1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; changing certain fertilizer 
  1.3             fees and reporting requirements; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1996, sections 18C.421, subdivisions 1 and 4; 
  1.5             and 18C.425, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and 6. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.421, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [SEMIANNUAL STATEMENT.] (a) Each licensed 
  1.10  distributor of fertilizer and each registrant of a specialty 
  1.11  fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment must file a 
  1.12  semiannual statement for the periods ending December 31 and June 
  1.13  30 with the commissioner on forms furnished by the commissioner 
  1.14  stating the number of net tons and grade of each raw fertilizer 
  1.15  material distributed or the number of net tons of each brand or 
  1.16  grade of fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment 
  1.17  distributed in this state during the reporting period. 
  1.18     (b) A report from a licensee who sells to an ultimate 
  1.19  consumer must be accompanied by records or invoice copies 
  1.20  indicating the name of the distributor who paid the inspection 
  1.21  fee, the net tons received, and the grade or brand name of the 
  1.22  products received.  
  1.23     (c) (b) The report is due on or before the last day of the 
  1.24  month following the close of each reporting period of each 
  1.25  calendar year.  
  2.1      (d) (c) The inspection fee at the rate stated in section 
  2.2   18C.425, subdivision 6, must accompany the statement.  
  2.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.421, 
  2.4   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.5      Subd. 4.  [RESPONSIBILITY FOR INSPECTION FEES.] If more 
  2.6   than one person is involved in the distribution of a fertilizer, 
  2.7   soil amendment, or plant amendment, the distributor who imports, 
  2.8   manufactures, or produces the fertilizer or who has the 
  2.9   specialty fertilizer, soil amendment, or plant amendment 
  2.10  registered is responsible for the inspection fee on products 
  2.11  produced or brought into this state.  The distributor must 
  2.12  separately list the inspection fee on the invoice to the 
  2.13  licensee.  The last licensee must retain the invoices showing 
  2.14  proof of inspection fees paid for three years and must pay the 
  2.15  inspection fee on products brought into this state before July 
  2.16  1, 1989, unless the reporting and paying of fees have been made 
  2.17  by a prior distributor of the fertilizer.  The last person 
  2.18  licensed or who has the specialty fertilizer, soil amendment, or 
  2.19  plant amendment registered and who distributes to a nonlicensed 
  2.20  or nonregistered dealer or consumer in this state must pay the 
  2.21  inspection fee to the commissioner. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.425, 
  2.23  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.24     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION FEES FERTILIZER LICENSE.] (a) 
  2.25  An application for other licenses a license for each fixed 
  2.26  location to be covered by the license within the state must be 
  2.27  accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of $100 fee. 
  2.28     (b) An application for a license for all fixed locations of 
  2.29  a firm outside of the state must be accompanied by 
  2.30  a nonrefundable application fee of $100. 
  2.31     (c) An application for a license to cover mobile mechanical 
  2.32  units must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee of 
  2.33  $100 for the first unit operated by one distributor and $50 for 
  2.34  each additional mobile mechanical unit.  
  2.35     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.425, 
  2.36  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 2.  [SPECIALTY FERTILIZER REGISTRATION.] An 
  3.2   application for registration of a specialty fertilizer must be 
  3.3   accompanied by a registration nonrefundable application fee of 
  3.4   $100 for each brand and grade to be sold or distributed as 
  3.5   provided in section 18C.411.  
  3.6      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.425, 
  3.7   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.8      Subd. 3.  [SOIL AMENDMENT AND PLANT AMENDMENT 
  3.9   REGISTRATION.] An application for registration of a soil 
  3.10  amendment or plant amendment must be accompanied by a 
  3.11  registration nonrefundable application fee of $200 for each 
  3.12  brand sold or distributed as provided in section 18C.411. 
  3.13     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 18C.425, 
  3.14  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subd. 6.  [INSPECTION FEES.] A The person who sells or 
  3.16  distributes responsible for payment of the inspection fees for 
  3.17  fertilizers, soil amendments, or plant amendments sold and used 
  3.18  in this state must pay an inspection fee amounting to the 
  3.19  greater of 15 25 cents per ton of fertilizer, soil amendment, 
  3.20  and plant amendment sold or distributed in this state or, with a 
  3.21  minimum of $10 on all tonnage reports.  Products sold or 
  3.22  distributed to manufacturers or exchanged between them are 
  3.23  exempt from the inspection fee imposed by this subdivision if 
  3.24  the products are used exclusively for manufacturing purposes.