1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to local government; establishing a town road 
  1.3             maintenance revolving loan fund; appropriating money; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 12.09, 
  1.5             subdivision 5; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 162. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 12.09, 
  1.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5.  [ASSISTANCE TO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.] The 
  1.11  division shall provide guidance, information, and training 
  1.12  sufficient to allow local political subdivisions to request 
  1.13  state and federal disaster assistance and to assist towns to 
  1.14  apply for loans from the town road maintenance revolving loan 
  1.15  fund. 
  1.16     Sec. 2.  [162.185] [TOWN ROAD MAINTENANCE REVOLVING LOAN 
  1.17  FUND.] 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE OF FUND.] The purpose of the town 
  1.19  road maintenance revolving loan fund is to provide loans to 
  1.20  towns for: 
  1.21     (1) town road maintenance snowplowing costs; and 
  1.22     (2) town road reconstruction costs necessitated by severe 
  1.23  weather or natural disaster. 
  1.24     Subd. 2.  [ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.] A town road maintenance 
  1.25  revolving loan fund is established to make loans for the 
  1.26  purposes described in subdivision 1.  The town road maintenance 
  2.1   revolving loan fund shall receive appropriations and money from 
  2.2   any source.  Money received under this section must be paid to 
  2.3   the state treasurer and credited to the town road maintenance 
  2.4   revolving loan fund.  Money in the fund is annually appropriated 
  2.5   to the commissioner of public safety and does not lapse.  The 
  2.6   fund must be credited with investment income, and with 
  2.7   repayments of principal and interest. 
  2.8      Subd. 3.  [MANAGEMENT OF FUND.] The commissioner of public 
  2.9   safety, division of emergency management, shall administer the 
  2.10  town road maintenance revolving loan fund.  The division of 
  2.11  emergency management may authorize the making of loans to towns 
  2.12  for purposes authorized in this section, without further action 
  2.13  by the commissioner. 
  2.14     Subd. 4.  [APPLICATIONS.] Applicants for loans must submit 
  2.15  an application to the division of emergency management on forms 
  2.16  provided by the division.  The applicant must provide the 
  2.17  following information: 
  2.18     (1) a description of the maintenance or reconstruction 
  2.19  project; 
  2.20     (2) an itemization of costs already incurred for the 
  2.21  project; 
  2.22     (3) estimated cost of the project; 
  2.23     (4) other possible sources of funding in addition to the 
  2.24  loan sought from the town road maintenance revolving loan fund; 
  2.25     (5) proposed methods and sources of funds to be used for 
  2.26  repayment of loans received, which may include certificates of 
  2.27  indebtedness issued by the town board under section 366.095, 
  2.28  subdivision 1; and 
  2.29     (6) information showing the financial status and ability of 
  2.30  the borrower to repay loans. 
  2.31     Subd. 5.  [LOAN CONDITIONS.] A loan from the town road 
  2.32  maintenance revolving loan fund must: 
  2.33     (1) bear interest at or below market rates; 
  2.34     (2) have a repayment term not longer than five years; 
  2.35     (3) be fully amortized no later than five years after 
  2.36  project completion; 
  3.1      (4) in the case of a loan for a town road reconstruction 
  3.2   project, be subject to repayment of principal and interest 
  3.3   beginning not later than one year after the reconstruction 
  3.4   project has been completed; and 
  3.5      (5) in the case of a loan for snowplowing costs, not exceed 
  3.6   the difference between the town's snowplowing costs in the year 
  3.7   for which the town is making a loan application and the average 
  3.8   amount of the town's previous three years' snowplowing costs. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.10     $4,000,000 is appropriated to the commissioner of public 
  3.11  safety from the general fund for transfer to the town road 
  3.12  maintenance revolving loan fund.  This appropriation does not 
  3.13  lapse.