1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to natural resources; regulating the transportation of raw and unprocessed 
1.3 	agricultural products; modifying restrictions on vehicles hauling unfinished forest 
1.4 	products; modifying timber sales on tax-forfeited land;amending Minnesota 
1.5 	Statutes 2006, sections 169.8261; 282.04, subdivision 1; proposing coding for 
1.6 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 169.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 169.8261, is amended to read:
1.9 	169.8261 GROSS WEIGHT LIMITATIONS; FOREST PRODUCTS.
1.10 	(a) A vehicle or combination of vehicles hauling raw or unfinished forest products, 
1.11 	including wood chips, paper, pulp, oriented strandboard, laminated strand lumber, 
1.12 	hardboard, treated lumber, untreated lumber, or barrel staves, by the most direct route to the 
1.13 	nearest highway that has been designated under section 169.832, subdivision 11, may be 
1.14 	operated on any highway with gross weights permitted under sections 169.822 to 169.829
1.15 	without regard to load restrictions imposed on that highway, except that the vehicles must:
1.16 	(1) comply with seasonal load restrictions in effect between the dates set by the 
1.17 	commissioner under section 169.87, subdivision 2;
1.18 	(2) comply with bridge load limits posted under section 169.84;
1.19 	(3) be equipped and operated with six axles and brakes on all wheels;
1.20 	(4) not exceed 90,000 pounds gross weight, or 98,00099,000 pounds gross weight 
1.21 	during the time when seasonal increases are authorized under section 169.826;
1.22 	(5) not be operated on interstate and defense highways;
1.23 	(6) obtain an annual permit from the commissioner of transportation;
1.24 	(7) obey all road postings; and
1.25 	(8) not exceed 20,000 pounds gross weight on any single axle.
2.1 	(b) A vehicle operated under this section may exceed the legal axle weight limits 
2.2 	listed in section 169.824 by not more than 12.5 percent; except that, the weight limits may 
2.3 	be exceeded by not more than 22.5 percent during the time when seasonal increases are 
2.4 	authorized under section 169.826, subdivision 1.

2.5 	Sec. 2. [169.865] EXTENDED WEIGHT LIMIT PERMITS; RAW AND 
2.6 	UNPROCESSED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
2.7 		Subdivision 1.Six-axle vehicles. (a) A road authority may issue an annual permit 
2.8 	authorizing a vehicle or combination of vehicles to haul raw or unprocessed agricultural 
2.9 	products with a total of six axles to be operated with a gross vehicle weight of up to:
2.10 	(1) 90,000 pounds; and
2.11 	(2) 99,000 pounds during the period set by the commissioner under section 169.826, 
2.12 	subdivision 1.
2.13 	(b) Notwithstanding subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clause (3), a vehicle or 
2.14 	combination of vehicles operated under this subdivision and transporting only sealed 
2.15 	intermodal containers may be operated on an interstate highway if allowed by the United 
2.16 	States Department of Transportation.
2.17 	(c) The fee for a permit issued under this subdivision is $300.
2.18 		Subd. 2.Seven-axle vehicles. (a) A road authority may issue an annual permit 
2.19 	authorizing a vehicle or combination of vehicles to haul raw or unprocessed agricultural 
2.20 	products with a total of seven axles to be operated with a gross vehicle weight of up to:
2.21 	(1) 97,000 pounds; and
2.22 	(2) 99,000 pounds during the period set by the commissioner under section 169.826, 
2.23 	subdivision 1.
2.24 	(b) Drivers of vehicles operating under this subdivision must comply with driver 
2.25 	qualification requirements adopted under section 221.0314, subdivisions 2 to 5, and the 
2.26 	Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, parts 40 and 382.
2.27 	(c) The fee for a permit issued under this subdivision is $500.
2.28 		Subd. 3.Single-unit vehicles. (a) A road authority may issue an annual permit 
2.29 	authorizing a single-unit vehicle to haul raw or unprocessed agricultural products with 
2.30 	a total of seven axles up to 45 feet in length to be operated with a gross vehicle weight 
2.31 	of up to:
2.32 	(1) 80,000 pounds; and
2.33 	(2) 88,000 pounds during the period set by the commissioner under section 169.826, 
2.34 	subdivisions 1 and 1a.
3.1 	(b) Drivers of vehicles operating under this subdivision must comply with driver 
3.2 	qualification requirements adopted under section 221.0314, subdivisions 2 to 5.
3.3 	(c) The fee for a permit issued under this subdivision is $300.
3.4 		Subd. 4.Requirements; restrictions. (a) A vehicle or combination of vehicles 
3.5 	operating under this section:
3.6 	(1) is subject to axle weight limitations under section 169.824, subdivision 1;
3.7 	(2) is subject to seasonal load restrictions under section 169.87;
3.8 	(3) is subject to bridge load limits posted under section 169.84;
3.9 	(4) may only be operated on trunk highways other than interstate highways, and on 
3.10 	local roads designated under section 169.832, subdivision 11; 
3.11 	(5) may not be operated with loads that exceed the manufacturer's gross vehicle 
3.12 	weight rating as affixed to the vehicle, or other certification of gross vehicle weight rating 
3.13 	complying with Code of Federal Regulations, title 49, parts 567.4 to 567.7;
3.14 	(6) must be issued a permit from each road authority having jurisdiction over a road 
3.15 	on which the vehicle is operated, if required;
3.16 	(7) must comply with the requirements of section 169.851, subdivision 4; and
3.17 	(8) must have brakes on all wheels.
3.18 	(b) The percentage allowances for exceeding gross weights if transporting unfinished 
3.19 	forest products under section 168.013, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), or for the first haul of 
3.20 	unprocessed or raw farm products or unfinished forest products under section 168.013, 
3.21 	subdivision 3, paragraph (d), clause (3), do not apply to a vehicle or combination of 
3.22 	vehicles operated under this section.
3.23 		Subd. 5.Deposit of revenues; appropriation. (a) Revenue from the permits issued 
3.24 	under this section must be deposited:
3.25 	(1) in fiscal years 2007 through 2010, in the bridge inspection and signing account 
3.26 	in the special revenue fund; and
3.27 	(2) in fiscal year 2011 and subsequent years, in the trunk highway fund.
3.28 	(b) The revenue in the bridge inspection and signing account under this section is 
3.29 	annually appropriated to the commissioner for:
3.30 	(1) inspection of local bridges and identification of local bridges to be posted, 
3.31 	including contracting with a consultant for some or all of these functions; and
3.32 	(2) erection of weight posting signs on local bridges.

3.33 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 282.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.34 		Subdivision 1.Timber sales; land leases and uses. (a) The county auditor may 
3.35 	sell timber upon any tract that may be approved by the natural resources commissioner. 
4.1 	The sale of timber shall be made for cash at not less than the appraised value determined 
4.2 	by the county board to the highest bidder after not less than one week's published notice 
4.3 	in an official paper within the county. Any timber offered at the public sale and not sold 
4.4 	may thereafter be sold at private sale by the county auditor at not less than the appraised 
4.5 	value thereof, until the time as the county board may withdraw the timber from sale. The 
4.6 	appraised value of the timber and the forestry practices to be followed in the cutting of 
4.7 	said timber shall be approved by the commissioner of natural resources.
4.8 	(b) Payment of the full sale price of all timber sold on tax-forfeited lands shall be 
4.9 	made in cash at the time of the timber sale, except in the case of oral or sealed bid auction 
4.10 	sales, the down payment shall be no less than 15 percent of the appraised value, and the 
4.11 	balance shall be paid prior to entry. In the case of auction sales that are partitioned and 
4.12 	sold as a single sale with predetermined cutting blocks, the down payment shall be no less 
4.13 	than 15 percent of the appraised price of the entire timber sale which may be held until the 
4.14 	satisfactory completion of the sale or applied in whole or in part to the final cutting block. 
4.15 	The value of each separate block must be paid in full before any cutting may begin in that 
4.16 	block. With the permission of the county contract administrator the purchaser may enter 
4.17 	unpaid blocks and cut necessary timber incidental to developing logging roads as may 
4.18 	be needed to log other blocks provided that no timber may be removed from an unpaid 
4.19 	block until separately scaled and paid for. If payment is provided as specified in this 
4.20 	paragraph as security under paragraph (a) and no cutting has taken place on the contract, 
4.21 	the county auditor may credit the security provided, less any down payment required for 
4.22 	an auction sale under this paragraph, to any other contract issued to the contract holder 
4.23 	by the county under this chapter to which the contract holder requests in writing that it 
4.24 	be credited, provided the request and transfer is made within the same calendar year as 
4.25 	the security was received.
4.26 	(c) The county board may require final settlement on the basis of a scale of cut 
4.27 	products sell any timber, including biomass, as appraised or scaled, at its discretion. 
4.28 	Any parcels of land from which timber is to be sold by scale of cut products shall be so 
4.29 	designated in the published notice of sale under paragraph (a), in which case the notice 
4.30 	shall contain a description of the parcels, a statement of the estimated quantity of each 
4.31 	species of timber, and the appraised price of each species of timber for 1,000 feet, per cord 
4.32 	or per piece, as the case may be. In those cases any bids offered over and above the 
4.33 	appraised prices shall be by percentage, the percent bid to be added to the appraised price 
4.34 	of each of the different species of timber advertised on the land. The purchaser of timber 
4.35 	from the parcels shall pay in cash at the time of sale at the rate bid for all of the timber 
4.36 	shown in the notice of sale as estimated to be standing on the land, and in addition shall 
5.1 	pay at the same rate for any additional amounts which the final scale shows to have been 
5.2 	cut or was available for cutting on the land at the time of sale under the terms of the sale. 
5.3 	Where the final scale of cut products shows that less timber was cut or was available 
5.4 	for cutting under terms of the sale than was originally paid for, the excess payment 
5.5 	shall be refunded from the forfeited tax sale fund upon the claim of the purchaser, to be 
5.6 	audited and allowed by the county board as in case of other claims against the county. No 
5.7 	timber, except hardwood pulpwood, may be removed from the parcels of land or other 
5.8 	designated landings until scaled by a person or persons designated by the county board 
5.9 	and approved by the commissioner of natural resources. Landings other than the parcel 
5.10 	of land from which timber is cut may be designated for scaling by the county board by 
5.11 	written agreement with the purchaser of the timber. The county board may, by written 
5.12 	agreement with the purchaser and with a consumer designated by the purchaser when the 
5.13 	timber is sold by the county auditor, and with the approval of the commissioner of natural 
5.14 	resources, accept the consumer's scale of cut products delivered at the consumer's landing. 
5.15 	No timber shall be removed until fully paid for in cash. Small amounts of timber not 
5.16 	exceeding $3,000 in appraised valuation may be sold for not less than the full appraised 
5.17 	value at private sale to individual persons without first publishing notice of sale or calling 
5.18 	for bids, provided that in case of a sale involving a total appraised value of more than $200 
5.19 	the sale shall be made subject to final settlement on the basis of a scale of cut products in 
5.20 	the manner above provided and not more than two of the sales, directly or indirectly to any 
5.21 	individual shall be in effect at one time.
5.22 	(d) As directed by the county board, the county auditor may lease tax-forfeited land 
5.23 	to individuals, corporations or organized subdivisions of the state at public or private sale, 
5.24 	and at the prices and under the terms as the county board may prescribe, for use as cottage 
5.25 	and camp sites and for agricultural purposes and for the purpose of taking and removing of 
5.26 	hay, stumpage, sand, gravel, clay, rock, marl, and black dirt from the land, and for garden 
5.27 	sites and other temporary uses provided that no leases shall be for a period to exceed ten 
5.28 	years; provided, further that any leases involving a consideration of more than $12,000 per 
5.29 	year, except to an organized subdivision of the state shall first be offered at public sale in 
5.30 	the manner provided herein for sale of timber. Upon the sale of any leased land, it shall 
5.31 	remain subject to the lease for not to exceed one year from the beginning of the term of the 
5.32 	lease. Any rent paid by the lessee for the portion of the term cut off by the cancellation 
5.33 	shall be refunded from the forfeited tax sale fund upon the claim of the lessee, to be 
5.34 	audited and allowed by the county board as in case of other claims against the county.
5.35 	(e) As directed by the county board, the county auditor may lease tax-forfeited land 
5.36 	to individuals, corporations, or organized subdivisions of the state at public or private sale, 
6.1 	at the prices and under the terms as the county board may prescribe, for the purpose 
6.2 	of taking and removing for use for road construction and other purposes tax-forfeited 
6.3 	stockpiled iron-bearing material. The county auditor must determine that the material is 
6.4 	needed and suitable for use in the construction or maintenance of a road, tailings basin, 
6.5 	settling basin, dike, dam, bank fill, or other works on public or private property, and 
6.6 	that the use would be in the best interests of the public. No lease shall exceed ten years. 
6.7 	The use of a stockpile for these purposes must first be approved by the commissioner of 
6.8 	natural resources. The request shall be deemed approved unless the requesting county 
6.9 	is notified to the contrary by the commissioner of natural resources within six months 
6.10 	after receipt of a request for approval for use of a stockpile. Once use of a stockpile has 
6.11 	been approved, the county may continue to lease it for these purposes until approval is 
6.12 	withdrawn by the commissioner of natural resources.
6.13 	(f) The county auditor, with the approval of the county board is authorized to grant 
6.14 	permits, licenses, and leases to tax-forfeited lands for the depositing of stripping, lean 
6.15 	ores, tailings, or waste products from mines or ore milling plants, upon the conditions and 
6.16 	for the consideration and for the period of time, not exceeding 15 years, as the county 
6.17 	board may determine. The permits, licenses, or leases are subject to approval by the 
6.18 	commissioner of natural resources.
6.19 	(g) Any person who removes any timber from tax-forfeited land before said 
6.20 	timber has been scaled and fully paid for as provided in this subdivision is guilty of a 
6.21 	misdemeanor.
6.22 	(h) The county auditor may, with the approval of the county board, and without first 
6.23 	offering at public sale, grant leases, for a term not exceeding 25 years, for the removal 
6.24 	of peat and for the production or removal of farm-grown closed-loop biomass as defined 
6.25 	in section 216B.2424, subdivision 1, or short-rotation woody crops from tax-forfeited 
6.26 	lands upon the terms and conditions as the county board may prescribe. Any lease for 
6.27 	the removal of peat, farm-grown closed-loop biomass, or short-rotation woody crops 
6.28 	from tax-forfeited lands must first be reviewed and approved by the commissioner of 
6.29 	natural resources if the lease covers 320 or more acres. No lease for the removal of 
6.30 	peat, farm-grown closed-loop biomass, or short-rotation woody crops shall be made by 
6.31 	the county auditor pursuant to this section without first holding a public hearing on the 
6.32 	auditor's intention to lease. One printed notice in a legal newspaper in the county at least 
6.33 	ten days before the hearing, and posted notice in the courthouse at least 20 days before 
6.34 	the hearing shall be given of the hearing.
6.35 	(i) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (c) to the contrary, the St. Louis 
6.36 	County auditor may, at the discretion of the county board, sell timber to the party who 
7.1 	bids the highest price for all the several kinds of timber, as provided for sales by the 
7.2 	commissioner of natural resources under section 90.14. Bids offered over and above the 
7.3 	appraised price need not be applied proportionately to the appraised price of each of 
7.4 	the different species of timber.
7.5 	(j) In lieu of any payment or deposit required in paragraph (b), as directed by the 
7.6 	county board and under terms set by the county board, the county auditor may accept an 
7.7 	irrevocable bank letter of credit in the amount equal to the amount otherwise determined 
7.8 	in paragraph (b). If an irrevocable bank letter of credit is provided under this paragraph, 
7.9 	at the written request of the purchaser, the county may periodically allow the bank letter 
7.10 	of credit to be reduced by an amount proportionate to the value of timber that has been 
7.11 	harvested and for which the county has received payment. The remaining amount of 
7.12 	the bank letter of credit after a reduction under this paragraph must not be less than 20 
7.13 	percent of the value of the timber purchased. If an irrevocable bank letter of credit or 
7.14 	cash deposit is provided for the down payment required in paragraph (b), and no cutting 
7.15 	of timber has taken place on the contract for which a letter of credit has been provided, 
7.16 	the county may allow the transfer of the letter of credit to any other contract issued to the 
7.17 	contract holder by the county under this chapter to which the contract holder requests in 
7.18 	writing that it be credited.