1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; modifying provisions for 
  1.3             timber permit extensions; extending the Farmer-Lender 
  1.4             Mediation Act; requiring a report; providing for 
  1.5             voluntary alternative dispute resolution in rural 
  1.6             areas; providing emergency financial relief for farm 
  1.7             families in certain counties; establishing a temporary 
  1.8             program of assistance for federal crop insurance 
  1.9             premiums; mitigating neighborhood insect infestation; 
  1.10            appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.11            section 90.193; Laws 1986, chapter 398, article 1, 
  1.12            section 18, as amended; proposing coding for new law 
  1.13            in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 583. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 90.193, is 
  1.16  amended to read: 
  1.17     90.193 [EXTENSION OF TIMBER PERMITS.] 
  1.18     The commissioner may, in the case of an exceptional 
  1.19  circumstance beyond the control of the timber permit holder 
  1.20  which makes it unreasonable, impractical, and not feasible to 
  1.21  complete cutting and removal under the permit within the time 
  1.22  allowed, grant an extension of one year.  A request for the 
  1.23  extension must be received by the commissioner before the permit 
  1.24  expires.  The request must state the reason the extension is 
  1.25  necessary and be signed by the permit holder.  The value of the 
  1.26  timber remaining to be cut will be recalculated using current 
  1.27  stumpage rates.  Any timber cut during the period of extension 
  1.28  or remaining uncut at the expiration of the extension shall be 
  1.29  billed for at the stumpage rates determined at the time of 
  2.1   extension provided that in no event shall stumpage rates be less 
  2.2   than those in effect at the time of the original sale.  An 
  2.3   interest rate of eight percent will may be charged for the 
  2.4   period of extension. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  [583.311] [VOLUNTARY ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE 
  2.6   RESOLUTION.] 
  2.7      The administrator shall establish procedures and measures 
  2.8   to ensure maximum use of alternative dispute resolution under 
  2.9   this chapter for disputes in rural areas.  Referrals may be 
  2.10  accepted from courts, state agencies, local units of government, 
  2.11  or any party to a dispute involving rural land, regulation, 
  2.12  rural individuals, businesses, or property, or any matter 
  2.13  affecting rural quality of life.  The legislature encourages 
  2.14  state and federal agencies and governmental subdivisions to use 
  2.15  the services provided by the administrator under this chapter 
  2.16  and to cooperate fully when matters under this jurisdiction are 
  2.17  subjected to alternative dispute resolution methods.  The 
  2.18  administrator may set fees for participation in voluntary 
  2.19  procedures to pay all or part of the costs of providing such 
  2.20  services. 
  2.21     Sec. 3.  [REPORT.] 
  2.22     By the first Tuesday in January, 1999, the commissioner of 
  2.23  agriculture shall report to the committees on agriculture in the 
  2.24  senate and house of representatives on the need for and any 
  2.25  suggested changes in the Farmer-Lender Mediation Act. 
  2.26     Sec. 4.  [DEFINITIONS.] 
  2.27     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
  2.28  section apply to sections 4 and 5. 
  2.29     Subd. 2.  [COMMISSIONER.] "Commissioner" means the 
  2.30  commissioner of agriculture. 
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [CRISIS COUNTY.] "Crisis county" means Beltrami, 
  2.32  Clay, Clearwater, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Lincoln, Lyon, 
  2.33  Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Pipestone, Polk, Red 
  2.34  Lake, Roseau, or Wilkin county. 
  2.35     Subd. 4.  [FARMER.] "Farmer" means a natural person 
  2.36  residing in Minnesota who operates a family farm as defined in 
  3.1   Minnesota Statutes, section 500.24, subdivision 2, located 
  3.2   wholly or in part in a crisis county.  "Farmer" also means a 
  3.3   resident who is a shareholder in a family farm corporation or a 
  3.4   partner in a family farm partnership as defined in Minnesota 
  3.5   Statutes, section 500.24, subdivision 2, located wholly or in 
  3.6   part in a crisis county. 
  3.7      Sec. 5.  [FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE ASSISTANCE.] 
  3.8      Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT.] Within 30 days 
  3.9   after the effective date of sections 4, 5, and 8, the 
  3.10  commissioner shall announce procedures and distribute 
  3.11  application forms for the federal crop insurance assistance 
  3.12  program. 
  3.13     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] A farmer is eligible for state 
  3.14  assistance under this section if: 
  3.15     (1) the farmer experienced a 50 percent or greater loss 
  3.16  from the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service 
  3.17  Agency, county yield or collected an indemnity or disaster 
  3.18  payment on wheat or barley in one or more growing seasons 
  3.19  between 1993 and 1997; 
  3.20     (2) the crop covered by the insurance is located in a 
  3.21  crisis county; and 
  3.22     (3) the farmer or the farmer's federal crop insurance agent 
  3.23  submits a properly completed application for assistance to the 
  3.24  commissioner on forms provided by the commissioner on or before 
  3.25  August 1, 1998. 
  3.26     Subd. 3.  [REIMBURSEMENT RATE, PRIORITY, AND MAXIMUM 
  3.27  ASSISTANCE.] (a) From funds appropriated for purposes of this 
  3.28  section, the commissioner shall provide reimbursement to an 
  3.29  eligible farmer for premiums and administrative fees paid for 
  3.30  federal crop insurance on wheat and barley grown in a crisis 
  3.31  county for the 1997 growing season.  The maximum reimbursement 
  3.32  available to any farmer, or in the case of a family farm 
  3.33  corporation or a family farm partnership, to the family farm 
  3.34  corporation or partnership, is $4,000. 
  3.35     (b) Properly completed applications for federal crop 
  3.36  insurance assistance take priority in the order in which they 
  4.1   are received by the commissioner. 
  4.2      (c) The farmer must be listed as the payee, or one of the 
  4.3   payees, on the reimbursement check. 
  4.4      Sec. 6.  [COMMISSIONER TO OVERSEE MITIGATION OF 
  4.5   NEIGHBORHOOD INSECT INFESTATION.] 
  4.6      (a) The commissioner of agriculture, in close cooperation 
  4.7   with the city of Minneapolis and all other appropriate public 
  4.8   and nonpublic entities, shall exercise all available authority 
  4.9   and enforcement powers to resolve a longstanding problem of red 
  4.10  flour beetle infestation in an area of Minneapolis adjacent to a 
  4.11  rail transportation corridor and a grain handling and processing 
  4.12  facility.  Notwithstanding other law, rule, or local authority 
  4.13  to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized to perform 
  4.14  inspections, tests, monitoring, insect trapping, or other 
  4.15  actions to identify the source or sources of the continued 
  4.16  infestation and bring enforcement actions adequate to accomplish 
  4.17  resolution of the problems. 
  4.18     (b) Not later than March 1, 1999, the commissioner shall 
  4.19  report to the agriculture policy committees of the senate and 
  4.20  the house of representatives on the actions taken, the 
  4.21  conditions identified, and corrective actions ordered and 
  4.22  completed. 
  4.23     Sec. 7.  Laws 1986, chapter 398, article 1, section 18, as 
  4.24  amended by Laws 1987, chapter 292, section 37; Laws 1989, 
  4.25  chapter 350, article 16, section 8; Laws 1990, chapter 525, 
  4.26  section 1; Laws 1991, chapter 208, section 2; Laws 1993, First 
  4.27  Special Session chapter 2, article 6, section 2; Laws 1995, 
  4.28  chapter 212, article 2, section 11; and Laws 1997, chapter 183, 
  4.29  article 3, section 29, is amended to read: 
  4.30     Sec. 18.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.31     Sections 1 to 17 and Minnesota Statutes, section 336.9-501, 
  4.32  subsections (6) and (7), and sections 583.284, 583.285, 583.286, 
  4.33  and 583.305, are repealed on July 1, 1998 1999. 
  4.34     Sec. 8.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.35     $8,800,000 is appropriated to the commissioner of 
  4.36  agriculture for purposes of section 5 from the budget reserve 
  5.1   and cash flow account under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  5.2   16A.152.  Up to $70,000 of this appropriation is available for 
  5.3   necessary program administrative costs of the departments of 
  5.4   agriculture and revenue.  The commissioner of finance may 
  5.5   transfer money appropriated in this section to the commissioner 
  5.6   of revenue to pay for necessary program administration costs. 
  5.7      Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.8      Section 1 is effective retroactively to January 1, 1998. 
  5.9      Sections 2, 3, and 7 are effective July 1, 1998. 
  5.10     Sections 4, 5, 6, and 8 are effective the day following 
  5.11  final enactment.