Full Text of SB0017 95th General Assembly
SB0017enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning revenue.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding | 5 |
| Divisions 16 and 17 to Article 10 as follows: | 6 |
| (35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 16 heading new) | 7 |
| DIVISION 16. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP LAW | 8 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-400 new) | 9 |
| Sec. 10-400. Short title; findings and policy. | 10 |
| (a) This Division may be cited as the Conservation | 11 |
| Stewardship Law.
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| (b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best | 13 |
| interest of this State to maintain, preserve, conserve, and | 14 |
| manage unimproved land to assure the protection of these | 15 |
| limited and unique environmental resources for the economic and | 16 |
| social well-being of the State and its citizens. | 17 |
| The General Assembly further finds that, to maximize | 18 |
| voluntary taxpayer participation in conservation programs, | 19 |
| conservation should be recognized as a legitimate land use and | 20 |
| taxpayers should have a full range of incentive programs from | 21 |
| which to choose. | 22 |
| Therefore, the General Assembly declares that it is in the |
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| public interest to prevent the forced conversion of unimproved | 2 |
| land to more intensive uses as a result of economic pressures | 3 |
| caused by the property tax system at values incompatible with | 4 |
| their preservation and management as unimproved land, and that | 5 |
| a program should be designed to permit the continued | 6 |
| availability of this land for these purposes. | 7 |
| The General Assembly further declares that the following | 8 |
| provisions are intended to allow for the conservation, | 9 |
| management, and assessment of unimproved land generally | 10 |
| suitable for the perpetual growth and preservation of such land | 11 |
| in this State. | 12 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-405 new) | 13 |
| Sec. 10-405. Definitions. As used in this Division: | 14 |
| "Unimproved land" means woodlands, prairie, wetlands, or | 15 |
| other vacant and undeveloped land that is not used for any | 16 |
| residential or commercial purpose that materially disturbs the | 17 |
| land. | 18 |
| "Conservation management plan" means a plan approved by the | 19 |
| Department of Natural Resources that specifies conservation | 20 |
| and management practices, including uses that will be conducted | 21 |
| to preserve and restore unimproved land. | 22 |
| "Managed land" means unimproved land of 5 contiguous acres | 23 |
| or more that is subject to a conservation management plan. | 24 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-410 new) |
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| Sec. 10-410. Conservation management plan; rules. The | 2 |
| Department of Natural Resources shall adopt rules specifying | 3 |
| the form and content of a conservation management plan | 4 |
| sufficient for managed land to be valued under this Division. | 5 |
| The rules adopted under this Section must require a description | 6 |
| of the managed land and must specify the conservation and | 7 |
| management practices that are appropriate to preserve and | 8 |
| maintain unimproved land in this State and any other | 9 |
| conservation practices. | 10 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-415 new) | 11 |
| Sec. 10-415. Plan submission and review; approval. | 12 |
| (a)
A taxpayer requesting special valuation of unimproved | 13 |
| land under this Division must first submit a conservation | 14 |
| management plan for that land to the Department of Natural | 15 |
| Resources for review. The Department of Natural Resources shall | 16 |
| review each submitted plan for compliance with the standards | 17 |
| and criteria set forth in its rules. | 18 |
| (b) Upon approval, the Department of Natural Resources | 19 |
| shall issue to the taxpayer a written declaration that the land | 20 |
| is subject to a conservation management plan approved by the | 21 |
| Department of Natural Resources. | 22 |
| (c) The Department of Natural Resources shall reapprove the | 23 |
| plan every 10 years and revise it when necessary or | 24 |
| appropriate. | 25 |
| (d) If a plan is not approved, then the Department of |
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| Natural Resources shall state the reasons for the denial and | 2 |
| provide the taxpayer an opportunity to amend the plan to | 3 |
| conform to the requirements of this Division. If the | 4 |
| application is denied a second time, the taxpayer may appeal | 5 |
| the decision to an independent 3-member panel to be established | 6 |
| within the Department of Natural Resources.
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| (e) The submission of an application for a conservation | 8 |
| management plan under this Section or of a forestry management | 9 |
| plan under Section 10-150 shall be treated as compliance with | 10 |
| the requirements of that plan until the Department of Natural | 11 |
| Resources can review the application. The Department of Natural | 12 |
| Resources shall certify, to the Department, these applications | 13 |
| as being approved plans for the purpose of this Division.
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-420 new) | 15 |
| Sec. 10-420. Special valuation of managed land; | 16 |
| exceptions. | 17 |
| (a)
In all counties, except for Cook County, beginning with | 18 |
| assessments made in 2008 and thereafter, managed land for which | 19 |
| an application has been approved under Section 10-415 that | 20 |
| contains 5 or more contiguous acres is valued at 5% of its fair | 21 |
| cash value. | 22 |
| (b) The special valuation under this Section does not apply | 23 |
| to (i) any land that has been assessed as farmland under | 24 |
| Sections 10-110 through 10-145, (ii) land valued under Section | 25 |
| 10-152 or 10-153, (iii) land valued as open space under Section |
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| 10-155, (iv) land certified under Section 10-167, or (v) any | 2 |
| property dedicated as a nature preserve or a nature preserve | 3 |
| buffer under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act and | 4 |
| assessed in accordance with subsection (e) of Section 9-145. | 5 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-425 new) | 6 |
| Sec. 10-425. Certification. | 7 |
| (a)
The Department of Natural Resources shall certify to | 8 |
| the Department a list of applications approved under Section | 9 |
| 10-415. This list must contain the following information for | 10 |
| each approved application: | 11 |
| (1) the name and address of the taxpayer; | 12 |
| (2) the county in which the land is located; | 13 |
| (3) the size and each property index number or legal | 14 |
| description of the land that was approved; and | 15 |
| (4) copies of the taxpayer's approved conservation | 16 |
| management plan. | 17 |
| (b) Within 30 days after the receipt of this information, | 18 |
| the Department shall notify in writing the chief county | 19 |
| assessment officer of each parcel of land covered by an | 20 |
| approved conservation management plan and application. The | 21 |
| chief county assessment officer shall determine the valuation | 22 |
| of the land as otherwise permitted by law and as required under | 23 |
| Section 10-420 of this Division, and shall list them | 24 |
| separately. |
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| (35 ILCS 200/10-430 new) | 2 |
| Sec. 10-430. Withdrawal from special valuation. | 3 |
| (a) If any of the following events occur, then the | 4 |
| Department of Natural Resources shall withdraw all or a portion | 5 |
| of the land from special valuation: | 6 |
| (1) the Department of Natural Resources determines, | 7 |
| based on field inspections or from any other reasonable | 8 |
| evidence, that the land no longer meets the criteria under | 9 |
| this Division; or | 10 |
| (2) the failure of the taxpayer to respond to a request | 11 |
| from the Department of Natural Resources or the chief | 12 |
| county assessment officer of each county in which the | 13 |
| property is located for data regarding the use of the land | 14 |
| or other similar information pertinent to the continued | 15 |
| special valuation of the land. | 16 |
| (b) A determination by the Department of Natural Resources | 17 |
| to withdraw land from the special valuation under this Act is | 18 |
| effective on the following January 1 of the assessment year in | 19 |
| which the withdrawal occurred. | 20 |
| (c) The Department of Natural Resources shall notify the | 21 |
| chief county assessment officer and the Department in writing | 22 |
| of any land withdrawn from special valuation. Upon withdrawal, | 23 |
| additional taxes must be calculated as provided in Section | 24 |
| 10-445. | 25 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-435 new) |
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| Sec. 10-435. Recapture. | 2 |
| (a) If, in any taxable year that the taxpayer receives a | 3 |
| special valuation under Section 10-470, the taxpayer does not | 4 |
| comply with the conservation management plan, then the taxpayer | 5 |
| shall, by the following September 1, pay to the county | 6 |
| treasurer the difference between: (i) the taxes paid for that | 7 |
| year and; (ii) what the taxes for that year would have been | 8 |
| based on a valuation otherwise permitted by law. | 9 |
| (b) If the amount under subsection (a) is not paid by the | 10 |
| following September 1, then that amount is considered to be | 11 |
| delinquent property taxes. | 12 |
| (c) If a taxpayer who currently owns land in (i) a forestry | 13 |
| management plan under Section 10-150 or (ii) land registered or | 14 |
| encumbered by conservation rights under Section 10-166 that | 15 |
| would qualify for the tax assessment under this Division, then | 16 |
| the taxpayer may apply for reassessment under this Division and | 17 |
| shall not be penalized for doing so. | 18 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-440 new) | 19 |
| Sec. 10-440. Sale or transfer of unimproved land. The sale | 20 |
| or transfer of unimproved land does not affect the valuation of | 21 |
| the land, unless there is a change in the use of the land or the | 22 |
| acreage requirement is no longer met. Any tract of land | 23 |
| containing less than 5 acres after a sale or transfer may be | 24 |
| reclassified by the chief county assessment officer and valued | 25 |
| as otherwise permitted by law.
The taxpayer and the Department |
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| of Natural Resources may revise a conservation management plan | 2 |
| whenever there is a change in the ownership of the affected | 3 |
| land. | 4 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-445 new) | 5 |
| Sec. 10-445. Rules. The Department of Natural Resources | 6 |
| shall adopt rules to implement and administer this Act. | 7 |
| (35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 17 heading new)
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| DIVISION 17. WOODED ACREAGE ASSESSMENT TRANSITION LAW | 9 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-500 new)
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| Sec. 10-500. Short title. This Division may be cited as the | 11 |
| Wooded Acreage Assessment Transition Law. | 12 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-505 new)
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| Sec. 10-505. Wooded acreage defined. For the purposes of | 14 |
| this Division 17, "wooded acreage" means any parcel of | 15 |
| unimproved real property that: | 16 |
| (1) can be defined as "wooded acreage" by the United | 17 |
| States Department of Labor Bureau of Land Management; | 18 |
| (2) is at least 5 contiguous acres; | 19 |
| (3) does not qualify as cropland, permanent pasture, | 20 |
| other farmland, or wasteland under Section 10-125 of this | 21 |
| Code; | 22 |
| (4) is not managed under a forestry management plan and |
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| considered to be other farmland under Section 10-150 of | 2 |
| this Code; | 3 |
| (5) does not qualify for another preferential | 4 |
| assessment under this Code; and | 5 |
| (6) is owned by the taxpayer on October 1, 2007. | 6 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-510 new)
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| Sec. 10-510. Assessment of wooded acreage.
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| (a) If wooded acreage was classified as farmland during the | 9 |
| 2006 assessment year, then the property shall be assessed by | 10 |
| multiplying the current fair cash value of the property by the | 11 |
| transition percentage. The chief county assessment officer | 12 |
| shall determine the transition percentage for the property by | 13 |
| dividing (i) the property's 2006 equalized assessed value as | 14 |
| farmland by (ii) the 2006 fair cash value of the property. | 15 |
| (b) The wooded acreage shall continue to be assessed under | 16 |
| the provisions of this Section through any assessment year in | 17 |
| which the property is transferred or no longer qualifies as | 18 |
| wooded acreage under Section 10-505, and the property must be | 19 |
| assessed as otherwise permitted by law beginning the following | 20 |
| assessment year. | 21 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-515 new)
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| Sec. 10-515. Notice requirement. If the owner of property | 23 |
| subject to this Division is a corporation, partnership, limited | 24 |
| liability company, trust, or other similar entity, then it |
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| shall report to the chief county assessment officer any change | 2 |
| in ownership interest or beneficial interest. If, after October | 3 |
| 1, 2007, the ownership interests or beneficial interests in | 4 |
| such an entity change by more than 50% from those interests as | 5 |
| they existed on October 1, 2007, then the property no longer | 6 |
| qualifies to receive the preferential assessment treatment of | 7 |
| the wooded acreage under this Division, and the property must | 8 |
| be assessed as otherwise permitted by law beginning the | 9 |
| following assessment year. | 10 |
| (35 ILCS 200/10-520 new)
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| Sec. 10-520. Cook County exempt. This Division 17 does not | 12 |
| apply to any property located within Cook County.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 |
| becoming law.
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