SF 3948

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 04/13/2018 09:00am

A bill for an act
relating to game and fish; creating a Save Mille Lacs stamp; appropriating money;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 97A.045, subdivision 7; 97A.055,
subdivisions 4, 4b; 97A.075, by adding a subdivision; 97A.405, subdivision 2;
97A.475, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections
97A.473, subdivisions 2, 5, 5a; 97A.474, subdivision 2.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 97A.045, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Duty to encourage stamp design and purchases.

(a) The commissioner shall
encourage the purchase of:

(1) Minnesota migratory-waterfowl stamps by nonhunters interested in migratory
waterfowl preservation and habitat development;

(2) pheasant stamps by persons interested in pheasant habitat improvement;

(3) trout-and-salmon stamps by persons interested in trout and salmon stream and lake
improvement;

(4) turkey stamps by persons interested in stamp collecting; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(5) walleye stamps by persons interested in walleye stocking and stamp collecting new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (6) Save Mille Lacs stamps by persons interested in preserving Lake Mille Lacs as a
fishing destination through walleye stocking new text end .

(b) The commissioner shall make rules governing contests for selecting a design for
each stamp, including those stamps not required to be in possession while taking game or
fish. The commissioner shall ensure that stamp design and characteristics are consistent
with the design and characteristics that are sought by pictorial-stamp collectors.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 97A.055, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Game and fish annual reports.

(a) By December 15 each year, the
commissioner shall submit to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over
appropriations and the environment and natural resources reports on each of the following:

(1) the amount of revenue from the following and purposes for which expenditures were
made:

(i) the small-game license surcharge under section 97A.475, subdivision 4;

(ii) the Minnesota migratory-waterfowl stamp under section 97A.475, subdivision 5,
clause (1);

(iii) the trout-and-salmon stamp under section 97A.475, subdivision 10;

(iv) the pheasant stamp under section 97A.475, subdivision 5, clause (2);

(v) the wild-turkey management account under section 97A.075, subdivision 5;

(vi) the deer license donations and surcharges under section 97A.475, subdivisions 3,
paragraph (b), and 3a; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(vii) the walleye stamp under section 97A.475, subdivision 10a; new text begin and
new text end

new text begin (viii) the Save Mille Lacs stamp under section 97A.475, subdivision 10b;
new text end

(2) the amounts available under section 97A.075, subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (c),
and the purposes for which these amounts were spent;

(3) money credited to the game and fish fund under this section and purposes for which
expenditures were made from the fund;

(4) outcome goals for the expenditures from the game and fish fund; and

(5) summary and comments of citizen oversight committee reviews under subdivision
4b.

(b) The report must include the commissioner's recommendations, if any, for changes
in the laws relating to the stamps and surcharge referenced in paragraph (a).

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, 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 deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin , new text end walleye stamps new text begin , and Save Mille
Lacs stamps new text end ; 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, 2020.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 97A.075, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 6a. new text end

new text begin Save Mille Lacs stamp. new text end

new text begin (a) A Save Mille Lacs account is created in the game
and fish fund. Revenue from Save Mille Lacs stamps must be credited to the Save Mille
Lacs account. Money in the account is appropriated to the commissioner only for stocking
Lake Mille Lacs with walleye fingerlings purchased from the private sector.
new text end

new text begin (b) If any portion of an open season for taking walleye on Lake Mille Lacs is limited to
catch and release, for the following fiscal year, an amount equal to the amount credited to
the Save Mille Lacs account under paragraph (a) during the previous fiscal year multiplied
by four, not to exceed $800,000, is appropriated from the game and fish fund to the
commissioner for the purpose provided under paragraph (a).
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 97A.405, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Personal possession.

(a) A person acting under a license or traveling from an
area where a licensed activity was performed must have in personal possession either: (1)
the proper license, if the license has been issued to and received by the person; (2) a driver's
license or Minnesota identification card that bears a valid designation of the proper lifetime
license, as provided under section 171.07, subdivision 19; or (3) the proper license
identification number or stamp validation, if the license has been sold to the person by
electronic means but the actual license has not been issued and received.

(b) If possession of a license or a license identification number is required, a person
must exhibit, as requested by a conservation officer or peace officer, either: (1) the proper
license if the license has been issued to and received by the person; (2) a driver's license or
Minnesota identification card that bears a valid designation of the proper lifetime license,
as provided under section 171.07, subdivision 19; or (3) the proper license identification
number or stamp validation and a valid state driver's license, state identification card, or
other form of identification provided by the commissioner, if the license has been sold to
the person by electronic means but the actual license has not been issued and received. A
person charged with violating the license possession requirement shall not be convicted if
the person produces in court or the office of the arresting officer, the actual license previously
issued to that person, which was valid at the time of arrest, or satisfactory proof that at the
time of the arrest the person was validly licensed. Upon request of a conservation officer
or peace officer, a licensee shall write the licensee's name in the presence of the officer to
determine the identity of the licensee.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (a), clause (2), if the actual license has been issued
and received, a receipt for license fees, a copy of a license, or evidence showing the issuance
of a license, including the license identification number or stamp validation, does not entitle
a licensee to exercise the rights or privileges conferred by a license.

(d) A license issued electronically and not immediately provided to the licensee shall
be mailed to the licensee within 30 days of purchase of the license. A pictorial migratory
waterfowl, pheasant, trout and salmon, deleted text begin or deleted text end walleye new text begin , or Save Mille Lacs new text end stamp shall be
provided to the licensee after purchase of a stamp validation only if the licensee pays an
additional fee that covers the costs of producing and mailing a pictorial stamp. A pictorial
turkey stamp may be purchased for a fee that covers the costs of producing and mailing the
pictorial stamp. Notwithstanding section 16A.1283, the commissioner may, by written order
published in the State Register, establish fees for providing the pictorial stamps. The fees
must be set in an amount that does not recover significantly more or less than the cost of
producing and mailing the stamps. The fees are not subject to the rulemaking provisions of
chapter 14, and section 14.386 does not apply.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 97A.473, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Lifetime angling license; fee.

(a) A resident lifetime angling license authorizes
a person to take fish by angling in the state. The license authorizes those activities authorized
by the annual resident angling license. The license does not include a trout-and-salmon
stamp validation, a walleye stamp validation, new text begin a Save Mille Lacs stamp validation, new text end or other
stamps required by law.

(b) The fees for a resident lifetime angling license are:

(1) age 3 and under, $344;

(2) age 4 to age 15, $469;

(3) age 16 to age 50, $574; and

(4) age 51 and over, $379.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 97A.473, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:

Subd. 5.

Lifetime sporting license; fee.

(a) A resident lifetime sporting license authorizes
a person to take fish by angling and hunt and trap small game, other than wolves, in the
state. The license authorizes those activities authorized by the annual resident angling and
resident small-game-hunting licenses and the resident trapping license for fur-bearing
animals other than wolves. The license does not include a trout-and-salmon stamp validation,
a turkey stamp validation, a walleye stamp validation, new text begin a Save Mille Lacs stamp validation,
new text end or any other hunting stamps required by law.

(b) The fees for a resident lifetime sporting license are:

(1) age 3 and under, $522;

(2) age 4 to age 15, $710;

(3) age 16 to age 50, $927; and

(4) age 51 and over, $603.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 97A.473, subdivision 5a, is amended
to read:

Subd. 5a.

Lifetime sporting with spearing option license; fee.

(a) A resident lifetime
sporting with spearing option license authorizes a person to take fish by angling or spearing
and hunt and trap small game, other than wolves, in the state. The license authorizes those
activities authorized by the annual resident angling, spearing, and resident
small-game-hunting licenses and the resident trapping license for fur-bearing animals other
than wolves. The license does not include a trout-and-salmon stamp validation, a turkey
stamp validation, a walleye stamp validation, new text begin a Save Mille Lacs stamp validation, new text end or any
other hunting stamps required by law.

(b) The fees for a resident lifetime sporting with spearing option license are:

(1) age 3 and under, $612;

(2) age 4 to age 15, $833;

(3) age 16 to age 50, $1,046; and

(4) age 51 and over, $666.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 97A.474, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:

Subd. 2.

Nonresident lifetime angling license; fee.

(a) A nonresident lifetime angling
license authorizes a person to take fish by angling in the state. The license authorizes those
activities authorized by the annual nonresident angling license. The license does not include
a trout-and-salmon stamp validation, a walleye stamp validation, new text begin a Save Mille Lacs stamp
validation, new text end or other stamps required by law.

(b) The fees for a nonresident lifetime angling license are:

(1) age 3 and under, $821;

(2) age 4 to age 15, $1,046;

(3) age 16 to age 50, $1,191; and

(4) age 51 and over, $794.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 97A.475, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 10b. new text end

new text begin Save Mille Lacs stamp validation. new text end

new text begin A person may agree to purchase a Save
Mille Lacs stamp validation for a donation of at least $2.
new text end