1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; aggregate removal; extending the 
  1.3             tax to counties that vote to impose the tax; 
  1.4             increasing the rate of tax; providing for use of tax 
  1.5             proceeds; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.6             298.75, subdivisions 1, 2, 7. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 298.75, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] Except as may otherwise be 
  1.11  provided, the following words, when used in this section, shall 
  1.12  have the meanings herein ascribed to them.  
  1.13     (1) "Aggregate material" shall mean nonmetallic natural 
  1.14  mineral aggregate including, but not limited to sand, silica 
  1.15  sand, gravel, building stone, crushed rock, limestone, and 
  1.16  granite.  Aggregate material shall not include dimension stone 
  1.17  and dimension granite.  Aggregate material must be measured or 
  1.18  weighed after it has been extracted from the pit, quarry, or 
  1.19  deposit.  
  1.20     (2) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, 
  1.21  corporation, organization, trustee, association, or other entity.
  1.22     (3) "Operator" shall mean any person engaged in the 
  1.23  business of removing aggregate material from the surface or 
  1.24  subsurface of the soil, for the purpose of sale, either directly 
  1.25  or indirectly, through the use of the aggregate material in a 
  1.26  marketable product or service.  
  2.1      (4) "Extraction site" shall mean a pit, quarry, or deposit 
  2.2   containing aggregate material and any contiguous property to the 
  2.3   pit, quarry, or deposit which is used by the operator for 
  2.4   stockpiling the aggregate material.  
  2.5      (5) "Importer" shall mean any person who buys aggregate 
  2.6   material produced from a county not listed in paragraph (6) or 
  2.7   another state and causes the aggregate material to be imported 
  2.8   into a county in this state which imposes a tax on aggregate 
  2.9   material.  
  2.10     (6) "County" shall mean the counties of Pope, Stearns, 
  2.11  Benton, Sherburne, Carver, Scott, Dakota, Le Sueur, Kittson, 
  2.12  Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Polk, Norman, Mahnomen, Clay, 
  2.13  Becker, Carlton, St. Louis, Rock, Murray, Wilkin, Big Stone, 
  2.14  Sibley, Hennepin, Washington, Chisago, and Ramsey.  County also 
  2.15  means any other county whose board has voted after public 
  2.16  hearing to impose the tax under this section and has notified 
  2.17  the commissioner of the imposition of the tax. 
  2.18     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  2.19  following final enactment. 
  2.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 298.75, 
  2.21  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.22     Subd. 2.  A county shall impose upon every importer and 
  2.23  operator a production tax equal up to ten cents per cubic yard 
  2.24  or seven 15 cents per ton of aggregate material removed except 
  2.25  that the county board may decide not to impose this tax if it 
  2.26  determines that in the previous year operators removed less than 
  2.27  20,000 tons or 14,000 cubic yards of aggregate material from 
  2.28  that county.  The tax shall be imposed on aggregate material 
  2.29  produced in the county when the aggregate material is 
  2.30  transported from the extraction site or sold.  When aggregate 
  2.31  material is stored in a stockpile within the state of Minnesota 
  2.32  and a public highway, road or street is not used for 
  2.33  transporting the aggregate material, the tax shall be imposed 
  2.34  either when the aggregate material is sold, or when it is 
  2.35  transported from the stockpile site, or when it is used from the 
  2.36  stockpile, whichever occurs first.  The tax shall be imposed on 
  3.1   an importer when the aggregate material is imported into the 
  3.2   county that imposes the tax.  
  3.3      If the aggregate material is transported directly from the 
  3.4   extraction site to a waterway, railway, or another mode of 
  3.5   transportation other than a highway, road or street, the tax 
  3.6   imposed by this section shall be apportioned equally between the 
  3.7   county where the aggregate material is extracted and the county 
  3.8   to which the aggregate material is originally transported.  If 
  3.9   that destination is not located in Minnesota, then the county 
  3.10  where the aggregate material was extracted shall receive all of 
  3.11  the proceeds of the tax.  
  3.12     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for aggregate 
  3.13  material sold, imported, transported, or used from a stockpile 
  3.14  after June 30, 2001. 
  3.15     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 298.75, 
  3.16  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  3.17     Subd. 7.  (a) All money collected as taxes under this 
  3.18  section shall be deposited in the county treasury and 
  3.19  credited as follows, for expenditure by the county 
  3.20  board: according to this subdivision. 
  3.21     (b) The county auditor may retain an annual administrative 
  3.22  fee of up to five percent of the total taxes collected in any 
  3.23  year. 
  3.24     (c) The balance of the taxes, after any deduction under 
  3.25  paragraph (b), shall be credited as follows: 
  3.26     (a) Sixty (1) 42.5 percent to the county road and bridge 
  3.27  fund for expenditure for the maintenance, construction and 
  3.28  reconstruction of roads, highways and bridges; 
  3.29     (b) Thirty (2) 42.5 percent to the road and bridge fund of 
  3.30  those towns as determined by the county board and to the general 
  3.31  fund or other designated fund of those cities as determined by 
  3.32  the county board city or town in which the mine is located, or 
  3.33  to the county if unorganized, to be expended for maintenance, 
  3.34  construction and reconstruction of roads, highways and bridges; 
  3.35  and 
  3.36     (c) Ten (3) 15 percent to a special reserve fund which is 
  4.1   hereby established, for expenditure for the restoration of 
  4.2   abandoned pits, quarries, or deposits located upon public and 
  4.3   tax forfeited lands within the county. 
  4.4      If there are no abandoned pits, quarries, or 
  4.5   deposits located upon public or tax forfeited lands within the 
  4.6   county, this portion of the tax shall may be deposited in the 
  4.7   county road and bridge fund for expenditure for the maintenance, 
  4.8   construction, and reconstruction of roads, highways, and bridges 
  4.9   or may be used for any other unmet reclamation need.  
  4.10  Reclamation shall be prioritized as follows:  reclamation of 
  4.11  pits and quarries on public or tax-forfeited land, reclamation 
  4.12  of abandoned pits or quarries on private land, and reclamation 
  4.13  of active pits and quarries on private land. 
  4.14     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001.