SB2493enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2493 Enrolled LRB100 16718 SLF 31857 b

AN ACT concerning wildlife.

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

Section 5. The University of Illinois Act is amended by adding Section 12.10 as follows:

(110 ILCS 305/12.10 new)

Sec. 12.10. Supplemental deer food; study. The University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute shall, subject to appropriation and in consultation with the Department of Natural Resources and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, conduct a study for a period of at least 5 years on the health and social effects of supplemental deer feeding on the wild deer population outside of any Illinois deer hunting season and whether supplemental deer feeding affects the risk of disease transmission in the deer population. Supplemental deer feeding may not occur during the initial year of the study. For each subsequent year of the study, supplemental deer feeding may occur from February 1 to August 15 of that year. For the purpose of this study, supplemental deer feeding shall include any supplemental food source. The study must be conducted statewide. During the study, supplemental deer feeding is permitted on private lands through voluntary participation by landowners. Public lands of this State may not be utilized as supplemental deer feeding areas and must be utilized to obtain non-supplemental feeding specimens throughout the study. The University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine shall submit the study's findings and any recommendations to the Department of Natural Resources, to be posted on its Internet website, and the General Assembly in a report no more than 180 days after the completion of the study. The report to the General Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the Clerk and Secretary shall direct.