1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to financing native vegetation planting; 
  1.3             emphasizing the planting of native species; 
  1.4             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.5             sections 15.50, by adding a subdivision; 97A.125; 
  1.6             103F.515, subdivisions 2 and 5; 160.22, subdivision 1; 
  1.7             and 160.232; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes, chapters 17; and 84.  
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 15.50, is 
  1.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 10.  [NATIVE VEGETATION PLANTING.] As part of its 
  1.13  comprehensive plan and adopted zoning rules, the board may allow 
  1.14  the planting of only native trees and shrubs, or native grasses 
  1.15  wherever appropriate, within the capitol area. 
  1.16     Sec. 2.  [17.231] [NATIVE GRASSES AND WILDFLOWER SEED 
  1.17  PRODUCTION INCENTIVE LOAN PROGRAM.] 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] (a) The commissioner shall 
  1.19  establish a seed production loan program to provide loans that 
  1.20  enable people to begin or expand efforts to develop and produce 
  1.21  new, local-origin, native grass, and native wildflower seed 
  1.22  species. 
  1.23     (b) The commissioner shall use the ecological regions 
  1.24  identified by the commissioner of natural resources covering the 
  1.25  entire state.  The commissioner shall design the loan program to 
  1.26  produce ten local variety native grass species and 40 local 
  1.27  variety native wildflower species for each region.  The 
  2.1   commissioner shall develop the program to produce 100 acres of 
  2.2   native grass seed production and ten acres of native wildflower 
  2.3   seed production in each region. 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [LOAN CRITERIA.] (a) The loan program must 
  2.5   provide loans for operating and capital costs related to the 
  2.6   development and production of native grass and wildflower seeds 
  2.7   during the research and development phase. 
  2.8      (b) Loans may not exceed $225 per acre per year of native 
  2.9   grass and native wildflower seed for each person or entity 
  2.10  applying for a loan over an expected average development period 
  2.11  of five years.  Subject to subdivision 1, the loan repayment 
  2.12  period may not exceed eight years.  Repayment of the loan is to 
  2.13  be made at four percent per annum above the original loan amount.
  2.14     (c) Loans may only be made to residents of this state. 
  2.15     Subd. 3.  [AWARDING OF LOANS.] (a) Applications for loans 
  2.16  must be made to the commissioner on forms prescribed by the 
  2.17  commissioner. 
  2.18     (b) The applications must be reviewed, ranked, and 
  2.19  recommended by a loan review panel appointed by the 
  2.20  commissioner.  The panel shall be chaired by the commissioner or 
  2.21  the commissioner's designee.  The loan review panel must consist 
  2.22  of two lenders with agricultural experience, a representative 
  2.23  from the department of transportation and a representative from 
  2.24  the department of natural resources who possess expert knowledge 
  2.25  in native plants and grasses, and a farm management specialist. 
  2.26     (c) The loan review panel shall rank applications according 
  2.27  to the following criteria: 
  2.28     (1) evidence of a viable business plan; 
  2.29     (2) demonstrated knowledge of the ecology of native grasses 
  2.30  and wildflowers and the development, production, and management 
  2.31  of them; 
  2.32     (3) evidence that the land intended for seed production is 
  2.33  capable of the production; and 
  2.34     (4) the appropriateness to the locality of the seeds to be 
  2.35  produced and their appropriateness to regional and state 
  2.36  production needs. 
  3.1      (d) The commissioner shall consider the recommendations of 
  3.2   the loan review panel and make loans for eligible projects.  
  3.3   Priority must be given based on local origin and regional and 
  3.4   state production needs. 
  3.5      Subd. 4.  [ADMINISTRATION; INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.] (a) 
  3.6   A seed loan account is established in the state treasury.  The 
  3.7   amount in the seed loan account is appropriated to the 
  3.8   commissioner to make loans under this section and administer the 
  3.9   loan program.  Loans are to be made on forms prescribed by the 
  3.10  commissioner.  The interest on the money in the seed loan 
  3.11  account may be used by the commissioner for administrative 
  3.12  expenses. 
  3.13     (b) Seeds produced under this section are intended to be 
  3.14  used to fulfill state agency needs for seeds and the purchase 
  3.15  must be arranged on a contract basis with state agencies in each 
  3.16  biennium that program seed is available.  The commissioner shall 
  3.17  collect and disseminate information relating to projects for 
  3.18  which loans are given under this section and report to the 
  3.19  standing legislative committees on agriculture by February 1 of 
  3.20  each year. 
  3.21     (c) Seeds produced under this section are eligible to be 
  3.22  certified as "Minnesota Grown" seeds under section 31.95. 
  3.23     Sec. 3.  [84.964] [INTERAGENCY NATIVE VEGETATION TASK 
  3.24  FORCE.] 
  3.25     (a) An interagency task force on native plant conservation 
  3.26  is established composed of the commissioners or their designees 
  3.27  of the departments of agriculture, natural resources, 
  3.28  transportation, and the pollution control agency and the 
  3.29  executive director or designee of the board of water and soil 
  3.30  resources.  The commissioner of natural resources or the 
  3.31  commissioner's designee shall chair the task force. 
  3.32     (b) The purpose of the task force is to identify priority 
  3.33  conservation needs for native plants and their habitats in the 
  3.34  ecological regions of the state, and to coordinate 
  3.35  implementation of interagency programs to address those needs.  
  3.36  The task force shall also ensure, to the greatest extent 
  4.1   practicable, that native plant species and communities are 
  4.2   maintained, enhanced, restored, or established on public lands, 
  4.3   and are promoted on private lands. 
  4.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 97A.125, is 
  4.5   amended to read: 
  4.6      97A.125 [WILDLIFE HABITAT ON PRIVATE LAND.] 
  4.7      The commissioner may enter into agreements with landowners 
  4.8   to develop or improve wildlife habitat on private land and 
  4.9   provide financial, technical, and professional assistance and 
  4.10  material.  At least ten percent of the financial assistance must 
  4.11  be used to plant native prairie grasses to improve habitat for 
  4.12  wildlife species.  
  4.13     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103F.515, 
  4.14  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.15     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBLE LAND.] (a) Land may be placed in the 
  4.16  conservation reserve program if the land meets the requirements 
  4.17  of paragraphs (b) and (c).  
  4.18     (b) Land is eligible if the land: 
  4.19     (1) is marginal agricultural land; 
  4.20     (2) is adjacent to marginal agricultural land and is either 
  4.21  beneficial to resource protection or necessary for efficient 
  4.22  recording of the land description; 
  4.23     (3) consists of a drained wetland; 
  4.24     (4) is land that with a windbreak would be beneficial to 
  4.25  resource protection; 
  4.26     (5) is land in a sensitive groundwater area; 
  4.27     (6) is riparian land; 
  4.28     (7) is cropland or noncropland adjacent to restored 
  4.29  wetlands to the extent of up to four acres of cropland or one 
  4.30  acre of noncropland for each acre of wetland restored; 
  4.31     (8) is a woodlot on agricultural land; 
  4.32     (9) is abandoned building site on agricultural land, 
  4.33  provided that funds are not used for compensation of the value 
  4.34  of the buildings; or 
  4.35     (10) is land on a hillside used for pasture.  
  4.36     (c) Eligible land under paragraph (a) must: 
  5.1      (1) be owned by the landowner, or a parent or other blood 
  5.2   relative of the landowner, for at least one year before the date 
  5.3   of application; 
  5.4      (2) be at least five acres in size, except for a windbreak, 
  5.5   woodlot, or abandoned building site, or be a whole field as 
  5.6   defined by the United States Agricultural Stabilization and 
  5.7   Conservation Services; 
  5.8      (3) not be set aside, enrolled or diverted under another 
  5.9   federal or state government program; and 
  5.10     (4) have been in agricultural crop production for at least 
  5.11  two of the last five years before the date of application except 
  5.12  drained wetlands, riparian lands, woodlots, abandoned building 
  5.13  sites, or land on a hillside used for pasture. 
  5.14     (d) The enrolled land of a landowner may not exceed 20 
  5.15  percent of the average farm size in the county where the land is 
  5.16  being enrolled according to the average farm size determined by 
  5.17  the United States Department of Agriculture, Census of 
  5.18  Agriculture.  
  5.19     (e) In selecting drained wetlands for enrollment in the 
  5.20  program, the highest priority must be given to wetlands with a 
  5.21  cropping history during the period 1976 to 1985. 
  5.22     (f) In selecting land for enrollment in the program, 
  5.23  highest priority must be given to permanent easements that are 
  5.24  consistent with the purposes stated in section 103F.505 and land 
  5.25  that will be planted or seeded with native vegetation. 
  5.26     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 103F.515, 
  5.27  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  5.28     Subd. 5.  [AGREEMENTS BY LANDOWNER.] The board may enroll 
  5.29  eligible land in the conservation reserve program by signing an 
  5.30  agreement in recordable form with a landowner in which the 
  5.31  landowner agrees: 
  5.32     (1) to convey to the state a conservation easement that is 
  5.33  not subject to any prior title, lien, or encumbrance; 
  5.34     (2) to seed the land subject to the conservation easement, 
  5.35  as specified in the agreement, to establish and maintain 
  5.36  perennial cover of either a grass-legume mixture or native 
  6.1   grasses for the term of the easement, at seeding rates 
  6.2   determined by the board; or to plant native trees where 
  6.3   regionally appropriate or carry out other long-term capital 
  6.4   improvements approved by the board for soil and water 
  6.5   conservation or wildlife management; 
  6.6      (3) to convey to the state a permanent easement for the 
  6.7   wetland restoration; 
  6.8      (4) that other land supporting natural vegetation owned or 
  6.9   leased as part of the same farm operation at the time of 
  6.10  application, if it supports natural vegetation or has not been 
  6.11  used in agricultural crop production, will not be converted to 
  6.12  agricultural crop production or pasture; and 
  6.13     (5) that the easement duration may be lengthened through 
  6.14  mutual agreement with the board in consultation with the 
  6.15  commissioners of agriculture and natural resources if they 
  6.16  determine that the changes effectuate the purpose of the program 
  6.17  or facilitate its administration.  
  6.18     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 160.22, 
  6.19  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.20     Subdivision 1.  [PLANTING TREES.] Road authorities may 
  6.21  plant and tend native trees and shrubs where regionally 
  6.22  appropriate along highways in rural areas in a manner so as to 
  6.23  protect the highways from drifting snow.  In like manner, with 
  6.24  the written consent of the abutting landowner, native trees and 
  6.25  shrubs, where regionally appropriate, may be planted and tended 
  6.26  outside the limits of the highways. 
  6.27     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 160.232, is 
  6.28  amended to read: 
  6.29     160.232 [MOWING DITCHES OUTSIDE CITIES.] 
  6.30     Road authorities may not mow or till the right-of-way of a 
  6.31  highway located outside of a home rule charter or statutory city 
  6.32  except as allowed in this section and section 160.23. 
  6.33     (a) On any highway, the first eight feet away from the road 
  6.34  surface, or shoulder if one exists, may be mowed at any time. 
  6.35     (b) An entire right-of-way may be mowed after July 31.  
  6.36  From August 31 to the following July 31, the entire right-of-way 
  7.1   may only be mowed if necessary for safety reasons, and may not 
  7.2   be mowed to a height of less than 12 inches. 
  7.3      (c) A right-of-way may be mowed as necessary to maintain 
  7.4   sight distance for safety and may be mowed at other times under 
  7.5   rules of the commissioner, or by ordinance of a local road 
  7.6   authority not conflicting with the rules of the commissioner. 
  7.7      (d) A right-of-way may be mowed, burned, or tilled to 
  7.8   prepare the right-of-way for the establishment of permanent 
  7.9   native vegetative cover or for native prairie vegetation 
  7.10  management. 
  7.11     Sec. 9.  [WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA PLANTING.] 
  7.12     In all wildlife management areas designated under Minnesota 
  7.13  Statutes, section 97A.135, and lying in the prairie province 
  7.14  region of Minnesota as defined by the commissioner of the 
  7.15  department of natural resources, at least ten percent of 
  7.16  available money for vegetation improvement and maintenance must 
  7.17  be used for planting native prairie grasses to support bird 
  7.18  production.  This section shall expire on June 30, 1997. 
  7.19     Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  7.20     Subdivision 1.  [NATIVE GRASSES AND WILDFLOWER SEED 
  7.21  PRODUCTION INCENTIVE LOAN PROGRAM.] $....... is appropriated 
  7.22  from the general fund to the seed loan account to be available 
  7.23  until June 30, 1997, to be administered by the commissioner of 
  7.24  agriculture for the seed production incentive loan program. 
  7.25     Subd. 2.  [TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON NATIVE SEED 
  7.26  PRODUCTION.] $....... is appropriated from the general fund to 
  7.27  the commissioner of agriculture to be available until June 30, 
  7.28  1997, for development of technical information on native seed 
  7.29  development. 
  7.30     Subd. 3.  [LOCAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.] $....... is 
  7.31  appropriated from the general fund to the board of water and 
  7.32  soil resources to be available until June 30, 1997, to provide 
  7.33  technical assistance to local units of government on planting 
  7.34  native vegetation in their ecological regions.