Bill Text: IL SB3241 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Makes changes concerning the powers and duties of the Illinois State Museum. Repeals a provision which specifies that the Board of the Illinois State Museum is the governing board for the State Museum. Replaces the Board of the Illinois State Museum with an advisory board. Describes the duties of the advisory board. Repeals a provision which states that the Department of Natural Resources may set, by administrative rule, an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Natalie Toro [SB3241 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3241-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3241

Introduced 2/6/2024, by Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 801/1-25
20 ILCS 801/20-5
20 ILCS 801/20-10
20 ILCS 801/20-15

Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Makes changes concerning the powers and duties of the Illinois State Museum. Repeals a provision which specifies that the Board of the Illinois State Museum is the governing board for the State Museum. Replaces the Board of the Illinois State Museum with an advisory board. Describes the duties of the advisory board. Repeals a provision which states that the Department of Natural Resources may set, by administrative rule, an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning State government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Department of Natural Resources Act is
5amended by changing Sections 1-25, 20-5, 20-10, and 20-15 as
6follows:
7 (20 ILCS 801/1-25)
8 Sec. 1-25. Powers of the Illinois State Museum.
9 (a) In addition to its other powers and duties, the
10Department shall have the following powers and duties which
11shall be performed by the State Museum:
12 (1) To investigate and study the natural resources and
13 histories of the State and to prepare printed reports and
14 furnish information fundamental to the conservation and
15 development of natural resources, and, for that purpose
16 and for the purpose of upholding federal requirements
17 under the Native American Grave Protection and
18 Repatriation Act, the officers and employees thereof may,
19 pursuant to rule adopted by the Department, enter and
20 cross all lands in this State, doing no damage to private
21 property.
22 (2) To cooperate with and advise departments having
23 administrative powers and duties relating to the natural

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1 resources of the State, and to cooperate with similar
2 departments in other states, with tribal nations, and with
3 the United States Government.
4 (3) To cooperate with the Illinois State Academy of
5 Science and to publish a suitable number of the results of
6 the investigations and research in the field of natural
7 science to the end that the same may be distributed to the
8 interested public. This cooperation shall not grant any
9 special rights, authority, or privileges to the Academy.
10 (4) To maintain a State Museum, and to collect and
11 preserve objects of scientific, historic, and artistic
12 value, representing past and present fauna and flora, the
13 life and work of humankind man, geological history,
14 natural resources, and the manufacturing and fine arts; to
15 welcome visitors of all ages to the State Museum; and to
16 interpret for and educate the public concerning the
17 foregoing. The State Museum shall work with Native
18 Americans to create an interpretation of Native American
19 histories and art directed by tribal partners.
20 (5) (Blank). To cooperate with the Illinois State
21 Museum Society for the mutual benefit of the Museum and
22 the Society, with the Museum furnishing necessary space
23 for the Society to carry on its functions and keep its
24 records, and, upon the recommendation of the Museum
25 Director with the approval of the Board of State Museum
26 Advisors and the Director of the Department, to enter into

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1 agreements with the Illinois State Museum Society for the
2 operation of a sales counter and other concessions for the
3 mutual benefit of the Museum and the Society.
4 (6) To accept grants of property and to hold property
5 to be administered as part of the State Museum for the
6 purpose of preservation, research of interpretation of
7 significant areas within the State for the purpose of
8 preserving, studying, and interpreting history and
9 archaeological and natural phenomena and for the purpose
10 of upholding Native American Grave Protection and
11 Repatriation Act requirements.
12 (7) To contribute to and support the operations,
13 programs and capital development of public museums in this
14 State. For the purposes of this Section, "public museum"
15 means a facility: (A) that is operating for the purposes
16 of promoting cultural development through special
17 activities or programs or through performing arts that are
18 performed in an indoor setting, and acquiring, conserving,
19 preserving, studying, interpreting, enhancing, and in
20 particular, organizing and continuously exhibiting
21 specimens, artifacts, articles, documents and other things
22 of historical, anthropological, archaeological,
23 industrial, scientific or artistic import, to the public
24 for its instruction and enjoyment, and (B) that either (i)
25 is operated by or located upon land owned by a unit of
26 local government or (ii) is a museum that has an annual

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1 attendance of at least 150,000 and offers educational
2 programs to school groups during school hours. A museum is
3 eligible to receive funds for capital development under
4 this subdivision (7) only if it is operated by or located
5 upon land owned by a unit of local government or if it is
6 certified by a unit of local government in which it is
7 located as a public museum meeting the criteria of this
8 Section. Recipients of funds for capital development under
9 this subdivision (7) shall match State funds with local or
10 private funding according to the following:
11 (a) for a public museum with an attendance of
12 300,000 or less during the preceding calendar year, no
13 match is required;
14 (b) for a public museum with an attendance of over
15 300,000 but less than 600,000 during the preceding
16 calendar year, the match must be at a ratio of $1 from
17 local and private funds for every $1 in State funds;
18 and
19 (c) for a public museum with an attendance of over
20 600,000 during the preceding calendar year, the match
21 must be at a ratio of $2 from local and private funds
22 for every $1 in State funds.
23 The Department shall formulate rules and regulations
24 relating to the allocation of any funds appropriated by
25 the General Assembly for the purpose of contributing to
26 the support of public museums in this State.

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1 (8) To perform all other duties and assume all
2 obligations of the former Department of Energy and Natural
3 Resources and the former Department of Registration and
4 Education pertaining to the State Museum.
5 (9) To work in collaboration with the Division of
6 Historic Preservation of the Department in the exercise of
7 all the rights, powers, and duties conferred upon the
8 Department under the Historic Preservation Act.
9 (b) At the sole discretion of the Department, the State
10Museum may cooperate with the Illinois State Museum Society
11for the benefit of the State Museum. This cooperation shall
12not grant any special rights, authority, or privileges to the
13Society. Upon the recommendation of the State Museum Director
14with the approval of the Director of the Department, the State
15Museum may enter into agreements with the Society for the
16operation of a sales counter and other concessions for the
17benefit of the State Museum and the Society. The State Museum
18may enter into agreements with the Society for programs at or
19outside the State Museum. The Society shall be solely
20responsible for its own budget and the preparation of the
21budget, its staff, its equipment, its supplies, and its
22programs.
23(Source: P.A. 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)
24 (20 ILCS 801/20-5)
25 Sec. 20-5. State Museum. The Department of Natural

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1Resources shall have within it the office of the Illinois
2State Museum. The Board of the Illinois State Museum is
3retained as the governing board for the State Museum.
4(Source: P.A. 95-728, eff. 7-1-08 - See Sec. 999.)
5 (20 ILCS 801/20-10)
6 Sec. 20-10. Advisory Board of the Illinois State Museum.
7 (a) Within the Department there shall be an Advisory a
8Board of the Illinois State Museum. The Advisory Board shall
9be , composed of 11 persons who shall be appointed by the
10Governor. Any members appointed before July 1, 2026 shall
11serve the full term for which they were appointed, unless
12removed by the Governor. Beginning on July 1, 2026, 9 members
13shall have at least 5 years of experience practicing or
14teaching in , one of whom shall be a senior citizen age 60 or
15over. The Board shall be composed of 9 representatives of the
16natural sciences, anthropology, art, history, or and business
17and shall be from diverse backgrounds and geographic locations
18across the State and two members shall be representatives of
19community-based organizations, irrespective of background and
20experience. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the Board shall consist
21of 6 individuals from a historically marginalized identity ,
22qualified by at least 10 years of experience in practicing or
23teaching their several professions; one senior citizen; and
24the Director of Natural Resources or the Director's designee.
25All members appointed after January 1, 2025 shall serve for

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12-year Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor
2with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall serve for
32-year terms. The Governor shall be entitled to remove any
4member due to incompetency, dereliction of duty, or
5malfeasance.
6 The transfer of the Board to the Department under this Act
7does not terminate or otherwise affect the term of membership
8of any member of the Board, except that the former Director of
9Energy and Natural Resources is replaced by the Director of
10Natural Resources.
11 (b) The Advisory Board shall:
12 (1) advise the Director of the Department, or the
13 Director's designee, in all matters pertaining to the
14 maintenance, the extension and the mission usefulness of
15 the Illinois State Museum, including, but not limited to,
16 the needs for capital development projects, assistance
17 with long-term planning for the State Museum, and other
18 large-scale operational changes, except that these matters
19 shall be determined and shall be defined solely by the
20 State Museum;
21 (2) make recommendations concerning the appointment of
22 a new State Museum museum director whenever a vacancy
23 occurs in that position, except that the Department shall
24 have the sole authority to determine the process used to
25 identify and employ a new State Museum director,
26 including, but not limited to, the authority to determine

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1 how and when to involve or employ an individual or
2 business to aid in conducting a search for interested and
3 qualified candidates; to identify qualified candidates; to
4 interview candidates; to make an offer of employment to
5 the selected candidate; and to determine the compensation
6 of the new State Museum Director; and
7 (3) (blank);
8 (4) review the budget of the Illinois State Museum and
9 make recommendations to with reference thereto to the
10 Governor through the Director of the Department.
11 (c) (Blank).
12(Source: P.A. 102-303, eff. 1-1-22; 102-1005, eff. 5-27-22.)
13 (20 ILCS 801/20-15)
14 Sec. 20-15. Moneys Collected by the Illinois State Museum
15Entrance fee. All moneys paid to, collected by, or donated to
16the State Museum The Department may set by administrative rule
17an entrance fee for visitors to the Illinois State Museum. The
18fee assessed by this Section shall be deposited into the
19Illinois State Museum Fund for the Department to use to
20support the Illinois State Museum. The monies deposited into
21the Illinois State Museum Fund under this Section shall not be
22subject to administrative charges or chargebacks unless
23otherwise authorized by this Act.
24(Source: P.A. 97-1136, eff. 1-1-13.)
25 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

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