SF 3293

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; proposing an amendment to the Minnesota
Constitution, article XI, section 14, to allow the environment and natural
resources trust fund to be invested in land resources within the state;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116P.04,
subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 10A.01, subdivision
35; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116P.

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

Section 1. new text begin CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED; ACQUISITION
OF LAND BY THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES TRUST
FUND.
new text end

new text begin An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 14, is proposed to
the people. If the amendment is adopted, the section will read as follows:
new text end

Sec. 14.

A permanent environment and natural resources trust fund is established
in the state treasury. Loans may be made of up to five percent of the principal of the
fund for water system improvements as provided by law. The assets of the fund shall be
appropriated by law for the public purpose of protection, conservation, preservation, and
enhancement of the state's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.
The amount appropriated each year of a biennium, commencing on July 1 in each
odd-numbered year and ending on and including June 30 in the next odd-numbered year,
may be up to 5-1/2 percent of the market value of the fund on June 30 one year before the
start of the biennium. Not less than 40 percent of the net proceeds from any state-operated
lottery must be credited to the fund until the year 2025.

new text begin For the purpose of increasing the value of the trust fund, up to 75 percent of the
balance in the environment and natural resources trust fund may be invested in land,
including all costs associated with improving and managing the land, within the state that
is useful for the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of air, water,
land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. The estimated market value of any land
acquired under this paragraph shall be included in determining the market value of the
fund. Interests in land acquired under this paragraph may be: (1) sold to a governmental
organization or a nonprofit land preservation entity. The sale must require the land to be
retained for conservation or public use, with a reversionary interest held by the fund to
exercise if the land is not used for conservation or public use; or (2) sold at public sale for
not less than the appraised value. The sale terms may include conservation easements on
the land.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin SUBMISSION TO VOTERS.
new text end

new text begin The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the people at the 2006 general
election. The question submitted shall be:
new text end

new text begin "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to allow for the investment of the
environment and natural resources trust fund not only in stocks and bonds, but also in land
within Minnesota for the purpose of increasing the value of the trust fund and for the
protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of air, water, land, fish, wildlife,
and other natural resources?
new text end

new text begin Yes ....... new text end

new text begin No ......." new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 10A.01, subdivision 35, is
amended to read:

Subd. 35.

Public official.

"Public official" means any:

(1) member of the legislature;

(2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative
auditor, chief clerk of the house, revisor of statutes, or researcher, legislative analyst, or
attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel and Research or House Research;

(3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative
deputy;

(4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;

(5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state
department or agency as listed in section 15.01 or 15.06, or the state chief information
officer;

(6) member, chief administrative officer, or deputy chief administrative officer of a
state board or commission that has either the power to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under
chapter 14, or the power to adjudicate contested cases or appeals under chapter 14;

(7) individual employed in the executive branch who is authorized to adopt, amend,
or repeal rules under chapter 14 or adjudicate contested cases under chapter 14;

(8) executive director of the State Board of Investment;

(9) deputy of any official listed in clauses (7) and (8);

(10) judge of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals;

(11) administrative law judge or compensation judge in the State Office of
Administrative Hearings or referee in the Department of Employment and Economic
Development;

(12) member, regional administrator, division director, general counsel, or operations
manager of the Metropolitan Council;

(13) member or chief administrator of a metropolitan agency;

(14) director of the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement in the
Department of Public Safety;

(15) member or executive director of the Higher Education Facilities Authority;

(16) member of the board of directors or president of Minnesota Technology, Inc.; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(17) member of the board of directors or executive director of the Minnesota State
High School League deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (18) member of the Land Acquisition Advisory Council.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following adoption by the
voters of the constitutional amendment proposed in section 1.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116P.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Establishment of account and investment.

A Minnesota
environment and natural resources trust fund, under article XI, section 14, of the Minnesota
Constitution, is established as an account in the state treasury. The commissioner of
finance shall credit to the trust fund the amounts authorized under this section and section
116P.10. The State Board of Investment shall ensure that trust fund money is invested
under section 11A.24 new text begin or 116P.045 new text end . All money earned by the trust fund must be credited
to the trust fund. The principal of the trust fund and any unexpended earnings must be
invested and reinvested by the State Board of Investment.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following adoption by the
voters of the constitutional amendment proposed in section 1.
new text end

Sec. 5.

new text begin [116P.045] TRUST FUND INVESTMENTS IN LAND RESOURCES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Authorized investments in land resources; goal. new text end

new text begin As authorized
by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 14, the State Board of Investment may
invest the trust fund in interests in land, including fee interests or conservation easements.
The investment goal for the trust fund is that at least 50 percent of the trust fund will
be invested in interests in land.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Criteria. new text end

new text begin The State Board of Investment shall make decisions on
acquisition of land with money from the trust fund with the expectation that the land
will increase the value of the trust fund's assets, and in addition should consider the
following criteria:
new text end

new text begin (1) protection of natural areas that are vulnerable to development;
new text end

new text begin (2) the significance of the land or water as existing or potential habitat for fish and
wildlife and for providing fish- and wildlife-oriented recreation;
new text end

new text begin (3) the significance of the land, water, or habitat improvement to maintain or
enhance native plant, fish, or wildlife species designated as endangered or threatened
under section 84.0895;
new text end

new text begin (4) the presence of native ecological communities that are uncommon or diminishing
at the time of the decision-making; or
new text end

new text begin (5) the significance of the land, water, or habitat improvement to protect or enhance
natural features within or contiguous to natural areas, including fish spawning areas,
wildlife management areas, scientific and natural areas, riparian habitat, and fish and
wildlife management projects.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Land Acquisition Advisory Council. new text end

new text begin A Land Acquisition Advisory
Council is created to advise the State Board of Investment on the acquisition of interests in
land under this section. The council consists of:
new text end

new text begin (1) the commissioner of natural resources;
new text end

new text begin (2) the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency;
new text end

new text begin (3) the chair of the Board of Water and Soil Resources;
new text end

new text begin (4) three public members with knowledge of natural resource and environmental
protection issues and natural resource values, appointed by the State Board of Investment
according to section 15.0597; and
new text end

new text begin (5) three public members with knowledge of investment options, appointed by the
State Board of Investment according to section 15.0597.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Investment requirements. new text end

new text begin The trust fund investments in land must be
used for:
new text end

new text begin (1) land acquisition, including the costs of acquisition;
new text end new text begin new text end

new text begin (2) management and improvement of the land to achieve the criteria for acquisition
under subdivision 2; and
new text end

new text begin (3) making payments to counties under subdivision 8.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Sales of land acquired by trust fund. new text end

new text begin (a) Within 30 years of acquisition,
land acquired by the trust fund must be sold by the State Board of Investment, unless the
board finds that holding the land for a longer term would be in the best interest of the trust
fund or that the sale of the land would be detrimental to the natural resource value of the
land, based on the criteria for acquisition under subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin (b) Land acquired by the trust fund may be sold to governmental organizations or
nonprofit land preservation entities subject to a reversionary interest held by the fund to
exercise if the land is not used for conservation or public use, as required in the Minnesota
Constitution, article XI, section 14. The land may be sold for the lesser of:
new text end

new text begin (1) 90 percent of the estimated market value of the land; or
new text end

new text begin (2) the present value of the purchase price adjusted using the rate of return on overall
financial investments of the trust fund for the same time period.
new text end

new text begin (c) If there is no willing buyer under paragraph (b), land acquired by the trust fund
may be sold at public auction for not less than the appraised value of the land and may
include a permanent conservation easement in favor of the trust fund.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Management of land acquired by trust fund. new text end

new text begin Land acquired by the
trust fund shall be managed by the commissioner of natural resources or a nonprofit land
preservation entity, as determined by the State Board of Investment. Land acquired
by the trust fund may be managed for forest resources. The commissioner of natural
resources and any nonprofit land preservation entity who manages land acquired by the
trust fund must submit annual reports to the State Board of Investment on the status of
the land acquired under this section. The report shall include information on revenue
and expenditures attributable to the management of land acquired by the trust fund, as
well as the ecological status of the land.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Trust fund land management account. new text end

new text begin (a) A trust fund land management
account is created in the state treasury in the natural resources fund. The following shall
be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the trust fund management account:
new text end

new text begin (1) money received by the Department of Natural Resources from the management
of land acquired by the trust fund; and
new text end

new text begin (2) interest accrued on the account.
new text end

new text begin (b) Money in the trust fund land management account is annually appropriated to the
commissioner of natural resources for certified management costs of land acquired by the
trust fund and for making determinations of the estimated market value of the land, as
required under the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 14.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Payments in lieu of taxes. new text end

new text begin The State Board of Investment shall annually
make a payment to each county having land acquired by the trust fund under this section.
Money to make the payments is annually appropriated for that purpose from the trust
fund. The payment shall be the dollar amount adjusted for inflation as determined under
section 477A.12, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (1), multiplied by the number of
acres of land in the county that are owned by the trust fund. The distribution and use of the
payments under this subdivision shall be as provided in section 477A.14.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following adoption by the
voters of the constitutional amendment proposed in section 1.
new text end