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| 1 | AN ACT concerning State government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | amended by changing Sections 10-10, 10-25, 10-45, 10-50, and | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 10-70 and by adding Section 10-25.1 as follows:
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| 7 | (5 ILCS 100/10-10) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-10)
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| 8 | Sec. 10-10. Components of rules. All agency rules | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | establishing
procedures for contested cases shall at a minimum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | comply with the
provisions of this Article 10. In addition, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | agency rules establishing
procedures may include, but need not | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | be limited to, the following
components: pre-hearing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | conferences, representation interview or deposition
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| 14 | procedures, default procedures, selection of administrative | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | law judges, the
form of the final order, the standard of proof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | used, which agency official
makes the final decision, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | representation of parties, procedure for requesting language | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | assistance, subpoena request
procedures, discovery and | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | protective order procedures, and any review or
appeal process | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | within the agency.
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| 21 | (Source: P.A. 87-823.)
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| 22 | (5 ILCS 100/10-25) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-25)
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| 1 | Sec. 10-25. Contested cases; notice; hearing.
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| 2 | (a) In a contested case, all parties shall be afforded an | ||||||
| 3 | opportunity for
a hearing after reasonable notice in the | ||||||
| 4 | preferred spoken language of the parties, if known by the | ||||||
| 5 | agency. The notice shall be served personally,
by certified or | ||||||
| 6 | registered mail, by email as provided by Section 10-75, or as | ||||||
| 7 | otherwise provided by law upon the
parties or their agents | ||||||
| 8 | appointed to receive service of process and shall
include the | ||||||
| 9 | following:
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| 10 | (1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the
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| 11 | hearing.
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| 12 | (2) A statement of the legal authority and | ||||||
| 13 | jurisdiction under
which the hearing is to be held.
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| 14 | (3) A reference to the particular Sections of the | ||||||
| 15 | substantive and
procedural statutes and
rules involved.
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| 16 | (4) Except where a more detailed statement is | ||||||
| 17 | otherwise provided
for by law, a short and plain statement | ||||||
| 18 | of the matters asserted, the
consequences of a failure to | ||||||
| 19 | respond, and the official file or other
reference number.
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| 20 | (5) To the extent such information is available, the | ||||||
| 21 | names, phone numbers, email addresses, and mailing | ||||||
| 22 | addresses of the administrative law judge or designated | ||||||
| 23 | agency contact,
the parties, and all other persons to whom | ||||||
| 24 | the agency gives notice of the
hearing unless otherwise | ||||||
| 25 | confidential by law.
| ||||||
| 26 | (6) Instructions at the top of the notice, written in, | ||||||
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| 1 | at a minimum, English, Spanish, Polish, Gujarati, Urdu, | ||||||
| 2 | Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Tagalog, for assistance | ||||||
| 3 | in translating the contents of the notice. | ||||||
| 4 | (7) A statement written in, at a minimum, English, | ||||||
| 5 | Spanish, Polish, Gujarati, Urdu, Mandarin, Cantonese, | ||||||
| 6 | Korean, and Tagalog, of the right to request an | ||||||
| 7 | interpreter for the hearing. | ||||||
| 8 | (b) An opportunity shall be afforded all parties to be | ||||||
| 9 | represented by
legal counsel and to respond and present | ||||||
| 10 | evidence and argument.
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| 11 | (c) Unless precluded by law, disposition may be made of | ||||||
| 12 | any contested
case by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent | ||||||
| 13 | order, or default.
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| 14 | (Source: P.A. 100-880, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
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| 15 | (5 ILCS 100/10-25.1 new) | ||||||
| 16 | Sec. 10-25.1. Language Assistance. | ||||||
| 17 | (a) "Language assistance" means oral interpretation or | ||||||
| 18 | written or sight translation into English of a language other | ||||||
| 19 | than English or of English into another language for a party or | ||||||
| 20 | witness who cannot speak or understand English or who can do so | ||||||
| 21 | only with difficulty. "Sight translation" means the reading of | ||||||
| 22 | text written in one language by an interpreter who orally | ||||||
| 23 | translates it into another language. | ||||||
| 24 | (b) The administrative law judge has the duty to inquire | ||||||
| 25 | and determine if a participant in the hearing needs language | ||||||
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| 1 | assistance to participate in or understand the hearing. The | ||||||
| 2 | fact that an individual for whom English is a second language | ||||||
| 3 | knows some English should not prohibit that individual from | ||||||
| 4 | being allowed to receive language assistance. The examination | ||||||
| 5 | of the individual believed to be in need of language | ||||||
| 6 | assistance must be done on the record, and the conclusion of | ||||||
| 7 | the administrative law judge must be stated on the record. | ||||||
| 8 | (c) Any party or witness has the right to request language | ||||||
| 9 | assistance to participate in or understand the hearing at any | ||||||
| 10 | time during the course of the hearing. | ||||||
| 11 | (d) When language assistance is requested or determined to | ||||||
| 12 | be necessary by the administrative law judge, the agency must | ||||||
| 13 | appoint a certified, registered, or qualified interpreter, at | ||||||
| 14 | no cost to the person in need of the assistance. If it appears | ||||||
| 15 | that language assistance is needed but interpreters are not | ||||||
| 16 | available for the scheduled hearing, the administrative law | ||||||
| 17 | judge shall continue or postpone the hearing until appropriate | ||||||
| 18 | services can be provided. An unregistered interpreter should | ||||||
| 19 | be appointed only if the agency made reasonable efforts to | ||||||
| 20 | obtain a certified, registered, or qualified interpreter and | ||||||
| 21 | is not reasonably available. If the agency appoints an | ||||||
| 22 | unregistered interpreter, the administrative law judge must | ||||||
| 23 | examine the interpreter on the record to ensure the | ||||||
| 24 | interpreter is qualified to interpret in the hearing, has | ||||||
| 25 | proficiency in English and the foreign language, and does not | ||||||
| 26 | present a conflict of interest. | ||||||
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| 1 | (1) Interpreters on the registry established pursuant | ||||||
| 2 | to Section 405-600 of the Department of Central Management | ||||||
| 3 | Services Law must be certified, registered, or qualified | ||||||
| 4 | for purposes of this Section. | ||||||
| 5 | (2) Court interpreters on the registry established | ||||||
| 6 | pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court Language Access | ||||||
| 7 | Policy recommended lists of court interpreters must be | ||||||
| 8 | certified, registered, or qualified for purposes of this | ||||||
| 9 | Section. | ||||||
| 10 | (e) The appointed interpreter must swear or affirm that he | ||||||
| 11 | or she: | ||||||
| 12 | (1) will make a true interpretation in an | ||||||
| 13 | understandable manner to the person for whom the | ||||||
| 14 | interpreter has been appointed; | ||||||
| 15 | (2) will repeat the statements of the person in need | ||||||
| 16 | of interpretation assistance in the English language to | ||||||
| 17 | the best of his or her ability; | ||||||
| 18 | (3) has not had any involvement in the issues of the | ||||||
| 19 | case before the hearing; and | ||||||
| 20 | (4) will not disclose privileged or confidential | ||||||
| 21 | communications to any person. | ||||||
| 22 | (f) If the party or witness in need of interpretation or an | ||||||
| 23 | attorney or advocate involved in the proceeding concludes that | ||||||
| 24 | the appointed interpreter is not interpreting communications | ||||||
| 25 | correctly, they may request the appointment of a different | ||||||
| 26 | interpreter.
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| 1 | (5 ILCS 100/10-45) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-45)
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| 2 | Sec. 10-45. Proposal for decision. Except where otherwise | ||||||
| 3 | expressly
provided by law, when in a contested case a majority | ||||||
| 4 | of the officials of
the agency who are to render the final | ||||||
| 5 | decision has not heard the case or
read the record, the | ||||||
| 6 | decision, if adverse to a party to the proceeding
other than | ||||||
| 7 | the agency, shall not be made until a proposal for decision is
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| 8 | served upon the parties and an opportunity is afforded to each | ||||||
| 9 | party
adversely affected to file exceptions and to present a | ||||||
| 10 | brief and, if the
agency so permits, oral argument to the | ||||||
| 11 | agency officials who are to render
the decision. The proposal | ||||||
| 12 | for decision shall contain a statement of the
reasons therefor | ||||||
| 13 | and of each issue of fact or law necessary to the proposed
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| 14 | decision and shall be prepared by the persons who conducted | ||||||
| 15 | the hearing or
one who has read the record. Where an | ||||||
| 16 | interpreter is appointed for a party in the hearing under | ||||||
| 17 | Section 10-25.1, the agency must provide a translation of the | ||||||
| 18 | proposal for decision or provide an interpreter for sight | ||||||
| 19 | translation of the proposal for decision to the party needing | ||||||
| 20 | language assistance.
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| 21 | (Source: P.A. 87-823.)
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| 22 | (5 ILCS 100/10-50) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-50)
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| 23 | Sec. 10-50. Decisions and orders.
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| 24 | (a) A final decision or order adverse to a party (other | ||||||
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| 1 | than the agency)
in a contested case shall be in writing or | ||||||
| 2 | stated in the record. A final
decision shall include findings | ||||||
| 3 | of fact and conclusions of law, separately
stated. Findings of | ||||||
| 4 | fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be
accompanied | ||||||
| 5 | by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts
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| 6 | supporting the findings. If, in accordance with agency rules, | ||||||
| 7 | a party
submitted proposed findings of fact, the decision | ||||||
| 8 | shall include a ruling
upon each proposed finding. Parties or | ||||||
| 9 | their agents appointed to receive
service of process shall be | ||||||
| 10 | notified either personally, by registered or
certified mail, | ||||||
| 11 | by email as provided by Section 10-75, or as otherwise | ||||||
| 12 | provided by law. Upon request a copy of the
decision or order | ||||||
| 13 | shall be delivered or mailed forthwith to each party and
to his | ||||||
| 14 | attorney of record. Where an interpreter is appointed for a | ||||||
| 15 | party in the hearing under Section 10-25.1, the agency must | ||||||
| 16 | provide a translation of the proposal for decision or provide | ||||||
| 17 | an interpreter to sight translate the proposal for decision to | ||||||
| 18 | the party needing language assistance.
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| 19 | (b) All agency orders shall specify whether they are final | ||||||
| 20 | and subject
to the Administrative Review Law. Every final | ||||||
| 21 | order shall contain a list of all parties of record to the case | ||||||
| 22 | including the name and address of the agency or officer | ||||||
| 23 | entering the order and the addresses of each party as known to | ||||||
| 24 | the agency where the parties may be served with pleadings, | ||||||
| 25 | notices, or service of process for any review or further | ||||||
| 26 | proceedings. Every final order shall also state whether the | ||||||
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| 1 | rules of the agency require any motion or request for | ||||||
| 2 | reconsideration and cite the rule for the requirement. The | ||||||
| 3 | changes made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General | ||||||
| 4 | Assembly apply to all actions filed under the Administrative | ||||||
| 5 | Review Law on or after the effective date of this amendatory | ||||||
| 6 | Act of the 100th General Assembly.
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| 7 | (c) A decision by any agency in a contested case under this | ||||||
| 8 | Act shall be
void unless the proceedings are conducted in | ||||||
| 9 | compliance with the provisions
of this Act relating to | ||||||
| 10 | contested cases, except to the extent those provisions
are | ||||||
| 11 | waived under Section 10-70 and except to the extent the
agency | ||||||
| 12 | has adopted its own rules for contested cases as authorized in | ||||||
| 13 | Section
1-5.
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| 14 | (Source: P.A. 100-212, eff. 8-18-17; 100-880, eff. 1-1-19; | ||||||
| 15 | 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
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| 16 | (5 ILCS 100/10-70) (from Ch. 127, par. 1010-70)
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| 17 | Sec. 10-70. Waiver. | ||||||
| 18 | (a) Compliance with any or all of the provisions of
this | ||||||
| 19 | Act concerning contested cases may be waived by written | ||||||
| 20 | stipulation
of all parties.
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| 21 | (b) Where an administrative law judge has determined that | ||||||
| 22 | a party needs language assistance to understand or participate | ||||||
| 23 | in the hearing under Section 10-25.1, the parties must include | ||||||
| 24 | a signed written stipulation in the preferred language of the | ||||||
| 25 | party in need of language assistance. | ||||||
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| 1 | (c) A written stipulation waiving any of the provisions in | ||||||
| 2 | Sections 10-25, 10-25.1, 10-45, and 10-50 of this Act about | ||||||
| 3 | language assistance may be withdrawn by the party in need of | ||||||
| 4 | language assistance by oral declaration at hearing or in a | ||||||
| 5 | written declaration at any time. A withdrawal of the waiver, | ||||||
| 6 | in compliance with this subsection (c), will require | ||||||
| 7 | compliance of the language assistance provisions of this Act | ||||||
| 8 | going forward in the proceeding. | ||||||
| 9 | (Source: P.A. 87-823.)
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| 10 | Section 10. The Department of Central Management Services | ||||||
| 11 | Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by | ||||||
| 12 | adding Section 600 as follows:
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| 13 | (20 ILCS 405/600 new) | ||||||
| 14 | Sec. 600. Certification of administrative hearing | ||||||
| 15 | interpreters. | ||||||
| 16 | (a) The Department shall compile, maintain, and | ||||||
| 17 | disseminate a current registry of foreign language | ||||||
| 18 | interpreters certified, qualified, and registered by the | ||||||
| 19 | Department that meet the minimum standards in interpreting | ||||||
| 20 | skills and linguistic abilities developed by the Department. | ||||||
| 21 | Any certified, qualified, and registered interpreter listed | ||||||
| 22 | may be examined by each employing agency to determine the | ||||||
| 23 | interpreter's knowledge of the employing agency's technical | ||||||
| 24 | program terminology and procedures. For purposes of this | ||||||
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| 1 | section, the following definitions apply: | ||||||
| 2 | (1) "Certified interpreter" means a foreign language | ||||||
| 3 | interpreter certified pursuant to the program established | ||||||
| 4 | by the Department and listed on the Department's statewide | ||||||
| 5 | registry. | ||||||
| 6 | (2) "Qualified interpreter" means a foreign language | ||||||
| 7 | interpreter qualified pursuant to the program established | ||||||
| 8 | by the Department and listed on the Department's statewide | ||||||
| 9 | registry. | ||||||
| 10 | (3) "Registered interpreter" means a foreign language | ||||||
| 11 | interpreter registered pursuant to the program established | ||||||
| 12 | by the Department and listed on the Department's statewide | ||||||
| 13 | registry. | ||||||
| 14 | (b) The Department shall designate the languages for | ||||||
| 15 | certification. The Department may stop providing an | ||||||
| 16 | examination for the certification of a language if it finds | ||||||
| 17 | that there is an insufficient need for interpreting assistance | ||||||
| 18 | in the language using the criteria in subsection (c). | ||||||
| 19 | (c) The language designations shall be based on the | ||||||
| 20 | following: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) The language needs of non-English-speaking persons | ||||||
| 22 | appearing before the administrative agencies as determined | ||||||
| 23 | by consultation with the agencies. | ||||||
| 24 | (2) The cost of developing a language examination. | ||||||
| 25 | (3) The availability of experts needed to develop a | ||||||
| 26 | language examination. | ||||||
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| 1 | (4) Other information the department deems relevant. | ||||||
| 2 | (d) The Department may charge reasonable fees to | ||||||
| 3 | interpreters for applying, testing, training, certification, | ||||||
| 4 | registration, and renewal of registration.
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