Full Text of SB1701 103rd General Assembly
SB1701eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning local government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 6z-32 as follows:
| 6 | | (30 ILCS 105/6z-32)
| 7 | | Sec. 6z-32. Partners for Planning and Conservation.
| 8 | | (a) The Partners for Conservation Fund (formerly known as | 9 | | the Conservation 2000 Fund) and the Partners for
Conservation | 10 | | Projects Fund (formerly known as the Conservation 2000 | 11 | | Projects Fund) are
created as special funds in the State | 12 | | Treasury. These funds
shall be used to establish a | 13 | | comprehensive program to protect Illinois' natural
resources | 14 | | through cooperative partnerships between State government and | 15 | | public
and private landowners. Moneys in these Funds may be
| 16 | | used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Natural | 17 | | Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, and the
Department | 18 | | of Agriculture for purposes relating to natural resource | 19 | | protection,
planning, recreation, tourism, climate resilience, | 20 | | and compatible agricultural and economic development
| 21 | | activities. Without limiting these general purposes, moneys in | 22 | | these Funds may
be used, subject to appropriation, for the | 23 | | following specific purposes:
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| 1 | | (1) To foster sustainable agriculture practices and | 2 | | control soil erosion,
sedimentation, and nutrient loss | 3 | | from farmland, including grants to Soil and Water | 4 | | Conservation Districts
for conservation practice | 5 | | cost-share grants and for personnel, educational, and
| 6 | | administrative expenses.
| 7 | | (2) To establish and protect a system of ecosystems in | 8 | | public and private
ownership through conservation | 9 | | easements, incentives to public and private
landowners, | 10 | | natural resource restoration and preservation, water | 11 | | quality protection and improvement, land use and watershed | 12 | | planning, technical assistance and grants, and
land | 13 | | acquisition provided these mechanisms are all voluntary on | 14 | | the part of the
landowner and do not involve the use of | 15 | | eminent domain.
| 16 | | (3) To develop a systematic and long-term program to | 17 | | effectively measure
and monitor natural resources and | 18 | | ecological conditions through investments in
technology | 19 | | and involvement of scientific experts.
| 20 | | (4) To initiate strategies to enhance, use, and | 21 | | maintain Illinois' inland
lakes through education, | 22 | | technical assistance, research, and financial
incentives.
| 23 | | (5) To partner with private landowners and with units | 24 | | of State, federal, and local government and with | 25 | | not-for-profit organizations in order to integrate State | 26 | | and federal programs with Illinois' natural resource |
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| 1 | | protection and restoration efforts and to meet | 2 | | requirements to obtain federal and other funds for | 3 | | conservation or protection of natural resources. | 4 | | (6) To support implement the State's Nutrient Loss | 5 | | Reduction Strategy, including, but not limited to, funding | 6 | | the resources needed to support the Strategy's Policy | 7 | | Working Group, cover water quality monitoring in support | 8 | | of Strategy implementation, prepare a biennial report on | 9 | | the progress made on the Strategy every 2 years, and | 10 | | provide cost share funding for nutrient capture projects. | 11 | | (7) To provide capacity grants to support soil and | 12 | | water conservation districts, including, but not limited | 13 | | to, developing soil health plans, conducting soil health | 14 | | assessments, peer-to-peer training, convening | 15 | | producer-led dialogues, professional memberships, lab | 16 | | analysis, development and travel stipends for meetings and | 17 | | educational events.
| 18 | | (8) To develop guidelines and local soil health | 19 | | assessments for advancing soil health. | 20 | | (9) To implement a crop insurance premium discount | 21 | | program at the State level. | 22 | | (b) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall | 23 | | automatically transfer
on the last day of each month, | 24 | | beginning on September 30, 1995 and ending on
June 30, 2023,
| 25 | | from the General Revenue Fund to the Partners for Conservation
| 26 | | Fund,
an
amount equal to 1/10 of the amount set forth below in |
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| 1 | | fiscal year 1996 and
an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount set | 2 | | forth below in each of the other
specified fiscal years:
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3 | | Fiscal Year |
Amount |
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4 | | 1996 |
$ 3,500,000 |
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5 | | 1997 |
$ 9,000,000 |
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6 | | 1998 |
$10,000,000 |
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7 | | 1999 |
$11,000,000 |
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8 | | 2000 |
$12,500,000 |
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9 | | 2001 through 2004 |
$14,000,000 |
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10 | | 2005
| $7,000,000 | |
11 | | 2006
| $11,000,000
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12 | | 2007
| $0
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13 | | 2008 through 2011
| $14,000,000
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14 | | 2012 | $12,200,000 | |
15 | | 2013 through 2017 | $14,000,000 | |
16 | | 2018 | $1,500,000 | |
17 | | 2019 | $14,000,000 | |
18 | | 2020 | $7,500,000 | |
19 | | 2021 through 2023 | $14,000,000 |
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20 | | (c) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall | 21 | | automatically transfer on the last day of each month beginning | 22 | | on July 31, 2021 and ending June 30, 2022, from the | 23 | | Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund to the | 24 | | Partners for Conservation Fund, an amount equal to 1/12 of | 25 | | $4,135,000.
| 26 | | (c-1) The State Comptroller and State Treasurer shall |
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| 1 | | automatically transfer on the last day of each month beginning | 2 | | on July 31, 2022 and ending June 30, 2023, from the | 3 | | Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund to the | 4 | | Partners for Conservation Fund, an amount equal to 1/12 of | 5 | | $5,900,000. | 6 | | (d) There shall be deposited into the Partners for
| 7 | | Conservation Projects Fund such
bond proceeds and other moneys | 8 | | as may, from time to time, be provided by law.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 101-10, eff. 6-5-19; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; | 10 | | 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
| 11 | | Section 15. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act | 12 | | is amended by adding Sections 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, 3.27, 22.03a, | 13 | | 22.03b, 22.03c, and 22.03d as follows: | 14 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.24 new) | 15 | | Sec. 3.24. "Healthy soils practices" means systems of | 16 | | agricultural, forestry, and land management practices that: | 17 | | (1) improve the health of soils, including, but not | 18 | | limited to, consideration of depth of topsoil horizons, | 19 | | water infiltration rate, water-holding capacity, organic | 20 | | matter content, biologically accessible nutrient content, | 21 | | bulk density, biological activity, and biological and | 22 | | microbiological diversity; | 23 | | (2) follow the principles of: minimizing soil | 24 | | disturbance and external inputs; keeping soil covered; |
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| 1 | | maximizing biodiversity; diversifying crop rotations; | 2 | | maximizing presence of living roots; integrating animals | 3 | | and insects into land management, including grazing | 4 | | animals, birds, beneficial insects, or keystone species, | 5 | | such as earthworms; and incorporating the context of local | 6 | | conditions in decision-making, including, for example, | 7 | | soil type, topography, and time of year; and | 8 | | (3) include practices such as tillage or no-till, | 9 | | cover-cropping, perennialization of highly erodible land, | 10 | | precision nitrogen and phosphorus application, managed | 11 | | grazing, integrated crop-livestock systems, silvopasture, | 12 | | agroforestry, perennial crops, integrated pest management, | 13 | | nutrient best management practices, invasive species | 14 | | removal and the planting of native species and those | 15 | | practices recommended by the United States Department of | 16 | | Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service - | 17 | | Field Office Technical Guide. | 18 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.25 new) | 19 | | Sec. 3.25. "Soil health assessment" means soil health | 20 | | indicator measures, including, but not limited to, soil | 21 | | organic matter, soil structure, infiltration and bulk density, | 22 | | water-holding capacity, microbial biomass, and soil | 23 | | respiration. | 24 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.26 new) |
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| 1 | | Sec. 3.26. "Initiative" means the Illinois Healthy Soils | 2 | | Initiative. | 3 | | (70 ILCS 405/3.27 new) | 4 | | Sec. 3.27. "Healthy soil" means the continuing capacity of | 5 | | a soil to function as a vital, living biological system that | 6 | | sustains plants, animals, and humans, increases soil organic | 7 | | matter, improves soil structure and water-holding and | 8 | | nutrient-holding capacity and nutrient cycling, enhances water | 9 | | infiltration and filtration capability, promotes water | 10 | | quality, and results in net long-term ecological benefits. | 11 | | "Healthy soil" includes soil that hosts a diversity of | 12 | | beneficial organisms, grow vigorous crops, enhance | 13 | | agricultural resilience, including the ability of crops and | 14 | | livestock to tolerate and recover from drought, temperature | 15 | | extremes, extreme precipitation events, pests, diseases, and | 16 | | other stresses, break down harmful chemicals, and help convert | 17 | | organic residues into stable soil organic matter and retaining | 18 | | nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. | 19 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03a new) | 20 | | Sec. 22.03a. Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative. | 21 | | (a) The Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative is created. It | 22 | | is the purpose of the Initiative to improve the health of soils | 23 | | through efforts that improve soil and water quality, increase | 24 | | the resilience of ecosystems to extreme weather events, |
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| 1 | | protect and improve agricultural productivity, and support | 2 | | aquatic and wildlife habitat. | 3 | | The Initiative shall be administered by the Director of | 4 | | Agriculture with consultation from soil and water conservation | 5 | | districts, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the | 6 | | Department of Natural Resources, and the University of | 7 | | Illinois Extension Program. The Department shall create | 8 | | guidelines and guidance to assist soil and water
conservation | 9 | | districts in developing soil health assessments in order to | 10 | | identify desired capacity and funding levels and establish | 11 | | regular, measurable, cost-effective, and technically | 12 | | achievable goals to advance voluntary and incentive-based | 13 | | strategies that improve healthy soils. These assessments shall | 14 | | be used to identify opportunities to access financial and | 15 | | technical assistance from local, State, and federal sources to | 16 | | guide resources to their best potential use. | 17 | | The Initiative shall complement and improve coordination | 18 | | of existing resources and processes and shall not replace | 19 | | existing, local, State, or federal funding or technical | 20 | | assistance programs. The Department shall report on progress | 21 | | of the Initiative annually. | 22 | | The Initiative shall promote voluntary and incentive-based | 23 | | soil health efforts. No part of this Section shall be used to | 24 | | impose mandates or require practice adoption. | 25 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03b new) |
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| 1 | | Sec. 22.03b. Guidelines for soil health assessments. The | 2 | | Department shall adopt and revise guidelines to assist soil | 3 | | and water conservation districts in determining local goals | 4 | | and needs for implementing soil health assessments. | 5 | | In developing its guidelines to assist soil and water | 6 | | conservation districts in determining local goals and needs | 7 | | for soil health assessments, the Department shall consider: | 8 | | (1) county and State levels of conservation practice | 9 | | adoption. Guidance should also be provided to districts to | 10 | | meet USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service determined | 11 | | conservation practice standards or Illinois Urban Manual | 12 | | Practice Standards; | 13 | | (2) information regarding beginning, socially | 14 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers, as well | 15 | | as disadvantaged communities; | 16 | | (3) availability of State, federal, and private | 17 | | financial and technical assistance programs to soil and | 18 | | water conservation districts, local governments, and | 19 | | conservation partners; and | 20 | | (4) opportunities for evaluating results-based | 21 | | practices utilizing tools, such as the U.S. Department of | 22 | | Agriculture's revised universal soil loss equation, that | 23 | | model environmental outcomes at the field, county, | 24 | | watershed, or State level. | 25 | | The information collected through the development of the | 26 | | guidelines shall be compiled and provided to the soil and |
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| 1 | | water conservation districts to inform the development of | 2 | | local soil health assessments. | 3 | | Initial guidelines shall be completed and provided to soil | 4 | | and water conservation districts annually and shall include | 5 | | the grant agreement for the Soil and Water Conservation | 6 | | District Grants Program as well as outlining the funding | 7 | | resource support contained within the grant agreement to | 8 | | better inform the development of local soil health | 9 | | assessments. | 10 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03c new) | 11 | | Sec. 22.03c. Local soil health assessments. Upon the | 12 | | adoption of guidelines described in Section 22.03b, each soil | 13 | | and water conservation district shall develop annually its own | 14 | | soil health assessment to guide voluntary and incentive-based | 15 | | strategies to improve soil health. The soil health assessment | 16 | | shall be technically feasible and economically reasonable. | 17 | | The Department shall provide a template to the districts | 18 | | for the local soil health assessment, including the required | 19 | | information listed in this Section as well as information | 20 | | regarding available data and support materials collected as | 21 | | the guidance information listed in Section 25. | 22 | | Each district is encouraged to collaborate with other | 23 | | local governmental entities and local stakeholders in | 24 | | developing and implementing its soil health assessment. Each | 25 | | district shall use the guidelines provided by the Department |
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| 1 | | in developing its soil health assessment. | 2 | | Upon the request of a district, the Department may assist | 3 | | in the preparation of the district's soil health assessment. | 4 | | Districts may also work collaboratively to establish joint | 5 | | plans to leverage existing capacity and resources most | 6 | | effectively. | 7 | | To carry out its assessment, a district shall identify | 8 | | soil health practices. The soil health assessment must | 9 | | consider opportunities to access, leverage, and use State and | 10 | | federal resources within a specific soil and water | 11 | | conservation district service area. | 12 | | Soil and water conservation districts may also convene | 13 | | producer-led dialogues to identify special initiatives or | 14 | | pilot projects to leverage additional resources and implement | 15 | | soil health practices at scale across multiple operations and | 16 | | land ownerships. | 17 | | In developing a soil health assessment, the soil and water | 18 | | conservation district shall: | 19 | | (1) evaluate existing assets, such as current | 20 | | practices, current cropping systems, crop processing
and | 21 | | market infrastructure, riparian buffers, wetlands, public | 22 | | lands, funding, education, research
and peer-to-peer | 23 | | training opportunities, and existing partnerships; | 24 | | (2) consider the eligible funding categories available | 25 | | through the Partners for Conservation Fund and the | 26 | | district's ability to advance healthy soils practices |
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| 1 | | consistent with Natural Resource Conservation Service soil | 2 | | health principles within a soil and water conservation | 3 | | district service area; | 4 | | (3) determine vulnerabilities, such as runoff risk, | 5 | | riparian function, stormwater, floodplains and stream | 6 | | impairments, and observed and predicted impacts from | 7 | | climate change, especially to socially disadvantaged | 8 | | farmers, ranchers, and communities; | 9 | | (4) identify opportunities to conduct outreach to | 10 | | agricultural producers and landowners and to develop | 11 | | individual soil health plans; | 12 | | (5) establish goals for achieving measurable outcomes | 13 | | for soil health and farmer viability through voluntary and | 14 | | incentive-based activities. This includes identifying | 15 | | opportunities to support beginning, socially | 16 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers as well as small and | 17 | | mid-scale farmers; | 18 | | (6) estimate 2-year funding levels needed from State, | 19 | | federal and private sources in order to achieve goals; and | 20 | | (7) identify opportunities to develop partnerships and | 21 | | leverage resources from local governments, utilities, and | 22 | | State and federal agencies. | 23 | | The Department shall identify shared goals and priorities | 24 | | between districts and shall assist in developing partnerships | 25 | | and shared funding approaches to maximize capacity and | 26 | | resources. Initial soil health assessments shall be submitted |
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| 1 | | to the Department by September 1, 2024. | 2 | | (70 ILCS 405/22.03d new) | 3 | | Sec. 22.03d. Compliance and standards; cost sharing. To be | 4 | | eligible to receive State cost-share support after September | 5 | | 1, 2024, soil and water conservation districts shall have an | 6 | | updated soil health assessment. | 7 | | The Department shall update its rules and procedures for | 8 | | cost-share funding to be inclusive of all relevant soil health | 9 | | practices promoting the rapid adoption of cost-effective and | 10 | | technically feasible projects. Updates to the rules and | 11 | | procedures for State cost-share programs shall also address | 12 | | barriers to access experienced by beginning, socially | 13 | | disadvantaged, and veteran farmers. | 14 | | The Department may require results-based practices or the | 15 | | assessments of the environmental outcomes of projects, at the | 16 | | field or county level, as a condition of cost-share funding.
| 17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 18 | | becoming law.
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