LAND CONSERVATION ACT

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5593

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HB5593 - 104th General Assembly

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5593

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Sharon Chung

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.1036 new

Creates the Agricultural Land Conservation Act. Provides that,
beginning on January 1, 2027, a Farmland Conversion Fee of $275 per acre
shall be paid by the buyer or lessee of a transaction for any agricultural
land that will be removed from production for the specific purpose of
developing an industrial park, a commercial area, a single-family or
multi-family dwelling or for being put to any other use that removes the
agricultural land from production. Provides that the fee shall be
collected by the Department of Agricultural. Provides for the creation of
the Farmland Conversion Fee Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury.
Provides that all Farmland Conversion Fees collected by the Department of
Agriculture shall be contributed to the Fund. Further provides that moneys
in the Fund may be exclusively used for the following purposes: (i)
supporting education and programs that support healthy soil clean water,
and climate-smart agricultural practices; (ii) supporting operations
funding for soil and water conservation districts; (iii) covering costs
associated with administering the Act; (iv) any other purposes that the
Department of Agriculture determines are consistent with the purposes of
the Act. Provides that, before expending moneys for any other purposes,
the Department of Agriculture shall, subject to the availability of moneys
in the Fund, ensure that during each State fiscal year, $10,000,000 is
distributed to soil and water conservation districts, for the purpose of
supporting their operations funding. Provides that $500,000 shall be
distributed to the Department of Agriculture for the purposes of
collecting fees and administering the program created under the Act.
Provides for penalties. Effective immediately.
LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b

A BILL FOR

HB5593
LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
1

AN ACT concerning agriculture.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 1.
Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
5
Agricultural Land Conservation Act.

6

Section 5.
Findings and intent.
The General Assembly
7
hereby reiterates the legislative findings and statement of
8
intent set forth in Section 2 of the Farmland Preservation Act
9
and further finds that:
10

(1) According to a 2024 report published by the
11

Department of Agriculture at the University of Illinois at
12

Urbana-Champaign, midwestern states lost over 1.5 million
13

acres of agricultural land to development between 2001 and
14

2021, with the highest losses occurring in Illinois.
15

(2) Each year in Illinois, thousands of acres of
16

agricultural land are rezoned and developed into
17

industrial, commercial, and residential areas.
18

(3) Soil and water conservation districts are units of
19

local government, but they lack taxing authority.
20

(4) Soil and water conservation district employees
21

serve as the critical infrastructure in every county in
22

Illinois, administering vital State and federal
23

conservation programs. They are on the front lines of

HB5593
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LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
1

addressing pressing environmental challenges, including
2

improving water quality, enhancing soil health, and
3

building resilience to the increasingly severe impacts of
4

climate change. Their work is foundational to achieving
5

environmental goals, and their presence on the ground
6

ensures that these efforts reach the necessary scale.
7

(5) Unstable or intermittent funding threatens to
8

undermine the capacity of soil and water conservation
9

districts to deliver programs that support farmers,
10

landowners, and communities across the State. Without
11

adequate staffing, Illinois risks losing the ability to
12

put federal funds earmarked for conservation and climate
13

resilience onto the ground in Illinois. Moreover, it puts
14

at risk the progress made in addressing water quality
15

issues, mitigating flooding, and improving soil
16

sustainability.

17

Section 10.
Agricultural land; defined.
In this Act,
18
"agricultural land" means land that is intensively used and
19
managed for the production of food and fiber. "Agricultural
20
land" includes cropland; hay land; pastures, including native
21
pastures and rangeland; orchards; vineyards; areas that
22
support wetland crops; other lands used to support the
23
production of livestock; and small tree farms.

24

Section 15.
Farmland Conversion Fee Fund.
The Farmland

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LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
1
Conversion Fee Fund is created as a special fund in the State
2
treasury. Revenue generated from the Farmland Conversion Fees
3
imposed under Section 20 shall be collected by the Department
4
of Agriculture and deposited into the Farmland Conversion Fee
5
Fund. Moneys in the Farmland Conversion Fee Fund may be
6
expended and distributed by the Department of Agriculture
7
exclusively for the following purposes:
8

(1) supporting education and programs that support
9

healthy soil, clean water, and climate-smart agricultural
10

practices;
11

(2) supporting operations funding for soil and water
12

conservation districts;
13

(3) covering costs associated with administering the
14

Act; and
15

(4) any other purpose that the Department of
16

Agriculture determines is consistent with the purposes and
17

intent of this Act.
18

Before expending moneys for any other purpose, the
19
Department of Agriculture shall, subject to the availability
20
of moneys in the Fund, ensure that during each State fiscal
21
year:(i) $500,000 is distributed to the Department of
22
Agriculture for the collection of fees and the administration
23
of the program; (ii) at least $10,000,000 is distributed to
24
soil and water conservation districts in the State for the
25
purposes of paragraph (2). Any remainder may be expended by
26
the Department of Agriculture for the purposes enumerated in

HB5593
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LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
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this Section.
2

Beginning in State fiscal year 2027, the amounts described
3
in items (i) and (ii) shall be annually increased by the annual
4
unadjusted percentage increase (but not less than zero) in the
5
consumer price index-u for the 12 months ending with the
6
September preceding each November 1, including all previous
7
adjustments. In this Section, "consumer price index-u" means
8
the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
9
United States Department of Labor that measures the average
10
change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban
11
consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 =
12
100.

13

Section 20.
Farmland Conversion Fees.
14

(a) Beginning January 1, 2027, a Farmland Conversion Fee
15
shall be paid by the buyer or lessee in a transaction for any
16
agricultural land that will be removed from production for the
17
specific purpose of developing an industrial park, a
18
commercial area, or a single-family or multiple-family
19
dwelling or for being put to any other use that removes the
20
agricultural land from production. This Farmland Conversion
21
Fee shall apply to agricultural land that is leased or
22
purchased. This Farmland Conversion Fee shall be remitted to
23
the Department of Agriculture, in accordance with rules
24
adopted by the Department, within 30 days of the purchase or
25
lease of the agricultural land by the buyer or lessee. The fee

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LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
1
under this Section shall be $275 per acre.
2

(b) Revenue from Farmland Conversion Fees shall be
3
collected by the Department of Agriculture and deposited into
4
the Farmland Conversion Fee Fund.
5

(c) Conversion of agricultural land that will be removed
6
from production is exempt from the Farmland Conversion Fee if
7
it is removed from production for the personal use of a farmer
8
or landowner or if it is one or more of the following types of
9
agricultural land conversion:
10

(1) any conversion of land in which the primary
11

function of the converted area supports agricultural
12

infrastructure, such as livestock operations or grain
13

elevators;
14

(2) any conversion of land done by a State agency;
15

(3) any conversion of land done for the creation of
16

high-voltage transmission systems;
17

(4) any conversion of land whose primary purpose is
18

the establishment of conservation practices; or
19

(5) any conversion of land for the development of
20

renewable energy providers, limited to wind and solar
21

projects only.
22

(d) The Department of Agriculture shall adopt rules to
23
implement this Section.

24

Section 25.
Enforcement.
The Attorney General, in
25
conjunction with the Department of Agriculture shall enforce

HB5593
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LRB104 17651 BDA 31082 b
1
this Act. Any person who fails to pay a Farmland Conversion Fee
2
shall be subjected to a penalty equivalent to 3 times the
3
Farmland Conversion Fee due, plus interest calculated at a
4
rate equal to the yield on 26-week United States Treasury
5
bills most recently auctioned prior to the date of the
6
determination of the repayment obligation to the Department of
7
Agriculture.

8

Section 90.
The State Finance Act is amended by adding
9
Section 5.1036 as follows:

10

(30 ILCS 105/5.1036 new)
11

Sec. 5.1036.
The Farmland Conversion Fee Fund.

12

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
13
becoming law.

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