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Public Act 103-0772 Public Act 0772 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Public Act 103-0772 | SB3077 Enrolled | LRB103 36919 JAG 67033 b |
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| AN ACT concerning agriculture. | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | represented in the General Assembly: | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local | Food Infrastructure Grant Act. | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | "Department" means the Department of Agriculture. | "Director" means the Director of Agriculture. | "Fund" means the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. | "Grant administrator" means the Department or a nonprofit | organization that is exempt from taxation under Section | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, that represents | farmers, and that has entered into a subcontract with the | Department under Section 15 to administer the grant. | "Grantee" means the person or entity to whom a grant is | made from the Fund. | "Lender" means a federal or State chartered bank, a | federal land bank, a production credit association, a bank for | cooperatives, a federal or State chartered savings and loan | association, a federal or State chartered building and loan | association, a small business investment company, or any other | institution qualified within this State to originate and | service loans, including, but not limited to, an insurance |
| company, a credit union, and a mortgage loan company. | "Lender" includes a wholly owned subsidiary of a | manufacturer, seller, or distributor of goods or services that | makes loans to businesses or individuals, commonly known as a | captive finance company. | "Liability" includes, but is not limited to, accounts | payable; notes or other indebtedness owed to any source; | taxes; rent; amounts owed on real estate contracts or real | estate mortgages; judgments; accrued interest payable; and any | other liability. | "State" means the State of Illinois. | "Underserved farmer" means a farmer or rancher who meets | the United States Department of Agriculture criteria to be | designated as a beginning farmer, socially disadvantaged | farmer, veteran farmer, or limited resource farmer. | "Underserved community" means a community that has limited | or no access to resources or that is otherwise disenfranchised | as determined by the Department. These communities may include | people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; people with | limited English proficiency; geographically isolated or | educationally disenfranchised people; people of color as well | as ethnic and national origin minorities; women and children; | individuals with disabilities and others with access and | functional needs; and seniors. | "Value-added agricultural product" means any farm or | agricultural product or by-product that has its value enhanced |
| through processing in Illinois, packaging in Illinois, or any | other activity in Illinois. | Section 10. Findings. | (a) The General Assembly finds that the following | conditions exist in this State: | (1) Small fruit, vegetable, and livestock farmers are | vital to the health and wealth of Illinois communities, | yet Illinois does not currently have infrastructure in | place to support local food farmers or to feed Illinois | communities. | (2) An estimated 95% of the food consumed in Illinois | is purchased from outside of our borders, resulting in the | export of billions of food dollars outside our State | rather than the enhancement of our local food economies. | (3) A shift of just 10% toward local food purchasing | by Illinois individuals, families, schools, institutions, | and State agencies could generate billions in economic | growth for our State. | (4) For Illinois families, businesses, schools, and | institutions to shift their purchasing practices, Illinois | must invest in supporting critical local food | infrastructure needed to bolster processing, aggregation, | and distribution of local food. | (b) The General Assembly determines and declares that | there exist conditions in the State that require the |
| Department to issue grants on behalf of the State for the | development of local food processing, aggregation, and | distribution. | Section 15. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program. | Funding appropriated for the Local Food Infrastructure Grant | Program shall be allocated to the Department. The Department | may enter into a subcontract agreement with a nonprofit | organization that is exempt from taxation under Section | 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that represents | farmers in order to administer the grant program established | under this Act, so long as the administration of the grant | program by the grant administrator adheres to the requirements | of this Act, including the following requirements: | (1) Eligible grant applicants shall include any one or | more of the following entities that store, process, | package, aggregate, or distribute value-added agricultural | products or plan to do so: | (A) Illinois farms with less than 50 employees; | (B) Illinois cooperatives with less than 50 | employees; | (C) Illinois processing facilities with less than | 50 employees; | (D) Illinois food businesses with less than 50 | employees; | (E) Illinois food hubs with less than 50 |
| employees; | (F) Illinois nonprofit organizations; and | (G) units of local government in Illinois. | Grant proposals may be submitted to the grant | administrator by individuals, groups, partnerships, or | collaborations. A recipient of grant funding under this | Act whose project is funded in a grant cycle is not | eligible to apply for grant funding under this Act for | that project in the next funding cycle nor is any other | person eligible to apply for grant funding for that | project in the next funding cycle. However, any person may | apply for grant funding under this Act for such project in | any subsequent funding cycles. | (2) Grant awards shall be available for collaborative | and individual projects at the following award amounts: | (A) for a collaborative project, a grant of $1,000 | to $250,000 may be awarded; and | (B) for an individual project, a grant of $1,000 | to $75,000 may be awarded. | (3) All funded projects must show comparable | investments by the recipient in the development and | progression of the project being funded or must show | evidence of being a high need project. The recipient's | comparable investments may be provided in cash, | cash-equivalent investments, bonds, irrevocable letters of | credit, time and labor, or any combination of those |
| matching fund sources. Acceptable providers of matching | funds include, but are not limited to, commercial, | municipal, and private lenders; leasing companies; and | grantors of funds. A project may be designated as a high | need project if at least one of the following conditions | is met: | (A) the project can demonstrate that it is filling | a gap in critical infrastructure for its region or | community that is unlikely to be resolved without the | grant investment; or | (B) the project can demonstrate that the grant | investment will primarily serve underserved farmers or | underserved communities. | (4) All grant funding provided under this Act must be | used for purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or | installing infrastructure related to the processing, | storage, aggregation, or distribution of value-added | agricultural products. Allowable expenses include, but are | not limited to: | (A) equipment used in the production of | value-added agricultural products; | (B) milling or pressing equipment; | (C) creamery or milk product processing and | packaging equipment; | (D) food hub development or expansion; | (E) cooler walls and refrigeration units; |
| (F) grading, packing, labeling, packaging, or | sorting equipment; | (G) refrigerated trucks; | (H) custom exempt mobile slaughter units and | livestock processing equipment; | (I) agroforestry processing equipment; and | (J) local fish and shrimp processing. | Grant funding provided under this Act may not be used | for labor, marketing, or promotion or for the costs of | production agriculture, such as costs for the purchase of | hoop houses, irrigation, or other infrastructure related | to starting or increasing agricultural production. | Section 17. Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. The | Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund is created as a special | fund in the State treasury. Appropriations and moneys from any | public or private source may be deposited into the Fund. The | Fund shall be used for the purposes of this Act. Repayments of | grants made under this Section shall be deposited into the | Fund. A maximum of 10% of all funds appropriated through the | Fund may be used by the Department for the costs of | administering the grant within the Department or the cost of | subcontracting a grant administrator. | Section 20. Program administration. | (a) The grant administrator shall create an independent |
| Local Food Infrastructure Steering Committee to guide the | implementation and evaluation of the grant program created by | this Act. The Steering Committee shall be composed of, at a | minimum, the following members: at least 3 farmers, including | one specialty crop farmer, one livestock farmer, and one | farmer of color; one representative from the local food | processing industry; one representative from a nonprofit | organization serving farmers of color; one representative from | a nonprofit organization serving farmers at large; and one | representative from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance Local | Food Farmer Caucus so long as the Caucus exists. | (b) The Steering Committee's responsibilities shall | include advising the Department and any other grant | administrator on the following matters: | (1) application requirements and terms of grant | agreements; | (2) grant criteria and preferences, including | additional criteria and preferences to be adopted by the | Department by rule; | (3) the meaning of the term "collaborative project" to | be codified in Department rules; | (4) grant review and selection; | (5) project reporting requirements for funded | projects; and | (6) evaluation of program success and adjustment of | criteria, requirements, preferences, program |
| implementation, and other elements of the grant program as | needed to ensure that the grant program meets its intended | purpose and complies with this Act. | (c) An applicant for grant funding under this Act must, at | a minimum, be an Illinois resident, as defined by Department | rule, and provide the names, addresses, and occupations of all | project owners, the project address, relevant credit and | financial information (including, but not limited to, assets | and liabilities), and any other information deemed necessary | by the grant administrator for review of the grant | application. A grant award is subject to modification or | alteration under the condition that the grant award is subject | to any modifications that may be required by changes in State | law or rules. The Department shall provide written notice to | the recipient or, if subcontracting with another grant | administrator, the other grant administrator of any amendment | to the Act or rules adopted under the Act and the effective | date of those amendments. | (d) The grant administrator, in reviewing the | applications, must consider, but is not limited to | considering, the following criteria: | (1) whether the project has a reasonable assurance of | increasing the availability and accessibility of Illinois | agricultural products among Illinois communities; | (2) whether there is an adequate and realistic budget | projection; and |
| (3) whether the application meets the eligibility | requirements and the project costs are eligible under this | Act. | (e) Preference for grants shall be given to the following | types of proposals: | (1) proposals that have established favorable | community support; | (2) proposals that increase the availability of | Illinois agricultural products to underserved communities | in Illinois; | (3) proposals that positively impact underserved | farmers in Illinois; | (4) proposals from established farmers and food | businesses; | (5) proposals that facilitate long-term economic | development in the local food sector; | (6) proposals that demonstrate comparable investments | by the anticipated recipient; | (7) proposals for high need projects; and | (8) proposals that are submitted by small and very | small farms and food businesses. | Section 25. Report. The grant administrator must annually | file with the Governor and General Assembly and publish | publicly each year a written report detailing the impact of | the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program for the previous |
| calendar year. The report must include: | (1) a complete list of all applications for grants | under this Act that were received during the previous | calendar year; | (2) a complete list of all persons that were awarded a | grant under this Act in the previous calendar year and the | nature and amount of their awards; and | (3) a statement of the economic impact of the grants | made in the previous calendar year, which may include jobs | created, local food sales increased, and communities | served. | Section 30. Liability. The Director, the grant | administrator, the Local Food Infrastructure Steering | Committee, Department employees, and any persons authorized to | execute grants are not personally liable on account of the | grants made under this Act and are not subject to any personal | liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the | grants. | Section 35. Default or termination of grant agreement. | (a) If the recipient of a grant violates any of the terms | of the grant agreement, the grant administrator shall send a | written notice to the recipient that the recipient is in | default, and the recipient shall be given the opportunity to | correct the violations. |
| (b) If the violation is not corrected within 30 days after | receipt of the notification, the grant administrator may take | any one or more of the following actions: | (1) The grant administrator may declare due and | payable the amount of the grant, or any portion of it, and | cease additional grant payments not yet made to the grant | recipient. | (2) The grant administrator may take any other action | considered appropriate to protect the interest of the | project. | (c) The grant administrator may determine that a recipient | has failed to faithfully perform the terms and conditions of | the scope of work of the project when: | (1) The grant administrator has notified the recipient | in writing of the existence of circumstances such as | misapplication of grant funds, failure to match grant | funds, evidence of fraud and abuse, repeated failure to | meet performance timelines or standards, or failure to | resolve negotiated points of the agreement. | (2) The recipient fails to develop and implement a | corrective action plan within 30 calendar days of the | grant administrator's notice. | (d) A grant may be terminated as provided in this | subsection: | (1) If there is no appropriation for the grant program | for a specific year, all grants for that year will be |
| terminated in full. If there is an insufficient | appropriation for the grant program for a specific year, | the grant administrator may make proportionate cuts to all | recipients. | (2) If the grant administrator determines that the | recipient has failed to comply with the terms and | conditions of the grant agreement, the grant administrator | may terminate the grant in whole, or in part, at any time | before the date of completion. | (3) If the grant administrator determines that the | continuation of the project would not produce beneficial | results commensurate with the further expenditure of | funds, the grant administrator may terminate the grant in | whole, or in part, at any time before the date of | completion. | (4) If the recipient refuses or elects not to complete | the grant agreement and terminate the grant, the recipient | shall notify the grant administrator within 10 days after | the date upon which performance ceases. Upon receipt of | the notification, the grant shall be declared terminated, | and the grant administrator may declare due and payable | the amount of the grant and may cease additional grant | payments not yet made to the grantee. | (e) Any money collected from the default or termination of | a grant shall be placed into the Fund and expended for the | purposes of this Act. |
| Section 40. Construction. This Act is necessary for the | welfare of this State and must be liberally construed to | effectuate its purposes. The Department may adopt rules that | are consistent with and necessary for the implementation and | administration of this Act. | Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | Section 5.1015 as follows: | (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new) | Sec. 5.1015. The Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund. | Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | becoming law. |
Effective Date: 8/2/2024
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