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1 | | household income at or below the national poverty level for a |
2 | | family of 4, or less than 50% of county median household income |
3 | | in each of the previous 2 years. |
4 | | "Qualified entity" means an organization:
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5 | | (1) that has a fiscal sponsor who is exempt from |
6 | | taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal |
7 | | Revenue Code of 1986;
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8 | | (2) that has a minimum of 3 years of experience |
9 | | providing agricultural services, business assistance, |
10 | | legal assistance, or advocacy services to socially |
11 | | disadvantaged farmers; and |
12 | | (3) in which at least one-half of the members of the |
13 | | organization's board of directors are Black. |
14 | | "Socially disadvantaged farmer" means a farmer who is a |
15 | | member of a socially disadvantaged group. |
16 | | "Socially disadvantaged group" means a group of people |
17 | | whose members have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice |
18 | | because of their identity as a member of a group without regard |
19 | | to their individual qualities.
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20 | | "Training" means a program of training approved by the |
21 | | Director that: |
22 | | (1) provides an eligible individual with the basic |
23 | | skills to operate a farm profitably with a primary focus |
24 | | on regenerating the soil, ecosystem, and local community; |
25 | | (2) provides a course of study that is equivalent to |
26 | | no less than 30 academic credit hours of study, which may |
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1 | | be provided as direct in-field instruction; |
2 | | (3) focuses on low capital-intensive techniques and |
3 | | technologies; and |
4 | | (4) studies local and regional food systems and the |
5 | | market opportunities those systems present. |
6 | | Section 10. Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund. |
7 | | (a) The Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund is created |
8 | | as a special fund in the State treasury.
Except as provided in |
9 | | subsection (b), the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by |
10 | | the General Assembly, shall be used for the purposes of the |
11 | | program, which include the purchase of agricultural |
12 | | conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants to |
13 | | private landowners, socially disadvantaged farmers, and |
14 | | limited resource farmers, land improvement and planning |
15 | | grants, technical assistance grants, technical assistance |
16 | | provided by the Department, technology transfer activities of |
17 | | the Department, and administrative costs incurred by the |
18 | | Department in administering the program. |
19 | | (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), moneys may be |
20 | | deposited into the fund from federal grants, and gifts and |
21 | | donations that are designated and required by the donor to be |
22 | | used exclusively for the purposes of the program. |
23 | | (c) Not to exceed 10% of all grants made by the Department |
24 | | under this Act may be made for land improvement purposes, |
25 | | technical assistance purposes, and policy planning purposes. |
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1 | | Not less than 90% of funds available for grants under this Act |
2 | | shall be expended for the acquisition of interests in land. |
3 | | For purposes of this Act, the expenditures specified in this |
4 | | subsection shall be deemed expenditures for the acquisition of |
5 | | interests in land. Not less than 75% of funds shall be provided |
6 | | to applicants that lease or sell to socially disadvantaged |
7 | | farmers.
Moneys in the fund shall also be available for the |
8 | | following purposes: |
9 | | (1) To provide technical assistance grants to eligible |
10 | | assistance entities in support of socially disadvantaged |
11 | | farmers who are seeking financing for land acquisition or |
12 | | leasing. For purposes of this Section, technical |
13 | | assistance includes, but is not limited to, organizing, |
14 | | advising, counseling, educating, planning, drafting, |
15 | | translating, interpreting, and consulting with socially |
16 | | disadvantaged farmers for the purpose of preparing them |
17 | | for favorable financing for land acquisition or |
18 | | negotiating leasing arrangements. |
19 | |
(2) To provide acquisition assistance grants to |
20 | | eligible assistance entities for the sole purpose of |
21 | | reducing barriers to land access for socially |
22 | | disadvantaged farmers, including, but not limited to, down |
23 | | payment assistance, interest rate assistance, direct costs |
24 | | incidental to acquisition, and infrastructure for land |
25 | | improvement. |
26 | | (3) To provide technical assistance grants to eligible |
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1 | | assistance entities in support of socially disadvantaged |
2 | | farmers who are seeking financing for land acquisition or |
3 | | leasing. For purposes of this paragraph (3), technical |
4 | | assistance includes, but is not limited to, organizing, |
5 | | advising, counseling, educating, planning, drafting, |
6 | | translating, interpreting, and consulting with socially |
7 | | disadvantaged farmers for the purpose of preparing them |
8 | | for favorable financing for land acquisition or |
9 | | negotiating leasing arrangements. |
10 | | (4) To provide acquisition assistance grants to |
11 | | eligible assistance entities for the sole purpose of |
12 | | reducing barriers to land access for socially |
13 | | disadvantaged farmers, including, but not limited to, down |
14 | | payment assistance, interest rate assistance, direct costs |
15 | | incidental to acquisition, and infrastructure for land |
16 | | improvement. |
17 | | Section 15. Department and Director responsibilities. |
18 | | (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall: |
19 | | (1) purchase, from willing sellers, available |
20 | | agricultural land within this State at a price no greater |
21 | | than fair market value; and |
22 | | (2) convey grants of the purchased land to eligible |
23 | | individuals at no cost to the eligible individual. |
24 | | (b) A land grant to an eligible individual may not exceed |
25 | | one hundred acres. |
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1 | | (c) Eligible individuals: |
2 | | (1) An eligible individual seeking a land grant shall |
3 | | submit an application on a form and in a manner approved by |
4 | | the Director that must include a legal description of the |
5 | | eligible agricultural land.
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6 | | (2) The Director shall give priority to applications |
7 | | to: |
8 | | (A) socially disadvantaged farmers; |
9 | | (B) eligible individuals with a family history of |
10 | | land dispossession; |
11 | | (C) eligible individuals with experience in |
12 | | agriculture, including experience obtained through the |
13 | | provisions of this article; and |
14 | | (D) eligible individuals who are veterans. |
15 | | (3) The Director may grant an application submitted by |
16 | | a qualified entity on behalf of one or more eligible |
17 | | individuals seeking a land grant. An application submitted |
18 | | by a qualified entity for more than one hundred acres must |
19 | | include a proposal for how the land will be subdivided and |
20 | | separately conveyed to multiple eligible individuals. |
21 | | (d) Granted land. |
22 | | (1) The Director shall attach an agricultural easement |
23 | | to the land before it may be conveyed to the eligible |
24 | | individual or qualified entity. |
25 | | (2) The recipient of the land grant may sell the land, |
26 | | but the Department has the right of first refusal to |
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1 | | purchase the land at the appraised value of the land to |
2 | | convey to another eligible individual pursuant to the |
3 | | provisions of this article.
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4 | | Section 20. Farm Conservation Corps. |
5 | | (a) Subject to appropriation and in partnership with the |
6 | | University of Illinois Extension, the Department shall |
7 | | establish the Farm Conservation Corps to provide residents |
8 | | between the ages of 18 and 29 from socially disadvantaged |
9 | | groups the academic, vocational, and social skills necessary |
10 | | to pursue long-term and productive careers in agriculture. |
11 | | (b) The members of the Farm Conservation Corps shall serve |
12 | | as on-farm apprentices, at no cost, to farms with an annual |
13 | | gross farm income of less than $250,000 operated by:
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14 | | (1) socially disadvantaged farmers; |
15 | | (2) beginning farmers; or |
16 | | (3) farmers operating certified organic farms. |
17 | | Section 25. Data collection and reporting. |
18 | | (a) Generally. Subject to appropriation, the Director |
19 | | shall make publicly available annual reports describing data |
20 | | on the recipients of the Department programs, including |
21 | | assistance from farm subsidy programs, and the amounts of the |
22 | | assistance, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of |
23 | | the recipients. |
24 | | (b) Research of socially disadvantaged farmers. Subject to |
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1 | | appropriation, the Department shall conduct research on the |
2 | | status of socially disadvantaged farmers, including, but not |
3 | | limited to: |
4 | | (1) the share of land ownership of those socially |
5 | | disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, |
6 | | delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the |
7 | | landowners; |
8 | | (2) the share of the amount of assistance those |
9 | | socially disadvantaged farmers receive from the Department |
10 | | as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race, |
11 | | ethnicity, and gender of the recipients; |
12 | | (3) the share, status, and receipt of loans by |
13 | | socially disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, |
14 | | delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the |
15 | | recipients; and |
16 | | (4) an assessment of the reasons for disparities in |
17 | | land ownership, assistance from the Department, and loans |
18 | | for socially disadvantaged farmers compared to all |
19 | | farmers. |
20 | | (c) Research of farmworkers. Subject to appropriation, the |
21 | | Department shall conduct research on the demographics and |
22 | | status of farmworkers, including, but not limited to: |
23 | | (1) the races, ethnicities, ages, localities, wages |
24 | | and benefits, and working conditions of farmworkers; |
25 | | (2) the economic contributions of farmworkers to the |
26 | | Illinois economy; and |
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1 | | (3) satisfaction of farmworkers with their employment. |
2 | | (d) Census of agriculture. The Department shall: |
3 | | (1) investigate historical changes in reporting |
4 | | methodology and misreporting of socially disadvantaged |
5 | | farmers in the census of agriculture; |
6 | | (2) develop procedures to ensure that census of |
7 | | agriculture surveys accurately capture the status of |
8 | | socially disadvantaged farmers engaged in urban |
9 | | agriculture; and |
10 | | (3) conduct, concurrently with each census of |
11 | | agriculture, a review to assess: |
12 | | (A) the outreach and methodologies used in |
13 | | conducting the census of agriculture; and |
14 | | (B) how such outreach and methodologies have |
15 | | affected the counting of socially disadvantaged |
16 | | farmers. |
17 | | (e) Corporate ownership of farmland. Subject to |
18 | | appropriation, the Department shall annually conduct, and |
19 | | annually make publicly available reports describing, in-depth |
20 | | research and analysis of corporate (domestic and foreign) land |
21 | | investment and ownership in Illinois, with specific attention |
22 | | given to the impact of corporate land investment and ownership |
23 | | on: |
24 | | (1) land consolidation trends in Illinois and in the |
25 | | United States; |
26 | | (2) challenges and opportunities for new and beginning |
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1 | | farmers accessing land for farming; |
2 | | (3) challenges and opportunities for members of |
3 | | socially disadvantaged groups accessing land for farming; |
4 | | and |
5 | | (4) crop selection and production trends. |
6 | | Section 35. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt rules |
7 | | to carry out the provisions of this Act.
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8 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding |
9 | | Section 5.990 as follows: |
10 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new) |
11 | | Sec. 5.990. The Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund. |
12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
13 | | becoming law. |