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92_HB1356gms
STATE OF ILLINOIS
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
SPRINGFIELD, 62706
GEORGE H. RYAN
GOVERNOR
August 17, 2001
To the Honorable Members of the
Illinois House of Representatives
91st General Assembly
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor by
Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of
1970, and re-affirmed by the People of the State of Illinois
by popular referendum in 1974, and conforming to the standard
articulated by the Illinois Supreme Court in People ex Rel.
Klinger v. Howlett, 50 Ill. 2d 242 (1972), Continental
Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. v. Zagel, 78 Ill. 2d 387
(1979), People ex Rel. City of Canton v. Crouch, 79 Ill. 2d
356 (1980), and County of Kane v. Carlson, 116 Ill. 2d 186
(1987), that gubernatorial action be consistent with the
fundamental purposes and the intent of the bill, I hereby
return House Bill 1356 entitled "AN ACT concerning speech"
with my specific recommendations for change.
House Bill 1356 creates a new category of licensure
called Speech-Language Pathology Assistant. In making this
change that ultimately should both improve public safety and
encourage more people to choose this career path, the bill
would unintentionally cause some practical and financial
hardships to schools that currently employ people in these
positions. By making an immediate shift in the law there is
the potential that many fine people could no longer assist
students with their speech and communications needs. Rather
than have these children go without assistance, or force some
people not to continue with their chosen profession, I
believe that there should be a separate category of
individuals who perform this work. They should not be subject
to the full licensure requirements if they are in a category
approved by the State Board of Education.
For these reasons, I hereby return House Bill 1356 with
the following recommendations for change:
on page 1, line 26, by deleting "Before January 1,"; and
on page 1, by deleting lines 27 through 29; and
on page 2, by deleting lines 1 through 5; and
on page 2, line 6, by deleting "Act."; and
on page 2, line 10, by inserting after the period the
following:
"This Section does not apply to speech-language
pathology paraprofessionals approved by the State
Board of Education."; and
on page 30, line 12, by adding after the word "assistant"
the following:
'or a speech-language pathology paraprofessional";
and
on page 31, in line 18, by deleting "Before"; and
on page 31, by deleting lines 19 through 22; and
On page 32, in line 22, by inserting "(a)" after the
period; and
On page 33, by inserting the following after line 2:
(b) Until January 1, 2004, a person holding a
bachelor's level degree in communication disorders
who was employed to assist a speech-language
pathologist on the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 92nd General Assembly shall be eligible
to receive a license as a speech-language pathology
assistant from the Department upon completion of
forms prescribed by the Department and the payment
of the required fee."
With these changes, House Bill 1356 will have my
approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
s/GEORGE H. RYAN
Governor
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