1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to energy; making technical corrections to 
  1.3             the 2001 omnibus energy bill; requiring the 
  1.4             commissioner of commerce to present an evaluation on 
  1.5             competitive bidding criteria to be used by a utility; 
  1.6             authorizing the city of Duluth to use excess home 
  1.7             energy loan funds for other energy conservation 
  1.8             purposes; making a technical change in electric 
  1.9             utility rate charge; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.10            section 116C.63, subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 
  1.11            2001 Supplement, sections 216B.1646, as amended; 
  1.12            216B.2425, subdivision 3; Laws 2001, chapter 212, 
  1.13            article 1, section 3. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.63, 
  1.16  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 4.  When private real property that is an 
  1.18  agricultural or nonagricultural homestead, nonhomestead 
  1.19  agricultural land, rental residential property, and both 
  1.20  commercial and noncommercial seasonal residential recreational 
  1.21  property, as those terms are defined in section 273.13 is 
  1.22  proposed to be acquired for the construction of a site or route 
  1.23  for a high voltage transmission line with a capacity of 200 
  1.24  kilovolts or more by eminent domain proceedings, the fee owner, 
  1.25  or when applicable, the fee owner with the written consent of 
  1.26  the contract for deed vendee, or the contract for deed vendee 
  1.27  with the written consent of the fee owner, shall have the option 
  1.28  to require the utility to condemn a fee interest in any amount 
  1.29  of contiguous, commercially viable land which the owner or 
  2.1   vendee wholly owns or has contracted to own in undivided fee and 
  2.2   elects in writing to transfer to the utility within 60 days 
  2.3   after receipt of the notice of the objects of the petition filed 
  2.4   pursuant to section 117.055.  Commercial viability shall be 
  2.5   determined without regard to the presence of the utility route 
  2.6   or site.  The owner or, when applicable, the contract vendee 
  2.7   shall have only one such option and may not expand or otherwise 
  2.8   modify an election without the consent of the utility.  The 
  2.9   required acquisition of land pursuant to this subdivision shall 
  2.10  be considered an acquisition for a public purpose and for use in 
  2.11  the utility's business, for purposes of chapter 117 and section 
  2.12  500.24, respectively; provided that a utility shall divest 
  2.13  itself completely of all such lands used for farming or capable 
  2.14  of being used for farming not later than the time it can receive 
  2.15  the market value paid at the time of acquisition of lands less 
  2.16  any diminution in value by reason of the presence of the utility 
  2.17  route or site.  Upon the owner's election made under this 
  2.18  subdivision, the easement interest over and adjacent to the 
  2.19  lands designated by the owner to be acquired in fee, sought in 
  2.20  the condemnation petition for a right-of-way for a high voltage 
  2.21  transmission line right-of-way with a capacity of 200 kilovolts 
  2.22  or more shall automatically be converted into a fee taking. 
  2.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  2.24  216B.1646, as amended by Laws 2002, chapter 377, article 4, 
  2.25  section 3, is amended to read: 
  2.26     216B.1646 [RATE REDUCTION; PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION.] 
  2.27     (a) The commission shall, by any method the commission 
  2.28  finds appropriate, reduce the rates each electric utility 
  2.29  subject to rate regulation by the commission charges its 
  2.30  customers to reflect, on an ongoing basis, the amount by which 
  2.31  each utility's property tax on the personal property of its 
  2.32  electric system from taxes payable in 2001 to taxes payable in 
  2.33  2002 is reduced.  The commission must ensure that, to the extent 
  2.34  feasible, each dollar of personal property tax reduction 
  2.35  allocated to Minnesota consumers retroactive to January 1, 2002, 
  2.36  results in a dollar of savings to the utility's customers.  A 
  3.1   utility may voluntarily pass on any additional property tax 
  3.2   savings allocated in the same manner as approved by the 
  3.3   commission under this paragraph. 
  3.4      (b) By April 10, 2002, each utility shall submit a filing 
  3.5   to the commission containing: 
  3.6      (1) certified information regarding the utility's property 
  3.7   tax savings allocated to Minnesota retail customers; and 
  3.8      (2) a proposed method of passing these savings on to 
  3.9   Minnesota retail customers. 
  3.10     The utility shall provide the information in clause (1) to 
  3.11  the commissioner of revenue at the same time.  The commissioner 
  3.12  shall notify the commission within 30 days as to the accuracy of 
  3.13  the property tax data submitted by the utility. 
  3.14     (c)  For purposes of this section, "personal property" 
  3.15  means tools, implements, and machinery of the generating plant.  
  3.16  It does not apply to transformers, transmission lines, 
  3.17  distribution lines, or any other tools, implements, and 
  3.18  machinery that are part of an electric substation, wherever 
  3.19  located. 
  3.20     <h>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</h> This section is effective retroactive to 
  3.21  July 1, 2001. 
  3.22     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section 
  3.23  216B.2425, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.24     Subd. 3.  [COMMISSION APPROVAL.] By June 1 of each 
  3.25  even-numbered year, the commission shall adopt a state 
  3.26  transmission project list and shall certify, certify as 
  3.27  modified, or deny certification of the projects proposed under 
  3.28  subdivision 2.  The commission may only certify a project that 
  3.29  is a high-voltage transmission line as defined in section 
  3.30  216B.2421, subdivision 2, that the commission finds is: 
  3.31     (1) necessary to maintain or enhance the reliability of 
  3.32  electric service to Minnesota consumers; 
  3.33     (2) needed, applying the criteria in section 216B.241 
  3.34  216B.243, subdivision 3; and 
  3.35     (3) in the public interest, taking into account electric 
  3.36  energy system needs and economic, environmental, and social 
  4.1   interests affected by the project. 
  4.2      Sec. 4.  Laws 2001, chapter 212, article 1, section 3, is 
  4.3   amended to read:  
  4.4      Sec. 3.  [BENCHMARKS FOR EXISTING PUBLIC BUILDINGS.] 
  4.5      The department of administration shall maintain information 
  4.6   on energy usage in all public buildings for the purpose of 
  4.7   establishing energy efficiency benchmarks and energy 
  4.8   conservation goals.  The department shall report preliminary 
  4.9   energy conservation goals to the chairs of the senate 
  4.10  telecommunications, energy and utilities committee and the house 
  4.11  regulated industries committee by January 15, 2002.  The 
  4.12  department shall develop, in coordination with the department of 
  4.13  commerce, a comprehensive plan by January 15, 2003 2004, to 
  4.14  maximize electrical and thermal energy efficiency in existing 
  4.15  public buildings through conservation measures having a simple 
  4.16  payback within ten to 15 years.  The plan must detail the steps 
  4.17  necessary to implement the conservation measures and include the 
  4.18  projected costs of these measures.  The owner or operator of a 
  4.19  public building subject to this section shall provide 
  4.20  information to the department of administration necessary to 
  4.21  accomplish the purposes of this section.  
  4.22     Sec. 5.  [EXCESS DULUTH ENERGY LOAN FUNDS; USE IN OTHER 
  4.23  ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.] 
  4.24     Notwithstanding Laws 1981, chapter 223, as amended by Laws 
  4.25  1984, chapter 581, or any other law to the contrary, the city of 
  4.26  Duluth may use excess funds in accounts in its home energy loan 
  4.27  program authorized by those laws for other energy conservation 
  4.28  programs, including, but not limited to, a commercial enterprise 
  4.29  energy loan program or a city climate protection program to 
  4.30  reduce city energy consumption, provided that: 
  4.31     (1) all bonds issued under the home energy loan program 
  4.32  have been retired; 
  4.33     (2) no more energy loan bonds are issued; and 
  4.34     (3) any sums used for other energy saving programs are in 
  4.35  excess of market demands for home energy loans.  
  4.36     <h>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</h> This section is effective the day after 
  5.1   the approval by the governing body of the city of Duluth is 
  5.2   filed according to Minnesota Statutes, section 645.021, 
  5.3   subdivision 3. 
  5.4      Sec. 6.  [IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION; COMPETITIVE 
  5.5   BIDDING CRITERIA.] 
  5.6      The commissioner of commerce shall identify and evaluate 
  5.7   various criteria that could be used by a utility in evaluating 
  5.8   and selecting bids submitted in a competitive bidding process 
  5.9   established under Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.2422, 
  5.10  subdivision 5. 
  5.11     To assist in the evaluation, the commissioner shall convene 
  5.12  a series of forums at which input from citizens and stakeholders 
  5.13  can be solicited.  The commissioner shall present this 
  5.14  evaluation in a report to the house and senate policy and 
  5.15  finance committees with jurisdiction over energy regulatory 
  5.16  issues and agencies by January 15, 2003. 
  5.17     <h>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</h> This section is effective the day 
  5.18  following final enactment. 
  5.19     Sec. 7.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
  5.20     The revisor of statutes shall remove codification of Laws 
  5.21  2001, chapter 212, article 8, section 14.  Laws 2001, chapter 
  5.22  212, article 8, section 14, shall remain part of Laws 2001 as 
  5.23  uncodified law. 
  5.24     Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.25     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.