Amends the Birth Control Services to Minors Act. Provides that any minor may give effective consent for contraceptive services or supplies and the consent of no other person is required. Provides that for such purposes, a minor is deemed to have the same legal capacity to act and has the same powers and obligations as a person of legal age.
Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Replaces reporting requirement provisions for the Department of Public Health concerning nurse surveyors. Provides that, in addition to the listed information, the Department's annual report on all survey activity from the preceding fiscal year shall include: (i) the total number of authorized nursing home surveyor positions within the Department, (ii) the total number of filled and vacant nursing home surveyor positions, (iii) the average length of tenure for nursing home surveyors employed by the Department at the time the report is created, and (iv) any additional information the Department deems relevant regarding nursing home surveyor recruitment, retention, or workload.
Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that an owner or operator of a community water supply may, by an additional method approved by the State, give written notice of the existence of lead service lines that are connected to buildings. Provides that an owner or operator of a community water supply that performs at least 4,000 lead service line replacements per year or exceeds a statutorily prescribed lead service line replacement rate is exempt from a provision that prohibits partial lead service line replacements. Provides that, in a municipality with a population of more than 1,000,000 inhabitants, the owner of a private property upon which there is located a renter-occupied building, a building that is used as a day care, or a multi-dwelling building must allow the community water supply access to replace the lead service line on the private side of the property.
Creates the Transparency in Downcoding Act. Provides that the Act applies to certain policies of health insurance amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act, except for employee or employer self-insured health benefit plans under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and health care provided pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act. Prohibits a health insurance issuer from using an automated process, system, or tool to downcode a claim; from downcoding a claim based solely on the reported diagnosis codes; and from using downcoding practices in a targeted or discriminatory manner against physicians who routinely treat patients with complex or chronic conditions. Requires downcoding decisions to be made by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches in any United States jurisdiction and of the same or similar specialty as a physician who typically manages the medical condition or disease. Sets forth provisions concerning notification requirements for downcoded claims; the appeal process for downcoded claims; enforcement by the Department of Insurance; and penalties. Provides that any pattern or practice of discriminatory downcoding identified by the Director of Insurance or another regulatory authority shall be subject to enforcement actions, including fines, restitution, or suspension of the health insurance issuer's license in this State. Effective immediately.
Amends the Court of Claims Act. Creates an administrative process for uncontested claims for vendors arising from contracts with the State. Requires a State agency to confirm or reject an uncontested claim that is from a lapsed appropriation and valued at less than $2,500 within 30 days after being notified in writing by the Attorney General. Provides that if the State agency does not confirm or reject the claim within that 30-day period, then the State agency forfeits the right to reject or contest the claim. Requires the Comptroller, subject to appropriation, then issue payment to the vendor within 30 days of the court entering such an award. Provides that if the court determines that it is unable to process such an uncontested claim because the bill or invoice contains a defect, the court must notify the vendor in writing of the defect no later than 30 days after the bill or invoice was first submitted. Provides that if one or more items on a bill or invoice are disapproved, but not the entire bill or invoice, then the portion that is not disapproved must be transmitted to the Comptroller for payment. Changes the filing fees required under the Act as follows: a fee of $15 for a petition seeking more than $500 but less than $10,000; and $35 for a petition seeking more than $10,000 or more. Requires that the court must allow claimants to submit documentation to amend and cure defects. Makes other changes. Authorizes the Court of Claims to adopt rules to implement the Act.
Amends the School Code. Allows the school board of a school district to use an adopted and verified program for e-learning days district-wide that permits student instruction to be received electronically while students are not physically present on an election day because a school was selected to be a polling place (rather than adopt a research-based program for e-learning days district-wide that shall permit student instruction to be received electronically while students are not physically present because a school was selected to be a polling place). Provides that e-learning days used for this purpose may not be counted in lieu of the district's scheduled emergency days.
Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Prohibits an evaluator from using an artificial intelligence tool to assign a numerical score or qualitative rating for any component of a teacher's evaluation or any evaluation task that requires professional judgment. However, allows an artificial intelligence tool to be used to support the evaluator in administrative tasks.
Creates the Chemicals in Cosmetic Products Act. Prohibits the manufacture, sale, delivery, holding, or offering for sale of a cosmetic product that contains specific intentionally added chemical ingredients. Exempts cosmetic products that were manufactured with an intent to comply with the Act and contain a technically unavoidable trace quantity of a prohibited chemical ingredient due to certain reasons. Defines terms.
Amends the School Code. Provides that early childhood programs receiving State funds shall restrict suspensions. Provides that the decision to suspend a student in preschool for 3 or more days may only be made by the superintendent of the school district, director of an early childhood program, or their equivalent and that the length of the suspension for any student in preschool may not be longer than the number of days required by the school district or early childhood program to develop and implement a behavior intervention plan or safety plan. Prohibits a student in kindergarten through grade 2 from being expelled unless otherwise required by federal or State law. Provides that the decision to suspend a student in kindergarten through grade 2 for 3 or more days may only be made by the superintendent of the school district and that the length of the suspension for any student in kindergarten through grade 2 may not be longer than the number of days required by the school district to develop and implement a behavior intervention plan or safety plan. Provides that a student who is suspended in excess of 20 school days may be immediately transferred to an alternative program. Provides that a student shall not be denied transfer because of the suspension, except in cases in which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety of students or staff in the alternative program. Makes other changes.
Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that, if a physician determines that an adult patient is so disabled as to be unable to consent to discharge or placement in a facility or a physician reasonably believes an adult patient is a person with a disability in need of a guardian in accordance with the Probate Act of 1975 and there is no family, surrogate decision maker, agent under a power of attorney, trustee, or other close friend who is ready willing and able to assist that adult patient, then the hospital shall notify the Office of State Guardian and the public guardian of the county where the patient resides. Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Requires a facility to notify the Office of State Guardian and the public guardian in the county where the patient resides before executing a contract in specified circumstances where the patient has diminished capacity. Amends the Probate Act of 1975. Includes private professional guardians as individuals who may act as guardians. Establishes standards for private professional guardians before appointment. Requires a private professional guardian who serves as guardian for 15 or more persons with disabilities to be certified as a National Master Guardian by the Center for Guardianship Certification and imposes other requirements, including background checks. Sets forth provisions concerning private professional guardians as successor guardians and the removal of private professional guardians who fail to comply with the specified requirements.
