SF 1973

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to metropolitan government; changing the 
  1.3             composition of the Metropolitan Radio Board; providing 
  1.4             for requests to the Metropolitan Council for 
  1.5             authorization and issuance of revenue bonds for 
  1.6             certain purposes; amending Metropolitan Council bond 
  1.7             authorization; repealing the sunset of the 
  1.8             Metropolitan Radio Board; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.9             2003 Supplement, section 403.21, subdivision 3; 
  1.10            403.22, subdivisions 1, 2; 403.27, subdivisions 1, 3; 
  1.11            repealing Laws 1995, chapter 195, article 1, section 
  1.12            18, as amended. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.15  403.21, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 3.  [FIRST PHASE.] "First phase" or "first phase of 
  1.17  the regionwide public safety radio communications system" means 
  1.18  the initial backbone which serves the following nine-county 
  1.19  metropolitan area:  Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, 
  1.20  Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington Counties. 
  1.21     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.22  403.22, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.23     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] The Metropolitan Radio Board is 
  1.24  established as a political subdivision with jurisdiction in the 
  1.25  counties of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, 
  1.26  Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.  The board shall be organized, 
  1.27  structured, and administered as provided in this section.  Until 
  1.28  funds to administer the board become available under section 
  1.29  403.23, subdivision 19, the Metropolitan Council shall provide 
  2.1   office space and administrative support to the board at no cost. 
  2.2      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  2.3   403.22, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The board consists of 17 19 
  2.5   members.  Fifteen Seventeen members shall be local officials and 
  2.6   shall include:  
  2.7      (1) one county commissioner appointed by each respective 
  2.8   county board from each of the seven metropolitan counties in the 
  2.9   board's jurisdiction; 
  2.10     (2) an elected official from each of the cities of 
  2.11  Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington appointed by each 
  2.12  respective city governing body; 
  2.13     (3) two elected officials from other metropolitan cities 
  2.14  appointed by the governor, who shall consider recommendations 
  2.15  made by the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities when 
  2.16  making these appointments; 
  2.17     (4) an elected official from a county or a city within a 
  2.18  county in Minnesota that is contiguous to the metropolitan area 
  2.19  appointed by the governor, who shall consider recommendations 
  2.20  made by the League of Minnesota Cities when making this 
  2.21  appointment; 
  2.22     (5) a sheriff appointed by the governor, who shall consider 
  2.23  recommendations made by the Metropolitan Sheriffs Association 
  2.24  when making this appointment; and 
  2.25     (6) a police chief appointed by the governor, who shall 
  2.26  consider recommendations made by the Minnesota Police Chiefs 
  2.27  Association when making this appointment.  
  2.28  The 16th 18th member shall be a member of the Metropolitan 
  2.29  Council appointed by the council.  The 17th 19th member shall be 
  2.30  the director of electronic communications of the Minnesota 
  2.31  Department of Transportation.  As provided in section 403.23, 
  2.32  subdivision 20, the chair of the Technical Operations Committee 
  2.33  serves as an ex officio member of the board. 
  2.34     The members shall be appointed within 30 days of the 
  2.35  effective date of Laws 1995, chapter 195.  Upon the effective 
  2.36  date of Laws 1995, chapter 195, the Metropolitan Council shall 
  3.1   inform the entities listed in this subdivision of the 
  3.2   appointments required by this subdivision and shall provide 
  3.3   whatever assistance is necessary to facilitate the appointment 
  3.4   process and establish the radio board.  
  3.5      Board members have no set term and remain on the board 
  3.6   until a successor is appointed as provided by this subdivision.  
  3.7   However, with respect to those board members who, under this 
  3.8   subdivision, must be elected officials, a successor must be 
  3.9   appointed as provided by this subdivision no later than the date 
  3.10  that a member is no longer an elected official, unless the 
  3.11  member dies while in office, in which case a successor must be 
  3.12  named as soon as practicable. 
  3.13     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.14  403.27, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] (a) After consulting with 
  3.16  the commissioner of finance, the council, if requested by a vote 
  3.17  of at least two-thirds of all of the members of the Public 
  3.18  Safety Radio Communication System Planning Committee established 
  3.19  under section 403.36 Metropolitan Radio Board, may, by 
  3.20  resolution, authorize the issuance of its revenue bonds for any 
  3.21  of the following purposes to: 
  3.22     (1) provide funds for regionwide mutual aid and emergency 
  3.23  medical services communications; 
  3.24     (2) provide funds for the elements of the first phase of 
  3.25  the regionwide public safety radio communications system that 
  3.26  the board determines are of regionwide benefit and support 
  3.27  mutual aid and emergency medical services communication 
  3.28  including, but not limited to, costs of master controllers of 
  3.29  the backbone; 
  3.30     (3) provide money for the second phase of the public safety 
  3.31  radio communication system; 
  3.32     (4) provide money for the third phase of the public safety 
  3.33  radio communication system; 
  3.34     (5) to the extent money is available after meeting the 
  3.35  needs described in clauses (1) to (3), provide money to 
  3.36  reimburse local units of government for amounts expended for 
  4.1   capital improvements to the first phase system previously paid 
  4.2   for by the local government units; or 
  4.3      (6) (5) refund bonds issued under this section. 
  4.4      (b) After consulting with the commissioner of finance, the 
  4.5   council, if requested by a vote of at least two-thirds of all of 
  4.6   the members of the Public Safety Radio Communication System 
  4.7   Planning Committee established under section 403.36, may, by 
  4.8   resolution, authorize the issuance of its revenue bonds to 
  4.9   provide money for the third phase of the public safety radio 
  4.10  communication system. 
  4.11     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  4.12  403.27, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  4.13     Subd. 3.  [LIMITATIONS.] (a) The principal amount of the 
  4.14  bonds issued pursuant to subdivision 1, exclusive of any 
  4.15  original issue discount, shall not exceed the amount of 
  4.16  $10,000,000 plus the amount the council determines necessary to 
  4.17  pay the costs of issuance, fund reserves, debt service, and pay 
  4.18  for any bond insurance or other credit enhancement. 
  4.19     (b) In addition to the amount authorized under paragraph 
  4.20  (a), the council may issue bonds under subdivision 1 in a 
  4.21  principal amount of $3,306,300, plus the amount the council 
  4.22  determines necessary to pay the cost of issuance, fund reserves, 
  4.23  debt service, and any bond insurance or other credit 
  4.24  enhancement.  The proceeds of bonds issued under this paragraph 
  4.25  may not be used to finance portable or subscriber radio sets. 
  4.26     (c) In addition to the amount authorized under paragraphs 
  4.27  (a) and (b), the council may issue bonds under subdivision 1 in 
  4.28  a principal amount of $18,000,000 $......., plus the amount the 
  4.29  council determines necessary to pay the costs of issuance, fund 
  4.30  reserves, debt service, and any bond insurance or other credit 
  4.31  enhancement.  The proceeds of bonds issued under this paragraph 
  4.32  must be used to pay up to 50 percent of the cost to a local 
  4.33  government unit of building a subsystem and may not be used to 
  4.34  finance portable or subscriber radio sets.  The bond proceeds 
  4.35  may be used to make improvements to an existing 800 MHz radio 
  4.36  system that will interoperate with the regionwide public safety 
  5.1   radio communication system, provided that the improvements 
  5.2   conform to the board's plan and technical standards.  The 
  5.3   council must time the sale and issuance of the bonds so that the 
  5.4   debt service on the bonds can be covered by the additional 
  5.5   revenue that will become available in the fiscal year ending 
  5.6   June 30, 2005, generated under section 403.11 and appropriated 
  5.7   under section 403.30.  
  5.8      (d) In addition to the amount authorized under paragraphs 
  5.9   (a) to (c), the council may issue bonds under subdivision 1 in a 
  5.10  principal amount of up to $27,000,000 $......., plus the amount 
  5.11  the council determines necessary to pay the costs of issuance, 
  5.12  fund reserves, debt service, and any bond insurance or other 
  5.13  credit enhancement.  The proceeds of bonds issued under this 
  5.14  paragraph are appropriated to the commissioner of public safety 
  5.15  for phase three of the public safety radio communication 
  5.16  system.  In anticipation of the receipt by the commissioner of 
  5.17  public safety of the bond proceeds, the Metropolitan Radio Board 
  5.18  may advance money from its operating appropriation to the 
  5.19  commissioner of public safety to pay for design and preliminary 
  5.20  engineering for phase three.  The commissioner of public safety 
  5.21  must return these amounts to the Metropolitan Radio Board when 
  5.22  the bond proceeds are received. 
  5.23     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
  5.24     Laws 1995, chapter 195, article 1, section 18, as amended 
  5.25  by Laws 1999, chapter 238, article 2, section 78, and Laws 2001, 
  5.26  chapter 176, section 1, is repealed. 
  5.27     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.28     Section 6 is effective the day following its final 
  5.29  enactment.