HB5611ham001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Patricia R. Bellock

Filed: 3/23/2010

09600HB5611ham001 LRB096 18592 JDS 39330 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5611

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5611 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.755 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.755 new)

Sec. 5.755. The Lake Michigan Ecosystem Protection Fund.

Section 10. The Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act is amended by adding Section 14b as follows:

(615 ILCS 5/14b new)

Sec. 14b. Permit requirements for ocean-going vessels engaging in port operations in this State; Lake Michigan Ecosystem Protection Fund.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2013, all ocean-going vessels engaging in port operations in the State shall obtain a permit from the Department of Natural Resources. The Department may issue a permit for an ocean-going vessel only if:

(1) the applicant demonstrates that the ocean-going vessel will not discharge aquatic nuisance species; or

(2) for ocean-going vessels that discharge ballast water or other waste or waste effluent, the operator of the vessel uses environmentally sound technologies and methods, as determined by the Department, to prevent the discharge of aquatic nuisance species.

(b) The Department of Natural Resources shall cooperate to the fullest extent practical with other Great Lakes basin states, the Canadian Great Lakes provinces, the Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the International Joint Commission, and the Great Lakes Commission in order to ensure the development of standards, for the control of aquatic nuisance species, that are broadly protective of the waters of the State and other natural resources.

(c) In developing the permit process and any standards under this Section, the Director of Natural Resources is encouraged to consult with the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Director of Agriculture, the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the executive officer of any other State agency with whom the Director of Natural Resources determines it would be useful to consult.

(d) The Department of Natural Resources shall establish reasonable permit fees for permits required under this Section. The Department may adopt rules to administer the fee program established in this Section. The Department may include provisions pertaining to invoices, notice of late payment, refunds, and disputes concerning the amount or timeliness of payment. The Department may set forth procedures and criteria for the acceptance of payments. All fees and interest penalties collected by the Department under this Section shall be deposited into the Lake Michigan Ecosystem Protection Fund.

(e) The Department of Natural Resources shall adopt rules to implement this Section.

(f) The Lake Michigan Ecosystem Protection Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury for the collection of fees and interest penalties by the Department of Natural Resources under this Section. Moneys in the Fund may be used by the Department, subject to appropriation, for administrative and programmatic expenses arising under this Section. Earnings attributable to moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.

(g) This Section and the requirements imposed under it are inoperable to the extent that the Department of Natural Resources has not received appropriations sufficient to carry out its obligations under this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".