1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; clarifying the Iron Range Resources and 
1.3 	Rehabilitation Board's funds expenditure approval process; authorizing the lease 
1.4 	of certain lands; requiring a long-range plan by the board and commissioner; 
1.5 	appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 298.22, 
1.6 	subdivisions 1, 8, by adding a subdivision; 298.2213, subdivision 4; 298.223, 
1.7 	subdivisions 2, 3; Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, sections 298.296, 
1.8 	subdivision 1; 298.298.
1.9 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.10 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.22, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.11 		Subdivision 1.The office of the commissioner of Iron Range resources and 
1.12 	rehabilitation. (1) The office of the commissioner of Iron Range resources and 
1.13 	rehabilitation is created as an agency in the executive branch of state government. The 
1.14 	governor shall appoint the commissioner of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation under 
1.15 	section  15.06. 
1.16 	(2) The commissioner may hold other positions or appointments that are not 
1.17 	incompatible with duties as commissioner of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation. The 
1.18 	commissioner may appoint a deputy commissioner. All expenses of the commissioner, 
1.19 	including the payment of such staff and other assistance as may be necessary, must be 
1.20 	paid out of the amounts appropriated by section  298.28 or otherwise made available by 
1.21 	law to the commissioner. 
1.22 	(3) When the commissioner determines that distress and unemployment exists or 
1.23 	may exist in the future in any county by reason of the removal of natural resources or 
1.24 	a possibly limited use of natural resources in the future and any resulting decrease in 
1.25 	employment, the commissioner may use whatever amounts of the appropriation made to 
1.26 	the commissioner of revenue in section  298.28 that are determined to be necessary and 
2.1 	proper in the development of the remaining resources of the county and in the vocational 
2.2 	training and rehabilitation of its residents, except that the amount needed to cover cost 
2.3 	overruns awarded to a contractor by an arbitrator in relation to a contract awarded by 
2.4 	the commissioner or in effect after July 1, 1985, is appropriated from the general fund. 
2.5 	For the purposes of this section, "development of remaining resources" includes, but is 
2.6 	not limited to, the promotion of tourism. 

2.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.8 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.22, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
2.9 		Subd. 8.Spending priority. In making or approving any expenditures on programs 
2.10 	or projects, the commissioner and the board shall give the highest priority to programs 
2.11 	and projects that target relief to those areas of the taconite assistance area as defined in 
2.12 	section  273.1341, that have the largest percentages of job losses and population losses 
2.13 	directly attributable to the economic downturn in the taconite industry since the 1980s. 
2.14 	The commissioner and the board shall compare the 1980 population and employment 
2.15 	figures with the 2000 population and employment figures, and shall specifically consider 
2.16 	the job losses in 2000 and 2001 resulting from the closure of LTV Steel Mining Company, 
2.17 	in making or approving expenditures consistent with this subdivision, as well as the areas 
2.18 	of residence of persons who suffered job loss for which relief is to be targeted under this 
2.19 	subdivision. The commissioner may lease, for a term not exceeding 50 years and upon the 
2.20 	terms determined by the commissioner and approved by the board, surface and mineral 
2.21 	interests owned or acquired by the state of Minnesota acting by and through the office 
2.22 	of the commissioner of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation within those portions of 
2.23 	the taconite assistance area impacted by the closure of the LTV Steel Mining Company 
2.24 	facility near Hoyt Lakes. The payments and royalties from such leases must be deposited 
2.25 	into the fund established in section 298.292. This subdivision supersedes any other 
2.26 	conflicting provisions of law and does not preclude the commissioner and the board from 
2.27 	making expenditures for programs and projects in other areas. 

2.28 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.29 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.22, is amended by adding a subdivision 
2.30 	to read:
2.31 		Subd. 11.Budgeting. The commissioner of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation 
2.32 	shall annually prepare a budget of operational expenditures, programs, and projects, and 
2.33 	submit it to the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and the governor for 
3.1 	approval.  The commissioner is authorized to expend available funds approved in the 
3.2 	budget for operational expenditures, projects, and programs.

3.3 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.2213, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
3.4 		Subd. 4.Project approval. The board and commissioner shall by August 1 each 
3.5 	year prepare a list of projects to be funded from the money appropriated in this section 
3.6 	with necessary supporting information including descriptions of the projects, plans, and 
3.7 	cost estimates. A project must not be approved by the board unless it finds that:
3.8 	(1) the project will materially assist, directly or indirectly, the creation of additional 
3.9 	long-term employment opportunities;
3.10 	(2) the prospective benefits of the expenditure exceed the anticipated costs; and
3.11 	(3) in the case of assistance to private enterprise, the project will serve a sound 
3.12 	business purpose.
3.13 	To be proposed by the board, a Each project must be approved by a majority of 
3.14 	the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board members and the commissioner of 
3.15 	Iron Range resources and rehabilitation. The list of projects must be submitted to the 
3.16 	governor, who shall, by November 15 of each year, approve, disapprove, or return for 
3.17 	further consideration, each project. The money for a project may be spent only upon 
3.18 	approval of the project by the governor. The board may submit supplemental projects 
3.19 	for approval at any time.

3.20 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.21 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.223, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.22 		Subd. 2.Administration. The taconite area environmental protection fund shall be 
3.23 	administered by the commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. 
3.24 	The commissioner shall by September 1 of each year submit to the board a list of projects 
3.25 	to be funded from the taconite area environmental protection fund, with such supporting 
3.26 	information including description of the projects, plans, and cost estimates as may be 
3.27 	necessary. Upon approval by a majority of the members of the Iron Range Resources 
3.28 	and Rehabilitation Board, this list shall be submitted to the governor by November 1 of 
3.29 	each year. By December 1 of each year, the governor shall approve or disapprove, or 
3.30 	return for further consideration, each project. Funds for a project may be expended only 
3.31 	upon approval of the project by the board and governor. The commissioner may submit 
3.32 	supplemental projects to the board and governor for approval at any time.

3.33 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 298.223, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
4.1 		Subd. 3.Appropriation. There is hereby annually appropriated to the commissioner 
4.2 	of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation such taconite area environmental protection
4.3 	funds as are necessary to carry out the projects and programs approved and such funds as 
4.4 	are necessary for administration of this section. Annual administrative costs, not including 
4.5 	detailed engineering expenses for the projects, shall not exceed five percent of the amount 
4.6 	annually expended from the fund.
4.7 	Funds for the purposes of this section are provided by section  298.28, subdivision 
4.8 	11, relating to the taconite area environmental protection fund. 

4.9 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 298.296, subdivision 1, is 
4.10 	amended to read:
4.11 		Subdivision 1.Project approval. The board and commissioner shall by August 1 of 
4.12 	each year prepare a list of projects to be funded from the Douglas J. Johnson economic 
4.13 	protection trust with necessary supporting information including description of the 
4.14 	projects, plans, and cost estimates. These projects shall be consistent with the priorities 
4.15 	established in section 298.292 and shall not be approved by the board unless it finds that:
4.16 	(a) the project will materially assist, directly or indirectly, the creation of additional 
4.17 	long-term employment opportunities;
4.18 	(b) the prospective benefits of the expenditure exceed the anticipated costs; and
4.19 	(c) in the case of assistance to private enterprise, the project will serve a sound 
4.20 	business purpose.
4.21 	To be proposed by the board, a Each project must be approved by at least eight 
4.22 	Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board members and the commissioner of 
4.23 	Iron Range resources and rehabilitation. The list of projects shall be submitted to the 
4.24 	governor, who shall, by November 15 of each year, approve or disapprove, or return for 
4.25 	further consideration, each project. The money for a project may be expended only upon 
4.26 	approval of the project by the governor. The board may submit supplemental projects 
4.27 	for approval at any time.

4.28 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

4.29 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 298.298, is amended to read:
4.30 	298.298 LONG-RANGE PLAN.
4.31 	Consistent with the policy established in sections 298.291 to 298.298, the Iron 
4.32 	Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and commissioner shall prepare and present 
4.33 	to the governor and the legislature by January 1, 1984 December 31, 2006, a long-range 
5.1 	plan for the use of the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund for the 
5.2 	economic development and diversification of the taconite assistance area defined in 
5.3 	section 273.1341. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board shall, before 
5.4 	November 15 of each even numbered year, prepare a report to the governor and legislature 
5.5 	updating and revising this long-range plan and reporting on the Iron Range Resources and 
5.6 	Rehabilitation Board's progress on those matters assigned to it by law. After January 1, 
5.7 	1984, No project shall be approved by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board 
5.8 	which is not consistent with the goals and objectives established in the long-range plan.

5.9 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

5.10 	Sec. 9. MINNESOTA MINERALS 21ST CENTURY FUND; APPROPRIATION.
 5.11 	$12,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
5.12 	employment and economic development for transfer to the Minnesota minerals 21st 
5.13 	century fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.423. 

5.14 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2007.