Bill Text: IL SB2057 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Enrolled
Bill Title: Creates the Illinois Public Safety Special Needs Alert Program Act. Establishes the Special Needs Alert Program (SNAP) database to ensure persons with disabilities or special needs or both have the same access to public safety services as provided to all citizens. Requires public safety agencies to make reasonable efforts to publicize the SNAP database and provides how a special needs person or family member or care giver of a special needs person can enter emergency contact information into the SNAP database. Contains provisions concerning the verification of information entered into the database; the dissemination of emergency information entered into SNAP to other public safety agencies during an emergency 9-1-1 call; the confidentiality of information entered into SNAP; liability; defined terms; and other matters. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2009-08-28 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 96-0788 [SB2057 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-SB2057-Enrolled.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning public safety.
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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
5 | Illinois Premise Alert Program (PAP) Act.
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6 | Section 5. Purpose. It is the policy of the State of | ||||||
7 | Illinois to ensure that consistently high levels of public | ||||||
8 | safety services are available to all members of the State, | ||||||
9 | including people who may require special consideration in
order | ||||||
10 | to access services. This program shall seek to afford people | ||||||
11 | with disabilities or special needs or both the same access to | ||||||
12 | public safety services provided to all citizens. It is the | ||||||
13 | intent of this program to offer guidance and direction to | ||||||
14 | public safety workers in responding to and assisting those | ||||||
15 | people with special needs or disabilities or both with whom | ||||||
16 | they will have contact in the
performance of their duties and | ||||||
17 | responsibilities. The ability to effectively deal with special | ||||||
18 | needs individuals is enhanced with knowledge or information. | ||||||
19 | The ability to identify special needs individuals, their places | ||||||
20 | of employment, educational facilities, and residences are | ||||||
21 | valuable resources in instances when or if an emergency | ||||||
22 | response by law enforcement or fire protection personnel or | ||||||
23 | both are needed.
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1 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||
2 | "Disability" means an individual's physical or mental | ||||||
3 | impairment that
substantially limits one or more of the major | ||||||
4 | life activities; a record of such impairment; or when the | ||||||
5 | individual is regarded as having such an impairment. | ||||||
6 | "Special needs individuals" means those individuals who | ||||||
7 | have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, | ||||||
8 | developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and who also | ||||||
9 | require health and related services of a type or amount beyond | ||||||
10 | that required by individuals generally. | ||||||
11 | "Public safety agency" means a functional division of a | ||||||
12 | public agency that provides firefighting, police, medical, or | ||||||
13 | other emergency services. | ||||||
14 | "Computer aided dispatch" or "CAD" means a database | ||||||
15 | maintained by the public safety agency or public safety | ||||||
16 | answering point used in conjunction with 9-1-1 caller data. | ||||||
17 | "Premise Alert Program" or "PAP" means a computer aided | ||||||
18 | dispatch database of individuals with special needs maintained | ||||||
19 | by public safety agencies.
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20 | Section 15. Reporting of Special Needs Individuals.
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21 | (a) Public safety agencies shall make reasonable efforts to | ||||||
22 | publicize the Premise Alert Program (PAP) database. Means of | ||||||
23 | publicizing the database include, but are not limited to, | ||||||
24 | pamphlets and websites. |
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1 | (b) Families, caregivers, or the individuals with | ||||||
2 | disabilities or special needs may contact their local law | ||||||
3 | enforcement agency or fire department or fire protection | ||||||
4 | district. | ||||||
5 | (c) Public safety workers are to be cognitive of special | ||||||
6 | needs individuals they may come across when they respond to | ||||||
7 | calls. If workers are able to identify individuals who have | ||||||
8 | special needs, they shall try to ascertain as specifically as | ||||||
9 | possible what that special need might be. The public safety | ||||||
10 | worker should attempt to verify the special need as provided in | ||||||
11 | item (2) of subsection (d). | ||||||
12 | (d) The disabled individual's name, date of birth, phone | ||||||
13 | number, and
residential address or place of employment should | ||||||
14 | also be obtained
for possible entry into the PAP database. | ||||||
15 | (1) Whenever possible, it is preferable that written | ||||||
16 | permission is
obtained from a parent, guardian, family | ||||||
17 | member, or caregiver
of the individual themselves prior to | ||||||
18 | being entered into the
PAP database. | ||||||
19 | (2) No individual may be entered into a PAP
database | ||||||
20 | unless the special need has been verified.
Acceptable means | ||||||
21 | of verifying a special need for purposes
of this program | ||||||
22 | shall include statements by: | ||||||
23 | (A) the individual, | ||||||
24 | (B) family members, | ||||||
25 | (C) friends, | ||||||
26 | (D) caregivers, or |
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1 | (E) medical personnel familiar with the | ||||||
2 | individual. | ||||||
3 | (e) For public safety agencies that share the same CAD | ||||||
4 | database, information collected by one agency serviced by the | ||||||
5 | CAD database is to be disseminated to all agencies utilizing | ||||||
6 | that database. | ||||||
7 | (f) Information received at an incorrect public safety | ||||||
8 | agency shall be accepted and forwarded to the correct agency as | ||||||
9 | soon as possible.
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10 | (g) All information entered into the PAP database must be | ||||||
11 | updated every 2 years or when such information changes.
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12 | Section 20. Provision of information to the field.
When | ||||||
13 | special needs information comes up in a CAD database, the | ||||||
14 | telecommunicator shall relay that information to responding | ||||||
15 | personnel.
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16 | Section 24. Data control. Any person designated by a public | ||||||
17 | safety agency to control data entered into the PAP database | ||||||
18 | shall develop policies and procedures for the control of such | ||||||
19 | data.
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20 | Section 25. Confidentiality.
The information gathered as | ||||||
21 | part of PAP shall remain strictly confidential. The information | ||||||
22 | shall be
used only to provide assistance to emergency medical | ||||||
23 | and police
responders. No public safety worker shall knowingly |
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1 | violate this confidentiality clause. Citizens who believe | ||||||
2 | their health privacy rights have been violated may file a | ||||||
3 | complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ||||||
4 | (DHHS) via the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
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5 | Section 30. Liability. Except for willful or wanton | ||||||
6 | misconduct, a public safety agency shall not be subject to | ||||||
7 | civil liabilities for duties relating to the reporting of | ||||||
8 | special needs individuals.
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9 | Section 35. Citizen advisory.
Citizens electing to | ||||||
10 | participate in PAP must be advised that the provision of | ||||||
11 | special needs information will not result in preferential | ||||||
12 | treatment.
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13 | Section 40. Duration of program. The establishment and | ||||||
14 | continued existence of PAP shall be based on funding | ||||||
15 | availability.
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16 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
17 | becoming law.
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