State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB5728

 
                                              LRB9214747LBprA

 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  the purpose of this Act to promote voluntary
24    county-municipal partnerships in every  county  by  the  year
25    2020   that   will   inventory  resources,  develop  Resource
26    Protection Plans, and implement their respective plans.

27        Section 10.  Definitions.  In this Act:
28        "Board" means the Local Legacy Board created  under  this
29    Act.
30        "Committee"  means a Local Steering Committee established
 
                            -2-               LRB9214747LBprA
 1    under this Act.
 2        "Cultural  resource"   means   a   structure,   building,
 3    district,   or   site   that  has  aesthetic,  architectural,
 4    cultural, archeological, or historical  significance  at  the
 5    local, state, or national level.
 6        "Farmland"   means   land   devoted   to  agriculture  or
 7    horticultural uses for  the  production  of  food  (including
 8    grains,  fruits,  vegetables,  dairy products, or mushrooms),
 9    fiber, floriculture, or forest products, or  the  raising  of
10    farm  animals  (including  livestock,  sheep,  swine, horses,
11    ponies, poultry, bees, or fish) or wildlife.
12        "Inventory"  means  a  listing  of  a  county's  and  its
13    municipalities'  natural  areas,   farmland,   and   cultural
14    resources.
15        "Natural area" means an area of land or water that either
16    retains or has recovered to a substantial degree its original
17    natural   or  primeval  character,  though  it  need  not  be
18    completely undisturbed, or has  floral,  faunal,  ecological,
19    geological,   or   archeological   features   of  scientific,
20    educational, recreational, scenic, or aesthetic interest.
21        "Program" means the Local Legacy Program.
22        "Resource", unless otherwise specified, means farmland, a
23    natural area, or a cultural resource.
24        "Resource Protection Plan" means an  integrated  document
25    that includes goals, policies, strategies, and procedures for
26    preserving   key   farmland,   natural  areas,  and  cultural
27    resources identified in a countywide inventory and adopted as
28    provided in Section 30 of this Act.

29        Section 15.  The Local Legacy Board.   The  Local  Legacy
30    Board  is  created  to administer the Program under this Act.
31    The membership of the Board shall be composed of the Director
32    of Natural Resources, the Director of Historic  Preservation,
33    and   the   Director  of  Agriculture,  or  their  respective
 
                            -3-               LRB9214747LBprA
 1    designees.  The Board must choose a Chairperson to serve  for
 2    2 years on a rotating basis.  All members must be present for
 3    the  Board to conduct official business. The Departments must
 4    each furnish technical support to the Board.
 5        The Board has those powers necessary  to  carry  out  the
 6    purposes  of  this  Act,  including,  without limitation, the
 7    power to:
 8             (1)  employ agents and employees necessary to  carry
 9        out  the purposes of this Act and fix their compensation,
10        benefits, terms, and conditions of employment;
11             (2)  adopt, alter and use a corporate seal;
12             (3)  have an audit  made  of  the  accounts  of  any
13        grantee  or  any  person  or entity that receives funding
14        under this Act;
15             (4)  enforce the terms of any grant made under  this
16        Act,  whether  in  law  or  equity, or by any other legal
17        means;
18             (5)  prepare and submit a  budget  and  request  for
19        appropriations for the necessary and contingent operating
20        expenses of the Board; and
21             (6)  receive  and  accept,  from  any source, aid or
22        contributions of money, property, labor, or  other  items
23        of  value for furtherance of any of its purposes, subject
24        to any conditions not inconsistent with this Act or  with
25        the laws of this State pertaining to those contributions,
26        including,  but  not  limited  to,  gifts, guarantees, or
27        grants from any department, agency, or instrumentality of
28        the United States of America.
29        The Board must adopt any rules, regulations,  guidelines,
30    and  directives  necessary  to  implement  the Act, including
31    guidelines for designing inventories so  that  they  will  be
32    compatible with each other.
33        The  Board  must  submit a report to the General Assembly
34    and the Governor  by  January  1,  2003  and  every  2  years
 
                            -4-               LRB9214747LBprA
 1    thereafter  regarding progress made towards accomplishing the
 2    purposes of this Act.

 3        Section 20.  Local  Legacy  Program.   The  Local  Legacy
 4    Program   is   created.    The   Board  shall  determine  the
 5    eligibility  of  county-municipal  partnerships  for  funding
 6    under the Program.  The purpose of the Program is to  provide
 7    grants  to counties and municipalities to (i) inventory their
 8    natural areas, farmland, and  cultural  resources;  and  (ii)
 9    develop Resource Protection Plans.

10        Section   25.    Local   Steering   Committee.   Counties
11    interested in assistance under this Act must form a  steering
12    committee  consisting  of  11  members  in  the  following  3
13    categories chosen according to the following requirements:
14             (1)  Three  members of the county board appointed by
15        the county board chairperson with the advice and  consent
16        of the county board.
17             (2)  Three elected municipal officials chosen by the
18        corporate    authorities    of    those    municipalities
19        participating in the county-municipal partnership.
20             (3)  Five  public  members  who  reside  within  the
21        county and are appointed by a majority vote of the county
22        board  members  and  elected  municipal  officials on the
23        Local Steering Committee, with one each representing  the
24        following categories:
25             (a)  Agriculture.
26             (b)  Environment.
27             (c)  Historic preservation.
28             (d)  Construction or development.
29             (e)  Citizen-at-large.
30        When the Committee is first established, one-third of the
31    members  of  each  category  shall  serve a term of one year;
32    one-third shall serve a term of 2 years; and one-third  shall
 
                            -5-               LRB9214747LBprA
 1    serve  a  term of 3 years, except for the public members, one
 2    of whom will serve for one year, 2 of whom shall serve for  2
 3    years,  and 2 of whom will serve for 3 years.  All subsequent
 4    members shall serve for a term of 3 years.  A  vacancy  shall
 5    be filled in the same manner as an original appointment.
 6        The  Chairperson  shall  be  chosen for a term of 2 years
 7    from among the members of the Committee by a majority vote of
 8    the Committee; all members of  the  Committee  including  the
 9    Chairperson have a vote.
10        The Committee shall adopt its own rules of operation.

11        Section 30.  Duties of the Local Steering Committee.  The
12    Local  Steering  Committee  shall have the authority to apply
13    for and receive grants to conduct an inventory and develop  a
14    Resource Protection Plan and to review all grant applications
15    from  units  of local government before they are submitted to
16    the Board.
17        The Local Steering Committee shall develop a strategy for
18    conducting an  inventory  of  natural  areas,  farmland,  and
19    cultural  resources.  The  Committee  shall  determine  which
20    resources  should be included in the inventory, the amount of
21    financial and technical assistance  needed  from  the  State,
22    what  information  is already available, who will conduct the
23    inventory,  how  municipal  and  county  efforts  should   be
24    coordinated, and how to present the information so that it is
25    compatible    with    inventories    conducted    by    other
26    county-municipal partnerships.
27        The  Committee  shall  use the inventory as the basis for
28    developing its Resource  Protection  Plan.   Working  with  a
29    professional   planner  or  other  resource  specialist,  the
30    Committee shall develop criteria for  prioritizing  resources
31    identified  by  the  inventory.  When prioritizing resources,
32    the Committee shall analyze the threat to the resources using
33    population projections, land use  patterns,  and  development
 
                            -6-               LRB9214747LBprA
 1    trends.  Upon the approval of two-thirds of its members, with
 2    at  least  one member from each of the 3 categories voting in
 3    approval, the Committee shall recommend that the county board
 4    and the municipalities within the county adopt  the  Resource
 5    Protection  Plan.  Amendments to the Resource Protection Plan
 6    must be approved in the same manner.  A local government  may
 7    object  to  all  or  part  of the Resource Protection Plan in
 8    writing.  If a written objection is filed with the Committee,
 9    the portion of the Plan objected to shall  not  be  effective
10    within  that local government's borders.  The objecting local
11    government may modify or withdraw its objection at any time.

12        Section 35.  Local Legacy Fund.  The Local Legacy Fund is
13    created as a special fund in the State Treasury.  Subject  to
14    appropriation,  moneys  shall  be  transferred into the Local
15    Legacy Fund from the General Revenue Fund.  All  interest  or
16    other  earnings  that  accrue  from  investment  of the Local
17    Legacy Fund moneys shall be  credited  to  the  Local  Legacy
18    Fund.   The  Local  Legacy Fund shall be used by the Board to
19    make grants to counties and municipalities  for  inventorying
20    and planning for preservation of farmland, natural areas, and
21    cultural resources.

22        Section  40.   Consideration of State grant awards.  When
23    approving grant awards under this Act, the Board or the State
24    agency,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall   give   preferential
25    consideration   to  counties  and  municipalities  that  have
26    adopted Resource Protection Plans.

27        Section 90.  The State Finance Act is amended  by  adding
28    Section 5.545 as follows:

29        (30 ILCS 105/5.570 new)
30        Sec. 5.570.  The Local Legacy Fund.

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