1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to counties; clarifying county powers; 
  1.3             restricting their mandates to those expressly retained 
  1.4             and those now or hereafter reenacted; making a general 
  1.5             repeal of most mandates with certain exceptions; 
  1.6             limiting county liability in certain circumstances; 
  1.7             proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.8             chapter 369. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [369.01] [COUNTY HAS ANY AND ALL GENERAL LOCAL 
  1.11  GOVERNMENTAL POWERS.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [GRANT OF GENERAL POWERS; PURPOSE; 
  1.13  USE.] (a) A county has and may use any general local 
  1.14  governmental power available to any kind or class of city, 
  1.15  county, or town in the state that is not expressly denied to it 
  1.16  by law. 
  1.17     (b) The powers expressly granted in paragraph (a) may be 
  1.18  used for any public purpose that helps or is intended to help 
  1.19  provide for the health, welfare, safety, or economic well-being 
  1.20  of the county and those within it. 
  1.21     (c) The powers granted in paragraph (a) include all those 
  1.22  powers that are necessarily or fairly implied from that grant, 
  1.23  and any other powers that are indispensable to the existence of 
  1.24  the county or convenient to the operation of its government. 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [EXERCISE OF POWER.] A power granted to a county 
  1.26  by this act or other law, may be executed, except as otherwise 
  1.27  provided by law, by resolution or ordinance or policy of its 
  2.1   governing body, or by written or other customary delegation to 
  2.2   an officer, employee, or contractor of the county. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [POWERS OF OTHER LOCAL UNITS NOT AFFECTED.] No 
  2.4   function, duty, or power of another local governmental unit, 
  2.5   political subdivision, or special purpose district is 
  2.6   transferred, changed, or impaired by this act. 
  2.7      Sec. 2.  [369.02] [EXISTING MANDATES REPEALED, IF NOT 
  2.8   RESTATED; EXCEPTIONS.] 
  2.9      (a) Except as otherwise provided in this act, 
  2.10     (1) all state mandates, 
  2.11     (2) state rules, 
  2.12     (3) reporting requirements, and 
  2.13     (4) maintenance of effort requirements for programs that 
  2.14  are imposed in law on counties 
  2.15  are repealed. 
  2.16     (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a mandate imposed by 
  2.17  federal law or as a condition of receipt of federal assistance 
  2.18  or other federal benefit to which condition the state has 
  2.19  acceded as provided by law. 
  2.20     (c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a duty imposed on a 
  2.21  statutory county office or officer under chapters 384 to 390 
  2.22  that is indispensable and essential to the reason for being of 
  2.23  that office or officer position. 
  2.24     (d) Paragraph (a) does not apply to an existing mandate, 
  2.25  rule, or maintenance of effort requirement that is restated in 
  2.26  this act, or that is reenacted hereafter. 
  2.27     Sec. 3.  [369.03] [LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.] 
  2.28     Notwithstanding chapter 466, or other law, no cause of 
  2.29  action, claim for damages, or any other liability of any nature 
  2.30  whatsoever arises may be brought against a county, its governing 
  2.31  body, or its officers and employees, for the failure to provide 
  2.32  any service, fulfill any obligation, perform any duty, or meet 
  2.33  any specific requirement previously but no longer mandated by 
  2.34  law that the county board chooses in its discretion to 
  2.35  discontinue or not deliver as provided in this act. 
  2.36     Sec. 4.  [REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.] 
  3.1      In the next and succeeding editions of Minnesota Statutes 
  3.2   and Minnesota Rules, the revisor of statutes must remove from 
  3.3   the Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules text containing 
  3.4   requirements repealed by section 2.  If the repealed text cannot 
  3.5   be removed without affecting other text, the revisor must 
  3.6   propose appropriate suggested amendments to the text in the form 
  3.7   of a revisor's bill.  The bill draft shall be delivered at the 
  3.8   next session of the legislature to the chairs of the legislative 
  3.9   committees having jurisdiction over county government. 
  3.10     The revisor may consult with associations of county 
  3.11  government and county officials and staff members of legislative 
  3.12  local government committees and state agencies with knowledge, 
  3.13  experience, or interest in the bill. 
  3.14     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.15     This act is effective January 1, 2004.