HB5158 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 17459 BDA 30885 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5158

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Sonya M. Harper

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Agricultural Protection Area Act. Directs the Department of Agriculture to establish and administer a voluntary statewide program for the creation and recognition of agricultural protection areas and to adopt rules. Authorizes the Department to appoint an Agricultural Protection Area Commission to advise the Department and to make recommendations on applications to designate land as an agricultural protection area. Provides procedures for review of an initial application to designate land as an agricultural protection area, for renewal after 20 years, and for adding land to or removing land from an agricultural protection area. Requires recording of agricultural protection areas. Limits local regulations within agricultural protection areas and limits home rule powers and functions. Declares that agricultural activities within an agricultural protection area are not a public nuisance. Restricts eminent domain for nonagricultural purposes. Declares findings. Defines terms.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning agriculture.

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 Agricultural Protection Area Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Working farms provide essential benefits to Illinois by sustaining the State's economy, food and fiber production, and the cultural heritage of local communities.

(2) Agricultural land is increasingly threatened by conversion to nonagricultural uses.

(3) It is the policy of this State to encourage voluntary efforts to preserve and enhance the long-term viability of agricultural land and to minimize unnecessary governmental interference with property rights.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Agricultural production" means activities conducted on land actively devoted to agriculture, including the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock and poultry, and associated on farm structures and practices.

"Agricultural protection area" means one or more specific parcels of land voluntarily designated under this Act for the purpose of protecting and preserving agricultural use.

"Applicant" means a person who owns 5 acres or more of land that has been in active agricultural production for the previous 3 consecutive years and who applies for that land to be part of an agricultural protection area.

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

"Generally accepted farming practices" means farming practices that are customary in Illinois agriculture and consistent with applicable State and federal laws and rules.

"Hardship" means a situation or circumstance over which a landowner in an agricultural protection area has no control, including, without limitation, an adverse result in litigation against the farm or landowner; the death of a close family member leading to unanticipated financial hardship; significant tax liabilities; bankruptcy due to another person's fraud; or other illegal activity.

"Unit of local government" has the meaning given in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.

Section 15. Agricultural protection area program; rules. The Department shall establish and administer a voluntary statewide program for the creation and recognition of agricultural protection areas and shall adopt rules to implement this Act. At a minimum, the rules must:

(1) establish a process through which agricultural lands may be designated as agricultural protection areas for a minimum of 20 years;

(2) establish application requirements, including information about the landowner, a legal description of the parcel or parcels, and current uses of the land;

(3) establish clear and objective standards for evaluating applications, including consideration of agricultural productivity, continuity of agricultural use, and compatibility with local and regional land use plans;

(4) establish timelines for reviewing and making decisions on applications; and

(5) provide for reasonable application and administration fees that do not exceed the Department's actual costs.

Section 20. Agricultural Protection Area Commission. The Department may appoint an Agricultural Protection Area Commission to advise the Department regarding agricultural needs of the State and to make recommendations on applications under this Act. The Commission shall consist of 5 to 7 members with experience in Illinois production agriculture or agricultural conservation, which may include representatives from soil and water conservation districts, the Illinois Farm Bureau, a commodity or grower association, the University of Illinois Extension, or other relevant organizations. Commission members shall serve terms established by the Department of not less than 3 years and not more than 6 years.

Section 25. Application review and action.

(a) Within 60 days after receiving the Commission's recommendation to support or reject an application, the Department shall provide public notice of the application and accept written comments for at least 14 days. The Department may hold a public meeting if it believes additional input is warranted.

(b) The Department may approve or deny an application to designate land as an agricultural protection area. If approved, the designation is effective upon final action by the Department.

(c) If the Department fails to take action on the Commission's recommendation within 60 days after receiving the recommendation, the Commission's recommendation becomes final agency action for purposes of judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.

Section 30. Recording of agricultural protection areas.

(a) To provide constructive notice of an agricultural protection area designation to persons who have, may acquire, or may seek to acquire an interest in land in or adjacent to the agricultural protection area, the landowner shall record with the recorder of deeds of the county in which the land is located, within 10 days after the designation, a notice of designation in a form prescribed by the Department that includes:

(1) the date of designation or dissolution of the agricultural protection area;

(2) a legal description of the parcel or parcels included in the agricultural protection area; and

(3) a copy of the Department's final decision or certification of designation.

(b) Failure to record the notice does not invalidate a Department decision to designate or dissolve an agricultural protection area, but the Department may require recording as a condition of continued recognition.

Section 35. Renewal of agricultural protection areas.

(a) Twenty years after the creation of an agricultural protection area, if the landowner desires to continue the designation, no action by the landowner is required and the Department shall automatically renew the agricultural protection area for another 20 years.

(b) If the landowner desires to terminate the agricultural protection area, the landowner shall provide written notice to the Department at least 90 days before the expiration of the designation. The Department shall notify the appropriate recorder of deeds of any termination and the landowner shall record a notice of termination.

Section 40. Adding land to and removing land from an agricultural protection area.

(a) A landowner may add land to an existing agricultural protection area by filing an application with the Department. The Department shall review the application in accordance with this Act and rules adopted under this Act.

(b) A landowner of land within an agricultural protection area may remove any or all of that land from the agricultural protection area by filing a petition for removal with the Department. The Department shall acknowledge receipt of the petition in writing and confirm the removal date as 10 years from the date of the petition for removal, or upon expiration of the designation, whichever is sooner.

(c) The Department shall establish by rule a process by which a landowner may remove land from an agricultural protection area for reasons of hardship, as defined in Section 10.

(d) The Department may charge a reasonable administrative fee to cover its actual costs associated with processing changes to an agricultural protection area, including updating maps, recording documents, and staff time.

Section 45. Limitations on local regulations within agricultural protection areas.

(a) A unit of local government shall encourage the continuity, development, and viability of agricultural use within the boundaries of an agricultural protection area and may not adopt or enforce an ordinance or regulation that conflicts with this Act or rules adopted under this Act with respect to farm structures or farming practices within an agricultural protection area, unless the farm structure or farming practice does not comply with generally accepted farming practices or violates applicable State or federal law.

(b) Nothing in this Section prevents a unit of local government from regulating the siting of residential, commercial, manufacturing, industrial, solar energy, or wind energy structures, or from regulating other nonagricultural land uses on lands included within an agricultural protection area, to the extent consistent with this Act and other applicable law.

Section 50. Nuisances.

(a) Agricultural activities conducted within an agricultural protection area in accordance with generally accepted farming practices and applicable law are not a public nuisance.

(b) In a civil action for nuisance or a criminal action for public nuisance, it is a complete defense if the action involves otherwise lawful agricultural activities that were (1) conducted within an agricultural protection area; and (2) not in violation of any federal, State, or local law or regulation relating to the alleged nuisance and were conducted using generally accepted farming practices.

(c) Nothing in this Section limits or diminishes the protections afforded by the Farm Nuisance Suit Act.

Section 55. Eminent domain. Subject to the Eminent Domain Act, a unit of local government or other political subdivision may not condemn land within an agricultural protection area that is being used for agricultural production for purposes unrelated to public health or safety, transportation, or public utilities. Nothing in this Section limits or alters condemnation powers expressly authorized by the Eminent Domain Act.

Section 60. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate farm structures or farming practices within an agricultural protection area in a manner more restrictive than the regulation by the State under this Act and rules adopted under this Act. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.