1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; requiring transfer of 
  1.3             general fund money to the game and fish fund after 
  1.4             closure of a deer hunting area; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1996, sections 97A.055, subdivision 2; and 
  1.6             97B.305; Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.7             97A.075, subdivision 1. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 97A.055, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [RECEIPTS.] The state treasurer shall credit to 
  1.12  the game and fish fund all money received under the game and 
  1.13  fish laws including receipts from:  
  1.14     (1) licenses issued; 
  1.15     (2) fines and forfeited bail; 
  1.16     (3) sales of contraband, wild animals, and other property 
  1.17  under the control of the division; 
  1.18     (4) fees from advanced education courses for hunters and 
  1.19  trappers; 
  1.20     (5) reimbursements of expenditures by the division; and 
  1.21     (6) contributions to the division; and 
  1.22     (7) money transferred from the general fund to compensate 
  1.23  for deer license revenue lost pursuant to the closure of a deer 
  1.24  hunting area under section 97B.305. 
  1.25     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.26  97A.075, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.1      Subdivision 1.  [DEER AND BEAR LICENSES.] (a) For purposes 
  2.2   of this subdivision, "deer license" means a license issued under 
  2.3   section 97A.475, subdivisions 2, clauses (4), (5), and (9), and 
  2.4   3, clauses (2), (3), and (7), and licenses issued under section 
  2.5   97B.301, subdivision 4. 
  2.6      (b) At least $2 from each deer license shall be used for 
  2.7   deer habitat improvement or deer management programs.  
  2.8      (c) At least $1 from each deer license and each bear 
  2.9   license shall be used for deer and bear management programs, 
  2.10  including a computerized licensing system.  Fifty cents from 
  2.11  each deer license is appropriated for emergency deer feeding.  
  2.12  Money appropriated for emergency deer feeding is available until 
  2.13  expended.  When the unencumbered balance in the appropriation 
  2.14  for emergency deer feeding at the end of a fiscal year exceeds 
  2.15  $750,000, $750,000 is canceled to the unappropriated balance of 
  2.16  the game and fish fund and the amount appropriated for emergency 
  2.17  deer feeding is reduced to 25 cents from each deer license. 
  2.18     (d) Money transferred to the game and fish fund under 
  2.19  section 97B.305 shall be allocated under this section as if it 
  2.20  was received from the sale of individual deer licenses. 
  2.21     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 97B.305, is 
  2.22  amended to read: 
  2.23     97B.305 [COMMISSIONER MAY LIMIT NUMBER OF DEER HUNTERS; 
  2.24  TRANSFER OF MONEY TO GAME AND FISH FUND.] 
  2.25     (a) The commissioner may limit the number of persons that 
  2.26  may hunt deer in an area if it is necessary to prevent an 
  2.27  overharvest or improve the distribution of hunters.  The 
  2.28  commissioner may, by rule, establish a method, including a 
  2.29  drawing, to impartially select the hunters for an area.  The 
  2.30  commissioner shall give preference to hunters that have 
  2.31  previously applied and have not been selected.  
  2.32     (b) If the commissioner acts under paragraph (a) to prevent 
  2.33  all deer hunting in an area, the sum necessary to compensate the 
  2.34  game and fish fund for the loss of revenue from deer licenses 
  2.35  ordinarily sold for that area must be transferred from the 
  2.36  general fund to the game and fish fund by July 1 of the 
  3.1   following year.  The sum must equal the annual average of the 
  3.2   deer license revenues for the area from the previous five 
  3.3   seasons.