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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as | ||||||
| 3 | well as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Biden | ||||||
| 4 | Administration's commitment to increasing conservation and | ||||||
| 5 | protecting open space, gives states access to unprecedented | ||||||
| 6 | federal funding that can change the landscape for agricultural | ||||||
| 7 | conservation practices, habitat restoration, and climate | ||||||
| 8 | resilience; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The America the Beautiful Plan and its commitment | ||||||
| 10 | to conserving 30 percent of land and water in the U.S. by 2030 | ||||||
| 11 | provides much needed momentum to direct these funds to open | ||||||
| 12 | space and natural resource protection; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, It is urgent that Illinois access this funding | ||||||
| 14 | since our planet is on the precipice of a massive extinction | ||||||
| 15 | event and food web collapse in the wake of a changing climate; | ||||||
| 16 | we have a moral obligation to do what we can to mitigate its | ||||||
| 17 | worst effects; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a responsibility to | ||||||
| 19 | protect its communities and to enable the use of these | ||||||
| 20 | resources; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is presented with an | ||||||
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| 1 | historic opportunity to become a national model for land, | ||||||
| 2 | water, and wildlife protection as we look toward 2023 and the | ||||||
| 3 | beginning of the 103rd General Assembly; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Working in tandem, the Illinois General Assembly | ||||||
| 5 | and the Governor's Office can ensure that available federal | ||||||
| 6 | programs can be easily accessed by both State agencies and | ||||||
| 7 | non-governmental organizations, as many of the incoming | ||||||
| 8 | dollars will require matching funds and/or statutory changes | ||||||
| 9 | to enable the full utilization of those funds; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois must prepare to receive | ||||||
| 11 | funding from the federal government by ensuring that agencies | ||||||
| 12 | are adequately staffed and coordinating with each other; | ||||||
| 13 | therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 16 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge state agencies, local | ||||||
| 17 | governments, and other organizations to work together to | ||||||
| 18 | identify and correct deficiencies that affect the State's | ||||||
| 19 | eligibility for federal funding to fight climate change.
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