HB3556eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3556 Engrossed LRB103 30147 RLC 56571 b

AN ACT concerning agriculture.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Black Farmer Restoration Program Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agricultural easement" means a nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property imposing limitations on the use of the property strictly to agricultural purposes. An agricultural easement does not prevent a property owner from constructing, improving, or maintaining a primary residence or housing for farmworkers on the land.

"Director" means the Director of Agriculture.

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

"Eligible individual" means a resident of this State who:

(1) was born in this State;

(2) is at least 21 years of age;

(3) has previously identified as Black or African American; and

(4) has at least one parent of African ancestry.

"Limited resource farmer" means a farmer with direct or indirect gross farm sales not more than the current indexed value in each of the previous 2 years, and who has a total household income at or below the national poverty level for a family of 4, or less than 50% of county median household income in each of the previous 2 years.

"Qualified entity" means an organization:

(1) that has a fiscal sponsor who is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;

(2) that has a minimum of 3 years of experience providing agricultural services, business assistance, legal assistance, or advocacy services to socially disadvantaged farmers; and

(3) in which at least one-half of the members of the organization's board of directors are Black.

"Socially disadvantaged farmer" means a farmer who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group.

"Socially disadvantaged group" means a group of people whose members have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.

"Training" means a program of training approved by the Director that:

(1) provides an eligible individual with the basic skills to operate a farm profitably with a primary focus on regenerating the soil, ecosystem, and local community;

(2) provides a course of study that is equivalent to no less than 30 academic credit hours of study, which may be provided as direct in-field instruction;

(3) focuses on low capital-intensive techniques and technologies; and

(4) studies local and regional food systems and the market opportunities those systems present.

Section 10. Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund.

(a) The Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Except as provided in subsection (b), the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the General Assembly, shall be used for the purposes of the program, which include the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants to private landowners, socially disadvantaged farmers, and limited resource farmers, land improvement and planning grants, technical assistance grants, technical assistance provided by the Department, technology transfer activities of the Department, and administrative costs incurred by the Department in administering the program.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), moneys may be deposited into the fund from federal grants, and gifts and donations that are designated and required by the donor to be used exclusively for the purposes of the program.

(c) Not to exceed 10% of all grants made by the Department under this Act may be made for land improvement purposes, technical assistance purposes, and policy planning purposes. Not less than 90% of funds available for grants under this Act shall be expended for the acquisition of interests in land. For purposes of this Act, the expenditures specified in this subsection shall be deemed expenditures for the acquisition of interests in land. Not less than 75% of funds shall be provided to applicants that lease or sell to socially disadvantaged farmers. Moneys in the fund shall also be available for the following purposes:

(1) To provide technical assistance grants to eligible assistance entities in support of socially disadvantaged farmers who are seeking financing for land acquisition or leasing. For purposes of this Section, technical assistance includes, but is not limited to, organizing, advising, counseling, educating, planning, drafting, translating, interpreting, and consulting with socially disadvantaged farmers for the purpose of preparing them for favorable financing for land acquisition or negotiating leasing arrangements.

(2) To provide acquisition assistance grants to eligible assistance entities for the sole purpose of reducing barriers to land access for socially disadvantaged farmers, including, but not limited to, down payment assistance, interest rate assistance, direct costs incidental to acquisition, and infrastructure for land improvement.

(3) To provide technical assistance grants to eligible assistance entities in support of socially disadvantaged farmers who are seeking financing for land acquisition or leasing. For purposes of this paragraph (3), technical assistance includes, but is not limited to, organizing, advising, counseling, educating, planning, drafting, translating, interpreting, and consulting with socially disadvantaged farmers for the purpose of preparing them for favorable financing for land acquisition or negotiating leasing arrangements.

(4) To provide acquisition assistance grants to eligible assistance entities for the sole purpose of reducing barriers to land access for socially disadvantaged farmers, including, but not limited to, down payment assistance, interest rate assistance, direct costs incidental to acquisition, and infrastructure for land improvement.

Section 15. Department and Director responsibilities.

(a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall:

(1) purchase, from willing sellers, available agricultural land within this State at a price no greater than fair market value; and

(2) convey grants of the purchased land to eligible individuals at no cost to the eligible individual.

(b) A land grant to an eligible individual may not exceed one hundred acres.

(c) Eligible individuals:

(1) An eligible individual seeking a land grant shall submit an application on a form and in a manner approved by the Director that must include a legal description of the eligible agricultural land.

(2) The Director shall give priority to applications to:

(A) socially disadvantaged farmers;

(B) eligible individuals with a family history of land dispossession;

(C) eligible individuals with experience in agriculture, including experience obtained through the provisions of this article; and

(D) eligible individuals who are veterans.

(3) The Director may grant an application submitted by a qualified entity on behalf of one or more eligible individuals seeking a land grant. An application submitted by a qualified entity for more than one hundred acres must include a proposal for how the land will be subdivided and separately conveyed to multiple eligible individuals.

(d) Granted land.

(1) The Director shall attach an agricultural easement to the land before it may be conveyed to the eligible individual or qualified entity.

(2) The recipient of the land grant may sell the land, but the Department has the right of first refusal to purchase the land at the appraised value of the land to convey to another eligible individual pursuant to the provisions of this article.

Section 20. Farm Conservation Corps.

(a) Subject to appropriation and in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, the Department shall establish the Farm Conservation Corps to provide residents between the ages of 18 and 29 from socially disadvantaged groups the academic, vocational, and social skills necessary to pursue long-term and productive careers in agriculture.

(b) The members of the Farm Conservation Corps shall serve as on-farm apprentices, at no cost, to farms with an annual gross farm income of less than $250,000 operated by:

(1) socially disadvantaged farmers;

(2) beginning farmers; or

(3) farmers operating certified organic farms.

Section 25. Data collection and reporting.

(a) Generally. Subject to appropriation, the Director shall make publicly available annual reports describing data on the recipients of the Department programs, including assistance from farm subsidy programs, and the amounts of the assistance, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the recipients.

(b) Research of socially disadvantaged farmers. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct research on the status of socially disadvantaged farmers, including, but not limited to:

(1) the share of land ownership of those socially disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the landowners;

(2) the share of the amount of assistance those socially disadvantaged farmers receive from the Department as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the recipients;

(3) the share, status, and receipt of loans by socially disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the recipients; and

(4) an assessment of the reasons for disparities in land ownership, assistance from the Department, and loans for socially disadvantaged farmers compared to all farmers.

(c) Research of farmworkers. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct research on the demographics and status of farmworkers, including, but not limited to:

(1) the races, ethnicities, ages, localities, wages and benefits, and working conditions of farmworkers;

(2) the economic contributions of farmworkers to the Illinois economy; and

(3) satisfaction of farmworkers with their employment.

(d) Census of agriculture. The Department shall:

(1) investigate historical changes in reporting methodology and misreporting of socially disadvantaged farmers in the census of agriculture;

(2) develop procedures to ensure that census of agriculture surveys accurately capture the status of socially disadvantaged farmers engaged in urban agriculture; and

(3) conduct, concurrently with each census of agriculture, a review to assess:

(A) the outreach and methodologies used in conducting the census of agriculture; and

(B) how such outreach and methodologies have affected the counting of socially disadvantaged farmers.

(e) Corporate ownership of farmland. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall annually conduct, and annually make publicly available reports describing, in-depth research and analysis of corporate (domestic and foreign) land investment and ownership in Illinois, with specific attention given to the impact of corporate land investment and ownership on:

(1) land consolidation trends in Illinois and in the United States;

(2) challenges and opportunities for new and beginning farmers accessing land for farming;

(3) challenges and opportunities for members of socially disadvantaged groups accessing land for farming; and

(4) crop selection and production trends.

Section 35. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.990 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)

Sec. 5.990. The Black Farmer Restoration Program Fund.

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