093_SB1773

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning recreational trails.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Recreational Trails of  Illinois  Act  is
 5    amended by changing Section 15 as follows:

 6        (20 ILCS 862/15)
 7        Sec. 15. Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund.
 8        (a)  The  Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund is created as a
 9    special fund in the State  treasury.    Money  from  federal,
10    State,  and  private  sources may be deposited into the Fund.
11    Fines assessed by the Department  of  Natural  Resources  for
12    citations  issued  to  off-highway vehicle operators shall be
13    deposited into the Fund. All interest  accrued  on  the  Fund
14    shall be deposited into the Fund.
15        (b)  All  money  in  the  Fund  shall be used, subject to
16    appropriation, by the Department for the following purposes:
17             (1)  Grants for construction of off-highway  vehicle
18        recreational  trails on county, municipal, other units of
19        local government, or private lands where  a  recreational
20        need for the construction is shown.
21             (2)  Grants  for  maintenance  and  construction  of
22        off-highway vehicle recreational trails on federal lands,
23        where permitted by law.
24             (3)  Grants  for  development of off-highway vehicle
25        trail-side  facilities  in   accordance   with   criteria
26        approved  by  the  National  Recreational Trails Advisory
27        Committee.
28             (4)  Grants for acquisition of property from willing
29        sellers for off-highway vehicle recreational trails  when
30        the  objective of a trail cannot be accomplished by other
31        means.
 
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 1             (5)  Grants for  development  of  urban  off-highway
 2        vehicle trail linkages near homes and workplaces.
 3             (6)  Grants  for maintenance of existing off-highway
 4        vehicle recreational trails, including the  grooming  and
 5        maintenance of trails across snow.
 6             (7)  Grants  for  restoration  of  areas  damaged by
 7        usage of off-highway vehicle recreational trails and back
 8        country terrain.
 9             (8)  Grants   for   provision   of   features   that
10        facilitate the access  and  use  of  off-highway  vehicle
11        trails by persons with disabilities.
12             (9)  Grants   for   acquisition   of  easements  for
13        off-highway vehicle trails or for trail corridors.
14             (10)  Grants  for  a  rider  education  and   safety
15        program.
16             (11)  Administration,   enforcement,  planning,  and
17        implementation of  this  Act  and  Sections  11-1426  and
18        11-1427  of  the Illinois Vehicle Code, but not more than
19        5% of the moneys used from the Fund.
20        Of the money used from the  Fund  for  the  purposes  set
21    forth in this subsection, at least 60% shall be allocated for
22    motorized  recreation.  The  Department  shall  establish, by
23    rule, measures to verify that recipients of  money  from  the
24    Fund  comply with the specified conditions for the use of the
25    money.
26        (c)  The Department may not use the money from  the  Fund
27    for the following purposes:
28             (1)  Condemnation   of   any  kind  of  interest  in
29        property.
30             (2)  Construction  of  any  recreational  trail   on
31        National  Forest  System  land  for motorized uses unless
32        those lands have  been  allocated  for  uses  other  than
33        wilderness  by  an  approved  forest  land  and  resource
34        management  plan or have been released to uses other than
 
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 1        wilderness by an Act of Congress, and the construction is
 2        otherwise consistent with the management direction in the
 3        approved land and resource management plan.
 4             (3)  Construction of motorized  recreational  trails
 5        on Department owned or managed land.
 6        (d)  The   Department   shall   establish  a  program  to
 7    administer grants from the Fund to units of local government,
 8    not-for-profit organizations, and other  groups  to  operate,
 9    maintain, and acquire land for off-highway vehicle parks that
10    are open and accessible to the public.
11    (Source: P.A. 90-287, eff. 1-1-98.)

12        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
13    becoming law.