Full Text of SB1029 100th General Assembly
SB1029enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning government.
| 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 | | Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Legislative findings and statement of public | 7 | | policy. | 8 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that: | 9 | | (1) The Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act | 10 | | defines natural areas and creates the Illinois Nature | 11 | | Preserves Commission to preserve the highest quality | 12 | | natural areas in perpetuity to sustain for the people of | 13 | | present and future generations the benefits of an enduring | 14 | | resource of natural areas, including the elements of | 15 | | natural diversity present. | 16 | | (2) The Natural Areas Acquisition Fund, established in | 17 | | the Open Lands Acquisition and Development Act, shall be | 18 | | used by the Department of Natural Resources for the | 19 | | acquisition, preservation, and stewardship of natural | 20 | | areas, including habitats for endangered and threatened | 21 | | species, high quality natural communities, wetlands, and | 22 | | other areas with unique or unusual natural heritage | 23 | | qualities. |
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| 1 | | (3) The condition of dedicated and registered sites | 2 | | tends to degrade over time without stewardship actions. | 3 | | Once degraded, the public's significant investment is | 4 | | devalued and these natural areas provide reduced benefit to | 5 | | the people of present and future generations. | 6 | | (4) Conservation land trusts have experience managing | 7 | | natural areas in order to counter the constant and | 8 | | increasing pressures exerted on conservation lands by | 9 | | ecological succession, habitat fragmentation, hydrological | 10 | | alteration, pollution, encroachment by invasive and exotic | 11 | | species, and criminal trespass. | 12 | | (5) This Act and the powers afforded to the Illinois | 13 | | Nature Preserves Commission are desirable to guide and | 14 | | preserve the highest quality natural areas in perpetuity. | 15 | | (b) It is the purpose of this Act to: | 16 | | (1) increase stewardship by providing stewardship | 17 | | grants to conservation land trusts to help perform | 18 | | stewardship actions on eligible lands; and | 19 | | (2) to enhance stewardship capacity within | 20 | | conservation land trusts in local areas. | 21 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 22 | | "Administrative decision" has the same meaning ascribed to | 23 | | the term in Section 3-101 of the Administrative Review Law of | 24 | | the Code of Civil Procedure. | 25 | | "Commission" means the Illinois Nature Preserves |
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| 1 | | Commission. | 2 | | "Conservation land trust" means an entity exempt from | 3 | | taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal | 4 | | Revenue Code whose purposes include the restoration, | 5 | | stewardship, or conservation of land, natural areas, open | 6 | | space, or water areas for the preservation of native plants or | 7 | | animals, biotic communities, geologic formations, or | 8 | | archeological sites of significance. | 9 | | "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources. | 10 | | "Eligible land" means a site that has been dedicated by the | 11 | | Commission as an Illinois Nature Preserve or dedicated buffer | 12 | | or registered as a Land and Water Reserve, and has a current, | 13 | | approved management schedule. | 14 | | "Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant Program" means a | 15 | | program established under Section 20 of this Act. | 16 | | "Land" means real property and ownership rights applying to | 17 | | it and includes the real property, structures, and | 18 | | improvements. | 19 | | "Management schedule" means an approved document | 20 | | consistent with rules for Management of Nature Preserves or | 21 | | rules for Register of Land and Water Reserves under the | 22 | | Illinois Administrative Code developed for the preservation, | 23 | | protection, management, and use of lands. | 24 | | "Stewardship actions" means actions identified in an | 25 | | approved management schedule which are designed to maintain, | 26 | | preserve, or improve the condition of native natural |
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| 1 | | communities, diversity of species, and ecological processes on | 2 | | eligible lands, such as, but not limited to, prescribed burns, | 3 | | control of exotic and invasive species, fencing, and other | 4 | | restorative practices. | 5 | | "Stewardship grant" means a grant from the Department to a | 6 | | conservation land trust for the purpose of providing | 7 | | stewardship actions under Section 20 of this Act. | 8 | | Section 15. Powers, duties, and authorizations. The | 9 | | Department may: | 10 | | (1) make stewardship grants under Section 20 of this | 11 | | Act under an appropriation made from the Natural Areas | 12 | | Acquisition Fund to conservation land trusts to conduct | 13 | | stewardship actions on eligible lands; | 14 | | (2) establish the total amount of funds available for | 15 | | annual stewardship grants, except the amount of | 16 | | stewardship grants made for any fiscal year may not exceed | 17 | | the amount set by administrative rule and shall not result | 18 | | in adverse impacts on the operations funded by the Natural | 19 | | Areas Acquisition Fund; | 20 | | (3) accept and receive any funds including by | 21 | | agreement, grant, contract, donation, gift, or bequest | 22 | | from any corporation, foundation, non-governmental agency, | 23 | | individual, or instrumentality of any of those for the | 24 | | purposes of executing stewardship grants under this Act and | 25 | | these funds are to be deposited into the Natural Areas |
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| 1 | | Acquisition Fund; | 2 | | (4) develop and administer the Illinois Natural Areas | 3 | | Stewardship Grant Program within the Department; | 4 | | (5) adopt rules to effectuate the purposes of this Act; | 5 | | or | 6 | | (6) from an appropriation made to the Department for | 7 | | this purpose, use funds received under this Act to pay for | 8 | | the cost of departmental personnel; contractual, | 9 | | professional or technical services; and equipment, | 10 | | materials, and supplies necessary or appropriate to | 11 | | perform the functions under this Act. | 12 | | Section 20. Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant | 13 | | Program. | 14 | | (a) The Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant Program is | 15 | | established to make grants to conservation land trusts for the | 16 | | purpose of promoting stewardship actions on eligible lands. | 17 | | (b) A conservation land trust in good standing with the | 18 | | federal Internal Revenue Service may apply for a grant. | 19 | | (c) An agency, organization, or entity that has taxing | 20 | | powers, collects taxes, or has eminent domain powers is not | 21 | | eligible to apply for the grant program under this Act. | 22 | | (d) Eligible land held by agencies, organizations, or other | 23 | | entities may be the recipient of stewardship actions conducted | 24 | | under the grant as long as there is a properly executed | 25 | | agreement between the agency, organization, or entity and the |
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| 1 | | conservation land trust that has been awarded the grant. | 2 | | (e) The Department shall adopt administrative rules in | 3 | | consultation with the Commission for grant writing, the | 4 | | selection of grant recipients, amount of grant awards, and | 5 | | eligibility requirements to implement the purposes of this Act. | 6 | | However, the rules shall include the following requirements: | 7 | | (1) amounts for match and caps for any stewardship | 8 | | grant under this Act; and | 9 | | (2) the Commission shall be notified of any agreement | 10 | | between a conservation land trust and an owner of eligible | 11 | | lands for stewardship actions to be conducted under the | 12 | | grant agreement. | 13 | | Section 25. Priorities. In considering applications for | 14 | | grants under this Act, the Department shall establish | 15 | | priorities that: | 16 | | (1) provide the greatest benefit to implementing the needs | 17 | | and priorities identified in the Illinois Natural Area Plan, | 18 | | the Illinois Sustainable Natural Areas Vision, and the Illinois | 19 | | Wildlife Action Plan; | 20 | | (2) provide the greatest benefit to other stewardship needs | 21 | | identified by the Department, in consultation with the | 22 | | Commission, in administrative rule; and | 23 | | (3) consider, but not be limited to, the rarity and | 24 | | condition of resources, severity of stewardship need, | 25 | | timeliness of actions, proposed stewardship actions, and |
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| 1 | | availability of other resources. | 2 | | Section 30. Administrative Review Law. All final | 3 | | administrative decisions under this Act are subject to judicial | 4 | | review under the Administrative Review Law of the Code of Civil | 5 | | Procedure. | 6 | | Section 35. Fund depository. All funds, assessments, | 7 | | fines, settlements, compensations, transfers, appropriations, | 8 | | penalties, and donations made under this Act shall be deposited | 9 | | into the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund subject to the | 10 | | limitations described in subsection (2) of Section 15 of this | 11 | | Act.
| 12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 13 | | becoming law.
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