1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to natural resources; modifying permanent school fund provisions; 
1.3 	providing for disposition of proceeds from sale of administrative sites; modifying 
1.4 	certain requirements for environmental learning centers; appropriating money;
1.5 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 16A.06, by adding a subdivision; 
1.6 	84.027, by adding a subdivision; 84.0857; 84.0875; 94.16, subdivision 3; 
1.7 	127A.30.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 16A.06, is amended by adding a 
1.10 	subdivision to read:
1.11 		Subd. 10.Permanent school fund reporting. The commissioner shall biannually 
1.12 	report to the Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee and the legislature on the 
1.13 	management of the permanent school trust fund that shows how the commissioner 
1.14 	maximized the long-term economic return of the permanent school trust fund.

1.15 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 84.027, is amended by adding a subdivision 
1.16 	to read:
1.17 		Subd. 18.Permanent school fund authority; reporting. The commissioner of 
1.18 	natural resources has the authority and responsibility for the administration of school trust 
1.19 	lands under sections 92.121 and 127A.31. The commissioner shall biannually report to the 
1.20 	Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee and the legislature on the management of 
1.21 	the school trust lands that shows how the commissioner has and will continue to achieve 
1.22 	the following goals:
1.23 	(1) manage the school trust lands efficiently;
2.1 	(2) reduce the management expenditures of school trust lands and maximize the 
2.2 	revenues deposited in the permanent school trust fund;
2.3 	(3) manage the sale, exchange, and commercial leasing of school trust lands to 
2.4 	maximize the revenues deposited in the permanent school trust fund and retain the value 
2.5 	from the long-term appreciation of the school trust lands; and
2.6 	(4) manage the school trust lands to maximize the long-term economic return for the 
2.7 	permanent school trust fund while maintaining sound natural resource conservation and 
2.8 	management principals.

2.9 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 84.0857, is amended to read:
2.10 	84.0857 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT.
2.11 	(a) The commissioner of natural resources may bill organizational units within 
2.12 	the Department of Natural Resources for the costs of providing them with building and 
2.13 	infrastructure facilities. Costs billed may include modifications and adaptations to allow 
2.14 	for appropriate building occupancy, building code compliance, insurance, utility services, 
2.15 	maintenance, repair, and other direct costs as determined by the commissioner. Receipts 
2.16 	shall be credited to a special account in the state treasury and are appropriated to the 
2.17 	commissioner to pay the costs for which the billings were made.
2.18 	(b) Money deposited in the special account from the proceeds of a sale under 
2.19 	section 94.16, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), is appropriated to the commissioner to acquire 
2.20 	facilities or renovate existing buildings for administrative use or to acquire land for, 
2.21 	design, and construct administrative buildings for the Department of Natural Resources.

2.22 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 84.0875, is amended to read:
2.23 	84.0875 ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTERS.
2.24 	(a) The commissioner may acquire and better, or make grants to counties, home 
2.25 	rule charter or statutory cities, or school districts to acquire and better, residential 
2.26 	environmental learning centers where students may learn how to use, preserve, and 
2.27 	renew the natural resources of this state. A facility and reasonable access to it must be 
2.28 	owned by the state or a political subdivision but may be leased to or managed by a 
2.29 	nonprofit organization to carry out an environmental learning program established by the 
2.30 	commissioner. The lease or management agreement must comply with the requirements 
2.31 	of section 16A.695 and must provide for the procurement of liability insurance by the 
2.32 	nonprofit organization. A nonprofit organization that is operating an environmental 
2.33 	learning center under this section is a municipality for purposes of the liability limitations 
2.34 	of section 466.04 while acting within the scope of these activities. 
3.1 	(b) During the time the center is used for educational programs offered in 
3.2 	conjunction with a college or university, the rules and standards related to space 
3.3 	requirements are governed by section 144.74.

3.4 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 94.16, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
3.5 		Subd. 3.Proceeds from natural resources land. (a) Except as provided in 
3.6 	paragraph (b), the remainder of the proceeds from the sale of lands that were under the 
3.7 	control and supervision of the commissioner of natural resources shall be credited to the 
3.8 	land acquisition account in the natural resources fund.
3.9 	(b) The remainder of the proceeds from the sale of administrative sites under the 
3.10 	control and supervision of the commissioner of natural resources shall be credited to the 
3.11 	facilities management account established under section 84.0857 and used to acquire 
3.12 	facilities or renovate existing buildings for administrative use or to acquire land for, 
3.13 	design, and construct administrative buildings for the Department of Natural Resources.

3.14 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 127A.30, is amended to read:
3.15 	127A.30 PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
3.16 		Subdivision 1. Membership.  A state Permanent School Fund Advisory Committee 
3.17 	is established to advise the Department of Natural Resources on the management of 
3.18 	permanent school fund land, which is held in trust for the school districts of the state. The 
3.19 	advisory committee must consist of the following persons or their designees: the chairs of 
3.20 	the education committees of the legislature,: the chairs of the legislative committees with 
3.21 	jurisdiction over K-12 education policy and budget, the chairs of the legislative committees 
3.22 	with jurisdiction over environment and natural resources, the chairs chair of the senate 
3.23 	Committee on Finance and the chair of the house Committee on Ways and Means, the 
3.24 	commissioner of education or the commissioner's designee, one superintendent from a 
3.25 	nonmetropolitan district, and one superintendent from a metropolitan area district, one 
3.26 	person with an expertise in forestry, one person with an expertise in minerals and mining, 
3.27 	one person with an expertise in real estate development, one person with an expertise in 
3.28 	renewable energy, one person with an expertise in finance and land management, and 
3.29 	one person with an expertise in environment and natural resource conservation. The 
3.30 	school district superintendents shall be appointed by the commissioner of education, with 
3.31 	the advice of and after consultation with the chairs of the legislative committees with 
3.32 	jurisdiction over K-12 education policy and budget. The committee members with areas of 
3.33 	expertise in forestry, minerals and mining, real estate development, renewable energy, and 
3.34 	finance and land management shall be appointed by the commissioner of natural resources, 
4.1 	with the advice of and after consultation with the chairs of the legislative committees with 
4.2 	jurisdiction over environment and natural resources. Members of the legislature shall be 
4.3 	given the opportunity to recommend candidates for vacancies on the committee to the 
4.4 	commissioners of education and natural resources. The advisory committee must also 
4.5 	include a nonvoting professional staff person appointed by the commissioner of natural 
4.6 	resources, under section 84.027, subdivision 18. This nonvoting member shall provide 
4.7 	the committee with professional advice and technical support on issues of permanent 
4.8 	school fund land management. The members of the Permanent School Fund Advisory 
4.9 	Committee shall elect their chairperson.
4.10 		Subd. 2. Duties.  The advisory committee shall review the policies of the 
4.11 	Department of Natural Resources and current statutes on management of school trust fund 
4.12 	lands at least semiannually annually and shall recommend necessary changes in statutes, 
4.13 	policy, and implementation in order to ensure provident utilization of the permanent 
4.14 	school fund lands. By January 15 of each year, the advisory committee shall submit a 
4.15 	report and any necessary draft legislation to the legislature with recommendations for the 
4.16 	management of school trust lands to secure long-term economic return for the permanent 
4.17 	school fund, consistent with sections 92.121 and 127A.31. The committee's annual report 
4.18 	must include recommendations to:
4.19 	(1) improve the efficiency of the Department of Natural Resources' management of 
4.20 	school trust fund lands;
4.21 	(2) reduce expenditures that are used to manage school trust fund lands and 
4.22 	maximize the revenues deposited in the permanent school trust fund;
4.23 	(3) accelerate land exchanges, land sales, and commercial leasing of school trust 
4.24 	lands; and
4.25 	(4) manage the school trust lands to maximize the long-term economic return for 
4.26 	the permanent school trust fund.
4.27 		Subd. 3.Duration.  Notwithstanding section 15.059, subdivision 5, the advisory 
4.28 	committee is permanent and does not expire.