Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                        CHAPTER 442-H.F.No. 1772 
           An act relating to courts; increasing fees to be 
          collected; clarifying existing fee statutes; 
          increasing the penalty assessment imposed on persons 
          convicted of crimes; clarifying the purposes for which 
          it may be used; providing for the standard of care of 
          trustees; authorizing certain investments of trust 
          property; providing for powers of trustees; amending 
          Minnesota Statutes 1984, sections 176.451, subdivision 
          3; 487.31, subdivisions 1 and 4; 487.33, subdivisions 
          1 and 2; 501.125, subdivision 1, and by adding a 
          subdivision; 501.66, subdivision 28, and by adding a 
          subdivision; 514.70; 525.031; and 525.033; Minnesota 
          Statutes 1985 Supplement, sections 357.021, 
          subdivision 2; 501.125, subdivision 6; and 609.101. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 176.451, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [CLERK'S COURT ADMINISTRATOR'S FEES.] The clerk 
court administrator shall charge only 25 cents $5 for the entire 
service he performs under this section.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
357.021, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  [FEE AMOUNTS.] The fees to be charged and 
collected by the clerk of district court administrator shall be 
as follows: 
    (1) In every civil action or proceeding in said court, the 
plaintiff, petitioner, or other moving party shall pay, when the 
first paper on his part is filed in said action, a fee 
of $20 $30, except that in an action for marriage dissolution, 
the fee is $55. 
    The defendant or other adverse or intervening party, or any 
one or more of several defendants or other adverse or 
intervening parties appearing separately from the others, shall 
pay, when the first paper on his or their part is filed in said 
action, a fee of $15 $30. 
    The party requesting a trial by jury shall pay $15 $30. 
    The fees above stated shall be the full trial fee 
chargeable to said parties irrespective of whether trial be to 
the court alone, to the court and jury, or disposed of without 
trial, and shall include the entry of judgment in the action, 
but does not include copies or certified copies of any papers so 
filed or proceedings under sections 106A.005 to 106A.811, except 
the provisions therein as to appeals. 
    (2) Certified copy of any instrument from a civil or 
criminal proceeding $5, plus 25 cents per page after the first 
page and $3.50, plus 25 cents per page after the first page for 
an uncertified copy. 
    (3) Issuing a subpoena $1 $3 for each name. 
    (4) Issuing an execution and filing the return thereof; 
issuing a writ of attachment, injunction, habeas corpus, 
mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, or other writs not 
specifically mentioned, $5. 
    (5) Issuing a transcript of judgment, or for filing and 
docketing a transcript of judgment from another court, $5. 
    (6) Filing and entering a satisfaction of judgment, partial 
satisfaction or assignment of judgment, $5. 
    (7) Certificate as to existence or nonexistence of 
judgments docketed, $1 for each name certified to and $1 $3 for 
each judgment certified to. 
    (8) Filing and indexing trade name; or recording notary 
commission; or recording basic science certificate; or recording 
certificate of physicians, osteopaths, chiropractors, 
veterinarians or optometrists, $5. 
    (9) For the filing of each partial, final, or annual 
account in all trusteeships, $10. 
    (10) All other services required by law for which no fee is 
provided such fee as compares favorably with those herein 
provided, or such as may be fixed by rule or order of the court. 
     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 487.31, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  The fees payable to the clerk court 
administrator for the following services in civil actions are: 
    In all civil actions within the jurisdiction of the county 
court, the fees payable to the clerk in county court 
administrator shall be the same as in district court.  The 
county court shall determine by rule the fees payable in cases 
heard in the conciliation division of the county court. 
    The fees payable to the clerk for the following services in 
petty misdemeanors or criminal actions are governed by the 
following provisions: 
    In the event the court takes jurisdiction of a prosecution 
for the violation of a statute or ordinance by the state or a 
governmental subdivision other than a city or town within the 
county court district; all fines, penalties and forfeitures 
collected shall be paid over to the treasurer of the 
governmental subdivision which submitted a case for prosecution 
except where a different disposition is provided by law, in 
which case payment shall be made to the public official entitled 
thereto.  The following fees for services in petty misdemeanor 
or criminal actions shall be taxed to the state or governmental 
subdivision which would be entitled to payment of the fines, 
forfeiture or penalties in any case, and shall be paid 
to retained by the clerk of the court administrator for 
disposing of the matter but in no case shall the fee that is 
taxed exceed the fine that is imposed.  The clerk court 
administrator shall deduct the fees from any fine collected and 
transmit the balance in accordance with the law, and the 
deduction of the total of such fees each month from the total of 
all such fines collected is hereby expressly made an 
appropriation of funds for payment of such fees: 
    (1) In all cases where the defendant is brought into court 
and pleads guilty at or prior to first appearance and is 
sentenced, sentence is imposed or the matter is otherwise 
disposed of without a trial ..... $5 
    (2) In arraignments Where the defendant waives a 
preliminary examination pleads guilty after first appearance or 
prior to trial ..... $10 
    (3) In all other cases where the defendant stands trial or 
has a preliminary examination is found guilty by the court or 
jury or pleads guilty during trial ..... $15 
    (4) The court shall have the authority to waive the 
collection of fees in any particular case.  
     The fees set forth in this subdivision shall not apply to 
parking violations for which complaints and warrants have not 
been issued. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 487.31, 
subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 4.  The clerk court administrator shall charge and 
collect fees in proceedings brought under section 487.14, clause 
(a) and pay them to the county in the manner and at the times 
prescribed by the county board but not less often than once each 
month prescribed by law.  
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 487.33, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [DISPOSITION.] Except as otherwise provided 
by sections 487.01 to 487.39 or 574.34, the clerk of county 
court administrator shall pay to the county treasurer all fines, 
penalties and fees collected by him, all sums forfeited to the 
court and all other moneys received by him no later than the 
tenth day of the month following the month of collection. 
     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 487.33, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  At the beginning of the first day of any month, 
the amount owing to the county in the hands of the clerk shall 
not exceed $5,000 In the event the court takes jurisdiction of a 
prosecution for the violation of a statute or ordinance by the 
state or a governmental subdivision other than a home rule 
charter or statutory city or town within the county court 
district, all fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected must 
be paid over to the treasurer of the governmental subdivision 
which submitted the case for prosecution except where a 
different disposition is provided by law.  If a different 
disposition is provided by law, payment must be made to the 
public official entitled to it. 
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 501.125, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL PROPERTIES AND INVESTMENTS.] (a) 
In acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging and managing 
property, a trustee is authorized to acquire every kind of 
property, real, personal or mixed, and every kind of investment, 
specifically including, but not by way of limitation, bonds, 
debentures and other individual or corporate obligations, mutual 
funds, and corporate stocks, which an ordinarily prudent person 
of discretion and intelligence, who is a trustee of the property 
of others, would acquire as such trustee.  A trustee, in 
determining the prudence of a particular investment, shall 
consider the role that the proposed investment or investment 
course of action plays within the overall portfolio of assets.  
In applying the total asset management approach, a trustee shall 
exercise the judgment and care under the circumstances then 
prevailing, which persons of prudence, discretion, and 
intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, 
not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent 
disposition of their funds.  If the trustee has special skills 
or expertise or if the trustee holds itself out as having 
special skills or expertise, the trustee is under a duty to use 
those skills or expertise. 
    (b) Except as may be provided to the contrary in the 
instrument, the following are among the factors that should be 
considered by a trustee in applying the total asset management 
approach: 
    (1) the probable income as well as the probable safety of 
the capital; 
    (2) marketability of investments; 
    (3) length of the term of investments; 
    (4) duration of the trust; 
    (5) liquidity needs; 
    (6) requirements of the beneficiary or beneficiaries; 
    (7) other assets of the beneficiary or beneficiaries, 
including earning capacity; and 
    (8) effect of investments in increasing or diminishing 
liability for taxes. 
    Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 501.125, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 1a.  [INVESTMENT IN CERTAIN GROWTH 
ENTERPRISES.] Subject to the standards of subdivision 1, a 
trustee is authorized to invest in new, unproven, untried, or 
other enterprises with a potential for significant growth 
whether producing a current return, either by investing directly 
or by investing as a limited partner or otherwise in one or more 
commingled funds which in turn invest primarily in those 
enterprises.  The aggregate amount of investments held by a 
trustee under the authority of this subdivision valued at cost 
may not exceed ten percent of the net fair market value of the 
trust corpus, including investments made under the authority of 
this section valued at fair market value, immediately after the 
investment is made.  Any investment that would have been 
authorized by this subdivision if it had been in effect at the 
time the investment was made is authorized by this subdivision. 
    Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
501.125, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 6.  [INVESTMENT COMPANIES.] (a) In the absence of an 
express prohibition in the trust instrument, whenever the 
instrument directs, requires, authorizes, or permits investment 
in obligations of the United States or obligations, the payment 
of the principal of and interest on which is unconditionally 
guaranteed by the United States, the trustee may invest in and 
hold those obligations either directly or in the form of 
securities of, or other interests in, an acquire and retain 
securities of any open-end or closed-end management type 
investment company (1) or investment trust registered under the 
Federal Investment Company Act of 1940, whose shares are 
registered under the Federal Securities Act of 1933, and (2) 
whose investments are limited to these obligations and 
repurchase agreements fully collateralized by these obligations, 
if the repurchase agreements are entered into only with those 
primary reporting dealers that report to the Federal Reserve 
Bank of New York and with the 100 largest United States 
commercial banks.  
    (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to alter 
the degree of care and judgment required of trustees by 
subdivision 1.  
    Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 501.66, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 6a.  The trustee may invest and reinvest trust assets 
in new, unproven, untried, or other enterprises with a potential 
for significant growth whether producing a current return, 
either by investing directly or by investing as a limited 
partner or otherwise in one or more commingled funds which in 
turn invest primarily in those enterprises; provided that the 
aggregate amount of investments held by a trustee under the 
authority of this subdivision valued at cost may not exceed ten 
percent of the net fair market value of the trust corpus, 
including investments made under the authority of this section 
valued at fair market value, immediately after the investment is 
made. 
    Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 501.66, 
subdivision 28, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 28.  The trustee may employ attorneys, accountants, 
investment advisors, agents or other persons, even if they are 
associated with the trustee, to advise or assist the trustee in 
the performance of his duties; to act without independent 
investigation upon their recommendations; and instead of acting 
personally, to employ one or more agents to perform any act of 
administration, whether or not discretionary; except that: 
    (1) the trustee may not delegate all of the trustee's 
duties; and 
    (2) the employment does not relieve the trustee of 
liability for the discretionary acts of a person, which if done 
by the trustee, would result in liability to the trustee, or of 
the duty to select and retain a person with reasonable care.  
    Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 514.70, is 
amended to read: 
    514.70 [CLERK COURT ADMINISTRATOR TO PROVIDE RECORD.] 
    The clerk of court administrator shall endorse thereon the 
date and hour of filing and, at the expense of the county, shall 
provide a hospital lien book with proper index in which he shall 
enter the date and hour of such filing, the names and addresses 
of such hospital, the operators thereof and of such patient, the 
amount claimed and the names and addresses of those claimed to 
be liable for damages.  He The court administrator shall be 
paid $1 $5 as his a fee for such filing and $5 as a fee for 
filing each lien satisfaction.  
    Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 525.031, is 
amended to read: 
    525.031 [FEES FOR COPIES.] 
    The probate court shall furnish a return on appeal or a 
certified, exemplified, or authenticated copy of any paper on 
file or of record upon payment therefor at the rate of $1 per 
page, 50 cents per half page, and 50 cents for each certificate; 
and the court may furnish any other copies of any paper on file 
or of record upon payment therefor at the rate of 50 cents per 
page The fees for copies of all documents shall be the same as 
the fee established for such copies on civil proceedings under 
section 357.021, subdivision 2. 
    Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 525.033, is 
amended to read: 
    525.033 [FEES FOR FILING PETITIONS.] 
    The probate court shall collect a fee of $15 as established 
by section 357.021, subdivision 2, clause (1), for filing a 
petition to commence a proceeding under sections 524.3-401 or 
524.3-502.  There shall be no additional fee in such proceedings 
for certified copies except the final decree, for which an 
additional fee of $5 shall be charged.  
    Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
609.101, is amended to read: 
    609.101 [SURCHARGE ON FINES, ASSESSMENTS.] 
    When a court sentences a person convicted of a felony, 
gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor, other than a petty 
misdemeanor such as a traffic or parking violation, and if the 
sentence does not include payment of a fine, the court shall 
impose an assessment of not less than $20 $25 nor more 
than $40 $50.  If the sentence for the felony, gross 
misdemeanor, or misdemeanor includes payment of a fine of any 
amount, including a fine of less than $100, the court shall 
impose a surcharge on the fine of ten percent of the fine.  This 
section applies whether or not the person is sentenced to 
imprisonment and when the sentence is suspended.  The court may, 
upon a showing of indigency or undue hardship upon the convicted 
person or his immediate family, waive payment or authorize 
payment of the assessment or surcharge in installments; however, 
if the court waives payment or authorizes payment in 
installments, it shall state in writing on the record the 
reasons for its action.  
    The court shall collect and forward to the commissioner of 
finance the total amount of the assessment or surcharge and the 
commissioner shall credit all money so forwarded to the general 
fund for the purposes of providing services, assistance, or 
reparations or a combination, to victims of crimes 
through services and programs established under sections 611A.21 
to 611A.36, under chapters 256D and 299B 611A.51 to 611A.67 and 
611A.70 to 611A.75.  If the convicted person is sentenced to 
imprisonment, the chief executive officer of the correctional 
facility in which the convicted person is incarcerated may 
collect the assessment or surcharge from any earnings the inmate 
accrues for work performed in the correctional facility and 
forward the amount to the commissioner of finance. 
    Sec. 16.  [SCOPE OF APPLICATION.] 
    (a) Nothing in sections 7 to 11 invalidates: 
    (1) any instrument or property relationship that is 
executed and irrevocable as of the effective date of this act; 
or 
    (2) any action commenced prior to the effective date of 
this act, provided that the instrument, property relationship, 
or action otherwise complies with the provisions of Minnesota 
Statutes, chapter 501, in effect when the action was commenced. 
    (b) Sections 7 to 11 apply to all instruments, property 
relationships, and proceedings existing on or after the 
effective date of this act. 
    Approved March 25, 1986