SB2743 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 36156 MXP 66248 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2743

Introduced 1/12/2024, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Water Plan Task Force Act. Establishes the State Water Plan Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources and composed of the directors, or their designee, from various other State entities. Requires the Task Force to identify critical water issues, to develop and implement recommendations that address the critical water issues, and to reevaluate critical water issues and needs. Requires the Task Force to publish a State Water Plan not less than every 10 years. Provides that the Task Force shall develop and maintain a publicly available website or portal that summarizes projects of the Task Force. Requires the Task Force to meet not less than once per quarter each calendar year. Enumerates the authority granted to the Task Force.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

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 Water Plan Task Force Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Plan" means the State Water Plan.

"Task Force" means the State Water Plan Task Force.

Section 10. State Water Plan Task Force.

(a) There shall be established within State government and universities an interagency task force which shall be known as the State Water Plan Task Force. The Task Force shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of Water Resources of the Department of Natural Resources and composed of the directors, or their designee, from the following State entities:

(1) The Office of Resource Conservation of the Department of Natural Resources.

(2) The Department of Public Health.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency.

(4) The Department of Transportation.

(5) The Department of Agriculture.

(6) The Department of Transportation.

(7) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security.

(8) The Pollution Control Board

(9) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

(10) The State Water Survey of the University of Illinois.

(11) The Water Resource Center of the University of Illinois.

(12) The Office of the Governor.

(b) The Task Force shall coordinate with State agencies and universities to develop a concise plan for addressing water issues facing the State.

(c) The Task Force shall:

(1) identify critical water issues;

(2) develop recommendations to address critical water topic issues;

(3) implement recommendations; and

(4) reevaluate critical water issues and needs.

(d) The Task Force shall publish a State Water Plan not less than every 10 years. The Plan shall include:

(1) Identification of critical water topics needing specific attention in this State based on stakeholder input sought and provided during the plan development.

(2) Topic Lead as an individual from the Task Force membership responsible for ensuring the development of the Topic Lead's assigned critical topic section of the Plan.

(3) Plan development shall include public outreach phases to obtain feedback on the most critical water issues faced by the State and how to address those issues.

(4) Recommendations related to the identified issues for each critical topic, including, but not limited to:

(A) New State programs or modification to existing programs.

(B) New or modified existing policy within a program or agency.

(C) New or modified legislation.

(D) Requests for a study or research be completed.

(E) Proposals or designs of a construction project.

(F) Funding requests for the above listed recommendations.

(5) No more than 2 years shall be used to develop a new Plan.

(6) The Task Force shall develop and maintain a publicly available website or portal that summarizes projects of the Task Force.

(e) The Task Force shall be responsible for developing membership voting and operational rules.

(f) The Task Force shall meet not less than once per quarter each calendar year to:

(1) Update the status of the Plan recommendations by providing a implementation summary that will be published to the official Task Force website or portal.

(2) Review, evaluate, and publish an annual report showing the implementation status for each of the Plan's recommendations.

(g) The Task Force shall have the authority to:

(1) Create and use subtask forces or committees to identifying critical issues and implementing recommendations related to the Plan.

(2) Publish special reports specific to critical topics to add clarification and provide additional details of action needed.

(3) Review and evaluate State laws, rules, regulations, and procedures that relate to water needs in the state.

(4) Recommend procedures for better coordination among State water-related programs, with local programs and stakeholder groups.

(5) Recommend and prioritize the State's water related research needs.

(6) Review, coordinate, and evaluate water data collection, analysis, and public sharing.

(7) Allow member entities to request annual appropriations to resource necessary staff participation on the Task Force and resource Plan development.