Full Text of HB5237 103rd General Assembly
HB5237 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 HB5237 Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Tony M. McCombie SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 225 ILCS 735/11 | from Ch. 111, par. 711 | 225 ILCS 735/9a rep. | | 525 ILCS 15/5 | from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 9105 | 525 ILCS 15/7 | from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 9107 |
| Amends the Timber Buyers Licensing Act. Repeals provisions that require a person buying timber from a timber grower to deduct from the payment to the timber grower an amount which equals 4% of the purchase price or 4% of the minimum fair market value and forward such amount to the Department of Natural Resources. Repeals provisions that require a timber grower who utilizes timber produced on land the timber grower owns or operates for sawing into lumber, processing, or resale to pay to the Department an amount equal to 4% of the minimum fair market value of the timber utilized during a period. Makes conforming changes. |
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 1. The Timber Buyers Licensing Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 11 as follows: | 6 | | (225 ILCS 735/11) (from Ch. 111, par. 711) | 7 | | Sec. 11. Penalties and fines. All fines and penalties | 8 | | associated with violations of this Act or administrative rules | 9 | | thereunder, except as otherwise provided in this Act, are | 10 | | payable 50% to the Department's Conservation Police Operations | 11 | | Assistance Fund and 50% to the Department's Illinois Forestry | 12 | | Development Fund. | 13 | | (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Act any person in | 14 | | violation of any of the provisions of this Act, or | 15 | | administrative rules thereunder, shall be guilty of a Class A | 16 | | misdemeanor. | 17 | | (a-5) Any person convicted of violating Section 3 of this | 18 | | Act shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and fined at least | 19 | | $500 for a first offense and guilty of a Class 4 felony and | 20 | | fined at least $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense. | 21 | | (a-10) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of | 22 | | Section 5 is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if the aggregate | 23 | | value of the timber cut, caused to be cut, or appropriated is |
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| 1 | | equal to or less than $500. | 2 | | (a-15) (Blank). Any person convicted of violating | 3 | | subsection (a) or (c) of Section 9a is guilty of a Class A | 4 | | misdemeanor if the aggregate value of the amount due to the | 5 | | Department is equal to or less than $500. | 6 | | (b) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of | 7 | | Section 5 of this Act is guilty of a Class 4 felony if the | 8 | | aggregate value of the timber cut, caused to be cut or | 9 | | appropriated is over $500 but not more than $2,500. | 10 | | (b-2) (Blank). Any person convicted of violating | 11 | | subsection (a) or (c) of Section 9a is guilty of a Class 4 | 12 | | felony if the aggregate value of the amount due to the | 13 | | Department is over $500 but not more than $2,500. | 14 | | (b-5) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of | 15 | | Section 5 of this Act is guilty of a Class 3 felony if the | 16 | | aggregate value of the timber cut, caused to be cut, or | 17 | | appropriated is over $2,500 but not more than $10,000. | 18 | | (b-7) (Blank). Any person convicted of violating | 19 | | subsection (a) or (c) of Section 9a is guilty of a Class 3 | 20 | | felony if the aggregate value of the amount due to the | 21 | | Department is over $2,500 but not more than $10,000. | 22 | | (b-10) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of | 23 | | Section 5 of this Act is guilty of a Class 2 felony if the | 24 | | aggregate value of the timber cut, caused to be cut, or | 25 | | appropriated is over $10,000. | 26 | | (b-12) (Blank). Any person convicted of violating |
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| 1 | | subsection (a) or (c) of Section 9a is guilty of a Class 2 | 2 | | felony if the aggregate value of the amount due to the | 3 | | Department is over $10,000. | 4 | | (b-15) The aggregate value of the timber cut, caused to be | 5 | | cut, or appropriated shall be determined as provided by | 6 | | administrative rule. | 7 | | (c) A person convicted of violating subsection (b) of | 8 | | Section 5 of this Act is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. A | 9 | | person convicted of a second or subsequent violation is guilty | 10 | | of a Class 4 felony. | 11 | | (c-5) A person convicted of violating subsection (c) of | 12 | | Section 5 is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. | 13 | | (c-10) A person convicted of violating subsection (d) of | 14 | | Section 5 is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and shall be | 15 | | assessed a fine of not less than $1,000. A person convicted of | 16 | | a second or subsequent violation is guilty of a Class 4 felony | 17 | | and shall be assessed a fine of not less than $2,000. | 18 | | (c-15) A person convicted of violating subsection (f) of | 19 | | Section 5 is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. | 20 | | (c-20) A person convicted of violating subsection (g) of | 21 | | Section 5 is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. | 22 | | (d) All penalties issued pursuant to subsections (e) and | 23 | | (f) shall be deposited in the Illinois Forestry Development | 24 | | Fund for the purposes of the Illinois Forestry Development | 25 | | Act. | 26 | | (e) (Blank). Failure to pay any purchase harvest fee |
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| 1 | | required under Section 9a of this Act on the date as required | 2 | | by regulation of the Department, there shall be added as a | 3 | | penalty an amount equal to 7.5% of the harvest fee due the | 4 | | Department for each month or fraction thereof during which | 5 | | such failure continues, not to exceed 37.5% in the aggregate. | 6 | | This penalty shall be in addition to any other penalty | 7 | | determined under this Act or by the circuit court. | 8 | | (f) (Blank). A person convicted of violating subsection | 9 | | (b) or (d) of Section 9a shall be guilty of a Class C | 10 | | misdemeanor and shall be assessed a penalty in the amount of | 11 | | $25, which shall be added to the amount due the Department for | 12 | | each individual report. A second or subsequent offense within | 13 | | a 3-year period after the date of the first offense is a Class | 14 | | A misdemeanor. | 15 | | (g) All fines required in this Section shall be in | 16 | | addition to any other penalty authorized under this Act, the | 17 | | Unified Code of Corrections, or imposed by the circuit court. | 18 | | (h) Any person who knowingly or intentionally violates any | 19 | | of the provisions of this Act, or administrative rules | 20 | | thereunder, when the person's license has been revoked or | 21 | | denied or the person's ability to engage in the activity | 22 | | requiring the license has been suspended under Section 13 is | 23 | | guilty of: | 24 | | (1) a Class 4 felony if the underlying offense that | 25 | | was committed during a period of revocation or suspension | 26 | | is a misdemeanor; or |
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| 1 | | (2) one classification higher if the underlying | 2 | | offense that was committed during a period of revocation | 3 | | or suspension is a felony. | 4 | | (Source: P.A. 103-218, eff. 1-1-24 .) | 5 | | (225 ILCS 735/9a rep.) | 6 | | Section 5. The Timber Buyers Licensing Act is amended by | 7 | | repealing Section 9a. | 8 | | Section 10. The Illinois Forestry Development Act is | 9 | | amended by changing Sections 5 and 7 as follows: | 10 | | (525 ILCS 15/5) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 9105) | 11 | | Sec. 5. A forest development cost share program is created | 12 | | and shall be administered by the Department of Natural | 13 | | Resources. | 14 | | A timber grower who desires to participate in the cost | 15 | | share program shall devise a forest management plan. To be | 16 | | eligible to submit a proposed forest management plan, a timber | 17 | | grower must own or operate at least 10 contiguous acres of land | 18 | | in this State on which timber is produced, except that, no acre | 19 | | on which a permanent building is located shall be included in | 20 | | calculations of acreage for the purpose of determining | 21 | | eligibility. Timber growers with Department approved forest | 22 | | management plans covering less than 10 acres in effect on or | 23 | | before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th |
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| 1 | | General Assembly shall continue to be eligible under the | 2 | | Illinois Forestry Development Act provisions. The proposed | 3 | | forest management plan shall include a description of the land | 4 | | to be managed under the plan, a description of the types of | 5 | | timber to be grown, a projected harvest schedule, a | 6 | | description of forest management practices to be applied to | 7 | | the land, an estimation of the cost of such practices, plans | 8 | | for afforestation, plans for regenerative harvest and | 9 | | reforestation, and a description of soil and water | 10 | | conservation goals and wildlife habitat enhancement which will | 11 | | be served by implementation of the forest management plan. | 12 | | Upon receipt from a timber grower of a draft forest | 13 | | management plan, the Department shall review the plan and, if | 14 | | necessary, assist the timber grower to revise the plan. The | 15 | | Department shall officially approve acceptable plans. Forest | 16 | | management plans shall be revised as necessary and all | 17 | | revisions must be approved by the Department. A plan shall be | 18 | | evaluated every 2 years for reapproval. | 19 | | The eligible land shall be maintained in a forest | 20 | | condition for a period of 10 years or until commercial | 21 | | harvest, whichever last occurs, as required by the plan. | 22 | | The Department shall enter into agreements with timber | 23 | | growers with approved forest management plans under which the | 24 | | Department shall agree to pay a share of the total cost of | 25 | | acceptable forest management plans and practices implemented | 26 | | under the plan. The cost share amount is up to 80% of the total |
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| 1 | | cost of the forest management practices for such practices | 2 | | approved to be funded from monies appropriated for this | 3 | | purpose for subsequent fiscal years. Cost share funds shall be | 4 | | paid from monies appropriated to the Department by the General | 5 | | Assembly for that purpose from the Illinois Forestry | 6 | | Development Fund or any other fund in the State Treasury. | 7 | | The Department, upon recommendations made to it by the | 8 | | Council, may provide for the categorization of forest | 9 | | management practices and determine an appropriate cost share | 10 | | percentage for each such category. Forest management practices | 11 | | submitted by timber growers on whose timber sales fees of 4% of | 12 | | the sale amount were paid as provided in Section 9a of the | 13 | | " Timber Buyers Licensing Act before the effective date of this | 14 | | amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly ", approved | 15 | | September 1, 1969, may be accorded a priority for approval | 16 | | within the assigned category. Such timber growers may receive | 17 | | a cost share amount which is increased above the amount for | 18 | | which they would otherwise qualify by an amount equal to the | 19 | | fees paid by the timber grower on sales occurring in the 2 | 20 | | fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year in which | 21 | | the forest management practices are approved and funded; | 22 | | provided, however, that the total cost share amount shall not | 23 | | exceed the total cost of the approved forest management | 24 | | practices. | 25 | | Upon transfer of his or her right and interest in the land | 26 | | or a change in land use, the timber grower shall forfeit all |
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| 1 | | rights to future payments and other benefits resulting from an | 2 | | approved plan and shall refund to the Department all payments | 3 | | received therefrom during the previous 10 years unless the | 4 | | transferee of any such land agrees with the Department to | 5 | | assume all obligations under the plan. | 6 | | (Source: P.A. 96-217, eff. 8-10-09; 96-545, eff. 8-17-09.) | 7 | | (525 ILCS 15/7) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 9107) | 8 | | Sec. 7. The Illinois Forestry Development Fund, a special | 9 | | fund in the State Treasury, is hereby created. The Department | 10 | | of Natural Resources shall pay into the Fund all fees and fines | 11 | | collected from timber buyers and landowners and operators | 12 | | pursuant to the " Timber Buyers Licensing Act " , and the " Forest | 13 | | Products Transportation Act " , all gifts, contributions, | 14 | | bequests, grants, donations, transfers, appropriations and all | 15 | | other revenues and receipts resulting from forestry programs, | 16 | | forest product sales, and operations of facilities not | 17 | | otherwise directed by State law and shall, except for the | 18 | | additional moneys deposited under Section 805-550 of the | 19 | | Department of Natural Resources (Conservation) Law of the | 20 | | Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, pay such moneys | 21 | | appropriated from the Fund to timber growers for | 22 | | implementation of acceptable forest management practices as | 23 | | provided in Section 5 of this Act. Moneys may be appropriated | 24 | | from the Fund for the expenses of the Illinois Forestry | 25 | | Development Council. Ordinary operating expenses of the Forest |
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| 1 | | Resources Division of the Department, for the administration | 2 | | and implementation of this Act, the development and | 3 | | implementation of a wood industry marketing, development and | 4 | | promotions program and other programs beneficial to advancing | 5 | | forests and forestry in this State, as deemed appropriate by | 6 | | the General Assembly, may be appropriated from this fund to | 7 | | the extent such appropriations preserve the receipts to the | 8 | | Fund derived from Section 9a (repealed) of the " Timber Buyers | 9 | | Licensing Act before the effective date of this amendatory Act | 10 | | of the 103rd General Assembly " | | | . | 11 | | (Source: P.A. 96-217, eff. 8-10-09; 96-545, eff. 8-17-09; | 12 | | 96-1160, eff. 1-1-11.) |
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