HF 1065

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/20/2013 03:34pm

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; creating the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks
and Trails Commission; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 10A.01,
subdivision 35; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 85.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 10A.01, subdivision 35, is amended to read:

Subd. 35.

Public official.

"Public official" means any:

(1) member of the legislature;

(2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative
auditor, chief clerk of the house of representatives, revisor of statutes, or researcher,
legislative analyst, or attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel and Research or House
Research;

(3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative
deputy;

(4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;

(5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state
department or agency as listed in section 15.01 or 15.06, or the state chief information
officer;

(6) member, chief administrative officer, or deputy chief administrative officer of a
state board or commission that has either the power to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under
chapter 14, or the power to adjudicate contested cases or appeals under chapter 14;

(7) individual employed in the executive branch who is authorized to adopt, amend,
or repeal rules under chapter 14 or adjudicate contested cases under chapter 14;

(8) executive director of the State Board of Investment;

(9) deputy of any official listed in clauses (7) and (8);

(10) judge of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals;

(11) administrative law judge or compensation judge in the State Office of
Administrative Hearings or unemployment law judge in the Department of Employment
and Economic Development;

(12) member, regional administrator, division director, general counsel, or operations
manager of the Metropolitan Council;

(13) member or chief administrator of a metropolitan agency;

(14) director of the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement in the
Department of Public Safety;

(15) member or executive director of the Higher Education Facilities Authority;

(16) member of the board of directors or president of Enterprise Minnesota, Inc.;

(17) member of the board of directors or executive director of the Minnesota State
High School League;

(18) member of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority established in section 473.755;

(19) citizen member of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources;

(20) manager of a watershed district, or member of a watershed management
organization as defined under section 103B.205, subdivision 13;

(21) supervisor of a soil and water conservation district;

(22) director of Explore Minnesota Tourism;

(23) citizen member of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council established
in section 97A.056;

(24) citizen member of the Clean Water Council established in section 114D.30; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(25) member or chief executive of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority
established in section 473J.07 new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (26) member of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission new text end .

Sec. 2.

new text begin [85.536] GREATER MINNESOTA REGIONAL PARKS AND TRAILS
COMMISSION.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Establishment; purpose. new text end

new text begin The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and
Trails Commission is created to undertake system planning and provide recommendations
to the legislature for grants funded by the parks and trails fund to counties and cities
outside of the seven-county metropolitan area for parks and trails of regional significance.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Commission. new text end

new text begin The commission shall include 12 members appointed by
the governor representing each of the regional parks and trails districts determined under
subdivision 3. Membership terms, compensation and removal of members, and filling of
vacancies are as provided in section 15.0575.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Districts; plans and hearings. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of natural resources,
in consultation with the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission,
shall establish 12 regional parks and trails districts in the state encompassing the area
outside the seven-county metropolitan area. The commissioner shall establish districts by
combining counties and may not assign a county to more than one district.
new text end

new text begin (b) Counties within each district may jointly prepare, after consultation with all
affected municipalities, and submit to the commission, and from time to time revise
and resubmit to the commission, a master plan for the acquisition and development of
parks and trails of regional significance located within the district. The counties, after
consultation with the commission, shall jointly hold a public hearing on the proposed plan
and budget at a time and place determined by the counties. Not less than 15 days before
the hearing, the counties shall provide notice of the hearing stating the date, time, and
place of the hearing, and the place where the proposed plan and budget may be examined
by any interested person. At any hearing, interested persons shall be permitted to present
their views on the plan and budget.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commission shall review each master plan to determine whether it meets
the conditions of subdivision 4. If it does not, the commission shall return the plan with
its comments to the district for revision and resubmittal.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Regional significance. new text end

new text begin For a park or trail to be considered of regional
significance under this section:
new text end

new text begin (1) the park or trail must be natural resource based;
new text end

new text begin (2) at least 30 percent of the park or trail user visits in a calendar year must be from
users who do not reside within the area of jurisdiction of the governmental unit that has
the financial and legal responsibility to own, operate, and maintain the park or trail;
new text end

new text begin (3) the total usage of the park or trail must exceed 20,000 visitors in a one-year period.
Park or trail attendance may be demonstrated by validated survey methods, actual user
data statistics, or another objective and quantifiable measure that is accurate and reliable;
new text end

new text begin (4) for parks, the park must be at least 100 acres in size; and
new text end

new text begin (5) for trails, the trail connects or will connect to existing state or regional trails as
demonstrated by the applicant.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Recommendations. new text end

new text begin (a) In recommending grants under this section, the
commission shall make recommendations consistent with master plans.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commission shall determine recommended grant amounts through an
adopted merit-based evaluation process that includes the level of local financial support.
The evaluation process is not subject to the rulemaking provisions of chapter 14 and
section 14.386 does not apply.
new text end

new text begin (c) When recommending grants, the commission shall consider balance of the grant
benefits across greater Minnesota. Grant requests offering a nonstate match of at least 25
percent of the total eligible project costs shall be preferred.
new text end

new text begin (d) Grants may be recommended only for:
new text end

new text begin (1) parks and trails included in a plan approved by the commission under subdivision
3; and
new text end

new text begin (2) trails that connect or will connect to existing state or regional trails as
demonstrated by the applicant.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Administration. new text end

new text begin The Department of Natural Resources shall provide
administrative support for the commission.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Chair. new text end

new text begin The commission shall annually elect from among its members a
chair and other officers necessary for the performance of its duties.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Meetings. new text end

new text begin The commission shall meet at least twice each year.
Commission meetings are subject to chapter 13D.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Conflict of interest. new text end

new text begin A member of the commission may not participate in
or vote on a decision of the commission relating to an organization in which the member
has either a direct or indirect financial interest.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this section, "commission" means the
Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission established under this section.
new text end