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Public Act 093-0883 |
HB4769 Enrolled |
LRB093 18492 RAS 44208 b |
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AN ACT concerning food animals.
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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 David |
A. Wirsing Food Animal Institute
Act.
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Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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"Board" means the governing board of the David A. Wirsing |
Food Animal Institute.
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"Institute" means the David A. Wirsing Food Animal |
Institute.
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"Food animal" includes, but is not limited to, beef cattle, |
swine, sheep,
dairy cattle, turkeys, chickens, and aquaculture |
products.
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"Allied agribusiness" means any related agribusiness, such |
as the feed
industry, financial
institutions, the food animal |
or food animal processing industry, farm
equipment or
implement
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dealers or manufacturers, crop production, pharmaceuticals, or |
nutraceuticals.
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"Non-agribusiness" means conservation groups, dieticians, |
food processors,
consumers,
and animal health and well-being |
groups.
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Section 10. Institute established; purpose. The David A. |
Wirsing Food Animal Institute is
established to
review and |
encourage research through peer review, to publish and |
disseminate
unbiased
information about all aspects of the food |
animal industry, anticipating issues
with a vision for the |
future of Illinois agriculture, and to maintain
comprehensive
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information systems for the improvement and enhancement of all |
aspects of the
food
animal industry, all for the benefit of the |
public, the General Assembly, the
Governor's
Office,
and other |
State and local government agencies.
The Institute must fulfill |
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its purposes with unbiased integrity.
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Section 15. Governing board. The Institute is governed by |
a board of 15
voting members who are appointed by the Governor |
and who must ensure unbiased
information.
Five of the |
Governor's appointees
must represent food animal production. |
Five of the Governor's
appointees must
represent allied |
agribusiness aspects of the food animal industry. Five of the
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Governor's appointees must represent other, non-agribusiness |
aspects of the
food animal industry.
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The board must also include, as non-voting members, the |
dean or department
chairperson or his or her designated |
representative of the following
institutions:
the University |
of Illinois College of ACES, the
University of Illinois College |
of Veterinary Medicine,
the Southern Illinois University |
College of Agriculture,
the Western Illinois University |
Agriculture Department, and the Illinois State
University |
Agriculture Department.
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Section 20. Appointment; terms. Initial appointees to the |
board serve the
following terms as designated by the Governor: |
5 for a term of one year; 5 for
a term of 2 years; and 5 for a |
term of 3 years. Subsequent appointees serve
terms of 3 years. |
A vacancy is filled by appointment for the remainder of the
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unexpired term. Members may be reappointed to the board. If the |
Governor
fails to appoint a member or to fill a vacancy within |
90 days after a member's
term expires or a vacancy occurs, the |
remaining board members must make the
appointment by majority |
vote.
A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the |
remainder of the
unexpired term or until a
successor is |
qualified.
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Section 25. Operation of the board.
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(a) Upon appointment of the board's initial members, the |
Director of
Agriculture shall convene the first meeting of the |
board for the purpose of
selecting a
chairperson and |
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considering other matters of business of the Institute.
The |
board annually thereafter, in January
or the first meeting of |
each year,
must select a
chairperson from among its number. A |
chairperson may be re-elected but may
not serve more than 3 |
consecutive years. The board meets at the call of the
chair. A |
quorum is necessary for action by the board; 8 voting members |
of the
board
constitute a quorum,
unless a vacancy exists among |
the board's voting members. If a vacancy exists,
then a quorum
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of the board
consists of a simple majority of the voting |
members.
Members of the board may receive no compensation but
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must
be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the actual |
performance of their duties.
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(b) The board:
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(1) may have and use a common seal and alter the seal |
at its
discretion;
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(2) may adopt all necessary resolutions, protocols, |
and by-laws;
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(3) may enter into agreements with State agencies; |
(4) may enter into agreements with and accept funds |
from federal
agencies, trade associations, industry |
organizations, universities and their
sub-units, |
foundations, and other not-for-profit and private |
industries to
carry out the purposes of the Institute;
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(5) may establish reserve funds and accounts that may |
be necessary or
desirable to accomplish the purposes of the |
Institute; and
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(6) has and may exercise all powers and is subject to |
all duties
commonly
incident to boards of directors.
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Section 30. Expenses. The
board
has the authority to pay |
administrative expenses including salary,
wages, and
fringe
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benefits; operation and maintenance expenses, travel, supply, |
and printing
expenses,
rental
and rental related expenses, and |
costs of capital purchases and improvements;
contract and
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contractual
expenses; and other expenses deemed appropriate by |
the board. The board is
authorized
to establish a fee structure |
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and charge fees for publications and duplicating
expenses.
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Revenue from those fees must be deposited into the Food Animal |
Institute Fund.
No charges or fees may be authorized or charged |
to members of the
General
Assembly or the Governor's Office.
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Section 35. Report. The Institute must report annually on |
January 1 to the
Governor, the
Clerk of the
House of |
Representatives, and the Secretary of the Senate upon the |
Institute's
activities
in
the preceding 12 months. The report |
is a public record open for
inspection at the
office of the |
Institute and, among other matters, must include an assessment
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of the
current
state of the food animal industry in Illinois |
and recommendations for
new
initiatives and efforts to further |
enhance and best position the food animal
industry in
Illinois.
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Section 40. Food Animal Institute Fund. The Food Animal |
Institute Fund is
created as a
special fund
in the State |
treasury. Grants, fees, and other moneys
obtained
by the
David |
A. Wirsing Food
Animal Institute from governmental entities, |
private sources, foundations,
trade
associations, industry |
organizations, and not-for-profit organizations for
use in
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furthering the purposes of the Institute may be deposited into |
the Fund. Moneys
in the
Fund may be used by the Institute for |
undertaking
projects, programs, and other
activities
and for |
the operating and other expenses of the Institute as it |
fulfills its
duties and
responsibilities.
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Section 45. Use of funds. The Institute
shall: (i) collect |
and
disseminate research data, results, or conclusions and |
disseminate it to the
public, the General
Assembly,
State |
agencies, and others who request it; (ii) provide unbiased |
analysis of
research findings, including economic impacts on |
the State and the food animal
industry; (iii) provide, if |
needed, for peer review of research and research
proposals for |
scientific merit, objectives, methods, and procedures; (iv)
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coordinate its activities with
public research and education |