GINSENG HARVESTING-FORFEITURE

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3433

Introduced 2/4/2026, by Sen. Dale Fowler

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 810/5
525 ILCS 20/1

from Ch. 61, par. 501
525 ILCS 20/2a

from Ch. 61, par. 508
525 ILCS 20/2b

from Ch. 61, par. 509
525 ILCS 20/2c

from Ch. 61, par. 510
525 ILCS 20/4

from Ch. 61, par. 516
525 ILCS 20/6
525 ILCS 20/7 new
525 ILCS 20/1a rep.
525 ILCS 20/1b rep.
525 ILCS 20/1c rep.
525 ILCS 20/1d rep.
525 ILCS 20/1e rep.

Amends the Ginseng Harvesting Act. Makes changes to definitions. Adds
prohibitions against attempted violations in provisions concerning a
harvest license and in provisions concerning trespass to harvest ginseng.
Requires a person with a harvest license, grower's license, or dealer
license to immediately produce the license when requested to do so by an
officer or authorized employee of the Department of Natural Resources or
any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or any other peace officer. Provides that the
Department may suspend a person who violates the Act or commits other
specified violations from engaging in any activity requiring a license
under the Act for a period of time according to rules adopted by the
Department (rather than not to exceed 5 years following the revocation).
Provides that any device or equipment, including vehicles and conveyances,
used or operated in violation of the Act or rules adopted under the Act or
attempted to be used in violation of the Act or rules adopted under the Act
is subject to seizure and confiscation by the Department. Lists procedures
for seizure, notice, court adjudication, and sale of property. Provides
for return of lost property to its rightful owner. Directs that proceeds of
sales shall be deposited into the Wildlife and Fish Fund. Requires
reporting under the Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act and makes
conforming changes in that Act.
LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b

A BILL FOR

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LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b
1

AN ACT concerning conservation.

2

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

4

Section 5.
The Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act is
5
amended by changing Section 5 as follows:

6

(5 ILCS 810/5)
7

Sec. 5.
Applicability.
This Act is applicable to property
8
seized or forfeited under the following provisions of law:
9

(1) Section 3.23 of the Illinois Food, Drug and
10

Cosmetic Act;
11

(2) Section 44.1 of the Environmental Protection Act;
12

(3) Section 105-55 of the Herptiles-Herps Act;
13

(4) Section 1-215 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code;
14

(5) Section 1.25 of the Wildlife Code;
15

(6) Section 17-10.6 of the Criminal Code of 2012
16

(financial institution fraud);
17

(7) Section 28-5 of the Criminal Code of 2012
18

(gambling);
19

(8) Article 29B of the Criminal Code of 2012 (money
20

laundering);
21

(9) Article 33G of the Criminal Code of 2012 (Illinois
22

Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt
23

Organizations Law);

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LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b
1

(10) Article 36 of the Criminal Code of 2012 (seizure
2

and forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, and aircraft);
3

(11) Section 47-15 of the Criminal Code of 2012
4

(dumping garbage upon real property);
5

(12) Article 124B of the Code of Criminal Procedure of
6

1963 (forfeiture);
7

(13) the Drug Asset Forfeiture Procedure Act;
8

(14) the Narcotics Profit Forfeiture Act;
9

(15) the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus
10

Prevention Act;
11

(16) the Illinois Securities Law of 1953;
12

(17) the Archaeological and Paleontological Resources
13

Protection Act;
14

(18) the Human Remains Protection Act;
and

15

(19) Section 16 of the Timber Buyers Licensing Act
;
16

and

.

17

(20) the Ginseng Harvesting Act.

18
(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 103-218, eff. 1-1-24;
19
103-446, eff. 8-4-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24.)

20

Section 10.
The Ginseng Harvesting Act is amended by
21
changing Sections 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 4, and 6 and by adding Section
22
7 as follows:

23

(525 ILCS 20/1)

(from Ch. 61, par. 501)
24

Sec. 1.
Definitions.
As used in this Act, unless the

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LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b
1
context otherwise requires:
2

"Cultivated ginseng" means ginseng growing in tilled beds
3
under shade of artificial structures.

4

"Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.

5

"Ginseng" means the root of the American ginseng plant
6
(Panax quinquefolium). "Ginseng" includes, but is not limited
7
to, the roots, rhizomes, leaves, and seeds of the American
8
ginseng plant, which may be cultivated or wild. "Ginseng" does
9
not include those parts of the American ginseng plant that
10
have been processed.
11

"Green ginseng" means a root of ginseng from which the
12
moisture has not been removed by drying. In this Act, the
13
amount of dried ginseng rhizome that can be derived from green
14
ginseng rhizome may be calculated using a ratio of 3.3 to one
15
by weight.
16

"Grower" means a person who grows cultivated ginseng for
17
the purpose of selling the ginseng.
18

"Harvester" means any person who harvests, possesses,
19
transports, cuts, gathers, destroys, digs, or uproots wild
20
ginseng for the purpose of selling the ginseng or for personal
21
use.
22

"Root" means the ginseng rhizome and its roots.

23

"Wild ginseng" means ginseng in, or collected from, its
24
natural habitat, notwithstanding whether the ginseng is native
25
to that habitat or was introduced or increased in abundance by
26
sowing ginseng seed or by transplanting ginseng plants from

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1
other areas.

2
(Source: P.A. 83-680.)

3

(525 ILCS 20/2a)

(from Ch. 61, par. 508)
4

Sec. 2a.
Harvest License.
No person may cut, root up,
5
gather or harvest wild ginseng
, or attempt to do so,
unless the
6
person has a harvest license issued by the Department.
All
7
persons licensed by the Department pursuant to this Section
8
shall immediately produce the license when requested to do so
9
by an officer or authorized employee of the Department or any
10
sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other peace officer.
The fee for a
11
harvest license is $7 and is valid from April 1 to March 31. A
12
harvest license is valid during the established harvest season
13
for wild ginseng for the year during which it is issued. The
14
Department shall establish by administrative rule the
15
procedure for issuing licenses and regulations on the methods
16
used to harvest. Harvested wild ginseng may be sold only to
17
dealers licensed by the State of Illinois. All wild ginseng
18
must be sold by harvesters no later than March 1 of the year
19
following harvest.
20
(Source: P.A. 85-152.)

21

(525 ILCS 20/2b)

(from Ch. 61, par. 509)
22

Sec. 2b.
Grower's License.
Any person engaged in the
23
propagation and harvesting of cultivated ginseng shall secure
24
a registered grower's license from the Department annually for

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1
a fee of $25.00. A grower's license shall authorize the
2
harvest of cultivated ginseng at any time. A grower's license
3
is valid from April 1 through March 31. A grower shall maintain
4
records as to the location of all cultivated ginseng fields,
5
areas or facilities, quantity of ginseng produced and any
6
other information required by the Department by administrative
7
rule and shall keep records and make reports to the Department
8
as required by administrative rule. The Department shall
9
establish by administrative rule procedures of issuing
10
licenses, keeping records and reports, reporting transactions
11
and certifying the amounts, quantities and origin of the
12
cultivated ginseng. The Department shall supply, free of
13
additional charges proper forms to growers for all required
14
data and information.
All persons licensed by the Department
15
pursuant to this Section shall immediately produce the license
16
when requested to do so by an officer or authorized employee of
17
the Department or any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or other peace
18
officer.

19
(Source: P.A. 83-680.)

20

(525 ILCS 20/2c)

(from Ch. 61, par. 510)
21

Sec. 2c.
Dealer License.
No person shall be engaged in the
22
business of buying wild or cultivated ginseng from harvesters,
23
growers or other dealers for resale to exporters or to other
24
dealers unless the person has a license issued by the
25
Department to be a dealer of ginseng. The fee for a dealer's

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1
license is $50.00 for Illinois residents and $100.00 for
2
nonresidents and is valid from April 1 through March 31. A
3
dealer shall maintain records, open to duly authorized agents
4
of the Department, of the quantity of material purchased and
5
sold, the county where purchased ginseng was harvested, and
6
other information required by the Department by administrative
7
rule, and shall make reports to the Department as required.
8
The Department shall establish by administrative rule
9
procedures for issuing licenses, keeping records, reporting
10
transactions, and certifying the origin of ginseng. The
11
Department shall supply free of additional charge, proper
12
forms to dealers for all required data and information. A
13
dealer may purchase roots of wild ginseng harvested in
14
Illinois only during the period from two weeks after the
15
opening of the harvest season for wild ginseng to the
16
following March 1, or may purchase at any time wild or
17
cultivated ginseng harvested in another state and certified
18
for export by that state.
All persons licensed by the
19
Department pursuant to this Section shall immediately produce
20
the license when requested to do so by an officer or authorized
21
employee of the Department or any sheriff, deputy sheriff, or
22
other peace officer.

23
(Source: P.A. 84-1065.)

24

(525 ILCS 20/4)

(from Ch. 61, par. 516)
25

Sec. 4.
Trespass to Harvest Ginseng.
No person shall,

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1
without permission of the owner, enter the forest, field,
2
yard, building, garden or other enclosure of another and
3
willfully break down, dig, destroy, take or carry away any
4
ginseng
or attempt to do so
.
5
(Source: P.A. 83-680.)

6

(525 ILCS 20/6)
7

Sec. 6.
Additional license revocation and denial
8
provisions.
9

(a) If a license has been issued to any person under this
10
Act and that person is found guilty of any misrepresentation
11
in obtaining that license or a violation of any of the
12
provisions of this Act or its rules or a violation of the
13
United States Code that involves the possession, use, sale,
14
transportation, or harvesting of ginseng when any part of the
15
United States Code violation occurred in Illinois, the license
16
may be revoked by the Department. The Department may also
17
refuse to issue any license to that person and may suspend that
18
person from engaging in any activity requiring the license for
19
a period of time
in accordance with rules adopted by the
20
Department

not to exceed 5 years following the revocation
.
21

(b) If a person who has not been issued a license under
22
this Act is found guilty of a violation of any of the
23
provisions of this Act or its rules or a violation of the
24
United States Code that involves the possession, use, sale,
25
transportation, or harvesting of ginseng when any part of the

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LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b
1
United States Code violation occurred in Illinois, the
2
Department may refuse to issue any license to that person and
3
may suspend that person from engaging in any activity
4
requiring the license for a period of time
in accordance with
5
rules adopted by the Department

not to exceed 5 years
.
6

(c) The Department's license revocation procedures must be
7
established by administrative rule.
8

(d) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
9
Act or its rules during any period when his or her license is
10
revoked or denied by virtue of this Section, or during the time
11
he or she is suspended under subsection (b), is guilty of a
12
Class A misdemeanor.
13

(e) A person whose license to engage in any activity
14
regulated under this Act has been suspended or revoked may
15
not, during the period of the suspension or revocation or
16
until obtaining the proper license, (i) be in the company of
17
any person engaging in the activity covered by the license or
18
(ii) serve as a guide or facilitator for a person who is
19
engaged or prepared to engage in the activity covered by the
20
license.
21
(Source: P.A. 102-837, eff. 5-13-22.)

22

(525 ILCS 20/7 new)
23

Sec. 7.
Forfeiture and seizure.
Any device or equipment,
24
including vehicles and conveyances, used or operated in
25
violation of this Act or rules adopted under this Act or

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LRB104 19089 BDA 34059 b
1
attempted to be used in violation of this Act or rules adopted
2
under this Act shall be deemed a public nuisance and subject to
3
the seizure and confiscation by any authorized employee of the
4
Department. Upon the seizure of such item, the Department
5
shall take and hold the device or equipment until disposed of
6
as provided under this Section.
7

Upon the seizure of any property under this Section, the
8
authorized employee of the Department making such seizure
9
shall immediately cause a complaint to be filed before the
10
circuit court and a summons to be issued requiring the person
11
who illegally used or operated or attempted to use or operate
12
such property and the owner and person in possession of such
13
property to appear in court and show cause why the property
14
seized should not be forfeited to the State. Upon the return of
15
the summons duly served or other notice under this Section,
16
the court shall proceed to determine the question of the
17
illegality of the use of the seized property and upon judgment
18
being entered to the effect that such property was illegally
19
used, an order may be entered providing for the forfeiture of
20
such seized property to the Department and shall upon entry of
21
the order become the property of the Department. However, the
22
owner of the property may have a jury determine the illegality
23
of its use, and shall have the right to an appeal, as in other
24
cases. A confiscation or forfeiture under this Section shall
25
not preclude or mitigate against prosecution and assessment of
26
penalties otherwise provided in this Act.

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1

Upon seizure of any property under circumstances
2
supporting a reasonable belief that the property was
3
abandoned, lost, or stolen or otherwise illegally possessed or
4
used contrary to the provisions of this Act, except property
5
seized during a search or arrest and ultimately returned,
6
destroyed, or otherwise disposed of pursuant to order of a
7
court in accordance with this Act, the authorized employee of
8
the Department shall make reasonable inquiry and efforts to
9
identify and notify the owner or other person entitled to
10
possession of it and shall return the property after the
11
person provides reasonable and satisfactory proof of ownership
12
or right to possession and reimburses the Department for all
13
reasonable expenses of such custody. If the identity or
14
location of the owner or other person entitled to possession
15
of the property has not been ascertained within 6 months after
16
the Department obtains such possession, the Department shall
17
effectuate the sale of the property for cash to the highest
18
bidder at a public auction. The owner or other person entitled
19
to possession of such property may claim and recover
20
possession of the property at any time before its sale at
21
public auction, upon providing reasonable and satisfactory
22
proof of ownership or right of possession and reimbursing the
23
Department for all reasonable expenses of custody thereof.
24

Any property forfeited to the State by court order
25
pursuant to this Section may be disposed of by public auction,
26
except that any property that is the subject of such a court

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1
order shall not be disposed of pending appeal of the order. The
2
proceeds of the sales at auction shall be deposited into the
3
Wildlife and Fish Fund.
4

The Department shall pay all costs of notices required by
5
this Section. Property seized or forfeited under this Section
6
is subject to reporting under Section 5 of the Seizure and
7
Forfeiture Reporting Act.

8

(525 ILCS 20/1a rep.)
9

(525 ILCS 20/1b rep.)
10

(525 ILCS 20/1c rep.)
11

(525 ILCS 20/1d rep.)
12

(525 ILCS 20/1e rep.)
13

Section 15.
The Ginseng Harvesting Act is amended by
14
repealing Sections 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1e.

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