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92_HB2358 LRB9206860TAtm 1 AN ACT to create the Local Legacy Act. 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 Local Legacy Act. 6 Section 5. Policy. 7 (a) Illinois has a rich natural and cultural heritage. 8 Whether historic sites, natural areas, rich farmland, or 9 other prized resources, every county has treasures worth 10 preserving for future generations. 11 (b) As counties and municipalities grow, they often do 12 not have the opportunity to consider which resources are most 13 important to them. Consequently, they may inadvertently 14 imperil a historic structure, sever a potential natural 15 corridor, or fragment farmland into small and unsustainable 16 remnants. 17 (c) It is necessary and desirable to provide technical 18 assistance and funding in the form of grants to encourage 19 partnerships between counties and municipalities for the 20 creation of an inventory of their natural areas, farmland, 21 and cultural assets and to develop a Resource Protection Plan 22 for protecting those areas. 23 (d) It is also necessary to provide funding in the form 24 of grants to counties and municipalities for the protection 25 of their cultural resources, natural areas, and farmland 26 through fee simple acquisition and conservation easements. 27 (e) It is the purpose of this Act to promote voluntary 28 county-municipal partnerships in every county by the year 29 2020 that will inventory resources, develop Resource 30 Protection Plans, and implement their respective plans. -2- LRB9206860TAtm 1 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: 2 "Board" means the Local Legacy Board created under this 3 Act. 4 "Committee" means a Local Steering Committee established 5 under this Act. 6 "Cultural resource" means a structure, building, 7 district, or site that has aesthetic, architectural, 8 cultural, archeological, or historical significance at the 9 local, state, or national level. 10 "Farmland" means land devoted to agriculture or 11 horticultural uses for the production of food (including 12 grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, or mushrooms), 13 fiber, floriculture, or forest products, or the raising of 14 farm animals (including livestock, sheep, swine, horses, 15 ponies, poultry, bees, or fish) or wildlife. 16 "Inventory" means a listing of a county's and its 17 municipalities' natural areas, farmland, and cultural 18 resources. 19 "Natural area" means an area of land or water that either 20 retains or has recovered to a substantial degree its original 21 natural or primeval character, though it need not be 22 completely undisturbed, or has floral, faunal, ecological, 23 geological, or archeological features of scientific, 24 educational, recreational, scenic, or aesthetic interest. 25 "Program" means the Local Legacy Program. 26 "Resource", unless otherwise specified, means farmland, a 27 natural area, or a cultural resource. 28 "Resource Protection Plan" means an integrated document 29 that includes goals, policies, strategies, and procedures for 30 preserving key farmland, natural areas, and cultural 31 resources identified in a countywide inventory and adopted as 32 provided in Section 30 of this Act. 33 Section 15. The Local Legacy Board. The Local Legacy -3- LRB9206860TAtm 1 Board is created to administer the Program under this Act. 2 The membership of the Board shall be composed of the Director 3 of Natural Resources, the Director of Historic Preservation, 4 and the Director of Agriculture, or their respective 5 designees. The Board must choose a Chairperson to serve for 6 2 years on a rotating basis. All members must be present for 7 the Board to conduct official business. The Departments must 8 each furnish technical support to the Board. 9 The Board has those powers necessary to carry out the 10 purposes of this Act, including, without limitation, the 11 power to: 12 (1) employ agents and employees necessary to carry 13 out the purposes of this Act and fix their compensation, 14 benefits, terms, and conditions of employment; 15 (2) adopt, alter and use a corporate seal; 16 (3) have an audit made of the accounts of any 17 grantee or any person or entity that receives funding 18 under this Act; 19 (4) enforce the terms of any grant made under this 20 Act, whether in law or equity, or by any other legal 21 means; 22 (5) prepare and submit a budget and request for 23 appropriations for the necessary and contingent operating 24 expenses of the Board; and 25 (6) receive and accept, from any source, aid or 26 contributions of money, property, labor, or other items 27 of value for furtherance of any of its purposes, subject 28 to any conditions not inconsistent with this Act or with 29 the laws of this State pertaining to those contributions, 30 including, but not limited to, gifts, guarantees, or 31 grants from any department, agency, or instrumentality of 32 the United States of America. 33 The Board must adopt any rules, regulations, guidelines, 34 and directives necessary to implement the Act, including -4- LRB9206860TAtm 1 guidelines for designing inventories so that they will be 2 compatible with each other. 3 The Board must submit a report to the General Assembly 4 and the Governor by January 1, 2003 and every 2 years 5 thereafter regarding progress made towards accomplishing the 6 purposes of this Act. 7 Section 20. Local Legacy Program. The Local Legacy 8 Program is created. The Board shall determine the 9 eligibility of county-municipal partnerships for funding 10 under the Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide 11 grants to counties and municipalities to (i) inventory their 12 natural areas, farmland, and cultural resources; (ii) develop 13 Resource Protection Plans; and (iii) acquire in fee simple, 14 natural areas, cultural resources, or farmland identified in 15 their Resource Protection Plans. To be eligible for an 16 acquisition grant, a local government must adopt a Resource 17 Protection Plan. 18 Section 25. Local Steering Committee. Counties 19 interested in assistance under this Act must form a steering 20 committee consisting of 11 members in the following 3 21 categories chosen according to the following requirements: 22 (1) Three members of the county board appointed by 23 the county board chairperson with the advice and consent 24 of the county board. 25 (2) Three elected municipal officials chosen by the 26 corporate authorities of those municipalities 27 participating in the county-municipal partnership. 28 (3) Five public members who reside within the 29 county and are appointed by a majority vote of the county 30 board members and elected municipal officials on the 31 Local Steering Committee, with one each representing the 32 following categories: -5- LRB9206860TAtm 1 (a) Agriculture. 2 (b) Environment. 3 (c) Historic preservation. 4 (d) Construction or development. 5 (e) Citizen-at-large. 6 When the Committee is first established, one-third of the 7 members of each category shall serve a term of one year; 8 one-third shall serve a term of 2 years; and one-third shall 9 serve a term of 3 years, except for the public members, one 10 of whom will serve for one year, 2 of whom shall serve for 2 11 years, and 2 of whom will serve for 3 years. All subsequent 12 members shall serve for a term of 3 years. A vacancy shall 13 be filled in the same manner as an original appointment. 14 The Chairperson shall be chosen for a term of 2 years 15 from among the members of the Committee by a majority vote of 16 the Committee; all members of the Committee including the 17 Chairperson have a vote. 18 The Committee shall adopt its own rules of operation. 19 Section 30. Duties of the Local Steering Committee. The 20 Local Steering Committee shall have the authority to apply 21 for and receive grants to conduct an inventory and develop a 22 Resource Protection Plan and to review all grant applications 23 from units of local government before they are submitted to 24 the Board. 25 The Local Steering Committee shall develop a strategy for 26 conducting an inventory of natural areas, farmland, and 27 cultural resources. The Committee shall determine which 28 resources should be included in the inventory, the amount of 29 financial and technical assistance needed from the State, 30 what information is already available, who will conduct the 31 inventory, how municipal and county efforts should be 32 coordinated, and how to present the information so that it is 33 compatible with inventories conducted by other -6- LRB9206860TAtm 1 county-municipal partnerships. 2 The Committee shall use the inventory as the basis for 3 developing its Resource Protection Plan. Working with a 4 professional planner or other resource specialist, the 5 Committee shall develop criteria for prioritizing resources 6 identified by the inventory. When prioritizing resources, 7 the Committee shall analyze the threat to the resources using 8 population projections, land use patterns, and development 9 trends. Upon the approval of two-thirds of its members, with 10 at least one member from each of the 3 categories voting in 11 approval, the Committee shall recommend that the county board 12 and the municipalities within the county adopt the Resource 13 Protection Plan. Amendments to the Resource Protection Plan 14 must be approved in the same manner. A local government may 15 object to all or part of the Resource Protection Plan in 16 writing. If a written objection is filed with the Committee, 17 the portion of the Plan objected to shall not be effective 18 within that local government's borders. The objecting local 19 government may modify or withdraw its objection at any time. 20 Only municipalities, counties, and other units of local 21 government that have adopted the Plan are eligible for grants 22 for fee simple acquisition. The Committee must screen (and 23 accept or reject) all grant applications prior to submission 24 to the Board. 25 Section 35. Local Legacy Fund. The Local Legacy Fund is 26 created as a special fund in the State Treasury. Subject to 27 appropriation, moneys shall be transferred into the Local 28 Legacy Fund from the General Revenue Fund. All interest or 29 other earnings that accrue from investment of the Local 30 Legacy Fund moneys shall be credited to the Local Legacy 31 Fund. The Local Legacy Fund shall be used by the Board to 32 make grants to counties and municipalities for inventorying 33 and planning and protecting farmland, natural areas, and -7- LRB9206860TAtm 1 cultural resources through fee simple acquisition. Funds to 2 preserve farmland may not involve the use of eminent domain. 3 In awarding grants for the implementation of Resource 4 Protection Plans, the Board shall attempt to apportion funds 5 evenly between the preservation of farmland, natural areas, 6 and cultural resources. 7 Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 8 Section 5.545 as follows: 9 (30 ILCS 105/5.545 new) 10 Sec. 5.545. The Local Legacy Fund.