093_HB2273
LRB093 08346 JAM 08565 b
1 AN ACT concerning recreational trails.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Recreational Trails of Illinois Act is
5 amended by changing Section 15 as follows:
6 (20 ILCS 862/15)
7 Sec. 15. Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund.
8 (a) The Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Fund is created as a
9 special fund in the State treasury. Money from federal,
10 State, and private sources may be deposited into the Fund.
11 Fines assessed by the Department of Natural Resources for
12 citations issued to off-highway vehicle operators shall be
13 deposited into the Fund. All interest accrued on the Fund
14 shall be deposited into the Fund.
15 (b) All money in the Fund shall be used, subject to
16 appropriation, by the Department for the following purposes:
17 (1) Grants for construction of off-highway vehicle
18 recreational trails on county, municipal, other units of
19 local government, or private lands where a recreational
20 need for the construction is shown.
21 (2) Grants for maintenance and construction of
22 off-highway vehicle recreational trails on federal lands,
23 where permitted by law.
24 (3) Grants for development of off-highway vehicle
25 trail-side facilities in accordance with criteria
26 approved by the National Recreational Trails Advisory
27 Committee.
28 (4) Grants for acquisition of property from willing
29 sellers for off-highway vehicle recreational trails when
30 the objective of a trail cannot be accomplished by other
31 means.
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1 (5) Grants for development of urban off-highway
2 vehicle trail linkages near homes and workplaces.
3 (6) Grants for maintenance of existing off-highway
4 vehicle recreational trails, including the grooming and
5 maintenance of trails across snow.
6 (7) Grants for restoration of areas damaged by
7 usage of off-highway vehicle recreational trails and back
8 country terrain.
9 (8) Grants for provision of features that
10 facilitate the access and use of off-highway vehicle
11 trails by persons with disabilities.
12 (9) Grants for acquisition of easements for
13 off-highway vehicle trails or for trail corridors.
14 (10) Grants for a rider education and safety
15 program.
16 (11) Administration, enforcement, planning, and
17 implementation of this Act and Sections 11-1426 and
18 11-1427 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
19 Of the money used from the Fund for the purposes set
20 forth in this subsection, at least 85% 60% shall be allocated
21 for motorized recreation. The Department shall establish, by
22 rule, measures to verify that recipients of money from the
23 Fund comply with the specified conditions for the use of the
24 money.
25 (c) The Department may not use the money from the Fund
26 for the following purposes:
27 (1) Condemnation of any kind of interest in
28 property.
29 (2) Construction of any recreational trail on
30 National Forest System land for motorized uses unless
31 those lands have been allocated for uses other than
32 wilderness by an approved forest land and resource
33 management plan or have been released to uses other than
34 wilderness by an Act of Congress, and the construction is
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1 otherwise consistent with the management direction in the
2 approved land and resource management plan.
3 (3) Construction of motorized recreational trails
4 on Department owned or managed land.
5 (d) The Department shall establish a program to
6 administer grants from the Fund to units of local government,
7 not-for-profit organizations, and other groups to operate,
8 maintain, and acquire land for off-highway vehicle parks that
9 are open and accessible to the public.
10 (Source: P.A. 90-287, eff. 1-1-98.)
11 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12 becoming law.