Bill Text: IL HB5067 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Lawns to Legumes Act. Establishes the Lawns to Legumes Program, which requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide assistance for installing pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns to protect and support native species of pollinators. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules for the Program. Provides for individual support grants to reimburse Illinois residents for up to $400, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides for demonstration neighborhood grants to units of local government and nonprofit organizations through a request for proposal process, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides that homeowners associations and common interest communities may not prohibit the planting of pollinator habitats. Defines terms.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-08 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5067 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5067-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5067 Introduced , by Rep. Sonya M. Harper SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Lawns to Legumes Act. Establishes the Lawns to Legumes Program, which requires the Department of Natural Resources to provide assistance for installing pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns to protect and support native species of pollinators. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules for the Program. Provides for individual support grants to reimburse Illinois residents for up to $400, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides for demonstration neighborhood grants to units of local government and nonprofit organizations through a request for proposal process, subject to appropriation and other requirements. Provides that homeowners associations and common interest communities may not prohibit the planting of pollinator habitats. Defines terms.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning conservation.
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
Prairie Lawns Act.
Section 5. Department; defined. In this Act, "Department"
means the Department of Natural Resources.
Section 10. Prairie Lawns Program created.
(a) The Department shall establish and administer the
Prairie Lawns Program to provide assistance for installing
pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns in
order to protect and support native species of bees,
butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and other pollinators.
(b) To promote the Prairie Lawns Program, the Department
shall:
(1) conduct outreach and publicity for the Program by,
among other things:
(A) establishing and administering a public
awareness campaign to raise awareness about creating
pollinator habitats; and
(B) creating and providing a Prairie Lawns yard
sign for grant recipients and making the sign

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available for download on the Department's website;
(2) provide educational assistance for installing
pollinator-friendly native plants in residential lawns by,
among other things:
(A) making educational materials available on the
Department website; and
(B) offering units of local government and
nonprofit organizations assistance with related
education and outreach efforts;
(3) cooperate with units of local government and
nonprofit organizations in creating demonstration
neighborhoods, which are community projects intended to
enhance pollinator habitats and raise awareness about
pollinators.
A unit of local government or a nonprofit organization
overseeing a demonstration neighborhood shall work with
local residents to install pocket gardens, trees, bushes,
shrubs, meadows, and lawns that are beneficial to
pollinators in residential lawns.
Section 15. Individual support grants.
(a) The Department shall adopt rules and develop criteria
to award through the Prairie Lawns Program individual support
grants that will allow eligible Illinois residents to be
reimbursed for up to $400 in costs associated with
establishing a pollinator habitat in their yards.

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(b) Individual support grant recipients must provide at
least a 25% match for their total reimbursement request. This
match can be in the form of purchasing materials, hiring
contractors, or as in-kind time spent planting or maintaining
plants.
(c) An individual support grant applicant shall submit a
map of the applicant's completed project in the application
for reimbursement.
(d) This Section is subject to appropriation.
Section 20. Demonstration neighborhood grants.
(a) The Department shall adopt rules and develop criteria
to award demonstration neighborhood grants to units of local
government and nonprofit organizations to create demonstration
neighborhoods as described in paragraph (3) of subsection (b)
of Section 10 of this Act.
(b) Units of local government and nonprofit organizations
shall be invited to apply for individual support grants under
this Act through a request for proposal process.
(c) This Section is subject to appropriation.
Section 25. No prohibition on pollinator habitats.
Homeowners associations and common interest communities shall
not prohibit any resident or homeowner from planting a
pollinator habitat. Homeowners associations and common
interest communities shall not enact or enforce rules and

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regulations that impair the proper maintenance and care of
pollinator habitats. For the purpose of this Section, a
"pollinator habitat" is any lawn, planted area of a lawn, or
planter box or pot where there grows native flowers, native
vegetation, or pollinator-friendly plants.