HF 3173

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; changing meeting provisions 
  1.3             and duties of the board of grain standards; changing 
  1.4             certain fees; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.5             sections 17B.07; and 17B.12; Minnesota Statutes 1999 
  1.6             Supplement, section 17B.15, subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 17B.07, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     17B.07 [OFFICIAL TITLE OF BOARD; MEETINGS.] 
  1.11     The official title of the board shall be "The Minnesota 
  1.12  board of grain standards" and it shall have jurisdiction over 
  1.13  all grain appeal cases brought before it.  
  1.14     The board shall meet annually on or before June 15, as 
  1.15  needed and shall establish the grades of all grain subject to 
  1.16  state inspection which shall be known as the "Minnesota grades," 
  1.17  and all grain received at any public warehouse shall be graded 
  1.18  accordingly.  Such grades shall not be changed before the next 
  1.19  annual meeting without the concurrence of at least two members 
  1.20  of the board.  At the time of establishing Minnesota grades, the 
  1.21  board also shall adopt such rules, in accordance with the 
  1.22  Administrative Procedure Act, as it deems necessary for the 
  1.23  enforcement of this section and section 17B.06.  In establishing 
  1.24  the grades, in addition to the physical qualities of the grain, 
  1.25  there shall be taken into consideration the milling and 
  1.26  bread-producing quality of all grain products used as human 
  2.1   food.  The board shall determine the grade, and dockage, if any, 
  2.2   of all grain in all cases where appeals from the decisions of 
  2.3   the chief inspector have been taken and for such purpose they 
  2.4   may request fresh samples of such grain to be furnished directly 
  2.5   to the board.  Dockage shall be considered as being of two 
  2.6   classes; first, that having value and second, that having no 
  2.7   value.  At the annual meeting the board shall ascertain and 
  2.8   determine what dockage contained in grain is of value and 
  2.9   publish a list thereof in connection with the publication of the 
  2.10  Minnesota grades.  Any foreign content of the grain shall not be 
  2.11  considered in establishing the grade.  Whenever grain containing 
  2.12  dockage of value is sold to any public local warehouse or mill, 
  2.13  terminal warehouse, or to any flour mill located in St. Paul, 
  2.14  Minneapolis, or Duluth, or any other point within the state, 
  2.15  which is now or may hereafter be designated as a terminal point, 
  2.16  such sale shall not be considered to include such dockage of 
  2.17  value, but such dockage shall be paid for at its market value or 
  2.18  shall be returned to the vendor of said grain at the option of 
  2.19  the vendee.  
  2.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 17B.12, is 
  2.21  amended to read: 
  2.22     17B.12 [APPEALS; PROCEDURE.] 
  2.23     Any owner, consignee, or shipper of grain, or any warehouse 
  2.24  operator, who is dissatisfied with the inspection of grain may 
  2.25  appeal to the board of grain standards by filing a notice of 
  2.26  such appeal with the commissioner and paying a fee, to be fixed 
  2.27  by the commissioner, which shall be refunded if the appeal is 
  2.28  sustained.  The commissioner shall forthwith promptly transmit 
  2.29  the notice to said the board of grain standards.  The decision 
  2.30  of said the board, fixing the grade of such the grains shall 
  2.31  be is final.  
  2.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  2.33  17B.15, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.34     Subdivision 1.  [ADMINISTRATION; APPROPRIATION.] The fees 
  2.35  for inspection and weighing shall be fixed by the commissioner 
  2.36  and be a lien upon the grain.  The commissioner shall set fees 
  3.1   for all inspection and weighing in an amount adequate to pay the 
  3.2   expenses of carrying out and enforcing the purposes of sections 
  3.3   17B.01 to 17B.23, including the portion of general support costs 
  3.4   and statewide indirect costs of the agency attributable to that 
  3.5   function, with a reserve sufficient for up to six months.  The 
  3.6   commissioner shall review the fee schedule twice each year.  Fee 
  3.7   adjustments are not subject to chapter 14.  Payment shall be 
  3.8   required for services rendered.  If the grain is in transit, the 
  3.9   fees shall be paid by the carrier and treated as advance 
  3.10  charges, and, if received for storage, the fees shall be paid by 
  3.11  the warehouse operator, and added to the storage charges. 
  3.12     All fees collected and all fines and penalties for 
  3.13  violation of any provision of this chapter shall be deposited in 
  3.14  the grain inspection and weighing account, which is created in 
  3.15  the agricultural fund for carrying out the purpose of sections 
  3.16  17B.01 to 17B.23.  The money in the account, including interest 
  3.17  earned on the account, is annually appropriated to the 
  3.18  commissioner of agriculture to administer the provisions of 
  3.19  sections 17B.01 to 17B.23.  When money from any other account is 
  3.20  used to administer sections 17B.01 to 17B.23, the commissioner 
  3.21  shall notify the chairs of the agriculture, environment and 
  3.22  natural resources finance, and ways and means committees of the 
  3.23  house of representatives; the agriculture and rural development 
  3.24  and finance committees of the senate; and the finance division 
  3.25  of the environment and natural resources committee of the senate.