HJ0026 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0026 LRB103 05672 ECR 50691 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Biden Administration's commitment to increasing conservation and protecting open space, gives states access to unprecedented federal funding that can change the landscape for agricultural conservation practices, habitat restoration, and climate resilience; and

WHEREAS, The America the Beautiful Plan and its commitment to conserving 30 percent of land and water in the U.S. by 2030 provides much needed momentum to direct these funds to open space and natural resource protection; and

WHEREAS, It is urgent that Illinois access this funding since our planet is on the precipice of a massive extinction event and food web collapse in the wake of a changing climate; we have a moral obligation to do what we can to mitigate its worst effects; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a responsibility to protect its communities and to enable the use of these resources; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is presented with an historic opportunity to become a national model for land, water, and wildlife protection as we look toward 2023 and the beginning of the 103rd General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Working in tandem, the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor's Office can ensure that available federal programs can be easily accessed by both State agencies and non-governmental organizations, as many of the incoming dollars will require matching funds and/or statutory changes to enable the full utilization of those funds; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois must prepare to receive funding from the federal government by ensuring that agencies are adequately staffed and coordinating with each other; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge state agencies, local governments, and other organizations to work together to identify and correct deficiencies that affect the State's eligibility for federal funding to fight climate change.