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| Public Act 103-0772
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| SB3077 Enrolled | LRB103 36919 JAG 67033 b |
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AN ACT concerning agriculture.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local |
Food Infrastructure Grant Act.
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Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: |
"Department" means the Department of Agriculture. |
"Director" means the Director of Agriculture. |
"Fund" means the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. |
"Grant administrator" means the Department or a nonprofit |
organization that is exempt from taxation under Section |
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, that represents |
farmers, and that has entered into a subcontract with the |
Department under Section 15 to administer the grant. |
"Grantee" means the person or entity to whom a grant is |
made from the Fund. |
"Lender" means a federal or State chartered bank, a |
federal land bank, a production credit association, a bank for |
cooperatives, a federal or State chartered savings and loan |
association, a federal or State chartered building and loan |
association, a small business investment company, or any other |
institution qualified within this State to originate and |
service loans, including, but not limited to, an insurance |
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company, a credit union, and a mortgage loan company. |
"Lender" includes a wholly owned subsidiary of a |
manufacturer, seller, or distributor of goods or services that |
makes loans to businesses or individuals, commonly known as a |
captive finance company. |
"Liability" includes, but is not limited to, accounts |
payable; notes or other indebtedness owed to any source; |
taxes; rent; amounts owed on real estate contracts or real |
estate mortgages; judgments; accrued interest payable; and any |
other liability. |
"State" means the State of Illinois. |
"Underserved farmer" means a farmer or rancher who meets |
the United States Department of Agriculture criteria to be |
designated as a beginning farmer, socially disadvantaged |
farmer, veteran farmer, or limited resource farmer. |
"Underserved community" means a community that has limited |
or no access to resources or that is otherwise disenfranchised |
as determined by the Department. These communities may include |
people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; people with |
limited English proficiency; geographically isolated or |
educationally disenfranchised people; people of color as well |
as ethnic and national origin minorities; women and children; |
individuals with disabilities and others with access and |
functional needs; and seniors. |
"Value-added agricultural product" means any farm or |
agricultural product or by-product that has its value enhanced |
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through processing in Illinois, packaging in Illinois, or any |
other activity in Illinois.
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Section 10. Findings. |
(a) The General Assembly finds that the following |
conditions exist in this State: |
(1) Small fruit, vegetable, and livestock farmers are |
vital to the health and wealth of Illinois communities, |
yet Illinois does not currently have infrastructure in |
place to support local food farmers or to feed Illinois |
communities. |
(2) An estimated 95% of the food consumed in Illinois |
is purchased from outside of our borders, resulting in the |
export of billions of food dollars outside our State |
rather than the enhancement of our local food economies. |
(3) A shift of just 10% toward local food purchasing |
by Illinois individuals, families, schools, institutions, |
and State agencies could generate billions in economic |
growth for our State. |
(4) For Illinois families, businesses, schools, and |
institutions to shift their purchasing practices, Illinois |
must invest in supporting critical local food |
infrastructure needed to bolster processing, aggregation, |
and distribution of local food. |
(b) The General Assembly determines and declares that |
there exist conditions in the State that require the |
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Department to issue grants on behalf of the State for the |
development of local food processing, aggregation, and |
distribution.
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Section 15. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program. |
Funding appropriated for the Local Food Infrastructure Grant |
Program shall be allocated to the Department. The Department |
may enter into a subcontract agreement with a nonprofit |
organization that is exempt from taxation under Section |
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that represents |
farmers in order to administer the grant program established |
under this Act, so long as the administration of the grant |
program by the grant administrator adheres to the requirements |
of this Act, including the following requirements: |
(1) Eligible grant applicants shall include any one or |
more of the following entities that store, process, |
package, aggregate, or distribute value-added agricultural |
products or plan to do so: |
(A) Illinois farms with less than 50 employees; |
(B) Illinois cooperatives with less than 50 |
employees; |
(C) Illinois processing facilities with less than |
50 employees; |
(D) Illinois food businesses with less than 50 |
employees; |
(E) Illinois food hubs with less than 50 |
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employees; |
(F) Illinois nonprofit organizations; and |
(G) units of local government in Illinois. |
Grant proposals may be submitted to the grant |
administrator by individuals, groups, partnerships, or |
collaborations. A recipient of grant funding under this |
Act whose project is funded in a grant cycle is not |
eligible to apply for grant funding under this Act for |
that project in the next funding cycle nor is any other |
person eligible to apply for grant funding for that |
project in the next funding cycle. However, any person may |
apply for grant funding under this Act for such project in |
any subsequent funding cycles. |
(2) Grant awards shall be available for collaborative |
and individual projects at the following award amounts: |
(A) for a collaborative project, a grant of $1,000 |
to $250,000 may be awarded; and |
(B) for an individual project, a grant of $1,000 |
to $75,000 may be awarded. |
(3) All funded projects must show comparable |
investments by the recipient in the development and |
progression of the project being funded or must show |
evidence of being a high need project. The recipient's |
comparable investments may be provided in cash, |
cash-equivalent investments, bonds, irrevocable letters of |
credit, time and labor, or any combination of those |
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matching fund sources. Acceptable providers of matching |
funds include, but are not limited to, commercial, |
municipal, and private lenders; leasing companies; and |
grantors of funds. A project may be designated as a high |
need project if at least one of the following conditions |
is met: |
(A) the project can demonstrate that it is filling |
a gap in critical infrastructure for its region or |
community that is unlikely to be resolved without the |
grant investment; or |
(B) the project can demonstrate that the grant |
investment will primarily serve underserved farmers or |
underserved communities. |
(4) All grant funding provided under this Act must be |
used for purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or |
installing infrastructure related to the processing, |
storage, aggregation, or distribution of value-added |
agricultural products. Allowable expenses include, but are |
not limited to: |
(A) equipment used in the production of |
value-added agricultural products; |
(B) milling or pressing equipment; |
(C) creamery or milk product processing and |
packaging equipment; |
(D) food hub development or expansion; |
(E) cooler walls and refrigeration units; |
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(F) grading, packing, labeling, packaging, or |
sorting equipment; |
(G) refrigerated trucks; |
(H) custom exempt mobile slaughter units and |
livestock processing equipment; |
(I) agroforestry processing equipment; and |
(J) local fish and shrimp processing. |
Grant funding provided under this Act may not be used |
for labor, marketing, or promotion or for the costs of |
production agriculture, such as costs for the purchase of |
hoop houses, irrigation, or other infrastructure related |
to starting or increasing agricultural production.
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Section 17. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. The |
Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund is created as a special |
fund in the State treasury. Appropriations and moneys from any |
public or private source may be deposited into the Fund. The |
Fund shall be used for the purposes of this Act. Repayments of |
grants made under this Section shall be deposited into the |
Fund. A maximum of 10% of all funds appropriated through the |
Fund may be used by the Department for the costs of |
administering the grant within the Department or the cost of |
subcontracting a grant administrator.
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Section 20. Program administration. |
(a) The grant administrator shall create an independent |
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Local Food Infrastructure Steering Committee to guide the |
implementation and evaluation of the grant program created by |
this Act. The Steering Committee shall be composed of, at a |
minimum, the following members: at least 3 farmers, including |
one specialty crop farmer, one livestock farmer, and one |
farmer of color; one representative from the local food |
processing industry; one representative from a nonprofit |
organization serving farmers of color; one representative from |
a nonprofit organization serving farmers at large; and one |
representative from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance Local |
Food Farmer Caucus so long as the Caucus exists. |
(b) The Steering Committee's responsibilities shall |
include advising the Department and any other grant |
administrator on the following matters: |
(1) application requirements and terms of grant |
agreements; |
(2) grant criteria and preferences, including |
additional criteria and preferences to be adopted by the |
Department by rule; |
(3) the meaning of the term "collaborative project" to |
be codified in Department rules; |
(4) grant review and selection; |
(5) project reporting requirements for funded |
projects; and |
(6) evaluation of program success and adjustment of |
criteria, requirements, preferences, program |
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implementation, and other elements of the grant program as |
needed to ensure that the grant program meets its intended |
purpose and complies with this Act. |
(c) An applicant for grant funding under this Act must, at |
a minimum, be an Illinois resident, as defined by Department |
rule, and provide the names, addresses, and occupations of all |
project owners, the project address, relevant credit and |
financial information (including, but not limited to, assets |
and liabilities), and any other information deemed necessary |
by the grant administrator for review of the grant |
application. A grant award is subject to modification or |
alteration under the condition that the grant award is subject |
to any modifications that may be required by changes in State |
law or rules. The Department shall provide written notice to |
the recipient or, if subcontracting with another grant |
administrator, the other grant administrator of any amendment |
to the Act or rules adopted under the Act and the effective |
date of those amendments. |
(d) The grant administrator, in reviewing the |
applications, must consider, but is not limited to |
considering, the following criteria: |
(1) whether the project has a reasonable assurance of |
increasing the availability and accessibility of Illinois |
agricultural products among Illinois communities; |
(2) whether there is an adequate and realistic budget |
projection; and |
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(3) whether the application meets the eligibility |
requirements and the project costs are eligible under this |
Act. |
(e) Preference for grants shall be given to the following |
types of proposals: |
(1) proposals that have established favorable |
community support; |
(2) proposals that increase the availability of |
Illinois agricultural products to underserved communities |
in Illinois; |
(3) proposals that positively impact underserved |
farmers in Illinois; |
(4) proposals from established farmers and food |
businesses; |
(5) proposals that facilitate long-term economic |
development in the local food sector; |
(6) proposals that demonstrate comparable investments |
by the anticipated recipient; |
(7) proposals for high need projects; and |
(8) proposals that are submitted by small and very |
small farms and food businesses.
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Section 25. Report. The grant administrator must annually |
file with the Governor and General Assembly and publish |
publicly each year a written report detailing the impact of |
the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program for the previous |
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calendar year. The report must include: |
(1) a complete list of all applications for grants |
under this Act that were received during the previous |
calendar year; |
(2) a complete list of all persons that were awarded a |
grant under this Act in the previous calendar year and the |
nature and amount of their awards; and |
(3) a statement of the economic impact of the grants |
made in the previous calendar year, which may include jobs |
created, local food sales increased, and communities |
served.
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Section 30. Liability. The Director, the grant |
administrator, the Local Food Infrastructure Steering |
Committee, Department employees, and any persons authorized to |
execute grants are not personally liable on account of the |
grants made under this Act and are not subject to any personal |
liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the |
grants.
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Section 35. Default or termination of grant agreement. |
(a) If the recipient of a grant violates any of the terms |
of the grant agreement, the grant administrator shall send a |
written notice to the recipient that the recipient is in |
default, and the recipient shall be given the opportunity to |
correct the violations. |
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(b) If the violation is not corrected within 30 days after |
receipt of the notification, the grant administrator may take |
any one or more of the following actions: |
(1) The grant administrator may declare due and |
payable the amount of the grant, or any portion of it, and |
cease additional grant payments not yet made to the grant |
recipient. |
(2) The grant administrator may take any other action |
considered appropriate to protect the interest of the |
project. |
(c) The grant administrator may determine that a recipient |
has failed to faithfully perform the terms and conditions of |
the scope of work of the project when: |
(1) The grant administrator has notified the recipient |
in writing of the existence of circumstances such as |
misapplication of grant funds, failure to match grant |
funds, evidence of fraud and abuse, repeated failure to |
meet performance timelines or standards, or failure to |
resolve negotiated points of the agreement. |
(2) The recipient fails to develop and implement a |
corrective action plan within 30 calendar days of the |
grant administrator's notice. |
(d) A grant may be terminated as provided in this |
subsection: |
(1) If there is no appropriation for the grant program |
for a specific year, all grants for that year will be |
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terminated in full. If there is an insufficient |
appropriation for the grant program for a specific year, |
the grant administrator may make proportionate cuts to all |
recipients. |
(2) If the grant administrator determines that the |
recipient has failed to comply with the terms and |
conditions of the grant agreement, the grant administrator |
may terminate the grant in whole, or in part, at any time |
before the date of completion. |
(3) If the grant administrator determines that the |
continuation of the project would not produce beneficial |
results commensurate with the further expenditure of |
funds, the grant administrator may terminate the grant in |
whole, or in part, at any time before the date of |
completion. |
(4) If the recipient refuses or elects not to complete |
the grant agreement and terminate the grant, the recipient |
shall notify the grant administrator within 10 days after |
the date upon which performance ceases. Upon receipt of |
the notification, the grant shall be declared terminated, |
and the grant administrator may declare due and payable |
the amount of the grant and may cease additional grant |
payments not yet made to the grantee. |
(e) Any money collected from the default or termination of |
a grant shall be placed into the Fund and expended for the |
purposes of this Act.
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