1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to municipalities; allowing the prescribing 
  1.3             of certain fees by a fee schedule; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2002, section 462.353, subdivision 4. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462.353, 
  1.7   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 4.  [FEES.] A municipality may prescribe fees 
  1.9   sufficient to defray the costs incurred by it in reviewing, 
  1.10  investigating, and administering an application for an amendment 
  1.11  to an official control established pursuant to sections 462.351 
  1.12  to 462.364 or an application for a permit or other approval 
  1.13  required under an official control established pursuant to those 
  1.14  sections.  Fees as prescribed must be by ordinance or by a fee 
  1.15  schedule adopted by the governing body of the municipality, and 
  1.16  must be fair, reasonable, and proportionate to the actual cost 
  1.17  of the service for which the fee is imposed.  A municipality 
  1.18  shall adopt management and accounting procedures to ensure that 
  1.19  fees are maintained and used only for the purpose for which they 
  1.20  are collected. 
  1.21     If a dispute arises over a specific fee imposed by a 
  1.22  municipality related to a specific application, the amount of 
  1.23  the fee must be deposited and held in escrow, and the person 
  1.24  aggrieved by the fee may appeal under section 462.361.  An 
  1.25  approved application may proceed as if the fee had been paid, 
  2.1   pending a decision on the appeal.