Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB0056 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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	1	+	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB0056 Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 505 ILCS 72/1 Amends the Farmer Equity Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB0056 Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 505 ILCS 72/1 505 ILCS 72/1 Amends the Farmer Equity Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b A BILL FOR
	2	+	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB0056 Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
	3	+	505 ILCS 72/1 505 ILCS 72/1
	4	+	505 ILCS 72/1
	5	+	Amends the Farmer Equity Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
	6	+	LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
	7	+	LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
	8	+	A BILL FOR
	9	+	HB0056LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b HB0056 LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
	10	+	HB0056 LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
3	11		1 AN ACT concerning agriculture.
4	12		2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
5	13		3 represented in the General Assembly:
6		-	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Farmer
7		-	5 Restoration Program Act.
8		-	6 Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
9		-	7 "Agricultural conservation easement" means a nonpossessory
10		-	8 interest of a holder in real property imposing limitations on
11		-	9 the use of the property to ensure the land remains available
12		-	10 for agricultural purposes. An agricultural conservation
13		-	11 easement does not prevent a property owner from constructing,
14		-	12 improving, or maintaining a primary residence or housing for
15		-	13 farmworkers on the land unless expressly specified in the
16		-	14 easement deed.
17		-	15 "Costs of acquisition" means out-of-pocket direct costs of
18		-	16 activities incurred in connection with the processing,
19		-	17 recording, and documentation of an agricultural conservation
20		-	18 easement, such as appraisals, land surveys, title
21		-	19 verification, and closing. "Costs of acquisition" do not
22		-	20 include any costs incurred by a qualified easement holder for
23		-	21 staffing, overhead, or operations.
24		-	22 "Director" means the Director of Agriculture.
25		-	23 "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
	14	+	4 Section 5. The Farmer Equity Act is amended by changing
	15	+	5 Section 1 as follows:
	16	+	6 (505 ILCS 72/1)
	17	+	7 Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the the
	18	+	8 Farmer Equity Act.
	19	+	9 (Source: P.A. 100-1039, eff. 8-23-18.)
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34		-	1 "Eligible individual" means a resident of this State who:
35		-	2 (1) was born in this State;
36		-	3 (2) is at least 21 years of age; and
37		-	4 (3) is a member of a socially disadvantaged group.
38		-	5 "Limited resource farmer" means a farmer with direct or
39		-	6 indirect gross farm sales not more than the current indexed
40		-	7 value in each of the previous 2 years, and who has a total
41		-	8 household income at or below the national poverty level for a
42		-	9 family of 4, or less than 50% of county median household income
43		-	10 in each of the previous 2 years.
44		-	11 "New and beginning farmer" means a farmer who has operated
45		-	12 a farm or ranch for less than 10 years.
46		-	13 "Qualified entity" means an organization:
47		-	14 (1) that is a nonprofit corporation under Section
48		-	15 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or an
49		-	16 organization which has a fiscal sponsor who is exempt from
50		-	17 taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
51		-	18 Code of 1986; and
52		-	19 (2) that has a minimum of 3 years of experience
53		-	20 providing agricultural services, business assistance,
54		-	21 legal assistance, or advocacy services to socially
55		-	22 disadvantaged farmers.
56		-	23 "Qualified easement holder" means a State agency, federal
57		-	24 agency, county, municipality, or nonprofit organization under
58		-	25 Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with
59		-	26 experience acquiring, whether through purchase, donation, or
	23	+	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB0056 Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
	24	+	505 ILCS 72/1 505 ILCS 72/1
	25	+	505 ILCS 72/1
	26	+	Amends the Farmer Equity Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
	27	+	LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
	28	+	LRB103 03572 RJT 48578 b
	29	+	A BILL FOR
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	35	+	505 ILCS 72/1
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70		-	1 transfer, an agricultural or other conservation easement.
71		-	2 "Qualified farmland" means land that is in agricultural
72		-	3 production or available for agricultural production, including
73		-	4 row crops, livestock, nurseries, orchards, or pastures, and
74		-	5 incidental land that is associated with an active agricultural
75		-	6 operation.
76		-	7 "Socially disadvantaged farmer" means a farmer who is a
77		-	8 member of a socially disadvantaged group.
78		-	9 "Socially disadvantaged group" means a group whose members
79		-	10 have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice
80		-	11 because of their identity as members of a group without regard
81		-	12 to their individual qualities. These groups include all of the
82		-	13 following:
83		-	14 (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person having
84		-	15 origins in any of the original peoples of North and South
85		-	16 America, including Central America, and who maintains
86		-	17 tribal affiliation or community attachment).
87		-	18 (2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the
88		-	19 original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the
89		-	20 Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited to,
90		-	21 Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan,
91		-	22 the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam).
92		-	23 (3) Black or African American (a person having origins
93		-	24 in any of the black racial groups of Africa).
94		-	25 (4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican,
95		-	26 Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish
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106		-	1 culture or origin, regardless of race).
107		-	2 (5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a
108		-	3 person having origins in any of the original peoples of
109		-	4 Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
110		-	5 "Training" means a program of training approved by the
111		-	6 Director that:
112		-	7 (1) provides an eligible individual with the basic
113		-	8 skills to operate a farm profitably with a primary focus
114		-	9 on regenerating the soil, ecosystem, and local community;
115		-	10 (2) provides a course of study that is equivalent to
116		-	11 no less than 30 academic credit hours of study, which may
117		-	12 be provided as direct in-field instruction;
118		-	13 (3) focuses on low capital-intensive techniques and
119		-	14 technologies; and
120		-	15 (4) studies local and regional food systems and the
121		-	16 market opportunities those systems present.
122		-	17 Section 10. Farmer Restoration Program Fund.
123		-	18 (a) The Farmer Restoration Program Fund is created as a
124		-	19 special fund in the State treasury. Except as provided in
125		-	20 subsection (b), the moneys in the Fund, upon appropriation by
126		-	21 the General Assembly, shall be used for the purposes of the
127		-	22 program, which include grants for the purchase of agricultural
128		-	23 conservation easements, technical assistance grants, technical
129		-	24 assistance provided by the Department, and administrative
130		-	25 costs incurred by the Department in administering the program.
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141		-	1 (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), moneys may be
142		-	2 deposited into the Fund from federal grants and gifts and
143		-	3 donations that are designated and required by the donor to be
144		-	4 used exclusively for the purposes of the program.
145		-	5 (c) Not more than 10% of available funds under this Act may
146		-	6 be used for technical assistance purposes and administration.
147		-	7 Not less than 90% of funds available for grants under this Act
148		-	8 shall be expended for the acquisition of agricultural
149		-	9 conservation easements. Moneys in the Fund shall also be
150		-	10 available for the following purposes:
151		-	11 (1) To provide technical assistance grants to
152		-	12 qualified entities in support of socially disadvantaged
153		-	13 farmers who are seeking access to farmland. As used in
154		-	14 this Section, "technical assistance" includes, but is not
155		-	15 limited to, organizing, advising, counseling, educating,
156		-	16 planning, drafting, translating, interpreting, and
157		-	17 consulting with socially disadvantaged farmers for the
158		-	18 purpose of preparing them for favorable financing for land
159		-	19 acquisition or negotiating leasing arrangements.
160		-	20 (2) To provide grants for the purchase of agricultural
161		-	21 conservation easements to qualified easement holders.
162		-	22 Moneys from the Fund shall be available in each fiscal
163		-	23 year to any qualified easement holder having made an
164		-	24 application that has been approved by the Department.
165		-	25 Award grants may include:
166		-	26 (A) payment to qualified easement holders for the
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177		-	1 purchase of agricultural conservation easements on
178		-	2 qualified farmland; or
179		-	3 (B) payment of the costs of acquisition related to
180		-	4 the purchase of agricultural conservation easements
181		-	5 approved by the program.
182		-	6 Section 15. Department responsibilities. Subject to
183		-	7 appropriation, the Department shall:
184		-	8 (1) adopt a scoring process to be used in evaluating
185		-	9 applications for agricultural conservation easement grants
186		-	10 that prioritizes applications benefiting:
187		-	11 (A) socially disadvantaged farmers;
188		-	12 (B) limited resource farmers;
189		-	13 (C) eligible individuals with a history of land
190		-	14 dispossession; and
191		-	15 (D) new and beginning farmers;
192		-	16 (2) include, as ranking criteria in the scoring
193		-	17 process, projects that:
194		-	18 (A) leverage local, federal, or private funding,
195		-	19 including a match requirement;
196		-	20 (B) support transition of farmland to next
197		-	21 generation owner-operators; and
198		-	22 (C) support conservation priorities, including
199		-	23 protection of habitat, water quality, watershed
200		-	24 conservation, climate resilience, and local
201		-	25 conservation plans; and
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212		-	1 (3) include, as eligibility criteria, projects that:
213		-	2 (A) protect farmland that is under threat of
214		-	3 conversion; and
215		-	4 (B) demonstrate that the parcel proposed for
216		-	5 conservation is expected to continue to be used for
217		-	6 agricultural production if conserved.
218		-	7 Section 20. Farm Conservation Corps.
219		-	8 (a) Subject to appropriation and in partnership with the
220		-	9 University of Illinois Extension, the Department shall
221		-	10 establish the Farm Conservation Corps to provide residents
222		-	11 between the ages of 18 and 29 from socially disadvantaged
223		-	12 groups the academic, vocational, and social skills necessary
224		-	13 to pursue long-term and productive careers in agriculture.
225		-	14 (b) The members of the Farm Conservation Corps shall serve
226		-	15 as on-farm apprentices, at no cost, to farms that have been
227		-	16 protected with an agricultural conservation easement under
228		-	17 this Act or with an annual gross farm income of less than
229		-	18 $250,000 operated by:
230		-	19 (1) socially disadvantaged farmers; or
231		-	20 (2) beginning farmers.
232		-	21 Section 25. Data collection and reporting.
233		-	22 (a) Subject to appropriation, the Director shall make
234		-	23 publicly available annual reports describing data on the
235		-	24 recipients of the Department programs, including assistance
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246		-	1 from farm subsidy programs, and the amounts of the assistance,
247		-	2 delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the
248		-	3 recipients.
249		-	4 (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct
250		-	5 research on the status of socially disadvantaged farmers,
251		-	6 including, but not limited to:
252		-	7 (1) the share of land ownership of those socially
253		-	8 disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers,
254		-	9 delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the
255		-	10 landowners;
256		-	11 (2) the share of the amount of assistance those
257		-	12 socially disadvantaged farmers receive from the Department
258		-	13 as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race,
259		-	14 ethnicity, and gender of the recipients;
260		-	15 (3) the share, status, and receipt of loans by
261		-	16 socially disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers,
262		-	17 delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the
263		-	18 recipients; and
264		-	19 (4) an assessment of the reasons for disparities in
265		-	20 land ownership, assistance from the Department, and loans
266		-	21 for socially disadvantaged farmers compared to all
267		-	22 farmers.
268		-	23 (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct
269		-	24 research on the demographics and status of farmworkers,
270		-	25 including, but not limited to:
271		-	26 (1) the races, ethnicities, ages, localities, wages
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282		-	1 and benefits, and working conditions of farmworkers;
283		-	2 (2) the economic contributions of farmworkers to the
284		-	3 State economy; and
285		-	4 (3) the satisfaction of farmworkers with their
286		-	5 employment.
287		-	6 (d) The Department shall:
288		-	7 (1) investigate historical changes in reporting
289		-	8 methodology and misreporting of socially disadvantaged
290		-	9 farmers in the census of agriculture;
291		-	10 (2) develop procedures to ensure that census of
292		-	11 agriculture surveys accurately capture the status of
293		-	12 socially disadvantaged farmers engaged in urban
294		-	13 agriculture; and
295		-	14 (3) conduct, concurrently with each census of
296		-	15 agriculture, a review to assess:
297		-	16 (A) the outreach and methodologies used in
298		-	17 conducting the census of agriculture; and
299		-	18 (B) how such outreach and methodologies have
300		-	19 affected the counting of socially disadvantaged
301		-	20 farmers.
302		-	21 (e) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall
303		-	22 annually conduct and annually make publicly available reports
304		-	23 describing in-depth research and analysis of corporate
305		-	24 (domestic and foreign) land investment and ownership in this
306		-	25 State with specific attention given to the impact of corporate
307		-	26 land investment and ownership on:
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318		-	1 (1) land consolidation trends in this State and in the
319		-	2 United States;
320		-	3 (2) challenges and opportunities for new and beginning
321		-	4 farmers accessing land for farming;
322		-	5 (3) challenges and opportunities for members of
323		-	6 socially disadvantaged groups accessing land for farming;
324		-	7 and
325		-	8 (4) crop selection and production trends.
326		-	9 Section 35. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt rules
327		-	10 to carry out the provisions of this Act, including the
328		-	11 adoption of rules that establish a process for submitting and
329		-	12 processing of applications for grants no later than December
330		-	13 31, 2023. Rules shall align with existing federal and local
331		-	14 programs to maximize potential for matching funds.
332		-	15 Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
333		-	16 Section 5.990 as follows:
334		-	17 (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
335		-	18 Sec. 5.990. The Farmer Restoration Program Fund.
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