SB3721 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 20020 BDA 33471 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3721

Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Doris Turner

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 205/205-455 new
30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new

Amends the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Creates the Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program in the Department of Agriculture to provide crop insurance premium discounts for cover crops. Directs the Department to award grants in specified amounts to Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Creates the Cover Crop Insurance Premium Discount Fund. Provides for requirements for the Program. Directs the Department to adopt rules.

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. Fall covers for spring savings.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Soil is an essential natural resource and Illinois farmers and professionals play a critical role in managing Illinois soil and water resources.

(2) The Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture defines soil health as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.

(3) The protection of Illinois soils is essential to long-term prosperity and sustainability of the soil and water resources of our State.

(4) Soil health principles of cover crop coverage enhance the ability of farmers to meet the non-point source pollution goals for nitrate-nitrogen and phosphorus reduction.

(5) Soil health principles reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through sequestration of carbon within the upper soil profile. This process improves organic matter content, provides a stable biome for soil organisms, improves nutrient transfer from soil to root, and increases water infiltration and water-holding capacity.

(6) It is imperative that the State of Illinois actively raise awareness of the importance of soil health and promote its stewardship to safeguard this resource for future generations of Illinois citizens.

(b) There is created the Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program within the Department of Agriculture. This program shall be the successor program of any program currently in place that offers crop insurance discounts for cover crop incorporation. The program shall offer a crop insurance policy premium discount of up to $5 per acre for every acre planted in cover crop in a calendar year that is insured in the following calendar year for crop production. For every $5 expenditure that is made under this Program, the Department shall grant $1 to Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the State.

(c) There is created in the State treasury a special fund to be known as the Cover Crop Insurance Premium Discount Fund for the purpose of receiving and distributing money in accordance with this Section. Disbursements from the Fund shall be made in accordance with this Section, including for the Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program and the grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts under subsection (b), for any other expenditure or distribution under this Section, and for no other purpose. In addition to any other amounts deposited into the Fund through action by the General Assembly, there shall be deposited into the Fund any residual federal funds that can be used for the purpose of the Program and all moneys donated to the State by private individuals or entities for the purposes for which the moneys in the Fund may be used.

(d) The number of acres receiving the discount under the Program under this Section shall be limited only by available funding from State, federal, and private sources contained in the Cover Crop Insurance Premium Discount Fund.

(e) The Department may use a portion of funding allocated to the Cover Crop Insurance Premium Discount Fund for the purpose of administering the provisions of this Section.

(f) The application period for receiving the crop insurance premium discount shall commence the first week of December and continue through the end of January of the following calendar year or until available funds are depleted, whichever comes first. The Department may change the application period by rule.

(g) Premium discounts shall be awarded from available funds on a first-come, first-served basis.

(h) Applicants to the program shall submit Farm Service Agency Form 578, Report on Acreage, or its successor document, the crop insurance policy number, the field, farm, tract, common land unit numbers, and field acres seeded in cover crops the previous year. The Department may change applicant submission requirements by rule.

(i) Applicants shall maintain documentation of cover crop utilization, including, but not limited to, seeding dates, appropriate seeding rates, and seed mix. The Department may contact applicants to clarify information contained in any application. The Department may change applicant documentation requirements by rule.

(j) The Department may not consider the participation of the applicant in any federal or private program concerning conservation, nutrient loss, or carbon sequestration when considering applicants and their applications for participation in the program.

(k) The Department shall adopt rules implementing and administering this Section.

Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.1038 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new)

Sec. 5.1038. The Cover Crop Insurance Premium Discount Fund.