House Bill 5709, an initiative of the Illinois Municipal League that was sponsored by Rep. Anthony DeLuca, was signed into law as Public Act 098-0933 on August 15, 2014.
This legislation reduces the cost of obtaining right-of-way or temporary easements. It allows municipal engineers and other municipal employees, with proper qualifications and training, to complete federal valuation waivers for right-of-way or temporary easements if the value of the parcel or easement is under $10,000.00. This measure will reduce the cost of a project because the municipality will no longer be required to hire a licensed appraiser to perform an appraisal on a routine occurrence.
On November 21, 2014, the Illinois Department of Transportation announced that an on-line, e-learning course has been developed which provides training requirements for the completion of waiver valuations. The course is now available through the Department’s Learning Management System.
The full text of the bill can be read here.