Minnesota Legislature
SF 2096
1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 08/28/2019 03:05pm
Current Version - 1st Engrossment
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A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; modifying provisions for certain grants for outdoor
recreation; modifying game and fish law; extending oversight committees;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections 84.026, by adding a subdivision;
84.794, subdivision 2; 84.83, subdivision 3; 85.44; 97A.015, subdivisions 25, 43;
97A.055, subdivision 4b; 97A.126; 97A.475, subdivision 4; 97C.391, subdivision
1; 97C.395, subdivision 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 84.026, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Paying grant-eligible expenditures. new text end
new text begin
Notwithstanding section 16A.41, the
commissioner may make payments for otherwise eligible grant-program expenditures that
are made on or after the effective date of the appropriation that funds the payments for:
new text end
new text begin
(1) grants-in-aid under sections 84.794, 84.803, 84.83, 84.927, and 85.44;
new text end
new text begin
(2) local recreation grants under section 85.019; and
new text end
new text begin
(3) enforcement and public education grants under sections 84.794, 84.803, 84.83,
84.927, 86B.701, 86B.705, and 87A.10.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 84.794, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Purposes.
(a) Subject to appropriation by the legislature, money in the
off-highway motorcycle account may only be spent for:
(1) administration, enforcement, and implementation of sections 84.787 to 84.795;
(2) acquisition, maintenance, and development of off-highway motorcycle trails and use
areas; deleted text begin and
deleted text end
(3) grants-in-aid to counties and municipalities to construct and maintain off-highway
motorcycle trails and use areasnew text begin ; and
new text end
new text begin (4) grants for enforcement and public education to local law enforcement agenciesnew text end .
(b) The distribution of funds made available for grants-in-aid must be guided by the
statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan.
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 84.83, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Purposes for the account; allocation.
(a) The money deposited in the account
and interest earned on that money may be expended only as appropriated by law for the
following purposes:
(1) for a grant-in-aid program to counties and municipalities for construction and
maintenance of snowmobile trailsnew text begin that are determined by the commissioner to be part of
the state's grant-in-aid systemnew text end , including maintenance of trails on lands and waters of
Voyageurs National Park; on Lake of the Woods; on Rainy Lake; on the following lakes in
St. Louis County: Burntside, Crane, Little Long, Mud, Pelican, Shagawa, and Vermilion;
and on the following lakes in Cook County: Devil Track and Hungry Jackdeleted text begin ;deleted text end new text begin . The commissioner
may establish a performance-based funding formula for annual grants-in-aid. The procedures
and criteria for grants-in-aid are not subject to the rulemaking provisions of chapter 14, and
section 14.386 does not apply. In administering the performance-based grants-in-aid, the
commissioner must:
new text end
new text begin
(i) determine annual grant amounts based on a funding formula that includes consideration
of historical costs, snowfall, use, and tourism;
new text end
new text begin
(ii) make grant payments based on:
new text end
new text begin
(A) successful completion of performance benchmarks;
new text end
new text begin
(B) reimbursement of eligible expenditures; or
new text end
new text begin
(C) a combination of subitems (A) and (B); and
new text end
new text begin
(iii) assess penalties to nonperforming grant-in-aid recipients, which may include
withholding grant payments or making the grantee or trail system ineligible for future
grant-in-aid funding;
new text end
(2) deleted text begin for acquisition, development, and maintenance ofdeleted text end new text begin to acquire, develop, and maintainnew text end
state recreational snowmobile trails;
(3) for snowmobile safety programs; and
(4) deleted text begin for the administration and enforcement ofdeleted text end new text begin to administer and enforcenew text end sections 84.81
to 84.91 and appropriated grants to local law enforcement agencies.
(b) No less than 60 percent of revenue collected from snowmobile registration and
snowmobile state trail sticker fees must be expended for grants-in-aid to develop, maintain,
and groom trails and acquire easements.
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 85.44, is amended to read:
85.44 CROSS-COUNTRY-SKI TRAIL GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAM.
The commissioner shall establish a grant-in-aid program for local units of government
and special park districts deleted text begin for the acquisition, development, and maintenance ofdeleted text end new text begin to acquire,
develop, and maintainnew text end cross-country-ski trailsnew text begin that are determined by the commissioner to
be part of the state's grant-in-aid systemnew text end . Grants deleted text begin shall bedeleted text end new text begin arenew text end available deleted text begin for acquisition ofdeleted text end new text begin to
acquirenew text end trail easements but may not be used to acquire any lands in fee title. Local units of
government and special park districts applying for and receiving grants under this section
deleted text begin shall bedeleted text end new text begin arenew text end considered to have cross-country-ski trails for one year following the expiration
of their last grant. The department shall reimburse all public sponsors of grants-in-aid
cross-country-ski trails based upon criteria established by the department. deleted text begin Prior to the use
ofdeleted text end new text begin Before usingnew text end any reimbursement criteria, a certain proportion of the revenues deleted text begin shalldeleted text end new text begin mustnew text end
be allocated on the basis of user fee sales location.new text begin The commissioner may establish a
performance-based funding formula for annual grants-in-aid. The procedures and criteria
for grants-in-aid are not subject to the rulemaking provisions of chapter 14, and section
14.386 does not apply. In administering the performance-based grants-in-aid, the
commissioner must:
new text end
new text begin
(1) determine annual grant amounts based on a funding formula that includes
consideration of historical costs, snowfall, use, and tourism;
new text end
new text begin
(2) make grant payments based on:
new text end
new text begin
(i) successful completion of performance benchmarks;
new text end
new text begin
(ii) reimbursement of eligible expenditures; or
new text end
new text begin
(iii) a combination of items (i) and (ii); and
new text end
new text begin
(3) assess penalties to nonperforming grant-in-aid recipients, which may include
withholding grant payments or making the grantee or trail system ineligible for future
grant-in-aid funding.
new text end
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97A.015, subdivision 25, is amended to read:
Subd. 25.
Game fish.
"Game fish" means deleted text begin walleye, sauger, yellow perch, channel catfish,
flathead catfish; members of the pike family, Esocidae, including muskellunge and northern
pike; members of the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, including largemouth bass, smallmouth
bass, sunfish, rock bass, white crappie, black crappie, members of the temperate bass family,
Percichthyidae, including white bass and yellow bass; members of the salmon and trout
subfamily, Salmoninae, including Atlantic salmon, chinook salmon, coho salmon, pink
salmon, kokanee salmon, lake trout, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow (steelhead) trout,
and splake; members of the paddlefish family, Polyodontidae; members of the sturgeon
family, Acipenseridae, including lake sturgeon, and shovelnose sturgeon.deleted text end new text begin fish from the
following families and species: Acipenseridae (lake sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon),
Anguillidae (American eel), Centrarchidae (black crappie; largemouth bass; rock bass;
smallmouth bass; white crappie; and sunfishes, including bluegill, green sunfish, longear
sunfish, orangespotted sunfish, pumpkinseed, and warmouth), Esocidae (muskellunge and
northern pike), Gadidae (burbot), Ictaluridae (blue catfish, channel catfish, and flathead
catfish), Moronidae (white bass and yellow bass), Percidae (sauger, walleye, and yellow
perch), Polyodontidae (paddlefish), and Salmonidae (Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown
trout, chinook salmon, cisco (tullibee), coho salmon, kokanee salmon, lake trout, lake
whitefish, pink salmon, and rainbow trout).new text end deleted text begin "deleted text end Game fishdeleted text begin "deleted text end includes hybrids of game fish.
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97A.015, subdivision 43, is amended to read:
Subd. 43.
Rough fish.
"Rough fish" means carp, buffalo, sucker, sheepshead, bowfin,
deleted text begin burbot, cisco,deleted text end gar, goldeye, and bullhead, except for any fish species listed as endangered,
threatened, or of special concern in Minnesota Rules, chapter 6134.
Sec. 7.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97A.055, subdivision 4b, is amended to read:
Subd. 4b.
Citizen oversight committees.
(a) The commissioner shall appoint committees
of affected persons to review the reports prepared under subdivision 4; review the proposed
work plans and budgets for the coming year; propose changes in policies, activities, and
revenue enhancements or reductions; review other relevant information; and make
recommendations to the legislature and the commissioner for improvements in the
management and use of money in the game and fish fund.
(b) The commissioner shall appoint the following committees, each comprised of at
least ten affected persons:
(1) a Fisheries Oversight Committee to review fisheries funding and expenditures,
including activities related to trout-and-salmon stamps and walleye stamps; and
(2) a Wildlife Oversight Committee to review wildlife funding and expenditures,
including activities related to migratory waterfowl, pheasant, and wild turkey management
and deer and big game management.
(c) The chairs of the Fisheries Oversight Committee and the Wildlife Oversight
Committee, and four additional members from each committee, shall form a Budgetary
Oversight Committee to coordinate the integration of the fisheries and wildlife oversight
committee reports into an annual report to the legislature; recommend changes on a broad
level in policies, activities, and revenue enhancements or reductions; and provide a forum
to address issues that transcend the fisheries and wildlife oversight committees.
(d) The Budgetary Oversight Committee shall develop recommendations for a biennial
budget plan and report for expenditures on game and fish activities. By August 15 of each
even-numbered year, the committee shall submit the budget plan recommendations to the
commissioner and to the senate and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction
over natural resources finance.
(e) The chairs of the Fisheries Oversight Committee and the Wildlife Oversight
Committee shall be chosen by their respective committees. The chair of the Budgetary
Oversight Committee shall be appointed by the commissioner and may not be the chair of
either of the other oversight committees.
(f) The Budgetary Oversight Committee may make recommendations to the commissioner
and to the senate and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over natural
resources finance for outcome goals from expenditures.
(g) The committees authorized under this subdivision are not advisory councils or
committees governed by section 15.059 and are not subject to section 15.059. Committee
members appointed by the commissioner may request reimbursement for mileage expenses
in the same manner and amount as authorized by the commissioner's plan adopted under
section 43A.18, subdivision 2. Committee members must not receive daily compensation
for oversight activities. The Fisheries Oversight Committee, the Wildlife Oversight
Committee, and the Budgetary Oversight Committee expire June 30, deleted text begin 2020deleted text end new text begin 2025new text end .
Sec. 8.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97A.126, is amended to read:
97A.126 WALK-IN ACCESS PROGRAM.
Subdivision 1.
Establishment.
A walk-in access program is established to provide public
access to wildlife habitat on deleted text begin privatedeleted text end landnew text begin not otherwise open to the publicnew text end for hunting,
excluding trapping, as provided under this section. The commissioner may enter into
agreements with other units of government and landowners to provide deleted text begin private landdeleted text end hunting
access.
Subd. 2.
Use of enrolled lands.
(a) From September 1 to May 31, a person must have
a walk-in access hunter validation in possession to hunt on deleted text begin privatedeleted text end lands, including
agricultural lands, that are posted as being enrolled in the walk-in access program.
(b) Hunting on deleted text begin privatedeleted text end lands that are posted as enrolled in the walk-in access program
is allowed from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
(c) Hunter access on deleted text begin privatedeleted text end lands that are posted as enrolled in the walk-in access
program is restricted to nonmotorized use, except by hunters with disabilities operating
motor vehicles on established trails or field roads who possess a valid permit to shoot from
a stationary vehicle under section 97B.055, subdivision 3.
(d) The general provisions for use of wildlife management areas adopted under sections
86A.06 and 97A.137, relating to overnight use, alcoholic beverages, use of motorboats,
firearms and target shooting, hunting stands, abandonment of trash and property, destruction
or removal of property, introduction of plants or animals, and animal trespass, apply to
hunters on lands enrolled in the walk-in access program.
(e) Any use of enrolled lands other than hunting according to this section is prohibited,
including:
(1) harvesting bait, including minnows, leeches, and other live bait;
(2) training dogs or using dogs for activities other than hunting; and
(3) constructing or maintaining any building, dock, fence, billboard, sign, hunting blind,
or other structure, unless constructed or maintained by the landowner.
Sec. 9.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97A.475, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Small-game surcharge and donation.
(a) Fees for annual licenses to take
small game must be increased by a surcharge of $6.50, except licenses under subdivisions
2, clauses (18) and (19); and 3, paragraph (a), deleted text begin clausedeleted text end new text begin clausesnew text end (14)new text begin and (15)new text end . An additional
commission may not be assessed on the surcharge and the following statement must be
included in the annual small-game-hunting regulations: "This $6.50 surcharge is being paid
by hunters for the acquisition and development of wildlife lands."
(b) A person may agree to add a donation of $1, $3, or $5 to the fees for annual resident
and nonresident licenses to take small game. An additional commission may not be assessed
on the donation. The following statement must be included in the annual small-game-hunting
regulations: "The small-game license donations are being paid by hunters for administration
of the walk-in access program."
Sec. 10.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97C.391, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
General restrictions.
A person may not buy or sell fish taken from the
waters of this state, except:
(1) minnows;
(2) rough fish deleted text begin excluding ciscoesdeleted text end ;
(3) smelt taken from Lake Superior and rivers and streams that flow into Lake Superior;
(4) fish taken under licensed commercial fishing operations;
(5) fish that are private aquatic life; and
(6) fish lawfully taken and subject to sale from other states and countries.
Sec. 11.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 97C.395, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Continuous season for certain species.
For sunfish, white crappie, black
crappie, yellow perch, catfish, rock bass, white bass, new text begin yellow bass, burbot, cisco (tullibee),
new text end lake whitefish, and rough fish, the open season is continuous.