of practice of a licensed occupation, or increasing the personal qualifications for an occupational regulation and the accompanying Pre-Regulatory Impact Application submitted by proponents of the legislation. Provides that the designated staff are responsible for (i) reviewing legislation that requires a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment to ensure the least restrictive regulation is being proposed and (ii) preparing a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment that shall be considered with the legislation by the General Assembly. Provides that a proponent of a piece of legislation shall submit a Pre-Regulation Impact Application to the designated staff. Sets forth requirements for an application. Sets forth actions that designated staff may take. Sets forth a temporary moratorium on the creation of new occupational regulations. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the PRIOR Act.

Section 5. Declaration of public policy.

(a) The General Assembly finds the following:

(1) requiring individuals to qualify for, apply for, and receive a license before he or she works in an occupation imposes a significant burden on individuals, the State, and the economy;

(2) the creation of new occupational licenses without sufficient empirical evidence or legislative oversight may compel the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to expend finite resources administering regulations that are not necessary to protect public health or safety;

(3) occupational licenses should only be required or expanded if it is necessary to protect public health and safety from significant and discernible harm

(4) the people of the State have a fundamental right to pursue a lawful occupation; and

(5) it is necessary to require comprehensive reviews of any proposed legislation that would create an occupational license, expand the scope of practice for a license, or increase personal qualifications for a license so that the General Assembly can analyze whether the legislation is both necessary to protect public health, safety, or welfare from significant and discernible harm and appropriate in light of the burdens it creates.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(b) "Least restrictive regulation" means the following, from least to most restrictive:

(1) market competition;

(2) third-party or consumer-created ratings and reviews;

(3) private certification;

(4) voluntary bonding or insurance;

(5) specific private civil cause of action to remedy consumer harm;

(6) deceptive trade practice act;

(7) mandatory disclosure of attributes of the specific good or service;

(8) regulation of the process of providing the specific good or service;

(9) regulation of the facility where the specific good or service is sold;

(10) inspection;

(11) bonding;

(12) insurance;

(13) government registration;

(14) government certification;

(15) specialty occupational certification solely for medical reimbursement; and

(16) an occupational license.

(d) "License" means the privilege conferred by the Department to a person that has fulfilled all the requirements for any type of licensure under this Act.

(e) "Licensure" means a process by which the Department grants to a person who has met certain prerequisite qualifications the right to perform prescribed professional or occupational tasks and to use the title of the profession or occupation.

(f) "Occupational regulation" means a statute, rule, practice, policy, or other state law that allows an individual to an occupational title or work in an occupation. "Occupational regulation" includes a government registration, government certification, and occupational license.

(g) "Personal qualifications" means criteria related to an individual's personal background and characteristics. "Personal qualifications" may include one or more of the following: (i) completion of an approved educational program, (ii) satisfactory performance on an examination, (iii) work experience, (iv) apprenticeship, (v) other evidence of attainment of requisite knowledge and skills, (vi) passing a review of the individual's criminal record, or (vii) completion of continuing education.

(h) "Pre-Regulatory Impact Application" means the application for review of legislation to regulate an unregulated profession or occupation or modify the respective scope thereof.

(i) "Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment and Report" means the process as provided in this Act by which designated staff shall assess the Pre-Regulatory Impact Application.

(j) "Scope of practice" means the procedures, actions, processes, and work that an individual may perform under an occupational regulation.

Section 15. Establishment of a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment.

(a) A Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment shall be completed and presented to the General Assembly before legislation creating a new occupational regulation, expanding the scope of practice of a licensed occupation, or increasing the personal qualification for an occupational regulation can be voted on by a committee or the General Assembly.

(b) On or before the first day of the General Assembly's legislative session, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Chair of each relevant committee shall assign to the relevant committee or legislative staff the responsibility to analyze legislation creating a new occupational regulation, expanding the scope of practice of a licensed occupation, or increasing the personal qualifications for an occupational regulation and the accompanying Pre-Regulatory Impact Application submitted by proponents of the legislation.

Section 20. Pre-Regulatory Impact Application and Assessment process.

(a) The designated staff are responsible for (i) reviewing legislation that requires a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment pursuant to Section 15 to ensure the least restrictive regulation is being proposed and (ii) preparing a Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment that shall be considered with the legislation by the General Assembly.

(b) A proponent of a piece of legislation shall submit a Pre-Regulation Impact Application to the designated staff. The application shall include:

(1) the name or type of occupation that is proposed to be licensed, proposed changes to an existing license's scope of practice or required personal qualifications, and the full range and variety of practices and activities, modes of practice, or subspecialities included in the scope of practice covered by the legislation;

(2) demonstrable evidence of significant and discernible harm arising from the full range and variety of practices and activities included in the scope of practice and how the legislation will remedy this harm;

(3) the substance, content, and relevance of the personal qualifications required for entry into the occupation that the legislation seeks to regulate, including, but not limited to, required hours, knowledge areas tested in examinations, the development process for creating examinations, and any updates that have been made to address changes in technology or modes of practice;

(4) the extent to which the personal qualifications that the legislation requires for individuals to enter the occupation being regulated are necessary to protect the public from significant and discernible harm for all activities covered by the scope of practice;

(5) equity concerns arising from the personal qualifications and costs, including:

(A) the financial impact on aspiring licensees, including, but not limited to:

(i) itemization of average costs of achieving personal qualifications;

(ii) an assessment of average incomes of licensees;

(iii) numbers, monetary loss, and demographics of individuals who start but do not achieve personal qualifications or complete the application process; and

(iv) the educational or training programs that exist and the cost of such educational or training programs;

(B) the challenges for individuals from historically disadvantaged backgrounds in acquiring required personal qualifications;

(C) the barriers for individuals with records of interactions with the criminal justice system;

(D) any evidence of challenges for individuals who do not speak English as their primary language;

(E) the geographic distribution of educational programs, training sites, and test sites;

(F) how the proposed regulation will affect the costs of goods and services; and

(G) whether licensure renewal will be based only upon payment of a fee or whether renewal will involve continuing education, reexamination, or other methodologies;

(6) whether any current protections exist for consumers of the goods and services provided by the unregulated occupation and how they protect or fail to protect consumers;

(7) the approximate number of individuals or businesses that would be subject to the legislation, a list of associations, organizations, and other groups available to practitioners of occupation, and, if applicable, the existence of national or private accreditations or certification systems for the profession or occupation;

(8) a list of all State and federal laws that have been enacted to protect the public with respect to the profession or occupation and how the proposed standards for licensure compare to the standards of these other jurisdictions;

(9) a description of any known previous efforts in this State to implement legislation to regulate the profession or occupation or an expansion of scope of practice or required personal qualifications thereof;

(10) the form, powers, and composition of a licensing board, if needed; and

(11) any other information the designated staff requests for the analysis of the regulatory proposal or proposed legislation.

(c) The designated staff may request information from State agencies that contract with individuals in regulated occupations and others knowledgeable of the occupation, labor-market economics, or other factors, including costs and benefits.

(d) The designated staff shall determine in the Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment if the proposed occupational regulation meets the State's policy of using the least restrictive regulation necessary to protect consumers from significant and discernible harm and provide a written recommendation regarding the necessity of the legislation.

(e) The designated staff's analysis shall use a rebuttable presumption that consumers are sufficiently protected by the remedies listed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (g) of this Section.

(f) The designated staff may rebut the presumption in subsection (e) if it finds (i) credible empirical evidence of significant and discernible harm and (ii) that consumers do not have the information and means to protect themselves against such harm. If evidence of such unmanageable harm is found, the designated staff will recommend the least restrictive government regulation to address the harm, as listed in paragraphs (5) through (11) of subsection (g) of this Section.

(g) For any harm under subsection (f), the designated staff shall use the following guidelines to form the recommendation in the Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment:

(1) If the harm arises from contractual disputes, including pricing disputes, staff may recommend enacting a specific civil cause of action in small-claims court or district court to remedy consumer harm. This cause of action may provide for reimbursement of the attorney's fees or court costs, if a consumer's claim is successful;

(2) If the harm arises from fraud, staff may recommend strengthening powers under the state's deceptive trade practices acts or requiring disclosures that will reduce misleading attributes of the specific good or service;

(3) If the harm arises from general health and safety risks, staff may recommend enacting a regulation on the related process or requiring a facility license;

(4) If the harm arises from unclean facilities, staff may recommend requiring periodic facility inspections;

(5) If the harm arises from a provider's failure to complete a contract fully or to standards, staff may recommend requiring the provider to be bonded;

(6) If the harm arises from a lack of protection for a person who is not a party to a contract between providers and consumers, staff may recommend requiring the provider have insurance;

(7) If the harm arises from transactions with transient, out-of-state, or fly-by-night providers, staff may recommend requiring the provider register its business with the secretary of state;

(8) If the harm arises from a shortfall or imbalance in the consumer's knowledge about the good or service relative to the provider's knowledge, staff may recommend enacting government certification;

(9) If the harm arises from an inability to qualify providers of new or highly-specialized medical services for reimbursement by the state, staff may recommend enacting a specialty certification solely for medical reimbursement;

(10) If the harm arises from a systematic information shortfall in which a reasonable consumer of the service is permanently unable to distinguish between the quality of providers and there is an absence of institutions that provide guidance to consumers, staff may recommend enacting an occupational license; and

(11) If the harm arises from the need to address multiple types of harm, staff may recommend a combination of regulations. This may include a government regulation combined with a private remedy including third-party or consumer-created ratings and reviews, or private certification.

(h) The designated staff's recommendation shall include a written analysis of the need for the occupational regulation and shall address the following:

(1) each factor in paragraph (5) of subsection (b), including the effects of the legislation on opportunities for workers, consumer choices, costs and benefits, general unemployment, market competition, governmental costs, and any other perceived effects;

(2) the type of occupational regulation recommended, if any, including the proper scope of practice for the occupation and the requisite personal qualifications;

(3) penalties for violating the proposed regulation; and

(4) whether the legislation requires the creation of a new board and how much responsibility the legislation delegates to a licensing board or agency, including whether the board or agency would have to promulgate rules and have increased costs to regulate the occupation.

(i) The designated staff shall have a minimum of 9 months from receipt of the Pre-Regulatory Impact Application to complete the analysis and issue the Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment.

(j) The Pre-Regulatory Impact Assessment shall be considered with the applicable legislation when it is considered by the relevant legislative committees and the General Assembly.

Section 25. Temporary moratorium on the creation of new occupational regulations.

(a) Except as provided for in subsection (d) of this Section, beginning January 1, 2026, no Pre-Regulatory Impact Application shall be submitted and the General Assembly shall not consider legislation governed by this Act until January 1, 2027.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2026, a political subdivision shall promulgate rules imposing new licensure requirements until the moratorium in this Section is repealed.

(c) The moratorium in this Section shall be repealed on January 1, 2027 unless otherwise extended by the General Assembly.

(d) A political subdivision may initiate a Pre-Regulatory Impact Application during the moratorium period if it can provide evidence of significant and discernible harm related to the unregulated practice of the occupation.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.