Rep. Thomas M. Bennett

Filed: 4/7/2017

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2031

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2031 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings and statement of public
7policy.
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

 

 

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1    the Open Lands Acquisition and Development Act, shall be
2    used by the Department of Natural Resources for the
3    acquisition, preservation, and stewardship of natural
4    areas, including habitats for endangered and threatened
5    species, high quality natural communities, wetlands, and
6    other areas with unique or unusual natural heritage
7    qualities.
8        (3) The condition of dedicated and registered sites
9    tends to degrade over time without stewardship actions.
10    Once degraded, the public's significant investment is
11    devalued and these natural areas provide reduced benefit to
12    the people of present and future generations.
13        (4) Conservation land trusts have experience managing
14    natural areas in order to counter the constant and
15    increasing pressures exerted on conservation lands by
16    ecological succession, habitat fragmentation, hydrological
17    alteration, pollution, encroachment by invasive and exotic
18    species, and criminal trespass.
19        (5) This Act and the powers afforded to the Illinois
20    Nature Preserves Commission are desirable to guide and
21    preserve the highest quality natural areas in perpetuity.
22    (b) It is the purpose of this Act to:
23        (1) increase stewardship by providing stewardship
24    grants to conservation land trusts to help perform
25    stewardship actions on eligible lands; and
26        (2) to enhance stewardship capacity within

 

 

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1    conservation land trusts in local areas.
 
2    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
3    "Administrative decision" has the same meaning ascribed to
4the term in Section 3-101 of the Administrative Review Law of
5the Code of Civil Procedure.
6    "Commission" means the Illinois Nature Preserves
7Commission.
8    "Conservation land trust" means an entity exempt from
9taxation under Section 501 (c)(3) of the federal Internal
10Revenue Code whose purposes include the restoration,
11stewardship, or conservation of land, natural areas, open
12space, or water areas for the preservation of native plants or
13animals, biotic communities, geologic formations, or
14archeological sites of significance.
15    "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.
16    "Eligible land" means a site that has been dedicated by the
17Commission as an Illinois Nature Preserve or dedicated buffer
18or registered as a Land and Water Reserve, and has a current,
19approved management schedule.
20    "Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant Program" means a
21program established under Section 20 of this Act.
22    "Land" means real property and ownership rights applying to
23it and includes the real property, structures, and
24improvements.
25    "Management schedule" means an approved document

 

 

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1consistent with rules for Management of Nature Preserves or
2rules for Register of Land and Water Reserves under the
3Illinois Administrative Code developed for the preservation,
4protection, management, and use of lands.
5    "Stewardship actions" means actions identified in an
6approved management schedule which are designed to maintain,
7preserve, or improve the condition of native natural
8communities, diversity of species, and ecological processes on
9eligible lands, such as, but not limited to, prescribed burns,
10control of exotic and invasive species, fencing, and other
11restorative practices.
12    "Stewardship grant" means a grant from the Department to a
13conservation land trust for the purpose of providing
14stewardship actions under Section 20 of this Act.
 
15    Section 15. Powers, duties, and authorizations. The
16Department may:
17        (1) make stewardship grants under Section 20 of this
18    Act from the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund to conservation
19    land trusts to conduct stewardship actions on eligible
20    lands;
21        (2) establish the total amount of funds available for
22    annual stewardship grants, except the amount of
23    stewardship grants made for any fiscal year may not exceed
24    the amount set by administrative rule and shall not result
25    in adverse impacts on the operations funded by the Natural

 

 

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1    Areas Acquisition Fund;
2        (3) accept and receive any funds including by
3    agreement, grant, contract, donation, gift, or bequest
4    from any corporation, foundation, non-governmental agency,
5    individual, or instrumentality of any of those for the
6    purposes of executing stewardship grants under this Act and
7    these funds are to be deposited into the Natural Areas
8    Acquisition Fund;
9        (4) develop and administer the Illinois Natural Areas
10    Stewardship Grant Program within the Department;
11        (5) adopt rules to effectuate the purposes of this Act;
12    or
13        (6) use funds received under this Act to pay for the
14    cost of departmental personnel; contractual, professional
15    or technical services; and equipment, materials, and
16    supplies necessary or appropriate to perform the functions
17    under this Act.
 
18    Section 20. Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant
19Program.
20    (a) The Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant Program is
21established to make grants to conservation land trusts for the
22purpose of promoting stewardship actions on eligible lands.
23    (b) A conservation land trust in good standing with the
24federal Internal Revenue Service may apply for a grant.
25    (c) An agency, organization, or entity that has taxing

 

 

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1powers, collects taxes, or has eminent domain powers is not
2eligible to apply for the grant program under this Act.
3    (d) Eligible land held by agencies, organizations, or other
4entities may be the recipient of stewardship actions conducted
5under the grant as long as there is a properly executed
6agreement between the agency, organization, or entity and the
7conservation land trust that has been awarded the grant.
8    (e) The Department shall adopt administrative rules in
9consultation with the Commission for grant writing, the
10selection of grant recipients, amount of grant awards, and
11eligibility requirements to implement the purposes of this Act.
12However, the rules shall include the following requirements:
13        (1) amounts for match and caps for any stewardship
14    grant under this Act; and
15        (2) the Commission shall be notified of any agreement
16    between a conservation land trust and an owner of eligible
17    lands for stewardship actions to be conducted under the
18    grant agreement.
 
19    Section 25. Priorities. In considering applications for
20grants under this Act, the Department shall establish
21priorities that:
22    (1) provide the greatest benefit to implementing the needs
23and priorities identified in the Illinois Natural Area Plan,
24the Illinois Sustainable Natural Areas Vision, and the Illinois
25Wildlife Action Plan;

 

 

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1    (2) provide the greatest benefit to other stewardship needs
2identified by the Department, in consultation with the
3Commission, in administrative rule; and
4    (3) consider, but not be limited to, the rarity and
5condition of resources, severity of stewardship need,
6timeliness of actions, proposed stewardship actions, and
7availability of other resources.
 
8    Section 30. Administrative Review Law. All final
9administrative decisions under this Act are subject to judicial
10review under the Administrative Review Law of the Code of Civil
11Procedure.
 
12    Section 35. Fund depository. All funds, assessments,
13fines, settlements, compensations, transfers, appropriations,
14penalties, and donations made under this Act shall be deposited
15into the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund subject to the
16limitations described in subsection (2) of Section 15 of this
17Act.
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.".