State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB4750

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning agricultural development.

 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    Illinois AgFirst Infrastructure Development Act.

 6        Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
 7        "Authority"  means  the   Illinois   Agricultural   Small
 8    Business Authority created by this Act.
 9        "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
10        "Director" means the Director of Agriculture.
11        "Eligible farmer" means a person who (i) is a resident of
12    Illinois and (ii) has had more than $40,000 in gross sales of
13    agricultural  products  during  any  one  of  the preceding 5
14    calendar years and at that time owned or leased 60  acres  or
15    more  of  land used as a "farm" as defined in Section 1-60 of
16    the Property Tax Code.
17        "Farm worker" means an individual (including a migrant or
18    seasonal farm worker) who has worked on a farm for  at  least
19    one year and has been laid off due to reduced farm income.

20        Section 10. Crisis Safety Net Response Program.
21        (a)  The  Department  must  establish  and  coordinate  a
22    Crisis  Safety  Net  Program and must establish guidelines to
23    identify farmers and farm workers who are  eligible  for  the
24    program.
25        (b)  The  Department  shall identify and assess the needs
26    of eligible farmers and farm workers and shall coordinate  or
27    provide  re-employment  and job re-training services, such as
28    outreach,  counseling,   vocational   assessment,   classroom
29    training,   on-the-job   training,   job  search  assistance,
30    placement, supportive services, and follow-up,  so  that  the
 
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 1    farmer  or  farm  worker  may remain in farming or find other
 2    employment if farming is no longer an option.
 3        (c)  The  Department  is  authorized  to  provide   legal
 4    assistance  to  any  person  receiving  services  under  this
 5    Section.
 6        (d)  The   Department   may  adopt  any  rules  that  are
 7    necessary to administer this Section.

 8        Section 15.  Value-added virtual equity program.
 9        (a)  The Department shall develop and administer a  value
10    added virtual equity program for the purpose of promoting the
11    value-added   processing   of   Illinois  farm  products  and
12    by-products through loans and grants to current and potential
13    processors.  Qualifying processing facilities must be located
14    in Illinois and must process, package, or  otherwise  enhance
15    the  value  of  farm  products  or  by-products  produced  in
16    Illinois.   Loans  or  grants  may  be  used for the costs of
17    establishing and operating a value-added processing facility,
18    including, but not limited  to,  (i)  purchasing  land,  (ii)
19    purchasing,  constructing,  or  refurbishing buildings, (iii)
20    purchasing  or  refurbishing  machinery  or  equipment,  (iv)
21    installation, (v) repairs,  (vi)  labor,  and  (vii)  working
22    capital.
23        (b)  The  recipient of a grant or loan under this Section
24    must provide a  minimum  percentage,  as  determined  by  the
25    Department, of the total cost of the processing project, with
26    the  balance of the project's total cost available from other
27    sources.  Other sources include,  but  are  not  limited  to,
28    commercial   and  private  lenders,  leasing  companies,  and
29    grants.    The   recipient's   match   may   be   in    cash,
30    cash-equivalent  investments, or both.  A loan or grant under
31    this Section may not exceed 50% of the project's total costs.
32    A loan or  grant  under  this  Section  must  be  secured  in
33    accordance  with Department rule, may be disbursed only after
 
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 1    funds from the project's other sources have  been  disbursed,
 2    and may be subordinate to that of any primary lender.
 3        (c)  Loan  or  grant  applications  must be made on forms
 4    provided by and in accordance with procedures established  by
 5    the  Department.   At  a  minimum,  an  applicant  must be an
 6    Illinois resident, as defined by Department rule,  and  shall
 7    be  required to provide the names, addresses, and occupations
 8    of all project owners, the project address, and any  relevant
 9    credit and financial information.
10        The  Department  may charge an application fee, an annual
11    administrative fee, or both in connection  with  a  grant  or
12    loan,  for  which  the  recipient  or the recipient's primary
13    lender shall be responsible. Any fees or charges involved  in
14    recording mortgages, releasing financing statements, or other
15    loan-related activity, as the Department may determine, shall
16    be the responsibility of the grant or loan recipient.
17        (d)  The  Department  shall adopt rules necessary for the
18    implementation of this Section.

19        Section 17.  Enhanced Value-Added Agriculture  Production
20    Guarantee Program.
21        (a)  The Department may issue State Guarantees to lenders
22    for loans to  finance  or  refinance  debts  for  specialized
23    agri-businesses  that  are  or  will  be  (i)  engaged in the
24    process of adding value to  agricultural  products  and  (ii)
25    located  in  Illinois.   For  the  purposes  of this Section,
26    agri-business includes, but  is  not  limited  to,  research,
27    development,  processing, marketing, production, and the sale
28    of agricultural products and production agriculture.
29        (b) Lenders must apply for the State Guarantees on  forms
30    provided   by  the  Department  and  must  certify  that  the
31    application  and  any  other  documents  submitted   to   the
32    Department  are true and correct.  The lender or borrower, or
33    both  in  combination,  must  pay   an   administrative   fee
 
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 1    determined  by  the Department.  The applicant is responsible
 2    for paying any fee or charge involved in recording mortgages,
 3    releases, and financing statements; insurance  for  secondary
 4    market  issues;  and any other similar fee or charge that the
 5    Authority may require.   The application must, at a  minimum,
 6    contain  the  farmer's  name;  address;  present  credit  and
 7    financial   information,   including  cash  flow  statements,
 8    financial  statements,  balance   sheets,   and   any   other
 9    information  pertinent to the application; and the collateral
10    to be used to secure the State Guarantee.  In  addition,  the
11    borrower must certify to the Department that, at the time the
12    State  Guarantee  is  provided,  the  borrower  will  not  be
13    delinquent  in  the  repayment  of any debt.  The lender must
14    agree  to  charge  a  fixed  or  adjustable  rate  that   the
15    Department  determines  is  below the market rate of interest
16    generally available to the borrower. If both the  lender  and
17    the borrower agree, the interest rate on the State guaranteed
18    loan  can  be  converted to a fixed interest rate at any time
19    during the term of the loan.
20        (c) State Guarantees provided under this Section (i)  may
21    not  exceed  $1,000,000 per applicant, (ii) may not be longer
22    than 15 years in duration, and (iii) are subject to an annual
23    review and renewal by the  lender  and  the  Department.   An
24    applicant  may use this program more than once, provided that
25    the aggregate principal amount to State Guarantees under this
26    Section to the applicant does not exceed $1,000,000.  A State
27    Guarantee may not be  revoked  by  the  Authority  without  a
28    90-day notice, in writing, to all parties.
29        (d)   The  Department  must  provide  or  renew  a  State
30    Guarantee to a lender if:
31             (1) The lender pays a fee equal to 25  basis  points
32        on the loan to the Department on an annual basis.
33             (2)  The  application provides collateral acceptable
34        to the Department that is at least  equal  to  the  State
 
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 1        Guarantee.
 2             (3)  The lender assumes all responsibility and costs
 3        for pursuing legal action on collecting any loan that  is
 4        delinquent or in default.
 5             (4)  The  lender is at risk for the first 15% of the
 6        outstanding principal of the note  for  which  the  State
 7        Guarantee is provided.

 8        Section 20. Agriculture management curriculum.
 9        (a)  The   Department   must   establish  an  agriculture
10    management curriculum and educator training program  for  the
11    essential  management  skills  needed to address the changing
12    nature of management of the  business  of  agriculture.   The
13    curriculum    shall    address   entrepreneurship,   new-risk
14    management,  contracting,  forming   new-generation   co-ops,
15    developing   business   plans,   preparing  marketing  plans,
16    branding and marketing specialized agricultural products, and
17    grain segregation and GMO issues.
18        (b)  Courses using the curriculum may be offered  through
19    community  colleges  and the Cooperative Extension Service of
20    the University of Illinois.

21        Section   25.  Illinois   Agricultural   Small   Business
22    Authority.  There  is  created  within  the  Department   the
23    Illinois Agricultural Small Business Authority.
24        The  Authority  shall  provide  technical  and managerial
25    assistance to new-generation co-ops and small agri-businesses
26    by (i)  contracting  with  local  development  organizations,
27    chambers of commerce, and industry or trade associations with
28    technical  and  managerial expertise located within the State
29    and (ii) establishing a  network  of  agri-business  centers.
30    The  Authority  shall  also  assist new-generation co-ops and
31    agri-businesses with finding  site  locations  and  accessing
32    financing options.
 
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 1        Section 30. Agri-business Outreach Program.
 2        (a)  There  is  established  within  the  Department  the
 3    Agri-business   Outreach   Program   to  (i)  coordinate  and
 4    disseminate information on existing State, federal, and local
 5    programs  for  the  promotion  and  development  of  new  and
 6    existing  agricultural  ventures,  (ii)  expedite  access  to
 7    available resources by potential businesses, and (iii) create
 8    a    database    within    the    Department    to    collect
 9    agriculture-specific  data  based  on   the   Department   of
10    Commerce and Community Affairs's database in order to make an
11    inventory  of  local  physical  resources  available  to  the
12    public,  the  General  Assembly,  the  Governor's Office, and
13    State and local government agencies.
14        (b)  The Department may  adopt  any  rules  necessary  to
15    implement this Section.

16        Section 35.  Certification. The Department must develop a
17    voluntary  certification process that guarantees a buyer that
18    the certified Illinois products  have  traits  and  qualities
19    that warrant a premium price. The Department must adopt rules
20    setting certification standards and licensing associations to
21    certify the product for a producer-paid fee.

22        Section  40.  Market  access.  The  Department  must  (i)
23    identify  international  and  domestic  consumer preferences,
24    (ii) identify the new  markets  those  preferences  indicate,
25    particularly   for   value-added   products,  (iii)  identify
26    preserved products, (iv) underwrite demonstrations on foreign
27    soils, and (v) provide market analyses and trend  projections
28    to farmers and other interested persons.

29        Section  95.  Repeal.  This  Act  is  repealed on July 1,
30    2005.
 
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 1        Section 99.  Effective date. This  Act  takes  effect  on
 2    July 1, 2001.

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