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Bomke says Senate Republicans have been fighting for more than two
years to protect citizens' access to quality health care, and the
new medical malpractice reform should help keep doctors from leaving
the state. Signed into law Aug. 25,
Senate Bill 475 implements a number of medical, insurance and
legal reforms and caps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice
lawsuits at $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals.
Other provisions of the agreement
will:
- Raise the standards that medical malpractice lawsuits must
meet before moving forward, as a means of preventing frivolous
lawsuits.
- Allow doctors to apologize to patients without those
statements being used against them legally.
- Enhance competition in the medical malpractice insurance
market.
- Increase the number of medical investigators and
coordinators.
- Create a website where patients can access information about
Illinois physicians and any medical malpractice lawsuits that
have been filed against them.
Senate Bill 475 has an immediate effective date.
Illinois residents serving on active military duty overseas, and
their families back home, will have fewer day-to-day financial
worries as a result of legislation signed into law Aug. 22.
A Senate Republican initiative known as the Illinois Patriot
Plan,
Senate Bill 2060 provides financial protections for members of
the U.S. armed services or reserve forces, Illinois National Guard
members who are deployed on active duty, and their spouses. The
protections address cell phone contracts, life insurance policies,
gas and electric assistance, rent assistance, credit interest and
finance charges, and motor vehicle leases.
High school students will now have to take more core education
classes, under legislation signed Aug. 24.
Senate Bill 575 raises high school graduation requirements,
beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, specifically requiring more
math and writing courses. The high school reform package requires
students to take four years of English instead of three, three years
of math instead of two, two years of science instead of one, and two
writing-intensive classes.
[to top of second column in this article]
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 Other legislation signed during the week of Aug. 22-26:
Long-term care -- House Bill 2531 requires nursing home
administrators to conduct criminal background checks on potential
employees who have contact with residents.
Child allergies -- House Bill 991 requires a recreational camp to
allow a child with severe, potentially life-threatening allergies to
possess and use an epinephrine auto-injector or inhaler.
Death penalty fund -- Senate Bill 2082 closes a loophole that
allowed attorneys who are appointed to defend death cases to bill
the state excessive sums of money.
Sex offenders -- House Bill 712 requires a parent who plans to
marry a sex offender to tell the other parent of their children.
Elections -- House Bill 1968 requires public colleges to post
electronic voter registration forms.
Former spouses -- Senate Bill 1446 allows a former spouse to be
eligible for a portion of his or her former spouse's death benefits.
Hospitals -- House Bill 1350 requires hospitals to report
accidents involving children younger than 18 to the trauma registry
if the accident involves a motor vehicle or the power window of a
motor vehicle.
Military bases -- Senate Bill 1354 creates a committee to
coordinate the state's activities and to act as a communications
center for issues relating to military base closures.
Bilingual students -- House Bill 678 allows the time allotted to
take state tests to be extended for students who are in a
transitional bilingual program.
Research fund -- Senate Bill 61 creates a new income tax checkoff
for the Illinois Brain Tumor Research Fund.
Fireworks -- Senate Bill 1821 requires fireworks operators to
complete a training course and requires background checks before
firework permits are issued.
Legal counsel -- Senate Bill 1883 provides that an unlicensed
person may not advertise or hold themselves out to provide legal
services.
[News release from
Illinois
Senate Republicans]
Note: For details on any of the above legislation, copy the bill number
into the search field at
http://www.ilga.gov/.
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