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SB0017 Engrossed |
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| AN ACT concerning revenue.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding |
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| Division 16 to Article 10 as follows: |
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| (35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 16 heading new) |
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| DIVISION 16. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP LAW |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-400 new) |
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| Sec. 10-400. Short title; findings and policy. |
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| (a) This Division may be cited as the Conservation |
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| Stewardship Law.
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| (b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best |
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| interest of this State to maintain, preserve, conserve, and |
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| manage unimproved land to assure the protection of these |
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| limited and unique environmental resources for the economic and |
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| social well-being of the State and its citizens. |
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| The General Assembly further finds that, to maximize |
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| voluntary taxpayer participation in conservation programs, |
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| conservation should be recognized as a legitimate land use and |
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| taxpayers should have a full range of incentive programs from |
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| which to choose. |
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| Therefore, the General Assembly declares that it is in the |
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| public interest to prevent the forced conversion of unimproved |
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| land to more intensive uses as a result of economic pressures |
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| caused by the property tax system at values incompatible with |
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| their preservation and management as unimproved land, and that |
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| a program should be designed to permit the continued |
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| availability of this land for these purposes. |
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| The General Assembly further declares that the following |
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| provisions are intended to allow for the conservation, |
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| management, and assessment of unimproved land generally |
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| suitable for the perpetual growth and preservation of such land |
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| in this State. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-405 new) |
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| Sec. 10-405. Definitions. As used in this Division: |
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| "Unimproved land" means woodlands, prairie, wetlands, or |
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| other vacant and undeveloped land that is not used for any |
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| residential or commercial purpose that materially disturbs the |
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| land. |
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| "Conservation management plan" means a plan approved by the |
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| Department of Natural Resources that specifies conservation |
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| and management practices, including uses that will be conducted |
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| to preserve and restore unimproved land. |
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| "Managed land" means unimproved land of 5 acres or more |
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| that is subject to a conservation management plan. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-410 new) |
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| Sec. 10-410. Conservation management plan; rules. The |
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| Department of Natural Resources shall adopt rules specifying |
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| the form and content of a conservation management plan |
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| sufficient for managed land to be valued under this Division. |
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| The rules adopted under this Section must require a description |
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| of the managed land and must specify the conservation and |
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| management practices that are appropriate to preserve and |
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| maintain unimproved land in this State and any other |
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| conservation practices. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-415 new) |
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| Sec. 10-415. Plan submission and review; approval. |
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| (a)
A taxpayer requesting special valuation of unimproved |
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| land under this Division must first submit a conservation |
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| management plan for that land to the Department of Natural |
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| Resources for review. The Department of Natural Resources shall |
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| review each submitted plan for compliance with the standards |
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| and criteria set forth in its rules. |
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| (b) Upon approval, the Department of Natural Resources |
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| shall issue to the taxpayer a written declaration that the land |
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| is subject to a conservation management plan approved by the |
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| Department of Natural Resources. |
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| (c) The Department of Natural Resources shall reapprove the |
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| plan every 10 years and revise it when necessary or |
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| appropriate. |
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| (d) If a plan is not approved, then the Department of |
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| Natural Resources shall state the reasons for the denial and |
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| provide the taxpayer an opportunity to amend the plan to |
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| conform to the requirements of this Division. If the |
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| application is denied a second time, the taxpayer may appeal |
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| the decision to an independent 3-member panel to be established |
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| within the Department of Natural Resources.
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| (e) The submission of an application for a conservation |
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| management plan under this Section or of a forestry management |
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| plan under Section 10-150 shall be treated as compliance with |
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| the requirements of that plan until the Department of Natural |
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| Resources can review the application. The Department of Natural |
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| Resources shall certify, to the Department, these applications |
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| as being approved plans for the purpose of this Division.
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-420 new) |
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| Sec. 10-420. Special valuation of managed land; |
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| exceptions. |
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| (a)
In all counties, except for Cook County, beginning with |
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| assessments made in 2008 and thereafter, managed land for which |
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| an application has been approved under Section 10-415 that |
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| contains 5 or more contiguous acres is valued at 5% of its fair |
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| cash value. |
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| (b) The special valuation under this Section does not apply |
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| to (i) any land that has been assessed as farmland under |
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| Sections 10-110 through 10-145, (ii) land valued under Section |
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| 10-152 or 10-153, (iii) land valued as open space under Section |
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| 10-155, or (iv) land certified under Section 10-167. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-425 new) |
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| Sec. 10-425. Certification. |
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| (a)
The Department of Natural Resources shall certify to |
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| the Department a list of applications approved under Section |
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| 10-415. This list must contain the following information for |
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| each approved application: |
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| (1) the name and address of the taxpayer; |
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| (2) the county in which the land is located; |
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| (3) the size and each property index number or legal |
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| description of the land that was approved; and |
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| (4) copies of the taxpayer's approved conservation |
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| management plan. |
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| (b) Within 30 days after the receipt of this information, |
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| the Department shall notify in writing the chief county |
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| assessment officer of each parcel of land covered by an |
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| approved conservation management plan and application. The |
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| chief county assessment officer shall determine the valuation |
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| of the land as otherwise permitted by law and as required under |
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| Section 10-420 of this Division, and shall list them |
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| separately. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-430 new) |
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| Sec. 10-430. Withdrawal from special valuation. |
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| (a) If any of the following events occur, then the |
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| Department of Natural Resources shall withdraw all or a portion |
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| of the land from special valuation: |
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| (1) the Department of Natural Resources determines, |
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| based on field inspections or from any other reasonable |
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| evidence, that the land no longer meets the criteria under |
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| this Division; or |
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| (2) the failure of the taxpayer to respond to a request |
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| from the Department of Natural Resources or the chief |
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| county assessment officer of each county in which the |
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| property is located for data regarding the use of the land |
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| or other similar information pertinent to the continued |
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| special valuation of the land. |
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| (b) A determination by the Department of Natural Resources |
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| to withdraw land from the special valuation under this Act is |
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| effective on the following January 1 of the assessment year in |
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| which the withdrawal occurred. |
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| (c) The Department of Natural Resources shall notify the |
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| chief county assessment officer and the Department in writing |
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| of any land withdrawn from special valuation. Upon withdrawal, |
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| additional taxes must be calculated as provided in Section |
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| 10-445. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-435 new) |
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| Sec. 10-435. Recapture. |
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| (a) If, in any taxable year that the taxpayer receives a |
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| special valuation under Section 10-470, the taxpayer does not |
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| comply with the conservation management plan, then the taxpayer |
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| shall, by the following September 1, pay to the county |
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| treasurer the difference between: (i) the taxes paid for that |
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| year and; (ii) what the taxes for that year would have been |
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| based on a valuation otherwise permitted by law. |
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| (b) If the amount under subsection (a) is not paid by the |
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| following September 1, then that amount is considered to be |
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| delinquent property taxes. |
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| (c) If a taxpayer who currently owns land in (i) a forestry |
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| management plan under Section 10-150 or (ii) land registered or |
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| encumbered by conservation rights under Section 10-166 that |
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| would qualify for the tax assessment under this Division, then |
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| the taxpayer may apply for reassessment under this Division and |
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| shall not be penalized for doing so. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-440 new) |
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| Sec. 10-440. Sale or transfer of unimproved land. The sale |
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| or transfer of unimproved land does not affect the valuation of |
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| the land, unless there is a change in the use of the land or the |
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| acreage requirement is no longer met. Any tract of land |
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| containing less than 5 acres after a sale or transfer may be |
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| reclassified by the chief county assessment officer and valued |
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| as otherwise permitted by law.
The taxpayer and the Department |
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| of Natural Resources may revise a conservation management plan |
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| whenever there is a change in the ownership of the affected |
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| land. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-443 new)
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| Sec. 10-443. Assessment of wooded land. |
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| (a) Beginning with the 2007 assessment year, except in Cook |
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| County, wooded land that is owned by the taxpayer on October 1, |
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| 2007 must be assessed at the same level as its 2006 assessment |
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| level. |
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| (b) For the purpose of this Section, "wooded land" means |
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| any parcel of unimproved real property that: |
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| (1) does not qualify as cropland, permanent pasture, |
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| other farmland, or wasteland under Section 10-125; |
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| (2) is not managed under a forestry management plan and |
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| considered to be other farmland under Section 10-150; and |
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| (3) is not managed land under this Division. |
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| (c) The assessment of the wooded land under this Section |
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| continues until any assessment year in which the taxpayer sells |
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| or otherwise transfers the wooded land.
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-445 new) |
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| Sec. 10-445. Rules. The Department of Natural Resources may |
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| adopt rules to implement and administer this Act.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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