[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_HJ0060
LRB9113704ACtm
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, In 1965, the U.S. Congress created the Land and
3 Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to ensure that all Americans
4 have access to high quality recreation resources, to enhance
5 the health and vitality of the nation, and to preserve
6 valuable habitat; and
7 WHEREAS, Investments from the Fund support the creation
8 of public parks, efficient management of forests, and
9 preservation of clean water and open spaces and guarantee
10 outdoor recreational opportunities and other social and
11 environmental objectives for Illinois; and
12 WHEREAS, Since its creation, the LWCF has been used to
13 acquire nearly 7,000,000 acres of parks, public forests, and
14 open space, including the development of more than 37,000
15 state and local resource conservation and recreation
16 projects, including playgrounds, ball fields, swimming pools,
17 scenic trails, and nature preserves; and
18 WHEREAS, From 1965 through 1995, Illinois received $133
19 million in LWCF funding for the acquisition of 55,620 acres
20 of parks and conservation areas and for the construction of
21 outdoor recreational facilities; and
22 WHEREAS, The LWCF Act is authorized to invest $900
23 million annually in recreational resources, principally from
24 public revenue received from off-shore oil and gas
25 extraction; and
26 WHEREAS, The U.S. Congress envisioned and encouraged, and
27 the Act authorizes, federal-state-local partnerships to
28 create a national network of public parks and other
29 recreation resources accessible to all people; and
30 WHEREAS, Since 1995, the federal program has been
31 underfunded and no allocations have been made to fund the
-2- LRB9113704ACtm
1 stateside grants program, though the enabling legislation
2 provided for such allocations and encouraged the U.S.
3 Congress to provide federal acquisition of public park land
4 and "close to home" recreation opportunities; and
5 WHEREAS, Without congressional allocations for the LWCF
6 stateside matching grant program, states and localities are
7 limited in their capacity to acquire and develop parks and
8 open space and to preserve natural areas or provide funds to
9 local jurisdictions for the creation of neighborhood
10 recreational facilities; and
11 WHEREAS, State and local governments equally match
12 federal fiscal resources, then assume all costs of management
13 and provision of recreation services, thus containing the
14 costs of potential federal actions to meet public demand;
15 therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
18 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the U.S. Congress to
19 pass legislation that will provide full and permanent funding
20 for the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That we call upon the U.S. Congress to pass HR
22 701 and S 2123, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA),
23 during its session in 2000; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
25 presented to the Speaker of the U.S. House of
26 Representatives, Dennis Hastert, Senator Richard Durbin,
27 Senator Peter Fitzgerald, and each member of the Illinois
28 congressional delegation as an indication of the overwhelming
29 support this initiative has in Illinois.