SF 838

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 02/16/2017 09:21am

A bill for an act
relating to elections; establishing a voting equipment grant; providing grants to
counties and municipalities for the purchase or lease of electronic roster systems;
appropriating money.

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

Section 1. new text begin VOTING EQUIPMENT GRANT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Voting equipment grant account. new text end

new text begin A voting equipment grant is
established. Funds are appropriated to the secretary of state to provide grants to counties
and municipalities as authorized by this section. Funds appropriated for the grant are available
until expended.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Authorized equipment. new text end

new text begin (a) A county or municipality may apply to receive a
grant under this section to purchase or lease an electronic roster system that meets the
technology requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 201.225, subdivision 2. A purchase
or lease of equipment is eligible for a grant under this section if the purchase is made, or
lease entered, on or after July 1, 2017. A county or municipality that purchased an electronic
roster system before July 1, 2017, may apply for reimbursement.
new text end

new text begin (b) The grant funds must not be used for maintenance or repair of an electronic roster
system.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Amount of grant. new text end

new text begin A county or municipal government is eligible to receive a
grant equal to no more than 50 percent of the total cost of the electronic roster system. The
secretary of state must first award grants to counties and municipalities leasing or purchasing
a new electronic roster system. If funds remain after awarding grants for new systems, the
secretary of state must use the remaining funds for grants to counties and municipalities
seeking reimbursement for electronic roster systems already purchased.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Application for grant; certification of costs. new text end

new text begin (a) To receive a grant, a county
or municipality must submit an application to the secretary of state. The secretary of state
shall prescribe a form for this purpose. At a minimum, the application must describe:
new text end

new text begin (1) the expected total cost of the equipment and sources of funding that will be used for
the purchase or lease in addition to the grant funding provided by this section;
new text end

new text begin (2) the county's or municipality's plan to address the long-term maintenance, repair, and
eventual replacement costs for the equipment without using any funds from the grant for
these purposes; and
new text end

new text begin (3) any other information required by the secretary of state.
new text end

new text begin (b) The secretary of state must establish:
new text end

new text begin (1) a deadline for receipt of grant applications;
new text end

new text begin (2) a procedure for awarding and distributing grants;
new text end

new text begin (3) criteria for the fair, proportional distribution of grants if the funds do not completely
cover the requests for a particular type of equipment; and
new text end

new text begin (4) a process for verifying the proper use of the grants after distribution.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Report to legislature. new text end

new text begin No later than January 15, 2018, and annually thereafter
until the appropriations provided for grants under this section have been exhausted, the
secretary of state must submit a report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
elections policy on grants awarded by this section. The report must detail each grant awarded,
including the jurisdiction, the amount of the grant, and the type of equipment purchased.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin VOTING EQUIPMENT GRANT ACCOUNT; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2018 is appropriated from the general fund to the secretary
of state for the voting equipment grant established by section 1. This is a onetime
appropriation.
new text end