Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1983 

                        CHAPTER 336--H.F.No. 916
           An act relating to economic development; creating a 
          preference for Minnesota residents in the awarding of 
          public contracts; creating a preference for Minnesota 
          labor and materials; proposing new law coded in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 16. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [16.072] [PREFERENCE FOR MINNESOTA CONTRACTORS, 
LABOR, AND MATERIALS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
section, the following terms have the meanings given them:  
    (a) "Municipality" has the meaning assigned to it in 
section 471.345, subdivision 1;  
    (b) "Public agency" includes all state agencies, the 
University of Minnesota, the state university board, and the 
state board for community colleges;  
    (c) "Resident" means:  
    (1) any individual who has been a resident of Minnesota for 
one year or more immediately prior to bidding on or performing 
work under the contract;  
     (2) any partnership or association whose members have been 
residents of Minnesota for one year or more immediately prior to 
bidding on or performing work under the contract; and 
     (3) a corporation, incorporated in Minnesota, which has 
been in existence for one year or more immediately prior to 
bidding on or performing work under the contract, or which has 
its principal place of business in Minnesota; and 
     (d) "State agency" means an agency as defined in section 
14.02, subdivision 2. 
     Subd. 2.  [RESIDENT CONTRACTORS PREFERRED.] Notwithstanding 
any other law to the contrary, any contract awarded by a public 
agency for the engineering services, erection, construction, 
alteration, or repair of any public building or structure, or 
for any public work or improvement for which competitive bidding 
is not required by law, must be awarded to a Minnesota 
resident.  If competitive bidding is required by law, the 
contract must be awarded to the resident making the lowest 
responsible bid if the resident's bid is not more than ten 
percent higher than the lowest responsible nonresident bid.  A 
successful resident bidder may not subcontract more than 20 
percent of the work covered by the contract to nonresident 
subcontractors.  
    Subd. 3.  [MINNESOTA LABOR PREFERRED.] All contracts 
subject to subdivision 2 must require that, wherever possible, 
resident laborers, workers, and mechanics be used to perform all 
work covered by the contract.  
    Subd. 4.  [PREFERENCE SUBJECT TO FEDERAL LAW.] The 
provisions of this section are subject to applicable laws of the 
United States and regulations of federal agencies governing the 
use and payment of funds granted or advanced by the United 
States in connection with public works contracts.  
    Sec. 2.  [16.0721] [PREFERENCE FOR MINNESOTA AND AMERICAN 
MADE MATERIALS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] As used in this section, the 
following terms have the meanings given them:  
    (a) "Public agency" has the meaning assigned to it in 
section 1, subdivision 1, clause (b) and includes any contractor 
acting pursuant to a contract with a public agency;  
    (b) "Materials" means any goods, supplies, equipment or any 
other tangible products or materials, including foods;  
    (c) "Manufactured" means mined, grown, produced, 
manufactured, fabricated or assembled;  
    (d) "Manufactured in Minnesota" means manufactured in whole 
or in substantial part within Minnesota, or that the majority of 
its components were manufactured in whole or in substantial part 
in Minnesota, or manufactured in the U.S. by an individual, 
corporation, partnership or association.  
    (e) "Manufactured in the United States" means manufactured 
in whole or in substantial part within the United States or that 
the majority of the component parts thereof were manufactured in 
whole or in substantial part in the United States;  
    (f) "Purchase" means acquire by purchase or lease.  
    Subd. 2.  [PURCHASE PREFERENCE.] Notwithstanding the 
provisions of any other law to the contrary, no materials may be 
purchased by a public agency for use for governmental purposes 
which are not manufactured in Minnesota or the United States, 
except as may be provided in this section.  When all other 
factors are substantially equal, preference must be given first 
to those products which are manufactured to the greatest extent 
in Minnesota, and second to those products which are 
manufactured to the greatest extent in the United States.  To 
the extent possible, specifications must be written so as to 
permit the public agency to purchase materials manufactured in 
Minnesota.  
    Subd. 3.  [EXEMPTIONS.] Subdivision 2 does not apply if the 
person having contracting authority in respect to the purchase 
determines that (1) the materials are not manufactured in 
Minnesota or the United States in sufficient or reasonably 
available quantities, (2) the price or bid of the materials 
exceeds by more than ten percent the price or bid of available 
and comparable materials manufactured outside of Minnesota or 
the United States, (3) the quality of the materials is 
substantially less than the quality of comparably priced 
available materials manufactured outside of Minnesota or the 
United States, or (4) the purchase of the materials manufactured 
in Minnesota or the United States is otherwise not in the public 
interest.  Subdivision 2 also does not apply if the materials 
are purchased with a view to commercial resale or with a view to 
use in the production of goods for commercial sale.  
    Subd. 4.  [OTHER LAW SUPERSEDED.] The provisions of this 
section supersede Minnesota Statutes, section 16.073.  
    Sec. 3.  [REPEALER.] 
    Sections 1 and 2 are repealed June 30, 1985. 
    Approved June 14, 1983

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes