Bill Amendment: IL HB4922 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: EMERGING FARMER GRANT PROGRAM

Status: 2026-05-26 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Javier L. Cervantes [HB4922 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB4922-House_Amendment_002.html

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Rep. Sonya M. Harper

Filed: 4/17/2026

 

 

 

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4922
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4922 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 3. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2021, the State of
Illinois appropriated funds to support socially
disadvantaged farmers, recognizing persistent barriers to
land access, capital, infrastructure, and market
participation.
(2) A portion of those appropriations has remained
unexpended across multiple fiscal years, limiting the
intended impact of those funds.
(3) Emerging and socially disadvantaged farmers
continue to face systemic and structural barriers that
constrain agricultural production, business viability, and
participation in local and regional food systems. Yet
these farmers are often at the front lines of serving

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communities facing food insecurity, diet-related disease,
and economic hardship.
(4) Targeted investment in these farmers will increase
food security and rebuild local economies in communities
where it is needed most.
(5) Deploying previously unexpended funds through a
flexible, accessible grant program administered under this
Act will strengthen Illinois' agricultural economy and
improve public health outcomes across urban, suburban, and
rural communities.
Section 5. The Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
is amended by adding Section 605-1106 as follows:
(20 ILCS 605/605-1106 new)
Sec. 605-1106. Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Infrastructure and Market Access Grant Program.
(a) In this Section:
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity.
"Emerging farmer" means a farmer or aspiring farmer who is
a member of or represents one or more of the following groups:
women; veterans; persons with disabilities; American Indian or
Alaska Native persons; members of communities of color;
farmers under 40 years of age; lesbian, gay, bisexual,

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transgender, queer, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQIA+) persons;
urban farmers; or other emerging farmers as the Director of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity determines are consistent
with the purposes of this Section.
"Food desert" has the meaning given in Section 5 of the
Grocery Initiative Act.
"Fund" means the Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged
Farmers Infrastructure and Market Access Grant Fund.
"Heirs' property operator" means a person farming real
property held as heirs' property, including land to which
title is held by multiple heirs without a formal partition or
probate.
"Infrastructure" means facilities, improvements, and
systems necessary for agricultural production and market
access, including land preparation; on-farm utilities;
post-harvest handling; processing; storage; aggregation; and
distribution.
"Social disadvantage" means diminished opportunity and
disproportionate barriers to entering, operating, sustaining,
or expanding a farm business that are reasonably linked to
discrimination and not solely attributable to individual
business decisions.
"Socially disadvantaged farmer" means an individual farmer
or aspiring farmer who has experienced, or whose farming
operation has experienced, social disadvantage as a result of
systemic or chronic discrimination or bias in access to land,

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credit, capital, insurance, technical assistance, education,
training, markets, or participation in public or private
agricultural programs, on the basis of one or more actual or
perceived characteristics, including race, color, ethnicity,
national origin, ancestry, sex, pregnancy or
childbirth-related status, sexual orientation, gender identity
or expression, religion, age, disability, marital or familial
status, or immigration or citizenship status.
"Underserved community" means a census tract,
municipality, or geographic area in which at least 20% of
residents live below the federal poverty guidelines published
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or that
meets criteria for disproportionate economic hardship, limited
access to essential services, or historic disinvestment,
including barriers related to income, race or ethnicity,
disability, age, language access, or educational attainment.
(b) The Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Infrastructure and Market Access Grant Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury. Subject to appropriation,
the Department must use moneys in the Fund to make grants under
this Section and to pay necessary administrative costs of the
Department. The Department may prioritize using amounts
equivalent to prior appropriations for disadvantaged and urban
farmers that were not expended in Fiscal Years 2021, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025. Administrative costs paid from the Fund
may not exceed 10% of amounts appropriated to the Fund in a

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fiscal year.
(c) The Department shall establish the Emerging and
Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Infrastructure and Market
Access Grant Program to provide grants to eligible applicants
for:
(1) improving access to local food in communities
experiencing food insecurity;
(2) strengthening local and regional food systems;
(3) increasing farm productivity and resilience among
emerging and socially disadvantaged farmers; and
(4) ensuring equitable deployment of previously
unspent State funds intended to support socially
disadvantaged farmers.
(d) The Department shall:
(1) develop an annual plan outlining anticipated
needs, goals, potential challenges, technical assistance
plans, and material changes from the prior year;
(2) develop a marketing and promotion plan to promote
the grant to eligible entities;
(3) distribute grant funding consistent with this
Section;
(4) provide technical assistance to program applicants
and awardees, including translation and accessibility
support; training on application completion and
compliance; and assistance with project planning and
implementation to ensure projects meet program

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requirements; and
(5) issue annually to the Governor and the General
Assembly and publish on the Department's website a report
that details grant awards, expenditures, and program
outcomes and includes:
(A) a list of all applications received in the
previous calendar year;
(B) a list of all recipients and the nature and
amount of each award;
(C) a summary of recipient types as defined by
eligibility and preference criteria, reported in
aggregate without personally identifying information;
(D) a summary of the geographic distribution of
awards by county or region; and
(E) a statement of the economic impact of grants
made in the previous calendar year.
(e) Eligible applicants include Illinois-resident farmers,
not-for-profit farms based in Illinois, and farmer collectives
or cooperatives with fewer than 25 members headquartered in
Illinois. Each applicant must have operated a farm for less
than 10 years immediately before applying and must meet at
least one of the following criteria:
(1) the farm is located within a food desert;
(2) the farm is located within an underserved
community;
(3) the farm earns less than $350,000 in gross income

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annually; or
(4) the farm has less than 5 acres.
In awarding grants, priority shall be given to: (i)
socially disadvantaged farmers; (ii) emerging farmers; (iii)
heirs' property operators; and (iv) cooperatives or
collectives controlled or governed by one or more emerging or
socially disadvantaged farmers.
At least 80% of awarded grants must go to priority
applicants. Awards to not-for-profit entities may not exceed
50% of total grants awarded. The Department may give
additional preference to applicants that have not previously
received a State grant from the Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity or a federal Value-Added Producer Grant.
(f)(1) Grant awards for micro-infrastructure grants shall
be available in amounts ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, and
the total allocation for micro-infrastructure grants shall be
30% of available funding.
(2) Grant awards for farm infrastructure and equipment
grants shall be available in amounts ranging from $25,000 to
$75,000, and the total allocation for farm infrastructure and
equipment grants shall be 50% of available funding.
(3) Grant awards for market access and value chain grants
shall be available in amounts ranging from $25,000 to
$100,000, and the total allocation for market access grants
and value chain grants shall be 20% of available funding.
No matching funds are required. Grant awards may be

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disbursed as advance payments when necessary to ensure
participation by limited-resource farmers.
(g) Grant funds may be used for:
(1) capital and infrastructure, including greenhouses,
high and low tunnels, hoop houses, cold storage,
refrigeration, freezers, wash-pack stations, processing
equipment, irrigation systems, fencing, on-farm utilities,
soil remediation, land purchase, and land preparation;
(2) equipment and supplies, including tractors,
implements, hand tools, harvest and post-harvest
equipment, and food safety and quality control equipment;
(3) operations and working capital, including seeds,
livestock, feed, fertilizer, soil testing and soil inputs,
labor, payroll, payroll taxes, stipends, employee
benefits, workforce training, apprenticeships, seasonal
staffing, insurance, certifications (including Good
Agricultural Practices (GAP), organic, or Certified
Naturally Grown), licensing, fuel, utilities, and
operating supplies; and
(4) market access and distribution, including vehicles
and refrigerated vehicles, aggregation and food hub
participation costs, branding, packaging, labeling, market
fees, and e-commerce or direct-to-consumer infrastructure.
(h) The Department shall report annually on the
implementation of the grant program to the Agriculture Equity
Commission. The report shall include, at minimum:

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(1) the numbers of grants awarded;
(2) the amount of funds distributed;
(3) the types of projects funded;
(4) the geographic distribution of grants; and
(5) the participation by emerging farmers and socially
disadvantaged farmers.
(i) The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and
the Department employees are not personally liable for actions
taken in good faith within the scope of their official duties
under this Section.
(j)(1) If a recipient violates the terms of a grant
agreement, the Department shall notify the recipient in
writing of the default and afford an opportunity to cure.
(2) If the violation is not cured within 30 days after
receipt of the notice, the Department may:
(A) declare due and payable the remaining unpaid grant
amount and cease further payments; or
(B) take other appropriate action to protect the
interests of the program.
(3) The Department may determine that a recipient has
failed to perform the scope of work when:
(A) the Department has notified the recipient in
writing of misapplication of grant funds, evidence of
fraud or abuse, repeated failure to meet performance
timelines or standards, or failure to resolve negotiated
points of the agreement; and

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(B) the recipient fails to develop and implement a
corrective action plan within 30 days after the
Department's notice.
(4)(A) If there is no appropriation to the Fund for a
fiscal year, grants for that year are terminated. If an
appropriation is insufficient for a fiscal year, the
Department may proportionately reduce awards.
(B) If the Department determines that a recipient has
failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant
agreement, the Department may terminate the grant in whole or
in part before the completion date.
(C) If the Department determines that continuing the
project would not produce results commensurate with further
expenditure, the Department may terminate the grant in whole
or in part before the completion date.
(D) If a recipient elects not to complete the grant
agreement, the recipient shall notify the Department within 10
days after performance ceases. Upon receipt of the
notification, the grant may be declared terminated, and the
Department may declare due and payable the remaining unpaid
grant amount and cease further payments.
(5) Any money recovered from default or termination shall
be deposited into the Fund and used for the purposes of this
Section.
(k) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
Section and may allow eligibility verification through

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self-attestation or other reasonable methods.
Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.1038 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new)
Sec. 5.1038. The Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged
Farmers Infrastructure and Market Access Grant Fund.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".