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2025 Regular Session Introduced by Chris Anders and 6 co-sponsors

HB 2539 requires DHS to update all forms and billing codes within one year to replace outdated terms like “mental retardation” with the accepted term “intellectual disability.”

To House Finance

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Purpose

HB 2539 requires the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) to update its forms and billing codes to remove outdated, stigmatizing language — specifically references to “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded person” — and replace those references with “intellectual disability” (as defined in Section 1‑116 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code).

Key provisions

Adds a new Section 1‑100 to the Department of Human Services Act (20 ILCS 1305/1‑100 new).

Requires DHS, no later than one year after the effective date of the act, to revise all Department forms and billing codes to eliminate references to:

“mental retardation”
“mentally retarded person”
any similar phrase that refers to intellectual disability and to substitute the term “intellectual disability” (per the referenced statutory definition).

Includes a transitional/validation clause indicating that the statutory terminology change should not be construed to invalidate any DHS form or billing code that contains the older terminology prior to DHS’s implementation of the new terminology requirement. (Text in the bill is partly garbled; the clear intent is to avoid retroactively invalidating existing forms or codes.)

Who is affected

Department of Human Services — responsible for revising and reissuing forms and billing codes.

DHS-contracted providers and administrative staff — will need to update documentation, billing systems, electronic health records, and internal forms to the new terminology.

Payers and Medicaid/insurance billing processes that rely on DHS billing codes may need to map old codes/terms to revised codes.

People who receive DHS services (clients with intellectual disabilities) — the change is aimed at replacing stigmatizing language with modern, accepted terminology in official records and communications.

Timeline and procedural status

Compliance deadline: DHS must complete revisions within one year of the act’s effective date.

Legislative actions included in the file:

Introduced (Illinois) — Rep. Maurice A. West II; filed 02/04/2025.
Assigned to Human Services Committee; Do Pass (Human Services) 03/12/2025 (11–0).
Readings and calendar placements in February–March 2025; short debate listings.
Status as of 04/11/2025: Rule 19(a) / Re‑referred to Rules Committee.

Statutory citation added: 20 ILCS 1305/1‑100 (new).

Fiscal and implementation notes

The bill does not specify funding. Anticipated fiscal impact would be administrative: staff time, document revisions, and updates to electronic billing systems; costs are likely modest but depend on the scale of DHS’s forms and IT changes.

The provision to avoid invalidating preexisting forms eases the operational transition and avoids immediate legal or billing disruptions.

Note: The public file provided contains some duplicate or mixed-content references (including an unrelated appropriation text and different sponsors). The summary above reflects the DHS terminology update language (20 ILCS 1305/1‑100 new) as the substantive focus of HB 2539.

Bill