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Public Act 097-0879
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| HB4447 Enrolled | LRB097 15669 CEL 60811 b |
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AN ACT concerning agriculture.
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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 Food and Agriculture Research Act is amended |
by changing Sections 15, 20, and 25 as follows:
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(505 ILCS 82/15)
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Sec. 15. Allocation of funds. Appropriations for the |
purposes of this
Act shall be made to the Illinois Department |
of Agriculture, which shall
allocate funds appropriated under |
this Act for research to Illinois public and non-public |
institutions of higher education, as defined in Section 2 of |
the Higher Education Cooperation Act, as established by the |
Board of Directors of the Illinois Council on Food and |
Agricultural Research, which is a non-profit, non-political |
organization. The Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural |
Research shall prepare and deliver to the General Assembly, |
Governor, Director of Agriculture, and the food and |
agricultural research administrators at each of the public and |
non-public institutions of higher learning that receive |
research dollars under this Act an annual report providing a |
summary and detailed account of the research programs being |
supported. the following entities providing
each the pro rata |
share indicated: the Illinois Agricultural Experiment
Station, |
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82%; Southern Illinois University College of Agriculture, 11%;
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Illinois State University Department of Agriculture, 4%; |
Western Illinois
University Department of Agriculture, 3%. |
Three years after the effective date
of this Act and every 3 |
years thereafter, the Director of Agriculture shall
review |
these percentages, ascertain their appropriateness, and report |
to the
General Assembly.
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To offset the cost of administering the appropriation, the |
Department of
Agriculture may retain $50,000 or 1/2 of 1% of |
the total appropriation,
whichever is less.
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To offset the cost of members of C-FAR incurred while |
performing their
duties as official group representatives, up |
to 1% of the funds appropriated
for the
purposes of this Act |
may be allocated by the Department of Agriculture to
cover |
these expenses.
Members shall serve without compensation, but |
shall be reimbursed for ordinary
and necessary expenses |
incurred in the performance of their duties. The
reimbursement |
rates shall not exceed those rates that apply to State
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employees.
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(Source: P.A. 89-182, eff. 7-19-95; 90-94, eff. 1-1-98.)
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(505 ILCS 82/20)
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Sec. 20. Use of funds. The universities receiving funds |
under this
Act shall work closely with the Illinois Council on |
Food and
Agricultural Research to develop and prioritize an
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appropriate research agenda for the State system. To support |
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that agenda,
funds shall be expended as follows:
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(1) To support a broad program of food and agricultural |
research, to
include, but not limited to, research on |
natural resource, environmental,
economic, nutritional, |
and social impacts of agricultural systems, human and
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animal health, and the concerns of consumers of food and |
agricultural products
and services.
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(2) To build and maintain research capacity including |
construction,
renovation, and maintenance of physical |
facilities; acquire and maintain
equipment; employ |
appropriately trained and qualified personnel; provide
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supplies; and meet the expenses required to conduct the |
research and related
technology transfer activities.
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(3) To A minimum of 15% of the funds allocated to each |
university shall be
used to fund an innovative competitive |
grants program administered by the Department of |
Agriculture within the guidelines and procedures |
established by the Illinois Council on Food and |
Agricultural Research jointly by
the 4 institutions |
identified in Section 15. The grants program is intended to
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be organized around desired practical, quantifiable, and |
achievable objectives
in the food and agricultural sector. |
The Board of Directors of the Illinois Council on Food and
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Agricultural Research shall evaluate and recommend assist |
in evaluating and selecting the proposals
for funding. |
Proposals may be submitted by any nonprofit institution,
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organization, or agency in Illinois. The principal |
investigator must be
a qualified researcher with |
experience in a food and agriculture related
discipline. |
Funds from other sources (both public and private) may be |
combined
with funds appropriated for this Act to support |
cooperative efforts.
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(4) It is intended that the universities that receive these |
funds shall
continue (i) to operate and maintain the on-campus |
buildings and facilities
used in their agriculture related |
programs and provide the support services
typically provided |
other university programs, and (ii) to fund agricultural
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programs from the higher education budget.
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(Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)
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(505 ILCS 82/25)
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Sec. 25. Administrative oversight. |
(a) The Department of Agriculture shall
provide general |
administrative oversight with the assistance and advice of
duly |
elected Board of Directors appointed representatives of the |
Illinois Council on Food and
Agricultural Research. Food and |
agricultural research administrators at each
of the
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universities shall administer the specifics of the funded |
research programs program. Annually the Illinois Council on |
Food and Agricultural Research
these administrators shall |
prepare a combined proposed budget for the research that the |
Director
of Agriculture shall submit to the Governor for |
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inclusion in the Executive
budget and consideration by the |
General Assembly. The budget shall specify
major categories of |
proposed expenditures, including salary, wages, and fringe
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benefits; operation and maintenance; supplies and expenses; |
and capital
improvements.
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(b) The Department, with the assistance of the Illinois |
Council on Food and Agricultural Research, may seek additional |
grants and donations for research. Additional funds shall be |
used in conjunction with appropriated funds for research. All |
additional grants and donations for research shall be deposited |
into the Food and Agricultural Research Fund, a special fund |
created in the State treasury, and used as provided in this |
Act. |
(Source: P.A. 89-182, eff. 7-19-95.)
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Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding |
Section 5.811 as follows:
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(30 ILCS 105/5.811 new) |
Sec. 5.811. The Food and Agricultural Research Fund.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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