Full Text of HB5201 102nd General Assembly
HB5201enr 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Agriculture Equity Commission Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Agriculture Equity Commission.
| 7 | | (a) There is hereby established the Agriculture Equity | 8 | | Commission to ensure equity in the State's top job producing | 9 | | industry by recognizing the loss to African American farmers | 10 | | and growers and the difficulties other minorities have faced | 11 | | in the agriculture industry and the effect those difficulties | 12 | | have on the food system, health, and economy of vulnerable | 13 | | communities.
| 14 | | (b) To the extent practicable, the Commission shall | 15 | | reflect representation of socially disadvantaged communities, | 16 | | businesses, and farmers, and include academics, policy | 17 | | experts, and legislators who are experienced in agriculture | 18 | | and related matters.
| 19 | | (c) The Commission shall consist of the following members:
| 20 | | (1) eight members appointed one each by the Governor, | 21 | | Speaker of the House of Representatives, Minority Leader | 22 | | of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, | 23 | | Minority Leader of the Senate, the House of |
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| 1 | | Representatives Agriculture Chair, the Black Caucus Joint | 2 | | Chair, and the Latino Caucus Chair;
| 3 | | (2) one member of the Latino Caucus;
| 4 | | (3) one member of the Black Caucus;
| 5 | | (4) the Director of Agriculture, or his or her | 6 | | designee;
| 7 | | (5) the Director of Public Health, or his or her | 8 | | designee;
| 9 | | (6) a representative of an agribusiness or small | 10 | | farmer private enterprise, appointed by the Governor; | 11 | | (7) two representatives of nonprofit community based | 12 | | organizations located in a disproportionately impacted | 13 | | area or food desert whose primary mission is helping | 14 | | minorities in the agriculture field and increasing healthy | 15 | | food access, appointed by the Governor; | 16 | | (8) one representative of a nonprofit statewide | 17 | | organization dedicated to policy to improve the conditions | 18 | | for socially disadvantaged farmers, appointed by the | 19 | | Governor; | 20 | | (9) one representative of a nonprofit organization | 21 | | whose primary mission is environmental justice and | 22 | | increasing healthy food access for minority populations, | 23 | | appointed by the Governor; | 24 | | (10) six socially disadvantaged farmers or | 25 | | agribusiness owners from various areas of the State, | 26 | | including minority-owned businesses, women-owned |
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| 1 | | businesses, and businesses owned by persons with a | 2 | | disability, appointed by the Governor; | 3 | | (11) one person with a background and work experience | 4 | | in journalism, public relations community outreach, and | 5 | | agriculture, appointed by the Governor; | 6 | | (12) one representative of a nonprofit organization | 7 | | that trains new farmers through apprenticeship programs | 8 | | and increases healthy food access, appointed by the | 9 | | Governor; | 10 | | (13) one attorney or legal expert in property law, | 11 | | appointed by the Governor; | 12 | | (14) one representative of a Fortune 500 agribusiness | 13 | | or a business with a significant presence in agriculture | 14 | | that is headquartered or has offices in the State of | 15 | | Illinois, appointed by the Governor; | 16 | | (15) one representative of an organization dedicated | 17 | | to economic and business development for minorities; and | 18 | | (16) one agriculture teacher or instructor, or a | 19 | | person from an organization dedicated to agricultural | 20 | | education for minorities and underserved communities, | 21 | | appointed by the Governor. | 22 | | (d) Members of the Commission shall serve without | 23 | | compensation for the duration of the Commission.
| 24 | | (e) In the event of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled | 25 | | in the same manner as the original appointment or as otherwise | 26 | | provided under this Section.
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| 1 | | (f) The Commission shall convene within 60 days after the | 2 | | effective date of this Act. At the initial meeting of the | 3 | | Commission, the Commission shall elect a chair from among its | 4 | | members. The Commission shall meet on a quarterly basis, or | 5 | | more often if necessary.
| 6 | | (g) The Department of Agriculture shall provide | 7 | | administrative and other support to the Commission.
| 8 | | Section 10. Duties of the Commission. The Agriculture | 9 | | Equity Commission shall have the following duties:
| 10 | | (1) To study and provide recommendations concerning | 11 | | equity for and participation of socially disadvantaged | 12 | | farmers and growers in the agriculture sector in Illinois.
| 13 | | (2) To study and provide recommendations concerning | 14 | | all forms of agriculture, including, but not limited to, | 15 | | corn and soy, small farms, specialty crops, livestock, | 16 | | urban farming, indoor farming, cannabis, and hemp.
| 17 | | (3) To provide recommendations for policies and | 18 | | programs in several main areas in which the Commission can | 19 | | address through workgroups, including, but not limited to, | 20 | | the following: (i) access to secure land tenure; (ii) | 21 | | access to capital and financial planning; (iii) access to | 22 | | education and training; (iv) access to resources, | 23 | | infrastructure, and business planning; and (v) market | 24 | | access and diversification.
| 25 | | (4) To help guide plans and policies in Illinois |
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| 1 | | agriculture industries, including, but not limited to, the | 2 | | following: (i) increasing outreach to socially | 3 | | disadvantaged farmers and growers; (ii) working with the | 4 | | Department of Agriculture to analyze and propose | 5 | | legislative policy solutions and on the ground projects; | 6 | | and (iii) reviewing disparity studies and suggesting new | 7 | | areas of study or data collection.
| 8 | | (5) To develop an annual plan of education events, | 9 | | meetings, and trainings for all sectors of socially | 10 | | disadvantaged farmers and growers.
| 11 | | Section 15. Report. The Agriculture Equity Commission | 12 | | shall annually report to the Governor and the General Assembly | 13 | | on its findings, recommendations, and other relevant matters | 14 | | concerning and based upon its duties as prescribed under | 15 | | Section 10.
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