HF 496

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to waters; modifying provisions relating to
lake improvement districts; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 103B.505, subdivision 6, by
adding a subdivision; 103B.511, subdivisions 1, 2;
103B.535; 103B.551, subdivision 1, by adding a
subdivision; 103B.555, subdivision 3; 103B.571,
subdivisions 2, 3, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.505,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Property owner.

"Property owner" means new text begin a
natural person who is:
new text end

new text begin (1) new text end the owner new text begin or fractional owner new text end of real property within
the district new text begin ; new text end or deleted text begin the buyer under contract for deed of property
in the district
deleted text end

new text begin (2) the designated single trustee of a property owned in
trust new text end .

new text begin The definition does not apply to a natural person who
represents government or corporate ownership of real property.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.505, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Voting member. new text end

new text begin "Voting member" means a property
owner defined in subdivision 6 or a permanent resident of the
district who is of the age of majority as defined in section
645.451, subdivision 5.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.511,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Purpose.

(a) To preserve and protect the
lakes of the state and to increase and enhance the use and
enjoyment of the lakes it is in the public interest that a
statewide lake improvement program is established to: new text begin allow
property owners and permanent residents to new text end preserve the natural
character of lakes and their shoreland environment where
feasible and practical; improve the quality of water in lakes;
provide for reasonable assurance of water quantity in lakes,
where feasible and practicable; and to assure protection of the
lakes from the detrimental effects of human activities and
certain natural processes. The commissioner shall coordinate
and supervise a local-state program for the establishment of
lake improvement districts by counties for lakes located within
their boundaries, based on state guidelines and rules and
compatible with all state, regional, and local plans where the
plans exist.

(b) In administration of this program, the commissioner of
natural resources shall consult with and obtain advice from
other state agencies on the aspects of the program over which
the agencies have specific legislative authority, including the
Department of Health and the Pollution Control Agency.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.511,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Rules.

new text begin (a) new text end The commissioner shall adopt
permanent rules to provide guidelines, criteria, and standards
for the establishment of lake improvement districts by
counties. new text begin The rules must be published annually and distributed
to each district and each board with a lake improvement district
within its jurisdiction. The rules must be available to the
public upon request.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner is responsible for collecting,
recording, publishing, and making available to any citizen
requesting them the following records of each district:
new text end

new text begin (1) its annual budget;
new text end

new text begin (2) its election totals;
new text end

new text begin (3) a list of all district projects whose annual budget or
expenditure is $5,000 or more;
new text end

new text begin (4) its certified tax levy amount; and
new text end

new text begin (5) its tax rate or the assessed amount per parcel of
property.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner must publish the information in
paragraph (b) and make it available within 45 days of receipt.
The commissioner is responsible for annually publishing a list
of all the districts, the counties where they are located, and
the contact information for the districts.
new text end

new text begin (d) The board must provide the commissioner with the
information in paragraph (b) within 45 days of receiving the
information from a district. The board must certify each
district's annual budget and disallow budget items that do not
comply with state law or county orders governing districts. The
board is responsible for certifying the results of the annual
meeting elections or delegating this responsibility to the
county auditor.
new text end

new text begin (e) The district must provide the board with the records
shown in paragraph (b) within 15 days of each instance of the
record's occurrence.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.535, is
amended to read:

103B.535 ORDER ESTABLISHING DISTRICT.

An order establishing a district must state the:

(1) name of the district new text begin , which must be unique among all
other districts in the state new text end ;

(2) boundaries of the district, which are encouraged to be
as consistent as practical with natural hydrologic boundaries;

(3) water and related land resources management programs
and services to be undertaken;

(4) manner of financing programs and services; and

(5) number, qualifications, terms of office, and method of
election, removal, and filling of vacancies of the board of
directors, including a method for property owners not present at
the annual meeting to participate in the election of the
district board.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.551,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Membership.

After a lake improvement
district is established, the county board, joint county
authority, or commissioner that established the district shall
appoint persons new text begin who are voting members new text end to serve as an initial
board of directors for the district. Subsequent board members
must be elected by deleted text begin persons deleted text end new text begin voting members new text end owning property in the
district at the annual meeting of the district. The number,
qualifications, terms of office, and method of election,
removal, and filling of vacancies of directors shall be as
provided in the order creating the board of directors. The
initial and all subsequent boards of directors must include
persons owning property within the district, and a majority of
the directors must be residents of the district.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.551, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Powers specifically not allowed. new text end

new text begin A district may
not, under any circumstance:
new text end

new text begin (1) participate in, subsidize, or publish a district
newspaper or newsletter;
new text end

new text begin (2) participate in, subsidize, or conduct mosquito
abatement, unless specifically authorized by board order, in
which case the cost must not constitute more than ten percent of
the annual budget of the district; and
new text end

new text begin (3) regulate water surface use as provided in sections
86B.205, 103G.605, and 103G.621.
new text end

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.555,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Budgeting for operations.

The county board or
county boards forming the joint county authority shall include
appropriate provisions in their budget for the operation of a
lake improvement district. new text begin Notwithstanding assessments or
obligations under chapter 429, or service charges, the tax rate
or parcel assessment for purposes of operation of the district
may not exceed two percent of tax capacity.
new text end

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.571,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Notice.

The annual meeting shall be preceded by
two weeks' published notice and written notice mailed at least
ten days in advance of the meeting to the county board or joint
county authority, town boards and statutory and home rule
charter cities wholly or partially within the district, the
Pollution Control Agency, commissioner of natural resources, and
if there is a proposed project by the district having a cost in
excess of $5,000, all property owners within the assessment
area. new text begin The list of all voting members and their mailing
addresses shall be provided by the county auditor in which the
property owner owns property or resident resides. The county
auditor shall provide this list within 20 days of being
requested to do so by the district or district board of
directors.
new text end

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.571,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Agenda.

(a) At the annual meeting the
district deleted text begin property owners deleted text end new text begin voting members new text end present shall:

(1) elect one or more directors to fill any midterm
vacancies in the board of directors;

(2) approve a budget for the fiscal year;

(3) approve or disapprove proposed projects by the district
having a cost to the district in excess of $5,000; and

(4) take up and consider other business that comes before
them.

(b) At the annual meeting all deleted text begin district property owners
deleted text end new text begin voting members new text end , including absent members as provided in the
order establishing the district, shall elect one or more
directors for board positions with expiring terms.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 103B.571, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Additional reports. new text end

new text begin The district board is
responsible for submitting information required in this chapter
to the commissioner, county board, or other authorities.
new text end