Session Year 2015, Special Session 1

Bill Name: SF0005

2E Relating to state government

ARTICLE 1 - AGRICULTURE
APPROPRIATIONS

Appropriating money to the department of agriculture for
protection services, agricultural marketing and development, agriculture,
bioenergy and bioproduct advancement, administration and financial assistance;
appropriating money to the board of animal health and the agricultural
utilization research institute; appropriating money to the commissioner of
agriculture for avian influenza response activities and for transfer to the
rural finance authority for disaster recovery loans

ARTICLE 2 - AGRICULTURE
POLICY

Modifying certain provisions relating to federal reimbursements
regarding the gray wolf being included on the endangered species list,
establishing an agricultural fertilizer research and education account,
appropriating money; modifying pest control license provisions, commercial
applicator license provisions, certain specialty fertilizer, soil amendment and
plant amendment application and inspection fees, certain provisions relating to
plant protection and export certification provisions and nursery law provisions;
establishing the "Industrial Hemp Development Act"; providing for the
development and regulation of an industrial hemp industry; defining certain
terms; authorizing industrial hemp research, specifying authorized activities
and site registration requirements; providing for industrial hemp as an
agricultural product; requiring licensing; specifying production and
notification requirements; requiring rulemaking by the commissioner of commerce;
providing for fees; providing an affirmative defense for possession of
marijuana; modifying the definitions of marijuana and wild hemp; making
conforming changes modifying Minnesota seed law provisions; providing a food
handler licensing requirement exemption for certain cottage foods; allowing
direct sales to consumers, specifying a sales limit, requiring annual
registration and food handling training; establishing a cottage foods account;
repealing exclusions for community events or farmers' market and certain
home-processed and home-canned foods; modifying certain provisions in milk and
cream testers licenses; modifying a milk procurement fee; establishing the
agriculture research, education, extension, and technology transfer grant
program to provide investments that will most efficiently achieve long-term
agricultural productivity increases through improved infrastructure, vision, and
accountability, creating an advisory panel, establishing a fund in the state
treasury; establishing production based bioenergy grant programs administered by
the department of agriculture; creating the advanced biofuel production
incentive program, a renewable chemical production incentive program, and a
biomass thermal production incentive program, specifying certain eligibility
requirements for all new programs; requiring reports; modifying certain
provisions relating to the rural finance authority; establishing the farm
opportunity loan program; modifying certain report provisions relating to
farming by business organizations; transferring certain account balances;
modifying a previous appropriation to second harvest heartland; requiring the
commissioner of agriculture to identify causes and submit a report of the
relative growth or decline of poultry and livestock production in Minnesota,
Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska of a certain time
period; establishing a correctional facility vocational training pilot program
to train inmates for careers and meat cutters upon release; requiring the
commissioner of agriculture to convene a group of stakeholders for the promotion
of urban agriculture; repealing the shared savings loan program, certain license
fees and penalties, and the annual appropriation to the agricultural utilization
research institute

ARTICLE 3 - ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
APPROPRIATIONS

Appropriating money to the pollution control agency (PCA) for
clean water and air, land cleanup and for environmental assistance and
cross-media; appropriating money to the department of natural resources for land
and mineral resources management, ecological and water resources, forest
management, parks and trails management, fish and wildlife management, certain
enforcement provisions and operations support; appropriating money to the board
of water and soil resources (BWSR) for natural resource block grant to local
government, soil and water general purposes, certain cost-share programs,
enforcement and oversight of the wetland conservation act, local drainage,
floodplain, and water management purposes; appropriating money to the
metropolitan council for regional parks and trails operation and maintenance
purposes; appropriating money to Conservation Corps, the zoological board, the
science museum and for school trust lands director; modifying the uses of
certain returned grant money; modifying certain prior appropriations for fish
and wildlife management purposes; repealing certain pollution control agency
(PCA) transfers

ARTICLE 4- ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES STATUTORY
CHANGES

Modifying provisions related to landfill accounts and postconsumer
content of copy paper and certain utility license permits provisions;
establishing natural resources conservation easement stewardship accounts for
the department of natural resources (DNR) and the board of water and soil
resources (BWSR); modifying off-highway motorcycle, snowmobile, all-terrain
vehicle (ATV) report of ownership, registration transfers, and ownership
termination; requiring the commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to review
off-road vehicle grant-in-aid applications and commence public review of
applications within a certain amount of time after local application approval;
modifying the registration fees and exemptions for nontrail use of certain
snowmobiles; clarifying certain training and operating requirements for
all-terrain vehicles (ATV); modifying invasive species provisions; providing for
certain connections to state parks and recreation areas and establishing the
Mississippi Blufflands trail in Goodhue and Wabasha counties; expanding the
Blufflands trail system to include Prosper and a connection to the Iowa border
and including Niagara cave in Fillmore county; modifying requirements for fire
training; modifying certain auxiliary forest provisions; modifying conservation
forest land and state trail and park provisions; excepting the Stuntz Bay boat
house area from fee application; exempting the mine tour operation at Lake
Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine state park from certain state elevator
requirements; modifying the administration of shooting sports facility grants;
increasing the threshold for bid increases for which a bid guarantee payment to
the commissioner of natural resources (DNR) is required; modifying interest
rates applicable to timber permit extensions; extinguishing the school trust
interest in school trust lands where long-term economic return is prohibited by
designation or policy while producing economic benefits for Minnesota public
schools; modifying certain state land, game and fish, and fishing and hunting
provisions; authorizing a county or watershed district to issue certain penalty
orders; establishing wetland stakeholder coordination; establishing natural
resources conservation easement stewardship accounts for the board of water and
soil resources (BWSR); modifying certain wetland functions for determining
public values; modifying the use of property acquired by watershed districts for
flood damage reduction purposes; clarifying certain provisions related to the
application of cost-sharing funds to fight soil erosion; defining riparian
buffers; establishing a state policy to protect and establish buffers; requiring
buffers of perennially rooted vegetation adjacent to all perennial waters and
specifying size; requiring the commissioner of natural resources (DNR) to
establish and maintain a county inventory map, allowing alternative practices
and exemptions, requiring soil and water conservation districts local
implementation, allowing DNR penalty orders and soil and water conservation
districts funds withholding, and financial assistance; requiring soil and water
conservation district granting of conditional compliance waivers to certain
landowners; establishing an in-lieu fee program for wetland replacement;
modifying certain wetland replacement siting provisions, wetland rules,
evaluation procedures and wetland replacement completion provisions; modifying
certain fees and state conservation easements; providing an exception to public
waters work permit requirements for certain county or town road projects;
modifying certain provisions related to water use and the validation procedure
on certain well interference claims; modifying certain water supply plan
requirements; establishing the voluntary self-reporting of certain minor
environmental violations; requiring independent peer review of water quality
studies and standards for certain proposed changes; requiring pollution control
agency (PCA) enforcement; specifying conditions for review requirement,
modifying certain terms and license provisions related to subsurface sewage
systems; modifying the definition of recyclable materials and registration fee
provisions relating to the recycling of video display devices; expanding uses of
state grants to counties for solid waste reduction and recycling purposes;
establishing a recycling competitive grant program; establishing certain
registration and reporting requirements relating to the collection of solid
waste; clarifying certain costs of installation of a soil vapor mitigation
system in private residences; making certain modifications to the functions of
the pollution control agency (PCA); clarifying certain environmental review
provisions related to silica sand projects; requiring discretionary review
notification from the commissioners of natural resources (DNR) and pollution
control agency (PCA) when ordering the preparation of a discretionary
environmental impact statement or discretionary environmental assessment
worksheet; modifying certain regulations on camper cabins and bunk houses;
providing for the maintenance of certain records of individuals issued an
all-terrain safety certificates; modifying certain public facilities authority
program and projects provisions; modifying metropolitan area water supply
advisory committee planning activities and specifying certain duties of the
policy and technical advisory committees; requiring a report; authorizing the
school trust lands director to identify state-owned lands suitable for sale;
requiring the pollution control agency (PCA) to adopt rules to streamline the
subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) license application and renewal
process; requiring a report regarding the proposals to implement high priority
areas for wetland replacement; specifying all-terrain vehicle registration
provisions during the electronic licensing system upgrade; requiring the
commissioner of management and budget (MMB) to contract with a nonstate entity
for a cost benefit analysis; prohibiting application of wild rice water quality
standards until certain conditions are met; appropriating money to the board of
water and soil resources (BWSR) and the commissioner of natural resources (DNR)
to study the feasibility of the state assuming administration of the section 404
permit program of the federal Clean Water Act; modifying the use of interest
payments from metropolitan parks appropriations; using funds for all
recreational space under metropolitan council jurisdiction; allowing the
issuance of youth bear license refunds; authorizing the development of proposals
for large scale water retention projects; authorizing the wild turkey design
option when critical habitat license plates are offered; requiring the
commissioners of agriculture, natural resources and the pollution control agency
(PCA) to submit a base budget report by a certain date; requiring the pollution
control agency (PCA) commissioner to adopt expedited rules to eliminate the need
for existing campgrounds and resorts to estimate wastewater flow rates to
subsurface sewage treatment systems and to adopt expedited rules to create a
procedure for septic system professionals to apply for certification
eligibility; specifying rule requirements; authorizing soil and water
conservation districts to grant conditional compliance waivers to certain
landowners; providing for certain transfers to the natural resources
conservation easement stewardship account and the water and soil conservation
easement stewardship account; providing for revisor instruction; repealing
auxiliary forests taxation, application, contract, restriction, special taxes
and placement by purchaser provisions; repealing the forests for the future
conservation easement account, certain decal provisions relating to the aquatic
invasive species prevention program, certain functions of the pollution control
agency (PCA) and certain soil erosion and clean water fund provisions

ARTICLE
5 - GAME AND FISH

Relating to natural resources; clarifying land condemnation
limits and owner rights; allowing gizzard shad bait harvest from certain
infested waters; authorizing the commissioner of natural resources to adopt
temporary water surface control for recreational uses at certain public
construction and maintenance sites; modifying certain personal watercraft
requirements; modifying the definition of and undressed bird; allowing posting
restrictions on public access to active disease areas; clarifying compliance
with federal law for information or telecommunications technology projects
appropriations and assets; modifying and conforming certain enforcement
provisions; modifying provisions to take, possess, and transport wild animals;
modifying separate selection of eligible turkey licensees; allowing residents of
veterans homes to take antlerless deer without a permit; prohibiting certain
feral swine activities and imposing penalties; allowing scopes on muzzleloading
firearms for persons over the age of 60; modifying penalty for certain firearms
possession restricted in deer zones; requiring the collection of hunter
information relating to hunter satisfaction; providing an exception for shining
lights for tracking bears; allowing use of radio equipment to take unprotected
animals; allowing residents age 84 or over to take deer of either sex; ;
including all game bird species for the use of nonlethal hazing for property
damage; allowing possession of firearms in turkey hunting under certain
conditions; establishing restrictions on taking beaver; expanding commissioner
authority for seasonal adjustments for state managed waters of Upper Red Lake;
modifying minnow healers and helpers provisions; modifying rulemaking for
lifting spearing bans and northern pike regulations; authorizing the
commissioner of natural resources to amend rules relating to water surface use
restrictions and personal flotation devices; authorizing the environmental
quality board to make rules relating to recreational trails without preparing a
mandatory environmental assessment worksheet; repealing the muskrat farm license
fee and certain spearing restrictions
(me)