Bill Text: IL HB0054 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Creates the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act. Provides that subject to appropriation, the Department of Agriculture shall develop and administer an annual Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program to enhance local food processing, aggregation, and distribution within the State. Establishes eligibility requirements for the grants. Provides that all grant funding must be used for the purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or installation of infrastructure that will increase market access of Illinois communities to Illinois agricultural products. Provides that subject to appropriation, the Department shall create an independent Local Food Infrastructure Steering Committee to guide the implementation and evaluation of the grant. Provides that the committee shall be selected by the Director. Provides that the committee shall include, but is not limited to, 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 non-profit organization serving farmers of color, one representative from a non-profit organization serving farmers at large, and one representative from the Department. Provides that the Director must file with the Governor and General Assembly, and publish publicly on or before March 1 of each year, a written report detailing the impact of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant for the previous calendar year. The report must include a complete list of (1) all applications for grants under the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program during the previous calendar year; (2) all persons that were awarded the Local Food Infrastructure Grant and the nature and amount of their awards in the previous calendar year; and (3) the economic impact of the grant from the previous calendar year, which may include jobs created, local food sales increases, and communities served. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-05-26 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB0054 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB0054-Engrossed.html

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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.
"Grantee" means the person or entity to which a grant is
made from the Fund.
"Lender" means any federal or State chartered bank,
federal land bank, production credit association, bank for
cooperatives, federal or state chartered savings and loan
association or building and loan association, small business
investment company, or any other institution qualified within
this State to originate and service loans, including, but not
limited to, insurance companies, credit unions, and mortgage
loan companies. "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, the

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following: 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 farmers or ranchers who are:
Beginning; Socially Disadvantaged; Veterans; and Limited
Resource, as defined by the USDA.
"Underserved Community" means communities that have
limited or no access to resources or that are otherwise
disenfranchised. These groups may include people who are
socioeconomically disadvantaged; people with limited English
proficiency; geographically isolated or educationally
disenfranchised people; people of color as well as those of
ethnic and national origin minorities; women and children;
individuals with disabilities and others with access and
functional needs; and seniors.
"Value-added" means the processing, packaging, or
otherwise enhancing the value of farm and agricultural
products or by-products produced in Illinois.
Section 10. Legislative findings.
(a) The General Assembly finds that in this State the
following conditions exist:
(1) Small fruit, vegetable, and livestock farmers are
vital to the health and wealth of Illinois communities,

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yet Illinois does not currently have infrastructure in
place to support local food farmers and feed Illinois
communities.
(2) An estimated 95% of the food consumed in Illinois
is purchased from outside our borders, resulting in the
export of billions of food dollars outside our state
instead of building local 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) In order for Illinois families, businesses,
schools, and institutions to shift their purchasing
practices, Illinois must invest in supporting critical
local food infrastructure needed to scale up production,
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.
Subject to appropriation, the Department shall develop and
administer an annual Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program
to enhance local food processing, aggregation, and

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distribution within this State.
(1) Eligibility. Eligible applicants must currently or
plan to store, process, package, aggregate, or distribute
farm products raised in Illinois. Eligible applicants
include, but are not limited to:
(A) Illinois farms with less than 50 employees.
(B) Illinois cooperatives with less than 50
employees.
(C) Illinois processing facilities, food
businesses, and food hubs, with less than 50
employees.
(D) Illinois non-profit organizations.
(E) Units of local government in Illinois.
Proposals may be submitted by individuals, groups,
partnerships, or collaborations.
(2) Award. Grant awards shall be between $1000 and
$150,000.
(3) Matching. The recipient of a grant under this
Section must provide a percentage for the total project
costs. 80% of all funded projects will be required to
provide a 50% match. The remaining 20% of funded projects
shall be categorized as "high need" and shall be required
to provide a 0 to 20% match. The recipient's match may be
in cash, cash-equivalent investments, or bonds,
irrevocable letters of credit, or any combination thereof.
Acceptable matching fund sources include, but are not

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limited to, commercial and private lenders, leasing
companies, and grants.
(4) Allowable expenses. All grant funding must be used
for the purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or
installation of infrastructure that will increase market
access of Illinois communities to Illinois 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.
(J) Local fish and shrimp processing.
Grant funding may not be used for labor, marketing, or
promotion.
(5) Funding source. The Local Food Infrastructure
Grant Fund is created as a special fund in the State

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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
this fund may be awarded to the Department for
administrative costs.
Section 20. Steering Committee. Subject to appropriation,
the Department shall create an independent Local Food
Infrastructure Steering Committee to guide the implementation
and evaluation of the grant. The committee shall be selected
by the Director. The committee shall include, but is not
limited to, 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 non-profit organization serving farmers
of color, one representative from a non-profit organization
serving farmers at large, and one representative from the
Department.
(1) The Steering Committee's responsibilities shall
include:
(A) Determining the grant funding cycle.
(B) Determining Application Requirements and terms
of the grant agreement.
(C) Determining grant criteria and preferences in

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addition to those specified in this Act.
(D) Grant review and selection.
(E) Determining project reporting requirements for
funded projects.
(F) Evaluating program success and adjusting
criteria, requirements, preferences, implementation,
and all other elements of the grant as needed to ensure
the grant program meets its intended purpose, so long
as changes are in compliance with this Act.
(2) Application requirements. Grant applications must
be made on forms provided by the Department and in
accordance with procedures established by the Steering
Committee. At a minimum, an applicant must be an Illinois
resident, as defined by Department rule, and must 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 Steering Committee for review of the grant
application.
(A) All requests for the waiver of any
requirements in this Section must be made in writing
to the Department. A grant award is subject to
modification or alteration under, but is not limited
to, the following conditions:
(i) The grant award is subject to any

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modifications that may be required by changes in
State law or regulations. The Department shall
notify the recipient in writing of any amendment
to the regulations and the effective date of those
amendments.
(ii) If either the Department or the recipient
requests to modify the terms of the grant award,
written notice of the proposed modification shall
be given to the other party. No modification shall
take effect unless agreed to in writing by both
the Department and the recipient.
(3) Grant review process.
(A) Criteria. The Steering Committee, in reviewing
the applications, must consider, but is not limited to
considering the following criteria:
(i) The project has a reasonable assurance of
increasing the availability and accessibility of
Illinois agricultural products among Illinois
communities.
(ii) There is an adequate and realistic budget
projection.
(iii) The application meets the eligibility
requirements and the project costs are eligible
under this Act.
(B) Preference. Preference for grants shall be
given to, but is not limited to, the following:

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(i) Proposals that have established favorable
community support.
(ii) Proposals that have a positive economic
impact on the State's local food sector.
(iii) Proposals that increase the availability
of Illinois agricultural products to underserved
communities in Illinois.
(iv) Proposals that positively impact
underserved farmers in Illinois.
(v) Established farmers and food businesses.
(vi) Proposals that facilitate long-term
economic development in the local food sector.
(C) High Need Determination. The Steering
Committee shall select all applications for funding,
and from this selection shall determine 20% of
applications to qualify as high need projects that are
eligible for a lower match requirement of 0 to 25%. To
qualify as a high need project, the independent
Steering Committee shall consider, but is not limited
to considering the following criteria:
(i) Proposals submitted by underserved
farmers.
(ii) Proposals that will positively impact
underserved communities.
(iii) Proposals that are submitted by small
and very small farms and food businesses.

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Section 25. Report. The Director must file with the
Governor and General Assembly, and publish publicly on or
before March 1 of each year a written report detailing the
impact of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant for the previous
calendar year. The report must include a complete list of: (1)
all applications for grants under the Local Food
Infrastructure Grant Program during the previous calendar
year; (2) all persons that were awarded the Local Food
Infrastructure Grant and the nature and amount of their awards
in the previous calendar year; and (3) the economic impact of
the grant from the previous calendar year, which may include
jobs created, local food sales increases, and communities
served.
Section 30. Liability. The Director, Local Food
Infrastructure Steering Committee, any Department employee, or
any authorized person executing grants is not personally
liable on the grants and is not subject to any personal
liability or accountability by reason of the issuance of the
grants.
Section 35. Default or termination of grant agreement. If
the recipient of a grant violates any of the terms of the grant
agreement, the Department shall send a written notice to the
recipient that he or she is in default and be given the

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opportunity to correct the violations.
(1) If the violation is not corrected within 30 days
after receipt of the notification, the Director may take,
but is not limited to, one or more of the following
actions:
(A) Declare due and payable the amount of the
grant, or any portion of it, and cease additional
grant payments not yet made to the recipient.
(B) Take any other action considered appropriate
to protect the interest of the project.
(2) The Department may determine that a recipient has
failed to faithfully perform the terms and conditions of
the scope of work of the project when:
(A) The Department has notified the recipient in
writing of the existence of circumstances such as
misapplication of grant funds, failure to match
Department funds, evidence of fraud and abuse,
repeated failure to meet performance timelines or
standards, or failure to resolve negotiated points of
the agreement.
(B) The recipient fails to develop and implement a
corrective action plan within 30 calendar days of the
Department's notice.
(3) A grant may be terminated under, but termination
is not limited to, any of the following circumstances:
(A) In the absence of State funding for a specific

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year, all grants that year will be terminated in full.
In the event of a partial loss of State funding, the
Department may make proportionate cuts to all
recipients.
(B) If the Department determines that the
recipient has failed to comply with the terms and
conditions of the grant agreement, the Department may
terminate the grant in whole, or in part, at any time
before the date of completion.
(C) The Department may terminate the grant in
whole, or in part, when the Department determines that
the continuation of the project would not produce
beneficial results commensurate with the further
expenditures of funds.
(D) The recipient may refuse or elect not to
complete the grant agreement and terminate the grant.
The recipient shall notify the Department within 10
days after the date upon which performance ceases. The
Department may declare due and payable the amount of
the grant and may cease additional grant payments not
yet made to the grantee.
(4) Any moneys 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

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welfare of this State and must be liberally construed to
effect its purposes. The Department may adopt rules that are
consistent with and necessary for the administration of this
Act.
Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.990 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
Sec. 5.990. The Local Food Infrastructure Grant Fund.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.