SB3267 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19278 TRT 32724 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3267

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

505 ILCS 135/7 new

Amends the Sustainable Agriculture Act. Provides that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall conduct a joint study to evaluate the corrective actions that may be adopted within the agricultural sector to mitigate dust storm occurrences and the severity of dust storms. Provides that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources may consult with and seek assistance from similar state agencies in other states and federal agencies, to the extent that such coordination aids in furthering the purposes of this study. Requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources to coordinate with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security to evaluate and publish findings on the short-term and long-term threats of dust storms and the protocol that should be developed to protect the public from current and future threats posed by dust storms. Provides that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall publish the joint study on an agreed upon publicly available website and shall provide suitable copies to the Governor and the General Assembly by no later than December 1, 2027.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning agriculture.

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

Section 5. The Sustainable Agriculture Act is amended by adding Section 7 as follows:

(505 ILCS 135/7 new)

Sec. 7. Dust Storm Study.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) In May of 2025, northern Illinois and the City of Chicago were hit with a severe dust storm, the likes of which had not been seen in the region since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

(2) In 2023, a dust storm occurred in the State along the Sangamon County and Montgomery County line on I-55, causing over 70 accidents, 37 injuries, and 7 fatalities.

(3) Exposed soil and a lack of windbreaks influenced the formation and severity of these severe dust storms observed in recent years.

(4) The increasingly common phenomenon of dust storms in Illinois negatively impacts commerce and agriculture within the State and endangers the public.

(5) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources have the expertise to evaluate and present findings related to the threat of future dust storms within the State, to assess how climate change and drought may exacerbate those threats, and to recommend corrective actions that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of future dust storms.

(b) Therefore, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall conduct a joint study to evaluate the threat of future dust storms within the State and the potential solutions to those storms. The Departments shall consider and shall publish findings on how the risk of dust storms may vary across the State.

(c) The joint study shall evaluate corrective actions that may be adopted within the agricultural sector to mitigate dust storm occurrences and severity, including:

(1) corrective actions that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of dust storms occurring;

(2) corrective actions that will incentivize widespread vegetative windbreak adoption;

(3) corrective actions that will incentivize cover crop adoption; and

(4) corrective actions that will incentive the adoption of permaculture practices by farmers.

(d) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall coordinate with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security to evaluate and publish findings on:

(1) the short-term and long-term threats of dust storms; and

(2) the protocol that should be developed to protect the public from current and future threats posed by dust storms.

(e) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources may solicit information from entities that have been impacted by the 2023 and 2025 dust storms and from entities the Departments determine are likely to be impacted by future dust storms. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources may consult with and seek assistance from other similar state agencies in other states and federal agencies to the extent that such coordination aids in furthering the purposes of the study required under this Section.

(f) The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources shall publish the joint study on an agreed-upon publicly available website and shall provide suitable copies to the Governor and the General Assembly by no later than December 1, 2027.