HB5242eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5242 Engrossed LRB100 19858 HLH 35136 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 5. The Brownfields Redevelopment and Intermodal Promotion Act is amended by changing Sections 3-25, 3-30, and 3-45 as follows:

(20 ILCS 607/3-25)

Sec. 3-25. Limitation on amounts for eligible projects.

The total amount of tax increment to be transferred to the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Increment Fund shall not exceed $3,000,000 in each State fiscal year. Any increment generated in a given State fiscal year in excess of $3,000,000 shall be retained by the State. Any revenues in the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund not used in a given fiscal year may be rolled over into subsequent fiscal years. Use of the Fund to pay or reimburse eligible expenses shall not preclude the receipt of benefits from any Enterprise Zone, Tax Increment Finance District, property tax abatement program, or other business development program of a federal, State, or local economic development program that may be available to the project, and any brownfield site included in an agreement with an eligible developer or eligible employer shall remain fully eligible for all State and Federal tax incentives and grants specifically related to brownfield remediation.

(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)

(20 ILCS 607/3-30)

Sec. 3-30. Managing Partner; Advisory Council; responsibilities.

(a) The Managing Partner shall report its recommendations to the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council consists of two members appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois, two members appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and five members selected by the Affected Municipalities to represent them. All members shall serve for a term of 3 years. Upon expiration of each member's term, a successor shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. Vacancies on the Advisory Council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments and any members so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred. The appointments shall be made within 90 days of the effective date of this Act. Five members shall constitute a quorum. The Council shall elect a Chairperson amongst its members by simple majority vote. Members shall serve without compensation and accurate minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall meet no less frequently than quarterly and a meeting may be called by the Chairperson or any four members of the Board. The relationship between the Managing Partner and the Advisory Council shall be set forth in an agreement among the parties.

(b) The Managing Partner is responsible for ensuring that, in consultation with the Advisory Board, the acreage designated as part of the Zone is redeveloped to simultaneously maximize the following:

(1) Protection and improvement of the natural environment and the remediation of brownfield industrial property within the Brownfield Redevelopment Zone.

(2) Restoration of industrially zoned land to its best and highest use, defined here as the highest possible number of new jobs in logistics or manufacturing operations and the highest levels of new business revenues.

(3) Employment of local low and moderate income residents of the Zone and minority residents of the Zone and contracting with local minority-owned firms, to the extent consistent with Cook County policies and existing law.

(c) In order to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in subsection (b) of this Section, the Managing Partner, subject to the laws and rules of the State and the government of Cook County, has the following powers and duties, which shall collectively comprise its program administration tasks:

(1) Create, gain approval from the Director for, and regularly update, a master plan for the redevelopment of properties and the use of the Fund, for review by the Advisory Board and the Director, including the following elements:

(A) An explanation of how the features of the master plan allow the Managing Partner to fulfill the broad responsibility outlined in this Section.

(B) The tasks that the Managing Partner will undertake, directly or through assistance in the negotiation of development agreements with eligible developers or eligible employers, to acquire, assemble, remediate, prepare for development, redevelop, or market parcels that are part of the Zone.

(C) The criteria by which the Managing Partner will evaluate and select from among potential eligible projects to carry out its basic responsibilities as outlined in this Section, including criteria that will fulfill the following programmatic goals: (i) at least 30% of labor hours must be performed by members of minority groups who reside in the municipalities where the Zone operates, and (ii) at least 20% of the dollar value of contracts and subcontracts must be held by minority-owned firms that are based in the municipalities where the Zone operates.

(D) Methods the Managing Partner employed to receive and incorporate input on the master plan from a broad range of residents and stakeholders within the municipalities where the Zone operates, and methods it will employ to publicize the master plan so that it is constantly available for public review.

(E) Documentation of the master plan's consistency with the applicable metropolitan planning organization's current regional comprehensive plan and regional Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), and with the current State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP).

(2) Develop and maintain a current database or set of databases with detailed information including:

(A) All industrially zoned real estate properties that are part of the Zone, including information concerning each property's ownership; current or delinquent tax status; proximity to major elements of freight infrastructure; status as a potential or designated brownfield; and any other information to support the marketing and redevelopment of properties that are part of the Zone.

(B) All major elements of infrastructure that serve the properties that are part of the Zone, including the capacity and state of repair of rail lines and spurs, roadways, water, sewage, and power systems.

(C) Names of minority-owned contracting firms that are based in municipalities containing property that is included in the Zone and wish to be hired by eligible developers or eligible employers, including the qualifications and contact information for these contractors.

(D) Names of individuals who are residents of municipalities containing property that is part of the Zone and are members of a minority group, who wish to be employed by eligible developers or eligible employers, including the qualifications and contact information for these residents.

(3) Execute its master plan through a series of eligible activities as outlined in Section 3-45 of this Act, governed by agreements.

(4) Evaluate project proposals to determine their appropriateness and priority for funding based on the evaluation criteria defined in the master plan.

(5) Negotiate and monitor agreements with Affected Municipalities, eligible developers and eligible employers.

(6) Maintain records of activities and financial transactions including regular reports to the Department and an annual certified public audit.

(7) Publish and make publicly available an annual report detailing local minority hiring and contracting that has resulted from the use of revenues in the Fund, to include the following: (A) the total number of labor hours performed by new employees who work at finished facilities located on property that is part of the Zone and who (i) are members of a minority group, and (ii) reside in one of the municipalities containing property that is part of the Zone; (B) the total number of labor hours performed by all new employees who work at finished facilities located on property that is part of the Zone; (C) the total dollar value of contracted or subcontracted services reimbursed with revenues from the Fund and that were performed by firms that are (i) minority-owned, and (ii) based in one of the municipalities containing property that is part of the Zone; (D) the total dollar value of contracted or subcontracted services reimbursed with revenues from the Fund; and (E) an explanation of concrete steps that will be taken if these values do not meet the programmatic goals that (i) at least 30% of labor hours must be performed by members of local minority groups, and (ii) at least 20% of the dollar value of contracts and subcontracts must be held by local minority-owned firms.

(8) Report to the Director quarterly on the progress of executing the master plan and eligible activities.

(d) The Department shall manage and allocate all South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund revenues subject to the Director's finding that funds are being used to execute the master plan for redevelopment of properties that are part of the Zone.

The Managing Partner may, at its discretion, subject to the laws and rules of the State and the government of Cook County, contract with an entity of its choosing to support these program administration tasks.

(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)

(20 ILCS 607/3-45)

Sec. 3-45. Eligible activities. Funds held in the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Fund may be expended for the following purposes:

(1) Payment of costs undertaken directly by the Managing Partner or reimbursement of costs incurred by an eligible developer or eligible employer as part of the execution of an agreement, any of which services may be subcontracted out to third parties for the following activities:

(A) environmental site assessments, site investigations, remediation action plans, and remediation of brownfield sites located on property where any portion of an eligible project is taking place;

(B) land acquisition and site assembly, site development plans, and demolition of derelict or outdated structures.

(C) recruiting and training of individuals who are both (i) members of a minority group, and (ii) residing in one of the municipalities containing property that is part of the Zone, for employment in logistics or light manufacturing, such as through pre-employment services, pre-apprenticeship training, apprenticeship training, and skills training; expenditures for these recruiting or training activities shall not exceed 20% of the total dollars transferred to the South Suburban Brownfields Redevelopment Increment Fund in any fiscal year or 15% of the total dollars transferred to this Fund during the entire period of the Fund's existence.

(2) Payment of the costs of repairing or upgrading public infrastructure on publicly owned land within the Zone, including rights of way, provided such infrastructure is on public property that is either included within the Brownfields Redevelopment Zone or which is essential to the development of a Project.

In agreements with for-profit eligible developers and employers governing redevelopment of privately held land, reimbursements must first and foremost prioritize the activities described in item (A).

(3) Program administration costs. The Managing Partner may request up to a total of 15% of amounts in the Fund over the course of the fiscal year to support its responsibilities in that fiscal year or in prior years as detailed in Section 3-30 of this Act. The Managing Partner must find additional funds for any program administration costs not covered by the 15%. Subject to the Department's approval, the Managing Partner may impose a reasonable fee upon eligible developers and eligible employers who submit proposals, for purposes of processing these applications and performing such due diligence as may be necessary to assess overall feasibility of the proposed projects and their consistency with the development objectives of this Act and the Zone Master Plan as discussed in Section 3-30 of this Act. Those fees may not exceed 2% of the dollar amount requested from the Fund for the proposed project, and the Managing Partner may use these fees to support program administration. The income to the Managing Partner generated by those fees shall be counted as part of the 15% of total transfers to the Fund permitted for the Managing Partner's compensation.

(Source: P.A. 98-109, eff. 7-25-13.)

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