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A new law requires certified hospital and public/private agency records to be admissible in court proceedings to prove abuse and neglect, Illinois state Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) announced in a recent Facebook post. The bill was unanimously approved in the legislature and is now known as Public Act 103-0124.

"During the spring legislative session, I worked closely together with State Representative Patrick Windhorst to usher HB 1434 through the General Assembly with unanimous support," the senator said in the post. "HB 1434, now Public Act 103-0124 changes the Juvenile Court Act to allow the admissibility of certified hospital or public or private agency records in adjudicatory hearings on abused, neglected, or dependent minors. Unfortunately, too often minors are abused and neglected, and their medical records are needed in court proceedings to prove that abuse and neglect. This new law was necessary to undo burdensome restrictions on the admissibility of medical records in Illinois juvenile court hearings."

Fowler worked with state Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) to get the bill passed, according to a joint news release from the senator's office. It achieved unanimous support in both chambers.

"I was happy to pass this measure through the House previously, but the bill had been held up along the way in the Senate," Windhorst said in the release. "Working together with Senator Fowler, we achieved unanimous support for this new law that will protect juveniles’ private medical information while loosening restrictions on the admissibility of the medical records for those hearings."

The chief sponsor in the House of HB1434—which would become Public Act 103-0124—was Windhorst, who filed the legislation on Jan. 25. It went to the Senate on March 24, where Fowler was the chief sponsor. The bill requires "the court to find that the document was made in the regular course of the business of the hospital or agency (instead of that the document was made in the regular course of the business of the hospital or agency and that it was in the regular course of such business to make it). Provides that a certification by an agent (in addition to the head or s responsible employee) of the hospital or agency attesting that a record satisfies specified conditions shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained in such certification."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill into law on June 30, and it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

Fowler was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2017, the General Assembly website said. His legislative experience includes serving on the Agriculture and Commerce & Economic Development committees. He resides in Harrisburg.