1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to natural resources; providing for administration of the forest resource 
1.3 	management incentive program; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 
1.4 	290C.02, subdivisions 3, 7, 8; 290C.04.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 290C.02, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 3.Claimant. (a) "Claimant" means a person, as that term is defined in 
1.8 	section  290.01, subdivision 2, who owns forest land in Minnesota and files an application 
1.9 	authorized by the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act. Claimant includes a purchaser or 
1.10 	grantee if property enrolled in the program was sold or transferred after the original 
1.11 	application was filed and prior to the annual incentive payment being made. The purchaser 
1.12 	or grantee must notify the commissioner in writing of the sale or transfer of the property. 
1.13 	For purposes of section  290C.11, claimant also includes any person bound by the covenant 
1.14 	required in section  290C.04. 
1.15 	(b) No more than one claimant is entitled to a payment under this chapter with 
1.16 	respect to any tract, parcel, or piece of land enrolled under this chapter that has been 
1.17 	assigned the same parcel identification number. When enrolled forest land is owned by 
1.18 	two or more persons, the owners, or in the case of property sold or transferred, the former 
1.19 	owner and the purchaser or grantee, must determine between them which person may 
1.20 	claimis eligible to claim the payments provided under sections  290C.01 to  290C.11. The 
1.21 	owners, transferees, or grantees must notify the commissioner in writing which person is 
1.22 	eligible to claim the payments.

1.23 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 290C.02, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
2.1 		Subd. 7.Forest management plan. "Forest management plan" means a written 
2.2 	document providing a framework for site-specific healthy, productive, and sustainable 
2.3 	forest resources. A forest management plan must include at least the following: (i) 
2.4 	owner-specific forest management goals for the land; (ii) a reliable field inventory of the 
2.5 	individual forest cover types, their age, and density; (iii) a description of the soil type and 
2.6 	quality; (iv) an aerial photo and/or map of the vegetation and other natural features of the 
2.7 	land clearly indicating the boundaries of the land and of the forest land; (v) the proposed 
2.8 	future conditions of the land; (vi) prescriptions to meet proposed future conditions of 
2.9 	the land; (vii) a recommended timetable for implementing the prescribed activities; and 
2.10 	(viii) a legal description of the land encompassing the parcels included in the plan. All 
2.11 	management activities prescribed in a plan must be in accordance with the recommended 
2.12 	timber harvesting and forest management guidelines. The commissioner of natural 
2.13 	resources shall provide a framework for plan content and updating and revising plans.

2.14 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 290C.02, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
2.15 		Subd. 8.Timber harvesting and forest management guidelines. "Timber 
2.16 	harvesting and forest management guidelines" means guidelines developed under section  
2.17 	89A.05 and adopted by the Minnesota Forest Resources Council in 1998 effect at the time 
2.18 	the tract, parcel, or piece of land is enrolled in the sustainable forest incentive program. 

2.19 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 290C.04, is amended to read:
2.20 	290C.04 APPLICATIONS.
2.21 	(a) A landowner may apply to enroll forest land for the sustainable forest incentive 
2.22 	program under this chapter. The claimant must complete, sign, and submit an application 
2.23 	to the commissioner by September 30 in order for the land to become eligible beginning 
2.24 	in the next year. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and 
2.25 	must include the information the commissioner deems necessary. At a minimum, the 
2.26 	application must show the following information for the land and the claimant: (i) the 
2.27 	claimant's Social Security number or state or federal business tax registration number and 
2.28 	date of birth, (ii) the claimant's address, (iii) the claimant's signature, (iv) the county's 
2.29 	parcel identification numbers for the tax parcels that completely contain the claimant's 
2.30 	forest land that is sought to be enrolled, (v) the number of acres eligible for enrollment 
2.31 	in the program, (vi) the approved plan writer's signature and identification number, and 
2.32 	(vii) proof, in a form specified by the commissioner, that the claimant has executed and 
2.33 	acknowledged in the manner required by law for a deed, and recorded, a covenant that the 
2.34 	land is not and shall not be developed in a manner inconsistent with the requirements and 
3.1 	conditions of this chapter. The covenant shall state in writing that the covenant is binding 
3.2 	on the claimant and the claimant's successor or assignee, and that it runs with the land 
3.3 	for a period of not less than eight years. The commissioner shall specify the form of the 
3.4 	covenant and provide copies upon request. The covenant must include a legal description 
3.5 	that encompasses all the forest land that the claimant wishes to enroll under this section or 
3.6 	the certificate of title number for that land if it is registered land.
3.7 	(b) In all cases, the commissioner shall notify the claimant within 90 days after 
3.8 	receipt of a completed application that either the land has or has not been approved for 
3.9 	enrollment. A claimant whose application is denied may appeal the denial as provided in 
3.10 	section  290C.11, paragraph (a). 
3.11 	(c) Within 90 days after the denial of an application, or within 90 days after the 
3.12 	final resolution of any appeal related to the denial, the commissioner shall execute and 
3.13 	acknowledge a document releasing the land from the covenant required under this chapter. 
3.14 	The document must be mailed to the claimant and is entitled to be recorded.
3.15 	(d) The Social Security numbers collected from individuals under this section are 
3.16 	private data as provided in section  13.355. The state or federal business tax registration 
3.17 	number and date of birth data collected under this section are also private data on 
3.18 	individuals or nonpublic data, as defined in section  13.02, subdivisions 9 and 12, but 
3.19 	may be shared with county assessors for purposes of tax administration and with county 
3.20 	treasurers for purposes of the revenue recapture under chapter 270A. 

3.21 	Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 3.22 	Sections 1 through 4 are effective the day following final enactment.