103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3585
 
Introduced 2/9/2024, 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. Authorizes the Illinois State Museum to cooperate with the Illinois State Academy of Science and the Illinois State Museum Society, but the cooperation does not grant any special rights, authority, or privileges to the Academy or Society. Deletes the Board of the Illinois State Museum Society as the governing board and replaces it with the Department of Natural Resources. Changes the makeup of the Board as follows: The 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. On or after July 1, 2026, nine members shall have at least five years of experience practicing or teaching in natural sciences, anthropology, art, history or business, and shall be from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations across the State of Illinois and two members shall be representatives of community-based organizations, irrespective of background and experience. Starting on July 1, 2026, the makeup of the Board shall consist of six individuals from a historically marginalized identity. All members appointed after January 1, 2025 shall serve for two-year terms. The Governor shall be entitled to remove any member due to incompetency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


LRB103 37067 JRC 67185 b


 
 
A BILL FOR
 
SB3585LRB103 37067 JRC 67185 b


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. Illinois Powers of the State Museum (State 
9Museum).  In addition to its other powers and duties, the 
10Department shall have the following powers and duties which 
11shall be performed by 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 the 
16 officers and employees thereof may, pursuant to rule 
17 adopted by the Department, enter and cross all lands in 
18 this State, doing no damage to private property and for 
19 purposes of upholding federal requirements under the 
20 Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act 
21 (NAGPRA).
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, Tribal Nations, and with the 
3 United States Government.
4  (3) To cooperate with the Illinois State Academy of 
5 Science (Academy) and to publish a suitable number of the 
6 results of the investigations and research in the field of 
7 natural science to the end that the same may be 
8 distributed to the interested public. This cooperation 
9 shall not grant any special rights, authority, or 
10 privileges to the Academy. 
11  (4) To maintain a State Museum, and to collect and 
12 preserve objects of scientific, historic, and artistic 
13 value, representing past and present fauna and flora, the 
14 life and work of humankind man, geological history, 
15 natural resources, and the manufacturing and fine arts; to 
16 welcome visitors of all ages to the State Museum, and to 
17 interpret for and educate the public concerning the 
18 foregoing. The State Museum shall work with Native 
19 Americans to create an interpretation of Native histories 
20 and art directed by Tribal partners. 
21  (5) At the sole discretion of the Department, the 
22 State Museum may To cooperate with the Illinois State 
23 Museum Society (Society) for the mutual benefit of the 
24 State Museum. This cooperation shall not grant any special 
25 rights, authority or privileges to the Society. Upon and 
26 the Society, with the Museum furnishing necessary space 
 
 
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1 for the Society to carry on its functions and keep its 
2 records, and, upon the recommendation of the State Museum 
3 Director with the approval of the Board of State Museum 
4 Advisors and the Director of the Department, the State 
5 Museum may to enter into agreements with the Illinois 
6 State Museum Society for the operation of a sales counter 
7 and other concessions for the mutual benefit of the State 
8 Museum and the Society. The State Museum may enter into 
9 agreements with the Society for programs at or outside the 
10 State Museum. The Society shall be solely responsible for 
11 its own budget (and the preparation thereof), staff, 
12 equipment, supplies, and programs. 
13  (6) To accept grants of property and to hold property 
14 to be administered as part of the State Museum for the 
15 purpose of preservation, research of interpretation of 
16 significant areas within the State for the purpose of 
17 preserving, studying and interpreting archaeological and 
18 natural phenomena, history, and upholding NAGPRA 
19 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. Board of the Illinois State Museum. 
2 (a) Within the Department there shall be an Advisory a 
3Board (Board) of the Illinois State Museum. The Board shall be 
4, composed of 11 persons who shall be appointed by the 
5Governor. Any members appointed before July 1, 2026 shall 
6serve the full term for which they were appointed, unless 
7removed by the Governor. On or after July 1, 2026, 9 members 
8shall have at least 5 years of experience practicing or 
9teaching in , one of whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or 
10over. The Board shall be composed of 9 representatives of the 
11natural sciences, anthropology, art, history or and business, 
12and shall be from diverse backgrounds and geographical 
13locations across the State of Illinois and 2 members shall be 
14representatives of community-based organizations, 
15irrespective of background and experience. Starting on July 1, 
162026, the makeup of the Board shall consist of 6 individuals 
17from a historically marginalized identity. All members 
18appointed after January 1, 2025 shall serve for 2-year terms. 
19The Governor shall be entitled to remove any member due to 
20incompetency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance qualified by 
21at least 10 years of experience in practicing or teaching 
22their several professions; one senior citizen; and the 
23Director of Natural Resources or the Director's designee. 
24Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor with 
25the advice and consent of the Senate and shall serve for 2-year 
26terms.
 
 
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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 Board shall:
7  (1) advise the Director of the Department, or the 
8 Director's designee, in all matters pertaining to 
9 maintenance, extension and mission usefulness of the 
10 Illinois State Museum, including but not limited to the 
11 needs for capital development projects, assisting with 
12 long-term planning for the State Museum, and other large 
13 scale operational changes, provided that such matters 
14 shall be determined and defined solely by the State 
15 Museum;
16  (2) make advisory recommendations concerning the 
17 appointment of a new State Museum museum director whenever 
18 a vacancy occurs in that position, provided that the 
19 Department shall have the sole authority to determine the 
20 process used to identify and employ a new State Museum 
21 Director, including but not limited to: (1) determining 
22 how and when to involve or employ an individual or 
23 business to aid in conducting a search for interested and 
24 qualified individuals; (2) identifying qualified 
25 individuals; (3) interviewing said individuals; (4) making 
26 an offer of employment to the selected individual; and (5) 
 
 
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1 determining the compensation of the new State Museum 
2 Director; and 
3  (3) (blank);
4  (4) review the budget of the Illinois State Museum and 
5 make recommendations to with reference thereto to the 
6 Governor through the Director of the Department.
7 (c) (Blank).
8(Source: P.A. 102-303, eff. 1-1-22; 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)

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