Bill Text: IL HB2475 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Act. Establishes the Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund as a special fund in the State treasury to be managed by the Department of Natural Resources for the purpose of making grants to qualified easement holders for (1) the purchase of conservation easements on qualified land; (2) the costs of acquisition related to the purchase of conservation easements approved by the program; and (3) the costs of ecological management and maintenance activities. Requires the Department to adopt rules to implement the Act. Establishes the Legacy Act Technical Advisory Committee in the Department. Contains legislative findings. Defines terms. Repeals the Local Legacy Act. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund as a special fund in the State treasury.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-19 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michelle Mussman [HB2475 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2475-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2475 Introduced , by Rep. Camille Y. Lilly SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
20 ILCS 3988/Act rep.
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new
Creates the Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Act. Establishes the Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund as a special fund in the State treasury to be managed by the Department of Natural Resources for the purpose of making grants to qualified easement holders for (1) the purchase of conservation easements on qualified land; (2) the costs of acquisition related to the purchase of conservation easements approved by the program; and (3) the costs of ecological management and maintenance activities. Requires the Department to adopt rules to implement the Act. Establishes the Legacy Act Technical Advisory Committee in the Department. Contains legislative findings. Defines terms. Repeals the Local Legacy Act. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund as a special fund in the State treasury.
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A BILL FOR
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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
Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Act.
Section 5. Findings and intent. The General Assembly finds
that:
(1) The preservation of open space and farmland is
important for current and future environmental quality,
economic vitality, scenic beauty, ecological health, and
agricultural production in the State of Illinois,
including the production of food and fiber and the
preservation of a healthy environment that will sustain
the life, health, and welfare of the people of the State of
Illinois.
(2) Establishment of conservation easements protecting
open space and farmland, as provided in this Act, serves
important public purposes for the people of the State of
Illinois.
(3) This Act is consistent with and advances existing
State priorities identified in State law, including, but
not limited to, the Agricultural Areas Conservation and
Protection Act, the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation

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Act, the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, and the
Farmland Preservation Act.
(4) The intent of this Act is to provide an incentive
for private property owners in Illinois to voluntarily
conserve open space and farmland that is at risk of
conversion to development, while enhancing the use of
federal, local, and private funds to benefit Illinois'
farmland and open space.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Application" means any application seeking moneys from
the Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund.
"Bargain sale" means the sale of a conservation easement
from a property owner to a qualified easement holder for a
price that is less than the appraised fair market value of the
conservation easement as determined by an independent,
third-party appraisal.
"Committee" means the Legacy Act Technical Advisory
Committee established under Section 35.
"Conservation easement" has the same meaning given in the
Illinois Conservation Enhancement Act.
"Cost of acquisition" means all out-of-pocket direct costs
of activities incurred in connection with the acquisition,
processing, recording, and documentation of a conservation
easement, such as appraisals, land surveys, title
verification, closing costs, and stewardship endowments, which

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may be required by applicable State laws and local ordinances
or otherwise, to establish a conservation easement on real
property. "Cost of acquisition" does not include any costs
incurred by a holder for staffing, overhead, or operations.
"Department" means the Department of Natural Resources
unless otherwise specified.
"Ecological management and maintenance activities" means
actions that are designed to maintain, preserve, or improve
the condition of native natural communities, the diversity of
species, and ecological processes. "Ecological management and
maintenance activities" includes prescribed burns, control of
exotic and invasive species, fencing, and other similar
practices identified as ecological management and maintenance
activities by administrative rule of the Department.
"Farmland" means (i) land devoted to agricultural,
floricultural, horticultural, or silvicultural uses for the
production of fiber, flowers, forest products, or food,
including grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products,
and mushrooms; (ii) land devoted to the raising or grazing of
farm animals, including livestock, sheep, swine, horses,
ponies, poultry, bees, or fish; and (iii) incidental land,
such as farmstead areas, areas with agricultural buildings and
infrastructure, and areas that are necessary for the efficient
administration of an agricultural operation or that
significantly augment the protection of associated farmland.
"Historically underserved person" means a new and

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beginning farmer, socially disadvantaged farmer, veteran
farmer, or low-income farmer, as those terms are defined by
regulations and policies of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
(USDA-NRCS).
"Legacy Fund" means the Illinois Natural Resources and
Agricultural Legacy Fund.
"Open space" means those undeveloped or minimally
developed lands that conserve and protect valuable natural
features or processes.
"Qualified easement holder" means (i) the Department or
any other State agency; (ii) a federal agency; (iii) a unit of
local government; (iv) a federally recognized Indian tribe; or
(v) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is found by the
Department to have the necessary experience to acquire
conservation real estate, whether through purchase, donation,
or transfer; the expertise and capacity to monitor and manage
a conservation easement; and the ability to meet any
additional criteria adopted by the Department by
administrative rule.
"Qualified land" means land that a landowner voluntarily
seeks to be protected with a conservation easement, that shall
include either open space, farmland, or a combination of open
space and farmland, and that meets the qualifications set out
in administrative rule by the Department.

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Section 15. Establishment of the Illinois Natural
Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund; source of funding.
(a) The Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy
Fund is established as a special fund in the State treasury to
be managed by the Department. Interest earned by the Legacy
Fund shall be credited to the Legacy Fund. Moneys from the fund
shall be used as indicated in this Act, to support the
protection and conservation of land, and to supplement the
Department's resources.
(b) The Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy
Fund shall consist of:
(1) moneys appropriated to the Legacy Fund;
(2) moneys from any other source, including proceeds
from the sale of bonds or moneys from any other local,
State, or federal program that is dedicated to the Legacy
Fund; and
(3) revenue derived from the sale of land or other
assets donated or bequeathed to the Legacy Fund.
(c) Moneys deposited into the Illinois Natural Resources
and Agricultural Legacy Fund shall be used for the purposes
described in this Act.
Section 20. Grants; conditions of eligibility; permissible
use of funds.
(a) Moneys in the Legacy Fund shall be made available each
fiscal year for the making of grants to qualified easement

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holders whose applications for grant funding under this Act
have been approved by the Department. The Department shall
establish, by rule, the qualifications an applicant must meet
to be awarded a grant under this Act.
(b) Grants may be awarded from the Legacy Fund to
qualified easement holders for any one or more of the
following:
(1) the purchase of conservation easements on
qualified land;
(2) the costs of acquisition related to the purchase
of conservation easements approved by the program; and
(3) the costs of ecological management and maintenance
activities.
(c) Through State fiscal year 2030, no more than 25% of the
grant funds that are awarded under this Act in a fiscal year
may be awarded to a qualified easement holder for the costs of
ecological management and maintenance activities under
paragraph (3).
(d) Moneys in the Legacy Fund may also be used by the
Department to pay allowable administrative costs of the
Department. However, no more than 10% of the annual
appropriation of moneys to the Legacy Fund shall be used to pay
allowable administrative costs of the Department. As used in
this subsection (d), "allowable administrative costs of the
Department" includes costs for staffing to administer the
program, whether at the Department or through consultants and

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partners, such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and
any related expenses and administrative support.
(e) Not more than 40% of the total amount of awarded grant
dollars in any one year shall be allocated to projects where
the Department is the qualified easement holder.
(f) The Legacy Fund amounts awarded for conservation
easement purchases shall not exceed the fair market value of
2,500 acres of conservation easements per year, using the
average per-acre appraised value of all approved applications.
Section 25. Administration; prioritization.
(a) The Department shall establish and administer the
Illinois Natural Resources and Agricultural Legacy Fund
program. The Department shall develop, by rule, a scoring
process for awarding grants. Grants for the purchase of
conservation easements on qualified land shall be prioritized
to:
(1) prevent the fragmentation of farmland and the loss
of open space to conversion; and
(2) leverage local, federal, or private funding,
including, but not limited to, leveraging through bargain
sales.
(b) Grants for the purchase of conservation easements of
farmland shall additionally be prioritized to:
(1) support farmland ownership by historically
underserved farmers;

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(2) increase the supply of locally produced food in
the State;
(3) implement the recommendations of a U.S. Department
of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
(USDA-NRCS) Conservation Plan or similar management plan
on farmland, thereby ensuring the protection of soils and
water quality and implementation of conservation practices
and regenerative farming principles; and
(4) protect open space associated with farmland, such
as edge of field practices, like riparian buffers.
(c) Grants for the purchase of conservation easements of
open space shall additionally be prioritized to:
(1) support conservation priorities, including
Illinois Natural Area Inventory (INAI) sites; and
(2) protect biodiversity and wildlife habitat, aquatic
and terrestrial habitat connectivity, water quality,
watershed conservation, soil health, climate resilience
(both adaptation and mitigation), local conservation
plans, archeological sites, and public viewshed.
(d) The scoring process established under this Section
shall be unbiased as between conservation easements grants for
farmland and for open space.
Section 30. Authority to adopt rules. The Department shall
adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this Act,
including, but not limited to, rules that establish a process

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for submitting and processing applications for grants and the
criteria that an applicant must meet to be awarded a grant.
Section 35. Establishment of the Legacy Act Technical
Advisory Committee; membership; roles and duties.
(a) The Legacy Act Technical Advisory Committee is
established in the Department to provide technical
recommendations related to the development of the grant
program under this Act, its scoring criteria, and ongoing
program administration. The membership of the Committee shall
be as follows:
(1) the Director of Agriculture or the Director's
designee, who shall serve as chairperson;
(2) a member who operates a family farm in this State,
appointed by the Director of Natural Resources;
(3) a member who has expertise in natural resources
planning, appointed by the Director of Natural Resources;
(4) a member who is the designated representative of a
statewide agricultural organization, appointed by the
Director of Natural Resources;
(5) a member who is a designated representative of a
land trust or statewide nonprofit conservation
organization operating in this State, appointed by the
Director of Natural Resources;
(6) a member who is a designated representative of an
educational institution, appointed by the Director of

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Natural Resources;
(7) a member who is the designated representative of
soil and water conservation districts, the University of
Illinois Extension, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS),
appointed by the Director of Natural Resources; and
(8) a member representing the land use planning
profession, appointed by the Director of Natural
Resources.
(b) The Committee shall convene and meet at the call of the
chairperson or the Director of Natural Resources.
(c) The Department shall provide administrative and other
support to the Committee.
(d) The members of the Committee shall serve without
compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and
necessary expenses by the Department.
(20 ILCS 3988/Act rep.)
Section 40. The Local Legacy Act is repealed.
Section 45. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.1030 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new)
Sec. 5.1030. The Illinois Natural Resources and
Agricultural Legacy Fund.