(520 ILCS 25/1)

Sec. 1.

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the

Habitat Endowment Act.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015.)

(520 ILCS 25/10)

Sec. 10.

Purpose.

It is the purpose of this Act to provide a stable and supplemental source of money to support activities and programs undertaken by the Department or other managers of land to preserve, protect, acquire, and manage habitat for future generations. Habitat quality is measured by such parameters as type, native diversity, size, structure, scarcity, and location. Linkage with neighboring habitat, whether existing or potential, is another important consideration.

Illinois' habitat includes all wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands, natural or altered, that support or have the potential to support populations of wild animals in any or all phases of their life cycles.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015.)

(520 ILCS 25/15)

Sec. 15.

The Illinois Habitat Fund and the Illinois Habitat Endowment Trust Fund.

(a) There is established in the State treasury a special fund entitled the Illinois Habitat Fund. The moneys in this fund shall be used, pursuant to appropriation, exclusively by the Department for the preservation and maintenance of high quality habitat lands. The Illinois Habitat Fund shall be financed through transfers of investment income earned by the Illinois Habitat Endowment Trust Fund created in this Section, deposits of fees from the sale of State Habitat Stamps and artwork as provided for in the Wildlife Code, and revenue derived from the sale of Sportsmen Series license plates. All interest earned and accrued from moneys deposited into the Illinois Habitat Fund shall be deposited monthly by the State Treasurer into the Illinois Habitat Fund.

(b) The Illinois Habitat Endowment Trust Fund is created as a trust fund in the State treasury. The Trust Fund shall be financed by a combination of private donations and transfers or deposits from the Park and Conservation Fund or any other fund authorized by law. The Department may accept, from all sources, contributions, grants, gifts, bequests, legacies of money, and securities to be deposited into the Trust Fund. All deposits shall become part of the Trust Fund corpus. Moneys in the Trust Fund are not subject to appropriation and shall be used solely to provide financing to the Illinois Habitat Fund. All gifts, grants, assets, funds, or moneys received by the Department under this Act shall be deposited and held by the State Treasurer as ex officio custodian thereof, separate and apart from all public moneys or funds of this State in a trust fund established in accordance with State law, and shall be administered by the Director exclusively for the purposes set forth in this Act. All moneys in the Trust Fund are to be invested and reinvested by the State Treasurer. All interest accruing from these investments shall be deposited in the Trust Fund.

(Source: P.A. 89‑611, eff. 1‑1‑97.)

(520 ILCS 25/20)

Sec. 20.

Interest proceeds.

The General Assembly may annually appropriate from the Illinois Habitat Fund an amount equal to the annual investment income earned by the Trust Fund, any portion of the investment income earned in preceding years which was not transferred, and any additional amounts deposited into the Illinois Habitat Fund including the interest earned on the deposits, to the Department for the purposes set forth in Section 15. Upon request of the Director, the Comptroller and State Treasurer shall transfer amounts not to exceed the actual investment income earned from the Trust Fund to the Illinois Habitat Fund from time to time as needed for expenditures from the Illinois Habitat Fund in accordance with appropriations.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015; 87‑1197.)

(520 ILCS 25/25)

Sec. 25.

Rules.

The Department shall have the authority to promulgate any rules necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015.)

(520 ILCS 25/30)

Sec. 30.

Advisory Committee.

The Illinois Habitat Fund Advisory Committee is created. The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Director on the use of funds from the Illinois Habitat Fund and on other matters pertaining to the purposes of this Act. The Committee shall consist of: (1) the Chief of Wildlife Resources Division or his designee, (2) the Chief of the Land Management Division or his designee, (3) 3 or more representatives from statewide conservation organizations appointed by the Director, (4) one person who is a landowner in the State of Illinois and who is not affiliated with any other group or organization with representation on the Committee, and (5) 3 or more representatives appointed by the Director who are from nonprofit institutions, corporations, or universities within the State and actively involved in habitat conservation, enhancement, or restoration. The Committee shall review and recommend all allocation of funds from the State Habitat Fund, with the exception of revenue derived from the sale of Sportsmen Series license plates. Members of the Committee shall serve without compensation, but expenses incurred in the performance of their duties shall be reimbursed by the Department. The Committee shall initiate the performance of its duties at the time the corpus of the Habitat Endowment Trust Fund attains a level of $10 million.

(Source: P.A. 89‑611, eff. 1‑1‑97.)

(520 ILCS 25/35)

Sec. 35.

Eminent domain.

The Department is not authorized to and shall not use eminent domain proceedings to acquire property under this Act unless the landowner agrees to submit to eminent domain proceedings.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015.)

(520 ILCS 25/49)

Sec. 49.

This Act takes effect upon becoming law, except that Sec.

45 takes effect April 1, 1993.

(Source: P.A. 87‑1015.)

(520 ILCS 25/5)

Sec. 5.

Definitions.

As used in this Act:

"Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.

"Director" means the Director of Natural Resources.

"Illinois Habitat Fund" means a special fund in the State Treasury entitled the Illinois Habitat Fund created in Section 15 of this Act.

"Trust Fund" means the Illinois Habitat Endowment Trust Fund created in Section 15 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 89‑445, eff. 2‑7‑96.)