1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to real property; commissioning a Minnesota 
  1.3             land records study; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [MINNESOTA LAND RECORDS STUDY.] 
  1.6      Because problems with determining legal descriptions and 
  1.7   boundaries are surfacing with increasing frequency in the state 
  1.8   of Minnesota and in anticipation of a proliferation of land 
  1.9   border litigation, this act commissions St. Mary's University of 
  1.10  Minnesota, the county of Winona, and the city of Winona to 
  1.11  conduct a Minnesota land records study.  The Minnesota land 
  1.12  records study will assess the magnitude of this problem as it 
  1.13  exists in Minnesota and will develop and evaluate potential 
  1.14  solutions.  Finally, a report will be prepared, detailing the 
  1.15  study's findings, to provide an informed understanding of the 
  1.16  problem and how it may be addressed by future legislative action.
  1.17     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  1.18     $800,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  1.19  county of Winona for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2001, 
  1.20  for the purposes of section 1.  The county of Winona shall 
  1.21  administer the funds and act as fiscal agent for the Minnesota 
  1.22  land records study.  Of this appropriation: 
  1.23     (1) $640,000 is for the resource studies center at Saint 
  1.24  Mary's University of Minnesota to be used for:  locating land 
  2.1   records; preparing geographical rectification and projection; 
  2.2   analyzing errors and problems; completing a detailed 
  2.3   investigation of subsample; collecting and processing data from 
  2.4   Minnesota and creating a database; evaluating solutions; 
  2.5   coordinating search, survey, and legal work; retaining legal 
  2.6   consultation on approaches to land ownership problems; and 
  2.7   preparing final report; 
  2.8      (2) $110,000 is for the county of Winona to be used for:  
  2.9   assisting with locating ownership records and developing a 
  2.10  record of transfers; providing new survey data as needed using 
  2.11  the Winona county surveyor; 
  2.12     (3) $50,000 is for the city of Winona to assist with 
  2.13  locating ownership records and developing a record of transfers. 
  2.14     Sec. 3.  [REPORT.] 
  2.15     Saint Mary's University of Minnesota shall report to the 
  2.16  legislature by February 15, 2001, the results of the study along 
  2.17  with recommendations for resolving the land border problem 
  2.18  facing Minnesota.