HF 2755

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; changing the amount of 
  1.3             certain grain buyers' bonds and certain financial 
  1.4             reporting requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2002, section 223.17, subdivision 6; Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 223.17, subdivision 
  1.7             4. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.10  223.17, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 4.  [BOND.] Before a grain buyer's license is issued, 
  1.12  the applicant for the license must file with the commissioner a 
  1.13  bond in a penal sum prescribed by the commissioner but not less 
  1.14  than the following amounts:  
  1.15     (a) $10,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.16  are $100,000 or less; 
  1.17     (b) $20,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.18  are more than $100,000 but not more than $750,000; 
  1.19     (c) $30,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.20  are more than $750,000 but not more than $1,500,000; 
  1.21     (d) $40,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.22  are more than $1,500,000 but not more than $3,000,000; and 
  1.23     (e) $50,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.24  exceed are more than $3,000,000 but not more than $6,000,000; 
  1.25     (f) $70,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  1.26  are more than $6,000,000 but not more than $12,000,000; 
  2.1      (g) $125,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  2.2   are more than $12,000,000 but not more than $24,000,000; and 
  2.3      (h) $150,000 for grain buyers whose gross annual purchases 
  2.4   exceed $24,000,000.  
  2.5      A grain buyer who has filed a bond with the commissioner 
  2.6   prior to July 1, 1983 2004, is not required to increase the 
  2.7   amount of the bond to comply with this section until July 1, 
  2.8   1984 2005.  The commissioner may postpone an increase in the 
  2.9   amount of the bond until July 1, 1985 2006, if a licensee 
  2.10  demonstrates that the increase will impose undue financial 
  2.11  hardship on the licensee, and that producers will not be harmed 
  2.12  as a result of the postponement.  The commissioner may impose 
  2.13  other restrictions on a licensee whose bond increase has been 
  2.14  postponed.  The amount of the bond shall be based on the most 
  2.15  recent financial statement of the grain buyer filed under 
  2.16  subdivision 6.  
  2.17     A first-time applicant for a grain buyer's license after 
  2.18  July 1, 1983 shall file a $20,000 $50,000 bond with the 
  2.19  commissioner.  This bond shall remain in effect for the first 
  2.20  year of the license.  Thereafter, the licensee shall comply with 
  2.21  the applicable bonding requirements contained in clauses (a) 
  2.22  to (e) (h). 
  2.23     In lieu of the bond required by this subdivision the 
  2.24  applicant may deposit with the commissioner of finance cash, a 
  2.25  certified check, a cashier's check, a postal, bank, or express 
  2.26  money order, assignable bonds or notes of the United States, or 
  2.27  an assignment of a bank savings account or investment 
  2.28  certificate or an irrevocable bank letter of credit as defined 
  2.29  in section 336.5-102, in the same amount as would be required 
  2.30  for a bond. 
  2.31     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 223.17, 
  2.32  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.33     Subd. 6.  [FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.] For the purpose of fixing 
  2.34  or changing the amount of a required bond or for any other 
  2.35  proper reason, the commissioner shall require an annual 
  2.36  financial statement from a licensee which has been prepared in 
  3.1   accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and 
  3.2   which meets the following requirements:  
  3.3      (a) The financial statement shall include, but not be 
  3.4   limited to the following:  (1) a balance sheet; (2) a statement 
  3.5   of income (profit and loss); (3) a statement of retained 
  3.6   earnings; (4) a statement of changes in financial position; and 
  3.7   (5) a statement of the dollar amount of grain purchased in the 
  3.8   previous fiscal year of the grain buyer.  
  3.9      (b) The financial statement shall be accompanied by a 
  3.10  compilation report of the financial statement which is reviewed 
  3.11  financial statement or audit prepared by a grain commission firm 
  3.12  or a management firm approved by the commissioner or by an 
  3.13  independent public accountant, in accordance with standards 
  3.14  established by the American Institute of Certified Public 
  3.15  Accountants.  
  3.16     (c) The financial statement shall be accompanied by a 
  3.17  certification by the chief executive officer or the chief 
  3.18  executive officer's designee of the licensee, under penalty of 
  3.19  perjury, that the financial statement accurately reflects the 
  3.20  financial condition of the licensee for the period specified in 
  3.21  the statement. 
  3.22     Only one financial statement must be filed for a chain of 
  3.23  warehouses owned or operated as a single business entity, unless 
  3.24  otherwise required by the commissioner.  Any grain buyer having 
  3.25  a net worth in excess of $500,000,000 need not file the 
  3.26  financial statement required by this subdivision but must 
  3.27  provide the commissioner with a certified net worth statement. 
  3.28  All financial statements filed with the commissioner are private 
  3.29  or nonpublic data as provided in section 13.02. 
  3.30     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.31     Section 1 is effective July 1, 2004.