Full Text of HB5488 103rd General Assembly
HB5488enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HB5488 Enrolled | | LRB103 37550 JAG 67674 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning conservation. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Legacy | 5 | | Tree Program Task Force Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Findings; purpose. | 7 | | (a) The General Assembly finds that: | 8 | | (1) Trees are essential to ecological, cultural, and | 9 | | economic life on Earth. | 10 | | (2) Trees support species diversity, food webs, | 11 | | habitats, and numerous ecological processes, such as water | 12 | | and air purification. | 13 | | (3) Trees assist in regulating climate and soil | 14 | | fertility. | 15 | | (4) The State must commit to preserving and | 16 | | celebrating our legacy and heritage trees and must develop | 17 | | pathways for the public to advocate for the preservation | 18 | | of trees in communities. | 19 | | (b) The General Assembly intends this Act to help create a | 20 | | Statewide legacy tree program to promote the identification, | 21 | | awareness, commemoration, and preservation of significant | 22 | | trees within the State. |
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| 1 | | Section 10. Legacy Tree Program Task Force. | 2 | | (a) The Legacy Tree Program Task Force is created, shall | 3 | | meet on a quarterly basis for 4 years after the effective date | 4 | | of this Act, and shall, by no later than June 30, 2028, submit | 5 | | to the General Assembly, in accordance with Section 3.1 of the | 6 | | General Assembly Organization Act, a report that contains the | 7 | | final recommendations developed under subsection (b). | 8 | | (b) The Legacy Tree Program Task Force shall establish | 9 | | recommendations for the creation of a statewide legacy tree | 10 | | recognition program to promote the identification, awareness, | 11 | | commemoration, and preservation of significant trees in the | 12 | | State. | 13 | | (c) The Task Force shall consist of the following members: | 14 | | (1) one representative of an environmental | 15 | | organization, appointed by the Governor; | 16 | | (2) one representative of the Morton Arboretum, | 17 | | appointed by the Governor; | 18 | | (3) the director of the Illinois Environmental | 19 | | Protection Agency or a representative of their choosing; | 20 | | (4) one representative of the Illinois Forestry | 21 | | Development Council, appointed by the Governor; | 22 | | (5) one representative of the Shawnee National Forest, | 23 | | appointed by the Governor; | 24 | | (6) one representative of the Southern Illinois | 25 | | University Department of Forestry, appointed by the | 26 | | Governor; |
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| 1 | | (7) one representative of the University of Illinois | 2 | | Extension forestry program, appointed by the Governor; | 3 | | (8) one representative of an association that | 4 | | represents Illinois arborists, appointed by the Governor; | 5 | | (9) two representatives of the Department of Natural | 6 | | Resources, appointed by the Governor; | 7 | | (10) one representative of an environmental | 8 | | organization that is different than the organization in | 9 | | paragraph (1), appointed by the Governor; | 10 | | (11) one representative of the Chicago Urban Forestry | 11 | | Board, appointed by the Governor; | 12 | | (12) one representative of a forest preserve district | 13 | | in a county that is adjacent to Cook County, appointed by | 14 | | the Governor; | 15 | | (13) one representative of a forest preserve district | 16 | | located south of Interstate 80, appointed by the Governor; | 17 | | (14) one representative of a statewide organization | 18 | | representing park districts, appointed by the Governor; | 19 | | (15) one member of the House of Representatives, | 20 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; | 21 | | (16) one member of the House of Representatives, | 22 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 23 | | Representatives; | 24 | | (17) one member of the Senate, appointed by the | 25 | | President of the Senate; and | 26 | | (18) one member of the Senate, appointed by the |
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| 1 | | Minority Leader of the Senate. | 2 | | (d) Members of the Task Force shall serve without | 3 | | compensation. | 4 | | (e) The Department of Natural Resources shall provide | 5 | | staff and administrative support services to the Task Force | 6 | | and serve as the lead and chair agency of the Task Force. | 7 | | Section 15. Responsibilities. The Task Force shall | 8 | | establish recommendations for the following: | 9 | | (1) criteria for a definition of legacy tree and | 10 | | legacy tree standards that can be used on a variety of | 11 | | trees; | 12 | | (2) criteria for which the historical and cultural | 13 | | significance of a tree could be measured; | 14 | | (3) procedures for nominating trees on public and | 15 | | private property; | 16 | | (4) exploring partnership opportunities with units of | 17 | | local government for oversight of the legacy tree program | 18 | | and participation in the program; | 19 | | (5) creating a public awareness program, including | 20 | | digital media, a website, a legacy tree tool kit and | 21 | | educational materials to be made available by the | 22 | | Department of Natural Resources for use by units of local | 23 | | government; | 24 | | (6) exploring funding sources for the operation and | 25 | | maintenance of the statewide legacy tree program, |
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| 1 | | including grant funding opportunities to facilitate | 2 | | participation in the program by units of local government; | 3 | | (7) procedures for withdrawing trees from the program; | 4 | | (8) procedures for legacy tree assessment; | 5 | | (9) procedures for how a tree would be designated or | 6 | | honored physically; | 7 | | (10) procedures for mapping trees on a searchable | 8 | | website; and | 9 | | (11) procedures for delisting a healthy designated | 10 | | legacy tree. | 11 | | Section 90. Repeal. This Act is repealed on June 30, 2034. |
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