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| | 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB0487 Introduced , by Rep. Michael J. Madigan SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
| | 20 ILCS 2910/1 | from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 501 |
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Amends the Peace Officer Fire Investigation Act. Makes a technical change
in a Section concerning peace officer status.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | HB0487 | | LRB101 03088 CPF 48096 b |
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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, |
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 5. The Peace Officer Fire Investigation Act is |
| 5 | | amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
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| 6 | | (20 ILCS 2910/1) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 501)
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| 7 | | Sec. 1. Peace officer status.
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| 8 | | (a) Any person who is a sworn member of any
organized and
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| 9 | | and paid fire department of a political subdivision of this |
| 10 | | State
and is authorized to investigate fires or explosions for |
| 11 | | such political
subdivision and
to determine the cause, origin |
| 12 | | and circumstances of fires or explosions
that are suspected to |
| 13 | | be arson or arson-related crimes, may be classified
as a peace |
| 14 | | officer by the political subdivision or agency employing such
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| 15 | | person. A person so classified shall possess the same powers of |
| 16 | | arrest,
search and seizure and the securing and service of |
| 17 | | warrants as sheriffs
of counties, and police officers within |
| 18 | | the jurisdiction of their political
subdivision. While in the |
| 19 | | actual investigation and matters incident thereto,
such person |
| 20 | | may carry weapons as may be necessary, but only if that person |
| 21 | | has
satisfactorily completed (1) a training program offered or |
| 22 | | approved by the
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards |
| 23 | | Board which substantially conforms
to standards promulgated |
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| 1 | | pursuant to the Illinois Police Training Act and the Peace |
| 2 | | Officer and Probation Officer Firearm Training Act; and (2) a |
| 3 | | course in fire and arson investigation approved by the
Office |
| 4 | | of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to the Illinois Fire |
| 5 | | Protection
Training Act. Such training need not include |
| 6 | | exposure to vehicle and traffic
law, traffic control and |
| 7 | | accident investigation, or first aid, but shall
include |
| 8 | | training in the law relating to the rights of persons suspected |
| 9 | | of
involvement in criminal activities. |
| 10 | | Any person granted the powers enumerated in this subsection |
| 11 | | (a) may exercise such
powers only during the actual |
| 12 | | investigation of the cause, origin and
circumstances of such |
| 13 | | fires or explosions that are suspected to be arson or
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| 14 | | arson-related crimes.
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| 15 | | (b) Persons employed by the Office of the State Fire |
| 16 | | Marshal to conduct arson investigations shall be designated |
| 17 | | State Fire Marshal Arson Investigator Special Agents and shall |
| 18 | | be peace officers with all of the powers of peace officers in |
| 19 | | cities and sheriffs in counties, except that they may exercise |
| 20 | | those powers throughout the State. These Special Agents may |
| 21 | | exercise these powers only when engaging in official duties |
| 22 | | during the actual investigation of the cause, origin, and
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| 23 | | circumstances of such fires or explosions that are suspected to |
| 24 | | be arson or
arson-related crimes and may carry weapons at all |
| 25 | | times, but only if they have satisfactorily completed (1) a |
| 26 | | training course approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement |
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| 1 | | Training Standards Board that substantially conforms to the |
| 2 | | standards promulgated pursuant to the Peace Officer and |
| 3 | | Probation Officer Firearm Training Act and (2) a course in fire |
| 4 | | and arson investigation approved by the
Office of the State |
| 5 | | Fire Marshal pursuant to the Illinois Fire Protection
Training |
| 6 | | Act. Such training need not include exposure to vehicle and |
| 7 | | traffic
law, traffic control and accident investigation, or |
| 8 | | first aid, but shall
include training in the law relating to |
| 9 | | the rights of persons suspected of
involvement in criminal |
| 10 | | activities. |
| 11 | | For purposes of this subsection (b), a "State Fire Marshal |
| 12 | | Arson Investigator Special Agent" does not include any fire |
| 13 | | investigator, fireman, police officer, or other employee of the |
| 14 | | federal government; any fire investigator, fireman, police |
| 15 | | officer, or other employee of any unit of local government; or |
| 16 | | any fire investigator, fireman, police officer, or other |
| 17 | | employee of the State of Illinois other than an employee of the |
| 18 | | Office of the State Fire Marshal assigned to investigate arson.
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| 19 | | The State Fire Marshal must authorize to each employee of |
| 20 | | the Office
of the State Fire Marshal who is exercising the |
| 21 | | powers of a peace officer a
distinct badge that, on its face, |
| 22 | | (i) clearly states that the badge is
authorized by the Office |
| 23 | | of the State Fire Marshal and (ii) contains a unique
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| 24 | | identifying number. No other badge shall be authorized by the |
| 25 | | Office of the
State Fire Marshal, except that a badge, |
| 26 | | different from the badge issued to
peace officers, may be |
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| 1 | | authorized by the Office of the State Fire Marshal for
the use |
| 2 | | of fire prevention inspectors employed by that Office.
Nothing |
| 3 | | in this subsection prohibits the State Fire Marshal from |
| 4 | | issuing
shields or other distinctive identification to |
| 5 | | employees not exercising the
powers of a peace officer if the |
| 6 | | State Fire Marshal determines that a shield or
distinctive |
| 7 | | identification is needed by the employee to carry out his or |
| 8 | | her
responsibilities.
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| 9 | | (c) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall establish a |
| 10 | | policy to allow a State Fire Marshal Arson Investigator Special |
| 11 | | Agent who is honorably retiring or separating in good standing |
| 12 | | to purchase either one or both of the following: (i) any badge |
| 13 | | previously issued to that State Fire Marshal Arson Investigator |
| 14 | | Special Agent; or (ii) if the State Fire Marshal Arson |
| 15 | | Investigator Special Agent has a currently valid Firearm |
| 16 | | Owner's Identification Card, the service firearm issued or |
| 17 | | previously issued to the State Fire Marshal Arson Investigator |
| 18 | | Special Agent by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The cost |
| 19 | | of the firearm purchased shall be the replacement value of the |
| 20 | | firearm and not the firearm's fair market value. All funds |
| 21 | | received by the agency under this program shall be deposited |
| 22 | | into the Fire Prevention Fund. |
| 23 | | (Source: P.A. 100-931, eff. 8-17-18.)
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