HB5686 Summary

• Abolishes the Historic Preservation Agency and transfers all its powers, duties, and functions (except those related to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum) to the Department of Natural Resources effective upon the bill becoming law.

• Transfers Historic Preservation Agency employees, positions, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, and unexpended appropriations to the Department of Natural Resources while protecting employee rights under the Personnel Code, collective bargaining agreements, and pension plans.

• Establishes a Division of Historic Preservation within the Department of Natural Resources to exercise all rights and powers previously held by the Historic Preservation Agency, with a Division Manager heading the division.

• Requires the Department of Natural Resources to submit annual reports to the General Assembly for 3 years analyzing the effects of the transfer on state government and taxpayers, including recommendations for further legislation.

• Updates numerous statutes across multiple acts to replace references to the "Historic Preservation Agency" with the "Department of Natural Resources" to reflect the organizational restructuring.