Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1998, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 345-H.F.No. 3042
An act relating to regulated industries; modifying
certain provisions of power purchase contracts and
biomass fuel exemptions; lengthening exemption period
for large telephone company to change rates; modifying
provisions for public utilities commission to assess
costs of certain proceedings; providing additional
antislamming and disclosure requirements on
long-distance service providers; clarifying
requirements relating to notification of price
increases; requiring provision of international toll
blocking; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections
216B.2424, subdivision 3; 237.295; 237.66,
subdivisions 1a, 3, and by adding subdivisions;
237.74, subdivision 6, and by adding a subdivision;
and 325F.692, subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 1997
Supplement, sections 216B.1645; 237.072; and 237.163,
subdivision 8; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 237; repealing Minnesota
Statutes 1996, section 325F.692, subdivision 8;
Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 237.66,
subdivision 1b.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section
216B.1645, is amended to read:
216B.1645 [POWER PURCHASE CONTRACTS OR INVESTMENTS.]
Upon the petition of a public utility, the public utilities
commission shall approve or disapprove power purchase contracts
or investments entered into or made by the utility to satisfy
the wind and biomass mandates contained in sections 216B.2423
and 216B.2424. The expenses incurred in accordance with the
contract and the reasonable investments made by a public utility
with the approval of the commission shall be included by the
commission in its determination of just and reasonable rates. by
the utility over the duration of the approved contract or useful
life of the investment shall be recoverable from the ratepayers
of the utility, to the extent they are not offset by utility
revenues attributable to the contracts or investments. Upon
petition by a public utility, the commission shall approve or
approve as modified a rate schedule providing for the automatic
adjustment of charges to recover the expenses or costs approved
by the commission. Nothing in this section shall be construed
to determine the manner or extent to which revenues derived from
other generation facilities of the utility may be considered in
determining the recovery of the approved cost or expenses
associated with the mandated contracts or investments in the
event there is retail competition for electric energy.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 216B.2424,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [FUEL EXEMPTION.] Over the duration of the
contract of a biomass power facility selected to satisfy the
mandate in subdivision 5, fuel sources that are not biomass may
be used to satisfy up to 25 percent of the fuel requirements of
a biomass power facility selected to satisfy the biomass power
mandate in subdivision 5. A biomass power facility selected to
satisfy the mandate in subdivision 5 also may use fuel sources
that are not biomass during any period when biomass fuel sources
are not reasonably available to the facility due to any
circumstances constituting an act of God. Fuel sources that are
not biomass used during such a period of biomass fuel source
unavailability shall not be counted toward the 25 percent
exemption provided in this subdivision. For purposes of this
subdivision, "act of God" means any natural disaster or other
natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable, or
irresistible character, including, but not limited to, flood,
fire, drought, earthquake, and crop failure resulting from
climatic conditions, infestation, or disease.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section
237.072, is amended to read:
237.072 [LIMITATION ON RATE CHANGES.]
(a) After December 15, 1997, the commission,
notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, shall not allow
an incumbent telephone company with more than 1,000,000 access
lines in Minnesota to change its retail rates for
telecommunications services without a determination of its
revenue requirement pursuant to section 237.075 unless the
incumbent telephone company is regulated pursuant to sections
237.76 to 237.773.
(b) If, prior to December 15, 1997, the incumbent telephone
company petitions the commission to become subject to an
alternative regulation plan under sections 237.76 to 237.773,
paragraph (a) shall not apply to the petitioning company until
180 270 days after the date of the filing of the petition.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section
237.163, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [UNIFORM STATEWIDE STANDARDS.] (a) To ensure the
safe and convenient use of public rights-of-way in the state,
the public utilities commission shall develop and adopt by March
1, 1998 June 1, 1999, statewide construction standards for the
purposes of achieving substantial statewide uniformity in
construction standards where appropriate, providing competitive
neutrality among telecommunications right-of-way users, and
permitting efficient use of technology. The standards shall
govern:
(1) the terms and conditions of right-of-way construction,
excavation, maintenance, and repair; and
(2) the terms and conditions under which telecommunications
facilities and equipment are placed in the public right-of-way.
(b) The public utilities commission is authorized to
review, upon complaint by an aggrieved telecommunications
right-of-way user, a decision or regulation by a local
government unit that is alleged to violate a statewide standard.
(c) A local unit of government may not adopt an ordinance
or other regulation that conflicts with a standard adopted by
the commission for the purposes described in paragraph (a).
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.295, is
amended to read:
237.295 [ASSESSMENT OF REGULATORY EXPENSES.]
Subdivision 1. [PAYMENT FOR INVESTIGATIONS.] (a) Whenever
the department or commission, in a proceeding upon its own
motion, on complaint, or upon an application to it, considers it
necessary, in order to carry out the duties imposed on it, to
investigate the books, accounts, practices, and activities of,
or make appraisals of the property of, a telephone any company,
or to render engineering or accounting services to a telephone
company, the telephone company parties to the proceeding shall
pay the expenses reasonably attributable to the investigation,
appraisal, or service proceeding. The department and commission
shall ascertain the expenses, and the department shall render a
bill for those expenses to the telephone company parties, either
at the conclusion of the investigation, appraisal, or services,
or from time to time during its progress proceeding. The
department is authorized to submit billings to parties at
intervals selected by the department during the course of a
proceeding.
(b) The allocation of costs may be adjusted for cause by
the commission during the course of the proceeding, or upon the
closing of the docket and issuance of an order. In addition to
the rights granted in subdivision 3, parties to a proceeding may
object to the allocation at any time during the proceeding.
Withdrawal by a party to a proceeding does not absolve the party
from paying allocated costs as determined by the commission.
The commission may decide that a party should not pay any
allocated costs of the proceeding.
(c) The bill constitutes notice of the assessment and a
demand for payment. The amount of the bills assessed by the
department under this subdivision must be paid by the telephone
company parties into the state treasury within 30 days from the
date of assessment. The total amount, in a calendar year, for
which a telephone company may become liable, by reason of costs
incurred by the department and commission within that calendar
year, may not exceed two-fifths of one percent of the gross
jurisdictional operating revenue of the telephone company in the
last preceding calendar year. Direct charges may be assessed
without regard to this limitation until the gross jurisdictional
operating revenue of the telephone company for the preceding
calendar year has been reported for the first time. Where,
under this subdivision, costs are incurred within a calendar
year that are in excess of two-fifths of one percent of the
gross jurisdictional operating revenues, the excess costs are
not chargeable as part of the remainder under subdivision 2, but
must be paid out of the general appropriation of the department.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e), for
purposes of assessing the cost of a proceeding to a party,
"party" means any entity or group subject to the laws and rules
of this state, however organized, whether public or private,
whether domestic or foreign, whether for profit or nonprofit,
and whether natural, corporate, or political, such as a business
or commercial enterprise organized as any type or combination of
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited
liability partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative,
joint venture, carrier, or utility, and any successor or
assignee of any of them; a social or charitable organization;
and any type or combination of political subdivision, which
includes the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the
state, a local government unit, an agency of the state or a
local government unit, or a combination of any of them.
(e) For assessment and billing purposes, "party" does not
include the department of public service or the residential
utilities division of the office of attorney general; any entity
or group instituted primarily for the purpose of mutual help and
not conducted for profit; intervenors awarded compensation under
section 237.075, subdivision 10; or any individual or group or
counsel for the individual or group representing the interests
of end users or classes of end users of services provided by
telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, as
determined by the commission.
Subd. 2. [ASSESSMENT OF COSTS.] The department and
commission shall quarterly, at least 30 days before the start of
each quarter, estimate the total of their expenditures in the
performance of their duties relating to telephone companies,
other than amounts chargeable to telephone companies under
subdivision 1, 5, or 6. The remainder must be assessed by the
department to the telephone companies operating in this state in
proportion to their respective gross jurisdictional operating
revenues during the last calendar year. The assessment must be
paid into the state treasury within 30 days after the bill has
been mailed to the telephone companies. The bill constitutes
notice of the assessment and demand of payment. The total
amount that may be assessed to the telephone companies under
this subdivision may not exceed one-eighth of one percent of the
total gross jurisdictional operating revenues during the
calendar year. The assessment for the third quarter of each
fiscal year must be adjusted to compensate for the amount by
which actual expenditures by the commission and department for
the preceding fiscal year were more or less than the estimated
expenditures previously assessed. A telephone company with
gross jurisdictional operating revenues of less than $5,000 is
exempt from assessments under this subdivision.
Subd. 3. [OBJECTIONS.] Within 30 days after the date of
the mailing of any bill as provided by subdivisions 1 and, 2, 5,
and 6, the telephone company parties to the proceeding, against
which the bill has been assessed, may file with the commission
objections setting out the grounds upon which it is claimed the
bill is excessive, erroneous, unlawful, or invalid. The
commission shall within 60 days provide for a contested case
hearing and issue an order in accordance with its findings. The
order shall be appealable in the same manner as other final
orders of the commission.
Subd. 4. [INTEREST IMPOSED.] The amounts assessed against
any telephone company or other party that is not paid after 30
days after the mailing of a notice advising the telephone
company or other party of the amount assessed against it, shall
draw interest at the rate of six percent per annum, and upon
failure to pay the assessment the attorney general shall proceed
by action in the name of the state against the telephone company
or other party to collect the amount due, together with interest
and the cost of the suit.
Subd. 5. [ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING COSTS; APPROPRIATION.]
Any amounts billed to the commission or the department by the
office of administrative hearings for telephone contested case
hearings held pursuant to section 237.25 shall be assessed by
the commissioner or the department against the telephone company
parties to the proceeding. The assessment shall be paid into
the state treasury within 30 days after a bill, which
constitutes notice of the assessment and demand for payment of
it, has been mailed to the telephone company parties. Money
received shall be credited to a special account and is
appropriated to the commissioner or the department for payment
to the office of administrative hearings.
Subd. 6. [EXTENDED AREA SERVICE BALLOTING ACCOUNT;
APPROPRIATION.] The extended area service balloting account is
created as a separate account in the special revenue fund in the
state treasury. The commission shall render separate bills to
telephone companies only for direct balloting costs incurred by
the commission under section 237.161. The bill constitutes
notice of the assessment and demand of payment. The amount of a
bill assessed by the commission under this subdivision must be
paid by the telephone company into the state treasury within 30
days from the date of assessment. Money received under this
subdivision must be credited to the extended area service
balloting account and is appropriated to the commission.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.66,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS; RIGHT TO REQUIRE PRIOR
AUTHORIZATION.] (a) Each residential and commercial
telecommunications carrier customer may elect to require that
the telephone company serving the customer receive authorization
from the customer before a request to serve that customer from a
different intrastate telecommunications carrier than the carrier
currently serving the customer is processed.
(b) For new installations, a telephone company shall notify
a residential or commercial customer of the right described in
paragraph (a) when the customer initially requests intraexchange
service.
(c) Within one year of January 1, 1997, a
telecommunications carrier shall notify each of its existing
residential and commercial customers of the right described in
paragraph (a). The notice may be made as a billing insert. Any
customer notification of the rights set forth in this
subdivision shall be provided utilizing uniform, competitively
neutral language and the form, content, and style of the
authorization shall be consistent with federal law and
regulation and shall use language provided and approved by the
public utilities commission.
(d) A customer may change this election at any time by
notifying the telephone company of that decision. No separate
charge may be imposed on the customer for electing to exercise
the right described in paragraph (a) or to change that election,
but a telephone company may recover in rates the reasonable
costs of administering the election.
(e) If a customer has elected to exercise the right
described in paragraph (a), the telephone company shall not
process a request to serve the customer by another
telecommunications carrier without prior authorization from the
customer. If a customer has not elected to exercise the right
described in paragraph (a), the company may process a request to
serve the customer by another telecommunications carrier.
(f) A carrier may request such a change if the customer has
authorized the change either orally or in writing signed by the
customer. If the carrier requests a change in a customer's
service provider, the carrier must:
(1) notify the customer in writing that the request has
been processed; and
(2) be able to present, upon complaint by the customer,
verified authorization for the change by the customer.
If the initial authorization was made orally, the carrier
must be able to present verified authorization received from the
customer within 14 business days of the date the oral
authorization was made.
(g) In the case of an oral authorization, if a
telecommunications carrier does not receive the verified
authorization within 14 business days of the date of the oral
authorization, the carrier must either bear the risk that the
change to the service of the carrier will be deemed unauthorized
under paragraph (h) or:
(1) immediately return the customer to the service of the
customer's original service provider;
(2) bear all costs associated with returning the customer;
and
(3) bill the customer for services rendered at the rate the
customer would have paid for such services if the request to
serve the customer had not been made.
(h) If the carrier is not able to present, upon complaint
by the customer, verified authorization received from the
customer as required under paragraph (f) and the carrier did not
return the customer to the service of the customer's original
service provider as required under paragraph (g), the change to
the service of the carrier shall be deemed to be unauthorized
from the date the carrier requested the change. In that event,
the carrier shall:
(1) bear all costs of immediately returning the customer to
the service of the customer's original service provider; and
(2) bear all costs of serving that customer during the
period of unauthorized service.
(i) For purposes of paragraphs (f), (g), and (h),
authorization required in those paragraphs may be verified
utilizing any method that is consistent with federal law and
regulation.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.66, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1c. [TIMING OF NOTICE; NEW CUSTOMERS.] For new
installations, a telephone company shall notify a residential or
commercial customer of the right described in subdivision 1a
when the customer initially requests intraexchange service. Any
customer notification of the rights set forth in this section
shall be provided utilizing uniform, competitively neutral
language and the form, content, and style of the authorization
shall be consistent with federal law and regulation and shall
use language provided and approved by the public utilities
commission.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.66, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1d. [CHANGE OF ELECTION.] A customer may change the
election under subdivision 1a at any time by notifying the
telephone company of that decision. No separate charge may be
imposed on the customer for electing to exercise the right
described in subdivision 1a or to change that election, but a
telephone company may recover in rates the reasonable costs of
administering the election.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.66,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ENFORCEMENT.] If, after an expedited procedure
conducted under section 237.61, the commission finds that a
telephone company is failing to provide disclosure as required
under subdivision 1, or the notification required under
subdivision 1a, paragraphs (b) and (c) subdivision 1c, it shall
order the company to take corrective action as necessary.
Sec. 10. [237.661] [ANTISLAMMING.]
Subdivision 1. [ANTISLAMMING DUTIES OF LOCAL TELEPHONE
COMPANY.] If a customer has elected to exercise the right
described in section 237.66, subdivision 1a, the telephone
company serving the customer shall not process a request to
serve the customer by another telecommunications carrier without
prior authorization from the customer. If a customer has not
elected to exercise the right described in that subdivision, the
company may process a request to serve the customer by another
telecommunications carrier.
Subd. 2. [ANTISLAMMING DUTIES OF SOLICITING CARRIER.] (a)
A telecommunications carrier may request that the telephone
company serving a customer process a change in that customer's
long-distance provider, if the customer has authorized the
change either orally or in writing signed by the customer.
Prior to requesting a change in a customer's long-distance
service provider, the carrier must confirm:
(1) the customer's identity with information unique to the
customer, unless the customer refused to provide identifying
information, then that fact should be noted;
(2) that the customer has been informed of the offering
made by the carrier;
(3) that the customer understands that the customer is
being requested to change telecommunication carriers;
(4) that the customer has the authority to authorize the
change; and
(5) that the customer agrees to the change.
(b) After requesting the change in long-distance service
provider, the carrier must:
(1) notify the customer in writing that the request has
been processed; and
(2) be able to produce, upon complaint by the customer,
evidence that the carrier verified the authorization by the
customer to change the customer's long-distance service
provider. If the carrier used a negative check-off verification
procedure as defined in subdivision 4, paragraph (c), the
evidence must include a tape recording of the initial oral
authorization.
Subd. 3. [PENALTY FOR SLAMMING.] If the carrier is not
able to present, upon complaint by the customer, evidence that
complies with subdivision 2, paragraph (b), clause (2), the
change to the service of the carrier is deemed to be
unauthorized from the date the carrier requested the change. In
that event, the carrier shall:
(1) bear all costs of immediately returning the customer to
the service of the customer's original service provider; and
(2) bear all costs of serving that customer during the
period of unauthorized service.
Subd. 4. [VERIFICATION PROCEDURES; EVIDENCE OF
AUTHORIZATION.] (a) Customer authorization for a change in the
customer's long-distance service provider may be verified using
a verification procedure that complies with federal law or
regulation. Except as provided in paragraph (b), the
requirement that the carrier be able to produce evidence of
customer authorization is satisfied if the carrier uses a
federally authorized verification procedure.
(b) If federal law or regulation authorizes a carrier to
use a negative check-off verification procedure, and the carrier
does so, the carrier must be able to produce a tape recording of
the initial oral authorization by the customer to change
long-distance service providers as evidence of the
authorization. The initial oral authorization must include
confirmation of the items listed in subdivision 2, paragraph (a).
(c) "Negative check-off" means a verification procedure
that consists of:
(1) an initial oral authorization by the customer to change
long-distance service providers; and
(2) a mailing to the customer by the soliciting
telecommunications carrier regarding the change in service
providers that informs the customer that if the customer fails
to cancel the change in service providers, the change will be
deemed authorized and verified.
Sec. 11. [237.662] [NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF
LONG-DISTANCE PROVIDERS.]
Subdivision 1. [INFORMATION REQUIRED.] When contacted by a
customer regarding the purchase of long-distance
telecommunications services, or when soliciting customers via
mail or telephone, a provider of long-distance services shall
provide the customer with the following information, if the
service is being offered to the customer, about the service
offering either orally or in writing:
(1) the price or range of prices of interstate message toll
service accessed by dialing "1+" or "10-xxx", including any
difference in prices for evening, night, or weekend calls;
(2) the price or range of prices of intrastate interLATA
message toll service accessed by dialing "1+" or "10-xxx",
including any difference in prices for evening, night, or
weekend calls;
(3) the price or range of prices of intrastate intraLATA
message toll service accessed by dialing "1+" or "10-xxx",
including any difference in prices for evening, night, or
weekend;
(4) any minimum volume requirements, fixed flat fees,
service charges, surcharges, termination charges or other
non-service-specific charges, including the fact that the
provider of local service may charge a one-time fee for changing
carriers; and
(5) any special promotional rate or promotional offering
related to the services or prices described in clauses (1) to (4)
above, including any limitations or restrictions on the
promotional rates or offerings.
Subd. 2. [PRICE, TERMS, AND RESTRICTIONS IN WRITING.] If a
customer agrees to purchase telecommunications services from the
provider of long-distance services on a presubscription basis,
the provider shall send the customer written information
regarding services subscribed to, containing:
(1) the information regarding prices and charges described
in subdivision 1, clauses (1) to (5);
(2) the price for calls placed with a calling card issued
to the customer by the provider and any surcharge for placing
calls with a calling card;
(3) the price for calls charged to the customer when a
personal "1-800" number for long-distance services issued to the
customer by the provider is used; and
(4) the price of directory assistance calls.
This written information must be sent to the customer
within seven business days from the date of the verification of
the customer's authorization, unless federal law or regulation
requires notice to be sent by an earlier date.
Subd. 3. [FILED TARIFFS NO DEFENSE.] That a
telecommunications carrier has intrastate tariffs or price lists
for the services listed in subdivisions 1 and 2 on file with the
public utilities commission or department of public service is
not a defense to any action brought for failure to disclose
intrastate prices for which disclosure is required under this
section.
Sec. 12. [237.663] [LOADING.]
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) or (c), a telephone
company or telecommunications carrier providing local service
shall not charge a telephone service subscriber, as defined in
section 325F.692, for a telephone or telecommunications service
that is not required by the commission to be offered and for
which the subscriber did not explicitly contract.
(b) If a charge is assessed on a per-use basis for a
service described in paragraph (a), the charge must be applied
as a credit to the subscriber's next monthly bill, if the
subscriber notifies the telephone company or telecommunications
carrier that the subscriber did not utilize the service or did
not authorize the utilization of the service.
(c) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier that
receives a notification from a telephone service subscriber
under paragraph (b) shall inform the subscriber of the ability
to block the services from future use by the subscriber, and
shall block the services from future use by the subscriber, if
the subscriber so requests. If a subscriber requests that the
carrier or company not block the service or later requests to
have the block lifted, the subscriber shall be responsible for
charges caused by the future utilization of that service. The
carrier or company may not charge a recurring fee for blocking
the service.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.74,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [TARIFF OR PRICE LIST CHANGES.] (a)
Telecommunications carriers may:
(1) decrease the rate for a service, or make any change in
a tariff or price list that results in a decrease in rates,
effective without notice to its customers or the commission; and
(2) offer a new service, increase the rate for a service,
or change the terms, conditions, rules, and regulations of its
service offering effective upon notice to its customers.
Subject to subdivisions 2 and 9, a telecommunications carrier
may discontinue a service, except that a telecommunications
carrier must first obtain prior commission approval before
discontinuing service to another telecommunications carrier if
end users would be deprived of service because of the
discontinuance.
(b) A telecommunications carrier may give notice to its
customers by bill inserts, by publication in newspapers of
general circulation, or by any other reasonable means. However,
notice of increases for intrastate residential rates for the
services referenced in section 237.662, subdivision 1, shall be
made by bill inserts prominently displaying the notice of price
increase on the customer's bill, or by a direct mailing or phone
call to the customer. Customer notices for increases of
intrastate rates for those services must include as a heading
"NOTICE OF PRICE INCREASE".
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.74, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 13. [INTERNATIONAL CALL BLOCKING.] A
telecommunications carrier, on its own or in conjunction with
the telephone subscriber's provider of local telephone service,
shall offer comprehensive international toll blocking of
nondomestic area codes that are part of the North American
numbering plans, as a condition of offering service in Minnesota.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 325F.692,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For the purposes of this
section, the following terms have the meanings given them.
(b) "Information service" means a billed service
transmitted exclusively orally via the telecommunications
network that may include provision of information or advice,
participation in trivia or other games, participation in adult
conversation or other group bridging services, or provision of
similar billed services. An information service may be accessed
by an information service customer by various methods including,
but not limited to, dialing a 1-900 or 1-800 telephone number,
or by the customer receiving a collect call from an information
service provider following the customer's 1-800 call.
(c) "Information service customer" means a person who
receives information transmitted from or participates in
conversation enabled by an information service provider.
(d) "Information service provider" means a person who
provides information services and directly, or indirectly
through a billing agent, either charges information service
customers for use of the information service or includes the
costs associated with providing information services in the
charge for a long-distance call.
(e) "Telephone service subscriber" means a person who
contracts with a telephone company for telephone services.
Sec. 16. [REPEALER.]
(a) Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 237.66,
subdivision 1b, is repealed.
(b) Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 325F.692, subdivision
8, is repealed.
Sec. 17. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 16, paragraph (b), are effective
the day following final enactment. Sections 6 to 13, 15, and
16, paragraph (a), are effective July 1, 1998. Section 14 is
effective January 1, 1999.
Presented to the governor March 27, 1998
Signed by the governor March 31, 1998, 10:52 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes