Full Text of HB4725 99th General Assembly
HB4725ham001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Thomas M. Bennett Filed: 4/4/2016
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4725
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4725 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Land | 5 | | Conservation and Stewardship Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Legislative findings and statement of public | 7 | | policy. | 8 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that: | 9 | | (1) Lands and waters held in the public trust by | 10 | | non-governmental conservation land trusts contribute to | 11 | | the general public good, health, prosperity, and welfare of | 12 | | the State and its citizenry. It is therefore appropriate | 13 | | for State government to promote and assist conservation | 14 | | land trusts to secure, steward, and defend for the people | 15 | | of the present and future generations the benefits of land | 16 | | conservation, including flood protection, improved water |
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| 1 | | and air quality, erosion control, wildlife habitat, carbon | 2 | | sequestration, wildlife migration corridors, and outdoor | 3 | | recreation. | 4 | | (2) Lands acquired for these purposes require | 5 | | perpetual stewardship and defense actions to fully protect | 6 | | them. Stewardship and defense needs often exceed the | 7 | | capacity of conservation land trusts to provide the proper | 8 | | level of these actions to meet the ever increasing | 9 | | pressures exerted on conservation lands, including climate | 10 | | change, pollution, encroachment by invasive and exotic | 11 | | species, and criminal trespass. | 12 | | (3) The State's natural resource agencies and | 13 | | conservation land trusts are natural partners in the | 14 | | implementation of the Illinois State Wildlife Action Plan | 15 | | and the management and defense of lands identified on the | 16 | | Illinois Natural Areas Inventory. This Act is intended to | 17 | | foster local support and execution of statewide | 18 | | conservation goals and priorities by streamlining the | 19 | | process of acquisition, stewardship, and defense of | 20 | | conservation lands. This Act is intended to enable the | 21 | | Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Nature Preserves | 22 | | Commission, and conservation land trusts to work | 23 | | collaboratively on a scale and breadth that cannot be | 24 | | otherwise achieved. | 25 | | (b) It is the purpose of this Act to: | 26 | | (1) provide cost share grants to conservation land |
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| 1 | | trusts to acquire, steward, and defend undeveloped lands | 2 | | that help implement the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan by | 3 | | creating an interconnected system of natural areas such as | 4 | | those listed on the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory or | 5 | | other science-based State or county inventories, and | 6 | | including other lands that connect them; and | 7 | | (2) preserve and enhance natural, buffer lands, or | 8 | | other conservation values of real property, assuring its | 9 | | availability for maintaining or enhancing natural flood | 10 | | protection capacity, water and air quality, erosion | 11 | | control, wildlife habitat, travel and migration corridors, | 12 | | carbon sequestration, or preserving the natural aspects of | 13 | | real property, and to provide outdoor recreation | 14 | | opportunities for citizens of this State now and in the | 15 | | future. | 16 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 17 | | "Applicant" means a conservation land trust that files an | 18 | | application for a grant under this Act. | 19 | | "Commission" means the Illinois Nature Preserves | 20 | | Commission as defined under the Illinois Natural Areas | 21 | | Preservation Act. | 22 | | "Director" means the Director of Natural Resources. | 23 | | "Conservation easement" means a conservation right, as | 24 | | defined in the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, or | 25 | | dedication as a nature preserve or nature preserve buffer under |
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| 1 | | the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act. | 2 | | "Conservation land trust" means an entity exempt from | 3 | | taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code | 4 | | whose purposes include the conservation of land, natural areas, | 5 | | open space, or water areas, for the preservation of native | 6 | | plants or animals, biotic communities, geologic formations, or | 7 | | archeological sites. | 8 | | "Conservation value" means the physical features or | 9 | | geographic characteristics present that demonstrate the land | 10 | | will help implement the Wildlife Action plan or help conserve | 11 | | sites listed on the INAI or other science based State or county | 12 | | inventories and the other lands that connect them. | 13 | | "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources. | 14 | | "Fines and settlements" means natural resource fines, | 15 | | either State or federal, and out of court settlements for | 16 | | environmental damages. | 17 | | "Grant application" means a grant application for the | 18 | | acquisition, stewardship, and defense of lands acquired under | 19 | | this Act by conservation land trusts. | 20 | | "Nature preserve" has the meaning as it is defined in the | 21 | | Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act. | 22 | | "Illinois Land Conservation and Stewardship Grant Program" | 23 | | means a program established under Section 20 of this Act. | 24 | | "INAI" means Illinois Natural Areas Inventory. | 25 | | "Incidental take authorizations" means funds received for | 26 | | authorized taking of endangered or threatened species under the |
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| 1 | | Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act. | 2 | | "IRS" means federal Internal Revenue Service. | 3 | | "IWAP" means Illinois Wildlife Action Plan. | 4 | | "Land" means real property and ownership rights applying to | 5 | | it and includes water and the land thereunder, structures, and | 6 | | improvements. | 7 | | "LOI" means letter of inquiry. | 8 | | "Management plan" means a written, management schedule, | 9 | | developed for the preservation, protection, development, | 10 | | management, and use of lands purchased under this Act and | 11 | | approved by the landowner and the Department. | 12 | | "NAAF" means Natural Areas Acquisition Fund. | 13 | | "NHEF" means Natural Heritage Endowment Trust Fund. | 14 | | "NRDA" means Natural Resource Damages Assessment. | 15 | | "OLT" means Open Lands Trust Program under the Illinois | 16 | | Open Land Trust Act. | 17 | | "Project proposal" means a proposal for the acquisition, | 18 | | stewardship, and defense of lands acquired under this Act by | 19 | | conservation land trusts. | 20 | | "Protection grant" means a grant from the Department to a | 21 | | conservation land trust for the purpose of acquiring land by | 22 | | fee simple acquisition or acquiring the development or | 23 | | protection rights via permanent conservation easement to | 24 | | steward and protect these lands in perpetuity for the purposes | 25 | | of this Act. | 26 | | "Stewardship grant" means a grant from the Department to a |
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| 1 | | conservation land trust for the purpose of managing | 2 | | conservation land held by the trust to steward and protect the | 3 | | lands as prescribed in the approved management plan and in | 4 | | perpetuity for the purposes of this Act. | 5 | | Section 15. Powers, duties, and authorizations. The | 6 | | Department may: | 7 | | (1) Make grants in accordance with Section 20 of this | 8 | | Act from NAAF, under OLT, and other appropriated funds to | 9 | | conservation land trusts to acquire and steward real | 10 | | property, including land such as those listed on the INAI | 11 | | or other science-based State or county inventories, and | 12 | | including other lands that connect them to provide fish and | 13 | | wildlife corridors and outdoor recreation. | 14 | | (2) Establish the total amount of funds available for | 15 | | annual grants with review and approval by the Commission at | 16 | | one of their regularly established meetings. The total | 17 | | amount available for annual grants shall not exceed 20% of | 18 | | the NAAF fund balance on June 30 of the previous fiscal | 19 | | year and shall not result in adverse impacts on the | 20 | | operations of Department or the Commission. | 21 | | (3) Accept State and federal appropriations, transfers | 22 | | of unused balances from other State funds, grants, NRDA | 23 | | damage assessments, natural resource fines and | 24 | | settlements, compensation related to incidental take | 25 | | authorizations, transfers or appropriations from the |
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| 1 | | federal government or the State, or any agency, or | 2 | | donations from any corporation, foundation, | 3 | | non-governmental agency, individual, or instrumentality | 4 | | thereof, for the purposes of executing this Act and these | 5 | | funds are to be deposited into the NAAF. | 6 | | (4) Transfer the balance in the Natural Heritage | 7 | | Endowment Trust Fund into the NAAF to be used for | 8 | | stewardship grants and close out the NHEF. | 9 | | (5) Develop and administer the Illinois Land | 10 | | Conservation and Stewardship Grant program. | 11 | | (6) Adopt rules to effectuate the purposes of this Act. | 12 | | (7) Execute contracts, grant agreements, memoranda of | 13 | | understanding, cooperation agreements, and any other | 14 | | agreements with conservation land trusts and other State | 15 | | and local agencies that are necessary to implement this | 16 | | Act. | 17 | | (8) Monitor compliance with all agreements, grants, | 18 | | contracts, and other instruments developed under this Act | 19 | | and to assure coordination with the IWAP and the INAI. | 20 | | (9) Develop progress reports on the implementation and | 21 | | development of this Act which shall be filed annually with | 22 | | the Governor and the General Assembly. These reports shall | 23 | | include a statement of goals and objectives and | 24 | | quantifiable support documentation as expenditures, | 25 | | allocation of funds by location, and performance and | 26 | | measurement criteria sufficient to enable the General |
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| 1 | | Assembly to properly evaluate and review program | 2 | | effectiveness. | 3 | | Section 20. Illinois Land Conservation and Stewardship | 4 | | Grant Program. | 5 | | (a) The Illinois Land Conservation and Stewardship Grant | 6 | | Program is established to make grants to conservation land | 7 | | trusts for the purpose of acquiring real property, including | 8 | | conservation easements from willing sellers, and to steward and | 9 | | protect these lands in perpetuity for the purposes of this Act. | 10 | | (b) The lands shall be held in fee simple title or placed | 11 | | under permanent conservation easements provided that these | 12 | | mechanisms are all voluntary on the part of the landowners and | 13 | | shall not involve the use of eminent domain. | 14 | | (c) Any conservation land trust in good standing with the | 15 | | IRS may apply for a grant. | 16 | | (d) Any agency, organization, or entity that has taxing | 17 | | powers, collects taxes, or has eminent domain powers is not | 18 | | eligible for a grant under this Act. | 19 | | (e) The Department shall adopt rules in consultation with | 20 | | the Commission for the selection of grant recipients, amount of | 21 | | grant awards, and eligibility requirements to implement the | 22 | | purposes of this Act. However, the rules must include the | 23 | | following requirements: | 24 | | (1) Any protection grant under this Act shall be | 25 | | conditioned upon the State providing assistance not |
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| 1 | | exceeding a 50/50 matching basis for the acquisition of | 2 | | land. | 3 | | A LOI from a qualifying applicant for a protection | 4 | | grant shall be accepted by the Department at any time | 5 | | during the calendar year. The LOI must contain a project | 6 | | description, description of the conservation value of the | 7 | | land, legal description, GPS coordinates, estimated cost, | 8 | | budget, and map and be sent electronically. Within 30 days, | 9 | | the Department shall review the LOI and respond | 10 | | electronically to the land trust indicating if the proposed | 11 | | project fits the grant guidelines. If the project proposal | 12 | | qualifies and funding is available the Department may | 13 | | request a full proposal in the form of a protection grant | 14 | | application from the applicant. | 15 | | Protection grant applications must be submitted | 16 | | electronically within 90 days and contain a narrative | 17 | | description of the project, the legal description of the | 18 | | lands to be acquired or placed under permanent easement, a | 19 | | map, current appraisal showing the fair market value of | 20 | | those lands or the permanent easement to be acquired, a | 21 | | 5-year management schedule, the total project cost, and any | 22 | | other information as the Department may reasonably | 23 | | require. | 24 | | Within 30 days after completing its consideration of a | 25 | | protection grant application, the Department shall notify | 26 | | the applicants of the disposition made of its application. |
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| 1 | | The Department shall, in addition, direct the payment of | 2 | | grant funds to the applicants whose projects have been | 3 | | approved within the limits of the amounts appropriated for | 4 | | grants and the level available established in the process | 5 | | described in paragraph (2) of Section 15 of this Act for | 6 | | that fiscal year. | 7 | | Individual protection grants shall not exceed | 8 | | $1,000,000 to any one grantee per fiscal year. | 9 | | (2) Any stewardship grant under this Act shall require | 10 | | a 20% match but cannot exceed $25,000 to any applicant in | 11 | | any fiscal year. Stewardship grant applications from | 12 | | qualifying conservation land trusts shall be accepted by | 13 | | the Department at any time during the calendar year. | 14 | | Applications must contain a project description, including | 15 | | a description of the conservation value of the land, | 16 | | ownership, budget, map, and timeline for completion and be | 17 | | sent electronically. The Department shall review the | 18 | | application and respond electronically to the land trust | 19 | | indicating whether the proposed project fits the grant | 20 | | guidelines. If the project proposal qualifies and funding | 21 | | is available, the Department may approve the application or | 22 | | request more information from the conservation land trust. | 23 | | Lands included in a stewardship grant that are not already | 24 | | encumbered by a permanent conservation easement approved | 25 | | in writing by the Director or under rules adopted under | 26 | | this Act, shall be so encumbered by a permanent |
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| 1 | | conservation easement, the conditions of which have been | 2 | | approved in writing by the Director or under rules adopted | 3 | | under this Act. | 4 | | (3) Land acquired with grant funds must be accessible | 5 | | to the public for conservation and outdoor recreation | 6 | | purposes as provided in the grant application and agreed to | 7 | | in the management plan approved by the Department and the | 8 | | Commission, unless the Department and the owner agree that | 9 | | public accessibility would be detrimental to the real | 10 | | property or any associated natural resources. | 11 | | (4) No land acquired with grant funds may be sold, | 12 | | leased, exchanged, or transferred to the federal | 13 | | government, the State, a unit of local government or | 14 | | another qualifying conservation land trust without the | 15 | | written approval by the Director and only if the new owner | 16 | | intends to continue the same conservation purposes | 17 | | specified in the grant agreement. If the land is sold to a | 18 | | government agency, then the agency shall be given a cash | 19 | | credit for the purchase equal to the value of the grant | 20 | | funds received, less any documented expenses for acquiring | 21 | | and holding the land until it is transferred to the | 22 | | governmental agency and less the value of any conservation | 23 | | easement held by the Department or Commission. This credit | 24 | | shall be no less than $0. | 25 | | (5) All grantees must agree to encumber the property | 26 | | acquired using the grant funds from this Act with a |
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| 1 | | permanent conservation easement, the conditions of which | 2 | | have been approved in writing by the Director or prescribed | 3 | | in rules adopted under this Act. | 4 | | (6) Grantees must agree to develop a management plan | 5 | | and manage lands in accordance with the terms of the grant. | 6 | | Any changes to the management plan must have written | 7 | | approval by the Department and the Commission if the land | 8 | | is encumbered by a conservation easement held by the | 9 | | Commission. | 10 | | (7) Acquisitions with approved protection grant funds | 11 | | must be completed within 120 days or funds must be returned | 12 | | to the Comptroller unless an extension of time is granted | 13 | | by the Director. | 14 | | Section 25. Priorities. In considering applications for | 15 | | grants under this Act, the Department shall give priority to | 16 | | projects which will provide the greatest benefit to | 17 | | implementing the needs and priorities identified in the IWAP | 18 | | and sites on the INAI. The total amount of grants made for any | 19 | | fiscal year may not exceed the amount of the appropriation for | 20 | | that fiscal year or 20% of the funds in the NAAF on June 30 of | 21 | | the previous fiscal year. | 22 | | Section 30. Injunctions. The Attorney General or the | 23 | | State's Attorney of the county where a project is located, may, | 24 | | upon his or her own motion or upon request of the Department, |
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| 1 | | Commission, or the public, institute a civil action for an | 2 | | injunction or other appropriate legal action to restrain | 3 | | violations of this Act or its rules. In this proceeding, the | 4 | | court shall determine whether a violation has been committed | 5 | | and shall enter orders as it considers necessary to remove the | 6 | | effects of any violation and to prevent the violation from | 7 | | continuing or from being renewed in the future. | 8 | | Section 35. Violations. Any person, agency, or | 9 | | organization that willfully violates this Act or its rules, or | 10 | | causes a violation by their employee or agent, shall be liable | 11 | | for a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, | 12 | | and the penalty shall be recovered in an action brought by the | 13 | | Attorney General or the State's Attorney in the circuit court. | 14 | | All penalties shall be deposited in the NAAF. | 15 | | Section 40. Administrative Review Law. All final | 16 | | administrative decisions under this Act are subject to judicial | 17 | | review under the Administrative Review Law and its rules. | 18 | | "Administrative decision" means the term as defined in Section | 19 | | 3-101 of the Administrative Review Law. | 20 | | Section 45. Exceptions. Conservation land trusts are | 21 | | exempt from any Department charges, costs, and expenses, | 22 | | including, without limitation, any application fees, | 23 | | commitment fees, or program fees, in connection with its |
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| 1 | | activities under this Act. | 2 | | Section 50. Fund depository. All funds, assessments, | 3 | | fines, settlements, compensations, transfers, appropriations, | 4 | | penalties, and donations made under this Act shall be deposited | 5 | | into the NAAF and subject to the limitations described in | 6 | | paragraph (2) of Section 15 of this Act. | 7 | | Section 55. Due diligence. With appropriations from NAAF, | 8 | | the Department shall make grants to conservation land trusts as | 9 | | financial assistance for the acquisition, stewardship, and | 10 | | defense of natural areas, including acquisition of | 11 | | conservation easements and other property interests less than | 12 | | fee simple ownership if the Department and the Commission | 13 | | determine that the property interests are sufficient to carry | 14 | | out the purposes of this Act, subject to the purposes, | 15 | | conditions, and limitations set forth in this Act.
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 | | becoming law.".
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