Teen REACH Funded at $18.4 Million

GREAT NEWS! $18.4 million is available for the Teen REACH program, a funding source of the Illinois Department of Human Services that targets children ages 6 to 17. All park districts should investigate this opportunity as the 1999 appropriation has increased substantially and monies will be available to serve more than 33,000 youth during this grant cycle.

Specifically, the Teen REACH (Responsibility, Education, Achievement, Caring and Hope) program seeks to help youth develop positive expectations for their future success through structured activities during out-of-school time. The overall goal is to increase academic success and reduce many risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse, delinquency, premature sexual activity and involvement in criminal activities.

Projects must provide core services (academic assistance; recreation, sports and cultural and artistic activities; positive adult mentors; life skills education;

and parental involvement) and may provide additional services such as programs for boys and young men; programs for girls and young women; community services; or employment skills training. Programs must operate during off-school hours (especially 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.), as well as during school holidays and vacations.

The Teen REACH Request for Proposals will not be sent out by the Department of Human Services unless specifically requested by your agency. Contact Paul Pachlhofer, Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Family Services, 535 W. Jefferson, Springfield, Illinois 62761, 217/785-4630 or by email at DHSHP59@dhs.state.il.us.

The Request for Proposals is available as of July 1 via www.state.il.us/agency/dhs. the Department's

Website. You can also access it through lAPDs Website in the Legislative Advocacy section, Legislative Links button (choose Department of Human Services), www.als.uiuc.edu/iapd.

There is a six-week turnaround for all grant applications and the deadline for submission is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 13, 1999.

IAPD LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES

The activity of this year's General Assembly made winners out of virtually every local government in Illinois. The Governor's Illinois FIRST program, coupled with individual legislative initiatives, will fund important infrastructure projects throughout the state and in many areas where they are long overdue. Park districts

and forest preserves will realize a substantial influx of new dollars as a result of the Illinois FIRST Program.

In addition, the Open Lands Trust Initiative—for which IAPD and IPRA members worked so diligently—will realize $40 million per year for the next four years. Park districts and forest preserves and other units of local government will share in half of the total dollars set aside for open space acquisition. Adding to the OSLAD and Bike Path programs, this new source of funding will provide a much needed influx of capital.

This year was also noteworthy for the many pieces of positive park district and forest preserve legislation that passed the Illinois General Assembly. This success was a direct result of your involvement in the legislative process. The contacts you made this year with legislators were critical to their better understanding of the role that park districts and forest preserves play in the quality of life for all Illinois citizens.

In Bill Watch you will find legislation pending the Governor's signature that will benefit your agency. The Governor has 90 days from the date of passage to act on legislation sent to him by the General Assembly. You can see from the date of passage that many of these bills will be acted upon by the Governor in the near future, and IAPD will let you know when they are approved.

Do not hesitate to contact me at 217.523.4554 or pmurphy@eosinc.com or see the IAPD Website is you have questions about any of the listed legislation or other bills pending the Governor's signature.

12 / Illinois Parks and Recreation

ISSUES AND INSIGHTS FROM THE LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE SCENE

BILL WATCH

Association Initiatives
HB 833 (J. Meyer) - (Dillard)

Amends Park District Code; provides that park districts may lease their real estate to any corporation organized in the state that covenants to use the property for public park or recreational purposes or if such park district obtains other similar property of the same size and suitability. Last Action: 6-11-99 Sent to Governor

HB 841 (A. Moore) - (Peterson)

Amends the Park District Code; provides that the issuance of certain bonds pursuant to referendum does not limit a park district's right to issue non-referendum bonds. This legislation eliminates the current penalty in the Park District Code and would put pork districts on a parity with such authority granted municipalities and school districts. 6-9-99 Sent to Governor

HB 842 (A. Moore) - (Peterson)

Amends Property Tax Code; provides that property leased to a park district for $1 or less per year and used exclusively as open space for recreational purposes is exempt from taxes, up to 50 acres in the aggregate (now, limit is 20 acres in the aggregate for each district). 6-16-99 Sent to Governor

HB 843 (A. Moore) - (Fawell)

Amends Park District Code; provides, at end of fiscal year, any funds not pledged for or allocated to a particular purpose may be transferred to and accumulated in a park district's capital improvement fund for park improvements. (Contains limitations). 6-9-99 Sent to Governor

HB 1151 (Parke) - (Sieben-Jones/W.)

Amends Park District code; allows a district to transfer the interest earned on any of the moneys of the district to the fund of the district that is most in need of the interest; exempts interest earmarked for a designated purpose and interest earned on funds used for purposes of the Pension Code the and Local Governmental and Governmental Tort Immunity Act. 6-9-99 Sent to Governor

SB 1087 (Karpiel) - (Moore, Andrea)

Creates the Open Land Trust Act; allows the Dept. of Natural Resources to develop and administer an Open Land Trust Program to acquire real property for conservation and recreation purposes; provides for grants and loans to units of local government and not-for-profit corporations to acquire property for purposes of the Act; other related provisions. 6-3-99 Sent to Governor

Gift Ban
HB 1464 (Hannig) - (Dillard)

Creates the Local Gift Ban Act, plus amends State Gift Ban Act; bans workers and elected appointed local government officials and school district officials from asking or accepting gifts from entities having interests affected by the actions of such workers and officials; applies also to such workers and officials spouses and certain family members; permits designated ethics officers; recommends certain disciplinary actions for violations; violation is a business offense subject to a fine of up to $5,000; preempts home rule; provides for various descriptions and definitions. 5-14-99 Placed on House Calendar Order of Concurrence - FAILED

SB 1008 (Dillard) - (Madigan, MJ)

Amends the State Gift Ban Act by making a technical change to gift ban Section. 5-31-99 Referred to House Rules Committee - FAILED

Metro East District
HB 702 (Hoffman) - (Clayborne)

Creation of the metropolitan park and recreation district in the Metro East area. The primary purpose of the district would be the development of an extensive system of interconnecting trails and linear parks for hiking, walking and other recreational uses. The legislation would authorize, by county initiative and voter approval, the formation of a metropolitan park district. The district would be funded by a 1/10 of one cent sales tax, which would generate approximately $4.2 million each year and would be allocated as follows: 50% for the newly established Metro East Park and Recreation District and 50% to each participating county for local park improvements (a portion of this amount will be provided to local park and recreation entities for park improvements). 6-4-99 Sent to Governor

Plumbing
SB 457 (Syverson) - (Hassert)

Amends the Illinois Plumbing License Law. Provides that plumbing does not include the trade of installing or maintaining irrigation systems connected to properly installed backflow prevention devices. Provides that the definitions of "plumbing fixtures" and "plumbing system" do not include lawn irrigation systems that are properly connected to backflow prevention devices. Requires irrigation contractors to register with the Department of Public Health. 6-2-99 Sent to the Governor

Property Rights
SB 26 (E. Petka) - (Holbrook)

Provides that when an attorney represents a landowner on a contingent fee contract on a complaint for condemnation under this Article and the plaintiff elects not to purchase the property after a verdict is rendered on the complaint in favor of the plaintiff, the fee due the landowner's attorney shall be the contingent fee, unless the court determines that the fee agreement violates the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct. 5-27-99 Senate Secretary Desk Order of Concurrence

Tort Immunity
SB 941 (Klemm) - (Winters)

A local public entity shall not expend any revenue from taxes levied under this Act for operations, maintenance, or new construction. The annual report shall also identify that all expenditures from the reserve or from property taxes levied or extended for tort immunity purposes are expended according to subsection (a) and Section 9-107. A local public entity that maintains a self-insurance reserve or that levies and extends a property tax for tort immunity purposes must include on

July/August 1999 / 13

STATEHOUSE INSIDER

audit or report of any expenditures made from the property fax levy or self-insurance reserve within the scope of the annual report or audit report. 5-27-99 Passed Both Houses

NATIONAL FRONT

Several pending legislative and executive proposals would amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 and other statutes, and create additional programs. No single existing bill will be enacted unchanged. Rather, it is anticipated that consensus legislation will result from incorporation of certain elements of the several bills and executive proposals.

• H.R. 701/S.25, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999;

• H.R. 798/S.446, the Permanent Protection for American's Resources 2000 Act;

• H.R. 1118/S.532, the Public Land and Recreation Investment Act of 1999;

• Lands Legacy Initiative and Building Livable Communities for the 21st Century Initiative.

Identified goals for such legislation to incorporate are:

• Predictable Funds:
The Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Park and Recreation Resource program must be funded through a permanent appropriation derived from outer continental shelf energy receipts available to the federal government. The predictability of fiscal resources is critical to effective recreation resource planning, priority setting and creation of short- and long-term investment strategies. Prior to the president's fiscal year 2000 budget, LWCF state assistance and urban park restoration funds had not been requested by the administration or provided by Congress since fiscal year 1995.

• Land and Water Conservation Fund: Distribution of Funds:
One half of the $900,000,000 presently authorized by the LWCF act should be available to address state and local needs. LWCF assistance should continue to be allocated to the states through a formula which emphasizes relative state population and population density. Certain bills recommend significant change in the current LWCF formula (40 percent equally among all states and 60 percent based on population and other need factors) by which state allocation is determined. Present and future resource conservation arid recreation demand will likely be met by an allocation formula that is weighed more, not less, on population factors.

• Urban Park
Rehabilitation: The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program should be reauthorized as a separate title providing $150,000,000 a year. The documented capital investment needs of urban places are substantial and recurring. Inclusion of the urban park program as an element of LWCF actually reduces the LWCF authorization level. Presently authorized uses should be continued, with the addition of land acquisition when done in conjunction with restoration of an existing site, and site development. Communities of 30,000 population and greater should be eligible for assistance.

• Public Purposes/Eligible Activities:
Eligibility should continue for the broad array of public investments now allowable through the LWCF state assistance authority, including statewide planning; land conservation through fee simple acquisition and easements, among other strategies; development of new resource-based facilities; and the restoration of existing public infrastructure. The legislation should also specifically authorize local public planning for recreation and parks, and federal executive branch coordination of and aid for applied research to help guide longer-term recreation and park capital investment strategies.

• National Competition for LWCF State Assistance/Unas:
Eighty percent of LWCF state assistance funds should be distributed by formula; twenty percent should be nationally competitive. The lack of a percentage split between formula grants and a national competition limits program flexibility, e.g., the possibility of funding high cost and high priority projects. These opportunities would be further precluded if the federal share of such projects exceeded a state apportionment or cap. Accordingly, the secretary of the Interior should have the authority to waive a state limit on receipt of funds.

• Fixed Ceilings:
All of the proposed bills include a cap on the LWCF and/or urban grant programs. Three of the proposals fix the combined ceiling for the LWCF/UPARR programs at $900 million annually (H.R. 701,S.25,S.532). New legislation rovides; the opportunity to remove the long-standing $900 million cap altogether.

• Funds for Program Administration:
Legislation should authorize a predictable amount for administration and oversight of grant programs. None of the proposed bills contain a minimum level of funding for program administration, and one (S. 532) has no provision for program administration funding. H.R. 701 provides up to one percent each for federal, state, and urban park program administrative costs. Three bills (S. 25, S. 446, H.R. 798) provide up to two percent but lack guidelines for distribution among the three programs and four bureaus. Concurrently, each bill contains a perpetual use requirement, and thus the need for permanent funding at a level sufficient to maintain necessary staff levels in the grants program to assure resource stewardship regardless of the annual funding level.

14 / Illinois Parks and Recreation