SF 2629

2nd Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 05/15/2010 08:45pm

A bill for an act
relating to operations of the secretary of state; regulating filings with the secretary
of state; appropriating money for grants to counties for voting equipment and
vote-counting equipment; specifying grant terms and procedures; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 318.02, subdivision 1; 557.01; repealing Laws
2005, chapter 162, section 34, subdivision 2, as amended.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 318.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definition.

The term "declaration of trust" as used in this section
means the declaration of trust, business trust instrument, trust indenture, contract of
custodianship, or other instrument pursuant to which such association is organized. Every
such association organized after April 20, 1961, for the purpose of transacting business
in this state shall, prior to transacting any business in this state, file in the Office of the
Secretary of State a true and correct copy of the "declaration of trust" under which the
association proposes to conduct its business. The copy shall also contain a statement that
the true and correct copy of the "declaration of trust" is being filed in the Office of the
Secretary of State of the state of Minnesota pursuant to this chapter and shall also include
the full name and street address of an agent of the business trust in this state. That agent
shall be the agent for service of process which shall be made pursuant to the provisions
of section 543.08. The "declaration of trust" may provide that the duration of such
association shall be perpetual. Upon the filing of the copy of the "declaration of trust new text begin , new text end " deleted text begin and
the payment of a filing fee of $150 to the secretary of state, deleted text end the secretary of state shall issue
to such association, or to the trustees named in the said "declaration of trust," or to the
persons or parties to the "declaration of trust," a certificate showing that such "declaration
of trust" has been duly filed; whereupon, such association in its name shall be authorized
to transact business in this state; provided that all other applicable laws have been
complied with. The "declaration of trust" may be amended as provided in the "declaration
of trust" or in any amendments thereto but a true and correct copy of all amendments to the
"declaration of trust," shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State deleted text begin upon the payment
of a filing fee of $50 to the secretary of state deleted text end and all amendments shall become effective at
the time of said filing. When such copy of the "declaration of trust" and any amendments
thereto shall have been filed in the Office of the Secretary of State it shall constitute public
notice as to the purposes and manner of the business to be engaged in by such association.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 557.01, is amended to read:

557.01 NONRESIDENT, AGENT TO ACCEPT SERVICE.

Any nonresident person or corporation owning or claiming any interest or lien in
or upon lands in the state may file with the secretary of state a writing, executed and
acknowledged in the manner of a conveyance, appointing a resident agent, whose place
of residence shall be stated, to accept service of process or summons in any action or
proceeding in the courts of the state concerning such interest or lien, except actions or
proceedings for the collection of taxes, and consenting that service of such process or
summons upon such agent shall be binding upon the person executing the same. Such
writing shall be recorded by the secretary. No service by publication of summons shall
be made upon any such nonresident who has complied with the provisions hereof, but in
all such cases service of such process or summons, or of any writ or notice in the action
or proceedings, shall be made upon such agent in the manner provided by law for such
service upon residents of the state, and have the same effect as personal service within
the state upon such owner or claimant; but, if such party appears by attorneys therein, the
service of papers shall thereafter be upon such attorney. The authority of such agent
may be revoked by writing similarly executed and acknowledged and recorded, but no
revocation shall affect any action or proceeding then pending. deleted text begin For filing and recording
such papers the secretary shall be entitled to 15 cents for each folio deleted text end new text begin The fee for each filing
made under this section is $50 new text end .

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; ASSISTIVE VOTING EQUIPMENT AND
VOTE-COUNTING EQUIPMENT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Operating grants. new text end

new text begin $300,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2010 from
the Help America Vote Act account to the secretary of state for grants to counties to defray
operating costs of the assistive voting equipment and vote-counting equipment in each
polling place. This appropriation is available until spent. Grants of up to $300 per polling
place may be made until this appropriation is exhausted. If the grant requests exceed the
appropriation available, the secretary of state shall prorate the grant amounts to each
eligible county to match the amount available.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Grant application. new text end

new text begin To receive a grant under this subdivision, a county
must apply to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by the secretary of state that
set forth how the grant money will be spent. Grant applications for operating costs for
the 2010 elections must be received by the secretary of state by August 1, 2010. Grant
awards must be made to the counties by December 1, 2010. If money remains from this
appropriation, the secretary may also make grants available for the 2012 election, with
grant applications due by March 1, 2012, and grants made to counties by June 30, 2012.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Eligibility. new text end

new text begin To be eligible to apply for a grant under this section, a county
must have fewer than 50,000 registered voters as of January 1, 2010, and must have
less than $300 per polling place that was used in the 2008 general election as a balance,
including any interest earned on the account, in its Help America Vote Act account from
money distributed to it in 2005.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin Each county receiving a grant under this section must include
the expenditures it has made on the appropriate Help America Vote Act reports submitted
to the secretary of state. If a county does not use the money it has received under this
section by June 15, 2013, it must return the unused money to the secretary of state by
June 30, 2013. In addition to the report required by this section, each county receiving
a grant under this act must maintain financial records for each grant sufficient to satisfy
federal audit standards and must transmit those records to the secretary of state upon
request of the secretary of state.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Operating costs. new text end

new text begin "Operating costs" include actual county and municipal
costs for hardware maintenance, election day technical support, software licensing, system
programming, voting system testing, training of county or municipal staff in the use of
voting equipment, and transportation and storage of the voting equipment.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; OPTICAL SCAN EQUIPMENT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Optical scan voting equipment grants. new text end

new text begin $2,100,000 is appropriated
in fiscal year 2010 from the Help America Vote Act account to the secretary of state
for grants to counties to purchase optical scan voting equipment. This appropriation
is available until spent. If the grant requests exceed the appropriation available, the
secretary of state shall prorate the grant amounts to each eligible county to match the
amount available.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Grant application. new text end

new text begin To receive a grant under this section, a county must
apply to the secretary of state on forms prescribed by the secretary of state that set forth
how the grant money will be spent. Applications for grants under this section must be
submitted to the secretary of state by December 1, 2010, and be for purchases made
before March 31, 2014.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Eligibility. new text end

new text begin A county is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $4,000 per
precinct to replace precinct-based optical scan vote counters if the vote counter was
purchased before December 31, 2002, and the county received no federal or state money
to defray the cost of that purchase. Counties must agree to provide a local match at least
equal to the amount of the grant under this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin Each county receiving a grant under this section must include
the expenditures it has made on the appropriate Help America Vote Act reports submitted
to the secretary of state. If a county does not use the money it has received under this
section by June 15, 2014, it must return the unused money to the secretary of state by
June 30, 2014. In addition to the report required by this section, each county receiving
a grant under this act must maintain financial records for each grant sufficient to satisfy
federal audit standards and must transmit those records to the secretary of state upon
request of the secretary of state.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Laws 2005, chapter 162, section 34, subdivision 2, as amended by Laws 2009,
chapter 101, article 2, section 95, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 3 to 5 are effective the day following final enactment.
new text end