1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to elections; establishing a voting equipment grant account; providing 
1.3 	for grants to counties and municipalities for the acquisition of certain authorized 
1.4 	voting equipment; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
1.5 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 206.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [206.95] VOTING EQUIPMENT GRANT ACCOUNT.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Voting equipment grant account. A voting equipment grant 
1.9 	account is established in the special revenue fund. Funds in the account are appropriated 
1.10 	to the secretary of state to provide grants to counties and municipalities as authorized by 
1.11 	this section. Funds in the account are available until expended.
1.12 		Subd. 2.Authorized equipment. (a) A county or municipal government may apply 
1.13 	to receive a grant under this section for the purchase or lease of the following:
1.14 	(1) an electronic voting system, or any individual components of an electronic 
1.15 	voting system as provided in section 206.56, subdivision 8;
1.16 	(2) assistive voting technology;
1.17 	(3) an electronic roster system meeting the technology requirements of section 
1.18 	201.225, subdivision 2; and
1.19 	(4) any other equipment or technology approved by the secretary of state for use in 
1.20 	conducting a state or local election in Minnesota consistent with the requirements of law.
1.21 	(b) A purchase or lease of equipment is eligible for a grant under this section if the 
1.22 	purchase is made, or lease entered, on or after July 1, 2016.
1.23 		Subd. 3.Amount of grant. Subject to subdivision 5, a county or municipal 
1.24 	government is eligible to receive a grant equal to no more than 75 percent of the total cost 
1.25 	of the eligible equipment. If the total amount of qualifying grant applications from all 
2.1 	counties and municipalities exceeds the total amount appropriated for the purpose of 
2.2 	awarding grants, the secretary of state must develop criteria for the fair, proportional 
2.3 	distribution of grants that considers, at a minimum, the following factors:
2.4 	(1) the number of voters likely to be served by the equipment;
2.5 	(2) the age and condition of any equipment proposed for replacement;
2.6 	(3) the need for equitable distribution of grant funds to both rural and urban counties 
2.7 	and municipalities; and
2.8 	(4) whether the county or municipal governing body has adopted a reasonable 
2.9 	long-term plan to address the maintenance, repair, and eventual replacement needs for 
2.10 	the equipment.
2.11 		Subd. 4.Application for grant; certification of costs. (a) To receive a grant, a 
2.12 	county or municipality must submit an application to the secretary of state. The secretary of 
2.13 	state shall prescribe a form for this purpose. At a minimum, the application must describe:
2.14 	(1) the type or types of equipment proposed for purchase or lease;
2.15 	(2) the expected total cost of the equipment, and sources of funding that will be used 
2.16 	for the purchase or lease in addition to the grant funding provided by this section;
2.17 	(3) the county's or municipality's plan to address the long-term maintenance, repair, 
2.18 	and eventual replacement costs for the equipment; and
2.19 	(4) any other information required by the secretary of state.
2.20 	(b) The secretary of state must establish a deadline for receipt of grant applications, 
2.21 	a procedure for awarding and distributing grants, and a process for verifying the proper 
2.22 	use of the grants after distribution.
2.23 		Subd. 5.Future grant awards limited; local savings plans authorized. After a 
2.24 	grant under this section has been awarded to a county or municipality, it is the intent of 
2.25 	the legislature that the state will contribute no more than 25 percent of the total cost 
2.26 	of future voting equipment purchases or leases by the same county or municipality. 
2.27 	Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, counties and municipalities are authorized to 
2.28 	establish appropriate accounts and reasonable dedicated funding mechanisms to establish 
2.29 	savings to be used for future voting equipment replacement needs.
2.30 		Subd. 6.Report to legislature. No later than January 15, 2017, and annually 
2.31 	thereafter until the appropriations provided for grants under this section have been 
2.32 	exhausted, the secretary of state must submit a report to the legislative committees with 
2.33 	jurisdiction over elections policy on grants awarded by this section. The report must detail 
2.34 	each grant awarded, including the jurisdiction, the amount of the grant, and the type 
2.35 	of equipment purchased.

3.1 	Sec. 2. VOTING EQUIPMENT GRANT ACCOUNT; APPROPRIATION.
 3.2 	$15,000,000 in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
3.3 	commissioner of management and budget for transfer into the voting equipment grant 
3.4 	account established by section 206.95, subdivision 1.