1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; proposing an amendment 
  1.3             to the Minnesota Constitution, by adding a section to 
  1.4             article XI; increasing the sales tax one-fourth of one 
  1.5             percent on taxable sales for natural resource 
  1.6             purposes; creating a heritage enhancement fund; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 297A.62, 
  1.8             subdivision 1; 297A.94; 297B.02, subdivision 1; 
  1.9             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.10            chapter 97A. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12                             ARTICLE 1
  1.13                      CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
  1.14     Section 1.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.15     An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to 
  1.16  the people.  If the amendment is adopted, a section shall be 
  1.17  added to article XI, to read: 
  1.18     Sec. 15.  Beginning July 1, 2005, the state sales and use 
  1.19  tax shall be increased by one-fourth of one percent on sales and 
  1.20  uses taxable under the general state sales and use tax law.  
  1.21  Receipts from this increase, plus penalties and interest and 
  1.22  reduced by any refunds, are dedicated as follows:  45 percent of 
  1.23  the receipts shall be deposited in the heritage enhancement fund 
  1.24  and may be spent only to improve, enhance, or protect fish and 
  1.25  wildlife habitat and other resources; 25 percent of the receipts 
  1.26  may be spent only for state parks and trails; 25 percent of the 
  1.27  receipts may be spent only for metropolitan regional parks; 
  1.28  three percent of the receipts may be spent only on grant-in-aid 
  2.1   trails; and two percent of the receipts may be spent only for 
  2.2   the Minnesota zoological garden, the Como park zoo and 
  2.3   conservatory, and the Duluth zoo.  The money dedicated under 
  2.4   this section shall be appropriated by law and shall not be used 
  2.5   as a substitute for traditional funding sources for the purposes 
  2.6   specified, but the dedicated money shall supplement traditional 
  2.7   sources of funding for those purposes.  A heritage enhancement 
  2.8   fund is created in the state treasury. 
  2.9      Sec. 2.  [SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.] 
  2.10     The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the people at 
  2.11  the 2004 general election.  The question submitted shall be: 
  2.12     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended, beginning 
  2.13  July 1, 2005, to increase the state sales and use tax by 
  2.14  one-fourth of one percent on taxable sales and to dedicate the 
  2.15  receipts to improve, enhance, or protect fish and wildlife 
  2.16  habitat and other resources and for state parks and trails, 
  2.17  metropolitan regional parks, grant-in-aid trails, and state and 
  2.18  local zoos? 
  2.19                                     Yes .......
  2.20                                     No ........"
  2.21                             ARTICLE 2
  2.22                         CONFORMING CHANGES
  2.23     Section 1.  [97A.056] [HERITAGE ENHANCEMENT FUND.] 
  2.24     The heritage enhancement fund is established in the 
  2.25  Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 15.  At least 90 
  2.26  percent of the money appropriated from the fund must be spent on 
  2.27  improving, enhancing, and protecting fish and wildlife habitat 
  2.28  for the benefit of the people of the state of Minnesota. 
  2.29     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 297A.62, 
  2.30  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.31     Subdivision 1.  [GENERALLY.] Except as otherwise provided 
  2.32  in subdivision 2 or 3 or in this chapter, a sales tax of 6.5 
  2.33  6.75 percent is imposed on the gross receipts from retail sales 
  2.34  as defined in section 297A.61, subdivision 4, made in this state 
  2.35  or to a destination in this state by a person who is required to 
  2.36  have or voluntarily obtains a permit under section 297A.83, 
  3.1   subdivision 1.  
  3.2      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 297A.94, is 
  3.3   amended to read: 
  3.4      297A.94 [DEPOSIT OF REVENUES.] 
  3.5      (a) Except as provided in this section and the Minnesota 
  3.6   Constitution, article XI, section 15, the commissioner shall 
  3.7   deposit the revenues, including interest and penalties, derived 
  3.8   from the taxes imposed by this chapter in the state treasury and 
  3.9   credit them to the general fund.  
  3.10     (b) The commissioner shall deposit taxes in the Minnesota 
  3.11  agricultural and economic account in the special revenue fund if:
  3.12     (1) the taxes are derived from sales and use of property 
  3.13  and services purchased for the construction and operation of an 
  3.14  agricultural resource project; and 
  3.15     (2) the purchase was made on or after the date on which a 
  3.16  conditional commitment was made for a loan guaranty for the 
  3.17  project under section 41A.04, subdivision 3. 
  3.18  The commissioner of finance shall certify to the commissioner 
  3.19  the date on which the project received the conditional 
  3.20  commitment.  The amount deposited in the loan guaranty account 
  3.21  must be reduced by any refunds and by the costs incurred by the 
  3.22  department of revenue to administer and enforce the assessment 
  3.23  and collection of the taxes.  
  3.24     (c) The commissioner shall deposit the revenues, including 
  3.25  interest and penalties, derived from the taxes imposed on sales 
  3.26  and purchases included in section 297A.61, subdivision 3, 
  3.27  paragraph (g), clauses (1) and (4), in the state treasury, and 
  3.28  credit them as follows: 
  3.29     (1) first to the general obligation special tax bond debt 
  3.30  service account in each fiscal year the amount required by 
  3.31  section 16A.661, subdivision 3, paragraph (b); and 
  3.32     (2) after the requirements of clause (1) have been met, the 
  3.33  balance to the general fund. 
  3.34     (d) The commissioner shall deposit the revenues, including 
  3.35  interest and penalties, collected under section 297A.64, 
  3.36  subdivision 5, in the state treasury and credit them to the 
  4.1   general fund.  By July 15 of each year the commissioner shall 
  4.2   transfer to the highway user tax distribution fund an amount 
  4.3   equal to the excess fees collected under section 297A.64, 
  4.4   subdivision 5, for the previous calendar year. 
  4.5      (e) For fiscal year 2001, 97 percent; for fiscal years 2002 
  4.6   and 2003, 87 percent; and for fiscal year 2004 and thereafter, 
  4.7   87.1 percent of the revenues, including interest and penalties, 
  4.8   transmitted to the commissioner under section 297A.65, must be 
  4.9   deposited by the commissioner in the state treasury as follows: 
  4.10     (1) 50 percent of the receipts must be deposited in the 
  4.11  heritage enhancement account in the game and fish fund, and may 
  4.12  be spent only on activities that improve, enhance, or protect 
  4.13  fish and wildlife resources, including conservation, 
  4.14  restoration, and enhancement of land, water, and other natural 
  4.15  resources of the state; 
  4.16     (2) 22.5 percent of the receipts must be deposited in the 
  4.17  natural resources fund, and may be spent only for state parks 
  4.18  and trails; 
  4.19     (3) 22.5 percent of the receipts must be deposited in the 
  4.20  natural resources fund, and may be spent only on metropolitan 
  4.21  park and trail grants; 
  4.22     (4) three percent of the receipts must be deposited in the 
  4.23  natural resources fund, and may be spent only on local trail 
  4.24  grants; and 
  4.25     (5) two percent of the receipts must be deposited in the 
  4.26  natural resources fund, and may be spent only for the Minnesota 
  4.27  zoological garden, the Como park zoo and conservatory, and the 
  4.28  Duluth zoo. 
  4.29     (f) The revenue dedicated under paragraph (e) may not be 
  4.30  used as a substitute for traditional sources of funding for the 
  4.31  purposes specified, but the dedicated revenue shall supplement 
  4.32  traditional sources of funding for those purposes.  Land 
  4.33  acquired with money deposited in the game and fish fund under 
  4.34  paragraph (e) must be open to public hunting and fishing during 
  4.35  the open season, except that in aquatic management areas or on 
  4.36  lands where angling easements have been acquired, fishing may be 
  5.1   prohibited during certain times of the year and hunting may be 
  5.2   prohibited.  At least 87 percent of the money deposited in the 
  5.3   game and fish fund for improvement, enhancement, or protection 
  5.4   of fish and wildlife resources under paragraph (e) must be 
  5.5   allocated for field operations. 
  5.6      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 297B.02, 
  5.7   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.8      Subdivision 1.  [RATE.] There is imposed an excise tax at 
  5.9   the rate provided in chapter 297A of 6.5 percent on the purchase 
  5.10  price of any motor vehicle purchased or acquired, either in or 
  5.11  outside of the state of Minnesota, which is required to be 
  5.12  registered under the laws of this state.  
  5.13     The excise tax is also imposed on the purchase price of 
  5.14  motor vehicles purchased or acquired on Indian reservations when 
  5.15  the tribal council has entered into a sales tax on motor 
  5.16  vehicles refund agreement with the state of Minnesota. 
  5.17     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.18     If the constitutional amendment proposed in article 1 is 
  5.19  adopted by the voters:  section 1 is effective July 1, 2005; 
  5.20  sections 2 and 4 are effective for sales and purchases made 
  5.21  after June 30, 2005; and section 3 is effective for revenues 
  5.22  derived from sales and purchases made after June 30, 2005.