Bill Text: IL HB0628 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Provides that a Vehicle Service Provider that serves a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or fewer inhabitants and exclusively uses volunteers, paid-on-call, or a combination thereof to provide patient care may apply for alternate rural staffing authorization from the Department of Public Health to authorize the ambulance, Non-Transport Vehicle, Special-Use Vehicle, or Limited Operation Vehicle to be staffed by one EMT licensed at or above the level at which the vehicle is licensed, plus one Emergency Medical Responder when 2 licensed Emergency Services personnel are not available to respond. Provides that an alternate rural staffing authorization shall not expire. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-06 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Tony McCombie [HB0628 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB0628-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems
Act is amended by changing Section 3.85 as follows:
(210 ILCS 50/3.85)
Sec. 3.85. Vehicle Service Providers.
(a) "Vehicle Service Provider" means an entity licensed by
the Department to provide emergency or non-emergency medical
services in compliance with this Act, the rules promulgated by
the Department pursuant to this Act, and an operational plan
approved by its EMS System(s), utilizing at least ambulances
or specialized emergency medical service vehicles (SEMSV).
(1) "Ambulance" means any publicly or privately owned
on-road vehicle that is specifically designed, constructed
or modified and equipped, and is intended to be used for,
and is maintained or operated for the emergency
transportation of persons who are sick, injured, wounded
or otherwise incapacitated or helpless, or the
non-emergency medical transportation of persons who
require the presence of medical personnel to monitor the
individual's condition or medical apparatus being used on
such individuals.

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(2) "Specialized Emergency Medical Services Vehicle"
or "SEMSV" means a vehicle or conveyance, other than those
owned or operated by the federal government, that is
primarily intended for use in transporting the sick or
injured by means of air, water, or ground transportation,
that is not an ambulance as defined in this Act. The term
includes watercraft, aircraft and special purpose ground
transport vehicles or conveyances not intended for use on
public roads.
(3) An ambulance or SEMSV may also be designated as a
Limited Operation Vehicle or Special-Use Vehicle:
(A) "Limited Operation Vehicle" means a vehicle
which is licensed by the Department to provide basic,
intermediate or advanced life support emergency or
non-emergency medical services that are exclusively
limited to specific events or locales.
(B) "Special-Use Vehicle" means any publicly or
privately owned vehicle that is specifically designed,
constructed or modified and equipped, and is intended
to be used for, and is maintained or operated solely
for the emergency or non-emergency transportation of a
specific medical class or category of persons who are
sick, injured, wounded or otherwise incapacitated or
helpless (e.g. high-risk obstetrical patients,
neonatal patients).
(C) "Reserve Ambulance" means a vehicle that meets

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all criteria set forth in this Section and all
Department rules, except for the required inventory of
medical supplies and durable medical equipment, which
may be rapidly transferred from a fully functional
ambulance to a reserve ambulance without the use of
tools or special mechanical expertise.
(b) The Department shall have the authority and
responsibility to:
(1) Require all Vehicle Service Providers, both
publicly and privately owned, to function within an EMS
System.
(2) Require a Vehicle Service Provider utilizing
ambulances to have a primary affiliation with an EMS
System within the EMS Region in which its Primary Service
Area is located, which is the geographic areas in which
the provider renders the majority of its emergency
responses. This requirement shall not apply to Vehicle
Service Providers which exclusively utilize Limited
Operation Vehicles.
(3) Establish licensing standards and requirements for
Vehicle Service Providers, through rules adopted pursuant
to this Act, including but not limited to:
(A) Vehicle design, specification, operation and
maintenance standards, including standards for the use
of reserve ambulances;
(B) Equipment requirements;

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(C) Staffing requirements; and
(D) License renewal at intervals determined by the
Department, which shall be not less than every 4
years.
The Department's standards and requirements with
respect to vehicle staffing must allow for an alternative
rural staffing model for those vehicle service providers
that serve a rural or semi-rural population of 10,000 or
fewer inhabitants and exclusively uses volunteers,
paid-on-call, or a combination thereof.
A Vehicle Service Provider that serves a rural or
semi-rural population of 10,000 or fewer inhabitants and
exclusively uses volunteers, paid-on-call, or a
combination thereof to provide patient care may apply for
alternate rural staffing authorization from the Department
to authorize the ambulance, Non-Transport Vehicle,
Special-Use Vehicle, or Limited Operation Vehicle to be
staffed by one EMT licensed at or above the level at which
the vehicle is licensed, plus one Emergency Medical
Responder when 2 licensed Emergency Services personnel are
not available to respond; once granted, an alternate rural
staffing authorization shall not expire.
(4) License all Vehicle Service Providers that have
met the Department's requirements for licensure, unless
such Provider is owned or licensed by the federal
government. All Provider licenses issued by the Department

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shall specify the level and type of each vehicle covered
by the license (BLS, ILS, ALS, ambulance, SEMSV, limited
operation vehicle, special use vehicle, reserve
ambulance).
(5) Annually inspect all licensed vehicles operated by
Vehicle Service Providers.
(6) Suspend, revoke, refuse to issue or refuse to
renew the license of any Vehicle Service Provider, or that
portion of a license pertaining to a specific vehicle
operated by the Provider, after an opportunity for a
hearing, when findings show that the Provider or one or
more of its vehicles has failed to comply with the
standards and requirements of this Act or rules adopted by
the Department pursuant to this Act.
(7) Issue an Emergency Suspension Order for any
Provider or vehicle licensed under this Act, when the
Director or his designee has determined that an immediate
and serious danger to the public health, safety and
welfare exists. Suspension or revocation proceedings which
offer an opportunity for hearing shall be promptly
initiated after the Emergency Suspension Order has been
issued.
(8) Exempt any licensed vehicle from subsequent
vehicle design standards or specifications required by the
Department, as long as said vehicle is continuously in
compliance with the vehicle design standards and

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specifications originally applicable to that vehicle, or
until said vehicle's title of ownership is transferred.
(9) Exempt any vehicle (except an SEMSV) which was
being used as an ambulance on or before December 15, 1980,
from vehicle design standards and specifications required
by the Department, until said vehicle's title of ownership
is transferred. Such vehicles shall not be exempt from all
other licensing standards and requirements prescribed by
the Department.
(10) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider from
advertising, identifying its vehicles, or disseminating
information in a false or misleading manner concerning the
Provider's type and level of vehicles, location, primary
service area, response times, level of personnel,
licensure status or System participation.
(10.5) Prohibit any Vehicle Service Provider, whether
municipal, private, or hospital-owned, from advertising
itself as a critical care transport provider unless it
participates in a Department-approved EMS System critical
care transport plan.
(11) Charge each Vehicle Service Provider a fee per
transport vehicle, due annually at time of inspection. The
fee per transport vehicle shall be set by administrative
rule by the Department and shall not exceed 100 vehicles
per provider.
(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-1014, eff. 1-1-13;

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98-452, eff. 1-1-14.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.