Full Text of HB0056 103rd General Assembly
HB0056ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Sonya M. Harper Filed: 4/15/2024 | | 10300HB0056ham001 | | LRB103 03572 BDA 71529 a |
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 56
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 56 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | 4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Farmer Restoration Program Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | 7 | | "Agricultural conservation easement" means a nonpossessory | 8 | | interest of a holder in real property imposing limitations on | 9 | | the use of the property to ensure the land remains available | 10 | | for agricultural purposes. An agricultural conservation | 11 | | easement does not prevent a property owner from constructing, | 12 | | improving, or maintaining a primary residence or housing for | 13 | | farmworkers on the land unless expressly specified in the | 14 | | easement deed. | 15 | | "Costs of acquisition" means out-of-pocket direct costs of | 16 | | activities incurred in connection with the processing, |
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| 1 | | recording, and documentation of an agricultural conservation | 2 | | easement, such as appraisals, land surveys, title | 3 | | verification, and closing. "Costs of acquisition" do not | 4 | | include any costs incurred by a qualified easement holder for | 5 | | staffing, overhead, or operations. | 6 | | "Director" means the Director of Agriculture. | 7 | | "Department" means the Department of Agriculture. | 8 | | "Eligible individual" means a resident of this State who: | 9 | | (1) was born in this State; | 10 | | (2) is at least 21 years of age; and | 11 | | (3) is a member of a socially disadvantaged group. | 12 | | "Limited resource farmer" means a farmer with direct or | 13 | | indirect gross farm sales not more than the current indexed | 14 | | value in each of the previous 2 years, and who has a total | 15 | | household income at or below the national poverty level for a | 16 | | family of 4, or less than 50% of county median household income | 17 | | in each of the previous 2 years. | 18 | | "New and beginning farmer" means a farmer who has operated | 19 | | a farm or ranch for less than 10 years. | 20 | | "Qualified entity" means an organization: | 21 | | (1) that is a nonprofit corporation under Section | 22 | | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or an | 23 | | organization which has a fiscal sponsor who is exempt from | 24 | | taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue | 25 | | Code of 1986; and | 26 | | (2) that has a minimum of 3 years of experience |
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| 1 | | providing agricultural services, business assistance, | 2 | | legal assistance, or advocacy services to socially | 3 | | disadvantaged farmers. | 4 | | "Qualified easement holder" means a State agency, federal | 5 | | agency, county, municipality, or nonprofit organization under | 6 | | Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with | 7 | | experience acquiring, whether through purchase, donation, or | 8 | | transfer, an agricultural or other conservation easement. | 9 | | "Qualified farmland" means land that is in agricultural | 10 | | production or available for agricultural production, including | 11 | | row crops, livestock, nurseries, orchards, or pastures, and | 12 | | incidental land that is associated with an active agricultural | 13 | | operation. | 14 | | "Socially disadvantaged farmer" means a farmer who is a | 15 | | member of a socially disadvantaged group. | 16 | | "Socially disadvantaged group" means a group whose members | 17 | | have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice | 18 | | because of their identity as members of a group without regard | 19 | | to their individual qualities. These groups include all of the | 20 | | following: | 21 | | (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person having | 22 | | origins in any of the original peoples of North and South | 23 | | America, including Central America, and who maintains | 24 | | tribal affiliation or community attachment). | 25 | | (2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the | 26 | | original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the |
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| 1 | | Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited to, | 2 | | Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, | 3 | | the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam). | 4 | | (3) Black or African American (a person having origins | 5 | | in any of the black racial groups of Africa). | 6 | | (4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican, | 7 | | Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish | 8 | | culture or origin, regardless of race). | 9 | | (5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a | 10 | | person having origins in any of the original peoples of | 11 | | Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands). | 12 | | "Training" means a program of training approved by the | 13 | | Director that: | 14 | | (1) provides an eligible individual with the basic | 15 | | skills to operate a farm profitably with a primary focus | 16 | | on regenerating the soil, ecosystem, and local community; | 17 | | (2) provides a course of study that is equivalent to | 18 | | no less than 30 academic credit hours of study, which may | 19 | | be provided as direct in-field instruction; | 20 | | (3) focuses on low capital-intensive techniques and | 21 | | technologies; and | 22 | | (4) studies local and regional food systems and the | 23 | | market opportunities those systems present. | 24 | | Section 10. Farmer Restoration Program Fund. | 25 | | (a) The Farmer Restoration Program Fund is created as a |
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| 1 | | special fund in the State treasury. Except as provided in | 2 | | subsection (b), the moneys in the Fund, upon appropriation by | 3 | | the General Assembly, shall be used for the purposes of the | 4 | | program, which include grants for the purchase of agricultural | 5 | | conservation easements, technical assistance grants, technical | 6 | | assistance provided by the Department, and administrative | 7 | | costs incurred by the Department in administering the program. | 8 | | (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), moneys may be | 9 | | deposited into the Fund from federal grants and gifts and | 10 | | donations that are designated and required by the donor to be | 11 | | used exclusively for the purposes of the program. | 12 | | (c) Not more than 10% of available funds under this Act may | 13 | | be used for technical assistance purposes and administration. | 14 | | Not less than 90% of funds available for grants under this Act | 15 | | shall be expended for the acquisition of agricultural | 16 | | conservation easements. Moneys in the Fund shall also be | 17 | | available for the following purposes: | 18 | | (1) To provide technical assistance grants to | 19 | | qualified entities in support of socially disadvantaged | 20 | | farmers who are seeking access to farmland. As used in | 21 | | this Section, "technical assistance" includes, but is not | 22 | | limited to, organizing, advising, counseling, educating, | 23 | | planning, drafting, translating, interpreting, and | 24 | | consulting with socially disadvantaged farmers for the | 25 | | purpose of preparing them for favorable financing for land | 26 | | acquisition or negotiating leasing arrangements. |
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| 1 | | (2) To provide grants for the purchase of agricultural | 2 | | conservation easements to qualified easement holders. | 3 | | Moneys from the Fund shall be available in each fiscal | 4 | | year to any qualified easement holder having made an | 5 | | application that has been approved by the Department. | 6 | | Award grants may include: | 7 | | (A) payment to qualified easement holders for the | 8 | | purchase of agricultural conservation easements on | 9 | | qualified farmland; or | 10 | | (B) payment of the costs of acquisition related to | 11 | | the purchase of agricultural conservation easements | 12 | | approved by the program. | 13 | | Section 15. Department responsibilities. Subject to | 14 | | appropriation, the Department shall: | 15 | | (1) adopt a scoring process to be used in evaluating | 16 | | applications for agricultural conservation easement grants | 17 | | that prioritizes applications benefiting: | 18 | | (A) socially disadvantaged farmers; | 19 | | (B) limited resource farmers; | 20 | | (C) eligible individuals with a history of land | 21 | | dispossession; and | 22 | | (D) new and beginning farmers; | 23 | | (2) include, as ranking criteria in the scoring | 24 | | process, projects that: | 25 | | (A) leverage local, federal, or private funding, |
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| 1 | | including a match requirement; | 2 | | (B) support transition of farmland to next | 3 | | generation owner-operators; and | 4 | | (C) support conservation priorities, including | 5 | | protection of habitat, water quality, watershed | 6 | | conservation, climate resilience, and local | 7 | | conservation plans; and | 8 | | (3) include, as eligibility criteria, projects that: | 9 | | (A) protect farmland that is under threat of | 10 | | conversion; and | 11 | | (B) demonstrate that the parcel proposed for | 12 | | conservation is expected to continue to be used for | 13 | | agricultural production if conserved. | 14 | | Section 20. Farm Conservation Corps. | 15 | | (a) Subject to appropriation and in partnership with the | 16 | | University of Illinois Extension, the Department shall | 17 | | establish the Farm Conservation Corps to provide residents | 18 | | between the ages of 18 and 29 from socially disadvantaged | 19 | | groups the academic, vocational, and social skills necessary | 20 | | to pursue long-term and productive careers in agriculture. | 21 | | (b) The members of the Farm Conservation Corps shall serve | 22 | | as on-farm apprentices, at no cost, to farms that have been | 23 | | protected with an agricultural conservation easement under | 24 | | this Act or with an annual gross farm income of less than | 25 | | $250,000 operated by: |
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| 1 | | (1) socially disadvantaged farmers; or | 2 | | (2) beginning farmers. | 3 | | Section 25. Data collection and reporting. | 4 | | (a) Subject to appropriation, the Director shall make | 5 | | publicly available annual reports describing data on the | 6 | | recipients of the Department programs, including assistance | 7 | | from farm subsidy programs, and the amounts of the assistance, | 8 | | delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the | 9 | | recipients. | 10 | | (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct | 11 | | research on the status of socially disadvantaged farmers, | 12 | | including, but not limited to: | 13 | | (1) the share of land ownership of those socially | 14 | | disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, | 15 | | delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the | 16 | | landowners; | 17 | | (2) the share of the amount of assistance those | 18 | | socially disadvantaged farmers receive from the Department | 19 | | as compared to all farmers, delineated by the race, | 20 | | ethnicity, and gender of the recipients; | 21 | | (3) the share, status, and receipt of loans by | 22 | | socially disadvantaged farmers as compared to all farmers, | 23 | | delineated by the race, ethnicity, and gender of the | 24 | | recipients; and | 25 | | (4) an assessment of the reasons for disparities in |
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| 1 | | land ownership, assistance from the Department, and loans | 2 | | for socially disadvantaged farmers compared to all | 3 | | farmers. | 4 | | (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall conduct | 5 | | research on the demographics and status of farmworkers, | 6 | | including, but not limited to: | 7 | | (1) the races, ethnicities, ages, localities, wages | 8 | | and benefits, and working conditions of farmworkers; | 9 | | (2) the economic contributions of farmworkers to the | 10 | | State economy; and | 11 | | (3) the satisfaction of farmworkers with their | 12 | | employment. | 13 | | (d) The Department shall: | 14 | | (1) investigate historical changes in reporting | 15 | | methodology and misreporting of socially disadvantaged | 16 | | farmers in the census of agriculture; | 17 | | (2) develop procedures to ensure that census of | 18 | | agriculture surveys accurately capture the status of | 19 | | socially disadvantaged farmers engaged in urban | 20 | | agriculture; and | 21 | | (3) conduct, concurrently with each census of | 22 | | agriculture, a review to assess: | 23 | | (A) the outreach and methodologies used in | 24 | | conducting the census of agriculture; and | 25 | | (B) how such outreach and methodologies have | 26 | | affected the counting of socially disadvantaged |
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| 1 | | farmers. | 2 | | (e) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall | 3 | | annually conduct and annually make publicly available reports | 4 | | describing in-depth research and analysis of corporate | 5 | | (domestic and foreign) land investment and ownership in this | 6 | | State with specific attention given to the impact of corporate | 7 | | land investment and ownership on: | 8 | | (1) land consolidation trends in this State and in the | 9 | | United States; | 10 | | (2) challenges and opportunities for new and beginning | 11 | | farmers accessing land for farming; | 12 | | (3) challenges and opportunities for members of | 13 | | socially disadvantaged groups accessing land for farming; | 14 | | and | 15 | | (4) crop selection and production trends. | 16 | | Section 35. Rulemaking. The Department shall adopt rules | 17 | | to carry out the provisions of this Act, including the | 18 | | adoption of rules that establish a process for submitting and | 19 | | processing of applications for grants no later than December | 20 | | 31, 2023. Rules shall align with existing federal and local | 21 | | programs to maximize potential for matching funds. | 22 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 23 | | Section 5.990 as follows: |
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| 1 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new) | 2 | | Sec. 5.990. The Farmer Restoration Program Fund. | 3 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 4 | | becoming law.". |
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