HB2550eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2550 Engrossed LRB094 10416 LJB 40686 b

AN ACT concerning recreation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section 805-305 as follows:

(20 ILCS 805/805-305) (was 20 ILCS 805/63a23)

Sec. 805-305. Campsites and housing facilities. The Department has the power to provide facilities for overnight tent and trailer camp sites and to provide suitable housing facilities for student and juvenile overnight camping groups. The Department of Natural Resources may regulate, by administrative order, the fees to be charged for tent and trailer camping units at individual park areas based upon the facilities available. However, for campsites with access to showers or electricity, any Illinois resident who is age 62 or older or has a Class 2 disability as defined in Section 4A of the Illinois Identification Card Act shall be charged only one-half of the camping fee charged to the general public during the period Monday through Thursday of any week and shall be charged the same camping fee as the general public on all other days. For campsites without access to showers or electricity, no camping fee authorized by this Section shall be charged to any resident of Illinois who has a Class 2 disability as defined in Section 4A of the Illinois Identification Card Act. For campsites without access to showers or electricity, no camping fee authorized by this Section shall be charged to any resident of Illinois who is age 62 or older for the use of a camp site unit during the period Monday through Thursday of any week. No camping fee authorized by this Section shall be charged to any resident of Illinois who is a disabled veteran or a former prisoner of war, as defined in Section 5 of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. No camping fee authorized by this Section shall be charged to any resident of Illinois after returning from service abroad or mobilization by the President of the United States as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the Reserves of the United States Armed Forces for the amount of time that the active duty member spent in service abroad or mobilized if the person applies for a pass at the Department office in Springfield within 2 years of returning and provides verification of service or mobilization to the Department; any portion of a year that the active duty member spent in service abroad or mobilized shall count as a full year. Nonresidents shall be charged the same fees as are authorized for the general public regardless of age. The Department shall provide by regulation for suitable proof of age, or either a valid driver's license or a "Golden Age Passport" issued by the federal government shall be acceptable as proof of age. The Department shall further provide by regulation that notice of these reduced admission fees be posted in a conspicuous place and manner.

Reduced fees authorized in this Section shall not apply to any charge for utility service.

(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)

Section 10. The Fish and Aquatic Life Code is amended by adding Section 20-47 as follows:

(515 ILCS 5/20-47 new)

Sec. 20-47. Military members returning from mobilization and service outside the United States.

(a) After returning from service abroad or mobilization by the President of the United States as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the Reserves of the United States Armed Forces, an Illinois resident may fish as permitted by this Code without paying any fees required to obtain a fishing license for the time period prescribed by subsection (b) of this Section if the Illinois resident applies for a license within 2 years of returning from service abroad or mobilization. The applicant shall provide verification of service or mobilization to the Department at the Department's office in Springfield.

(b) For each year that an applicant is an active duty member pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, the applicant shall receive one free fishing license. For the purposes of this determination, if the period of active duty is a portion of a year (for example, one year and 3 months), the applicant will be credited with a full year for the portion of a year served.

(c) The Department shall establish what constitutes suitable verification of service or mobilization under subsection (a) of this Section.

Section 15. The Wildlife Code is amended by adding Section 3.1-4 as follows:

(520 ILCS 5/3.1-4 new)

Sec. 3.1-4. Military members returning from mobilization and service outside the United States.

(a) After returning from service abroad or mobilization by the President of the United States as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the Reserves of the United States Armed Forces, an Illinois resident may hunt any of the species protected by Section 2.2 of this Code without paying any fees required to obtain a hunting license for the time period prescribed by subsection (b) of this Section if the Illinois resident applies for a license within 2 years of returning from service abroad or mobilization. The applicant shall provide verification of service or mobilization to the Department at the Department's office in Springfield.

(b) For each year that an applicant is an active duty member pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, the applicant shall receive one free hunting license, one free Deer Hunting Permit as provided in Section 2.26 of this Code and rules adopted pursuant to that Section, and one free State Habitat Stamp. For the purposes of this determination, if the period of active duty is a portion of a year (for example, one year and 3 months), the applicant will be credited with a full year for the portion of a year served.

(c) The Department shall establish what constitutes suitable verification of service or mobilization under subsection (a) of this Section.

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