SF 3083

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

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; establishing a process 
  1.3             for the accelerated acquisition of critical shoreland 
  1.4             habitat; authorizing the sale of state bonds; 
  1.5             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 84. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [84.972] [ACCELERATED ACQUISITION OF CRITICAL 
  1.9   SHORELAND HABITAT.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ACQUISITION REQUEST.] Local units of 
  1.11  government and interested individuals may request the 
  1.12  commissioner of natural resources to make an accelerated 
  1.13  acquisition of qualified critical shoreland habitat.  For the 
  1.14  purposes of this section, "qualified critical shoreland habitat" 
  1.15  means a parcel of land: 
  1.16     (1) that is owned by a natural person willing to sell the 
  1.17  land for a stated asking price; 
  1.18     (2) that the commissioner has endorsed as critical habitat 
  1.19  for fisheries, wildlife, or forest resources; 
  1.20     (3) where the parcel submitted for consideration contains 
  1.21  all of the nondeveloped shoreland included in the original 
  1.22  parcel; 
  1.23     (4) where at least 60 percent of the parcel is within 1,000 
  1.24  feet of the ordinary high-water mark; 
  1.25     (5) that contains a minimum of 600 feet of shoreline along 
  1.26  a lake or river; and 
  2.1      (6) where nonstate sources have committed $10,000 or five 
  2.2   percent of the asking price, whichever is greater, as matching 
  2.3   funds for the acquisition of the parcel. 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [REVIEW OF ACQUISITION REQUEST.] (a) The 
  2.5   commissioner must make a prompt determination regarding the 
  2.6   status of the property described in the request.  After 
  2.7   determining that the parcel is qualified critical shoreland 
  2.8   habitat and that there are sufficient funds available to 
  2.9   purchase the property if a favorable determination is made, the 
  2.10  commissioner must convene a workgroup to evaluate the request.  
  2.11  The workgroup may include, but is not limited to, 
  2.12  representatives from the relevant county and local governments, 
  2.13  soil and water conservation district officials, watershed 
  2.14  project members, regional staff from the department of natural 
  2.15  resources, and relevant federal agency staff.  Any individual 
  2.16  may decline to participate in the workgroup. 
  2.17     (b) The workgroup must review the request to determine 
  2.18  whether the following criteria apply: 
  2.19     (1) preservation of the property will provide a 
  2.20  demonstrable water quality benefit to the affected body of 
  2.21  water; 
  2.22     (2) existing local restrictions preserve and protect the 
  2.23  lakeshore beyond the boundaries of the property; 
  2.24     (3) the property provides access to or enhances management 
  2.25  capabilities for adjoining or nearby public land; 
  2.26     (4) the property provides opportunities for enhanced public 
  2.27  wilderness recreation, including, but not limited to, public 
  2.28  water access; 
  2.29     (5) the property provides significant protection for 
  2.30  riparian wetlands within 1,000 feet of the ordinary high-water 
  2.31  mark of the relevant body of water; 
  2.32     (6) the property contains sufficient acreage to provide a 
  2.33  significant opportunity for a green-certified timber management 
  2.34  program to be run by the county where the property is located; 
  2.35  and 
  2.36     (7) the asking price for the property is at or below the 
  3.1   fair market value. 
  3.2      (c) The workgroup must make a recommendation to the 
  3.3   commissioner based on the criteria listed in paragraph (b).  
  3.4   None of the criteria is dispositive and the workgroup must 
  3.5   consider the cumulative value of the criteria in making its 
  3.6   recommendation. 
  3.7      Subd. 3.  [ACQUISITION PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS.] (a) After 
  3.8   receiving a favorable recommendation from the workgroup, the 
  3.9   commissioner must purchase the property promptly if there is a 
  3.10  sufficient balance remaining from funds appropriated for the 
  3.11  purposes of this section. 
  3.12     (b) After acquiring the property, the commissioner may 
  3.13  provide public access to the adjoining body of water through the 
  3.14  property.  The property must retain significant critical habitat 
  3.15  after construction of the public access. 
  3.16     (c) The county where the property is located may manage 
  3.17  timber resources on the property, provided that any harvesting 
  3.18  of timber is accomplished under a green-certified program, such 
  3.19  as the Smartwood program, and provided that the program is 
  3.20  audited by a third party and the county provides the audit 
  3.21  information to the commissioner on a regular basis.  The county 
  3.22  must deposit the revenue from the timber management in the 
  3.23  county general revenue fund. 
  3.24     Sec. 2.  [ACCELERATED ACQUISITION OF SHORELAND HABITAT; 
  3.25  APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.26     $5,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds fund to 
  3.27  the commissioner of natural resources for accelerated 
  3.28  acquisition of qualified critical shoreland habitat pursuant to 
  3.29  Minnesota Statutes, section 84.972. 
  3.30     Sec. 3.  [BOND SALE.] 
  3.31     To provide the money appropriated in Section 2 from the 
  3.32  bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of finance shall sell and 
  3.33  issue bonds of the state in an amount up to $5,000,000 in the 
  3.34  manner, upon the terms, and with the effect prescribed by 
  3.35  Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the 
  3.36  Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.  
  4.1      Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.2      Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  4.3   enactment.