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1 AN ACT concerning State government.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 5. The Department of Natural Resources Act is 
5amended by changing Sections 1-25, 20-5, 20-10, and 20-15 as 
6follows:

7 (20 ILCS 801/1-25)
8 Sec. 1-25. Powers of the Illinois State Museum.  In 
9addition to its other powers and duties, the Department shall 
10have the following powers and duties which shall be performed 
11by the State Museum:
12  (1) To investigate and study the natural resources and 
13 histories of the State and to prepare printed reports and 
14 furnish information fundamental to the conservation and 
15 development of natural resources, and, for that purpose 
16 and for the purpose of upholding federal requirements 
17 under the Native American Grave Protection and 
18 Repatriation Act, the officers and employees thereof may, 
19 pursuant to rule adopted by the Department, enter and 
20 cross all lands in this State, doing no damage to private 
21 property.
22  (2) To cooperate with and advise departments having 
23 administrative powers and duties relating to the natural 
 
 
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1 resources of the State, and to cooperate with similar 
2 departments in other states, with tribal nations, and with 
3 the United States Government.
4  (3) To cooperate with the Illinois State Academy of 
5 Science and to publish a suitable number of the results of 
6 the investigations and research in the field of natural 
7 science to the end that the same may be distributed to the 
8 interested public. This cooperation shall not grant any 
9 special rights, authority, or privileges to the Academy. 
10  (4) To maintain a State Museum, and to collect and 
11 preserve objects of scientific, historic, and artistic 
12 value, representing past and present fauna and flora, the 
13 life and work of humankind man, geological history, 
14 natural resources, and the manufacturing and fine arts; to 
15 welcome visitors of all ages to the State Museum; and to 
16 interpret for and educate the public concerning the 
17 foregoing. The State Museum shall work with Native 
18 Americans to create an interpretation of Native American 
19 histories and art directed by tribal partners. 
20  (5) At the sole discretion of the Department, the 
21 State Museum may To cooperate with the Illinois State 
22 Museum Society for the mutual benefit of the State Museum. 
23 This cooperation shall not grant any special rights, 
24 authority, or privileges to the Society. Upon and the 
25 Society, with the Museum furnishing necessary space for 
26 the Society to carry on its functions and keep its 
 
 
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1 records, and, upon the recommendation of the State Museum 
2 Director with the approval of the Board of State Museum 
3 Advisors and the Director of the Department, the State 
4 Museum may to enter into agreements with the Illinois 
5 State Museum Society for the operation of a sales counter 
6 and other concessions for the mutual benefit of the State 
7 Museum and the Society. The State Museum may enter into 
8 agreements with the Society for programs at or outside the 
9 State Museum. The Society shall be solely responsible for 
10 its own budget and the preparation of the budget, its 
11 staff, its equipment, its supplies, and its programs. 
12  (6) To accept grants of property and to hold property 
13 to be administered as part of the State Museum for the 
14 purpose of preservation, research of interpretation of 
15 significant areas within the State for the purpose of 
16 preserving, studying, and interpreting history and 
17 archaeological and natural phenomena and for the purpose 
18 of upholding Native American Grave Protection and 
19 Repatriation Act requirements.
20  (7) To contribute to and support the operations, 
21 programs and capital development of public museums in this 
22 State. For the purposes of this Section, "public museum" 
23 means a facility: (A) that is operating for the purposes 
24 of promoting cultural development through special 
25 activities or programs or through performing arts that are 
26 performed in an indoor setting, and acquiring, conserving, 
 
 
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1 preserving, studying, interpreting, enhancing, and in 
2 particular, organizing and continuously exhibiting 
3 specimens, artifacts, articles, documents and other things 
4 of historical, anthropological, archaeological, 
5 industrial, scientific or artistic import, to the public 
6 for its instruction and enjoyment, and (B) that either (i) 
7 is operated by or located upon land owned by a unit of 
8 local government or (ii) is a museum that has an annual 
9 attendance of at least 150,000 and offers educational 
10 programs to school groups during school hours. A museum is 
11 eligible to receive funds for capital development under 
12 this subdivision (7) only if it is operated by or located 
13 upon land owned by a unit of local government or if it is 
14 certified by a unit of local government in which it is 
15 located as a public museum meeting the criteria of this 
16 Section. Recipients of funds for capital development under 
17 this subdivision (7) shall match State funds with local or 
18 private funding according to the following:
19   (a) for a public museum with an attendance of 
20 300,000 or less during the preceding calendar year, no 
21 match is required;
22   (b) for a public museum with an attendance of over 
23 300,000 but less than 600,000 during the preceding 
24 calendar year, the match must be at a ratio of $1 from 
25 local and private funds for every $1 in State funds; 
26 and
 
 
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1   (c) for a public museum with an attendance of over 
2 600,000 during the preceding calendar year, the match 
3 must be at a ratio of $2 from local and private funds 
4 for every $1 in State funds.
5  The Department shall formulate rules and regulations 
6 relating to the allocation of any funds appropriated by 
7 the General Assembly for the purpose of contributing to 
8 the support of public museums in this State.
9  (8) To perform all other duties and assume all 
10 obligations of the former Department of Energy and Natural 
11 Resources and the former Department of Registration and 
12 Education pertaining to the State Museum.
13  (9) To work in collaboration with the Division of 
14 Historic Preservation of the Department in the exercise of 
15 all the rights, powers, and duties conferred upon the 
16 Department under the Historic Preservation Act. 
17(Source: P.A. 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)

18 (20 ILCS 801/20-5)
19 Sec. 20-5. State Museum. The Department of Natural 
20Resources shall have within it the office of the Illinois 
21State Museum. The Board of the Illinois State Museum is 
22retained as the governing board for the State Museum.
23(Source: P.A. 95-728, eff. 7-1-08 - See Sec. 999.)

24 (20 ILCS 801/20-10)
 
 
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1 Sec. 20-10. Advisory Board of the Illinois State Museum. 
2 (a) Within the Department there shall be an Advisory a 
3Board of the Illinois State Museum. The Advisory Board shall 
4be , composed of 11 persons who shall be appointed by the 
5Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Any 
6members appointed before July 1, 2026 shall serve the full 
7term for which they were appointed, unless removed by the 
8Governor. Beginning on July 1, 2026, 9 members shall have at 
9least 5 years of experience practicing or teaching in , one of 
10whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or over. The Board shall 
11be composed of 9 representatives of the natural sciences, 
12anthropology, art, history, or and business and shall be from 
13diverse backgrounds and geographical locations across the 
14State; and 2 members shall be representatives of 
15community-based organizations, irrespective of background and 
16experience. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the Board shall include 
176 individuals from a historically marginalized identity , 
18qualified by at least 10 years of experience in practicing or 
19teaching their several professions; one senior citizen; and 
20the Director of Natural Resources or the Director's designee. 
21All members appointed after January 1, 2025 shall serve for 
222-year Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor 
23with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall serve for 
242-year terms. The Governor shall be entitled to remove any 
25member due to incompetency, dereliction of duty, or 
26malfeasance. 
 
 
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1 The transfer of the Board to the Department under this Act 
2does not terminate or otherwise affect the term of membership 
3of any member of the Board, except that the former Director of 
4Energy and Natural Resources is replaced by the Director of 
5Natural Resources.
6 (b) The Advisory Board shall:
7  (1) advise the Director of the Department, or the 
8 Director's designee, in all matters pertaining to the 
9 maintenance, the extension, and the mission usefulness of 
10 the Illinois State Museum, including, but not limited to, 
11 the needs for capital development projects, assistance 
12 with long-term planning for the State Museum, and other 
13 large-scale operational changes, except that these matters 
14 shall be determined and shall be defined solely by the 
15 State Museum;
16  (2) make recommendations concerning the appointment of 
17 a new State Museum museum director whenever a vacancy 
18 occurs in that position, except that the Department shall 
19 have the sole authority to determine the process used to 
20 identify and employ a new State Museum director, 
21 including, but not limited to, the authority to determine 
22 how and when to involve or employ an individual or 
23 business to aid in conducting a search for interested and 
24 qualified candidates; to identify qualified candidates; to 
25 interview candidates; to make an offer of employment to 
26 the selected candidate; and to determine the compensation 
 
 
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1 of the new State Museum Director; and 
2  (3) (blank);and
 
3  (4) review the budget of the Illinois State Museum and 
4 make recommendations to with reference thereto to the 
5 Governor through the Director of the Department.
6 (c) (Blank).
7(Source: P.A. 102-303, eff. 1-1-22; 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)

8 (20 ILCS 801/20-15)
9 Sec. 20-15. Moneys collected by the Illinois State Museum 
10Entrance fee. All moneys paid to, collected by, or donated to 
11the State Museum The Department may set by administrative rule 
12an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. The 
13fee assessed by this Section shall be deposited into the 
14Illinois State Museum Fund for the Department to use to 
15support the Illinois State Museum. The moneys monies deposited 
16into the Illinois State Museum Fund under this Section shall 
17not be subject to administrative charges or chargebacks unless 
18otherwise authorized by this Act.
19(Source: P.A. 97-1136, eff. 1-1-13.)