Public Act 93-0328

HB0231 Enrolled                      LRB093 03496 LCB 03525 b

    AN ACT to create the Local Legacy Act.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  1.   Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
Local Legacy Act.

    Section 5.  Policy.
    (a)  Illinois has a rich natural and  cultural  heritage.
Whether  historic  sites,  natural  areas,  rich farmland, or
other prized resources,  every  county  has  treasures  worth
preserving for future generations.
    (b)  As  counties  and municipalities grow, they often do
not have the opportunity to consider which resources are most
important  to  them.  Consequently,  they  may  inadvertently
imperil a  historic  structure,  sever  a  potential  natural
corridor,  or  fragment farmland into small and unsustainable
remnants.
    (c)  It is necessary and desirable to  provide  technical
assistance  and  funding  in  the form of grants to encourage
partnerships between  counties  and  municipalities  for  the
creation  of  an  inventory of their natural areas, farmland,
and cultural assets and to develop a Resource Protection Plan
for protecting those areas.
    (d)  It is the purpose of this Act to  promote  voluntary
county-municipal  partnerships  in  every  county by the year
2020  that  will  inventory   resources,   develop   Resource
Protection Plans, and implement their respective plans.

    Section 10.  Definitions.  In this Act:
    "Board"  means  the Local Legacy Board created under this
Act.
    "Committee" means a Local Steering Committee  established
under this Act.
    "Cultural   resource"   means   a   structure,  building,
district,  or  site  that   has   aesthetic,   architectural,
cultural,  archeological,  or  historical significance at the
local, state, or national level.
    "Farmland"  means  land   devoted   to   agriculture   or
horticultural  uses  for  the  production  of food (including
grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy  products,  or  mushrooms),
fiber,  floriculture,  or  forest products, or the raising of
farm animals  (including  livestock,  sheep,  swine,  horses,
ponies, poultry, bees, or fish) or wildlife.
    "Inventory"  means  a  listing  of  a  county's  and  its
municipalities'   natural   areas,   farmland,  and  cultural
resources.
    "Natural area" means an area of land or water that either
retains or has recovered to a substantial degree its original
natural  or  primeval  character,  though  it  need  not   be
completely  undisturbed,  or  has floral, faunal, ecological,
geological,  or   archeological   features   of   scientific,
educational, recreational, scenic, or aesthetic interest.
    "Program" means the Local Legacy Program.
    "Resource", unless otherwise specified, means farmland, a
natural area, or a cultural resource.
    "Resource  Protection  Plan" means an integrated document
that includes goals, policies, strategies, and procedures for
preserving  key  farmland,  natural   areas,   and   cultural
resources identified in a countywide inventory and adopted as
provided in Section 30 of this Act.

    Section  15.   The  Local Legacy Board.  The Local Legacy
Board is created to administer the Program  under  this  Act.
The membership of the Board shall be composed of the Director
of  Natural Resources, the Director of Historic Preservation,
and  the  Director  of  Agriculture,  or   their   respective
designees.   The Board must choose a Chairperson to serve for
2 years on a rotating basis.  All members must be present for
the Board to conduct official business. The Departments  must
each furnish technical support to the Board.
    The  Board  has  those  powers necessary to carry out the
purposes of this  Act,  including,  without  limitation,  the
power to:
         (1)  employ  agents and employees necessary to carry
    out the purposes of this Act and fix their  compensation,
    benefits, terms, and conditions of employment;
         (2)  adopt, alter and use a corporate seal;
         (3)  have  an  audit  made  of  the  accounts of any
    grantee or any person or  entity  that  receives  funding
    under this Act;
         (4)  enforce  the terms of any grant made under this
    Act, whether in law or equity,  or  by  any  other  legal
    means;
         (5)  prepare  and  submit  a  budget and request for
    appropriations for the necessary and contingent operating
    expenses of the Board; and
         (6)  receive and accept, from  any  source,  aid  or
    contributions  of  money, property, labor, or other items
    of value for furtherance of any of its purposes,  subject
    to  any conditions not inconsistent with this Act or with
    the laws of this State pertaining to those contributions,
    including, but not  limited  to,  gifts,  guarantees,  or
    grants from any department, agency, or instrumentality of
    the United States of America.
    The  Board must adopt any rules, regulations, guidelines,
and directives necessary  to  implement  the  Act,  including
guidelines  for  designing  inventories  so that they will be
compatible with each other.
    The Board must submit a report to  the  General  Assembly
and  the  Governor  by  January  1,  2005  and  every 2 years
thereafter regarding progress made towards accomplishing  the
purposes of this Act.

    Section  20.   Local  Legacy  Program.   The Local Legacy
Program  is  created.   The   Board   shall   determine   the
eligibility  of  county-municipal  partnerships  for  funding
under  the Program.  The purpose of the Program is to provide
grants to counties and municipalities to (i) inventory  their
natural  areas,  farmland,  and  cultural resources; and (ii)
develop Resource Protection Plans.

    Section  25.    Local   Steering   Committee.    Counties
interested  in assistance under this Act must form a steering
committee  consisting  of  11  members  in  the  following  3
categories chosen according to the following requirements:
         (1)  Three members of the county board appointed  by
    the  county board chairperson with the advice and consent
    of the county board.
         (2)  Three elected municipal officials chosen by the
    corporate    authorities    of    those    municipalities
    participating in the county-municipal partnership.
         (3)  Five  public  members  who  reside  within  the
    county and are appointed by a majority vote of the county
    board members and  elected  municipal  officials  on  the
    Local  Steering Committee, with one each representing the
    following categories:
         (a)  Agriculture.
         (b)  Environment.
         (c)  Historic preservation.
         (d)  Construction or development.
         (e)  Citizen-at-large.
    When the Committee is first established, one-third of the
members of each category shall serve  a  term  of  one  year;
one-third  shall serve a term of 2 years; and one-third shall
serve a term of 3 years, except for the public  members,  one
of  whom will serve for one year, 2 of whom shall serve for 2
years, and 2 of whom will serve for 3 years.  All  subsequent
members  shall  serve for a term of 3 years.  A vacancy shall
be filled in the same manner as an original appointment.
    The Chairperson shall be chosen for a  term  of  2  years
from among the members of the Committee by a majority vote of
the  Committee;  all  members  of the Committee including the
Chairperson have a vote.
    The Committee shall adopt its own rules of operation.

    Section 30.  Duties of the Local Steering Committee.  The
Local Steering Committee shall have the  authority  to  apply
for  and receive grants to conduct an inventory and develop a
Resource Protection Plan and to review all grant applications
from units of local government before they are  submitted  to
the Board.
    The Local Steering Committee shall develop a strategy for
conducting  an  inventory  of  natural  areas,  farmland, and
cultural  resources.  The  Committee  shall  determine  which
resources should be included in the inventory, the amount  of
financial  and  technical  assistance  needed from the State,
what information is already available, who will  conduct  the
inventory,   how  municipal  and  county  efforts  should  be
coordinated, and how to present the information so that it is
compatible    with    inventories    conducted    by    other
county-municipal partnerships.
    The Committee shall use the inventory as  the  basis  for
developing  its  Resource  Protection  Plan.   Working with a
professional  planner  or  other  resource  specialist,   the
Committee  shall  develop criteria for prioritizing resources
identified by the inventory.   When  prioritizing  resources,
the Committee shall analyze the threat to the resources using
population  projections,  land  use patterns, and development
trends.  Upon the approval of two-thirds of its members, with
at least one member from each of the 3 categories  voting  in
approval, the Committee shall recommend that the county board
and  the  municipalities within the county adopt the Resource
Protection Plan.  Amendments to the Resource Protection  Plan
must  be approved in the same manner.  A local government may
object to all or part of  the  Resource  Protection  Plan  in
writing.  If a written objection is filed with the Committee,
the  portion  of  the Plan objected to shall not be effective
within that local government's borders.  The objecting  local
government may modify or withdraw its objection at any time.

    Section 35.  Local Legacy Fund.  The Local Legacy Fund is
created  as a special fund in the State treasury.  Subject to
appropriation, moneys shall be  transferred  into  the  Local
Legacy  Fund  from the General Revenue Fund.  All interest or
other earnings that  accrue  from  investment  of  the  Local
Legacy  Fund  moneys  shall  be  credited to the Local Legacy
Fund.  The Local Legacy Fund shall be used by  the  Board  to
make  grants  to counties and municipalities for inventorying
and planning for preservation of farmland, natural areas, and
cultural resources.

    Section 40.   Consideration of State grant awards.   When
approving grant awards under this Act, the Board or the State
agency,   as   the  case  may  be,  shall  give  preferential
consideration  to  counties  and  municipalities  that   have
adopted Resource Protection Plans.

    Section  90.   The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.595 as follows:

    (30 ILCS 105/5.595 new)
    Sec. 5.595.  The Local Legacy Fund.