Full Text of HB4857 103rd General Assembly
HB4857 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 HB4857 Introduced 2/7/2024, by Rep. Sonya M. Harper SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | | Creates the Distressed Farmers Act. Provides that the Department of Agriculture shall fund and administer programs to address the needs of distressed farmers. Provides for a tax credit for distressed farmers. Amends The Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, each taxpayer who is a distressed farmer and who incurs qualified farming expenses during the taxable year is entitled to a tax credit in an amount equal to 100% of those qualified farming expenses, not to exceed $50,000 per taxpayer in any taxable year. Provides that qualified farming expenses include: (1) repairing tractors, trailers, and other vehicles; (2) purchasing, repairing, or constructing greenhouses and other covers for agricultural products; (3) purchasing tractors with tillers and other attachments; and (4) planting or harvesting food that will be delivered to an underserved community. |
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning agriculture. | 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 | | Distressed Farmers Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As defined in this Act: | 7 | | "Department" refers to the Department of Agriculture. | 8 | | "Distressed farmer" means a farmer or an individual | 9 | | principally responsible for farming leased land with fewer | 10 | | than 75 acres of land and $500,000 per year in gross revenue or | 11 | | a farmer who has been denied a Farm Service Agency number | 12 | | despite 5 or more years of farming. | 13 | | Section 10. General provisions. Subject to the | 14 | | appropriation, the Department shall administer and provide | 15 | | funding for the following: | 16 | | (1) up to $5,000,000 for paid, year-long apprenticeships | 17 | | for individuals seeking to work in a direct or support | 18 | | capacity of a distressed farmer; | 19 | | (2) up to $5,000,000 for distressed farmers specifically | 20 | | in need of wells; and | 21 | | (3) up to $10,000,000 for distressed farmers in need of, | 22 | | but not limited to, the following expenses: |
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| 1 | | (A) repairing tractors, greenhouses, and reefer trucks | 2 | | and other trucks; | 3 | | (B) building greenhouses and other covers; and | 4 | | (C) purchasing tractors with tillers and other | 5 | | attachments. | 6 | | Section 90. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by | 7 | | adding Section 241 as follows: | 8 | | (35 ILCS 5/241 new) | 9 | | Sec. 241. Distressed farmer credit. | 10 | | (a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, | 11 | | 2025, each taxpayer who is a distressed farmer and who incurs | 12 | | qualified farming expenses during the taxable year is entitled | 13 | | to a credit against the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b) | 14 | | of Section 201 in an amount equal to 100% of those qualified | 15 | | farming expenses, not to exceed $50,000 per taxpayer in any | 16 | | taxable year. | 17 | | (b) In no event shall a credit under this Section reduce a | 18 | | taxpayer's liability to less than zero. If the amount of | 19 | | credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the excess may | 20 | | be carried forward and applied to the tax liability for the 5 | 21 | | taxable years following the excess credit year. The tax credit | 22 | | shall be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax | 23 | | liability. If there are credits for more than one year that are | 24 | | available to offset liability, the earlier credit shall be |
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| 1 | | applied first. | 2 | | (c) As used in this Section: | 3 | | "Distressed farmer" has the meaning given to that term in | 4 | | Section 10 of the Distressed Farmers Act. | 5 | | "Grocery store" means a business that is authorized by the | 6 | | Department of Human Services to participate in the Women, | 7 | | Infants and Children Nutrition program and is primarily | 8 | | engaged in retailing a general line of food, such as canned and | 9 | | frozen foods; fresh fruits and vegetables; and fresh and | 10 | | prepared meats, fish, and poultry. | 11 | | "Qualified farming expense" means an expense related to: | 12 | | (1) repairing tractors, trailers, and other vehicles; | 13 | | (2) purchasing, repairing, or constructing greenhouses | 14 | | and other covers for agricultural products; | 15 | | (3) purchasing tractors with tillers and other | 16 | | attachments; and | 17 | | (4) planting or harvesting food that will be delivered | 18 | | to an underserved community. | 19 | | "Underserved community" means a census tract in the State | 20 | | in which: | 21 | | (1) at least one of the following conditions applies: | 22 | | (A) 20% or more of the households are at or below | 23 | | the federal poverty level, according to the poverty | 24 | | guidelines updated periodically in the Federal | 25 | | Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human | 26 | | Services; or |
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| 1 | | (B) the median family income is at or below 80% of | 2 | | the area median family income, as reported in the most | 3 | | recent American Community Survey (ACS) published by | 4 | | the United States Bureau of the Census; and | 5 | | (2) in the case of a census tract located in a | 6 | | Metropolitan Statistical Area, at least 33% of the census | 7 | | tract's population lives more than one mile from a grocery | 8 | | store or, in the case of a census tract located outside of | 9 | | a Metropolitan Statistical Area, at least 33% of the | 10 | | census tract's population lives more than 10 miles from a | 11 | | grocery store. |
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