103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3096

 

Introduced 2/2/2024, by Sen. Dale Fowler

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Department of Natural Resources Sahara Woods State Recreation Area Act. Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to enter into a public-private agreement to develop, construct, finance, lease, manage, and operate campground facilities at Sahara Woods State Recreation Area. Authorizes the Director of Natural Resources to enter into discussions with interested persons prior to soliciting requests for proposals. Directs the Department to comply with specified provisions of the Illinois Procurement Code. Describes the request-for-proposal process that is to be employed. Contains provisions concerning the payment of prevailing wages and the use of project labor agreements. Specifies that the term of any public-private agreement entered into under the Act shall be no less than 25 years and no more than 99 years. Defines terms. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning conservation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Department of Natural Resources Sahara Woods State Recreation
6Area Act.
 
7    Section 5. Legislative intent. The General Assembly finds
8that authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to enter
9into a public-private partnership for the development,
10construction, maintenance, or operation of campground
11facilities at Sahara Woods State Recreation Area will allow
12greater utilization of the Area and is in the best interest of
13the State and the local community.
 
14    Section 10. Definitions.
15    "Contractor" means a person who has been selected to enter
16or has entered into a public-private agreement with the
17Department on behalf of the State for the development,
18financing, management, or operation of campgrounds facilities
19at Sahara Woods State Recreational Area pursuant to this Act.
20    "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.
21    "Director" means the Director of Natural Resources.
22    "Maintain" or "maintenance" includes ordinary maintenance,

 

 

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1repair, rehabilitation, capital maintenance, replacement, and
2any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by
3the Department.
4    "Offeror" means a person who responds to a request for
5proposals under this Act.
6    "Operate" or "operation" means to do one or more of the
7following: maintain, improve, equip, modify, or otherwise
8operate.
9    "Person" means any individual, firm, association, joint
10venture, partnership, estate, trust, syndicate, fiduciary,
11corporation, or any other legal entity, group, or combination
12thereof.
13    "Public-private agreement" means an agreement or contract
14between the Department and the contractor on behalf of the
15State and all schedules, exhibits, and attachments thereto,
16entered into pursuant to a competitive request for proposals
17process governed by this Act, for the development,
18construction, financing, management and operation of
19campground facilities at Sahara Woods State Recreation Area
20under this Act.
21    "Revenues" means all revenues, including, but not limited
22to, income, user fees, earnings, interest, lease payments,
23allocations, moneys from the federal government, the State,
24and units of local government, including, but not limited to,
25federal, State, and local appropriations, grants, loans, lines
26of credit, and credit guarantees; bond proceeds; equity

 

 

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1investments; service payments; or other receipts arising out
2of or in connection with the development, construction,
3financing, development, management, or operation of campground
4facilities at Sahara Woods State Recreation Area.
5    "Sahara Woods State Recreation Area" means real property
6in Carrier Mills, Illinois, consisting of approximately 4,000
7acres of vacated strip mine land including the 98 acre Sahara
8Lake and numerous strip cuts that make up approximately 270
9acres of fishable water.
 
10    Section 15. Authority to enter public-private agreement.
11Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
12Department, on behalf of the State, may enter into a
13public-private agreement to develop, construct, finance,
14lease, manage, and operate campground facilities at Sahara
15Woods State Recreation Area on behalf of the State, pursuant
16to which the contractors may receive certain revenues,
17including management or user fees in consideration of the
18payment of moneys to the State for that right.
 
19    Section 20. Engagement prior to request for proposals. The
20Director or the Director's designee may, prior to soliciting
21requests for proposals, enter into discussions with interested
22persons in order to assess existing market conditions and
23demands, provided that no such interested persons shall have
24any role in drafting any request for proposals, nor shall any

 

 

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1request for proposal be provided to any interested person
2prior to its general public distribution. The Director may
3issue a request for qualifications that requests interested
4persons to provide such information as the Director deems
5necessary in order to evaluate the qualifications of such
6interested persons. This may include, but is not limited to,
7the ability of interested persons to acquire the property, as
8determined by the Director. Such engagement and discussions
9with interested persons are exempt from Sections 50-10.5,
1050-39, 50-40, 50-45, and 50-50 of the Illinois Procurement
11Code.
 
12    Section 25. Requests for proposals. If requests for
13proposals are made by the Department, the Department shall
14comply with the competitive request for proposals process
15under Article 20 of the Illinois Procurement Code, rules
16adopted under that Code, and this Act.
 
17    Section 30. Request for proposal process.
18    (a) The Department, on behalf of the State, may select a
19contractor through a competitive request for proposals process
20under Article 20 of the Illinois Procurement Code and rules
21adopted under that Article of the Code.
22    (b) The competitive request for proposals process shall
23solicit statements of qualification and proposals from
24offerors.

 

 

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1    (c) In addition to any requirements under Article 20 of
2the Illinois Procurement Code, the competitive request for
3proposals process may take into account the following
4criteria:
5        (1) the offeror's plans for the campgrounds project at
6    Sahara Woods State Recreation Area;
7        (2) the offeror's current and past business practices;
8    and
9        (3) the offeror's poor or inadequate past performance
10    in developing, financing, constructing, managing, or
11    operating other historic landmark properties or other
12    public assets.
 
13    Section 35. Provisions of the public-private agreement.
14    (a) The public-private agreement may include, but is not
15limited to, the following:
16        (1) the powers, duties, responsibilities, obligations,
17    and functions of the Department and the contractor;
18        (2) compensation or payments to the Department, if
19    applicable;
20        (3) compensation or payments to the contractor, if
21    applicable;
22        (4) a provision specifying that the Department:
23            (A) has ready access to information regarding the
24        contractor's powers, duties, responsibilities,
25        obligations, and functions under the public-private

 

 

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1        agreement;
2            (B) has the right to demand and receive
3        information from the contractor concerning any aspect
4        of the contractor's powers, duties, responsibilities,
5        obligations, and functions under the public-private
6        agreement; and
7            (C) has the authority to direct or countermand
8        decisions by the contractor at any time.
9        (5) the authority of the contractor to impose user
10    fees and the amounts of those fees;
11        (6) a provision governing the deposit and allocation
12    of revenues, including user fees;
13        (7) a provision governing rights to real and personal
14    property of the State, the Department, the contractor, and
15    other third parties;
16        (8) rights and remedies of the Department if the
17    contractor defaults or otherwise fails to comply with the
18    terms of the agreement; and
19        (9) all other terms, conditions, and provisions
20    acceptable to the Department that the Department deems
21    necessary and proper and in the public interest.
 
22    Section 40. Labor.
23    (a) A public-private agreement related to Sahara Woods
24State Recreation Area pertaining to the building, altering,
25repairing, maintaining, improving, or demolishing of

 

 

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1campground facilities shall require the contractor and all
2subcontractors to comply with the requirements of Section
330-22 of the Illinois Procurement Code as they apply to
4responsible bidders, including, but not limited to, all
5applicable provisions of the Prevailing Wage Act, and to
6present satisfactory evidence of that compliance to the
7Department, unless the project is federally funded and the
8application of those requirements would jeopardize the receipt
9or use of federal funds in support of the project.
10    (b) A public-private agreement related to Sahara Woods
11State Recreation Area pertaining to the building, altering,
12repairing, maintaining, improving, or demolishing campground
13facilities at the Area shall require the contractor and all
14subcontractors to enter into a project labor agreement used by
15the Capital Development Board.
 
16    Section 45. Term of agreement; reversion of property to
17the Department.
18    (a) The term of any public-private agreement entered into
19under this Act shall be no less than 25 years and no more than
2099 years.
21    (b) The Department may terminate the contractor's
22authority and duties under the public-private agreement on the
23date set forth in the public-private agreement. The Department
24may also terminate the public-private agreement pursuant to
25any clause or condition as set forth in the public-private

 

 

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1agreement.
2    (c) Upon termination of the public-private agreement, the
3authority, and duties of the contractor under this Act cease,
4except for those duties and obligations that extend beyond the
5termination, as set forth in the public-private agreement, and
6all interests in the campground facilities at Sahara Woods
7State Recreation Area shall revert to the Department.
 
8    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9becoming law.