1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to natural resources; providing for disposition of receipts to the parks 
1.3 	and trails fund; establishing a grant program; requiring a report; appropriating 
1.4 	money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 85.53; proposing coding for 
1.5 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 85.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 85.53, is amended to read:
1.8 	85.53 PARKS AND TRAILS FUND.
1.9 		Subdivision 1.Fund established; purpose. The parks and trails fund is established 
1.10 	in the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 15. All money earned by the parks and 
1.11 	trails fund must be credited to the fund. 
1.12 		Subd. 2.Metropolitan area distribution formula. Money appropriated from the 
1.13 	parks and trails fund to the Metropolitan Council shall be distributed to implementing 
1.14 	agencies, as defined in section 473.351, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), as grants according 
1.15 	to the following formula:
1.16 	(1) 45 percent of the money must be disbursed according to the allocation formula in 
1.17 	section 473.351, subdivision 3, to each implementing agency;
1.18 	(2) 31.5 percent of the money must be distributed based on each implementing 
1.19 	agency's relative share of the most recent estimate of the population of the metropolitan 
1.20 	area;
1.21 	(3) 13.5 percent of the money must be distributed based on each implementing 
1.22 	agency's relative share of nonlocal visits based on the most recent user visitation survey 
1.23 	conducted by the Metropolitan Council; and
2.1 	(4) ten percent of the money must be distributed as grants to implementing agencies 
2.2 	for land acquisition within Metropolitan Council approved regional parks and trails master 
2.3 	plan boundaries under the council's park acquisition opportunity grant program. The 
2.4 	Metropolitan Council must provide a match of $2 of the council's park bonds for every $3 
2.5 	of state funds for the park acquisition opportunity grant program.
2.6 		Subd. 3.Signage. Recipients of money from the parks and trails fund must develop 
2.7 	and use appropriate signage and notices to the public that activities or projects funded 
2.8 	under this section are the results of the clean water, land, and legacy amendment to the 
2.9 	Minnesota Constitution adopted by the voters in November 2008.
2.10 		Subd. 4.Report required. The commissioner of natural resources and the chair of 
2.11 	the Metropolitan Council, with data provided by implementing agencies as defined under 
2.12 	section 473.351, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), must submit a report on the expenditure 
2.13 	and use of money distributed under subdivision 2 to the legislature by March 1 of each 
2.14 	year. The report must relate the expenditure of money by the categories established in 
2.15 	subdivision 2 and must detail the outcomes in terms of additional use of park or trail 
2.16 	resources, user satisfaction surveys, and other appropriate measurable outcomes.

2.17 	Sec. 2. [85.535] PARKS AND TRAILS LEGACY GRANT PROGRAM.
2.18 	The commissioner of natural resources shall administer a program to provide 
2.19 	grants from the parks and trails fund to support parks and trails of regional or statewide 
2.20 	significance.

2.21 	Sec. 3. STATE AND REGIONAL PARKS AND TRAILS FRAMEWORK.
 2.22 	(a) $....... in fiscal year 2010 is appropriated from the parks and trails fund to 
2.23 	the commissioner of natural resources for a collaborative project to develop a 25-year 
2.24 	framework for the use of the money available in the parks and trails fund under the 
2.25 	Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 15, and other traditional sources of funding. 
2.26 	The collaborative project shall consist of a joint effort between representatives of the 
2.27 	commissioner of natural resources, the Metropolitan Council and its implementing 
2.28 	agencies, the Central Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coordinating Board, and 
2.29 	regional parks and trails organizations outside the metropolitan area. The members shall 
2.30 	prepare a ten-year strategic parks and trails coordination plan and develop a 25-year 
2.31 	framework for use of the funding that includes goals and measurable outcomes and 
2.32 	includes a vision for Minnesotans of what the state and regional parks will look like in 
2.33 	25 years.
3.1 	(b) In developing the coordination plan and framework, the members shall utilize a 
3.2 	process, including Web site survey tools and regional listening sessions, to be staffed by 
3.3 	the commissioner, that ensures that citizens are included in development and finalization 
3.4 	of the final plan and framework. The commissioner, council, and board shall provide for 
3.5 	input from user groups and local and regional park and trail organizations.
3.6 	(c) The plan and framework must include:
3.7 	(1) a proposed definition of "parks and trails of regional significance";
3.8 	(2) a plan to increase the number of visitors to state and regional parks;
3.9 	(3) a plan for serving areas with limited access to state parks, including identifying 
3.10 	the potential for county collaboration;
3.11 	(4) budgeting for ongoing maintenance;
3.12 	(5) decommissions;
3.13 	(6) a plan for trails that takes into account connectivity and the potential for use 
3.14 	by commuters;
3.15 	(7) requirements for local contribution; and
3.16 	(8) benchmarks, beginning no later than July 1, 2014.
3.17 	(d) The commissioner shall submit the ten-year plan and 25-year framework in a 
3.18 	report to the legislature no later than October 1, 2010.