HF 4290
Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)
Posted on 03/16/2026 03:08 p.m.
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A bill for an act
relating to local government; allowing counties to designate certain agricultural
lands as unsuitable for electric power facilities; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 394.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
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[394.306] AGRICULTURAL PRIORITY LAND LIST.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Definitions. new text end
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(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
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(b) "Commission" means the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
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(c) "CPI rating" means the crop productivity index rating assigned by the most recent
version of the Web Soil Survey conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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(d) "Large electric power generating plant" has the meaning given in section 216I.02,
subdivision 9.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Creation of agricultural priority land list. new text end
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(a) Any county may designate
parcels of land within the county's boundaries as agricultural priority land and place the
land on an agricultural priority land list.
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(b) A parcel qualifies for a county's agricultural priority land list if:
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(1) more than 50 percent of the land area of the parcel has a CPI rating of more than 75;
or
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(2) the parcel has been improved with irrigation or drainage and has been classified by
the Natural Resources Conservation Service as prime farmland if irrigated, or prime farmland
if drained.
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(c) The priority land list must include the total acreage within the county designated as
agricultural priority land and, if revised, specific reasons for the revisions. The priority land
list also must include the following information regarding each included parcel:
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(1) the legal description of the parcel;
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(2) the CPI rating of the parcel, or the estimated yield of the parcel if qualified under
paragraph (b), clause (2); and
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(3) the total acreage of the parcel.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Submission of list; landowner opt-out. new text end
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(a) A county that has created an
agricultural priority land list must submit the list to the commission. The commission must
acknowledge receipt of the list in writing within 30 days. A county may submit a revised
list to the commission within one year of the county's initial submission. A county thereafter
must submit a revised list to the commission every five years on the calendar date the county
received an initial acknowledgment from the commission. The county must inform the
commission in writing if the county has no revision to the list.
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(b) Ninety days before initial submission, and 90 days before submission of any revised
list, a county must notify by certified mail all private owners of parcels the county intends
to include on the list. The mailing to private owners must include a map showing potentially
included parcels, an advisory of an owner's right to opt-out a parcel from inclusion,
instructions on how to advise the county of an opt-out, and the opt-out deadline. A private
owner who intends to opt-out a parcel must contact the county at least 30 days before the
county submits a list to the commission.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Effect of list on site permits. new text end
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(a) Notwithstanding sections 216I.03 and 216I.18,
after a county submits a priority land list to the commission, the commission must not issue
a site permit for a large electric power generating plant located on a parcel included on a
county's priority land list except as expressly provided in paragraph (b).
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(b) The commission may issue a site permit for a large electric power generating plant
located on a parcel included on a county's priority land list if the county board of
commissioners passes a resolution consenting to the permit.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective January 1, 2027.
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