Bill Text: IL SB3241 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Makes changes concerning the powers and duties of the Illinois State Museum. Repeals a provision which specifies that the Board of the Illinois State Museum is the governing board for the State Museum. Replaces the Board of the Illinois State Museum with an advisory board. Describes the duties of the advisory board. Repeals a provision which states that the Department of Natural Resources may set, by administrative rule, an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Natalie Toro [SB3241 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3241-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB3241 Introduced 2/6/2024, by Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 801/1-25
20 ILCS 801/20-5
20 ILCS 801/20-10
20 ILCS 801/20-15
Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Makes changes concerning the powers and duties of the Illinois State Museum. Repeals a provision which specifies that the Board of the Illinois State Museum is the governing board for the State Museum. Replaces the Board of the Illinois State Museum with an advisory board. Describes the duties of the advisory board. Repeals a provision which states that the Department of Natural Resources may set, by administrative rule, an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
SB3241 LRB103 39242 JAG 69394 b
AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Department of Natural Resources Act is
amended by changing Sections 1-25, 20-5, 20-10, and 20-15 as
follows:
(20 ILCS 801/1-25)
Sec. 1-25. Powers of the Illinois State Museum.
(a) In addition to its other powers and duties, the
Department shall have the following powers and duties which
shall be performed by the State Museum:
(1) To investigate and study the natural resources and
histories of the State and to prepare printed reports and
furnish information fundamental to the conservation and
development of natural resources, and, for that purpose
and for the purpose of upholding federal requirements
under the Native American Grave Protection and
Repatriation Act, the officers and employees thereof may,
pursuant to rule adopted by the Department, enter and
cross all lands in this State, doing no damage to private
property.
(2) To cooperate with and advise departments having
administrative powers and duties relating to the natural

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resources of the State, and to cooperate with similar
departments in other states, with tribal nations, and with
the United States Government.
(3) To cooperate with the Illinois State Academy of
Science and to publish a suitable number of the results of
the investigations and research in the field of natural
science to the end that the same may be distributed to the
interested public. This cooperation shall not grant any
special rights, authority, or privileges to the Academy.
(4) To maintain a State Museum, and to collect and
preserve objects of scientific, historic, and artistic
value, representing past and present fauna and flora, the
life and work of humankind man, geological history,
natural resources, and the manufacturing and fine arts; to
welcome visitors of all ages to the State Museum; and to
interpret for and educate the public concerning the
foregoing. The State Museum shall work with Native
Americans to create an interpretation of Native American
histories and art directed by tribal partners.
(5) (Blank). To cooperate with the Illinois State
Museum Society for the mutual benefit of the Museum and
the Society, with the Museum furnishing necessary space
for the Society to carry on its functions and keep its
records, and, upon the recommendation of the Museum
Director with the approval of the Board of State Museum
Advisors and the Director of the Department, to enter into

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agreements with the Illinois State Museum Society for the
operation of a sales counter and other concessions for the
mutual benefit of the Museum and the Society.
(6) To accept grants of property and to hold property
to be administered as part of the State Museum for the
purpose of preservation, research of interpretation of
significant areas within the State for the purpose of
preserving, studying, and interpreting history and
archaeological and natural phenomena and for the purpose
of upholding Native American Grave Protection and
Repatriation Act requirements.
(7) To contribute to and support the operations,
programs and capital development of public museums in this
State. For the purposes of this Section, "public museum"
means a facility: (A) that is operating for the purposes
of promoting cultural development through special
activities or programs or through performing arts that are
performed in an indoor setting, and acquiring, conserving,
preserving, studying, interpreting, enhancing, and in
particular, organizing and continuously exhibiting
specimens, artifacts, articles, documents and other things
of historical, anthropological, archaeological,
industrial, scientific or artistic import, to the public
for its instruction and enjoyment, and (B) that either (i)
is operated by or located upon land owned by a unit of
local government or (ii) is a museum that has an annual

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attendance of at least 150,000 and offers educational
programs to school groups during school hours. A museum is
eligible to receive funds for capital development under
this subdivision (7) only if it is operated by or located
upon land owned by a unit of local government or if it is
certified by a unit of local government in which it is
located as a public museum meeting the criteria of this
Section. Recipients of funds for capital development under
this subdivision (7) shall match State funds with local or
private funding according to the following:
(a) for a public museum with an attendance of
300,000 or less during the preceding calendar year, no
match is required;
(b) for a public museum with an attendance of over
300,000 but less than 600,000 during the preceding
calendar year, the match must be at a ratio of $1 from
local and private funds for every $1 in State funds;
and
(c) for a public museum with an attendance of over
600,000 during the preceding calendar year, the match
must be at a ratio of $2 from local and private funds
for every $1 in State funds.
The Department shall formulate rules and regulations
relating to the allocation of any funds appropriated by
the General Assembly for the purpose of contributing to
the support of public museums in this State.

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(8) To perform all other duties and assume all
obligations of the former Department of Energy and Natural
Resources and the former Department of Registration and
Education pertaining to the State Museum.
(9) To work in collaboration with the Division of
Historic Preservation of the Department in the exercise of
all the rights, powers, and duties conferred upon the
Department under the Historic Preservation Act.
(b) At the sole discretion of the Department, the State
Museum may cooperate with the Illinois State Museum Society
for the benefit of the State Museum. This cooperation shall
not grant any special rights, authority, or privileges to the
Society. Upon the recommendation of the State Museum Director
with the approval of the Director of the Department, the State
Museum may enter into agreements with the Society for the
operation of a sales counter and other concessions for the
benefit of the State Museum and the Society. The State Museum
may enter into agreements with the Society for programs at or
outside the State Museum. The Society shall be solely
responsible for its own budget and the preparation of the
budget, its staff, its equipment, its supplies, and its
programs.
(Source: P.A. 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)
(20 ILCS 801/20-5)
Sec. 20-5. State Museum. The Department of Natural

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Resources shall have within it the office of the Illinois
State Museum. The Board of the Illinois State Museum is
retained as the governing board for the State Museum.
(Source: P.A. 95-728, eff. 7-1-08 - See Sec. 999.)
(20 ILCS 801/20-10)
Sec. 20-10. Advisory Board of the Illinois State Museum.
(a) Within the Department there shall be an Advisory a
Board of the Illinois State Museum. The Advisory Board shall
be , composed of 11 persons who shall be appointed by the
Governor. Any members appointed before July 1, 2026 shall
serve the full term for which they were appointed, unless
removed by the Governor. Beginning on July 1, 2026, 9 members
shall have at least 5 years of experience practicing or
teaching in , one of whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or
over. The Board shall be composed of 9 representatives of the
natural sciences, anthropology, art, history, or and business
and shall be from diverse backgrounds and geographic locations
across the State and two members shall be representatives of
community-based organizations, irrespective of background and
experience. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the Board shall consist
of 6 individuals from a historically marginalized identity ,
qualified by at least 10 years of experience in practicing or
teaching their several professions; one senior citizen; and
the Director of Natural Resources or the Director's designee.
All members appointed after January 1, 2025 shall serve for

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2-year Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor
with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall serve for
2-year terms. The Governor shall be entitled to remove any
member due to incompetency, dereliction of duty, or
malfeasance.
The transfer of the Board to the Department under this Act
does not terminate or otherwise affect the term of membership
of any member of the Board, except that the former Director of
Energy and Natural Resources is replaced by the Director of
Natural Resources.
(b) The Advisory Board shall:
(1) advise the Director of the Department, or the
Director's designee, in all matters pertaining to the
maintenance, the extension and the mission usefulness of
the Illinois State Museum, including, but not limited to,
the needs for capital development projects, assistance
with long-term planning for the State Museum, and other
large-scale operational changes, except that these matters
shall be determined and shall be defined solely by the
State Museum;
(2) make recommendations concerning the appointment of
a new State Museum museum director whenever a vacancy
occurs in that position, except that the Department shall
have the sole authority to determine the process used to
identify and employ a new State Museum director,
including, but not limited to, the authority to determine

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how and when to involve or employ an individual or
business to aid in conducting a search for interested and
qualified candidates; to identify qualified candidates; to
interview candidates; to make an offer of employment to
the selected candidate; and to determine the compensation
of the new State Museum Director; and
(3) (blank);
(4) review the budget of the Illinois State Museum and
make recommendations to with reference thereto to the
Governor through the Director of the Department.
(c) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 102-303, eff. 1-1-22; 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)
(20 ILCS 801/20-15)
Sec. 20-15. Moneys Collected by the Illinois State Museum
Entrance fee. All moneys paid to, collected by, or donated to
the State Museum The Department may set by administrative rule
an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. The
fee assessed by this Section shall be deposited into the
Illinois State Museum Fund for the Department to use to
support the Illinois State Museum. The monies deposited into
the Illinois State Museum Fund under this Section shall not be
subject to administrative charges or chargebacks unless
otherwise authorized by this Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-1136, eff. 1-1-13.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

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