Bill Amendment: IL SB3077 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: FOOD INFRASTRUCTURE-GRANT
Status: 2024-05-16 - Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Matt Hanson [SB3077 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SB3077-Senate_Amendment_001.html
Bill Title: FOOD INFRASTRUCTURE-GRANT
Status: 2024-05-16 - Added Alternate Co-Sponsor Rep. Matt Hanson [SB3077 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SB3077-Senate_Amendment_001.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3077 | ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3077 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local | ||||||
5 | Food Infrastructure Grant Act.
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6 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
7 | "Department" means the Department of Agriculture. | ||||||
8 | "Director" means the Director of Agriculture. | ||||||
9 | "Fund" means the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. | ||||||
10 | "Grant administrator" means the Department or a nonprofit | ||||||
11 | organization that is exempt from taxation under Section | ||||||
12 | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, that represents | ||||||
13 | farmers, and that has entered into a subcontract with the | ||||||
14 | Department under Section 15 to administer the grant. | ||||||
15 | "Grantee" means the person or entity to whom a grant is | ||||||
16 | made from the Fund. |
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1 | "Lender" means a federal or State chartered bank, a | ||||||
2 | federal land bank, a production credit association, a bank for | ||||||
3 | cooperatives, a federal or State chartered savings and loan | ||||||
4 | association, a federal or State chartered building and loan | ||||||
5 | association, a small business investment company, or any other | ||||||
6 | institution qualified within this State to originate and | ||||||
7 | service loans, including, but not limited to, an insurance | ||||||
8 | company, a credit union, and a mortgage loan company. | ||||||
9 | "Lender" includes a wholly owned subsidiary of a | ||||||
10 | manufacturer, seller, or distributor of goods or services that | ||||||
11 | makes loans to businesses or individuals, commonly known as a | ||||||
12 | captive finance company. | ||||||
13 | "Liability" includes, but is not limited to, accounts | ||||||
14 | payable; notes or other indebtedness owed to any source; | ||||||
15 | taxes; rent; amounts owed on real estate contracts or real | ||||||
16 | estate mortgages; judgments; accrued interest payable; and any | ||||||
17 | other liability. | ||||||
18 | "State" means the State of Illinois. | ||||||
19 | "Underserved farmer" means a farmer or rancher who meets | ||||||
20 | the United States Department of Agriculture criteria to be | ||||||
21 | designated as a beginning farmer, socially disadvantaged | ||||||
22 | farmer, veteran farmer, or limited resource farmer. | ||||||
23 | "Underserved community" means a community that has limited | ||||||
24 | or no access to resources or that is otherwise disenfranchised | ||||||
25 | as determined by the Department. These communities may include | ||||||
26 | people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; people with |
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1 | limited English proficiency; geographically isolated or | ||||||
2 | educationally disenfranchised people; people of color as well | ||||||
3 | as ethnic and national origin minorities; women and children; | ||||||
4 | individuals with disabilities and others with access and | ||||||
5 | functional needs; and seniors. | ||||||
6 | "Value-added agricultural product" means any farm or | ||||||
7 | agricultural product or by-product that has its value enhanced | ||||||
8 | through processing in Illinois, packaging in Illinois, or any | ||||||
9 | other activity in Illinois.
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10 | Section 10. Findings. | ||||||
11 | (a) The General Assembly finds that the following | ||||||
12 | conditions exist in this State: | ||||||
13 | (1) Small fruit, vegetable, and livestock farmers are | ||||||
14 | vital to the health and wealth of Illinois communities, | ||||||
15 | yet Illinois does not currently have infrastructure in | ||||||
16 | place to support local food farmers or to feed Illinois | ||||||
17 | communities. | ||||||
18 | (2) An estimated 95% of the food consumed in Illinois | ||||||
19 | is purchased from outside of our borders, resulting in the | ||||||
20 | export of billions of food dollars outside our State | ||||||
21 | rather than the enhancement of our local food economies. | ||||||
22 | (3) A shift of just 10% toward local food purchasing | ||||||
23 | by Illinois individuals, families, schools, institutions, | ||||||
24 | and State agencies could generate billions in economic | ||||||
25 | growth for our State. |
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1 | (4) For Illinois families, businesses, schools, and | ||||||
2 | institutions to shift their purchasing practices, Illinois | ||||||
3 | must invest in supporting critical local food | ||||||
4 | infrastructure needed to bolster processing, aggregation, | ||||||
5 | and distribution of local food. | ||||||
6 | (b) The General Assembly determines and declares that | ||||||
7 | there exist conditions in the State that require the | ||||||
8 | Department to issue grants on behalf of the State for the | ||||||
9 | development of local food processing, aggregation, and | ||||||
10 | distribution.
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11 | Section 15. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program. | ||||||
12 | Funding appropriated for the Local Food Infrastructure Grant | ||||||
13 | Program shall be allocated to the Department. The Department | ||||||
14 | may enter into a subcontract agreement with a nonprofit | ||||||
15 | organization that is exempt from taxation under Section | ||||||
16 | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that represents | ||||||
17 | farmers in order to administer the grant program established | ||||||
18 | under this Act, so long as the administration of the grant | ||||||
19 | program by the grant administrator adheres to the requirements | ||||||
20 | of this Act, including the following requirements: | ||||||
21 | (1) Eligible grant applicants shall include any one or | ||||||
22 | more of the following entities that store, process, | ||||||
23 | package, aggregate, or distribute value-added agricultural | ||||||
24 | products or plan to do so: | ||||||
25 | (A) Illinois farms with less than 50 employees; |
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1 | (B) Illinois cooperatives with less than 50 | ||||||
2 | employees; | ||||||
3 | (C) Illinois processing facilities with less than | ||||||
4 | 50 employees; | ||||||
5 | (D) Illinois food businesses with less than 50 | ||||||
6 | employees; | ||||||
7 | (E) Illinois food hubs with less than 50 | ||||||
8 | employees; | ||||||
9 | (F) Illinois nonprofit organizations; and | ||||||
10 | (G) units of local government in Illinois. | ||||||
11 | Grant proposals may be submitted to the grant | ||||||
12 | administrator by individuals, groups, partnerships, or | ||||||
13 | collaborations. A recipient of grant funding under this | ||||||
14 | Act whose project is funded in a grant cycle is not | ||||||
15 | eligible to apply for grant funding under this Act for | ||||||
16 | that project in the next funding cycle nor is any other | ||||||
17 | person eligible to apply for grant funding for that | ||||||
18 | project in the next funding cycle. However, any person may | ||||||
19 | apply for grant funding under this Act for such project in | ||||||
20 | any subsequent funding cycles. | ||||||
21 | (2) Grant awards shall be available for collaborative | ||||||
22 | and individual projects at the following award amounts: | ||||||
23 | (A) for a collaborative project, a grant of $1,000 | ||||||
24 | to $250,000 may be awarded; and | ||||||
25 | (B) for an individual project, a grant of $1,000 | ||||||
26 | to $75,000 may be awarded. |
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1 | (3) All funded projects must show comparable | ||||||
2 | investments by the recipient in the development and | ||||||
3 | progression of the project being funded or must show | ||||||
4 | evidence of being a high need project. The recipient's | ||||||
5 | comparable investments may be provided in cash, | ||||||
6 | cash-equivalent investments, bonds, irrevocable letters of | ||||||
7 | credit, time and labor, or any combination of those | ||||||
8 | matching fund sources. Acceptable providers of matching | ||||||
9 | funds include, but are not limited to, commercial, | ||||||
10 | municipal, and private lenders; leasing companies; and | ||||||
11 | grantors of funds. A project may be designated as a high | ||||||
12 | need project if at least one of the following conditions | ||||||
13 | is met: | ||||||
14 | (A) the project can demonstrate that it is filling | ||||||
15 | a gap in critical infrastructure for its region or | ||||||
16 | community that is unlikely to be resolved without the | ||||||
17 | grant investment; or | ||||||
18 | (B) the project can demonstrate that the grant | ||||||
19 | investment will primarily serve underserved farmers or | ||||||
20 | underserved communities. | ||||||
21 | (4) All grant funding provided under this Act must be | ||||||
22 | used for purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or | ||||||
23 | installing infrastructure related to the processing, | ||||||
24 | storage, aggregation, or distribution of value-added | ||||||
25 | agricultural products. Allowable expenses include, but are | ||||||
26 | not limited to: |
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1 | (A) equipment used in the production of | ||||||
2 | value-added agricultural products; | ||||||
3 | (B) milling or pressing equipment; | ||||||
4 | (C) creamery or milk product processing and | ||||||
5 | packaging equipment; | ||||||
6 | (D) food hub development or expansion; | ||||||
7 | (E) cooler walls and refrigeration units; | ||||||
8 | (F) grading, packing, labeling, packaging, or | ||||||
9 | sorting equipment; | ||||||
10 | (G) refrigerated trucks; | ||||||
11 | (H) custom exempt mobile slaughter units and | ||||||
12 | livestock processing equipment; | ||||||
13 | (I) agroforestry processing equipment; and | ||||||
14 | (J) local fish and shrimp processing. | ||||||
15 | Grant funding provided under this Act may not be used | ||||||
16 | for labor, marketing, or promotion or for the costs of | ||||||
17 | production agriculture, such as costs for the purchase of | ||||||
18 | hoop houses, irrigation, or other infrastructure related | ||||||
19 | to starting or increasing agricultural production.
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20 | Section 17. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. The | ||||||
21 | Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund is created as a special | ||||||
22 | fund in the State treasury. Appropriations and moneys from any | ||||||
23 | public or private source may be deposited into the Fund. The | ||||||
24 | Fund shall be used for the purposes of this Act. Repayments of | ||||||
25 | grants made under this Section shall be deposited into the |
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1 | Fund. A maximum of 10% of all funds appropriated through the | ||||||
2 | Fund may be used by the Department for the costs of | ||||||
3 | administering the grant within the Department or the cost of | ||||||
4 | subcontracting a grant administrator.
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5 | Section 20. Program administration. | ||||||
6 | (a) The grant administrator shall create an independent | ||||||
7 | Local Food Infrastructure Steering Committee to guide the | ||||||
8 | implementation and evaluation of the grant program created by | ||||||
9 | this Act. The Steering Committee shall be composed of, at a | ||||||
10 | minimum, the following members: at least 3 farmers, including | ||||||
11 | one specialty crop farmer, one livestock farmer, and one | ||||||
12 | farmer of color; one representative from the local food | ||||||
13 | processing industry; one representative from a nonprofit | ||||||
14 | organization serving farmers of color; one representative from | ||||||
15 | a nonprofit organization serving farmers at large; and one | ||||||
16 | representative from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance Local | ||||||
17 | Food Farmer Caucus so long as the Caucus exists. | ||||||
18 | (b) The Steering Committee's responsibilities shall | ||||||
19 | include advising the Department and any other grant | ||||||
20 | administrator on the following matters: | ||||||
21 | (1) application requirements and terms of grant | ||||||
22 | agreements; | ||||||
23 | (2) grant criteria and preferences, including | ||||||
24 | additional criteria and preferences to be adopted by the | ||||||
25 | Department by rule; |
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1 | (3) the meaning of the term "collaborative project" to | ||||||
2 | be codified in Department rules; | ||||||
3 | (4) grant review and selection; | ||||||
4 | (5) project reporting requirements for funded | ||||||
5 | projects; and | ||||||
6 | (6) evaluation of program success and adjustment of | ||||||
7 | criteria, requirements, preferences, program | ||||||
8 | implementation, and other elements of the grant program as | ||||||
9 | needed to ensure that the grant program meets its intended | ||||||
10 | purpose and complies with this Act. | ||||||
11 | (c) An applicant for grant funding under this Act must, at | ||||||
12 | a minimum, be an Illinois resident, as defined by Department | ||||||
13 | rule, and provide the names, addresses, and occupations of all | ||||||
14 | project owners, the project address, relevant credit and | ||||||
15 | financial information (including, but not limited to, assets | ||||||
16 | and liabilities), and any other information deemed necessary | ||||||
17 | by the grant administrator for review of the grant | ||||||
18 | application. A grant award is subject to modification or | ||||||
19 | alteration under the condition that the grant award is subject | ||||||
20 | to any modifications that may be required by changes in State | ||||||
21 | law or rules. The Department shall provide written notice to | ||||||
22 | the recipient or, if subcontracting with another grant | ||||||
23 | administrator, the other grant administrator of any amendment | ||||||
24 | to the Act or rules adopted under the Act and the effective | ||||||
25 | date of those amendments. | ||||||
26 | (d) The grant administrator, in reviewing the |
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1 | applications, must consider, but is not limited to | ||||||
2 | considering, the following criteria: | ||||||
3 | (1) whether the project has a reasonable assurance of | ||||||
4 | increasing the availability and accessibility of Illinois | ||||||
5 | agricultural products among Illinois communities; | ||||||
6 | (2) whether there is an adequate and realistic budget | ||||||
7 | projection; and | ||||||
8 | (3) whether the application meets the eligibility | ||||||
9 | requirements and the project costs are eligible under this | ||||||
10 | Act. | ||||||
11 | (e) Preference for grants shall be given to the following | ||||||
12 | types of proposals: | ||||||
13 | (1) proposals that have established favorable | ||||||
14 | community support; | ||||||
15 | (2) proposals that increase the availability of | ||||||
16 | Illinois agricultural products to underserved communities | ||||||
17 | in Illinois; | ||||||
18 | (3) proposals that positively impact underserved | ||||||
19 | farmers in Illinois; | ||||||
20 | (4) proposals from established farmers and food | ||||||
21 | businesses; | ||||||
22 | (5) proposals that facilitate long-term economic | ||||||
23 | development in the local food sector; | ||||||
24 | (6) proposals that demonstrate comparable investments | ||||||
25 | by the anticipated recipient; | ||||||
26 | (7) proposals for high need projects; and |
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1 | (8) proposals that are submitted by small and very | ||||||
2 | small farms and food businesses.
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3 | Section 25. Report. The grant administrator must annually | ||||||
4 | file with the Governor and General Assembly and publish | ||||||
5 | publicly each year a written report detailing the impact of | ||||||
6 | the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program for the previous | ||||||
7 | calendar year. The report must include: | ||||||
8 | (1) a complete list of all applications for grants | ||||||
9 | under this Act that were received during the previous | ||||||
10 | calendar year; | ||||||
11 | (2) a complete list of all persons that were awarded a | ||||||
12 | grant under this Act in the previous calendar year and the | ||||||
13 | nature and amount of their awards; and | ||||||
14 | (3) a statement of the economic impact of the grants | ||||||
15 | made in the previous calendar year, which may include jobs | ||||||
16 | created, local food sales increased, and communities | ||||||
17 | served.
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18 | Section 30. Liability. The Director, the grant | ||||||
19 | administrator, the Local Food Infrastructure Steering | ||||||
20 | Committee, Department employees, and any persons authorized to | ||||||
21 | execute grants are not personally liable on account of the | ||||||
22 | grants made under this Act and are not subject to any personal | ||||||
23 | liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the | ||||||
24 | grants.
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1 | Section 35. Default or termination of grant agreement. | ||||||
2 | (a) If the recipient of a grant violates any of the terms | ||||||
3 | of the grant agreement, the grant administrator shall send a | ||||||
4 | written notice to the recipient that the recipient is in | ||||||
5 | default, and the recipient shall be given the opportunity to | ||||||
6 | correct the violations. | ||||||
7 | (b) If the violation is not corrected within 30 days after | ||||||
8 | receipt of the notification, the grant administrator may take | ||||||
9 | any one or more of the following actions: | ||||||
10 | (1) The grant administrator may declare due and | ||||||
11 | payable the amount of the grant, or any portion of it, and | ||||||
12 | cease additional grant payments not yet made to the grant | ||||||
13 | recipient. | ||||||
14 | (2) The grant administrator may take any other action | ||||||
15 | considered appropriate to protect the interest of the | ||||||
16 | project. | ||||||
17 | (c) The grant administrator may determine that a recipient | ||||||
18 | has failed to faithfully perform the terms and conditions of | ||||||
19 | the scope of work of the project when: | ||||||
20 | (1) The grant administrator has notified the recipient | ||||||
21 | in writing of the existence of circumstances such as | ||||||
22 | misapplication of grant funds, failure to match grant | ||||||
23 | funds, evidence of fraud and abuse, repeated failure to | ||||||
24 | meet performance timelines or standards, or failure to | ||||||
25 | resolve negotiated points of the agreement. |
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1 | (2) The recipient fails to develop and implement a | ||||||
2 | corrective action plan within 30 calendar days of the | ||||||
3 | grant administrator's notice. | ||||||
4 | (d) A grant may be terminated as provided in this | ||||||
5 | subsection: | ||||||
6 | (1) If there is no appropriation for the grant program | ||||||
7 | for a specific year, all grants for that year will be | ||||||
8 | terminated in full. If there is an insufficient | ||||||
9 | appropriation for the grant program for a specific year, | ||||||
10 | the grant administrator may make proportionate cuts to all | ||||||
11 | recipients. | ||||||
12 | (2) If the grant administrator determines that the | ||||||
13 | recipient has failed to comply with the terms and | ||||||
14 | conditions of the grant agreement, the grant administrator | ||||||
15 | may terminate the grant in whole, or in part, at any time | ||||||
16 | before the date of completion. | ||||||
17 | (3) If the grant administrator determines that the | ||||||
18 | continuation of the project would not produce beneficial | ||||||
19 | results commensurate with the further expenditure of | ||||||
20 | funds, the grant administrator may terminate the grant in | ||||||
21 | whole, or in part, at any time before the date of | ||||||
22 | completion. | ||||||
23 | (4) If the recipient refuses or elects not to complete | ||||||
24 | the grant agreement and terminate the grant, the recipient | ||||||
25 | shall notify the grant administrator within 10 days after | ||||||
26 | the date upon which performance ceases. Upon receipt of |
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1 | the notification, the grant shall be declared terminated, | ||||||
2 | and the grant administrator may declare due and payable | ||||||
3 | the amount of the grant and may cease additional grant | ||||||
4 | payments not yet made to the grantee. | ||||||
5 | (e) Any money collected from the default or termination of | ||||||
6 | a grant shall be placed into the Fund and expended for the | ||||||
7 | purposes of this Act.
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8 | Section 40. Construction. This Act is necessary for the | ||||||
9 | welfare of this State and must be liberally construed to | ||||||
10 | effectuate its purposes. The Department may adopt rules that | ||||||
11 | are consistent with and necessary for the implementation and | ||||||
12 | administration of this Act.
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13 | Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
14 | Section 5.1015 as follows:
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15 | (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new) | ||||||
16 | Sec. 5.1015. The Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund.
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