SB2688 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 14627 BDA 27769 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2688

Introduced 10/14/2025, by Sen. Sally J. Turner

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 205/205-455 new

Amends the Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Agriculture to establish an online portal on the Department's website with links to certain federal and State agencies for the purposes of, among other things, providing assistance to users in navigating regulations, avoiding punitive enforcement actions, collaborating with experts, and obtaining information regarding funding opportunities. Requires the Department of Agriculture, in each year in which the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture releases its Census of Agriculture, to issue a report to the General Assembly regarding lost Illinois farmland.

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 5. The Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 205-455 as follows:

(20 ILCS 205/205-455 new)

Sec. 205-455. Online portal.

(a) In this Section:

"Farmland" has the meaning ascribed to that term in the last Census of Agriculture published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

"User" means:

(1) a rural community;

(2) a farmer;

(3) an agribusiness; or

(4) any other individual or entity using the online portal established under this Section for the purposes described in subsection (d).

(b) The Department shall establish an online portal on the Department's website.

(c) The Department shall administer the online portal.

(d) The purposes of the online portal shall be to:

(1) assist users in the successful navigation of agricultural or related topics among various federal and State agencies;

(2) provide a single online source for users to access agricultural or related federal and State funding opportunities;

(3) provide a searchable database of available federal and State grants with information on deadlines and eligibility criteria; and

(4) provide regular updates to reflect changes in federal and State funding opportunities.

(e) The online portal shall include links that will facilitate navigating the Department's website and the websites of various other State and federal agencies, including the following:

(1) the United States Department of Agriculture;

(2) the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service;

(3) the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

(4) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; and

(5) any other federal or State agency, the interaction with which would be helpful to users, as determined by the Department.

(f) To accomplish the purposes described in subsection (d), the online portal shall do all the following:

(1) provide a series of regulatory checklists for users that are considering diversifying into new markets to assist users in:

(A) navigating agricultural and related regulations; and

(B) avoiding punitive enforcement actions before they arise;

(2) assist users in collaborating with:

(A) the University of Illinois Extension Office;

(B) the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois; and

(C) the United States Department of Agriculture;

(3) create an online portal that will help connect users with responsive data visualization tools and technical assistance programming; and

(4) provide an online portal through which users may gather information regarding, and apply for, available federal and State agricultural and related funding opportunities.

(h) By November 1 of each year in which the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture publishes its Census of Agriculture, the Department shall:

(1) conduct an inventory of all farmland lost in Illinois during the 5 calendar years preceding publication of the report; and

(2) identify the primary cause of the reduction of farmland under paragraph (1).

(i) After conducting each inventory under subsection (h), the Department shall report its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation, to the General Assembly in accordance with Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act on or before December 31 of the year in which the inventory is conducted. Within 30 days after filing with the General Assembly the report required under this subsection, the Department shall upload the report to its website.