HF 3506

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; codifying reorganization 
  1.3             order No. 181; transferring the remaining duties of 
  1.4             the commissioner of public service to the commissioner 
  1.5             of commerce; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.6             sections 13.692; 15.01; 15.06, subdivision 1; 
  1.7             15A.0815, subdivision 2; 16B.56, subdivision 1; 
  1.8             16B.76, subdivision 1; 17.86, subdivision 3; 18.024, 
  1.9             subdivision 1; 45.012; 93.38; 103F.325, subdivisions 2 
  1.10            and 3; 116O.06, subdivision 2; 123B.65, subdivisions 
  1.11            1, 3, and 5; 161.45, subdivision 1; 168.61, 
  1.12            subdivision 1; 169.073; 174.03, subdivision 7; 181.30; 
  1.13            216A.01; 216A.035; 216A.036; 216A.05, subdivision 1; 
  1.14            216A.07, subdivision 1; 216A.08; 216A.085, subdivision 
  1.15            3; 216B.02, subdivisions 1, 7, and 8; 216B.16, 
  1.16            subdivisions 1, 2, and 15; 216B.162, subdivisions 7 
  1.17            and 11; 216B.1675, subdivision 9; 216C.01, 
  1.18            subdivisions 1, 2, and 3; 216C.051, subdivision 6; 
  1.19            216C.37, subdivision 1; 216C.40, subdivision 4; 
  1.20            237.02; 237.075, subdivisions 2 and 9; 237.082; 
  1.21            237.21; 237.30; 237.51, subdivisions 1 and 5; 237.52, 
  1.22            subdivisions 2, 4, and 5; 237.54, subdivision 2; 
  1.23            237.55; 237.59, subdivision 2; 237.768; 239.01; 
  1.24            325E.115, subdivision 2; 326.243; and 484.50; 
  1.25            Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 3C.12, 
  1.26            subdivision 2; 16B.32, subdivision 2; 16B.335, 
  1.27            subdivision 4; 43A.08, subdivision 1a; 115A.15, 
  1.28            subdivision 5; 216B.16, subdivision 6b; 216B.241, 
  1.29            subdivisions 1a, 1b, and 2b; 216C.19, subdivision 8; 
  1.30            216C.195, subdivision 1; 237.462, subdivision 6; 
  1.31            237.51, subdivision 5a; and 325E.11; repealing 
  1.32            Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 216A.06; and 237.69, 
  1.33            subdivision 3. 
  1.34  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.35     Section 1.  [CONSOLIDATION OF STATE REGULATION OF 
  1.36  COMMERCE.] 
  1.37     In order to make state government more efficient and 
  1.38  effective and to accomplish more efficient and effective 
  1.39  regulation of commerce in Minnesota, all of the powers, rights, 
  2.1   responsibilities, and duties that remain in the department of 
  2.2   public service after reorganization order No. 181 are 
  2.3   transferred to the department of commerce under Minnesota 
  2.4   Statutes, section 15.039.  This transfer is governed in all 
  2.5   respects by Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039.  The department 
  2.6   of public service is abolished. 
  2.7      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 3C.12, 
  2.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.9      Subd. 2.  [FREE DISTRIBUTION.] The revisor shall distribute 
  2.10  without charge copies of each edition of Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.11  supplements to Minnesota Statutes, and Laws of Minnesota to the 
  2.12  persons or bodies listed in this subdivision.  Before 
  2.13  distributing the copies, the revisor shall inform these persons 
  2.14  or bodies of the cost of the publication and the availability of 
  2.15  statutes and session laws on the Internet, and shall ask whether 
  2.16  their work requires the full number of copies authorized by this 
  2.17  subdivision.  Unless a smaller number is needed, the revisor 
  2.18  shall distribute:  
  2.19     (a) 30 copies to the supreme court; 
  2.20     (b) 30 copies to the court of appeals; 
  2.21     (c) one copy to each judge of a district court; 
  2.22     (d) one copy to the court administrator of each district 
  2.23  court for use in each courtroom of the district court; 
  2.24     (e) one copy to each judge, district attorney, clerk of 
  2.25  court of the United States, and deputy clerk of each division of 
  2.26  the United States district court in Minnesota; 
  2.27     (f) 100 copies to the office of the attorney general; 
  2.28     (g) ten copies each to the governor's office, the 
  2.29  departments of agriculture, commerce, corrections, children, 
  2.30  families, and learning, finance, health, transportation, labor 
  2.31  and industry, economic security, natural resources, public 
  2.32  safety, public service, human services, revenue, and the 
  2.33  pollution control agency; 
  2.34     (h) two copies each to the lieutenant governor and the 
  2.35  state treasurer; 
  2.36     (i) 20 copies each to the department departments of 
  3.1   administration and commerce, state auditor, and legislative 
  3.2   auditor; 
  3.3      (j) one copy each to other state departments, agencies, 
  3.4   boards, and commissions not specifically named in this 
  3.5   subdivision; 
  3.6      (k) one copy to each member of the legislature; 
  3.7      (l) 150 copies for the use of the senate and 200 copies for 
  3.8   the use of the house of representatives; 
  3.9      (m) 50 copies to the revisor of statutes from which the 
  3.10  revisor shall send the appropriate number to the Library of 
  3.11  Congress for copyright and depository purposes; 
  3.12     (n) four copies to the secretary of the senate; 
  3.13     (o) four copies to the chief clerk of the house of 
  3.14  representatives; 
  3.15     (p) 100 copies to the state law library; 
  3.16     (q) 100 copies to the law school of the University of 
  3.17  Minnesota; 
  3.18     (r) five copies each to the Minnesota historical society 
  3.19  and the secretary of state; 
  3.20     (s) one copy each to the public library of the largest 
  3.21  municipality of each county if the library is not otherwise 
  3.22  eligible to receive a free copy under this section or section 
  3.23  15.18; and 
  3.24     (t) one copy to each county library maintained pursuant to 
  3.25  chapter 134, except in counties containing cities of the first 
  3.26  class.  If a county has not established a county library 
  3.27  pursuant to chapter 134, the copy shall be provided to any 
  3.28  public library in the county. 
  3.29     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.692, is 
  3.30  amended to read: 
  3.31     13.692 [DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DATA.] 
  3.32     Subdivision 1.  [TENANT.] Data collected by the department 
  3.33  of public service commissioner of commerce that reveals the 
  3.34  identity of a tenant who makes a complaint regarding energy 
  3.35  efficiency standards for rental housing are private data on 
  3.36  individuals.  
  4.1      Subd. 2.  [UTILITY OR TELEPHONE COMPANY EMPLOYEE OR 
  4.2   CUSTOMER.] (a) The following are private data on individuals:  
  4.3   data collected by the department of public service commissioner 
  4.4   of commerce or the public utilities commission, including the 
  4.5   names or any other data that would reveal the identity of either 
  4.6   an employee or customer of a telephone company or public utility 
  4.7   who files a complaint or provides information regarding a 
  4.8   violation or suspected violation by the telephone company or 
  4.9   public utility of any federal or state law or rule; except this 
  4.10  data may be released as needed to law enforcement authorities. 
  4.11     (b) The following are private data on individuals:  data 
  4.12  collected by the commission or the department of public service 
  4.13  commissioner of commerce on individual public utility or 
  4.14  telephone company customers or prospective customers, including 
  4.15  copies of tax forms, needed to administer federal or state 
  4.16  programs that provide relief from telephone company bills, 
  4.17  public utility bills, or cold weather disconnection.  The 
  4.18  determination of eligibility of the customers or prospective 
  4.19  customers may be released to public utilities or telephone 
  4.20  companies to administer the programs. 
  4.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 15.01, is amended 
  4.22  to read: 
  4.23     15.01 [DEPARTMENTS OF THE STATE.] 
  4.24     The following agencies are designated as the departments of 
  4.25  the state government:  the department of administration; the 
  4.26  department of agriculture; the department of commerce; the 
  4.27  department of corrections; the department of children, families, 
  4.28  and learning; the department of economic security; the 
  4.29  department of trade and economic development; the department of 
  4.30  finance; the department of health; the department of human 
  4.31  rights; the department of labor and industry; the department of 
  4.32  military affairs; the department of natural resources; the 
  4.33  department of employee relations; the department of public 
  4.34  safety; the department of public service; the department of 
  4.35  human services; the department of revenue; the department of 
  4.36  transportation; the department of veterans affairs; and their 
  5.1   successor departments. 
  5.2      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 15.06, 
  5.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.4      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] This section applies to 
  5.5   the following departments or agencies:  the departments of 
  5.6   administration, agriculture, commerce, corrections, economic 
  5.7   security, children, families, and learning, employee relations, 
  5.8   trade and economic development, finance, health, human rights, 
  5.9   labor and industry, natural resources, public safety, public 
  5.10  service, human services, revenue, transportation, and veterans 
  5.11  affairs; the housing finance and pollution control agencies; the 
  5.12  office of commissioner of iron range resources and 
  5.13  rehabilitation; the bureau of mediation services; and their 
  5.14  successor departments and agencies.  The heads of the foregoing 
  5.15  departments or agencies are "commissioners." 
  5.16     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 15A.0815, 
  5.17  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.18     Subd. 2.  [GROUP I SALARY LIMITS.] The salaries for 
  5.19  positions in this subdivision may not exceed 85 percent of the 
  5.20  salary of the governor:  
  5.21     Commissioner of administration; 
  5.22     Commissioner of agriculture; 
  5.23     Commissioner of children, families, and learning; 
  5.24     Commissioner of commerce; 
  5.25     Commissioner of corrections; 
  5.26     Commissioner of economic security; 
  5.27     Commissioner of employee relations; 
  5.28     Commissioner of finance; 
  5.29     Commissioner of health; 
  5.30     Executive director, higher education services office; 
  5.31     Commissioner, housing finance agency; 
  5.32     Commissioner of human rights; 
  5.33     Commissioner of human services; 
  5.34     Executive director, state board of investment; 
  5.35     Commissioner of labor and industry; 
  5.36     Commissioner of natural resources; 
  6.1      Director of office of strategic and long-range planning; 
  6.2      Commissioner, pollution control agency; 
  6.3      Commissioner of public safety; 
  6.4      Commissioner, department of public service; 
  6.5      Commissioner of revenue; 
  6.6      Commissioner of trade and economic development; 
  6.7      Commissioner of transportation; and 
  6.8      Commissioner of veterans affairs. 
  6.9      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  6.10  16B.32, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  6.11     Subd. 2.  [ENERGY CONSERVATION GOALS; EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.] 
  6.12  (a) The commissioner of administration in consultation with 
  6.13  the department of public service commissioner of commerce, in 
  6.14  cooperation with one or more public utilities or comprehensive 
  6.15  energy services providers, may conduct a shared-savings program 
  6.16  involving energy conservation expenditures on state-owned 
  6.17  buildings.  The public utility or energy services provider shall 
  6.18  contract with appropriate state agencies to implement energy 
  6.19  efficiency improvements in the selected buildings.  A contract 
  6.20  must require the public utility or energy services provider to 
  6.21  include all energy efficiency improvements in selected buildings 
  6.22  that are calculated to achieve a cost payback within ten years.  
  6.23  The contract must require that the public utility or energy 
  6.24  services provider be repaid solely from energy cost savings and 
  6.25  only to the extent of energy cost savings.  Repayments must be 
  6.26  interest-free.  The goal of the program in this paragraph is to 
  6.27  demonstrate that through effective energy conservation the total 
  6.28  energy consumption per square foot of state-owned and wholly 
  6.29  state-leased buildings could be reduced by at least 25 percent 
  6.30  from consumption in the base year of 1990.  All agencies 
  6.31  participating in the program must report to the commissioner of 
  6.32  administration their monthly energy usage, building schedules, 
  6.33  inventory of energy-consuming equipment, and other information 
  6.34  as needed by the commissioner to manage and evaluate the program.
  6.35     (b) The commissioner may exclude from the program of 
  6.36  paragraph (a) a building in which energy conservation measures 
  7.1   are carried out.  "Energy conservation measures" means measures 
  7.2   that are applied to a state building that improve energy 
  7.3   efficiency and have a simple return of investment in ten years 
  7.4   or within the remaining period of a lease, whichever time is 
  7.5   shorter, and involves energy conservation, conservation 
  7.6   facilities, renewable energy sources, improvements in operations 
  7.7   and maintenance efficiencies, or retrofit activities. 
  7.8      (c) This subdivision expires January 1, 2001. 
  7.9      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  7.10  16B.335, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  7.11     Subd. 4.  [ENERGY CONSERVATION.] A recipient to whom a 
  7.12  direct appropriation is made for a capital improvement project 
  7.13  shall ensure that the project complies with the applicable 
  7.14  energy conservation standards contained in law, including 
  7.15  sections 216C.19 to 216C.20, and rules adopted thereunder.  The 
  7.16  recipient may use the energy planning and intervention and 
  7.17  energy technologies units of the department of public service to 
  7.18  obtain information and technical assistance from the state 
  7.19  energy office in the department of commerce on energy 
  7.20  conservation and alternative energy development relating to the 
  7.21  planning and construction of the capital improvement project. 
  7.22     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 16B.56, 
  7.23  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  7.24     Subdivision 1.  [EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.] (a) 
  7.25  [ESTABLISHMENT.] To conserve energy and alleviate traffic 
  7.26  congestion around state offices, the commissioner shall, in 
  7.27  cooperation with the commissioner of public service, the 
  7.28  commissioner of transportation, the state energy office in the 
  7.29  department of commerce, and interested nonprofit agencies, 
  7.30  establish and operate an employee transportation program using 
  7.31  commuter vans with a capacity of not less than seven nor more 
  7.32  than 16 passengers.  Commuter vans may be used by state 
  7.33  employees and others to travel between their homes and their 
  7.34  work locations.  However, only state employee drivers may use 
  7.35  the van for personal purposes after working hours, not including 
  7.36  partisan political activity.  The commissioner shall acquire or 
  8.1   lease commuter vans, or otherwise contract for the provision of 
  8.2   commuter vans, and shall make the vans available for the use of 
  8.3   state employees and others in accordance with standards and 
  8.4   procedures adopted by the commissioner.  The commissioner shall 
  8.5   promote the maximum participation of state employees and others 
  8.6   in the use of the vans.  
  8.7      (b) [ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES.] The commissioner shall adopt 
  8.8   standards and procedures under this section without regard to 
  8.9   chapter 14.  The commissioner shall provide for the recovery by 
  8.10  the state of vehicle acquisition, lease, operation, and 
  8.11  insurance costs through efficient and convenient assignment of 
  8.12  vans, and for the billing of costs and collection of fees.  A 
  8.13  state employee using a van for personal use shall pay, pursuant 
  8.14  to the standards and procedures adopted by the commissioner, for 
  8.15  operating and routine maintenance costs incurred as a result of 
  8.16  the personal use.  Fees collected under this subdivision shall 
  8.17  be deposited in the accounts from which the costs of operating, 
  8.18  maintaining, and leasing or amortization for the specific 
  8.19  vehicle are paid.  
  8.20     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 16B.76, 
  8.21  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  8.22     Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] (a) The construction codes 
  8.23  advisory council consists of the following members: 
  8.24     (1) the commissioner of administration or the 
  8.25  commissioner's designee representing the department's building 
  8.26  codes and standards division; 
  8.27     (2) the commissioner of health or the commissioner's 
  8.28  designee representing an environmental health section of the 
  8.29  department; 
  8.30     (3) the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's 
  8.31  designee representing the department's state fire marshal 
  8.32  division; 
  8.33     (4) the commissioner of public service commerce or the 
  8.34  commissioner's designee representing the department's energy 
  8.35  regulation and resource management division state energy office; 
  8.36  and 
  9.1      (5) one member representing each of the following 
  9.2   occupations or entities, appointed by the commissioner of 
  9.3   administration: 
  9.4      (i) a certified building official; 
  9.5      (ii) a fire service representative; 
  9.6      (iii) a licensed architect; 
  9.7      (iv) a licensed engineer; 
  9.8      (v) a building owners and managers representative; 
  9.9      (vi) a licensed residential building contractor; 
  9.10     (vii) a commercial building contractor; 
  9.11     (viii) a heating and ventilation contractor; 
  9.12     (ix) a plumbing contractor; 
  9.13     (x) a representative of a construction and building trades 
  9.14  union; and 
  9.15     (xi) a local unit of government representative. 
  9.16     (b) For members who are not state officials or employees, 
  9.17  terms, compensation, removal, and the filling of vacancies are 
  9.18  governed by section 15.059.  The council shall select one of its 
  9.19  members to serve as chair. 
  9.20     (c) The council expires June 30, 2001. 
  9.21     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 17.86, 
  9.22  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  9.23     Subd. 3.  [INFORMATION.] The University of Minnesota 
  9.24  extension service, in cooperation with the commissioners of 
  9.25  agriculture, children, families, and learning, natural 
  9.26  resources, and public service commerce, shall serve as the 
  9.27  principal agency for publishing and circulating information 
  9.28  derived from research under subdivision 2 among the various 
  9.29  municipalities and individual property owners in the state.  
  9.30  Where practical, the extension service and the state energy 
  9.31  office in the department of public service commerce shall secure 
  9.32  the advice and assistance of various energy utilities interested 
  9.33  and concerned with conservation.  The commissioner of 
  9.34  agriculture shall establish an information source for requests 
  9.35  for nursery stock, to match needs of municipalities with stocks 
  9.36  of trees available for planting from private and governmental 
 10.1   sources.  
 10.2      Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 18.024, 
 10.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 10.4      Subdivision 1.  [WOOD UTILIZATION.] The departments of 
 10.5   agriculture and natural resources, after consultation with the 
 10.6   Minnesota shade tree advisory committee and the commissioner of 
 10.7   public service state energy office in the department of 
 10.8   commerce, shall investigate, evaluate, and make recommendations 
 10.9   to the legislature concerning the potential uses of wood from 
 10.10  community trees removed due to disease or other disorders.  
 10.11  These recommendations shall include maximum resource recovery 
 10.12  through recycling, use as an alternative energy source, or use 
 10.13  in construction or the manufacture of new products.  Wood 
 10.14  utilization or disposal systems as defined in section 18.023 
 10.15  must be included to ensure maximum utilization of diseased shade 
 10.16  trees with designs and procedures to ensure public safety and to 
 10.17  assure compliance with approved disease control programs. 
 10.18     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 10.19  43A.08, subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
 10.20     Subd. 1a.  [ADDITIONAL UNCLASSIFIED POSITIONS.] Appointing 
 10.21  authorities for the following agencies may designate additional 
 10.22  unclassified positions according to this subdivision:  the 
 10.23  departments of administration; agriculture; commerce; 
 10.24  corrections; economic security; children, families, and 
 10.25  learning; employee relations; trade and economic development; 
 10.26  finance; health; human rights; labor and industry; natural 
 10.27  resources; public safety; public service; human services; 
 10.28  revenue; transportation; and veterans affairs; the housing 
 10.29  finance and pollution control agencies; the state lottery; the 
 10.30  state board of investment; the office of administrative 
 10.31  hearings; the office of environmental assistance; the offices of 
 10.32  the attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, and 
 10.33  state treasurer; the Minnesota state colleges and universities; 
 10.34  the higher education services office; the Perpich center for 
 10.35  arts education; and the Minnesota zoological board. 
 10.36     A position designated by an appointing authority according 
 11.1   to this subdivision must meet the following standards and 
 11.2   criteria:  
 11.3      (1) the designation of the position would not be contrary 
 11.4   to other law relating specifically to that agency; 
 11.5      (2) the person occupying the position would report directly 
 11.6   to the agency head or deputy agency head and would be designated 
 11.7   as part of the agency head's management team; 
 11.8      (3) the duties of the position would involve significant 
 11.9   discretion and substantial involvement in the development, 
 11.10  interpretation, and implementation of agency policy; 
 11.11     (4) the duties of the position would not require primarily 
 11.12  personnel, accounting, or other technical expertise where 
 11.13  continuity in the position would be important; 
 11.14     (5) there would be a need for the person occupying the 
 11.15  position to be accountable to, loyal to, and compatible with, 
 11.16  the governor and the agency head, the employing statutory board 
 11.17  or commission, or the employing constitutional officer; 
 11.18     (6) the position would be at the level of division or 
 11.19  bureau director or assistant to the agency head; and 
 11.20     (7) the commissioner has approved the designation as being 
 11.21  consistent with the standards and criteria in this subdivision. 
 11.22     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 45.012, is 
 11.23  amended to read: 
 11.24     45.012 [COMMISSIONER.] 
 11.25     (a) The department of commerce is under the supervision and 
 11.26  control of the commissioner of commerce.  The commissioner is 
 11.27  appointed by the governor in the manner provided by section 
 11.28  15.06.  
 11.29     (b) Data that is received by the commissioner or the 
 11.30  commissioner's designee by virtue of membership or participation 
 11.31  in an association, group, or organization that is not otherwise 
 11.32  subject to chapter 13 is confidential or protected nonpublic 
 11.33  data but may be shared with the department employees as the 
 11.34  commissioner considers appropriate.  The commissioner may 
 11.35  release the data to any person, agency, or the public if the 
 11.36  commissioner determines that the access will aid the law 
 12.1   enforcement process, promote public health or safety, or dispel 
 12.2   widespread rumor or unrest.  
 12.3      (c) It is part of the department's mission that within the 
 12.4   department's resources the commissioner shall endeavor to: 
 12.5      (1) prevent the waste or unnecessary spending of public 
 12.6   money; 
 12.7      (2) use innovative fiscal and human resource practices to 
 12.8   manage the state's resources and operate the department as 
 12.9   efficiently as possible; 
 12.10     (3) coordinate the department's activities wherever 
 12.11  appropriate with the activities of other governmental agencies; 
 12.12     (4) use technology where appropriate to increase agency 
 12.13  productivity, improve customer service, increase public access 
 12.14  to information about government, and increase public 
 12.15  participation in the business of government; 
 12.16     (5) utilize constructive and cooperative labor-management 
 12.17  practices to the extent otherwise required by chapters 43A and 
 12.18  179A; 
 12.19     (6) report to the legislature on the performance of agency 
 12.20  operations and the accomplishment of agency goals in the 
 12.21  agency's biennial budget according to section 16A.10, 
 12.22  subdivision 1; and 
 12.23     (7) recommend to the legislature appropriate changes in law 
 12.24  necessary to carry out the mission and improve the performance 
 12.25  of the department. 
 12.26     (d) The commissioner also has all the powers and 
 12.27  responsibilities and shall perform all the duties previously 
 12.28  assigned to the commissioner of public service and the 
 12.29  department of public service under chapters 216, 216A, 216B, 
 12.30  216C, 237, 238, 239, and other statutes prior to the date of 
 12.31  final enactment of this act, except in the case where those 
 12.32  powers, responsibilities, or duties have been specifically 
 12.33  otherwise assigned by law. 
 12.34     Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 93.38, is 
 12.35  amended to read: 
 12.36     93.38 [EXPENSE PAID BY LESSEE.] 
 13.1      The lessee, assignee, or sublessee shall, at the sole cost 
 13.2   and expense of the lessee, assignee, or sublessee, install and 
 13.3   maintain all necessary scales, tracks, buildings, records, and 
 13.4   supplies necessary or expedient in conducting such weighing; and 
 13.5   the scales so installed shall conform to the types approved by 
 13.6   the department of public service commerce through the division 
 13.7   of weights and measures.  
 13.8      Sec. 16.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 103F.325, 
 13.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 13.10     Subd. 2.  [REVIEW AND HEARING.] (a) The commissioner shall 
 13.11  make the proposed management plan available to affected local 
 13.12  governmental bodies, shoreland owners, conservation and outdoor 
 13.13  recreation groups, the commissioner of trade and economic 
 13.14  development, the commissioner of public service commerce, the 
 13.15  governor, and the general public.  The commissioners of trade 
 13.16  and economic development and of public service, the state energy 
 13.17  office in the department of commerce, and the governor shall 
 13.18  review the proposed management plan in accordance with the 
 13.19  criteria in section 86A.09, subdivision 3, and submit any 
 13.20  written comments to the commissioner within 60 days after 
 13.21  receipt of the proposed management plan.  
 13.22     (b) By 60 days after making the information available, the 
 13.23  commissioner shall conduct a public hearing on the proposed 
 13.24  management plan in the county seat of each county that contains 
 13.25  a portion of the designated system area, in the manner provided 
 13.26  in chapter 14.  
 13.27     Sec. 17.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 103F.325, 
 13.28  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 13.29     Subd. 3.  [POST HEARING REVIEW.] Upon receipt of the 
 13.30  administrative law judge's report, the commissioner shall 
 13.31  immediately forward the proposed management plan and the 
 13.32  administrative law judge's report to the commissioners of trade 
 13.33  and economic development and of public service commerce for 
 13.34  review under section 86A.09, subdivision 3, except that the 
 13.35  review by the commissioners must be completed or be deemed 
 13.36  completed within 30 days after receiving the administrative law 
 14.1   judge's report, and the review by the governor must be completed 
 14.2   or be deemed completed within 15 days after receipt.  
 14.3      Sec. 18.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 14.4   115A.15, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 14.5      Subd. 5.  [REPORTS.] (a) By January 1 of each odd-numbered 
 14.6   year, the commissioner of administration shall submit a report 
 14.7   to the governor and to the environment and natural resources 
 14.8   committees of the senate and house of representatives, the 
 14.9   finance division of the senate committee on environment and 
 14.10  natural resources, and the house of representatives committee on 
 14.11  environment and natural resources finance summarizing past 
 14.12  activities and proposed goals of the program for the following 
 14.13  biennium.  The report shall include at least: 
 14.14     (1) a summary list of product and commodity purchases that 
 14.15  contain recycled materials; 
 14.16     (2) the results of any performance tests conducted on 
 14.17  recycled products and agencies' experience with recycled 
 14.18  products used; 
 14.19     (3) a list of all organizations participating in and using 
 14.20  the cooperative purchasing program; and 
 14.21     (4) a list of products and commodities purchased for their 
 14.22  recyclability and of recycled products reviewed for purchase. 
 14.23     (b) By July 1 of each even-numbered year, the director of 
 14.24  the office of environmental assistance and the commissioner of 
 14.25  public service commerce through the state energy office shall 
 14.26  submit recommendations to the commissioner regarding the 
 14.27  operation of the program. 
 14.28     Sec. 19.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 116O.06, 
 14.29  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 14.30     Subd. 2.  [EQUITY INVESTMENTS.] The corporation may acquire 
 14.31  an interest in a product or a private business entity, except 
 14.32  that the corporation may not acquire an interest in a business 
 14.33  entity engaged in a trade or industry whose profits are directly 
 14.34  regulated by the commissioner of commerce or the department of 
 14.35  public service public utilities commission.  The corporation may 
 14.36  enter into joint venture agreements with other private 
 15.1   corporations to promote economic development and job creation.  
 15.2      Sec. 20.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.65, 
 15.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 15.4      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] The definitions in this 
 15.5   subdivision apply to this section. 
 15.6      (a) "Energy conservation measure" means a training program 
 15.7   or facility alteration designed to reduce energy consumption or 
 15.8   operating costs and includes: 
 15.9      (1) insulation of the building structure and systems within 
 15.10  the building; 
 15.11     (2) storm windows and doors, caulking or weatherstripping, 
 15.12  multiglazed windows and doors, heat absorbing or heat reflective 
 15.13  glazed and coated window and door systems, additional glazing, 
 15.14  reductions in glass area, and other window and door system 
 15.15  modifications that reduce energy consumption; 
 15.16     (3) automatic energy control systems; 
 15.17     (4) heating, ventilating, or air conditioning system 
 15.18  modifications or replacements; 
 15.19     (5) replacement or modifications of lighting fixtures to 
 15.20  increase the energy efficiency of the lighting system without 
 15.21  increasing the overall illumination of a facility, unless such 
 15.22  increase in illumination is necessary to conform to the 
 15.23  applicable state or local building code for the lighting system 
 15.24  after the proposed modifications are made; 
 15.25     (6) energy recovery systems; 
 15.26     (7) cogeneration systems that produce steam or forms of 
 15.27  energy such as heat, as well as electricity, for use primarily 
 15.28  within a building or complex of buildings; 
 15.29     (8) energy conservation measures that provide long-term 
 15.30  operating cost reductions.  
 15.31     (b) "Guaranteed energy savings contract" means a contract 
 15.32  for the evaluation and recommendations of energy conservation 
 15.33  measures, and for one or more energy conservation measures.  The 
 15.34  contract must provide that all payments, except obligations on 
 15.35  termination of the contract before its expiration, are to be 
 15.36  made over time, but not to exceed 15 years from the date of 
 16.1   final installation, and the savings are guaranteed to the extent 
 16.2   necessary to make payments for the systems. 
 16.3      (c) "Qualified provider" means a person or business 
 16.4   experienced in the design, implementation, and installation of 
 16.5   energy conservation measures.  A qualified provider to whom the 
 16.6   contract is awarded shall give a sufficient bond to the school 
 16.7   district for its faithful performance. 
 16.8      (d) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public service 
 16.9   commerce through the state energy office. 
 16.10     Sec. 21.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.65, 
 16.11  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 16.12     Subd. 3.  [EVALUATION BY COMMISSIONER.] Upon request of the 
 16.13  board, the commissioner of public service shall review the 
 16.14  report required in subdivision 2 and provide an evaluation to 
 16.15  the board on the proposed contract within 15 working days of 
 16.16  receiving the report.  In evaluating the proposed contract, the 
 16.17  commissioner shall determine whether the detailed calculations 
 16.18  of the costs and of the energy and operating savings are 
 16.19  accurate and reasonable.  The commissioner may request 
 16.20  additional information about a proposed contract as the 
 16.21  commissioner deems necessary.  If the commissioner requests 
 16.22  additional information, the commissioner shall not be required 
 16.23  to submit an evaluation to the board within fewer than ten 
 16.24  working days of receiving the requested information.  
 16.25     Sec. 22.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123B.65, 
 16.26  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 16.27     Subd. 5.  [PAYMENT OF REVIEW EXPENSES.] The commissioner of 
 16.28  public service may charge a district requesting services under 
 16.29  subdivisions 3 and 4 actual costs incurred by the department 
 16.30  of public service commerce while conducting the review, or 
 16.31  one-half percent of the total identified project cost, whichever 
 16.32  is less.  Before conducting the review, the commissioner shall 
 16.33  notify a district requesting review services that expenses will 
 16.34  be charged to the district.  The commissioner shall bill the 
 16.35  district upon completion of the contract review.  Money 
 16.36  collected by the commissioner under this subdivision must be 
 17.1   deposited in the general fund.  A district may include the cost 
 17.2   of a review by the commissioner under subdivision 3 in a 
 17.3   contract made pursuant to this section. 
 17.4      Sec. 23.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 161.45, 
 17.5   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 17.6      Subdivision 1.  [RULES.] Electric transmission, telephone 
 17.7   or telegraph lines, pole lines, community antenna television 
 17.8   lines, railways, ditches, sewers, water, heat or gas mains, gas 
 17.9   and other pipe lines, flumes, or other structures which, under 
 17.10  the laws of this state or the ordinance of any city, may be 
 17.11  constructed, placed, or maintained across or along any trunk 
 17.12  highway, or the roadway thereof, by any person, persons, 
 17.13  corporation, or any subdivision of the state, may be so 
 17.14  maintained or hereafter constructed only in accordance with such 
 17.15  rules as may be prescribed by the commissioner who shall have 
 17.16  power to prescribe and enforce reasonable rules with reference 
 17.17  to the placing and maintaining along, across, or in any such 
 17.18  trunk highway of any of the utilities hereinbefore set forth.  
 17.19  Nothing herein shall restrict the actions of public authorities 
 17.20  in extraordinary emergencies nor restrict the power and 
 17.21  authority of the department of public service commissioner of 
 17.22  commerce as provided for in other provisions of law.  Provided, 
 17.23  however, that in the event any local subdivision of government 
 17.24  has enacted ordinances relating to the method of installation or 
 17.25  requiring underground installation of such community antenna 
 17.26  television lines, the permit granted by the commissioner of 
 17.27  transportation shall require compliance with such local 
 17.28  ordinance. 
 17.29     Sec. 24.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 168.61, 
 17.30  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 17.31     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] The term "intercity bus" as 
 17.32  used in sections 168.61 to 168.65 means a motor bus as defined 
 17.33  in section 168.011, subdivision 9, which is owned or operated by 
 17.34  either a resident or nonresident of Minnesota in interstate 
 17.35  commerce under authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
 17.36  or in combined interstate and intrastate commerce under 
 18.1   authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the 
 18.2   department of public service transportation of Minnesota, as a 
 18.3   result of which operation such bus operates both within and 
 18.4   without the territorial limits of the state of Minnesota.  
 18.5      Sec. 25.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.073, is 
 18.6   amended to read: 
 18.7      169.073 [PROHIBITED LIGHT OR SIGNAL.] 
 18.8      No person or corporation shall place, maintain or display 
 18.9   any red light or red sign, signal, or lighting device or 
 18.10  maintain it in view of any highway or any line of railroad on or 
 18.11  over which trains are operated in such a way as to interfere 
 18.12  with the effectiveness or efficiency of any highway 
 18.13  traffic-control device or signals or devices used in the 
 18.14  operation of a railroad.  Upon written notice from the 
 18.15  commissioner of transportation, a person or corporation 
 18.16  maintaining or owning or displaying a prohibited light shall 
 18.17  promptly remove it, or change the color of it to some other 
 18.18  color than red.  Where a prohibited light or sign interferes 
 18.19  with the effectiveness or efficiency of the signals or devices 
 18.20  used in the operation of a railroad, the department of public 
 18.21  service transportation may cause the removal of it and the 
 18.22  department may issue notices and orders for its removal.  The 
 18.23  department shall proceed as provided in sections 216.13, 216.14, 
 18.24  216.15, 216.16, and 216.17, with a right of appeal to the 
 18.25  aggrieved party in accordance with chapter 14. 
 18.26     No person or corporation shall maintain or display any 
 18.27  light after written notice from the commissioner of 
 18.28  transportation or the department of public service that the 
 18.29  light constitutes a traffic hazard and that it has ordered the 
 18.30  removal thereof. 
 18.31     Sec. 26.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 174.03, 
 18.32  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 18.33     Subd. 7.  [ENERGY CONSERVATION.] The commissioner, in 
 18.34  cooperation with the commissioner of public service commerce 
 18.35  through the state energy office, shall evaluate all modes of 
 18.36  transportation in terms of their levels of energy consumption.  
 19.1   The commissioner of public service commerce shall provide the 
 19.2   commissioner with projections of the future availability of 
 19.3   energy resources for transportation.  The commissioner shall use 
 19.4   the results of this evaluation and the projections to evaluate 
 19.5   alternative programs and facilities to be included in the 
 19.6   statewide plan and to otherwise promote the more efficient use 
 19.7   of energy resources for transportation purposes. 
 19.8      Sec. 27.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 181.30, is 
 19.9   amended to read: 
 19.10     181.30 [DUTY OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE.] 
 19.11     Any officer of any railroad company in the state violating 
 19.12  any of the provisions of section 181.29 shall be guilty of a 
 19.13  misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, punished by a fine of not 
 19.14  less than $100, and not more than $700, for each offense, or by 
 19.15  imprisonment in the county jail not more than 60 days, or both 
 19.16  fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.  It shall 
 19.17  be the duty of the state department of public 
 19.18  service transportation, upon complaint properly filed with it 
 19.19  alleging a violation of section 181.29, to make a full 
 19.20  investigation in relation thereto, and for such purpose it shall 
 19.21  have the power to administer oaths, interrogate witnesses, take 
 19.22  testimony and require the production of books and papers, and if 
 19.23  such report shall show a violation of the provisions of section 
 19.24  181.29, the department of public service transportation shall, 
 19.25  through the attorney general, begin the prosecution of all 
 19.26  parties against whom evidence of such violation is found; but 
 19.27  section 181.29 shall not be construed to prevent any other 
 19.28  person from beginning prosecution for the violation of the 
 19.29  provisions thereof.  
 19.30     Sec. 28.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.01, is 
 19.31  amended to read: 
 19.32     216A.01 [ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION; POWERS 
 19.33  AND DUTIES.] 
 19.34     There are hereby created and established the department of 
 19.35  public service, and the public utilities commission.  The 
 19.36  department of public service commerce shall have and possess all 
 20.1   of the rights and powers and perform all of the duties vested in 
 20.2   it by this chapter.  The public utilities commission shall have 
 20.3   and possess all of the rights and powers and perform all of the 
 20.4   duties vested in it by this chapter, and those formerly vested 
 20.5   by law in the railroad and warehouse commission. 
 20.6      Sec. 29.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.035, is 
 20.7   amended to read: 
 20.8      216A.035 [CONFLICT OF INTEREST.] 
 20.9      (a) No person, while a member of the public utilities 
 20.10  commission, while acting as executive secretary of the 
 20.11  commission, or while employed in a professional capacity by the 
 20.12  commission, shall receive any income, other than dividends or 
 20.13  other earnings from a mutual fund or trust if these earnings do 
 20.14  not constitute a significant portion of the person's income, 
 20.15  directly or indirectly from any public utility or other 
 20.16  organization subject to regulation by the commission. 
 20.17     (b) No person is eligible to be appointed as a member of 
 20.18  the commission if the person has been employed with an entity, 
 20.19  or an affiliated company of an entity, that is subject to rate 
 20.20  regulation by the commission within one year from the date when 
 20.21  the person's term on the commission will begin. 
 20.22     (c) No person who is an employee of the public service 
 20.23  department of commerce shall participate in any manner in any 
 20.24  decision or action of the commission where that person has a 
 20.25  direct or indirect financial interest.  Each commissioner or 
 20.26  employee of the public service department who is in the general 
 20.27  professional, supervisory, or technical units established in 
 20.28  section 179A.10 or who is a professional, supervisory, or 
 20.29  technical employee defined as confidential in section 179A.03, 
 20.30  subdivision 4, or who is a management classification employee 
 20.31  and whose duties are related to public utilities or 
 20.32  transportation utility, telephone company, or telecommunications 
 20.33  company regulation shall report to the campaign finance and 
 20.34  public disclosure board annually before April 15 any interest in 
 20.35  an industry or business regulated by the commission.  Each 
 20.36  commissioner shall file a statement of economic interest as 
 21.1   required by section 10A.09 with the campaign finance and public 
 21.2   disclosure board and the public utilities commission before 
 21.3   taking office.  The statement of economic interest must state 
 21.4   any interest that the commissioner has in an industry or 
 21.5   business regulated by the commission. 
 21.6      (d) A professional employee of the commission or department 
 21.7   must immediately disclose to the commission or to the 
 21.8   commissioner of the department, respectively, any communication, 
 21.9   direct or indirect, with a person who is a party to a pending 
 21.10  proceeding before the commission regarding future benefits, 
 21.11  compensation, or employment to be received from that person. 
 21.12     Sec. 30.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.036, is 
 21.13  amended to read: 
 21.14     216A.036 [EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.] 
 21.15     (a) A person who serves as (1) a commissioner of the public 
 21.16  utilities commission, (2) commissioner of the department of 
 21.17  public service commerce, or (3) deputy commissioner of the 
 21.18  department commerce, shall not, while employed with or within 
 21.19  one year after leaving the commission, or department, accept 
 21.20  employment with, receive compensation directly or indirectly 
 21.21  from, or enter into a contractual relationship with an entity, 
 21.22  or an affiliated company of an entity, that is subject to rate 
 21.23  regulation by the commission. 
 21.24     (b) An entity or an affiliated company of an entity that is 
 21.25  subject to rate regulation by the commission, or a person acting 
 21.26  on behalf of the entity, shall not negotiate or offer to employ 
 21.27  or compensate a commissioner of the public utilities commission, 
 21.28  the commissioner of public service commerce, or the deputy 
 21.29  commissioner of commerce, while the person is so employed or 
 21.30  within one year after the person leaves that employment. 
 21.31     (c) For the purposes of this section, "affiliated company" 
 21.32  means a company that controls, is controlled by, or is under 
 21.33  common control with an entity subject to rate regulation by the 
 21.34  commission. 
 21.35     (d) A person who violates this section is subject to a 
 21.36  civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.  The 
 22.1   attorney general may bring an action in district court to 
 22.2   collect the penalties provided in this section.  
 22.3      Sec. 31.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.05, 
 22.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 22.5      Subdivision 1.  [LEGISLATIVE AND QUASI-JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS.] 
 22.6   The functions of the commission shall be legislative and 
 22.7   quasi-judicial in nature.  It may make such investigations and 
 22.8   determinations, hold such hearings, prescribe such rules and 
 22.9   issue such orders with respect to the control and conduct of the 
 22.10  businesses coming within its jurisdiction as the legislature 
 22.11  itself might make but only as it shall from time to time 
 22.12  authorize.  It may adjudicate all proceedings brought before it 
 22.13  in which the violation of any law or rule administered by the 
 22.14  department of commerce is alleged. 
 22.15     Sec. 32.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
 22.16  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 22.17     Subdivision 1.  [ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSIONER DUTIES.] The 
 22.18  commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head of 
 22.19  the public service department and shall have and possess of 
 22.20  commerce has all the rights and powers and shall perform all the 
 22.21  duties relating to the administrative function of the department 
 22.22  as set forth in this chapter.  The commissioner may: 
 22.23     (1) prepare all forms or blanks for the purpose of 
 22.24  obtaining information which the commissioner may deem necessary 
 22.25  or useful in the proper exercise of the authority and duties of 
 22.26  the commissioner in connection with regulated businesses; 
 22.27     (2) prescribe the time and manner within which forms or 
 22.28  blanks shall be filed with the department; 
 22.29     (3) inspect at all reasonable times, and copy the books, 
 22.30  records, memoranda and correspondence or other documents and 
 22.31  records of any person relating to any regulated business; and 
 22.32     (4) cause the deposition to be taken of any person 
 22.33  concerning the business and affairs of any business regulated by 
 22.34  the department.  Information sought through said deposition 
 22.35  shall be for a lawfully authorized purpose and shall be relevant 
 22.36  and material to the investigation or hearing before the 
 23.1   commission.  Information obtained from said deposition shall be 
 23.2   used by the department only for a lawfully authorized purpose 
 23.3   and pursuant to powers and responsibilities conferred upon the 
 23.4   department.  Said deposition is to be taken in the manner 
 23.5   prescribed by law for taking depositions in civil actions in the 
 23.6   district court. 
 23.7      Sec. 33.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.08, is 
 23.8   amended to read: 
 23.9      216A.08 [CONTINUATION OF RULES OF PUBLIC SERVICE 
 23.10  DEPARTMENT.] 
 23.11     All valid rules, orders, and directives heretofore 
 23.12  enforced, issued, or promulgated by the public service 
 23.13  department under authority of chapter 216, 216A, 216B, 216C, 
 23.14  218, 219, 221, or 222, 237, 238, or 239 shall remain and 
 23.15  continue in force and effect until repealed, modified, or 
 23.16  superseded by duly authorized rules, orders, or directives of 
 23.17  the public utilities commission or, the commissioner of 
 23.18  transportation, or the commissioner of commerce. 
 23.19     Sec. 34.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.085, 
 23.20  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 23.21     Subd. 3.  [STAFFING.] The intervention office shall be 
 23.22  under the control and supervision of the commissioner of the 
 23.23  department of public service commerce.  The commissioner may 
 23.24  hire staff or contract for outside services as needed to carry 
 23.25  out the purposes of this section.  The attorney general shall 
 23.26  act as counsel in all intervention proceedings.  
 23.27     Sec. 35.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.02, 
 23.28  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 23.29     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of Laws 1974, 
 23.30  chapter 429 this chapter the terms defined in this section have 
 23.31  the meanings given them. 
 23.32     Sec. 36.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.02, 
 23.33  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 23.34     Subd. 7.  [COMMISSION.] "Commission" means the public 
 23.35  utilities commission of the department of public service. 
 23.36     Sec. 37.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.02, 
 24.1   subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
 24.2      Subd. 8.  [DEPARTMENT.] "Department" means the department 
 24.3   of public service commerce of the state of Minnesota. 
 24.4      Sec. 38.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.16, 
 24.5   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 24.6      Subdivision 1.  [NOTICE.] Unless the commission otherwise 
 24.7   orders, no public utility shall change a rate which has been 
 24.8   duly established under this chapter, except upon 60 days' notice 
 24.9   to the commission.  The notice shall include statements of 
 24.10  facts, expert opinions, substantiating documents, and exhibits, 
 24.11  supporting the change requested, and state the change proposed 
 24.12  to be made in the rates then in force and the time when the 
 24.13  modified rates will go into effect.  If the filing utility does 
 24.14  not have an approved conservation improvement plan on file with 
 24.15  the department of public service, it shall also include in its 
 24.16  notice an energy conservation plan pursuant to section 
 24.17  216B.241.  The filing utility shall give written notice, as 
 24.18  approved by the commission, of the proposed change to the 
 24.19  governing body of each municipality and county in the area 
 24.20  affected.  All proposed changes shall be shown by filing new 
 24.21  schedules or shall be plainly indicated upon schedules on file 
 24.22  and in force at the time. 
 24.23     Sec. 39.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.16, 
 24.24  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 24.25     Subd. 2.  [SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED RATE; HEARING; FINAL 
 24.26  DETERMINATION DEFINED.] (a) Whenever there is filed with the 
 24.27  commission a schedule modifying or resulting in a change in any 
 24.28  rates then in force as provided in subdivision 1, the commission 
 24.29  may suspend the operation of the schedule by filing with the 
 24.30  schedule of rates and delivering to the affected utility a 
 24.31  statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension at any 
 24.32  time before the rates become effective.  The suspension shall 
 24.33  not be for a longer period than ten months beyond the initial 
 24.34  filing date except as provided in this subdivision or 
 24.35  subdivision 1a.  During the suspension the commission shall 
 24.36  determine whether all questions of the reasonableness of the 
 25.1   rates requested raised by persons deemed interested or by the 
 25.2   administrative division of the department of public service can 
 25.3   be resolved to the satisfaction of the commission.  If the 
 25.4   commission finds that all significant issues raised have not 
 25.5   been resolved to its satisfaction, or upon petition by ten 
 25.6   percent of the affected customers or 250 affected customers, 
 25.7   whichever is less, it shall refer the matter to the office of 
 25.8   administrative hearings with instructions for a public hearing 
 25.9   as a contested case pursuant to chapter 14, except as otherwise 
 25.10  provided in this section.  The commission may order that the 
 25.11  issues presented by the proposed rate changes be bifurcated into 
 25.12  two separate hearings as follows:  (1) determination of the 
 25.13  utility's revenue requirements and (2) determination of the rate 
 25.14  design.  Upon issuance of both administrative law judge reports, 
 25.15  the issues shall again be joined for consideration and final 
 25.16  determination by the commission.  All prehearing discovery 
 25.17  activities of state agency intervenors shall be consolidated and 
 25.18  conducted by the department of public service commerce.  If the 
 25.19  commission does not make a final determination concerning a 
 25.20  schedule of rates within ten months after the initial filing 
 25.21  date, the schedule shall be deemed to have been approved by the 
 25.22  commission; except if: 
 25.23     (1) an extension of the procedural schedule has been 
 25.24  granted under subdivision 1a, in which case the schedule of 
 25.25  rates is deemed to have been approved by the commission on the 
 25.26  last day of the extended period of suspension; or 
 25.27     (2) a settlement has been submitted to and rejected by the 
 25.28  commission and the commission does not make a final 
 25.29  determination concerning the schedule of rates, the schedule of 
 25.30  rates is deemed to have been approved 60 days after the initial 
 25.31  or, if applicable, the extended period of suspension. 
 25.32     (b) If the commission finds that it has insufficient time 
 25.33  during the suspension period to make a final determination of a 
 25.34  case involving changes in general rates because of the need to 
 25.35  make a final determination of another previously filed case 
 25.36  involving changes in general rates under this section or section 
 26.1   237.075, the commission may extend the suspension period to the 
 26.2   extent necessary to allow itself 20 working days to make the 
 26.3   final determination after it has made a final determination in 
 26.4   the previously filed case.  An extension of the suspension 
 26.5   period under this paragraph does not alter the setting of 
 26.6   interim rates under subdivision 3. 
 26.7      (c) For the purposes of this section, "final determination" 
 26.8   means the initial decision of the commission and not any order 
 26.9   which may be entered by the commission in response to a petition 
 26.10  for rehearing or other further relief.  The commission may 
 26.11  further suspend rates until it determines all those petitions. 
 26.12     Sec. 40.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 26.13  216B.16, subdivision 6b, is amended to read: 
 26.14     Subd. 6b.  [ENERGY CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT.] (a) Except as 
 26.15  otherwise provided in this subdivision, all investments and 
 26.16  expenses of a public utility as defined in section 216B.241, 
 26.17  subdivision 1, paragraph (e), incurred in connection with energy 
 26.18  conservation improvements shall be recognized and included by 
 26.19  the commission in the determination of just and reasonable rates 
 26.20  as if the investments and expenses were directly made or 
 26.21  incurred by the utility in furnishing utility service. 
 26.22     (b) After December 31, 1999, investments and expenses for 
 26.23  energy conservation improvements shall not be included by the 
 26.24  commission in the determination of just and reasonable electric 
 26.25  and gas rates for retail electric and gas service provided to 
 26.26  large electric customer facilities that have been exempted by 
 26.27  the commissioner of the department of public service pursuant to 
 26.28  section 216B.241, subdivision 1a, paragraph (b).  However, no 
 26.29  public utility shall be prevented from recovering its investment 
 26.30  in energy conservation improvements from all customers that were 
 26.31  made on or before December 31, 1999, in compliance with the 
 26.32  requirements of section 216B.241.  
 26.33     (c) The commission may permit a public utility to file rate 
 26.34  schedules providing for annual recovery of the costs of energy 
 26.35  conservation improvements.  These rate schedules may be 
 26.36  applicable to less than all the customers in a class of retail 
 27.1   customers if necessary to reflect the differing minimum spending 
 27.2   requirements of section 216B.241, subdivision 1a.  After 
 27.3   December 31, 1999, the commission shall allow a public utility, 
 27.4   without requiring a general rate filing under this section, to 
 27.5   reduce the electric and gas rates applicable to large electric 
 27.6   customer facilities that have been exempted by the commissioner 
 27.7   of the department of public service pursuant to section 
 27.8   216B.241, subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), by an amount that 
 27.9   reflects the elimination of energy conservation improvement 
 27.10  investments or expenditures for those facilities required on or 
 27.11  before December 31, 1999.  In the event that the commission has 
 27.12  set electric or gas rates based on the use of an accounting 
 27.13  methodology that results in the cost of conservation 
 27.14  improvements being recovered from utility customers over a 
 27.15  period of years, the rate reduction may occur in a series of 
 27.16  steps to coincide with the recovery of balances due to the 
 27.17  utility for conservation improvements made by the utility on or 
 27.18  before December 31, 1999.  
 27.19     Sec. 41.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.16, 
 27.20  subdivision 15, is amended to read: 
 27.21     Subd. 15.  [LOW-INCOME RATE PROGRAMS; REPORT.] (a) The 
 27.22  commission may consider ability to pay as a factor in setting 
 27.23  utility rates and may establish programs for low-income 
 27.24  residential ratepayers in order to ensure affordable, reliable, 
 27.25  and continuous service to low-income utility customers.  The 
 27.26  commission shall order a pilot program for at least one 
 27.27  utility.  In ordering pilot programs, the commission shall 
 27.28  consider the following: 
 27.29     (1) the potential for low-income programs to provide 
 27.30  savings to the utility for all collection costs including but 
 27.31  not limited to:  costs of disconnecting and reconnecting 
 27.32  residential ratepayers' service, all activities related to the 
 27.33  utilities' attempt to collect past due bills, utility working 
 27.34  capital costs, and any other administrative costs related to 
 27.35  inability to pay programs and initiatives; 
 27.36     (2) the potential for leveraging federal low-income energy 
 28.1   dollars to the state; and 
 28.2      (3) the impact of energy costs as a percentage of the total 
 28.3   income of a low-income residential customer. 
 28.4      (b) In determining the structure of the pilot utility 
 28.5   program, the commission shall: 
 28.6      (1) consult with advocates for and representatives of 
 28.7   low-income utility customers, administrators of energy 
 28.8   assistance and conservation programs, and utility 
 28.9   representatives; 
 28.10     (2) coordinate eligibility for the program with the state 
 28.11  and federal energy assistance program and low-income residential 
 28.12  energy programs, including weatherization programs; and 
 28.13     (3) evaluate comprehensive low-income programs offered by 
 28.14  utilities in other states. 
 28.15     (c) The commission shall implement at least one pilot 
 28.16  project by January 1, 1995, and shall allow a utility required 
 28.17  to implement a pilot project to recover the net costs of the 
 28.18  project in the utility's rates. 
 28.19     (d) The commission, in conjunction with the commissioner of 
 28.20  the department of public service and the commissioner of 
 28.21  economic security, shall review low-income rate programs and 
 28.22  shall report to the legislature by January 1, 1998.  The report 
 28.23  must include: 
 28.24     (1) the increase in federal energy assistance money 
 28.25  leveraged by the state as a result of this program; 
 28.26     (2) the effect of the program on low-income customer's 
 28.27  ability to pay energy costs; 
 28.28     (3) the effect of the program on utility customer bad debt 
 28.29  and arrearages; 
 28.30     (4) the effect of the program on the costs and numbers of 
 28.31  utility disconnections and reconnections and other costs 
 28.32  incurred by the utility in association with inability to pay 
 28.33  programs; 
 28.34     (5) the ability of the utility to recover the costs of the 
 28.35  low-income program without a general rate change; 
 28.36     (6) how other ratepayers have been affected by this 
 29.1   program; 
 29.2      (7) recommendations for continuing, eliminating, or 
 29.3   expanding the low-income pilot program; and 
 29.4      (8) how general revenue funds may be utilized in 
 29.5   conjunction with low-income programs. 
 29.6      Sec. 42.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.162, 
 29.7   subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 29.8      Subd. 7.  [COMMISSION DETERMINATION.] Except as provided 
 29.9   under subdivision 6, competitive rates offered by electric 
 29.10  utilities under this section must be filed with the commission 
 29.11  and must be approved, modified, or rejected by the commission 
 29.12  within 90 days.  The utility's filing must include statements of 
 29.13  fact demonstrating that the proposed rates meet the standards of 
 29.14  this subdivision.  The filing must be served on the department 
 29.15  of public service and the office of the attorney general at the 
 29.16  same time as it is served on the commission.  In reviewing a 
 29.17  specific rate proposal, the commission shall determine: 
 29.18     (1) that the rate meets the terms and conditions in 
 29.19  subdivision 4, unless the commission determines that waiver of 
 29.20  one or more terms and conditions would be in the public 
 29.21  interest; 
 29.22     (2) that the consumer can obtain its energy requirements 
 29.23  from an energy supplier not rate-regulated by the commission 
 29.24  under section 216B.16; 
 29.25     (3) that the customer is not likely to take service from 
 29.26  the electric utility seeking to offer the competitive rate if 
 29.27  the customer was charged the electric utility's standard 
 29.28  tariffed rate; and 
 29.29     (4) that after consideration of environmental and 
 29.30  socioeconomic impacts it is in the best interest of all other 
 29.31  customers to offer the competitive rate to the customer subject 
 29.32  to effective competition. 
 29.33     If the commission approves the competitive rate, it becomes 
 29.34  effective as agreed to by the electric utility and the 
 29.35  customer.  If the competitive rate is modified by the 
 29.36  commission, the commission shall issue an order modifying the 
 30.1   competitive rate subject to the approval of the electric utility 
 30.2   and the customer.  Each party has ten days in which to reject 
 30.3   the proposed modification.  If no party rejects the proposed 
 30.4   modification, the commissioner's order becomes final.  If either 
 30.5   party rejects the commission's proposed modification, the 
 30.6   electric utility, on its behalf or on the behalf of the 
 30.7   customer, may submit to the commission a modified version of the 
 30.8   commission's proposal.  The commission shall accept or reject 
 30.9   the modified version within 30 days.  If the commission rejects 
 30.10  the competitive rate, it shall issue an order indicating the 
 30.11  reasons for the rejection. 
 30.12     Sec. 43.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.162, 
 30.13  subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
 30.14     Subd. 11.  [COMMISSION DETERMINATION.] (a) Proposals for 
 30.15  discretionary rate reductions offered by utilities must be filed 
 30.16  with the commission, with copies of the filing served upon the 
 30.17  department of public service and the office of attorney general 
 30.18  at the same time it is served upon the commission.  The 
 30.19  commission shall review the proposals according to procedures 
 30.20  developed under section 216B.05, subdivision 2a.  The commission 
 30.21  shall not approve discretionary rate reductions offered by 
 30.22  public utilities that do not have an accepted resource plan on 
 30.23  file with the commission.  The commission shall not approve 
 30.24  discretionary rate reductions unless the utility has made the 
 30.25  customer aware of all cost-effective opportunities for energy 
 30.26  efficiency improvements offered by the utility. 
 30.27     (b) Public utilities that provide service under 
 30.28  discretionary rate reductions shall not, through increased 
 30.29  revenue requirements or through prospective rate design changes, 
 30.30  recover any revenues foregone due to the discretionary rate 
 30.31  reductions, nor shall the commission grant such recovery. 
 30.32     Sec. 44.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.1675, 
 30.33  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
 30.34     Subd. 9.  [COMMISSION FINDINGS.] The commission shall issue 
 30.35  findings concerning the appropriateness of the proposed plan.  
 30.36  The commission may approve, reject, or modify the plan in a 
 31.1   manner which meets the requirements of this section.  An 
 31.2   approved or modified plan becomes effective unless the plan is 
 31.3   withdrawn by the utility within 30 days of a final appealable 
 31.4   order.  If the utility withdraws an approved or modified plan, 
 31.5   all of the administrative costs related to the plan that are 
 31.6   charged by the commission or the department of public service to 
 31.7   the utility may not be recovered from ratepayers in current or 
 31.8   subsequent rates.  A utility that withdraws an approved or 
 31.9   modified plan may not file another plan under this section for a 
 31.10  period of one year following the withdrawal of the plan. 
 31.11     Sec. 45.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 31.12  216B.241, subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
 31.13     Subd. 1a.  [INVESTMENT, EXPENDITURE, AND CONTRIBUTION; 
 31.14  PUBLIC UTILITY.] (a) For purposes of this subdivision and 
 31.15  subdivision 2, "public utility" has the meaning given it in 
 31.16  section 216B.02, subdivision 4.  Each public utility shall spend 
 31.17  and invest for energy conservation improvements under this 
 31.18  subdivision and subdivision 2 the following amounts: 
 31.19     (1) for a utility that furnishes gas service, 0.5 percent 
 31.20  of its gross operating revenues from service provided in the 
 31.21  state; 
 31.22     (2) for a utility that furnishes electric service, 1.5 
 31.23  percent of its gross operating revenues from service provided in 
 31.24  the state; and 
 31.25     (3) for a utility that furnishes electric service and that 
 31.26  operates a nuclear-powered electric generating plant within the 
 31.27  state, two percent of its gross operating revenues from service 
 31.28  provided in the state. 
 31.29     For purposes of this paragraph (a), "gross operating 
 31.30  revenues" do not include revenues from large electric customer 
 31.31  facilities exempted by the commissioner of the department of 
 31.32  public service pursuant to paragraph (b). 
 31.33     (b) The owner of a large electric customer facility may 
 31.34  petition the commissioner of the department of public service to 
 31.35  exempt both electric and gas utilities serving the large energy 
 31.36  customer facility from the investment and expenditure 
 32.1   requirements of paragraph (a) with respect to retail revenues 
 32.2   attributable to the facility.  At a minimum, the petition must 
 32.3   be supported by evidence relating to competitive or economic 
 32.4   pressures on the customer and a showing by the customer of 
 32.5   reasonable efforts to identify, evaluate, and implement 
 32.6   cost-effective conservation improvements at the facility.  If a 
 32.7   petition is filed on or before October 1 of any year, the order 
 32.8   of the commissioner to exempt revenues attributable to the 
 32.9   facility can be effective no earlier than January 1 of the 
 32.10  following year.  The commissioner shall not grant an exemption 
 32.11  if the commissioner determines that granting the exemption is 
 32.12  contrary to the public interest.  The commissioner may, after 
 32.13  investigation, rescind any exemption granted under this 
 32.14  paragraph upon a determination that cost-effective energy 
 32.15  conservation improvements are available at the large electric 
 32.16  customer facility.  For the purposes of this paragraph, 
 32.17  "cost-effective" means that the projected total cost of the 
 32.18  energy conservation improvement at the large electric customer 
 32.19  facility is less than the projected present value of the energy 
 32.20  and demand savings resulting from the energy conservation 
 32.21  improvement.  For the purposes of investigations by the 
 32.22  commissioner under this paragraph, the owner of any large 
 32.23  electric customer facility shall, upon request, provide the 
 32.24  commissioner with updated information comparable to that 
 32.25  originally supplied in or with the owner's original petition 
 32.26  under this paragraph. 
 32.27     (c) The commissioner may require investments or spending 
 32.28  greater than the amounts required under this subdivision for a 
 32.29  public utility whose most recent advance forecast required under 
 32.30  section 216B.2422 or 216C.17 projects a peak demand deficit of 
 32.31  100 megawatts or greater within five years under mid-range 
 32.32  forecast assumptions.  
 32.33     (d) A public utility or owner of a large electric customer 
 32.34  facility may appeal a decision of the commissioner under 
 32.35  paragraph (b) or (c) to the commission under subdivision 2.  In 
 32.36  reviewing a decision of the commissioner under paragraph (b) or 
 33.1   (c), the commission shall rescind the decision if it finds that 
 33.2   the required investments or spending will: 
 33.3      (1) not result in cost-effective energy conservation 
 33.4   improvements; or 
 33.5      (2) otherwise not be in the public interest. 
 33.6      (e) Each utility shall determine what portion of the amount 
 33.7   it sets aside for conservation improvement will be used for 
 33.8   conservation improvements under subdivision 2 and what portion 
 33.9   it will contribute to the energy and conservation account 
 33.10  established in subdivision 2a.  A public utility may propose to 
 33.11  the commissioner to designate that all or a portion of funds 
 33.12  contributed to the account established in subdivision 2a be used 
 33.13  for research and development projects.  Contributions must be 
 33.14  remitted to the commissioner of public service by February 1 of 
 33.15  each year.  Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a public 
 33.16  utility from spending or investing for energy conservation 
 33.17  improvement more than required in this subdivision. 
 33.18     Sec. 46.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 33.19  216B.241, subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
 33.20     Subd. 1b.  [CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT BY COOPERATIVE 
 33.21  ASSOCIATION OR MUNICIPALITY.] (a) This subdivision applies to: 
 33.22     (1) a cooperative electric association that generates and 
 33.23  transmits electricity to associations that provide electricity 
 33.24  at retail including a cooperative electric association not 
 33.25  located in this state that serves associations or others in the 
 33.26  state; 
 33.27     (2) a municipality that provides electric service to retail 
 33.28  customers; and 
 33.29     (3) a municipality with gross operating revenues in excess 
 33.30  of $5,000,000 from sales of natural gas to retail customers.  
 33.31     (b) Each cooperative electric association and municipality 
 33.32  subject to this subdivision shall spend and invest for energy 
 33.33  conservation improvements under this subdivision the following 
 33.34  amounts: 
 33.35     (1) for a municipality, 0.5 percent of its gross operating 
 33.36  revenues from the sale of gas and one percent of its gross 
 34.1   operating revenues from the sale of electricity not purchased 
 34.2   from a public utility governed by subdivision 1a or a 
 34.3   cooperative electric association governed by this subdivision, 
 34.4   excluding gross operating revenues from electric and gas service 
 34.5   provided in the state to large electric customer facilities; and 
 34.6      (2) for a cooperative electric association, 1.5 percent of 
 34.7   its gross operating revenues from service provided in the state, 
 34.8   excluding gross operating revenues from service provided in the 
 34.9   state to large electric customer facilities indirectly through a 
 34.10  distribution cooperative electric association. 
 34.11     (c) Each municipality and cooperative association subject 
 34.12  to this subdivision shall identify and implement energy 
 34.13  conservation improvement spending and investments that are 
 34.14  appropriate for the municipality or association, except that a 
 34.15  municipality or association may not spend or invest for energy 
 34.16  conservation improvements that directly benefit a large electric 
 34.17  customer facility.  Each municipality and cooperative electric 
 34.18  association subject to this subdivision may spend and invest 
 34.19  annually up to 15 percent of the total amount required to be 
 34.20  spent and invested on energy conservation improvements under 
 34.21  this subdivision on research and development projects that meet 
 34.22  the definition of energy conservation improvement in subdivision 
 34.23  1 and that are funded directly by the municipality or 
 34.24  cooperative electric association.  Load management may be used 
 34.25  to meet the requirements of this subdivision if it reduces the 
 34.26  demand for or increases the efficiency of electric services.  A 
 34.27  generation and transmission cooperative electric association may 
 34.28  include as spending and investment required under this 
 34.29  subdivision conservation improvement spending and investment by 
 34.30  cooperative electric associations that provide electric service 
 34.31  at retail to consumers and that are served by the generation and 
 34.32  transmission association. 
 34.33     (d) By February 1 of each year, each municipality or 
 34.34  cooperative shall report to the commissioner its energy 
 34.35  conservation improvement spending and investments with a brief 
 34.36  analysis of effectiveness in reducing consumption of electricity 
 35.1   or gas.  The commissioner shall review each report and make 
 35.2   recommendations, where appropriate, to the municipality or 
 35.3   association to increase the effectiveness of conservation 
 35.4   improvement activities.  The commissioner shall also review each 
 35.5   report for whether a portion of the money spent on residential 
 35.6   conservation improvement programs is devoted to programs that 
 35.7   directly address the needs of renters and low-income persons 
 35.8   unless an insufficient number of appropriate programs are 
 35.9   available.  For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 
 35.10  2, "low-income" means an income of less than 185 percent of the 
 35.11  federal poverty level. 
 35.12     (e) As part of its spending for conservation improvement, a 
 35.13  municipality or association may contribute to the energy and 
 35.14  conservation account.  A municipality or association may propose 
 35.15  to the commissioner to designate that all or a portion of funds 
 35.16  contributed to the account be used for research and development 
 35.17  projects.  Any amount contributed must be remitted to the 
 35.18  commissioner of public service by February 1 of each year. 
 35.19     Sec. 47.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 35.20  216B.241, subdivision 2b, is amended to read: 
 35.21     Subd. 2b.  [RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.] The commission shall 
 35.22  allow a utility to recover expenses resulting from a 
 35.23  conservation improvement program required by the department and 
 35.24  contributions to the energy and conservation account, unless the 
 35.25  recovery would be inconsistent with a financial incentive 
 35.26  proposal approved by the commission.  In addition, a utility may 
 35.27  file annually, or the public utilities commission may require 
 35.28  the utility to file, and the commission may approve, rate 
 35.29  schedules containing provisions for the automatic adjustment of 
 35.30  charges for utility service in direct relation to changes in the 
 35.31  expenses of the utility for real and personal property taxes, 
 35.32  fees, and permits, the amounts of which the utility cannot 
 35.33  control.  A public utility is eligible to file for adjustment 
 35.34  for real and personal property taxes, fees, and permits under 
 35.35  this subdivision only if, in the year previous to the year in 
 35.36  which it files for adjustment, it has spent or invested at least 
 36.1   1.75 percent of its gross revenues from provision of electric 
 36.2   service, excluding gross operating revenues from electric 
 36.3   service provided in the state to large electric customer 
 36.4   facilities for which the commissioner of public service has 
 36.5   issued an exemption under subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), and 0.6 
 36.6   percent of its gross revenues from provision of gas service, 
 36.7   excluding gross operating revenues from gas services provided in 
 36.8   the state to large electric customer facilities for which the 
 36.9   commissioner of public service has issued an exemption under 
 36.10  subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), for that year for energy 
 36.11  conservation improvements under this section. 
 36.12     Sec. 48.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.01, 
 36.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 36.14     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
 36.15  section apply to sections 216C.02, 216C.05, 216C.07 to 216C.19, 
 36.16  216C.20 to 216C.35, and 216C.373 to 216C.381 this chapter. 
 36.17     Sec. 49.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.01, 
 36.18  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 36.19     Subd. 2.  [COMMISSIONER.] "Commissioner" means the 
 36.20  commissioner of the department of public service commerce. 
 36.21     Sec. 50.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.01, 
 36.22  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 36.23     Subd. 3.  [DEPARTMENT.] "Department" means the department 
 36.24  of public service commerce. 
 36.25     Sec. 51.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.051, 
 36.26  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 36.27     Subd. 6.  [ASSESSMENT; APPROPRIATION.] On request by the 
 36.28  cochairs of the legislative task force and after approval of the 
 36.29  legislative coordinating commission, the commissioner of the 
 36.30  department of public service commerce shall assess from electric 
 36.31  utilities, in addition to assessments made under section 
 36.32  216B.62, the amount requested for the operation of the task 
 36.33  force not to exceed $700,000.  This authority to assess 
 36.34  continues until the commissioner has assessed a total of 
 36.35  $700,000.  The amount assessed under this section is 
 36.36  appropriated to the director of the legislative coordinating 
 37.1   commission for those purposes, and is available until expended. 
 37.2      Sec. 52.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 37.3   216C.19, subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
 37.4      Subd. 8.  [APPLICABILITY TO BUILDING CODE; RULES.] In 
 37.5   recognition of the compelling need for energy conservation in 
 37.6   order to safeguard the public health, safety and welfare, it is 
 37.7   necessary to provide building design and construction standards 
 37.8   consistent with the most efficient use of energy.  Therefore, 
 37.9   the commissioner of administration, in consultation with the 
 37.10  commissioner of public service, commerce through the state 
 37.11  energy office shall, pursuant to chapter 14, adopt rules 
 37.12  governing building design and construction standards regarding 
 37.13  heat loss control, illumination, and climate control.  To the 
 37.14  maximum extent practicable, the rules providing for the energy 
 37.15  portions of the building code shall be based on and conform to 
 37.16  model codes generally accepted throughout the United States.  
 37.17  The rules shall apply to all new buildings and remodeling 
 37.18  affecting heat loss control, illumination, and climate control.  
 37.19  The rules shall be economically feasible in that the resultant 
 37.20  savings in energy procurement shall exceed the cost of the 
 37.21  energy-conserving requirements amortized over the life of the 
 37.22  building.  The rules adopted pursuant to this subdivision, shall 
 37.23  be part of the State Building Code.  Notwithstanding the 
 37.24  provisions of this subdivision, all applications for approval of 
 37.25  building specifications and plans may be submitted to the state 
 37.26  building inspector as provided in section 16B.66. 
 37.27     Sec. 53.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 37.28  216C.195, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 37.29     Subdivision 1.  [COMMISSIONER TO ADOPT.] The commissioner 
 37.30  of administration, in consultation with the commissioner 
 37.31  of public service commerce through the state energy office, 
 37.32  shall adopt amendments to the Energy Code portion of the 
 37.33  Minnesota Building Code to implement energy-efficient standards 
 37.34  for new commercial buildings.  
 37.35     Sec. 54.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.37, 
 37.36  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 38.1      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] In this section:  
 38.2      (a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public service 
 38.3   commerce. 
 38.4      (b) "Energy conservation investments" means all capital 
 38.5   expenditures that are associated with conservation measures 
 38.6   identified in an energy project study, and that have a ten-year 
 38.7   or less payback period.  
 38.8      (c) "Municipality" means any county, statutory or home rule 
 38.9   charter city, town, school district, or any combination of those 
 38.10  units operating under an agreement to jointly undertake projects 
 38.11  authorized in this section.  
 38.12     (d) "Energy project study" means a study of one or more 
 38.13  energy-related capital improvement projects analyzed in 
 38.14  sufficient detail to support a financing application.  At a 
 38.15  minimum, it must include one year of energy consumption and cost 
 38.16  data, a description of existing conditions, a description of 
 38.17  proposed conditions, a detailed description of the costs of the 
 38.18  project, and calculations sufficient to document the proposed 
 38.19  energy savings. 
 38.20     Sec. 55.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.40, 
 38.21  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 38.22     Subd. 4.  [CONDITION PRECEDENT.] The duties of the 
 38.23  department under this section are conditional on the 
 38.24  commissioner of public service finding that there will be at 
 38.25  least one public utility that will be subject to the assessment 
 38.26  created by Laws 1993, chapter 254, section 7. 
 38.27     Sec. 56.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.02, is 
 38.28  amended to read: 
 38.29     237.02 [GENERAL AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION; 
 38.30  DEFINITIONS.] 
 38.31     The department of public service commerce and the public 
 38.32  utilities commission, now existing under the laws of this state, 
 38.33  are hereby vested with the same jurisdiction and supervisory 
 38.34  power over telephone and telecommunications companies doing 
 38.35  business in this state as it now has the commission's 
 38.36  predecessor, the railroad and warehouse commission, had over 
 39.1   railroad and express companies.  The definitions set forth 
 39.2   in section sections 216A.02 shall apply and 216B.02 also apply 
 39.3   to this chapter. 
 39.4      Sec. 57.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.075, 
 39.5   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 39.6      Subd. 2.  [SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED RATE; HEARING; FINAL 
 39.7   DETERMINATION DEFINED.] (a) Whenever there is filed with the 
 39.8   commission as provided in subdivision 1 a schedule modifying or 
 39.9   resulting in a change in any rate then in force, the commission 
 39.10  may suspend the operation of the schedule by filing with the 
 39.11  schedule of rates and delivering to the affected telephone 
 39.12  company a statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension 
 39.13  at any time before the rates become effective.  The suspension 
 39.14  shall not be for a longer period than ten months beyond the 
 39.15  initial filing date except as provided in paragraph (b).  During 
 39.16  the suspension the commission shall determine whether all 
 39.17  questions of the reasonableness of the rates requested raised by 
 39.18  persons deemed interested or by the administrative division of 
 39.19  the department of public service can be resolved to the 
 39.20  satisfaction of the commission.  If the commission finds that 
 39.21  all significant issues raised have not been resolved to its 
 39.22  satisfaction, or upon petition by ten percent of the affected 
 39.23  customers or 250 affected customers, whichever is less, it shall 
 39.24  refer the matter to the office of administrative hearings with 
 39.25  instructions for a public hearing as a contested case pursuant 
 39.26  to chapter 14, except as otherwise provided in this section.  
 39.27  The commission may order that the issues presented by the 
 39.28  proposed rate changes be bifurcated into two separate hearings 
 39.29  as follows:  (1) determination of the telephone company's 
 39.30  revenue requirements and (2) determination of the rate design.  
 39.31  Upon issuance of both administrative law judge reports, the 
 39.32  issues shall again be joined for consideration and final 
 39.33  determination by the commission.  All prehearing discovery 
 39.34  activities of state agency intervenors shall be consolidated and 
 39.35  conducted by the department of public service commerce.  If the 
 39.36  commission does not make a final determination concerning a 
 40.1   schedule of rates within ten months after the initial filing 
 40.2   date, the schedule shall be deemed to have been approved by the 
 40.3   commission; except if a settlement has been submitted to and 
 40.4   rejected by the commission, the schedule is deemed to have been 
 40.5   approved 12 months after the initial filing. 
 40.6      (b) If the commission finds that it has insufficient time 
 40.7   during the suspension period to make a final determination of a 
 40.8   case involving changes in general rates because of the need to 
 40.9   make final determinations of other previously filed cases 
 40.10  involving changes in general rates under this section or section 
 40.11  216B.16, the commission may extend the suspension period to the 
 40.12  extent necessary to allow itself 20 working days to make the 
 40.13  final determination after it has made final determinations in 
 40.14  the previously filed cases.  An extension of the suspension 
 40.15  period under this paragraph does not alter the setting of 
 40.16  interim rates under subdivision 3. 
 40.17     (c) For the purposes of this section, "final determination" 
 40.18  means the initial decision of the commission and not any order 
 40.19  which may be entered by the commission in response to a petition 
 40.20  for rehearing or other further relief.  The commission may 
 40.21  further suspend rates until it determines all those petitions. 
 40.22     Sec. 58.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.075, 
 40.23  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
 40.24     Subd. 9.  [ELECTION ON REGULATION; COOPERATIVE, MUNICIPAL, 
 40.25  INDEPENDENT.] For the purposes of this section, "telephone 
 40.26  company" shall not include a cooperative telephone association 
 40.27  organized under the provisions of chapter 308A, an independent 
 40.28  telephone company, or a municipal, unless the cooperative 
 40.29  telephone association, independent telephone company, or 
 40.30  municipal makes the election provided in this subdivision. 
 40.31     A cooperative telephone association may elect to become 
 40.32  subject to rate regulation by the commission pursuant to this 
 40.33  section.  The election shall be (a) approved by the board of 
 40.34  directors of the association in accordance with the procedures 
 40.35  for amending the articles of incorporation contained in section 
 40.36  308A.135, excluding the filing requirements; or (b) approved by 
 41.1   a majority of members or stockholders voting by mail ballot 
 41.2   initiated by petition of no fewer than five percent of the 
 41.3   members or stockholders of the association.  The ballot to be 
 41.4   used for the election shall be approved by the board of 
 41.5   directors and the department of public service.  The department 
 41.6   shall mail the ballots to the association's members who shall 
 41.7   return the ballots to the department.  The department will keep 
 41.8   the ballots sealed until a date agreed upon by the department 
 41.9   and the board of directors.  On this date, representatives of 
 41.10  the department and the association shall count the ballots.  If 
 41.11  a majority of the association's members who vote elect to become 
 41.12  subject to rate regulation by the commission, the election shall 
 41.13  be effective 30 days after the date the ballots are counted.  
 41.14  For purposes of this section, the term "member or stockholder"  
 41.15  shall mean either the member or stockholder of record or the 
 41.16  spouse of the member or stockholder unless the association has 
 41.17  been notified otherwise in writing.  
 41.18     A municipal may elect to become subject to rate regulation 
 41.19  by the commission pursuant to this section.  The election shall 
 41.20  be (a) approved by resolution of the governing body of the 
 41.21  municipality; or (b) approved by a majority of the customers of 
 41.22  the municipal voting by mail ballot initiated by petition of no 
 41.23  fewer than 20 percent of the customers of the municipal.  The 
 41.24  ballot to be used for the election shall be approved by the 
 41.25  governing body of the municipality and the department of public 
 41.26  service.  The department shall mail the ballots to the 
 41.27  municipal's customers who shall return the ballots to the 
 41.28  department.  The department will keep the ballots sealed until a 
 41.29  date agreed upon by the department and the governing body of the 
 41.30  municipality.  On this date, representatives of the department 
 41.31  and the municipal shall count the ballots.  If a majority of the 
 41.32  customers of the municipal who vote elect to become subject to 
 41.33  rate regulation by the commission, the election shall be 
 41.34  effective 30 days after the date the ballots are counted.  For 
 41.35  purposes of this section, the term "customer" shall mean either 
 41.36  the person in whose name the telephone service is registered or 
 42.1   the spouse of the person unless the municipal utility has been 
 42.2   notified otherwise in writing.  
 42.3      An independent telephone company may elect to become 
 42.4   subject to rate regulation by the commission pursuant to this 
 42.5   section.  The election shall be (a) approved by the board of 
 42.6   directors of the company in accordance with the procedures for 
 42.7   amending the articles of incorporation contained in sections 
 42.8   302A.133 to 302A.139, excluding the filing requirements; or (b) 
 42.9   approved by a majority of subscribers voting by mail ballot 
 42.10  initiated by petition of no fewer than five percent of the 
 42.11  subscribers of the company.  The ballot to be used for the 
 42.12  election shall be approved by the board of directors and the 
 42.13  department of public service.  The department shall mail the 
 42.14  ballots to the company's subscribers who shall return the 
 42.15  ballots to the department.  The department will keep the ballots 
 42.16  sealed until a date agreed upon by the department and the board 
 42.17  of directors.  On this date, representatives of the department 
 42.18  and the company shall count the ballots.  If a majority of the 
 42.19  company's subscribers who vote elect to become subject to rate 
 42.20  regulation by the commission, the election shall be effective 30 
 42.21  days after the date the ballots are counted.  For purposes of 
 42.22  this section the term "subscriber" shall mean either the person 
 42.23  in whose name the telephone service is registered or the spouse 
 42.24  of the person unless the independent telephone company has been 
 42.25  notified otherwise in writing.  
 42.26     Sec. 59.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.082, is 
 42.27  amended to read: 
 42.28     237.082 [TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE; POLICY OF INCREASED 
 42.29  SPEED AND SERVICE.] 
 42.30     When setting rates, adopting rules, or issuing orders 
 42.31  related to telecommunication matters that affect deployment of 
 42.32  the infrastructure, the commission may apply the goals of: 
 42.33     (1) achieving economically efficient investment in: 
 42.34     (i) higher speed telecommunication services; and 
 42.35     (ii) greater capacity for voice, video, and data 
 42.36  transmission; and 
 43.1      (2) just and reasonable rates. 
 43.2      The department of public service may apply the same goals 
 43.3   in its regulation of and recommendations regarding 
 43.4   telecommunication services. 
 43.5      Sec. 60.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.21, is 
 43.6   amended to read: 
 43.7      237.21 [VALUATION OF TELEPHONE PROPERTY.] 
 43.8      In determining the value of any telephone property for rate 
 43.9   making purposes, no valuation shall be allowed upon the value of 
 43.10  any franchise granted by the state or any municipality where no 
 43.11  payment was or is being made to the state or municipality on 
 43.12  account thereof.  The requirement as to reasonableness of rates 
 43.13  shall apply to each exchange unit as well as to telephone plants 
 43.14  as a whole.  Provided, that in the case of a company operating a 
 43.15  telephone system consisting of more than one exchange in the 
 43.16  state, reasonableness of rates, as measured by earnings, shall 
 43.17  be determined by a reasonable return from the total operations 
 43.18  of the system within the state rather than by the return from 
 43.19  individual exchanges or services.  No telephone rates or charges 
 43.20  shall be allowed or approved by the commission under any 
 43.21  circumstances, which are inadequate and which are intended to or 
 43.22  naturally tend to destroy competition or produce a monopoly in 
 43.23  telephone service in the locality affected.  
 43.24     Laws 1953, chapter 25, shall have no effect on proceedings 
 43.25  pending before the courts or the department of public service at 
 43.26  the time of its enactment.  
 43.27     Sec. 61.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.30, is 
 43.28  amended to read: 
 43.29     237.30 [TELEPHONE INVESTIGATION FUND; APPROPRIATION.] 
 43.30     The sum of $25,000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys 
 43.31  in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, to establish 
 43.32  and provide a revolving fund to be known as the Minnesota 
 43.33  Telephone Investigation Fund for the use of the department of 
 43.34  public service commerce and of the attorney general in 
 43.35  investigations, valuations, and revaluations under section 
 43.36  237.295.  All sums paid by the telephone companies to reimburse 
 44.1   the department of public service for its expenses pursuant to 
 44.2   section 237.295 shall be credited to the revolving fund and 
 44.3   shall be deposited in a separate bank account and not commingled 
 44.4   with any other state funds or moneys, but any balance in excess 
 44.5   of $25,000 in the revolving fund at the end of each fiscal year 
 44.6   shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the 
 44.7   general fund.  The sum of $25,000 herein appropriated and all 
 44.8   subsequent credits to said revolving fund shall be paid upon the 
 44.9   warrant of the commissioner of finance upon application of the 
 44.10  department or of the attorney general to an aggregate amount of 
 44.11  not more than one-half of such sums to each of them, which 
 44.12  proportion shall be constantly maintained in all credits and 
 44.13  withdrawals from the revolving fund. 
 44.14     Sec. 62.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 44.15  237.462, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 44.16     Subd. 6.  [EXPEDITED PROCEEDING.] (a) The commission may 
 44.17  order an expedited proceeding under section 237.61 and this 
 44.18  subdivision, in lieu of a contested case under chapter 14, to 
 44.19  develop an evidentiary record in any proceeding that involves 
 44.20  contested issues of material fact either upon request of a party 
 44.21  or upon the commission's own motion if the complaint alleges a 
 44.22  violation described in subdivision 1, clauses (1) to (4).  The 
 44.23  commission may order an expedited proceeding under this 
 44.24  subdivision if the commission finds an expedited proceeding is 
 44.25  in the public interest, regardless of whether all parties agree 
 44.26  to the expedited proceeding.  In determining whether to grant an 
 44.27  expedited proceeding, the commission may consider any evidence 
 44.28  of impairment of the provision of telecommunications service to 
 44.29  subscribers in the state or impairment of the provision of any 
 44.30  service or network element subject to the jurisdiction of the 
 44.31  commission.  
 44.32     (b) Any request for an expedited proceeding under this 
 44.33  subdivision must be noted in the title of the first filing by a 
 44.34  party.  The filing shall also state the specific circumstances 
 44.35  that the party believes warrant an expedited proceeding under 
 44.36  this subdivision.  
 45.1      (c) A complaint requesting an expedited proceeding, unless 
 45.2   filed by the department of public service or the attorney 
 45.3   general, must set forth the actions and the dates of the actions 
 45.4   taken by the party filing the complaint to attempt to resolve 
 45.5   the alleged violations with the party against whom the complaint 
 45.6   is filed, including any requests that the party against whom the 
 45.7   complaint is filed correct the conduct giving rise to the 
 45.8   violations alleged in the complaint.  If no such actions were 
 45.9   taken by the complainant, the complaint shall set forth the 
 45.10  reasons why no such actions were taken.  The commission may 
 45.11  order an expedited proceeding even if the filing complaint fails 
 45.12  to meet this requirement if the commission determines that it 
 45.13  would be in the public interest to go forward with the expedited 
 45.14  proceeding without information in the complaint on attempts to 
 45.15  resolve the dispute. 
 45.16     (d) The complaining party shall serve the complaint along 
 45.17  with any written discovery requests by hand delivery and 
 45.18  facsimile on the party against whom the complaint is filed, the 
 45.19  department of public service, and the office of the attorney 
 45.20  general on the same day the complaint is filed with the 
 45.21  commission. 
 45.22     (e) The party responding to a complaint that includes a 
 45.23  request for an expedited proceeding under this subdivision shall 
 45.24  file an answer within 15 days after receiving the complaint.  
 45.25  The responding party shall state in the answer the party's 
 45.26  position on the request for an expedited proceeding.  The 
 45.27  responding party shall serve with the answer any objections to 
 45.28  any written discovery requests as well as any written discovery 
 45.29  requests the responding party wishes to serve on the complaining 
 45.30  party.  Except for stating any objections, the responding party 
 45.31  is not required to answer any written discovery requests under 
 45.32  this subdivision until a time established at a prehearing 
 45.33  conference.  The responding party shall serve a copy of the 
 45.34  answer and any discovery requests and objections on the 
 45.35  complaining party, the department of public service, and office 
 45.36  of the attorney general by hand delivery and facsimile on the 
 46.1   same day as the answer is filed with the commission. 
 46.2      (f) Within 15 days of receiving the answer to a complaint 
 46.3   in a proceeding in which a party has requested an expedited 
 46.4   hearing, the commission shall determine whether the filing 
 46.5   warrants an expedited proceeding.  If the commission decides to 
 46.6   grant a request by a party or if the commission orders an 
 46.7   expedited proceeding on its own motion, the commission shall 
 46.8   conduct within seven days of the decision a prehearing 
 46.9   conference to schedule the evidentiary hearing.  During the 
 46.10  prehearing conference, the commission shall establish a 
 46.11  discovery schedule that requires all discovery to be completed 
 46.12  no later than three days before the start of the hearing.  An 
 46.13  evidentiary hearing under this subdivision must commence no 
 46.14  later than 45 days after the commission's decision to order an 
 46.15  expedited proceeding.  A quorum of the commission shall preside 
 46.16  at any evidentiary hearing under this subdivision unless all the 
 46.17  parties to the proceeding agree otherwise.  
 46.18     (g) All pleadings submitted under this subdivision must be 
 46.19  verified and all oral statements of fact made in a hearing or 
 46.20  deposition under this subdivision must be made under oath or 
 46.21  affirmation. 
 46.22     (h) The commission shall issue a written decision and final 
 46.23  order on the complaint within 15 days after the close of the 
 46.24  evidentiary hearing under this subdivision.  On the day of 
 46.25  issuance, the commission shall notify the parties by facsimile 
 46.26  that a final order has been issued and shall provide each party 
 46.27  with a copy of the final order. 
 46.28     (i) The commission may extend any time periods under this 
 46.29  subdivision if all parties to the proceeding agree to the 
 46.30  extension or if the commission finds the extension is necessary 
 46.31  to ensure a just resolution of the complaint. 
 46.32     (j) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, an 
 46.33  expedited proceeding under this subdivision shall be governed by 
 46.34  the following procedural rules: 
 46.35     (1) the parties shall have the discovery rights provided in 
 46.36  Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.6700 to 1400.7000; 
 47.1      (2) the parties shall have the right to cross-examine 
 47.2   witnesses as provided in section 14.60, subdivision 3; 
 47.3      (3) the admissibility of evidence and development of record 
 47.4   for decision shall be governed by section 14.60 and Minnesota 
 47.5   Rules, part 1400.7300; and 
 47.6      (4) the commission may apply other procedures or standards 
 47.7   included in the rules of the office of administrative hearings, 
 47.8   as necessary to ensure the fair and expeditious resolution of 
 47.9   disputes under this section. 
 47.10     Sec. 63.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.51, 
 47.11  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 47.12     Subdivision 1.  [CREATION.] The department of public 
 47.13  service commissioner of commerce shall administer through 
 47.14  interagency agreement with the department commissioner of human 
 47.15  services a program to distribute communication devices to 
 47.16  eligible communication-impaired persons and contract with a 
 47.17  local consumer group that serves communication-impaired persons 
 47.18  to create and maintain a telecommunication relay service.  For 
 47.19  purposes of sections 237.51 to 237.56, the department of public 
 47.20  service commerce and any organization with which it contracts 
 47.21  pursuant to this section or section 237.54, subdivision 2, are 
 47.22  not telephone companies or telecommunications carriers as 
 47.23  defined in section 237.01. 
 47.24     Sec. 64.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.51, 
 47.25  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 47.26     Subd. 5.  [DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER OF 
 47.27  COMMERCE DUTIES.] In addition to any duties specified elsewhere 
 47.28  in sections 237.51 to 237.56, the department of public service 
 47.29  commissioner of commerce shall: 
 47.30     (1) prepare the reports required by section 237.55; 
 47.31     (2) administer the fund created in section 237.52; and 
 47.32     (3) adopt rules under chapter 14 to implement the 
 47.33  provisions of sections 237.50 to 237.56. 
 47.34     Sec. 65.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 47.35  237.51, subdivision 5a, is amended to read: 
 47.36     Subd. 5a.  [DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES DUTIES.] (a) In 
 48.1   addition to any duties specified elsewhere in sections 237.51 to 
 48.2   237.56, the department commissioner of human services shall: 
 48.3      (1) define economic hardship, special needs, and household 
 48.4   criteria so as to determine the priority of eligible applicants 
 48.5   for initial distribution of devices and to determine 
 48.6   circumstances necessitating provision of more than one 
 48.7   communication device per household; 
 48.8      (2) establish a method to verify eligibility requirements; 
 48.9      (3) establish specifications for communication devices to 
 48.10  be purchased under section 237.53, subdivision 3; and 
 48.11     (4) inform the public and specifically the community of 
 48.12  communication-impaired persons of the program.  
 48.13     (b) The department commissioner may establish an advisory 
 48.14  board to advise the department in carrying out the duties 
 48.15  specified in this section and to advise the department of public 
 48.16  service commissioner of commerce in carrying out its duties 
 48.17  under section 237.54.  If so established, the advisory board 
 48.18  must include, at a minimum, the following communication-impaired 
 48.19  persons: 
 48.20     (1) at least one member who is deaf; 
 48.21     (2) at least one member who is speech impaired; 
 48.22     (3) at least one member who is mobility impaired; and 
 48.23     (4) at least one member who is hard-of-hearing. 
 48.24     The membership terms, compensation, and removal of members 
 48.25  and the filling of membership vacancies are governed by section 
 48.26  15.059.  Advisory board meetings shall be held at the discretion 
 48.27  of the commissioner. 
 48.28     Sec. 66.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.52, 
 48.29  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 48.30     Subd. 2.  [ASSESSMENT.] The department of public 
 48.31  service commissioner of commerce shall annually recommend to the 
 48.32  commission an adequate and appropriate surcharge and budget to 
 48.33  implement sections 237.50 to 237.56.  The public utilities 
 48.34  commission shall review the budget for reasonableness and may 
 48.35  modify the budget to the extent it is unreasonable.  The 
 48.36  commission shall annually determine the funding mechanism to be 
 49.1   used within 60 days of receipt of the recommendation of the 
 49.2   department and shall order the imposition of surcharges 
 49.3   effective on the earliest practicable date.  The commission 
 49.4   shall establish a monthly charge no greater than 20 cents for 
 49.5   each customer access line, including trunk equivalents as 
 49.6   designated by the commission pursuant to section 403.11, 
 49.7   subdivision 1. 
 49.8      Sec. 67.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.52, 
 49.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 49.10     Subd. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] Money in the fund is 
 49.11  appropriated to the department of public service commissioner of 
 49.12  commerce to implement sections 237.51 to 237.56. 
 49.13     Sec. 68.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.52, 
 49.14  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 49.15     Subd. 5.  [EXPENDITURES.] Money in the fund may only be 
 49.16  used for: 
 49.17     (1) expenses of the department of public service commerce, 
 49.18  including personnel cost, public relations, advisory board 
 49.19  members' expenses, preparation of reports, and other reasonable 
 49.20  expenses not to exceed ten percent of total program 
 49.21  expenditures; 
 49.22     (2) reimbursing the commissioner of human services for 
 49.23  purchases made or services provided pursuant to section 237.53; 
 49.24     (3) reimbursing telephone companies for purchases made or 
 49.25  services provided under section 237.53, subdivision 5; and 
 49.26     (4) contracting for establishment and operation of the 
 49.27  telecommunication relay service required by section 237.54. 
 49.28     All costs directly associated with the establishment of the 
 49.29  program, the purchase and distribution of communication devices, 
 49.30  and the establishment and operation of the telecommunication 
 49.31  relay service are either reimbursable or directly payable from 
 49.32  the fund after authorization by the department of public service 
 49.33  commissioner of commerce.  The department of public 
 49.34  service commissioner of commerce shall contract with the message 
 49.35  relay service operator to indemnify the local exchange carriers 
 49.36  of the relay service for any fines imposed by the Federal 
 50.1   Communications Commission related to the failure of the relay 
 50.2   service to comply with federal service standards.  
 50.3   Notwithstanding section 16A.41, the department of public service 
 50.4   commissioner may advance money to the contractor of the 
 50.5   telecommunication relay service if the contractor establishes to 
 50.6   the department's commissioner's satisfaction that the advance 
 50.7   payment is necessary for the operation of the service.  The 
 50.8   advance payment may be used only for working capital reserve for 
 50.9   the operation of the service.  The advance payment must be 
 50.10  offset or repaid by the end of the contract fiscal year together 
 50.11  with interest accrued from the date of payment.  
 50.12     Sec. 69.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.54, 
 50.13  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 50.14     Subd. 2.  [OPERATION.] The department of public 
 50.15  service commissioner of commerce shall contract with a local 
 50.16  consumer organization that serves communication-impaired persons 
 50.17  for operation and maintenance of the telecommunication relay 
 50.18  system.  The department commissioner may contract with other 
 50.19  than a local consumer organization if no local consumer 
 50.20  organization is available to enter into or perform a reasonable 
 50.21  contract or the only available consumer organization fails to 
 50.22  comply with terms of a contract.  The operator of the system 
 50.23  shall keep all messages confidential, shall train personnel in 
 50.24  the unique needs of communication-impaired people, and shall 
 50.25  inform communication-impaired persons and the public of the 
 50.26  availability and use of the system.  The operator shall not 
 50.27  relay a message unless it originates or terminates through a 
 50.28  communication device for the deaf or a Brailling device for use 
 50.29  with a telephone. 
 50.30     Sec. 70.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.55, is 
 50.31  amended to read: 
 50.32     237.55 [ANNUAL REPORT ON COMMUNICATION ACCESS.] 
 50.33     The department of public service commissioner of commerce 
 50.34  must prepare a report for presentation to the commission by 
 50.35  January 31 of each year.  Each report must review the 
 50.36  accessibility of the telephone system to communication-impaired 
 51.1   persons, review the ability of non-communication-impaired 
 51.2   persons to communicate with communication-impaired persons via 
 51.3   the telephone system, describe services provided, account for 
 51.4   money received and disbursed annually for each aspect of the 
 51.5   program to date, and include predicted future operation. 
 51.6      Sec. 71.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.59, 
 51.7   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 51.8      Subd. 2.  [PETITION.] (a) A telephone company, or the 
 51.9   commission on its own motion, may petition to have a service of 
 51.10  that telephone company classified as subject to effective 
 51.11  competition or emerging competition.  The petition must be 
 51.12  served on the commission, the department of public service, the 
 51.13  office of the attorney general, and any other person designated 
 51.14  by the commission.  The petition must contain at least: 
 51.15     (1) a list of the known alternative providers of the 
 51.16  service available to the company's customers; and 
 51.17     (2) a description of affiliate relationships with any other 
 51.18  provider of the service in the company's market. 
 51.19     (b) At the time the company first offers a service, it 
 51.20  shall also file a petition with the commission for a 
 51.21  determination as to how the service should be classified.  In 
 51.22  the event that no interested party or the commission objects to 
 51.23  the company's proposed classification within 20 days of the 
 51.24  filing of the petition, the company's proposed classification of 
 51.25  the service is deemed approved.  If an objection is filed, the 
 51.26  commission shall determine the appropriate classification after 
 51.27  a hearing conducted pursuant to section 237.61.  In either 
 51.28  event, the company may offer the new service to its customers 
 51.29  ten days after the company files the price list and incremental 
 51.30  cost study as provided in section 237.60, subdivision 2, 
 51.31  paragraph (f). 
 51.32     (c) A new service may be classified as subject to effective 
 51.33  competition or emerging competition pursuant to the criteria set 
 51.34  forth in subdivision 5.  A new service must be regulated under 
 51.35  the emerging competition provisions if it is not integrally 
 51.36  related to the provision of adequate local service or access to 
 52.1   the telephone network or to the privacy, health, or safety of 
 52.2   the company's customers, whether or not it meets the criteria 
 52.3   set forth in subdivision 5. 
 52.4      Sec. 72.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.768, is 
 52.5   amended to read: 
 52.6      237.768 [PERIODIC FINANCIAL REPORT.] 
 52.7      In addition to the reports required under section 237.766, 
 52.8   an alternative regulation plan may require a telephone company 
 52.9   to file with the department an annual report of financial 
 52.10  matters for the previous calendar year on or before May 1 of 
 52.11  each year on report forms furnished by the department of public 
 52.12  service in the same manner as is required of other telephone 
 52.13  companies on August 1, 1995.  In addition, any company subject 
 52.14  to a plan shall file with the commission and department a copy 
 52.15  of any filings it has made to the Federal Communications 
 52.16  Commission regarding the provisions of video programming 
 52.17  provided through a video dial tone facility in Minnesota.  An 
 52.18  alternative regulation plan may require a telephone company to 
 52.19  maintain its accounts in accordance with the system of accounts 
 52.20  prescribed for the company by the commission under section 
 52.21  237.10. 
 52.22     Sec. 73.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 239.01, is 
 52.23  amended to read: 
 52.24     239.01 [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES DIVISION; JURISDICTION.] 
 52.25     The weights and measures division, referred to in this 
 52.26  chapter as the division, is created under the jurisdiction of 
 52.27  the department of public service commerce.  The division has 
 52.28  supervision and control over all weights, weighing devices, and 
 52.29  measures in the state. 
 52.30     Sec. 74.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 52.31  325E.11, is amended to read: 
 52.32     325E.11 [COLLECTION FACILITIES; NOTICE.] 
 52.33     (a) Any person selling at retail or offering motor oil or 
 52.34  motor oil filters for retail sale in this state shall: 
 52.35     (1) post a notice indicating the nearest location where 
 52.36  used motor oil and used motor oil filters may be returned at no 
 53.1   cost for recycling or reuse, post a toll-free telephone number 
 53.2   that may be called by the public to determine a convenient 
 53.3   location, or post a listing of locations where used motor oil 
 53.4   and used motor oil filters may be returned at no cost for 
 53.5   recycling or reuse; or 
 53.6      (2) if the person is subject to section 325E.112, 
 53.7   subdivision 1, paragraph (b), post a notice informing customers 
 53.8   purchasing motor oil or motor oil filters of the location of the 
 53.9   used motor oil and used motor oil filter collection site 
 53.10  established by the retailer in accordance with section 325E.112, 
 53.11  subdivision 1, paragraph (b), where used motor oil and used 
 53.12  motor oil filters may be returned at no cost. 
 53.13     (b) A notice under paragraph (a) shall be posted on or 
 53.14  adjacent to the motor oil and motor oil filter displays, be at 
 53.15  least 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size, contain the universal 
 53.16  recycling symbol with the following language: 
 53.17     (1) "It is illegal to put used oil and used motor oil 
 53.18  filters in the garbage."; 
 53.19     (2) "Recycle your used oil and used motor oil filters."; 
 53.20  and 
 53.21     (3)(i) "There is a free collection site here for your used 
 53.22  oil and used motor oil filters."; 
 53.23     (ii) "There is a free collection site for used oil and used 
 53.24  motor oil filters located at (name of business and street 
 53.25  address)."; 
 53.26     (iii) "For the location of a free collection site for used 
 53.27  oil and used motor oil filters call (toll-free phone number)."; 
 53.28  or 
 53.29     (iv) "Here is a list of free collection sites for used oil 
 53.30  and used motor oil filters." 
 53.31     (c) The division of weights and measures under in the 
 53.32  department of public service commerce shall enforce compliance 
 53.33  with this section as provided in section 239.54.  The pollution 
 53.34  control agency shall enforce compliance with this section under 
 53.35  sections 115.071 and 116.072 in coordination with the division 
 53.36  of weights and measures. 
 54.1      Sec. 75.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 325E.115, 
 54.2   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 54.3      Subd. 2.  [COMPLIANCE; MANAGEMENT.] The division of weights 
 54.4   and measures under in the department of public service commerce 
 54.5   shall enforce compliance of subdivision 1 as provided in section 
 54.6   239.54.  The commissioner of the pollution control agency shall 
 54.7   inform persons governed by subdivision 1 of requirements for 
 54.8   managing lead acid batteries.  
 54.9      Sec. 76.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 326.243, is 
 54.10  amended to read: 
 54.11     326.243 [SAFETY STANDARDS.] 
 54.12     All electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment for electric 
 54.13  light, heat and power, alarm and communication systems shall 
 54.14  comply with the rules of the department of public service, the 
 54.15  commissioner of commerce, or the department of labor and 
 54.16  industry, as applicable, and be installed in conformity with 
 54.17  accepted standards of construction for safety to life and 
 54.18  property.  For the purposes of this chapter, the rules and 
 54.19  safety standards stated at the time the work is done in the then 
 54.20  most recently published edition of the National Electrical Code 
 54.21  as adopted by the National Fire Protection Association, Inc. and 
 54.22  approved by the American National Standards Institute, and the 
 54.23  National Electrical Safety Code as published by the Institute of 
 54.24  Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. and approved by the 
 54.25  American National Standards Institute, shall be prima facie 
 54.26  evidence of accepted standards of construction for safety to 
 54.27  life and property; provided further, that in the event a 
 54.28  Minnesota Building Code is formulated pursuant to section 
 54.29  16B.61, containing approved methods of electrical construction 
 54.30  for safety to life and property, compliance with said methods of 
 54.31  electrical construction of said Minnesota Building Code shall 
 54.32  also constitute compliance with this section, and provided 
 54.33  further, that nothing herein contained shall prohibit any 
 54.34  political subdivision from making and enforcing more stringent 
 54.35  requirements than set forth herein and such requirements shall 
 54.36  be complied with by all licensed electricians working within the 
 55.1   jurisdiction of such political subdivisions.  
 55.2      Sec. 77.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 484.50, is 
 55.3   amended to read: 
 55.4      484.50 [SUMMONS; PLACE OF TRIAL; ST. LOUIS COUNTY.] 
 55.5      A party wishing to have an appeal from an order of the 
 55.6   department of public service public utilities commission, an 
 55.7   election contest, a lien foreclosure, or a civil cause or 
 55.8   proceeding of a kind commenced or appealed by a party in the 
 55.9   court, tried in the city of Virginia shall, in the summons, 
 55.10  notice of appeal in a matter, or other jurisdictional instrument 
 55.11  issued, in addition to the usual provisions, print, stamp, or 
 55.12  write thereon the words, "to be tried at the city of Virginia," 
 55.13  and a party wishing a matter commenced or appealed by a party in 
 55.14  the court tried at the city of Hibbing shall, in the summons, 
 55.15  notice of appeal in a matter, or other jurisdictional instrument 
 55.16  issued, in addition to the usual provisions, print, stamp, or 
 55.17  write thereon the words, "to be tried at the city of Hibbing," 
 55.18  and in a case where a summons, notice of appeal in a matter, or 
 55.19  other jurisdictional instrument contains a specification, the 
 55.20  case shall be tried at the city of Virginia, or the city of 
 55.21  Hibbing, as the case may be, unless the defendant shall have the 
 55.22  place of trial fixed in the manner specified in this section. 
 55.23     If the place of trial designated is not the proper place of 
 55.24  trial, as specified in sections 484.44 to 484.52, the cause 
 55.25  shall nevertheless be tried in a place, unless the defendant, in 
 55.26  an answer in addition to the other allegations of defense, shall 
 55.27  plead the location of the defendant's residence, and demand that 
 55.28  the action be tried at the place of holding the court nearest 
 55.29  the defendant's residence, as provided in this section; and in a 
 55.30  case where the answer of the defendant pleads the place of 
 55.31  residence and makes a demand of place of trial, the plaintiff, 
 55.32  in reply, may admit or deny the allegations of residence, and if 
 55.33  the allegations of residence are not expressly denied, the case 
 55.34  shall be tried at the place demanded by the defendant, and if 
 55.35  the allegations of residence are denied, the place of trial 
 55.36  shall be determined by the court on motion. 
 56.1      If there are several defendants, residing at different 
 56.2   places in a county, the trial shall be at the place in which the 
 56.3   majority of the defendants unite in demanding, or if the numbers 
 56.4   are equal, at the place nearest the residence of the majority of 
 56.5   the defendants. 
 56.6      The venue of an action may be changed from one of these 
 56.7   places to another, by order of the court, in the following cases:
 56.8      (1) Upon written consent of the parties; 
 56.9      (2) When it appears, on motion, that a party has been made 
 56.10  a defendant for the purpose of preventing a change of venue as 
 56.11  provided in this section; 
 56.12     (3) When an impartial trial cannot be held in the place 
 56.13  where the action is pending; or 
 56.14     (4) When the convenience of witnesses and the ends of 
 56.15  justice would be promoted by the change. 
 56.16     Application for a change under clause (2), (3), or (4), 
 56.17  shall be made by motion which shall be returnable and heard at 
 56.18  the place of commencement of the action. 
 56.19     Sec. 78.  [REPEALER.] 
 56.20     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 216A.06; and 237.69, 
 56.21  subdivision 3, are repealed. 
 56.22     Sec. 79.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
 56.23     The revisor of statutes shall change the words "public 
 56.24  service" to the word "commerce" in the following sections of 
 56.25  Minnesota Statutes:  13.68; 13.99, subdivision 65; 17A.04, 
 56.26  subdivisions 6, 7, and 8; 17A.10, subdivision 1; 41A.09, 
 56.27  subdivision 7; 93.38; 116C.03, subdivision 2; 160.262, 
 56.28  subdivision 3; 216A.085, subdivision 1; 216B.241, subdivision 1; 
 56.29  237.662, subdivision 3; 237.70, subdivision 7; 237.295, 
 56.30  subdivision 1; 239.05, subdivisions 6c, 7a, 8, and 8c; 272.0211, 
 56.31  subdivision 1; 296A.02, subdivision 1; 308A.210, subdivisions 5 
 56.32  and 6; 325F.733, subdivision 7; and 469.164, subdivision 2. 
 56.33     Sec. 80.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.]. 
 56.34     This act is effective July 1, 2000.