SF 3236

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to agriculture; providing for inspections; requiring fees; requiring
a market impact study; requiring a report; modifying financial statement
requirements for grain buyers; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, section 28A.15, subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 2005
Supplement, section 223.17, subdivision 6; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 17; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections
17.10; 19.50, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12a, 13, 14, 15, 17,
18; 19.51, subdivisions 1, 2; 19.52; 19.53; 19.55; 19.56; 19.561; 19.57; 19.58,
subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 5, 9; 19.59; 19.61, subdivision 1; 19.63; 19.65; Minnesota
Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 19.64, subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [17.445] INSPECTIONS AND SERVICES; FEES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of this section, the definitions in this
subdivision have the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin (a) "Apiary" means a place where a collection of one or more hives or colonies of
bees or the nuclei of bees are kept.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Bee equipment" means hives, supers, frames, veils, gloves, and any apparatus,
tool, machine, vehicle, or other device used in the handling, moving, or manipulating of
bees, honey, wax, or hives, including containers of honey or wax, which may be used in an
apiary or in transporting bees and their products and apiary supplies.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Bees" means any stage of the common honey bee, Apis mellifera (L).
new text end

new text begin (d) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's
designees or authorized agents.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Purpose. new text end

new text begin To ensure continued access to foreign and domestic markets, the
commissioner shall provide requested bee inspections and other necessary services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Inspections and other services. new text end

new text begin On request, the commissioner may make
inspections for sale of bees, bee equipment, or appliances or perform other necessary
services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Fees. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall charge a fee or charge for expenses so as to
recover the cost of performing the inspections and services in subdivision 3. If a person
for whom these inspections or services are to be performed requests it, the commissioner
shall provide to the person in advance an estimate of the fees or expenses that will be
charged. All fees and charges collected under this section shall be deposited in the state
treasury and credited to the agricultural fund. Revenue from inspection fees and other
charges deposited in the agricultural fund, including any interest earned, is appropriated to
the commissioner to perform the services provided for under this section.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 28A.15, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Chapter deleted text begin 19 or deleted text end 221 deleted text begin licensees deleted text end new text begin permittees new text end ; warehouse operators.

deleted text begin Any
persons required to be licensed under chapter 19 or deleted text end Trucks operating under a certificate
or permit issued pursuant to chapter 221 or warehouse operators, other than cold storage
warehouse operators, offering storage or warehouse facilities for compensation.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 223.17, subdivision 6, is
amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Financial statements.

For the purpose of fixing or changing the amount of
a required bond or for any other proper reason, the commissioner shall require an annual
financial statement from a licensee which has been prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles and which meets the following requirements:

(a) The financial statement shall include, but not be limited to the following: (1)
a balance sheet; (2) a statement of income (profit and loss); (3) a statement of retained
earnings; (4) a statement of changes in financial position; and (5) a statement of the dollar
amount of grain purchased in the previous fiscal year of the grain buyer.

(b) The financial statement shall be accompanied by a deleted text begin reviewed financial statement or
audit deleted text end new text begin compilation report of the financial statement that is new text end prepared by new text begin a grain commission
firm or a management firm approved by the commissioner or by new text end an independent public
accountant deleted text begin or a compilation report prepared by a grain commission firm approved by the
commissioner deleted text end , in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants. Grain buyers purchasing less than 150,000 bushels of grain
per calendar year may submit a financial statement prepared by a public accountant who is
not an employee or a relative within the third degree of kindred according to civil law.

(c) The financial statement shall be accompanied by a certification by the chief
executive officer or the chief executive officer's designee of the licensee, under penalty
of perjury, that the financial statement accurately reflects the financial condition of the
licensee for the period specified in the statement.

Only one financial statement must be filed for a chain of warehouses owned or
operated as a single business entity, unless otherwise required by the commissioner. Any
grain buyer having a net worth in excess of $500,000,000 need not file the financial
statement required by this subdivision but must provide the commissioner with a certified
net worth statement. All financial statements filed with the commissioner are private or
nonpublic data as provided in section 13.02.

Sec. 4. new text begin UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA LICENSING AND MINNESOTA
MARKET IMPACT STUDY.
new text end

new text begin The University of Minnesota shall establish a task force to study the market impact
on Minnesota producers of agricultural products from the University of Minnesota
licensing germplasm and to make recommendations to the legislature and the Board of
Regents on ways to mitigate any negative impacts on Minnesota businesses that arise from
University of Minnesota license agreements. The task force must include a representative
of the University serving as the chair, and representatives of the Minnesota Farm Bureau,
the Minnesota Farmers Union, agricultural commodity organizations, the Minnesota
Apple Growers Association, the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, the
Minnesota Nursery Landscape Association, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and
the Minnesota Grown Program. Members serve on the task force on a voluntary basis.
The chair may also invite participation from other staff and faculty of the University of
Minnesota as necessary to fulfill the purpose of the task force. The task force must, as a
first priority, study the license agreement for the MN#1914 apple selection. The Board of
Regents and the licensee are requested, in good faith, to refrain from implementing the
MN#1914 license until the task force has reported its findings to the legislature with a
mitigation plan approved by the task force. The task force must report to the committees
of the legislature with responsibility for higher education no later than January 15, 2007.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin ($21,000) in 2006 and ($21,000) in 2007 are subtracted from the general fund
appropriation to the Department of Agriculture enacted into law by the legislature in 2005.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 17.10; 19.50, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12, 12a, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18; 19.51, subdivisions 1 and 2; 19.52; 19.53; 19.55;
19.56; 19.561; 19.57; 19.58, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9; 19.59; 19.61, subdivision 1;
19.63; and 19.65, new text end new text begin and new text end new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 19.64, subdivision
1, new text end new text begin are repealed.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 5 are effective the day following final enactment.
new text end