Bill Text: IL HB2991 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, in Fiscal Year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Department shall advance grant funds to certified tourism and convention bureaus that received grant funding in the prior fiscal year. Provides that the advanced amount shall be equal to 50% of the total grant awarded to each bureau in the prior fiscal year. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-06 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB2991 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2991-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2991 Introduced , by Rep. Terra Costa Howard SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 100/5-45.65 new
20 ILCS 605/605-705 was 20 ILCS 605/46.6a
Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, in Fiscal Year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Department shall advance grant funds to certified tourism and convention bureaus that received grant funding in the prior fiscal year. Provides that the advanced amount shall be equal to 50% of the total grant awarded to each bureau in the prior fiscal year. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is
amended by adding Section 5-45.65 as follows:
(5 ILCS 100/5-45.65 new)
Sec. 5-45.65. Emergency rulemaking. To provide for the
expeditious and timely implementation of this amendatory Act
of the 104th General Assembly, emergency rules implementing
this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly may be
adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 by the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The adoption of emergency
rules authorized by Section 5-45 and this Section is deemed to
be necessary for the public interest, safety, and welfare.
This Section is repealed one year after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly.
Section 10. The Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
is amended by changing Section 605-705 as follows:
(20 ILCS 605/605-705) (was 20 ILCS 605/46.6a)
Sec. 605-705. Grants to local tourism and convention

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bureaus.
(a) To establish a grant program for local tourism and
convention bureaus. The Department will develop and implement
a program for the use of funds, as authorized under this Act,
by local tourism and convention bureaus. For the purposes of
this Act, bureaus eligible to receive funds are those local
tourism and convention bureaus that are (i) either units of
local government or incorporated as not-for-profit
organizations; (ii) in legal existence for a minimum of 2
years before July 1, 2001; (iii) operating with a paid,
full-time staff whose sole purpose is to promote tourism in
the designated service area; and (iv) affiliated with one or
more municipalities or counties that support the bureau with
local hotel-motel taxes. After July 1, 2001, bureaus
requesting certification in order to receive funds for the
first time must be local tourism and convention bureaus that
are (i) either units of local government or incorporated as
not-for-profit organizations; (ii) in legal existence for a
minimum of 2 years before the request for certification; (iii)
operating with a paid, full-time staff whose sole purpose is
to promote tourism in the designated service area; and (iv)
affiliated with multiple municipalities or counties that
support the bureau with local hotel-motel taxes. Each bureau
receiving funds under this Act will be certified by the
Department as the designated recipient to serve an area of the
State. Notwithstanding the criteria set forth in this

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subsection (a), or any rule adopted under this subsection (a),
the Director of the Department may provide for the award of
grant funds to one or more entities if in the Department's
judgment that action is necessary in order to prevent a loss of
funding critical to promoting tourism in a designated
geographic area of the State.
(b) To distribute grants to local tourism and convention
bureaus from appropriations made from the Local Tourism Fund
for that purpose. Of the amounts appropriated annually to the
Department for expenditure under this Section prior to July 1,
2011, one-third of those monies shall be used for grants to
convention and tourism bureaus in cities with a population
greater than 500,000. The remaining two-thirds of the annual
appropriation prior to July 1, 2011 shall be used for grants to
convention and tourism bureaus in the remainder of the State,
in accordance with a formula based upon the population served.
Of the amounts appropriated annually to the Department for
expenditure under this Section beginning July 1, 2011, 18% of
such moneys shall be used for grants to convention and tourism
bureaus in cities with a population greater than 500,000. Of
the amounts appropriated annually to the Department for
expenditure under this Section beginning July 1, 2011, 82% of
such moneys shall be used for grants to convention bureaus in
the remainder of the State, in accordance with a formula based
upon the population served. The Department may reserve up to
3% of total local tourism funds available for costs of

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administering the program to conduct audits of grants, to
provide incentive funds to those bureaus that will conduct
promotional activities designed to further the Department's
statewide advertising campaign, to fund special statewide
promotional activities, and to fund promotional activities
that support an increased use of the State's parks or historic
sites. The Department shall require that any convention and
tourism bureau receiving a grant under this Section that
requires matching funds shall provide matching funds equal to
no less than 50% of the grant amount, except that: (1) in
Fiscal Years 2021 through 2024 only, the Department shall
require that any convention and tourism bureau receiving a
grant under this Section that requires matching funds shall
provide matching funds equal to no less than 25% of the grant
amount; (2) in Fiscal Year 2025, the Department shall require
that any convention and tourism bureau receiving a grant under
this Section that requires matching funds shall provide
matching funds equal to no less than 30% of the grant amount;
and (3) in Fiscal Year 2026, the Department shall require that
any convention and tourism bureau receiving a grant under this
Section that requires matching funds shall provide matching
funds equal to no less than 40% of the grant amount. During
fiscal year 2013, the Department shall reserve $2,000,000 of
the available local tourism funds for appropriation to the
Historic Preservation Agency for the operation of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and State historic

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sites.
To provide for the expeditious and timely implementation
of the changes made by Public Act 101-636, emergency rules to
implement the changes made by Public Act 101-636 may be
adopted by the Department subject to the provisions of Section
5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
(c) In Fiscal Year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter,
subject to sufficient appropriation by the General Assembly,
the Department shall advance grant funds to certified bureaus
that received grant funding in the prior fiscal year. Such
advanced amount shall be equal to 50% of the total grant
awarded to the bureau in the prior fiscal year. The Department
shall submit vouchers for payment of the advanced amounts for
each eligible bureau to the Comptroller on or before July 31 of
each fiscal year. To provide for the expeditious and timely
implementation of the changes made by this amendatory Act of
the 104th General Assembly, emergency rules to implement these
changes may be adopted by the Department subject to the
provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
Procedure Act.
(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22;
103-8, eff. 6-7-23; 103-588, eff. 6-5-24.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.