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Public Act 102-1114
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| SB3908 Enrolled | LRB102 24759 NLB 33999 b |
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AN ACT concerning natural resources.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is |
amended by changing Section 5-560 as follows:
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(20 ILCS 5/5-560) (was 20 ILCS 5/6.08)
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Sec. 5-560. In the Department of Natural Resources.
An |
Advisory Board to the Department of Natural Resources,
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composed of 13 persons, one of whom shall be a senior citizen |
age 60
or over. Of the 13 appointed members, at least 2 shall |
represent hunting and fishing interests, 2 shall represent |
natural areas protection interests, 2 shall represent urban |
conservation interests, one shall represent parks and |
recreation interests, one shall represent outdoor powersport |
usage interests, one shall be a member of a statewide |
association of trappers and represent trapping interests, one |
shall represent forestry interests, and the remaining 3 shall |
be residents of this State. The Governor shall appoint a chair |
who will preside over the Board's meetings.
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In the appointment of the initial members the Governor |
shall
designate 3 persons to serve for 2 years, 3 for 4 years, |
and 3 for 6
years from the third Monday in January of the |
odd-numbered year in which
the term commences. The members |
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first appointed under this
amendatory Act of 1984 shall serve |
a term of 6 years commencing on the
third Monday in January, |
1985. The members first appointed under this
amendatory
Act of |
the 91st General Assembly shall each be appointed to a term of |
office to
expire on the third Monday in January of 2006.
All |
subsequent appointments shall be for terms of 6 years.
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Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the |
term of office of each member of the Board is abolished on |
August 1, 2022. Incumbent members holding a position on the |
Board on August 1, 2022 may be reappointed. In making |
appointments to fill the vacancies created on August 1, 2022, |
the Governor shall designate 4 members to serve until the |
third Monday of January, 2024, 4 members to serve until the |
third Monday of January, 2025, and 5 members to serve until the |
third Monday of January, 2026. All newly appointed members |
shall serve until their successors are appointed and |
qualified. Their successors shall be appointed to serve for |
3-year terms expiring on the 3rd anniversary of their |
appointment or until their successors are appointed and |
qualified. Each subsequent appointment shall be for a term of |
3 years. |
The Advisory Board shall formulate and present long range |
recommendations to policies for guidance
of the Department in: |
the protection and conservation of renewable
resources of the |
State of Illinois; the development of areas and
facilities for |
outdoor recreation; the proper restoration and management of |
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forest and woodland resources for forest products and |
ecosystem services prevention of timber destruction
and other |
forest growth by fire or otherwise; the reforestation of
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suitable lands of this State; the extension of cooperative |
support to
other agencies of this State in preventing and |
guarding
against the
pollution of streams and lakes within the |
State; the management of fish and the
wildlife resources and |
the habitats upon which they depend, including species of |
greatest conservation need migratory fowl, and fisheries |
resources,
including the construction of new water impoundment |
areas; the
development of an adequate research program for |
fish, wildlife game, and forestry, and conservation of the |
State's biodiversity
through cooperation with and support of |
the Illinois Natural History
Survey and the State University |
system; the development and dissemination of information and |
educational resources that promote a conservation-literate |
population; the development of innovative partnerships that |
assist the Department in accomplishing its broad mission; the |
Department's grant programs; and the development of law and |
policy expressing of policies for proper dissemination of and
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enforcement of the various laws pertinent to the conservation |
programs program of
Illinois and the nation.
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The Board shall make a study of the personnel structure of |
the
Department and shall, from time to time, make |
recommendations to the
Governor and the Director of Natural |
Resources for a merit
system of employment and for the |
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revision of the position classification to the
extent which |
Civil Service classification should apply in departmental
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positions.
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The Board may advise on shall make studies of the land |
acquisition needs of the
Department and make recommendations |
from time to time as to necessary acquisition
of lands for fish |
fisheries, wildlife game, forestry, conservation of natural |
areas, and recreational development.
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The Board may
recommend to the Director of Natural |
Resources any
reductions or increases of seasons and bag or |
possession limits or
the
closure of any season when research |
and inventory data indicate the need for
those changes.
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Board members shall be reimbursed for any necessary travel
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expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
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(Source: P.A. 90-435, eff. 1-1-98; 91-239, eff. 1-1-00; |
91-798, eff. 7-9-00.)
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Section 10. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing |
Section 1.3 as follows:
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(520 ILCS 5/1.3)
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Sec. 1.3. The Department shall have the authority to |
manage
wildlife and regulate the taking of wildlife for
the
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purposes of providing public recreation and controlling |
wildlife populations.
The seasons during which wildlife may be |
taken, the methods for taking
wildlife, the daily bag
limits, |
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and the possession limits shall be established by the |
Department
through
administrative rule,
but the Department may |
not provide for a longer season, a
larger daily bag limit, or a |
larger possession limit than is provided in
this Code.
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The Natural Resources Advisory Board may also recommend to |
the Director of
Natural Resources any reductions or increases |
of seasons and bag or possession
limits or the closure of any |
season when research and inventory data indicate
the need for |
such changes.
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The Department is authorized to establish seasons for the |
taking of
migratory birds within the dates established |
annually by
Proclamation of the
Secretary, United States |
Department of the Interior, known as the
"Rules and |
Regulations for Migratory Bird Hunting" (50 CFR 20 et seq.). |
When
the biological balance of any
species is affected, the |
Director may with the approval of the
Conservation Advisory |
Board, by administrative rule, lengthen, shorten
or close the |
season during which waterfowl may be taken within the
federal |
limitations prescribed.
If the Department does not adopt an |
administrative rule establishing a
season, then the season |
shall be as set forth in the current "Rules and
Regulations for |
Migratory Bird Hunting". The Department shall advise the
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public by reasonable means of the dates of the various |
seasons.
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The Department may utilize the services of the staff of |
the Illinois
Natural History Survey of the University of |
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Illinois for making investigations as to the population status |
of
the various species of wildlife.
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Employees or agents of any state, federal, or municipal |
government or body
when engaged in investigational work and |
law enforcement, may with prior
approval of the Director, be |
exempted from the provisions of this Act.
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(Source: P.A. 98-346, eff. 8-14-13.)
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Section 15. The Illinois Open Land Trust Act is amended by |
changing Sections 15 and 25 as follows:
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(525 ILCS 33/15)
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Sec. 15. Powers and duties. The Department of Natural |
Resources has the
following
powers and duties:
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(a) To develop and administer the Illinois Open Land Trust |
program.
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(b) To acquire real property, including, but not limited
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to,
open
space and natural areas for conservation and |
recreation purposes. The lands
shall
be held in (i) fee simple |
title or
(ii) conservation easements for natural areas, |
provided that
these mechanisms are all voluntary on the part |
of the landowners and do not
involve the use of eminent domain.
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(c) To make grants to units of local government
under
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Section 25 of this Act in consultation with the Natural |
Resources Advisory
Board.
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(d) To make loans to units of local government
under
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Section 30 of this Act in consultation with the Natural |
Resources Advisory
Board.
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(e) To promulgate any rules, regulations, guidelines, and |
directives
necessary
to
implement the purposes of this Act.
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(f) To execute contracts, grant or loan agreements, |
memoranda of
understanding, intergovernmental cooperation |
agreements, and any other
agreements with other
State
agencies |
and units of local government
that are necessary to implement |
this Act.
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(g) To execute contracts, memoranda of understanding, and |
any other
agreements with not-for-profit corporations that are |
consistent with the
purpose of this Act.
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(h) To accept grants, loans, or appropriations from the |
federal government
or
the
State, or any agency or |
instrumentality thereof, for the purposes of the
Department |
under
this Act, including to make loans of any funds and to |
enter into any agreement
with the
federal government or the |
State, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, in
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relationship
to the grants, loans, or appropriations.
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(i) To establish any interest rates, terms of repayment, |
and other terms and
conditions
regarding loans made pursuant |
to this Act that the Department deems necessary
or
appropriate |
to protect the public interest and carry out the purposes of |
this
Act.
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(j) To establish application, eligibility, selection, |
notification,
contract,
and other
procedures, rules, or |
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regulations deemed necessary and appropriate to carry out
the
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provisions of this Act.
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(k) To fix, determine, charge, and collect any premiums, |
fees, charges,
costs,
and
expenses, including, without |
limitation, any application fees, commitment fees,
program
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fees, or financing charges from any person in connection with |
its activities
under this
Act.
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(l) To report annually to the Governor and the General |
Assembly on the
progress made in implementing this Act and on |
the status of all real property
acquired pursuant to
the Act.
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(Source: P.A. 91-220, eff. 7-21-99.)
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(525 ILCS 33/25)
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Sec. 25. Grant program. From appropriations for these |
purposes, the
Department may
make grants to units of local |
government as
financial
assistance for the acquisition of open |
space and natural lands
if the
Department
determines that the |
property interests are sufficient to carry out the purposes
of |
this Act.
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The Department shall adopt rules concerning the selection |
or grant
recipients, amount of grant awards, and
eligibility |
requirements. The rules must include the following additional
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requirements:
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(1) No more than $2,000,000 may be awarded to any |
grantee for a single
project for
any fiscal year.
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(2) Any grant under this Act must be conditioned upon |
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the grantee
providing
a required match as defined by rule.
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(3) Funds may be used only to purchase interests in |
land from willing
sellers and may not involve the use of |
eminent domain.
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(4) (Blank). The Department shall provide for a public |
meeting to be conducted by
the Natural Resources Advisory |
Board prior to grant approval.
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(5) All real property acquired with grant funds must |
be accessible to the
public for
conservation and |
recreation purposes, unless the Department determines that
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public
accessibility would be detrimental to the real |
property or any associated
natural resources.
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(6) No real property acquired with grant funds may be |
sold, leased,
exchanged, or
otherwise encumbered, unless |
it is used to qualify for a federal program or,
subject to
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Department approval, transferred to the federal |
government, the State, or a
unit
of local
government for |
conservation
and recreation
purposes consistent with this |
Act.
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(7) All grantees must agree to convey to the State at |
no charge a
conservation easement on the lands to be |
acquired using the grant funds.
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(8) Grantees must agree to manage lands in accordance |
with the terms of
the
grant.
Any changes in management |
must be approved by the Department before
implementation.
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(9) The Department is authorized to promulgate, by |