1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; abolishing the office of 
  1.3             strategic and long-range planning; eliminating certain 
  1.4             functions; transferring certain functions to other 
  1.5             state or local entities; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             2002, sections 4.045; 4A.02; 4A.03; 4A.04; 4A.05; 
  1.7             14.03, subdivision 2; 15A.0815, subdivision 2; 
  1.8             40A.121; 43A.08, subdivision 1; 115A.9651, subdivision 
  1.9             5; 116.182, subdivision 3a; 116C.03, subdivisions 2, 
  1.10            4, 5; 116C.712, subdivisions 3, 5; 124D.23, 
  1.11            subdivision 9; 145.9266, subdivision 6; 272.67, 
  1.12            subdivision 1; 276A.09; 365.46, subdivision 2; 379.05; 
  1.13            394.232, subdivisions 1, 2, 6, 7; 412.021, subdivision 
  1.14            1; 412.091; 414.01, subdivisions 1b, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 
  1.15            16, 17; 414.011, by adding a subdivision; 414.012; 
  1.16            414.02; 414.031; 414.0325, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 
  1.17            4a; 414.033, subdivisions 3, 5, 6, 7, 10; 414.0335; 
  1.18            414.041; 414.06; 414.061; 414.063; 414.067, 
  1.19            subdivisions 1, 3; 414.07, subdivision 2; 414.08; 
  1.20            414.09; 414.12; 462.3535, subdivisions 1, 5, 8, 10; 
  1.21            473.129, subdivision 5; 473.1455; 473F.13, subdivision 
  1.22            1; 473H.14; 477A.014, subdivision 4; 572A.01; 
  1.23            572A.015; 572A.02, subdivisions 5, 6; 572A.03, 
  1.24            subdivisions 1, 2; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.25            sections 4A.01; 4A.055; 4A.06; 4A.07; 394.232, 
  1.26            subdivision 5; 414.01, subdivisions 1, 7a, 10; 
  1.27            414.011, subdivision 11; 414.051; 462.3535, 
  1.28            subdivision 9. 
  1.29  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.30                             ARTICLE 1 
  1.31                          OFFICE ABOLISHED 
  1.32     Section 1.  [OFFICE ABOLISHED.] 
  1.33     The office of strategic and long-range planning is 
  1.34  abolished.  The position of director of the office is 
  1.35  abolished.  Certain functions of the office are transferred as 
  1.36  provided in articles 2 and 3. 
  1.37     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.1      Section 1 is effective July 1, 2003. 
  2.2                              ARTICLE 2 
  2.3              TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS; CONFORMING CHANGES 
  2.4      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 4.045, is 
  2.5   amended to read: 
  2.6      4.045 [CHILDREN'S CABINET.] 
  2.7      The children's cabinet shall consist of the commissioners 
  2.8   of children, families, and learning, human services, economic 
  2.9   security, public safety, corrections, finance, health, 
  2.10  administration, housing finance agency, and transportation~~, and~~ 
  2.11  ~~the director of the office of strategic and long-range planning~~. 
  2.12  The governor shall designate one member to serve as cabinet 
  2.13  chair.  The chair is responsible for ensuring that the duties of 
  2.14  the children's cabinet are performed. 
  2.15     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 4A.02, is amended 
  2.16  to read: 
  2.17     4A.02 [STATE DEMOGRAPHER.] 
  2.18     (a) The ~~director~~ commissioner of administration shall 
  2.19  appoint a state demographer.  The demographer must be 
  2.20  professionally competent in demography and must possess 
  2.21  demonstrated ability based upon past performance.  
  2.22     (b) The demographer shall: 
  2.23     (1) continuously gather and develop demographic data 
  2.24  relevant to the state; 
  2.25     (2) design and test methods of research and data 
  2.26  collection; 
  2.27     (3) periodically prepare population projections for the 
  2.28  state and designated regions and periodically prepare 
  2.29  projections for each county or other political subdivision of 
  2.30  the state as necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
  2.31  section; 
  2.32     (4) review, comment on, and prepare analysis of population 
  2.33  estimates and projections made by state agencies, political 
  2.34  subdivisions, other states, federal agencies, or nongovernmental 
  2.35  persons, institutions, or commissions; 
  2.36     (5) serve as the state liaison with the United States 
  3.1   Bureau of the Census, coordinate state and federal demographic 
  3.2   activities to the fullest extent possible, and aid the 
  3.3   legislature in preparing a census data plan and form for each 
  3.4   decennial census; 
  3.5      (6) compile an annual study of population estimates on the 
  3.6   basis of county, regional, or other political or geographical 
  3.7   subdivisions as necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
  3.8   section and section 4A.03; 
  3.9      (7) by January 1 of each year, issue a report to the 
  3.10  legislature containing an analysis of the demographic 
  3.11  implications of the annual population study and population 
  3.12  projections; 
  3.13     (8) prepare maps for all counties in the state, all 
  3.14  municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more, and other 
  3.15  municipalities as needed for census purposes, according to scale 
  3.16  and detail recommended by the United States Bureau of the 
  3.17  Census, with the maps of cities showing precinct boundaries; 
  3.18     (9) prepare an estimate of population and of the number of 
  3.19  households for each governmental subdivision for which the 
  3.20  metropolitan council does not prepare an annual estimate, and 
  3.21  convey the estimates to the governing body of each political 
  3.22  subdivision by May 1 of each year; 
  3.23     (10) direct, under section 414.01, subdivision 14, and 
  3.24  certify population and household estimates of annexed or 
  3.25  detached areas of municipalities or towns after being notified 
  3.26  of the order or letter of approval ~~by the Minnesota municipal~~ 
  3.27  ~~board~~ under chapter 414; and 
  3.28     (11) prepare, for any purpose for which a population 
  3.29  estimate is required by law or needed to implement a law, a 
  3.30  population estimate of a municipality or town whose population 
  3.31  is affected by action under section 379.02 or 414.01, 
  3.32  subdivision 14. 
  3.33     (c) A governing body may challenge an estimate made under 
  3.34  paragraph (b) by filing their specific objections in writing 
  3.35  with the state demographer by June 10.  If the challenge does 
  3.36  not result in an acceptable estimate by June 24, the governing 
  4.1   body may have a special census conducted by the United States 
  4.2   Bureau of the Census.  The political subdivision must notify the 
  4.3   state demographer by July 1 of its intent to have the special 
  4.4   census conducted.  The political subdivision must bear all costs 
  4.5   of the special census.  Results of the special census must be 
  4.6   received by the state demographer by the next April 15 to be 
  4.7   used in that year's May 1 estimate to the political subdivision 
  4.8   under paragraph (b). 
  4.9      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 4A.03, is amended 
  4.10  to read: 
  4.11     4A.03 [POPULATION ESTIMATES AND PROJECTIONS; SUBMISSION BY 
  4.12  STATE AGENCIES.] 
  4.13     Each state agency shall submit to the ~~director~~ commissioner 
  4.14  of administration for comment all population estimates and 
  4.15  projections prepared by it before: 
  4.16     (1) submitting the estimates and projections to the 
  4.17  legislature or the federal government to obtain approval of 
  4.18  grants; 
  4.19     (2) the issuance of bonds based upon those estimates and 
  4.20  projections; or 
  4.21     (3) releasing a plan based upon the estimates and 
  4.22  projections. 
  4.23     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 4A.04, is amended 
  4.24  to read: 
  4.25     4A.04 [COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS.] 
  4.26     (a) The ~~director~~ commissioner of administration may apply 
  4.27  for, receive, and expend money from municipal, county, regional, 
  4.28  and other planning agencies; apply for, accept, and disburse 
  4.29  grants and other aids for planning purposes from the federal 
  4.30  government and from other public or private sources; and may 
  4.31  enter into contracts with agencies of the federal government, 
  4.32  local governmental units, the University of Minnesota, and other 
  4.33  educational institutions, and private persons as necessary to 
  4.34  perform the director's duties.  Contracts made pursuant to this 
  4.35  section are not subject to the provisions of chapter 16C, as 
  4.36  they relate to competitive bidding. 
  5.1      (b) The director may apply for, receive, and expend money 
  5.2   made available from federal sources or other sources for the 
  5.3   purposes of carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the 
  5.4   director relating to local and urban affairs.  
  5.5      (c) All money received by the director pursuant to this 
  5.6   section shall be deposited in the state treasury and is 
  5.7   appropriated to the director for the purposes for which the 
  5.8   money has been received.  The money shall not cancel and is 
  5.9   available until expended.  
  5.10     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 4A.05, is amended 
  5.11  to read: 
  5.12     4A.05 [LAND MANAGEMENT INFORMATION CENTER.] 
  5.13     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The purpose of the land 
  5.14  management information center is to foster integration of 
  5.15  environmental information and provide services in computer 
  5.16  mapping and graphics, environmental analysis, and small systems 
  5.17  development.  The ~~director~~ commissioner of administration, 
  5.18  through the center, shall periodically study land use and 
  5.19  natural resources on the basis of county, regional, and other 
  5.20  political subdivisions. 
  5.21     Subd. 1a.  [STATEWIDE NITRATE DATABASE.] The 
  5.22  ~~director~~ commissioner, through the center, shall maintain a 
  5.23  statewide nitrate database containing the data described in 
  5.24  section 103A.403. 
  5.25     Subd. 2.  [FEES.] The ~~director~~ commissioner shall set fees 
  5.26  under section 16A.1285 reflecting the actual costs of providing 
  5.27  the center's information products and services to clients.  Fees 
  5.28  collected must be deposited in the state treasury and credited 
  5.29  to the land management information center revolving account.  
  5.30  Money in the account is appropriated to the ~~director~~ 
  5.31  commissioner for operation of the land management information 
  5.32  system, including the cost of services, supplies, materials, 
  5.33  labor, and equipment, as well as the portion of the general 
  5.34  support costs and statewide indirect costs of the office that is 
  5.35  attributable to the land management information system.  
  5.36  The ~~director~~ commissioner may require a state agency to make an 
  6.1   advance payment to the revolving fund sufficient to cover the 
  6.2   agency's estimated obligation for a period of 60 days or more.  
  6.3   If the revolving fund is abolished or liquidated, the total net 
  6.4   profit from operations must be distributed to the funds from 
  6.5   which purchases were made.  The amount to be distributed to each 
  6.6   fund must bear to the net profit the same ratio as the total 
  6.7   purchases from each fund bear to the total purchases from all 
  6.8   the funds during a period of time that fairly reflects the 
  6.9   amount of net profit each fund is entitled to receive under this 
  6.10  distribution. 
  6.11     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 15A.0815, 
  6.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  6.13     Subd. 2.  [GROUP I SALARY LIMITS.] The salaries for 
  6.14  positions in this subdivision may not exceed 95 percent of the 
  6.15  salary of the governor:  
  6.16     Commissioner of administration; 
  6.17     Commissioner of agriculture; 
  6.18     Commissioner of children, families, and learning; 
  6.19     Commissioner of commerce; 
  6.20     Commissioner of corrections; 
  6.21     Commissioner of economic security; 
  6.22     Commissioner of employee relations; 
  6.23     Commissioner of finance; 
  6.24     Commissioner of health; 
  6.25     Executive director, higher education services office; 
  6.26     Commissioner, housing finance agency; 
  6.27     Commissioner of human rights; 
  6.28     Commissioner of human services; 
  6.29     Executive director, state board of investment; 
  6.30     Commissioner of labor and industry; 
  6.31     Commissioner of natural resources; 
  6.32     ~~Director of office of strategic and long-range planning;~~ 
  6.33     Commissioner, pollution control agency; 
  6.34     Commissioner of public safety; 
  6.35     Commissioner of revenue; 
  6.36     Commissioner of trade and economic development; 
  7.1      Commissioner of transportation; and 
  7.2      Commissioner of veterans affairs. 
  7.3      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 43A.08, 
  7.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  7.5      Subdivision 1.  [UNCLASSIFIED POSITIONS.] Unclassified 
  7.6   positions are held by employees who are: 
  7.7      (1) chosen by election or appointed to fill an elective 
  7.8   office; 
  7.9      (2) heads of agencies required by law to be appointed by 
  7.10  the governor or other elective officers, and the executive or 
  7.11  administrative heads of departments, bureaus, divisions, and 
  7.12  institutions specifically established by law in the unclassified 
  7.13  service; 
  7.14     (3) deputy and assistant agency heads and one confidential 
  7.15  secretary in the agencies listed in subdivision 1a ~~and in the~~ 
  7.16  ~~office of strategic and long-range planning~~; 
  7.17     (4) the confidential secretary to each of the elective 
  7.18  officers of this state and, for the secretary of state, state 
  7.19  auditor, and state treasurer, an additional deputy, clerk, or 
  7.20  employee; 
  7.21     (5) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of 
  7.22  public safety to assist in the issuance of vehicle licenses; 
  7.23     (6) employees in the offices of the governor and of the 
  7.24  lieutenant governor and one confidential employee for the 
  7.25  governor in the office of the adjutant general; 
  7.26     (7) employees of the Washington, D.C., office of the state 
  7.27  of Minnesota; 
  7.28     (8) employees of the legislature and of legislative 
  7.29  committees or commissions; provided that employees of the 
  7.30  legislative audit commission, except for the legislative 
  7.31  auditor, the deputy legislative auditors, and their confidential 
  7.32  secretaries, shall be employees in the classified service; 
  7.33     (9) presidents, vice-presidents, deans, other managers and 
  7.34  professionals in academic and academic support programs, 
  7.35  administrative or service faculty, teachers, research 
  7.36  assistants, and student employees eligible under terms of the 
  8.1   federal Economic Opportunity Act work study program in the 
  8.2   Perpich center for arts education and the Minnesota state 
  8.3   colleges and universities, but not the custodial, clerical, or 
  8.4   maintenance employees, or any professional or managerial 
  8.5   employee performing duties in connection with the business 
  8.6   administration of these institutions; 
  8.7      (10) officers and enlisted persons in the national guard; 
  8.8      (11) attorneys, legal assistants, and three confidential 
  8.9   employees appointed by the attorney general or employed with the 
  8.10  attorney general's authorization; 
  8.11     (12) judges and all employees of the judicial branch, 
  8.12  referees, receivers, jurors, and notaries public, except 
  8.13  referees and adjusters employed by the department of labor and 
  8.14  industry; 
  8.15     (13) members of the state patrol; provided that selection 
  8.16  and appointment of state patrol troopers must be made in 
  8.17  accordance with applicable laws governing the classified 
  8.18  service; 
  8.19     (14) chaplains employed by the state; 
  8.20     (15) examination monitors and intermittent training 
  8.21  instructors employed by the departments of employee relations 
  8.22  and commerce and by professional examining boards and 
  8.23  intermittent staff employed by the technical colleges for the 
  8.24  administration of practical skills tests and for the staging of 
  8.25  instructional demonstrations; 
  8.26     (16) student workers; 
  8.27     (17) executive directors or executive secretaries appointed 
  8.28  by and reporting to any policy-making board or commission 
  8.29  established by statute; 
  8.30     (18) employees unclassified pursuant to other statutory 
  8.31  authority; 
  8.32     (19) intermittent help employed by the commissioner of 
  8.33  agriculture to perform duties relating to pesticides, 
  8.34  fertilizer, and seed regulation; 
  8.35     (20) the administrators and the deputy administrators at 
  8.36  the state academies for the deaf and the blind; and 
  9.1      (21) chief executive officers in the department of human 
  9.2   services. 
  9.3      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 115A.9651, 
  9.4   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  9.5      Subd. 5.  [LISTED METALS ADVISORY COUNCIL.] (a) The purpose 
  9.6   of the listed metals advisory council is to promote ~~sustainable~~ 
  9.7   ~~development, as defined in section 4A.07, and the~~ public health 
  9.8   and welfare and protect the environment and the state's economy 
  9.9   by removing listed metals from specified products so that the 
  9.10  listed metals do not contribute to bioaccumulation and burden 
  9.11  taxpayers with unnecessary disposal costs. 
  9.12     (b) By July 1, 1997, the commissioner shall appoint a 
  9.13  listed metals advisory council consisting of the following five 
  9.14  permanent members:  a chair, a representative of government, a 
  9.15  representative of business, a representative of a citizens' 
  9.16  organization, and a representative from a relevant field of 
  9.17  academia.  Temporary members of the council shall be appointed 
  9.18  by the commissioner under paragraph (f).  No permanent or 
  9.19  temporary member of the council who is an employee of a 
  9.20  manufacturer or user of a specified product may sit in 
  9.21  consideration of that product. 
  9.22     (c) The council shall have the following duties: 
  9.23     (1) review reports submitted under subdivisions 6, 7, and 8 
  9.24  and provide advice to the commissioner pursuant to paragraph 
  9.25  (d); and 
  9.26     (2) report to the commissioner on October 1, 2000, and 
  9.27  October 1, 2005, on any reasonable measures that would allow the 
  9.28  criteria in paragraph (d) to be met with regard to products 
  9.29  reviewed based on information obtained during the review of 
  9.30  products. 
  9.31     (d) The council's advice to the commissioner under 
  9.32  paragraph (c), clause (1), shall be based on an evaluation of 
  9.33  the environmental impact of the product and the ability of the 
  9.34  manufacturer or user to reduce or eliminate the listed metal.  
  9.35  Before making a recommendation that the commissioner take action 
  9.36  under subdivision 9, the council must conclude that: 
 10.1      (1) there is an alternative to the specified product that 
 10.2   does not contain the listed metal that performs the same 
 10.3   technical function, is commercially available, and is 
 10.4   economically practicable; and 
 10.5      (2) replacement of the product with the alternative will 
 10.6   result in an environmental benefit in the state. 
 10.7      (e) A recommendation that the commissioner take action 
 10.8   under subdivision 9 shall include the information required by 
 10.9   section 14.131 to the extent the council, through reasonable 
 10.10  effort, can ascertain this information. 
 10.11     (f) Before the council evaluates a specific product or 
 10.12  group of products, the commissioner shall appoint temporary 
 10.13  council members in an even number up to six.  The commissioner 
 10.14  shall seek to appoint as temporary members persons having 
 10.15  expertise on the product or group of products under review as 
 10.16  well as persons representing community interests.  The temporary 
 10.17  members shall be voting members of the council on all matters 
 10.18  related to consideration of the product or group of products.  
 10.19  The terms of the temporary members shall expire when the council 
 10.20  has completed its review of the product or group of products and 
 10.21  has submitted its recommendation to the commissioner pursuant to 
 10.22  this subdivision.  
 10.23     (g) The permanent members of the council must prioritize 
 10.24  the council's review of a specific product or group of products 
 10.25  by publishing a notice in the State Register by October 1, 1998, 
 10.26  identifying those specified products, or groups of products, 
 10.27  which will be reviewed by July 1, 2000.  By October 1, 2000, the 
 10.28  council shall publish a notice in the State Register identifying 
 10.29  those specified products, or groups of products, which will be 
 10.30  reviewed by July 1, 2005.  The council shall consider potential 
 10.31  environmental impacts in prioritizing its review.  The council 
 10.32  shall notify manufacturers and users who have submitted product 
 10.33  review reports of the appropriate review schedule.  A 
 10.34  manufacturer who has submitted a product review report may 
 10.35  request an expedited review by the council. 
 10.36     (h) The commissioner shall provide staff and administrative 
 11.1   services to the council.  Compensation and removal of council 
 11.2   members shall be as provided in section 15.059, subdivisions 3 
 11.3   and 4.  The council shall dissolve on June 30, 2006. 
 11.4      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116.182, 
 11.5   subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
 11.6      Subd. 3a.  [NOTIFICATION OF OTHER GOVERNMENT UNITS.] In 
 11.7   addition to other applicable statutes or rules that are required 
 11.8   to receive financial assistance consistent with this 
 11.9   subdivision, the commissioner may not approve or certify a 
 11.10  project to the public facilities authority for wastewater 
 11.11  financial assistance unless the following requirements are met: 
 11.12     (1) prior to the initiation of the public facilities 
 11.13  planning process for a new wastewater treatment system, the 
 11.14  project proposer gives written notice to all municipalities 
 11.15  within ten miles of the proposed project service area, including 
 11.16  the county in which the project is located, ~~the office of~~ 
 11.17  ~~strategic and long-range planning,~~ and the pollution control 
 11.18  agency.  The notice shall state the proposer's intent to begin 
 11.19  the facilities planning process and provide a description of the 
 11.20  need for the proposed project.  The notice also shall request a 
 11.21  response within 30 days of the notice date from all government 
 11.22  units who wish to receive and comment on the future facilities 
 11.23  plan for the proposed project; 
 11.24     (2) during development of the facility plan's analysis of 
 11.25  service alternatives, the project proposer must request 
 11.26  information from all municipalities and sanitary districts which 
 11.27  have existing systems that have current capacity to meet the 
 11.28  proposer's needs or can be upgraded to meet those needs.  At a 
 11.29  minimum, the proposer must notify in writing those 
 11.30  municipalities and sanitary districts whose corporate limits or 
 11.31  boundaries are within three miles of the proposed project's 
 11.32  service area; 
 11.33     (3) 60 days prior to the municipality's public hearing on 
 11.34  the facilities plan, a copy of the draft facilities plan and 
 11.35  notice of the public hearing on the facilities plan must be 
 11.36  given to the local government units who previously expressed 
 12.1   interest in the proposed project under clause (1); 
 12.2      (4) for a proposed project located or proposed to be 
 12.3   located outside the corporate limits of a city, the affected 
 12.4   county has certified to the agency that the proposed project is 
 12.5   consistent with the applicable county comprehensive plan and 
 12.6   zoning and subdivision regulations; and 
 12.7      (5) copies of the notifications required under clauses (1) 
 12.8   and (2), as well as the certification from the county and a 
 12.9   summary of the comments received, must be included by the 
 12.10  municipality in the submission of its facilities plan to the 
 12.11  pollution control agency, along with other required items as 
 12.12  specified in the agency's rules. 
 12.13     This subdivision does not apply to the western Lake 
 12.14  Superior sanitary district or the metropolitan council. 
 12.15     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116C.03, 
 12.16  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 12.17     Subd. 2.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The members of the board are ~~the~~ 
 12.18  ~~director of the office of strategic and long-range planning,~~ the 
 12.19  commissioner of commerce, the commissioner of the pollution 
 12.20  control agency, the commissioner of natural resources, the 
 12.21  director of the office of environmental assistance, the 
 12.22  commissioner of agriculture, the commissioner of health, the 
 12.23  commissioner of trade and economic development, the commissioner 
 12.24  of transportation, the chair of the board of water and soil 
 12.25  resources, and a representative of the governor's office 
 12.26  designated by the governor.  The governor shall appoint five 
 12.27  members from the general public to the board, subject to the 
 12.28  advice and consent of the senate.  At least two of the five 
 12.29  public members must have knowledge of and be conversant in water 
 12.30  management issues in the state.  Notwithstanding the provisions 
 12.31  of section 15.06, subdivision 6, members of the board may not 
 12.32  delegate their powers and responsibilities as board members to 
 12.33  any other person. 
 12.34     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116C.03, 
 12.35  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 12.36     Subd. 4.  [SUPPORT.] Staff and consultant support for board 
 13.1   activities shall be provided by ~~the office of strategic and~~ 
 13.2   ~~long-range planning~~ a department designated by the governor.  
 13.3   This support shall be provided based upon an annual budget and 
 13.4   work program developed by the board and certified to the 
 13.5   commissioner by the chair of the board.  The board shall have 
 13.6   the authority to request and require staff support from all 
 13.7   other agencies of state government as needed for the execution 
 13.8   of the responsibilities of the board. 
 13.9      Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116C.03, 
 13.10  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 13.11     Subd. 5.  [ADMINISTRATION.] The board shall contract 
 13.12  with ~~the office of strategic and long-range planning~~ a 
 13.13  department designated by the governor for administrative 
 13.14  services necessary to the board's activities.  The services 
 13.15  shall include personnel, budget, payroll and contract 
 13.16  administration.  
 13.17     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116C.712, 
 13.18  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 13.19     Subd. 3.  [COUNCIL STAFF.] Staff support for council 
 13.20  activities must be provided by the ~~office of strategic and~~ 
 13.21  ~~long-range planning~~ pollution control agency.  State departments 
 13.22  and agencies must cooperate with the council in the performance 
 13.23  of its duties.  Upon the request of the chair of the council, 
 13.24  the governor may, by order, require a state department or agency 
 13.25  to furnish assistance necessary to carry out the council's 
 13.26  functions under this chapter. 
 13.27     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 116C.712, 
 13.28  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 13.29     Subd. 5.  [ASSESSMENT.] (a) A person, firm, corporation, or 
 13.30  association in the business of owning or operating a nuclear 
 13.31  fission electrical generating plant in this state shall pay an 
 13.32  assessment to cover the cost of: 
 13.33     (1) monitoring the federal high-level radioactive waste 
 13.34  program under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, United States Code, 
 13.35  title 42, sections 10101 to 10226; 
 13.36     (2) advising the governor and the legislature on policy 
 14.1   issues relating to the federal high-level radioactive waste 
 14.2   disposal program; 
 14.3      (3) surveying existing literature and activity relating to 
 14.4   radioactive waste management, including storage, transportation, 
 14.5   and disposal, in the state; 
 14.6      (4) an advisory task force on low-level radioactive waste 
 14.7   deregulation, created by a law enacted in 1990 until July 1, 
 14.8   1996; and 
 14.9      (5) other general studies necessary to carry out the 
 14.10  purposes of this subdivision.  
 14.11     The assessment must not be more than the appropriation to 
 14.12  the ~~office of strategic and long-range planning~~ pollution 
 14.13  control agency for these purposes.  
 14.14     (b) The ~~office~~ pollution control agency shall bill the 
 14.15  owner or operator of the plant for the assessment at least 30 
 14.16  days before the start of each quarter.  The assessment for the 
 14.17  second quarter of each fiscal year must be adjusted to 
 14.18  compensate for the amount by which actual expenditures by 
 14.19  the ~~office~~ agency for the preceding year were more or less than 
 14.20  the estimated expenditures previously assessed.  The billing may 
 14.21  be made as an addition to the assessments made under section 
 14.22  116C.69.  The owner or operator of the plant must pay the 
 14.23  assessment within 30 days after receipt of the bill.  The 
 14.24  assessment must be deposited in the state treasury and credited 
 14.25  to the special revenue fund. 
 14.26     (c) The authority for this assessment terminates when the 
 14.27  department of energy eliminates Minnesota from further siting 
 14.28  consideration for high-level radioactive waste by starting 
 14.29  construction of a high-level radioactive waste disposal site in 
 14.30  another state.  The assessment required for any quarter must be 
 14.31  reduced by the amount of federal grant money received by the 
 14.32  office of strategic and long-range planning for the purposes 
 14.33  listed in this section.  
 14.34     (d) The director of the ~~office of strategic and long-range~~ 
 14.35  ~~planning~~ pollution control agency must report annually by July 1 
 14.36  to the environment and natural resources committees of the 
 15.1   senate and house of representatives, the finance division of the 
 15.2   senate committee on environment and natural resources, and the 
 15.3   house of representatives committee on environment and natural 
 15.4   resources finance on activities assessed under paragraph (a). 
 15.5      Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 124D.23, 
 15.6   subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
 15.7      Subd. 9.  [RECEIPT OF FUNDS.] The ~~office of strategic and~~ 
 15.8   ~~long-range planning~~ commissioner of children, families, and 
 15.9   learning may receive and administer public and private funds for 
 15.10  the purposes of Laws 1993, chapter 224. 
 15.11     Sec. 16.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 145.9266, 
 15.12  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 15.13     Subd. 6.  [FETAL ALCOHOL COORDINATING BOARD; DUTIES.] (a) 
 15.14  The fetal alcohol coordinating board consists of: 
 15.15     (1) the commissioners of health, human services, 
 15.16  corrections, public safety, economic security, and children, 
 15.17  families, and learning; 
 15.18     (2) ~~the director of the office of strategic and long-range~~ 
 15.19  ~~planning;~~ 
 15.20     ~~(3)~~ the chair of the maternal and child health advisory 
 15.21  task force established by section 145.881, or the chair's 
 15.22  designee; 
 15.23     ~~(4)~~ (3) a representative of the University of Minnesota 
 15.24  academic health center, appointed by the provost; 
 15.25     ~~(5)~~ (4) five members from the general public appointed by 
 15.26  the governor, one of whom must be a family member of an 
 15.27  individual with fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effect; 
 15.28  and 
 15.29     ~~(6)~~ (5) one member from the judiciary appointed by the 
 15.30  chief justice of the supreme court. 
 15.31  Terms, compensation, removal, and filling of vacancies of 
 15.32  appointed members are governed by section 15.0575.  The board 
 15.33  shall elect a chair from its membership to serve a one-year 
 15.34  term.  The commissioner of health shall provide staff and 
 15.35  consultant support for the board.  Support must be provided 
 15.36  based on an annual budget and work plan developed by the board.  
 16.1   The board shall contract with the department of health for 
 16.2   necessary administrative services.  Administrative services 
 16.3   include personnel, budget, payroll, and contract 
 16.4   administration.  The board shall adopt an annual budget and work 
 16.5   program. 
 16.6      (b) Board duties include:  
 16.7      (1) reviewing programs of state agencies that involve fetal 
 16.8   alcohol syndrome and coordinating those that are 
 16.9   interdepartmental in nature; 
 16.10     (2) providing an integrated and comprehensive approach to 
 16.11  fetal alcohol syndrome prevention and intervention strategies 
 16.12  both at a local and statewide level; 
 16.13     (3) approving on an annual basis the statewide public 
 16.14  awareness campaign as designed and implemented by the 
 16.15  commissioner of health under subdivision 1; 
 16.16     (4) reviewing fetal alcohol syndrome community grants 
 16.17  administered by the commissioner of health under subdivision 4; 
 16.18  and 
 16.19     (5) submitting a report to the governor on January 15 of 
 16.20  each odd-numbered year summarizing board operations, activities, 
 16.21  findings, and recommendations, and fetal alcohol syndrome 
 16.22  activities throughout the state. 
 16.23     (c) The board expires on January 1, 2001. 
 16.24     Sec. 17.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 394.232, 
 16.25  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 16.26     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] Each county is encouraged to 
 16.27  prepare and implement a community-based comprehensive plan.  A 
 16.28  community-based comprehensive plan is a comprehensive plan that 
 16.29  is consistent with the goals of community-based planning in 
 16.30  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 4A.08. 
 16.31     Sec. 18.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 394.232, 
 16.32  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 16.33     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE AND PARTICIPATION.] Notice must be given 
 16.34  at the beginning of the community-based comprehensive planning 
 16.35  process to ~~the office of strategic and long-range planning,~~ the 
 16.36  department of natural resources, the department of agriculture, 
 17.1   the department of trade and economic development, the board of 
 17.2   water and soil resources, the pollution control agency, the 
 17.3   department of transportation, local government units, and local 
 17.4   citizens to actively participate in the development of the 
 17.5   plan.  An agency that is invited to participate in the 
 17.6   development of a local plan but declines to do so and fails to 
 17.7   participate or to provide written comments during the plan 
 17.8   development process waives the right during the office's review 
 17.9   and comment period to submit comments, except for comments 
 17.10  concerning consistency of the plan with laws and rules 
 17.11  administered by the agency.  In determining the merit of the 
 17.12  agency comment, the office shall consider the involvement of the 
 17.13  agency in the development of the plan. 
 17.14     Sec. 19.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 394.232, 
 17.15  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 17.16     Subd. 6.  [PLAN UPDATE.] The county board, or the board of 
 17.17  the joint planning district, shall review and update the 
 17.18  community-based comprehensive plan periodically, but at least 
 17.19  every ten years~~, and submit the updated plan to the office of~~ 
 17.20  ~~strategic and long-range planning for review and comment~~.  
 17.21     Sec. 20.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 394.232, 
 17.22  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 17.23     Subd. 7.  [NO MANDAMUS PROCEEDING.] A mandamus proceeding 
 17.24  may not be instituted against a county under this section to 
 17.25  require the county to conform its community-based comprehensive 
 17.26  plan to be consistent with the community-based planning goals in 
 17.27  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 4A.08. 
 17.28     Sec. 21.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462.3535, 
 17.29  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 17.30     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] Each municipality is encouraged 
 17.31  to prepare and implement a community-based comprehensive 
 17.32  municipal plan.  A community-based comprehensive municipal plan 
 17.33  is a comprehensive plan that is consistent with the goals of 
 17.34  community-based planning in Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 
 17.35  4A.08. 
 17.36     Sec. 22.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462.3535, 
 18.1   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 18.2      Subd. 5.  [URBAN GROWTH AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT PROCESS.] 
 18.3   (a) After an urban growth area has been identified in a county 
 18.4   or city plan, a city shall negotiate, as part of the 
 18.5   comprehensive planning process and in coordination with the 
 18.6   county, an orderly annexation agreement with the townships 
 18.7   containing the affected unincorporated areas located within the 
 18.8   identified urban growth area.  The agreement shall contain a 
 18.9   boundary adjustment staging plan that establishes a sequencing 
 18.10  plan over the subsequent 20-year period for the orderly growth 
 18.11  of the city based on its reasonably anticipated development 
 18.12  pattern and ability to extend municipal services into designated 
 18.13  unincorporated areas located within the identified urban growth 
 18.14  area.  The city shall include the staging plan agreed upon in 
 18.15  the orderly annexation agreement in its comprehensive plan.  
 18.16  Upon agreement by the city and town, prior adopted orderly 
 18.17  annexation agreements may be included as part of the boundary 
 18.18  adjustment plan and comprehensive plan without regard to whether 
 18.19  the prior adopted agreement is consistent with this section.  
 18.20  When either the city or town requests that an existing orderly 
 18.21  annexation agreement affecting unincorporated areas located 
 18.22  within an identified or proposed urban growth area be 
 18.23  renegotiated, the renegotiated plan shall be consistent with 
 18.24  this section. 
 18.25     (b) After a city's community-based comprehensive plan is 
 18.26  approved under this section, the orderly annexation agreement 
 18.27  shall be filed with the ~~municipal~~ county board ~~or its successor~~ 
 18.28  ~~agency~~.  Thereafter, the city may orderly annex the part or 
 18.29  parts of the designated unincorporated area according to the 
 18.30  sequencing plan and conditions contained in the negotiated 
 18.31  orderly annexation agreement by submitting a resolution to the 
 18.32  ~~municipal~~ county board ~~or its successor agency~~.  The resolution 
 18.33  shall specify the legal description of the area designated 
 18.34  pursuant to the staging plan contained in the agreement, a map 
 18.35  showing the new boundary and its relation to the existing city 
 18.36  boundary, a description of and schedule for extending municipal 
 19.1   services to the area, and a determination that all applicable 
 19.2   conditions in the agreement have been satisfied.  Within 30 days 
 19.3   of receipt of the resolution, the ~~municipal~~ county board ~~or its~~ 
 19.4   ~~successor~~ shall review the resolution and if it finds that the 
 19.5   terms and conditions of the orderly annexation agreement have 
 19.6   been met, shall order the annexation.  The boundary adjustment 
 19.7   shall become effective upon issuance of an order by 
 19.8   the ~~municipal~~ county board ~~or its successor~~.  The ~~municipal~~ 
 19.9   county board ~~or its successor~~ shall cause copies of the boundary 
 19.10  adjustment order to be mailed to the secretary of state, 
 19.11  department of revenue, state demographer, and department of 
 19.12  transportation.  No further proceedings under chapter 414 or 
 19.13  572A shall be required to accomplish the boundary adjustment.  
 19.14  This section provides the sole method for annexing 
 19.15  unincorporated land within an urban growth area, unless the 
 19.16  parties agree otherwise. 
 19.17     (c) If a community-based comprehensive plan is updated, the 
 19.18  parties shall renegotiate the orderly annexation agreement as 
 19.19  needed to incorporate the adjustments and shall refile the 
 19.20  agreement with the ~~municipal~~ county board ~~or its successor~~. 
 19.21     Sec. 23.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462.3535, 
 19.22  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
 19.23     Subd. 8.  [COUNTY APPROVAL.] (a) If a city plans for growth 
 19.24  beyond its current boundaries, the city's proposed 
 19.25  community-based comprehensive municipal plan and proposed urban 
 19.26  growth area must be reviewed and approved by the county before 
 19.27  the plan is incorporated into the county's plan.  The county may 
 19.28  review and provide comments on any orderly annexation agreement 
 19.29  during the same period of review of a comprehensive plan. 
 19.30     (b) Upon receipt by the county of a community-based 
 19.31  comprehensive plan submitted by a city for review and approval 
 19.32  under this subdivision, the county shall, within 60 days of 
 19.33  receipt of a city plan, review and approve the plan in 
 19.34  accordance with this subdivision.  The county shall review and 
 19.35  approve the city plan if it is consistent with the goals stated 
 19.36  in Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 4A.08. 
 20.1      (c) In the event the county does not approve the plan, the 
 20.2   county shall submit its comments to the city within 60 days.  
 20.3   The city may, thereafter, amend the plan and resubmit the plan 
 20.4   to the county.  The county shall have an additional 60 days to 
 20.5   review and approve a resubmitted plan.  In the event the county 
 20.6   and city are unable to come to agreement, either party may 
 20.7   initiate the dispute resolution process contained in chapter 
 20.8   572A.  Within 30 days of receiving notice that the other party 
 20.9   has initiated dispute resolution, the city or county shall send 
 20.10  notice of its intent to enter dispute resolution.  If the city 
 20.11  refuses to enter the dispute resolution process, it must refund 
 20.12  any grant received from the county for community-based planning 
 20.13  activities.  
 20.14     Sec. 24.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 462.3535, 
 20.15  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
 20.16     Subd. 10.  [NO MANDAMUS PROCEEDING.] A mandamus proceeding 
 20.17  may not be instituted against a municipality under this section 
 20.18  to require the municipality to conform its community-based 
 20.19  comprehensive plan to be consistent with the community-based 
 20.20  planning goals in Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 4A.08. 
 20.21     Sec. 25.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 473.1455, is 
 20.22  amended to read: 
 20.23     473.1455 [METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT GUIDE GOALS.] 
 20.24     The metropolitan council shall amend the metropolitan 
 20.25  development guide, as necessary, to reflect and implement the 
 20.26  community-based planning goals in Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
 20.27  section 4A.08.  ~~The office of strategic and long-range planning~~ 
 20.28  ~~shall review and comment on the metropolitan development guide.~~  
 20.29  ~~The council may not approve local comprehensive plans or plan~~ 
 20.30  ~~amendments after July 1, 1999, until the metropolitan council~~ 
 20.31  ~~has received and considered the comments of the office of~~ 
 20.32  ~~strategic and long-range planning.~~ 
 20.33     Sec. 26.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 477A.014, 
 20.34  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 20.35     Subd. 4.  [COSTS.] The ~~director of the office of strategic~~ 
 20.36  ~~and long-range planning~~ commissioner of administration shall 
 21.1   annually bill the commissioner of revenue for one-half of the 
 21.2   costs incurred by the state demographer in the preparation of 
 21.3   materials required by section 4A.02.  The state auditor shall 
 21.4   bill the commissioner of revenue for the costs of the services 
 21.5   provided by the government information division and the parts of 
 21.6   the constitutional office that are related to the government 
 21.7   information function, not to exceed $217,000 in fiscal year 1992 
 21.8   and $217,000 in fiscal year 1993 and thereafter.  The 
 21.9   commissioner of administration shall bill the commissioner of 
 21.10  revenue for the costs of the local government records program 
 21.11  and the intergovernmental information systems activity, not to 
 21.12  exceed $201,100 in fiscal year 1992 and $205,800 in fiscal year 
 21.13  1993 and thereafter.  The commissioner of employee relations 
 21.14  shall bill the commissioner of revenue for the costs of 
 21.15  administering the local government pay equity function, not to 
 21.16  exceed $56,000 in fiscal year 1992 and $55,000 in fiscal year 
 21.17  1993 and thereafter.  
 21.18     Sec. 27.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.01, is 
 21.19  amended to read: 
 21.20     572A.01 [COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING DISPUTES; MEDIATION.] 
 21.21     Subdivision 1.  [FILING.] In the event of a dispute between 
 21.22  ~~a county and the office of strategic and long-range planning~~ 
 21.23  ~~under section 394.232 or~~ a county and a city under section 
 21.24  462.3535, regarding the development, content, or approval of a 
 21.25  community-based comprehensive land use plan, an aggrieved party 
 21.26  may file a written request for mediation, as provided in 
 21.27  subdivision 2, with the bureau of mediation services at any time 
 21.28  prior to a final action on a community-based comprehensive plan 
 21.29  or within 30 days of a final action on a community-based 
 21.30  comprehensive plan. 
 21.31     Subd. 2.  [MEDIATION.] Within ten days of receiving a 
 21.32  request for mediation in subdivision 1, the bureau of mediation 
 21.33  services shall provide written notice of the request for 
 21.34  mediation to the parties and provide a list of neutrals 
 21.35  experienced in land use planning or local government issues 
 21.36  obtained from the supreme court, ~~Minnesota municipal board,~~ 
 22.1   bureau of mediation services, Minnesota state bar association, 
 22.2   Hennepin county bar association, office of dispute resolution, 
 22.3   and others.  Within 30 days thereafter, the affected parties 
 22.4   shall select a mediator from the list of neutrals or someone 
 22.5   else acceptable to the parties and submit to mediation for a 
 22.6   period of 30 days facilitated by the bureau.  If the dispute 
 22.7   remains unresolved after the close of the 30-day mediation 
 22.8   period, the bureau shall prepare a report of its recommendations 
 22.9   and transmit the report within 30 days to the parties.  Within 
 22.10  60 days after the date of issuance of the mediator's report, the 
 22.11  dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration as provided in 
 22.12  this chapter.  The mediator's report submitted to the parties is 
 22.13  informational only and is not admissible in arbitration. 
 22.14     Sec. 28.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.03, 
 22.15  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 22.16     Subd. 2.  [COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLANNING.] For 
 22.17  comprehensive land use planning disputes under section 462.3535, 
 22.18  if a community-based comprehensive plan addresses the goals of 
 22.19  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 4A.08 and the arbitrators find 
 22.20  that the city's projected estimates found in its comprehensive 
 22.21  plan are reasonable with respect to an identified urban growth 
 22.22  area, the arbitration panel may order approval of the city 
 22.23  plan.  If the order is to approve the community-based 
 22.24  comprehensive plan, the order shall contain notice directing the 
 22.25  county to approve the city plan within ten days of receipt of 
 22.26  the arbitration order.  The city shall, thereafter, adopt the 
 22.27  plan.  If the order is to deny the plan, the arbitration order 
 22.28  shall state the reasons for the denial in the order and transmit 
 22.29  the order to the city, the county, and the office of strategic 
 22.30  and long-range planning.  The city shall within 30 days of 
 22.31  receipt of the order amend its plan and resubmit the plan to the 
 22.32  county for review and approval under this subdivision.  The 
 22.33  county shall not unreasonably withhold approval of the plan if 
 22.34  the resubmitted city plan is in keeping with the arbitration 
 22.35  panel's order. 
 22.36     Sec. 29.  [REPEALER.] 
 23.1      Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 4A.01; 4A.055; 4A.06; 
 23.2   4A.07; 394.232, subdivision 5; and 462.3535, subdivision 9, are 
 23.3   repealed. 
 23.4      Sec. 30.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 23.5      This article is effective July 1, 2003. 
 23.6                              ARTICLE 3 
 23.7            MUNICIPAL BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS; COUNTY REVIEW 
 23.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 14.03, 
 23.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 23.10     Subd. 2.  [CONTESTED CASE PROCEDURES.] The contested case 
 23.11  procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act provided in 
 23.12  sections 14.57 to 14.69 do not apply to (a) ~~the Minnesota~~ 
 23.13  ~~municipal board~~ proceedings under chapter 414, except as 
 23.14  specified in that chapter, (b) the commissioner of corrections, 
 23.15  (c) the unemployment insurance benefits program and the social 
 23.16  security disability determination program in the department of 
 23.17  economic security, (d) the commissioner of mediation services, 
 23.18  (e) the workers' compensation division in the department of 
 23.19  labor and industry, (f) the workers' compensation court of 
 23.20  appeals, or (g) the board of pardons.  
 23.21     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 40A.121, is 
 23.22  amended to read: 
 23.23     40A.121 [ANNEXATION PROCEEDINGS.] 
 23.24     Subdivision 1.  [ANNEXATION PROHIBITED.] Land within an 
 23.25  agricultural preserve that is within a township may not be 
 23.26  annexed to a municipality under chapter 414, unless ~~the~~ 
 23.27  ~~Minnesota municipal board finds that~~ either: 
 23.28     (1) the owner or the county has initiated termination of 
 23.29  the zone under section 40A.11; 
 23.30     (2) because of size, tax base, population or other relevant 
 23.31  factors, the township would not be able to provide normal 
 23.32  governmental functions and services; or 
 23.33     (3) the zone would be completely surrounded by lands within 
 23.34  a municipality. 
 23.35     Subd. 2.  [EXCEPTION.] This section does not apply to 
 23.36  annexation agreements approved ~~by the Minnesota municipal board~~ 
 24.1   under chapter 414 prior to creation of the zone. 
 24.2      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 272.67, 
 24.3   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 24.4      Subdivision 1.  Any city however organized, except in those 
 24.5   counties situated in a metropolitan area as defined in Minnesota 
 24.6   Statutes 1961, Section 473.02, Subdivision 5, which contain 
 24.7   cities of the first class, may by ordinance adopted in the 
 24.8   manner provided in this section divide its area into an urban 
 24.9   service district and a rural service district, constituting 
 24.10  separate taxing districts for the purpose of all municipal 
 24.11  property taxes except those levied for the payment of bonds and 
 24.12  judgments and interest thereon.  ~~In proceedings for annexation,~~ 
 24.13  ~~incorporation, or consolidation being conducted pursuant to~~ 
 24.14  ~~chapter 414, the Minnesota municipal board may by order~~ 
 24.15  ~~divide~~ An order resulting from a proceeding for annexation, 
 24.16  incorporation, or consolidation under chapter 414 may divide a 
 24.17  municipality into an urban service district and a rural service 
 24.18  district, such districts to be designated ~~by the board~~ in 
 24.19  accordance with the criteria set out in subdivision 2.  
 24.20  Thereafter, said urban service district and rural service 
 24.21  district may be changed in the same manner that an ordinance or 
 24.22  amendment is changed in accordance with this section. 
 24.23     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 276A.09, is 
 24.24  amended to read: 
 24.25     276A.09 [CHANGE IN STATUS OF MUNICIPALITY.] 
 24.26     If a municipality is dissolved, is consolidated with all or 
 24.27  part of another municipality, annexes territory, has a portion 
 24.28  of its territory detached from it, or is newly incorporated, the 
 24.29  secretary of state shall immediately certify that fact to the 
 24.30  commissioner of revenue.  The secretary of state shall also 
 24.31  certify to the commissioner of revenue the current population of 
 24.32  the new, enlarged, or successor municipality, if determined ~~by~~ 
 24.33  ~~the Minnesota municipal board~~ incident to consolidation, 
 24.34  annexation, or incorporation proceedings.  The population so 
 24.35  certified shall govern for purposes of sections 276A.01 to 
 24.36  276A.09 until the state demographer files the first population 
 25.1   estimate as of a later date with the commissioner of revenue.  
 25.2   If an annexation of unincorporated land occurs without 
 25.3   proceedings before the ~~Minnesota municipal~~ county board as 
 25.4   provided in chapter 414, the population of the annexing 
 25.5   municipality as previously determined shall continue to govern 
 25.6   for purposes of sections 276A.01 to 276A.09 until the state 
 25.7   demographer files the first population estimate as of a later 
 25.8   date with the commissioner of revenue. 
 25.9      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 365.46, 
 25.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 25.11     Subd. 2.  [COPIES.] The county auditor shall also send a 
 25.12  copy of the notice of the dissolution to:  (1) the state 
 25.13  demographer, (2) the land management information center, and (3) 
 25.14  ~~the Minnesota municipal board, and (4)~~ the commissioner of 
 25.15  transportation. 
 25.16     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 379.05, is 
 25.17  amended to read: 
 25.18     379.05 [AUDITOR TO ABSTRACT REPORT FOR AGENCIES, ENTER TOWN 
 25.19  RECORD.] 
 25.20     Each county auditor shall within 30 days after any such 
 25.21  town is organized transmit by mail to the commissioner of 
 25.22  revenue, the secretary of state, the state demographer, the land 
 25.23  management information center, ~~the Minnesota municipal board,~~ 
 25.24  and the commissioner of transportation an abstract of such 
 25.25  report, giving the name and boundaries of such town and record 
 25.26  in a book kept for that purpose a full description of each such 
 25.27  town. 
 25.28     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 412.021, 
 25.29  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 25.30     Subdivision 1.  [ELECTION.] Upon the filing of the 
 25.31  certificate with the secretary of state, if the vote is in favor 
 25.32  of incorporation, the judges of election appointed by ~~the~~ 
 25.33  ~~Minnesota municipal board or~~ the county board ~~as the case may~~ 
 25.34  ~~be,~~ shall fix a day at least 15 and not more than 30 days 
 25.35  thereafter and a place for the holding of an election for 
 25.36  officers.  The judges shall also fix the time, not less than 
 26.1   three hours, during which the polls shall remain open at the 
 26.2   election and shall post a notice setting forth the time and 
 26.3   place of such election in three public places in the city for at 
 26.4   least ten days preceding the election. 
 26.5      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 412.091, is 
 26.6   amended to read: 
 26.7      412.091 [DISSOLUTION.] 
 26.8      Whenever a number of voters equal to one-third of those 
 26.9   voting at the last preceding city election petition the 
 26.10  ~~municipal~~ county board of commissioners of the county in which a 
 26.11  majority of the city's population resides therefor, a special 
 26.12  election shall be called to vote upon the question of dissolving 
 26.13  the city.  Before the election, the ~~executive director of the~~ 
 26.14  county board shall designate a time and place for a hearing 
 26.15  before the board in accordance with section 414.09.  After the 
 26.16  hearing the board shall issue its order which shall include a 
 26.17  date for the election, a determination of what town or towns the 
 26.18  territory of the city shall belong to if the voters favor 
 26.19  dissolution, and other necessary provisions.  The ballots used 
 26.20  at such election shall bear the printed words, "For Dissolution" 
 26.21  and "Against Dissolution," with a square before each phrase in 
 26.22  which the voter may express a preference by a cross.  If a 
 26.23  majority of those voting on the question favor dissolution, the 
 26.24  clerk shall file a certificate of the result with ~~the municipal~~ 
 26.25  ~~board,~~ the secretary of state and the county auditor of the 
 26.26  county in which the city is situated.  Six months after the date 
 26.27  of such election, the city shall cease to exist.  Within such 
 26.28  six months, the council shall audit all claims against the city, 
 26.29  settle with the treasurer, and other city officers, and apply 
 26.30  the assets of the city to the payment of its debts.  If any 
 26.31  debts remain unpaid, other than bonds, the city clerk shall file 
 26.32  a schedule of such debts with the county treasurer and the 
 26.33  council shall levy a tax sufficient for their payment, the 
 26.34  proceeds of which, when collected, shall be paid by the county 
 26.35  treasurer to the creditors in proportion to their several claims 
 26.36  until all are discharged.  The principal and interest on 
 27.1   outstanding bonds shall be paid when due by the county treasurer 
 27.2   from a tax annually spread by the county auditor against 
 27.3   property formerly included within the city until the bonds are 
 27.4   fully paid.  All city property and all rights of the city shall, 
 27.5   upon dissolution, inure in the town or towns designated by the 
 27.6   board as the legal successor to the city.  If the city territory 
 27.7   goes to more than one town, surplus cash assets and unsold city 
 27.8   property shall be distributed as provided by the board order. 
 27.9      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 27.10  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
 27.11     Subd. 1b.  [GOALS IN PROMOTING, REGULATING MUNICIPAL 
 27.12  DEVELOPMENT.] ~~The director~~ Each county may promote and regulate 
 27.13  development of municipalities: 
 27.14     (1) to provide for the extension of municipal government to 
 27.15  areas which are developed or are in the process of being 
 27.16  developed for intensive use for residential, commercial, 
 27.17  industrial, institutional, and governmental purposes or are 
 27.18  needed for such purposes; and 
 27.19     (2) to protect the stability of unincorporated areas which 
 27.20  are used or developed for agricultural, open space, and rural 
 27.21  residential purposes and are not presently needed for more 
 27.22  intensive uses; and 
 27.23     (3) to protect the integrity of land use planning in 
 27.24  municipalities and unincorporated areas so that the public 
 27.25  interest in efficient local government will be properly 
 27.26  recognized and served. 
 27.27     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 27.28  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 27.29     Subd. 5.  [CONSOLIDATION OF PROCEEDINGS.] The ~~director~~ 
 27.30  county board may order the consolidation of separate proceedings 
 27.31  in the interest of economy and expedience.  
 27.32     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 27.33  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
 27.34     Subd. 8.  [PLANNING COMMISSION CONTRACTS, CONSULTANTS.] ~~The~~ 
 27.35  ~~director~~ A county board may contract with regional, state, 
 27.36  county, or local planning commissions and hire expert 
 28.1   consultants to provide specialized information and assistance. 
 28.2      Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 28.3   subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
 28.4      Subd. 11.  [SCHEDULE OF FILING FEES.] The ~~director~~ county 
 28.5   board by resolution may prescribe a schedule of filing fees for 
 28.6   any petitions, resolutions or ordinances filed pursuant to this 
 28.7   chapter ~~by an appropriate rule promulgated in accordance with~~ 
 28.8   ~~the procedure prescribed in the general laws relating to~~ 
 28.9   ~~departments and agencies of the state for the issuance of~~ 
 28.10  ~~administrative rules~~. 
 28.11     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 28.12  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
 28.13     Subd. 12.  [REQUEST FOR HEARING TRANSCRIPTS; COSTS.] Any 
 28.14  party may request the ~~director~~ county board to cause a 
 28.15  transcript of the hearing to be made.  Any party requesting a 
 28.16  copy of the transcript is responsible for its costs. 
 28.17     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 28.18  subdivision 14, is amended to read: 
 28.19     Subd. 14.  [POPULATION OF CHANGED TERRITORY, NEW 
 28.20  MUNICIPALITY.] (a) When an order or approval letter under this 
 28.21  chapter enlarges or diminishes the area of an existing 
 28.22  municipality or town, the ~~director~~ county board shall 
 28.23  communicate the order or approval letter to the municipality and 
 28.24  the state demographer.  The municipality shall prepare an 
 28.25  estimate of population and of the number of households for the 
 28.26  annexed or detached area of the municipality or town.  The 
 28.27  estimate shall be certified by the state demographer.  The 
 28.28  estimate must estimate the population as of the effective date 
 28.29  of the order or approval letter and must be so dated. 
 28.30     (b) When a new municipality is created by an order under 
 28.31  this chapter, the municipality shall request a separation census 
 28.32  from the United States Bureau of the Census and bear any costs 
 28.33  incurred.  
 28.34     Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 28.35  subdivision 16, is amended to read: 
 28.36     Subd. 16.  [COMPELLED MEETINGS; REPORT.] In any proceeding 
 29.1   under this chapter, the ~~director or conductor of the~~ 
 29.2   ~~proceeding~~ county board may at any time in the process require 
 29.3   representatives from the involved city, town, county, political 
 29.4   subdivision, or other governmental entity to meet together to 
 29.5   discuss resolution of issues raised by the petition or order 
 29.6   that confers jurisdiction on the ~~director~~ county board and other 
 29.7   issues of mutual concern.  The ~~director or conductor of the~~ 
 29.8   ~~proceeding~~ county board may require that the parties meet at 
 29.9   least three times during a 60-day period.  The parties shall 
 29.10  designate a person to report to the ~~director or conductor of the~~ 
 29.11  ~~proceeding~~ county board on the results of the meetings 
 29.12  immediately after the last meeting. 
 29.13     Sec. 16.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.01, 
 29.14  subdivision 17, is amended to read: 
 29.15     Subd. 17.  [DATA FROM STATE AGENCIES.] The ~~director~~ county 
 29.16  board may request information from any state department or 
 29.17  agency in order to assist in carrying out the ~~director's~~ county 
 29.18  board's duties under this chapter.  The department or agency 
 29.19  shall promptly furnish the requested information. 
 29.20     Sec. 17.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.011, is 
 29.21  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 29.22     Subd. 12.  [BOARD; COUNTY BOARD.] In incorporation or 
 29.23  annexation proceedings, "board" or "county board" means the 
 29.24  board of county commissioners for the county in which the 
 29.25  unincorporated land proposed to be incorporated or annexed is 
 29.26  located.  In any other municipal boundary adjustment proceeding, 
 29.27  "board" or "county board" means the board of county 
 29.28  commissioners of the county in which the municipality is or 
 29.29  municipalities are located, or, if in more than one county, a 
 29.30  joint board of county commissioners consisting of three board 
 29.31  members appointed from each affected county.  A chair for the 
 29.32  joint board shall be elected by the members of the joint board.  
 29.33  The joint board is dissolved upon completion of the matter. 
 29.34     Sec. 18.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.012, is 
 29.35  amended to read: 
 29.36     414.012 [FILING OF MAPS IN BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT 
 30.1   PROCEEDINGS.] 
 30.2      Subdivision 1.  [CORPORATE BOUNDARY MAP.] A municipality 
 30.3   initiating any boundary adjustment authorized by this chapter 
 30.4   shall file with the ~~director~~ county board a corporate boundary 
 30.5   map.  Any proposed boundary adjustment shall be delineated on a 
 30.6   copy of the corporate boundary map. 
 30.7      Subd. 2.  [PLAT MAPS.] Any party initiating a boundary 
 30.8   adjustment, which includes platted land, shall file with the 
 30.9   ~~director~~ county board maps which are necessary to support and 
 30.10  identify the land description.  The maps shall include copies of 
 30.11  plats. 
 30.12     Sec. 19.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.02, is 
 30.13  amended to read: 
 30.14     414.02 [EXCLUSIVE METHOD OF MUNICIPAL INCORPORATION.] 
 30.15     Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDINGS.] This section 
 30.16  provides the exclusive method of incorporating a municipality in 
 30.17  Minnesota.  Proceedings for incorporation of a municipality may 
 30.18  be initiated by petition of 100 or more property owners or by 
 30.19  resolution of the town board within an area which is not 
 30.20  included within the limits of any incorporated municipality and 
 30.21  which area includes land that has been platted into lots and 
 30.22  blocks in the manner provided by law.  The petition or 
 30.23  resolution shall be submitted to the ~~director~~ county board and 
 30.24  shall state the proposed name of the municipality, the names of 
 30.25  all parties entitled to mailed notice under section 414.09, the 
 30.26  reason for requesting incorporation, and shall include a 
 30.27  proposed corporate boundary map. 
 30.28     Subd. 2.  [HEARING TIME, PLACE.] Upon receipt of a petition 
 30.29  or resolution made pursuant to subdivision 1, the 
 30.30  ~~director~~ county board shall designate a time and place for a 
 30.31  hearing in accordance with section 414.09. 
 30.32     Subd. 3.  [RELEVANT FACTORS, ORDER.] (a) In arriving at a 
 30.33  decision, the ~~director~~ county board shall consider the following 
 30.34  factors: 
 30.35     (1) present population and number of households, past 
 30.36  population and projected population growth for the subject area; 
 31.1      (2) quantity of land within the subject area; the natural 
 31.2   terrain including recognizable physical features, general 
 31.3   topography, major watersheds, soil conditions and such natural 
 31.4   features as rivers, lakes and major bluffs; 
 31.5      (3) present pattern of physical development, planning, and 
 31.6   intended land uses in the subject area including residential, 
 31.7   industrial, commercial, agricultural, and institutional land 
 31.8   uses and the impact of the proposed action on those uses; 
 31.9      (4) the present transportation network and potential 
 31.10  transportation issues, including proposed highway development; 
 31.11     (5) land use controls and planning presently being utilized 
 31.12  in the subject area, including comprehensive plans, policies of 
 31.13  the metropolitan council; and whether there are inconsistencies 
 31.14  between proposed development and existing land use controls; 
 31.15     (6) existing levels of governmental services being provided 
 31.16  to the subject area, including water and sewer service, fire 
 31.17  rating and protection, law enforcement, street improvements and 
 31.18  maintenance, administrative services, and recreational 
 31.19  facilities and the impact of the proposed action on the delivery 
 31.20  of the services; 
 31.21     (7) existing or potential environmental problems and 
 31.22  whether the proposed action is likely to improve or resolve 
 31.23  these problems; 
 31.24     (8) fiscal impact on the subject area and adjacent units of 
 31.25  local government, including present bonded indebtedness; local 
 31.26  tax rates of the county, school district, and other governmental 
 31.27  units, including, where applicable, the net tax capacity of 
 31.28  platted and unplatted lands and the division of homestead and 
 31.29  nonhomestead property; and other tax and governmental aid 
 31.30  issues; 
 31.31     (9) relationship and effect of the proposed action on 
 31.32  affected and adjacent school districts and communities; 
 31.33     (10) whether delivery of services to the subject area can 
 31.34  be adequately and economically delivered by the existing 
 31.35  government; 
 31.36     (11) analysis of whether necessary governmental services 
 32.1   can best be provided through the proposed action or another type 
 32.2   of boundary adjustment; 
 32.3      (12) degree of contiguity of the boundaries of the subject 
 32.4   area and adjacent units of local government; and 
 32.5      (13) analysis of the applicability of the State Building 
 32.6   Code. 
 32.7      (b) Based upon these factors, the ~~director~~ county board may 
 32.8   order the incorporation on finding that: 
 32.9      (1) the property to be incorporated is now, or is about to 
 32.10  become, urban or suburban in character; or 
 32.11     (2) that the existing township form of government is not 
 32.12  adequate to protect the public health, safety, and welfare; or 
 32.13     (3) the proposed incorporation would be in the best 
 32.14  interests of the area under consideration. 
 32.15     (c) The ~~director~~ county board may deny the incorporation if 
 32.16  the area, or a part thereof, would be better served by 
 32.17  annexation to an adjacent municipality. 
 32.18     (d) The ~~director~~ county board may alter the boundaries of 
 32.19  the proposed incorporation by increasing or decreasing the area 
 32.20  to be incorporated so as to include only that property which is 
 32.21  now, or is about to become, urban or suburban in character, or 
 32.22  may exclude property that may be better served by another unit 
 32.23  of government.  The ~~director~~ county board may also alter the 
 32.24  boundaries of the proposed incorporation so as to follow 
 32.25  visible, clearly recognizable physical features for municipal 
 32.26  boundaries. 
 32.27     (e) In all cases, the ~~director~~ county board shall set forth 
 32.28  the factors which are the basis for the decision. 
 32.29     (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
 32.30  contrary relating to the number of wards which may be 
 32.31  established, the ~~director~~ county board may provide for election 
 32.32  of council members by wards, not less than three nor more than 
 32.33  seven in number, whose limits are prescribed in the ~~director's~~ 
 32.34  county board's order upon a finding that area representation is 
 32.35  required to accord proper representation in the proposed 
 32.36  incorporated area because of uneven population density in 
 33.1   different parts thereof or the existence of agricultural lands 
 33.2   therein which are in the path of suburban development, but after 
 33.3   four years from the effective date of an incorporation the 
 33.4   council of the municipality may by resolution adopted by a 
 33.5   four-fifths vote abolish the ward system and provide for the 
 33.6   election of all council members at large as in other 
 33.7   municipalities. 
 33.8      (g) The ~~director's~~ county board's order for incorporation 
 33.9   shall provide for the election of municipal officers in 
 33.10  accordance with section 414.09.  The plan of government shall be 
 33.11  "Optional Plan A", provided that an alternate plan may be 
 33.12  adopted pursuant to section 412.551, at any time. 
 33.13     (h) The ordinances of the township in which the new 
 33.14  municipality is located shall continue in effect until repealed 
 33.15  by the governing body of the new municipality. 
 33.16     Subd. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF INCORPORATION.] The 
 33.17  incorporation shall be effective upon the election and 
 33.18  qualification of new municipal officers or on such later date as 
 33.19  is fixed by the ~~director's~~ county board's order. 
 33.20     Sec. 20.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.031, is 
 33.21  amended to read: 
 33.22     414.031 [ANNEXING UNINCORPORATED PROPERTY BY ~~DIRECTOR'S~~ 
 33.23  COUNTY BOARD'S ORDER.] 
 33.24     Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDING.] (a) A 
 33.25  proceeding for the annexation of unincorporated property 
 33.26  abutting a municipality may be initiated by submitting to the 
 33.27  ~~director~~ county board and the affected township one of the 
 33.28  following: 
 33.29     (1) a resolution of the annexing municipality; 
 33.30     (2) a resolution of the township containing the area 
 33.31  proposed for annexation; 
 33.32     (3) a petition of 20 percent of the property owners or 100 
 33.33  property owners, whichever is less, in the area to be annexed; 
 33.34     (4) a resolution of the municipal council together with a 
 33.35  resolution of the township board stating their desire to have 
 33.36  the entire township annexed to the municipality. 
 34.1      (b) The petition, or resolution shall set forth the 
 34.2   boundaries of the territory proposed for annexation, the names 
 34.3   of all parties entitled to notice under section 414.09, and the 
 34.4   reasons for requesting annexation. 
 34.5      (c) If the proceeding is initiated by a petition of 
 34.6   property owners, the petition shall be accompanied by a 
 34.7   resolution of the annexing municipality supporting the petition. 
 34.8      Subd. 3.  [HEARING TIME, PLACE.] Upon receipt of a petition 
 34.9   or resolution initiating an annexation, the ~~director~~ county 
 34.10  board shall designate a time and a place for a hearing in 
 34.11  accordance with section 414.09. 
 34.12     Subd. 4.  [RELEVANT FACTORS, ORDER.] (a) In arriving at a 
 34.13  decision, the ~~director~~ county board shall consider the following 
 34.14  factors: 
 34.15     (1) present population and number of households, past 
 34.16  population and projected population growth of the subject area 
 34.17  and adjacent units of local government; 
 34.18     (2) quantity of land within the subject area and adjacent 
 34.19  units of local government; and natural terrain including 
 34.20  recognizable physical features, general topography, major 
 34.21  watersheds, soil conditions and such natural features as rivers, 
 34.22  lakes and major bluffs; 
 34.23     (3) degree of contiguity of the boundaries between the 
 34.24  annexing municipality and the subject area; 
 34.25     (4) present pattern of physical development, planning, and 
 34.26  intended land uses in the subject area and the annexing 
 34.27  municipality including residential, industrial, commercial, 
 34.28  agricultural and institutional land uses and the impact of the 
 34.29  proposed action on those land uses; 
 34.30     (5) the present transportation network and potential 
 34.31  transportation issues, including proposed highway development; 
 34.32     (6) land use controls and planning presently being utilized 
 34.33  in the annexing municipality and the subject area, including 
 34.34  comprehensive plans for development in the area and plans and 
 34.35  policies of the metropolitan council, and whether there are 
 34.36  inconsistencies between proposed development and existing land 
 35.1   use controls and the reasons therefore; 
 35.2      (7) existing levels of governmental services being provided 
 35.3   in the annexing municipality and the subject area, including 
 35.4   water and sewer service, fire rating and protection, law 
 35.5   enforcement, street improvements and maintenance, administrative 
 35.6   services, and recreational facilities and the impact of the 
 35.7   proposed action on the delivery of said services; 
 35.8      (8) existing or potential environmental problems and 
 35.9   whether the proposed action is likely to improve or resolve 
 35.10  these problems; 
 35.11     (9) plans and programs by the annexing municipality for 
 35.12  providing needed governmental services to the subject area; 
 35.13     (10) an analysis of the fiscal impact on the annexing 
 35.14  municipality, the subject area, and adjacent units of local 
 35.15  government, including net tax capacity and the present bonded 
 35.16  indebtedness, and the local tax rates of the county, school 
 35.17  district, and township; 
 35.18     (11) relationship and effect of the proposed action on 
 35.19  affected and adjacent school districts and communities; 
 35.20     (12) adequacy of town government to deliver services to the 
 35.21  subject area; 
 35.22     (13) analysis of whether necessary governmental services 
 35.23  can best be provided through the proposed action or another type 
 35.24  of boundary adjustment; ~~and~~ 
 35.25     (14) if only a part of a township is annexed, the ability 
 35.26  of the remainder of the township to continue or the feasibility 
 35.27  of it being incorporated separately or being annexed to another 
 35.28  municipality; and 
 35.29     (15) the results of any advisory referendum held as 
 35.30  authorized in subdivision 9. 
 35.31     (b) Based upon the factors, the ~~director~~ county board may 
 35.32  order the annexation on finding: 
 35.33     (1) that the subject area is now, or is about to become, 
 35.34  urban or suburban in character; 
 35.35     (2) that municipal government in the area proposed for 
 35.36  annexation is required to protect the public health, safety, and 
 36.1   welfare; or 
 36.2      (3) that the annexation would be in the best interest of 
 36.3   the subject area. 
 36.4      (c) If only a part of a township is to be annexed, the 
 36.5   ~~director~~ county board shall consider whether the remainder of 
 36.6   the township can continue to carry on the functions of 
 36.7   government without undue hardship.  
 36.8      (d) The ~~director~~ county board shall deny the annexation on 
 36.9   finding that the increase in revenues for the annexing 
 36.10  municipality bears no reasonable relation to the monetary value 
 36.11  of benefits conferred upon the annexed area.  
 36.12     (e) The ~~director~~ county board may deny the annexation on 
 36.13  finding: 
 36.14     (1) that annexation of all or a part of the property to an 
 36.15  adjacent municipality would better serve the interests of the 
 36.16  residents of the property; or 
 36.17     (2) that the remainder of the township would suffer undue 
 36.18  hardship. 
 36.19     (f) The ~~director~~ county board may alter the boundaries of 
 36.20  the area to be annexed by increasing or decreasing the area so 
 36.21  as to include only that property which is now or is about to 
 36.22  become urban or suburban in character or to add property of such 
 36.23  character abutting the area proposed for annexation in order to 
 36.24  preserve or improve the symmetry of the area, or to exclude 
 36.25  property that may better be served by another unit of government.
 36.26     (g) The ~~director~~ county board may also alter the boundaries 
 36.27  of the proposed annexation so as to follow visible, clearly 
 36.28  recognizable physical features.  
 36.29     (h) If the ~~director~~ county board determines that part of 
 36.30  the area would be better served by another municipality or 
 36.31  township, the ~~director~~ county board may initiate and approve 
 36.32  annexation by conducting further hearings and issuing orders 
 36.33  pursuant to subdivisions 3 and 4.  
 36.34     (i) In all cases, the ~~director~~ county board shall set forth 
 36.35  the factors which are the basis for the decision. 
 36.36     Subd. 4a.  [PROVIDING FOR ELECTION OF NEW MUNICIPAL 
 37.1   OFFICERS.] (a) Any annexation order under this section for 
 37.2   annexation by a single municipality of an entire township shall 
 37.3   include a provision for the election of new municipal officers 
 37.4   in accordance with section 414.09.  The ~~director of the office~~ 
 37.5   ~~of strategic and long-range planning, or the director's~~ 
 37.6   ~~designee,~~ county board may also order an election of new 
 37.7   municipal officers in accordance with section 414.09 as part of 
 37.8   any other annexation order under this section if the ~~director or~~ 
 37.9   ~~the director's designee~~ board determines that such an election 
 37.10  would be equitable.  
 37.11     (b) The expanded municipality shall be governed by the home 
 37.12  rule charter or statutory form which governs the annexing 
 37.13  municipality, except that any ward system for the election of 
 37.14  council members shall be inoperable.  
 37.15     (c) The ordinances of both the annexing municipality and 
 37.16  the township shall continue in effect within the former 
 37.17  boundaries until repealed by the governing body of the new 
 37.18  municipality. 
 37.19     (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
 37.20  contrary, the ~~director of the office of strategic and long-range~~ 
 37.21  ~~planning, or the director's designee,~~ county board may provide 
 37.22  for election of council members by wards, not less than three 
 37.23  nor more than seven in number, whose limits are prescribed in 
 37.24  the ~~director's~~ board's order, upon a finding that area 
 37.25  representation is required to accord proper representation in 
 37.26  the municipality because of uneven population density in 
 37.27  different parts thereof or the existence of agricultural lands 
 37.28  therein which are in the path of suburban development; but after 
 37.29  four years from the effective date of an annexation the council 
 37.30  of the municipality may by resolution adopted by a four-fifths 
 37.31  vote abolish the ward system and provide for the election of all 
 37.32  council members at large. 
 37.33     (e) Until the effective date of the annexation order, the 
 37.34  town board and other officers of the town shall continue to 
 37.35  exercise their powers and duties under the town laws in that 
 37.36  portion of the municipality that was formerly the town, and the 
 38.1   council and other officers of the annexing municipality shall 
 38.2   continue to exercise their powers and duties in that portion of 
 38.3   the expanded municipality that was formerly the municipality.  
 38.4   Thereafter the town board and the council of the annexing 
 38.5   municipality shall have no jurisdiction within the municipality, 
 38.6   and the new municipal council and other new officers shall act 
 38.7   in respect to any matters previously undertaken by the town 
 38.8   board of supervisors or municipal council within the limits of 
 38.9   the expanded municipality, including the making of any 
 38.10  improvement and the levying of any special assessments therefor 
 38.11  in the same manner and to the same effect as if such improvement 
 38.12  had been undertaken by the municipality. 
 38.13     (f) The new municipal council may continue or discontinue 
 38.14  any board that may have previously existed in the town or former 
 38.15  municipality. 
 38.16     Subd. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF ANNEXATION.] The annexation 
 38.17  shall be effective as of the date fixed in the annexation order 
 38.18  or on a later date fixed in the annexation order. 
 38.19     Subd. 7.  [COPY TO COUNTY AUDITORS.] A copy of the 
 38.20  annexation order must be delivered immediately by the ~~director~~ 
 38.21  county board to the appropriate county auditors. 
 38.22     Subd. 8.  [TIMING FOR TAX LEVY.] For the purposes of 
 38.23  taxation, if the annexation becomes effective on or before 
 38.24  August 1 of a levy year, the municipality may levy on the 
 38.25  annexed area beginning with that same levy year.  If the 
 38.26  annexation becomes effective after August 1 of a levy year, the 
 38.27  town may continue to levy on the annexed area for that levy 
 38.28  year, and the municipality may not levy on the annexed area 
 38.29  until the following levy year. 
 38.30     Subd. 9.  [ADVISORY REFERENDUM.] The county board may hold 
 38.31  an advisory referendum on the proposed annexation, or any action 
 38.32  that the county board may take in relation to the proposed 
 38.33  annexation, prior to issuing its order. 
 38.34     Sec. 21.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0325, 
 38.35  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 38.36     Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDING.] (a) One or 
 39.1   more townships and one or more municipalities, by joint 
 39.2   resolution, may designate an unincorporated area as in need of 
 39.3   orderly annexation.  
 39.4      (b) The joint resolution will confer jurisdiction on the 
 39.5   ~~director~~ county board over annexations in the designated area 
 39.6   and over the various provisions in said agreement by submission 
 39.7   of said joint resolution to the ~~director~~ county board.  
 39.8      (c) The resolution shall include a description of the 
 39.9   designated area and the reasons for designation.  
 39.10     (d) Thereafter, an annexation of any part of the designated 
 39.11  area may be initiated by: 
 39.12     (1) submitting to the ~~director~~ county board a resolution of 
 39.13  any signatory to the joint resolution; or 
 39.14     (2) the ~~director~~ county board. 
 39.15     (e) Whenever a state agency, other than the pollution 
 39.16  control agency, orders a municipality to extend a municipal 
 39.17  service to an area, the order confers jurisdiction on the 
 39.18  ~~director~~ county board to consider designation of the area for 
 39.19  orderly annexation. 
 39.20     (f) If a joint resolution designates an area as in need of 
 39.21  orderly annexation and states that no alteration of its stated 
 39.22  boundaries is appropriate, the ~~director~~ county board may review 
 39.23  and comment, but may not alter the boundaries.  
 39.24     (g) If a joint resolution designates an area as in need of 
 39.25  orderly annexation, provides for the conditions for its 
 39.26  annexation, and states that no consideration by the ~~director~~ 
 39.27  county board is necessary, the ~~director~~ county board may review 
 39.28  and comment, but shall, within 30 days, order the annexation in 
 39.29  accordance with the terms of the resolution.  
 39.30     Sec. 22.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0325, 
 39.31  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 39.32     Subd. 2.  [HEARING TIME, PLACE.] Upon receipt of a 
 39.33  resolution for annexation of a part of the designated area, the 
 39.34  ~~director~~ county board shall set a time and place for a hearing 
 39.35  in accordance with section 414.09. 
 39.36     Sec. 23.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0325, 
 40.1   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 40.2      Subd. 3.  [RELEVANT FACTORS, ORDER.] (a) In arriving at a 
 40.3   decision, the ~~director~~ county board shall consider the factors 
 40.4   in section 414.031, subdivision 4. 
 40.5      (b) Based upon factors in section 414.031, subdivision 4, 
 40.6   the ~~director~~ county board may order the annexation: 
 40.7      (1) on finding that the subject area is now or is about to 
 40.8   become urban or suburban in character and that the annexing 
 40.9   municipality is capable of providing the services required by 
 40.10  the area within a reasonable time; or 
 40.11     (2) on finding that the existing township form of 
 40.12  government is not adequate to protect the public health, safety, 
 40.13  and welfare; or 
 40.14     (3) on finding that annexation would be in the best 
 40.15  interests of the subject area.  
 40.16     (c) The ~~director~~ county board may deny the annexation if it 
 40.17  conflicts with any provision of the joint agreement.  
 40.18     (d) The ~~director~~ county board may alter the boundaries of 
 40.19  the proposed annexation by increasing or decreasing the area so 
 40.20  as to include that property within the designated area which is 
 40.21  in need of municipal services or will be in need of municipal 
 40.22  services. 
 40.23     (e) If the annexation is denied, no proceeding for the 
 40.24  annexation of substantially the same area may be initiated 
 40.25  within two years from the date of the denial order unless the 
 40.26  new proceeding is initiated by a majority of the area's property 
 40.27  owners and the petition is supported by affected parties to the 
 40.28  resolution.  
 40.29     (f) In all cases, the ~~director~~ county board shall set forth 
 40.30  the factors which are the basis for the decision. 
 40.31     Sec. 24.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0325, 
 40.32  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 40.33     Subd. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF ANNEXATION.] The 
 40.34  ~~director's~~ county board's order shall be effective upon the 
 40.35  issuance of the order or at such later time as is provided in 
 40.36  the order. 
 41.1      Sec. 25.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0325, 
 41.2   subdivision 4a, is amended to read: 
 41.3      Subd. 4a.  [COPY TO COUNTY AUDITORS.] A copy of the 
 41.4   annexation order must be delivered immediately by the ~~director~~ 
 41.5   county board to the appropriate county auditors. 
 41.6      Sec. 26.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.033, 
 41.7   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 41.8      Subd. 3.  [60 PERCENT BORDERED AND 40 ACRES OR LESS.] If 
 41.9   the perimeter of the area to be annexed by a municipality is 60 
 41.10  percent or more bordered by the municipality and if the area to 
 41.11  be annexed is 40 acres or less, the municipality shall serve 
 41.12  notice of intent to annex upon the town board and the 
 41.13  ~~director~~ county board, unless the area is appropriate for 
 41.14  annexation by ordinance under subdivision 2, clause (3).  The 
 41.15  town board shall have 90 days from the date of service to serve 
 41.16  objections with the ~~director~~ county board.  If no objections are 
 41.17  forthcoming within the said 90-day period, such land may be 
 41.18  annexed by ordinance.  If objections are filed with the ~~director~~ 
 41.19  county board, the ~~director~~ county board shall conduct hearings 
 41.20  and issue an order as in the case of annexations under section 
 41.21  414.031, subdivisions 3 and 4. 
 41.22     Sec. 27.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.033, 
 41.23  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 41.24     Subd. 5.  [PETITION BY PROPERTY OWNERS; OBJECTIONS; 
 41.25  PROCEDURE.] If the land is platted, or, if unplatted, does not 
 41.26  exceed 200 acres, a majority of the property owners in number 
 41.27  may petition the municipal council to have such land included 
 41.28  within the abutting municipality and, within ten days 
 41.29  thereafter, shall file copies of the petition with ~~the director,~~ 
 41.30  the town board, the county board and the municipal council of 
 41.31  any other municipality which borders the land to be annexed.  
 41.32  Within 90 days from the date of service, the town board or the 
 41.33  municipal council of such abutting municipality may submit 
 41.34  written objections to the annexation to the ~~director~~ county 
 41.35  board and the annexing municipality.  Upon receipt of such 
 41.36  objections, the ~~director~~ county board shall proceed to hold a 
 42.1   hearing and issue an order in accordance with section 414.031, 
 42.2   subdivisions 3 and 4.  If written objections are not submitted 
 42.3   within the time specified in this section and if the municipal 
 42.4   council determines that property proposed for the annexation is 
 42.5   now or is about to become urban or suburban in character, it may 
 42.6   by ordinance declare such land annexed to the municipality.  If 
 42.7   the petition is not signed by all the property owners of the 
 42.8   land proposed to be annexed, the ordinance shall not be enacted 
 42.9   until the municipal council has held a hearing on the proposed 
 42.10  annexation after at least 30 days' mailed notice to all property 
 42.11  owners within the area to be annexed. 
 42.12     Sec. 28.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.033, 
 42.13  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 42.14     Subd. 6.  [IF PENDING PROCEEDING; WAIVERS FROM PARTIES.] 
 42.15  Whenever a proceeding for annexation is initiated under this 
 42.16  section and all or any part of the land is included in another 
 42.17  boundary adjustment proceeding pending before the ~~director~~ 
 42.18  county board, no action thereon shall be taken by the 
 42.19  municipality, unless otherwise provided by an order of 
 42.20  the ~~director~~ county board, until final disposition has been made 
 42.21  of the pending petition.  Under this section, the ~~director~~ board 
 42.22  will accept a waiver from all parties having a right to object, 
 42.23  stating they have no objections to the proposed annexation and 
 42.24  waiving the 90 day period before an annexation ordinance may be 
 42.25  adopted. 
 42.26     Sec. 29.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.033, 
 42.27  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 42.28     Subd. 7.  [FILING; EFFECTIVE DATE; COPY TO AUDITORS.] Any 
 42.29  annexation ordinance provided for in this section must be filed 
 42.30  with ~~the director,~~ the township, the county auditor and the 
 42.31  secretary of state and is final on the date the ordinance is 
 42.32  approved by the ~~director~~ county board.  A copy of the annexation 
 42.33  ordinance must be delivered immediately by the governing body of 
 42.34  the municipality to the appropriate county auditors.  
 42.35     Sec. 30.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.033, 
 42.36  subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
 43.1      Subd. 10.  [~~DIRECTOR~~ COUNTY BOARD MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL 
 43.2   INFORMATION.] The ~~director~~ county board may require the city or 
 43.3   property owners to furnish additional information concerning an 
 43.4   annexation by ordinance to inform the ~~director~~ board about the 
 43.5   extent to which the proposed annexation conforms to the 
 43.6   statutory criteria set forth in sections 414.01, subdivision 1, 
 43.7   and 414.031, subdivision 4. 
 43.8      Sec. 31.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.0335, is 
 43.9   amended to read: 
 43.10     414.0335 [IF PCA-ORDERED GOVERNMENTAL SERVICE EXTENSION.] 
 43.11     Subdivision 1.  [ANNEXATION-BY-ORDINANCE ALTERNATIVE.] If a 
 43.12  determination or order by the pollution control agency, under 
 43.13  section 115.49 or other similar statute is made, that 
 43.14  cooperation by contract is necessary and feasible between a 
 43.15  municipality and an unincorporated area located outside the 
 43.16  existing corporate limits of a municipality, the municipality 
 43.17  required to provide or extend through a contract a governmental 
 43.18  service to an unincorporated area, during the statutory 90-day 
 43.19  period provided in section 115.49 to formulate a contract, may 
 43.20  in the alternative to formulating a service contract to provide 
 43.21  or extend the service, declare the unincorporated area described 
 43.22  in the pollution control agency's determination letter or order 
 43.23  annexed to the municipality by adopting an ordinance and 
 43.24  submitting it to the ~~director~~ county board.  
 43.25     Subd. 2.  [~~DIRECTOR'S~~ COUNTY BOARD'S ROLE.] The ~~director~~ 
 43.26  county board may review and comment on the ordinance but shall 
 43.27  approve the ordinance within 30 days of receipt.  The ordinance 
 43.28  is final and the annexation is effective on the date 
 43.29  the ~~director~~ county board approves the ordinance.  
 43.30     Subd. 3.  [CITY TO AMEND PLAN AND CONTROLS.] Thereafter, 
 43.31  the city shall amend its comprehensive plan and official 
 43.32  controls in accordance with chapter 462. 
 43.33     Sec. 32.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.041, is 
 43.34  amended to read: 
 43.35     414.041 [CONSOLIDATION OF MUNICIPALITIES.] 
 43.36     Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDING.] (a) Two or 
 44.1   more municipalities may be the subject of a single proceeding 
 44.2   provided that each municipality abuts at least one of the 
 44.3   included municipalities.  
 44.4      (b) The proceeding shall be initiated in one of the 
 44.5   following ways:  
 44.6      (1) submitting to the ~~director~~ county board a resolution of 
 44.7   the city council of each affected municipality; 
 44.8      (2) submitting to the ~~director~~ county board a petition 
 44.9   signed by five percent or more of the resident voters of a 
 44.10  municipality who voted for governor at the last general 
 44.11  election; or 
 44.12     (3) by the ~~director~~ county board.  
 44.13     (c) The petition or resolution shall set forth the 
 44.14  following information about each included municipality:  name, 
 44.15  description of boundaries, the reasons for requesting the 
 44.16  consolidation and the names of all parties entitled to mailed 
 44.17  notice under section 414.09.  
 44.18     (d) The party initiating the proceeding shall serve copies 
 44.19  of the petition or resolution on all of the included 
 44.20  municipalities. 
 44.21     Subd. 2.  [CONSOLIDATION COMMISSION.] Upon receipt of a 
 44.22  petition or a resolution requesting consolidation or upon the 
 44.23  ~~director's~~ county board's own motion, the ~~director~~ county board 
 44.24  shall appoint a consolidation commission from a list of ten 
 44.25  candidates submitted by each affected city council.  The 
 44.26  commission shall be composed of not fewer than five members from 
 44.27  each affected municipality.  From a separate list of three 
 44.28  persons submitted by each affected city council, the ~~director~~ 
 44.29  county board shall appoint a commission chair who is not a 
 44.30  resident of an affected municipality but who resides in an 
 44.31  affected county.  
 44.32     No person is disqualified from serving on a consolidation 
 44.33  commission by reason of holding other elected or appointed 
 44.34  office.  Consolidation commission members shall hold office 
 44.35  until a consolidation report has been issued by the commission.  
 44.36  The ~~director~~ county board shall fill vacancies in the commission 
 45.1   by appointment.  The consolidation commission shall make rules 
 45.2   with reference to its operation and procedures including quorum 
 45.3   requirements with reference to its operations and procedures.  
 45.4      Subd. 3.  [COMMISSION'S HEARING AND REPORT.] (a) The 
 45.5   consolidation commission shall conduct hearings regarding the 
 45.6   proposed consolidation.  
 45.7      (b) The hearings shall include, but are not limited to, the 
 45.8   following subjects:  
 45.9      (1) the contents of any city charter for the proposed 
 45.10  consolidated city or the form of government of the proposed 
 45.11  consolidated city; 
 45.12     (2) analysis of whether a ward system shall be included in 
 45.13  the form of government of the proposed consolidated city; and 
 45.14     (3) each factor considered by the ~~director~~ county board 
 45.15  under section 414.02, subdivision 3. 
 45.16     (c) Based on these factors and upon other matters which 
 45.17  come before the consolidation commission, the commission shall 
 45.18  issue a report to the ~~director~~ county board with findings and 
 45.19  recommendations within two years from the date of the ~~director's~~ 
 45.20  county board's initial appointment of the commission.  
 45.21     Subd. 4.  [~~DIRECTOR'S~~ COUNTY BOARD'S HEARING AND NOTICE.] 
 45.22  Upon receipt of the commission's report, the ~~director~~ county 
 45.23  board shall designate a time and a place for a hearing in 
 45.24  accordance with section 414.09. 
 45.25     Subd. 5.  [RELEVANT FACTORS, ORDER.] (a) In arriving at a 
 45.26  decision, the ~~director~~ county board shall consider the factors 
 45.27  in section 414.02, subdivision 3. 
 45.28     (b) The ~~director~~ county board shall consider and may 
 45.29  accept, amend, return to the commission for amendment or further 
 45.30  study, or reject the commission's findings and recommendations 
 45.31  based upon the ~~director's~~ county board's written determination 
 45.32  of what is in the best interests of the affected municipalities. 
 45.33     (c) The ~~director~~ county board shall order the consolidation 
 45.34  on finding that consolidation will be for the best interests of 
 45.35  the municipalities.  In all cases, the ~~director~~ county board 
 45.36  shall set forth the factors which are the basis for the decision.
 46.1      (d) If the ~~director~~ county board orders consolidation, the 
 46.2   order shall provide for election of new municipal officers in 
 46.3   accordance with section 414.09. 
 46.4      (e) If the most populous of the included municipalities is 
 46.5   a statutory city, the new municipality shall be a statutory city 
 46.6   and the plan of government shall be Optional Plan A, provided 
 46.7   that an alternate plan may be adopted pursuant to section 
 46.8   412.551, at any time.  If the most populous of the included 
 46.9   municipalities is a home rule charter city or organized under a 
 46.10  statute other than chapter 412, the new municipality shall be 
 46.11  governed by its home rule charter or the statutory form under 
 46.12  which it is governed except that any ward system for the 
 46.13  election of council members shall be inoperable. 
 46.14     (f) If the commission's findings and recommendations 
 46.15  include a proposed home rule charter for the new municipality, 
 46.16  the order may combine the issue of the adoption of the charter 
 46.17  and the vote on approval of the order for consolidation into one 
 46.18  question on the ballot, and shall submit it in a special or 
 46.19  general election as provided in section 410.10. 
 46.20     (g) The ordinances of all of the included municipalities 
 46.21  shall continue in effect within their former boundaries until 
 46.22  repealed by the governing body of the new municipality. 
 46.23     (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
 46.24  contrary, the order may establish a ward system in the new 
 46.25  municipality, in which event the order shall establish not less 
 46.26  than three nor more than seven wards, each of which shall elect 
 46.27  one council member.  When more than two years have elapsed after 
 46.28  consolidation, the governing body may, by a four-fifths vote, 
 46.29  abolish the ward system. 
 46.30     (i) The new municipality shall assume the name of the most 
 46.31  populous municipality unless previous to the election another 
 46.32  name is chosen by joint resolution of a majority of the included 
 46.33  municipalities or by the consolidation commission. 
 46.34     (j) The number of license privileges existing in the 
 46.35  included municipalities prior to consolidation and pursuant to 
 46.36  state law shall not be diminished as a result of the 
 47.1   consolidation. 
 47.2      (k) If the consolidation is denied or defeated in a 
 47.3   referendum, no proceeding for the consolidation of the same 
 47.4   municipalities may be initiated within two years from the date 
 47.5   of the order unless authorized by the ~~director~~ county board. 
 47.6      Subd. 6.  [FINAL APPROVAL; PETITION; REFERENDA.] (a) If the 
 47.7   consolidation was initiated by a petition of the resident voters 
 47.8   of a municipality, the order for consolidation shall be final 
 47.9   upon approval by resolution of the city councils in each of the 
 47.10  affected municipalities unless ten percent or more of the 
 47.11  resident voters of an affected municipality who voted for 
 47.12  governor at the last general election petition the city council 
 47.13  for a referendum on the consolidation.  The petition must be 
 47.14  submitted within 90 days of the final date of the order or the 
 47.15  date of final approval of the order by the city councils, 
 47.16  whichever is later. 
 47.17     (b) Upon receipt and verification of the petition, the 
 47.18  ~~director~~ county board shall order the municipalities to conduct 
 47.19  separate referenda at a general or special election in each 
 47.20  municipality on the same day, and the referenda shall be held 
 47.21  within six months of the receipt of the petition. 
 47.22     (c) Costs of the respective referenda shall be borne by the 
 47.23  respective municipality.  A majority of those voting in each 
 47.24  city must approve the proposed consolidation.  The results of 
 47.25  the referenda shall be certified to the ~~director~~ county board by 
 47.26  the chief election judge within ten days after the referenda.  
 47.27  The ~~director~~ county board shall upon receipt of the certificate 
 47.28  notify all parties of the election results. 
 47.29     (d) If the consolidation was initiated by a city council 
 47.30  resolution of each affected municipality, the order for 
 47.31  consolidation shall be final unless ten percent or more of the 
 47.32  resident voters of an affected municipality petition for a 
 47.33  referendum as provided in paragraph (a).  
 47.34     (e) If the consolidation was initiated by the ~~director~~ 
 47.35  county board, no ~~director's~~ board's consolidation order 
 47.36  involving existing municipalities shall become effective unless 
 48.1   adopted by the council of each affected municipality by a 
 48.2   majority vote and unless the consolidation order is approved by 
 48.3   the qualified voters of the affected municipalities at a general 
 48.4   or special election set according to law.  The form of the 
 48.5   ballot shall be fixed by the ~~director~~ county board; and, if a 
 48.6   majority of the votes cast on the question in each municipality 
 48.7   are in favor of its adoption, the order shall become effective 
 48.8   as provided herein.  
 48.9      (f) Notwithstanding a disapproval of the order for 
 48.10  consolidation by a city council of an affected municipality 
 48.11  required to approve the order in paragraph (a) or (e), the order 
 48.12  for consolidation shall nevertheless be deemed approved by that 
 48.13  city council if ten percent or more of the resident voters of 
 48.14  that municipality who voted for governor at the last general 
 48.15  election petition the city council for a referendum on the 
 48.16  consolidation as provided in paragraph (a), and a majority of 
 48.17  those voting in that municipality approve the order for 
 48.18  consolidation.  
 48.19     Subd. 7.  [DIFFERENTIAL TAXATION FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS.] 
 48.20  Where one municipality is receiving substantially fewer 
 48.21  municipal services, the ~~director~~ county board may provide that 
 48.22  the tax rate of the municipality shall be increased in 
 48.23  substantially equal proportions over a period of not more than 
 48.24  five years to equality with the tax rate in the remainder of the 
 48.25  new municipality.  The period shall be determined by 
 48.26  the ~~director~~ county board on the basis of the period reasonably 
 48.27  required to provide substantially equal municipal services. 
 48.28     Subd. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF CONSOLIDATION.] The 
 48.29  consolidation shall be effective upon the election and 
 48.30  qualification of new municipal officers, or at such later date 
 48.31  as set by the order. 
 48.32     Sec. 33.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.06, is 
 48.33  amended to read: 
 48.34     414.06 [DETACHMENT OF PROPERTY FROM A MUNICIPALITY.] 
 48.35     Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDING.] Property which 
 48.36  is situated within a municipality and abutting the municipal 
 49.1   boundary, rural in character and not developed for urban 
 49.2   residential, commercial, or industrial purposes may be detached 
 49.3   from the municipality according to the following procedure.  The 
 49.4   proceeding may be initiated by submitting to the ~~director~~ county 
 49.5   board a resolution of the municipality to which the land is 
 49.6   attached or by submitting to the ~~director~~ county board a 
 49.7   petition of all of the property owners of the land to be 
 49.8   detached if the area is less than 40 acres or of 75 percent of 
 49.9   the property owners if over 40 acres.  The petition or 
 49.10  resolution shall set forth the boundaries and the area of the 
 49.11  land to be detached, the number and character of the buildings, 
 49.12  the resident population, and the municipal improvements, if any, 
 49.13  in the area. 
 49.14     Subd. 2.  [HEARING, IF NEEDED.] If both a resolution of the 
 49.15  municipality and a petition by all the property owners are 
 49.16  submitted, no hearing is necessary.  In any other case, upon 
 49.17  receipt of a petition or resolution, the ~~director~~ county board 
 49.18  shall designate a time and place for a hearing in accordance 
 49.19  with section 414.09. 
 49.20     Subd. 3.  [ORDER.] Upon completion of the hearing, the 
 49.21  ~~director~~ county board may order the detachment on finding that 
 49.22  the requisite number of property owners have signed the petition 
 49.23  if initiated by the property owners, that the property is rural 
 49.24  in character and not developed for urban residential, commercial 
 49.25  or industrial purposes, that the property is within the 
 49.26  boundaries of the municipality and abuts a boundary, that the 
 49.27  detachment would not unreasonably affect the symmetry of the 
 49.28  detaching municipality, and that the land is not needed for 
 49.29  reasonably anticipated future development.  The ~~director~~ county 
 49.30  board may deny the detachment on finding that the remainder of 
 49.31  the municipality cannot continue to carry on the functions of 
 49.32  government without undue hardship.  The ~~director~~ county board 
 49.33  may decrease the area of property to be detached and may include 
 49.34  only a part of the proposed area to be detached.  If the tract 
 49.35  abuts more than one township, it shall become a part of each 
 49.36  township, being divided by projecting through it the boundary 
 50.1   line between the townships.  The detached area may be relieved 
 50.2   of the primary responsibility for existing indebtedness of the 
 50.3   municipality and be required to assume the indebtedness of the 
 50.4   township of which it becomes a part, in such proportion as 
 50.5   the ~~director~~ county board shall deem just and equitable having 
 50.6   in view the amount of taxes due and delinquent and the 
 50.7   indebtedness of each township and the municipality affected, if 
 50.8   any, and for what purpose the same was incurred, all in relation 
 50.9   to the benefit inuring to the detached area as a result of the 
 50.10  indebtedness and the last net tax capacity of the taxable 
 50.11  property in each township and municipality. 
 50.12     Subd. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF DETACHMENT.] The detachment 
 50.13  shall be effective upon the issuance of the order, or at such 
 50.14  later date, as provided by the order. 
 50.15     Subd. 5.  [COPY TO COUNTY AUDITORS.] A copy of the 
 50.16  detachment order must be delivered immediately by the ~~director~~ 
 50.17  county board to the appropriate county auditors. 
 50.18     Subd. 6.  [TIMING OF TAX LEVY.] For the purposes of 
 50.19  taxation, if the detachment becomes effective on or before 
 50.20  August 1 of a levy year, the towns acquiring the detached area 
 50.21  may levy on it beginning with that same levy year.  If the 
 50.22  detachment becomes effective after August 1 of a levy year, the 
 50.23  municipality may continue to levy on the detached area for that 
 50.24  levy year, and the towns acquiring the detached area may not 
 50.25  levy on it until the following levy year. 
 50.26     Sec. 34.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.061, is 
 50.27  amended to read: 
 50.28     414.061 [CONCURRENT DETACHMENT AND ANNEXATION OF 
 50.29  INCORPORATED LAND.] 
 50.30     Subdivision 1.  [BOTH MUNICIPALITIES MAY INITIATE THE 
 50.31  PROCEEDING.] Property of one municipality which abuts another 
 50.32  may be concurrently detached and annexed by the procedure set 
 50.33  forth in this section.  The proceeding shall be initiated by 
 50.34  submitting to the ~~director~~ county board resolutions of both 
 50.35  municipalities describing the land and stating their desire to 
 50.36  detach and annex the land. 
 51.1      Subd. 2.  [ORDER.] If the resolutions are in order, the 
 51.2   ~~director~~ county board may order the detachment and annexation. 
 51.3      Subd. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE OF ORDER.] The concurrent 
 51.4   detachment and annexation shall be effective upon the issuance 
 51.5   of the order, or at such later date as provided by the order.  
 51.6      Subd. 3a.  [COPY TO COUNTY AUDITORS.] A copy of the 
 51.7   annexation order must be delivered immediately by the ~~director~~ 
 51.8   county board to the appropriate county auditors.  
 51.9      Subd. 3b.  [TIMING OF TAX LEVIES.] For the purposes of 
 51.10  taxation, if the annexation becomes effective on or before 
 51.11  August 1 of a levy year, the municipality acquiring the detached 
 51.12  area of another municipality may levy on it beginning with that 
 51.13  same levy year.  If the annexation becomes effective after 
 51.14  August 1 of a levy year, the municipality losing the detached 
 51.15  area may continue to levy on it for that levy year, and the 
 51.16  municipality acquiring the detached area may not levy on it 
 51.17  until the following levy year. 
 51.18     Subd. 4.  [~~DIRECTOR'S~~ COUNTY BOARD'S INITIATIVE.] The 
 51.19  ~~director~~ county board (1) may initiate proceedings for the 
 51.20  concurrent detachment and annexation of portions of one 
 51.21  municipality completely surrounded by another municipality, or 
 51.22  (2) may act upon the petition of all of the owners of property 
 51.23  in the completely surrounded area.  In such cases the ~~director~~ 
 51.24  county board shall conduct hearings and issue an order pursuant 
 51.25  to section 414.09.  In arriving at a decision, the ~~director~~ 
 51.26  county board shall consider the factors in section 414.02, 
 51.27  subdivision 3.  The ~~director~~ county board shall order the 
 51.28  proposed action on finding that it will be for the best 
 51.29  interests of the municipalities and the property owners.  In all 
 51.30  cases, the ~~director~~ county board shall set forth the factors 
 51.31  which are the basis for the decision. 
 51.32     Subd. 5.  [PROPERTY OWNERS MAY INITIATE.] Property owners 
 51.33  may initiate proceedings for the concurrent detachment of their 
 51.34  property from one municipality and its annexation to an adjacent 
 51.35  municipality by a petition signed by all of them that they 
 51.36  submit to the ~~director~~ county board accompanied by a resolution 
 52.1   of the city council of at least one of the affected 
 52.2   municipalities.  The ~~director~~ county board shall conduct 
 52.3   hearings and issue an order pursuant to section 414.09.  In 
 52.4   arriving at a decision, the ~~director~~ county board shall consider 
 52.5   the factors in section 414.02, subdivision 3.  The ~~director~~ 
 52.6   county board shall order the proposed action on finding that it 
 52.7   will be for the best interests of the municipalities and the 
 52.8   property owner.  In all cases, the ~~director~~ county board shall 
 52.9   set forth the factors which are the basis for the decision. 
 52.10     Sec. 35.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.063, is 
 52.11  amended to read: 
 52.12     414.063 [PART OF JOINT AGREEMENTS MAY BE PUT IN ORDERS.] 
 52.13     After notice and hearing as provided in section 414.09, the 
 52.14  ~~director~~ county board may include provisions of joint agreements 
 52.15  between political subdivisions in the orders. 
 52.16     Sec. 36.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.067, 
 52.17  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 52.18     Subdivision 1.  [TOWNSHIP OR MUNICIPALITY DIVIDED.] 
 52.19  Whenever the ~~director~~ county board divides an existing 
 52.20  governmental unit, the ~~director~~ county board may apportion the 
 52.21  property and obligations between the governmental unit adding 
 52.22  territory and the governmental unit from which the territory was 
 52.23  obtained.  The apportionment shall be made in a just and 
 52.24  equitable manner having in view the value of the existing 
 52.25  township or municipal property located in the area to be added, 
 52.26  the assets, value, and location of all the taxable property in 
 52.27  the existing township or municipality, the indebtedness, the 
 52.28  taxes due and delinquent, other revenue accrued but not paid to 
 52.29  the existing township or municipality and the ability of any 
 52.30  remainder of the township or municipality to function as an 
 52.31  effective governmental unit.  The order shall not relieve any 
 52.32  property from any tax liability for payment for any bonded 
 52.33  obligation, but the taxable property in the new municipality may 
 52.34  be made primarily liable thereon. 
 52.35     Sec. 37.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.067, 
 52.36  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 53.1      Subd. 3.  [REVISION OF TAX RECORDS; REDISTRIBUTION OF 
 53.2   LEVIES.] In an apportionment made under this section, the 
 53.3   ~~director~~ county board may order the county auditor to revise tax 
 53.4   records and respread levies at any time prior to December 15 or 
 53.5   order the county treasurer to redistribute taxes levied and 
 53.6   receivable. 
 53.7      Sec. 38.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.07, 
 53.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 53.9      Subd. 2.  [GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.] (a) Any person aggrieved by 
 53.10  any order issued under this chapter may appeal to the district 
 53.11  court upon the following grounds: 
 53.12     (1) that the order was issued without jurisdiction to act; 
 53.13     (2) that the order exceeded the orderer's jurisdiction; 
 53.14     (3) that the order is arbitrary, fraudulent, capricious or 
 53.15  oppressive or in unreasonable disregard of the best interests of 
 53.16  the territory affected; or 
 53.17     (4) that the order is based upon an erroneous theory of law.
 53.18     (b) The appeal shall be taken in the district court in the 
 53.19  county in which the majority of the area affected is located.  
 53.20  The appeal shall not stay the effect of the order.  All notices 
 53.21  and other documents shall be served on both the ~~director and the~~ 
 53.22  ~~attorney general's assistant assigned to the director for~~ 
 53.23  ~~purposes of this chapter~~ county board and the county attorney. 
 53.24     (c) If the court determines that the action involved is 
 53.25  unlawful or unreasonable or is not warranted by the evidence in 
 53.26  case an issue of fact is involved, the court may vacate or 
 53.27  suspend the action involved, in whole or in part, as the case 
 53.28  requires.  The matter shall then be remanded for further action 
 53.29  in conformity with the decision of the court. 
 53.30     (d) To render a review of an order effectual, the aggrieved 
 53.31  person shall file with the court administrator of the district 
 53.32  court of the county in which the majority of the area is 
 53.33  located, within 30 days of the order, an application for review 
 53.34  together with the grounds upon which the review is sought. 
 53.35     (e) An appeal lies from the district court as in other 
 53.36  civil cases. 
 54.1      Sec. 39.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.08, is 
 54.2   amended to read: 
 54.3      414.08 [~~DIRECTOR~~ COUNTY BOARD MAY APPEAL FROM DISTRICT 
 54.4   COURT.] 
 54.5      An appeal may be taken under the rules of civil appellate 
 54.6   procedure by the ~~director~~ county board from a final order or 
 54.7   judgment made or rendered by the district court when 
 54.8   the ~~director~~ county board determines that the final order or 
 54.9   judgment adversely affects the public interest. 
 54.10     Sec. 40.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.09, is 
 54.11  amended to read: 
 54.12     414.09 [UNIFORM PROCEDURES.] 
 54.13     Subdivision 1.  [HEARINGS.] (a) Proceedings initiated by 
 54.14  the submission of an initiating document or by the ~~director~~ 
 54.15  county board shall come on for hearing within 30 to 60 days from 
 54.16  receipt of the document by the ~~director~~ county board or from the 
 54.17  date of the ~~director's~~ county board's action and the ~~person~~ 
 54.18  ~~conducting the hearing~~ county board must submit an order no 
 54.19  later than one year from the date of the day of the first 
 54.20  hearing. 
 54.21     (b) The ~~place of the~~ hearing ~~shall~~ must be ~~in the county~~ 
 54.22  ~~where a majority of the affected territory is situated, and~~ 
 54.23  ~~shall be~~ held in the county board's meeting room or in another 
 54.24  location in the affected territory established for the 
 54.25  convenience of the parties. 
 54.26     (c) The ~~director~~ county board shall mail notice of the 
 54.27  hearing to the following parties:  the township or municipality 
 54.28  presently governing the affected territory; any township or 
 54.29  municipality abutting the affected territory; ~~the county where~~ 
 54.30  ~~the affected territory is situated;~~ and each planning agency 
 54.31  which has jurisdiction over the affected area. 
 54.32     (d) The ~~director~~ county board shall see that notice of the 
 54.33  hearing is published for two successive weeks in a legal 
 54.34  newspaper of general circulation in the affected area. 
 54.35     (e) When the ~~director~~ county board exercises authority to 
 54.36  change the boundaries of the affected area so as to increase the 
 55.1   quantity of the land, the hearing shall be recessed and 
 55.2   reconvened upon two weeks' published notice in a legal newspaper 
 55.3   of general circulation in the affected area. 
 55.4      Subd. 2.  [TRANSMITTAL OF ORDER.] The ~~director~~ county board 
 55.5   shall see that copies of the order are mailed to all parties 
 55.6   entitled to mailed notice of hearing under subdivision 1, the 
 55.7   secretary of state, the department of revenue, the state 
 55.8   demographer, individual property owners if initiated in that 
 55.9   manner, affected county auditor, and any other party of record.  
 55.10  The affected county auditor shall record the order against the 
 55.11  affected property. 
 55.12     Subd. 3.  [ELECTIONS OF MUNICIPAL OFFICERS.] (a) An order 
 55.13  approving an incorporation or consolidation pursuant to this 
 55.14  chapter, or an order requiring an election under section 
 55.15  414.031, subdivision 4a, shall set a date for ~~this~~ an election 
 55.16  of new municipal officers not less than 45 days nor more than 60 
 55.17  days after the issuance of ~~such~~ the order.  
 55.18     (b) The ~~director~~ county board shall appoint an acting clerk 
 55.19  for election purposes, at least three election judges who shall 
 55.20  be residents of the new municipality, and shall designate 
 55.21  polling places within the new municipality. 
 55.22     (c) The acting clerk shall prepare the official election 
 55.23  ballot. 
 55.24     (d) ~~Affidavits of candidacy may be filed by~~ Any person 
 55.25  eligible to hold municipal office may file an affidavit of 
 55.26  candidacy not more than four weeks nor less than two weeks 
 55.27  before the date designated in the order for the election.  
 55.28     (e) The election shall be conducted in conformity with the 
 55.29  charter and the laws for conducting municipal elections insofar 
 55.30  as applicable. 
 55.31     (f) Any person eligible to vote at a township or municipal 
 55.32  election within the area of the new municipality, is eligible to 
 55.33  vote at such election. 
 55.34     (g) Any excess in the expense of conducting the election 
 55.35  over receipts from filing fees shall be a charge against the new 
 55.36  municipality; any excess of receipts shall be deposited in the 
 56.1   treasury of the new municipality. 
 56.2      Sec. 41.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 414.12, is 
 56.3   amended to read: 
 56.4      414.12 [~~DIRECTOR'S~~ COUNTY BOARD'S POWERS.] 
 56.5      Subdivision 1.  [ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.] (a) 
 56.6   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in sections 414.01 to 
 56.7   414.09, the ~~director~~ county board, upon consultation with 
 56.8   affected parties and considering the procedures and principles 
 56.9   established in sections 414.01 to 414.09, and Laws 1997, chapter 
 56.10  202, article 4, sections 1 to 13, may require that disputes over 
 56.11  proposed boundary adjustments be resolved by means of 
 56.12  alternative dispute resolution processes in place of hearings 
 56.13  that would otherwise be required pursuant to sections 414.01 to 
 56.14  414.09, including those provided in chapter 14, in the execution 
 56.15  of the ~~director's~~ board's duties under this chapter. 
 56.16     (b) Alternative dispute resolution processes that may be 
 56.17  required include: 
 56.18     (1) the contested case procedures provided by sections 
 56.19  14.57 to 14.62; 
 56.20     (2) the mediation and arbitration process provided by 
 56.21  sections 572A.015 to 572A.03; or 
 56.22     (3) another mediation and arbitration process ordered by 
 56.23  the ~~director~~ county board. 
 56.24     Subd. 2.  [DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.] (a) The ~~director~~ 
 56.25  county board may, with the agreement of the chief administrative 
 56.26  law judge, delegate to the office of administrative hearings, in 
 56.27  any individual case or group of cases, the ~~director's~~ board's 
 56.28  authority and responsibility to conduct hearings and issue final 
 56.29  orders related to the hearings under sections 414.01 to 414.09. 
 56.30     (b) In the case of detachment of lands from a municipality, 
 56.31  if the parties do not agree to resolve a boundary adjustment 
 56.32  matter by mediation or arbitration, then the case shall be 
 56.33  referred to an administrative law judge to conduct hearings and 
 56.34  issue final orders related to the hearings under sections 414.01 
 56.35  to 414.09. 
 56.36     Subd. 3.  [COST OF PROCEEDINGS.] (a) The parties to any 
 57.1   matter directed to alternative dispute resolution under 
 57.2   subdivision 1 or delegated to the office of administrative 
 57.3   hearings under subdivision 2 must pay the costs of the 
 57.4   alternative dispute resolution process or hearing in the 
 57.5   proportions that they agree to. 
 57.6      (b) Notwithstanding section 14.53 or other law, the ~~office~~ 
 57.7   ~~of strategic and long-range planning~~ county is not liable for 
 57.8   the costs. 
 57.9      (c) If the parties do not agree to a division of the costs 
 57.10  before the commencement of mediation, arbitration, or hearing, 
 57.11  the costs must be allocated on an equitable basis by the 
 57.12  mediator, arbitrator, or chief administrative law judge. 
 57.13     (d)  The chief administrative law judge may contract with 
 57.14  the parties to a matter directed or delegated to the office of 
 57.15  administrative hearings under subdivisions 1 and 2 for the 
 57.16  purpose of providing administrative law judges and reporters for 
 57.17  an administrative proceeding or alternative dispute resolution. 
 57.18     (e) The chief administrative law judge shall assess the 
 57.19  cost of services rendered as provided by section 14.53. 
 57.20     Subd. 4.  [PARTIES.] In this section, "party" means: 
 57.21     (1) a property owner, group of property owners, 
 57.22  municipality, or township that files an initiating document or 
 57.23  timely objection under this chapter; 
 57.24     (2) the municipality or township within which the subject 
 57.25  area is located; 
 57.26     (3) a municipality abutting the subject area; and 
 57.27     (4) any other person, group of persons, or governmental 
 57.28  agency residing in, owning property in, or exercising 
 57.29  jurisdiction over the subject area that files with the ~~director~~ 
 57.30  county board a notice of appearance within 14 days of 
 57.31  publication of the notice required by section 414.09. 
 57.32     Sec. 42.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 473.129, 
 57.33  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 57.34     Subd. 5.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL PARTICIPATION.] The 
 57.35  metropolitan council may (1) participate as a party in any 
 57.36  proceedings originating ~~before the Minnesota municipal board~~ 
 58.1   under chapter 414, if the proceedings involve the change in a 
 58.2   boundary of a governmental unit in the metropolitan area, and (2)
 58.3   conduct studies of the feasibility of annexing, enlarging, or 
 58.4   consolidating units in the metropolitan area. 
 58.5      Sec. 43.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 473F.13, 
 58.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 58.7      Subdivision 1.  [CERTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN STATUS.] If a 
 58.8   municipality is dissolved, is consolidated with all or part of 
 58.9   another municipality, annexes territory, has a portion of its 
 58.10  territory detached from it, or is newly incorporated, the 
 58.11  secretary of state shall immediately certify that fact to the 
 58.12  commissioner of revenue.  The secretary of state shall also 
 58.13  certify to the commissioner of revenue the current population of 
 58.14  the new, enlarged, or successor municipality, if determined ~~by~~ 
 58.15  ~~the Minnesota municipal board~~ incident to consolidation, 
 58.16  annexation, or incorporation proceedings.  The population so 
 58.17  certified shall govern for purposes of sections 473F.01 to 
 58.18  473F.13 until the metropolitan council files its first 
 58.19  population estimate as of a later date with the commissioner of 
 58.20  revenue.  If an annexation of unincorporated land occurs without 
 58.21  proceedings before the ~~Minnesota municipal board~~ county board as 
 58.22  provided in chapter 414, the population of the annexing 
 58.23  municipality as previously determined shall continue to govern 
 58.24  for purposes of sections 473F.01 to 473F.13 until the 
 58.25  metropolitan council files its first population estimate as of a 
 58.26  later date with the commissioner of revenue. 
 58.27     Sec. 44.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 473H.14, is 
 58.28  amended to read: 
 58.29     473H.14 [ANNEXATION PROCEEDINGS.] 
 58.30     Agricultural preserve land within a township shall not be 
 58.31  annexed to a municipality pursuant to chapter 414, without a 
 58.32  specific finding by the ~~Minnesota municipal board~~ county board 
 58.33  as provided in chapter 414 that either (a) the expiration period 
 58.34  as provided for in section 473H.08 has begun; (b) the township 
 58.35  due to size, tax base, population or other relevant factors 
 58.36  would not be able to provide normal governmental functions and 
 59.1   services; or (c) the agricultural preserve would be completely 
 59.2   surrounded by lands within a municipality. 
 59.3      This section shall not apply to annexation agreements 
 59.4   approved ~~by the Minnesota municipal board~~ prior to creation of 
 59.5   the preserve.  
 59.6      Sec. 45.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.015, is 
 59.7   amended to read: 
 59.8      572A.015 [CHAPTER 414 DISPUTES; MEDIATION.] 
 59.9      Subdivision 1.  [FILING.] As provided by section 414.10, if 
 59.10  an initiating document or timely objection under chapter 414 is 
 59.11  filed with the ~~municipal~~ county board, the filing party, 
 59.12  jurisdiction, or jurisdictions may also file a written request 
 59.13  for mediation with the bureau of mediation services within 30 
 59.14  days of filing the initiating document or timely objection.  The 
 59.15  request for mediation must contain the written consent to the 
 59.16  mediation and arbitration process by all the parties, as defined 
 59.17  in section 414.10, subdivision 1. 
 59.18     Subd. 2.  [MEDIATION.] Within ten days of receiving a 
 59.19  request for mediation, the bureau shall provide written notice 
 59.20  of the request for mediation to the parties and provide a list 
 59.21  of neutrals experienced in land use planning and local 
 59.22  government issues obtained from the supreme court, ~~Minnesota~~ 
 59.23  ~~municipal board,~~ bureau of mediation services, Minnesota state 
 59.24  bar association, Hennepin county bar association, office of 
 59.25  dispute resolution, and others.  Within 30 days thereafter, the 
 59.26  affected parties, as defined in section 414.10, subdivision 1, 
 59.27  shall select a mediator from the list of neutrals or someone 
 59.28  else acceptable to the parties and submit to mediation for a 
 59.29  period of 30 days facilitated by the bureau.  If the dispute 
 59.30  remains unresolved after the close of the 30-day mediation 
 59.31  period, the bureau shall prepare a report of its recommendations 
 59.32  and transmit the report within 30 days to the parties.  Within 
 59.33  60 days after the date of issuance of the mediator's report, the 
 59.34  dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration as provided in 
 59.35  this chapter.  The mediator's report submitted to the parties is 
 59.36  informational only and is not admissible in arbitration. 
 60.1      Sec. 46.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.02, 
 60.2   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 60.3      Subd. 5.  [DECISION FACTORS.] ~~In comprehensive planning~~ 
 60.4   ~~disputes, the arbitration panel shall consider the goals stated~~ 
 60.5   ~~in section 4A.08 and the following factors in making a~~ 
 60.6   ~~decision.~~  In ~~all other~~ disputes brought under this section, the 
 60.7   arbitration panel shall consider the following factors in making 
 60.8   a decision: 
 60.9      (1) present population and number of households, past 
 60.10  population, and projected population growth of the subject area 
 60.11  and adjacent units of local government; 
 60.12     (2) quantity of land within the subject area and adjacent 
 60.13  units of local government; and natural terrain including 
 60.14  recognizable physical features, general topography, major 
 60.15  watersheds, soil conditions, and such natural features as 
 60.16  rivers, lakes, and major bluffs; 
 60.17     (3) degree of contiguity of the boundaries between the 
 60.18  municipality and the subject area; 
 60.19     (4) present pattern of physical development, planning, and 
 60.20  intended land uses in the subject area and the municipality 
 60.21  including residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and 
 60.22  institutional land uses and the impact of the proposed action on 
 60.23  those land uses; 
 60.24     (5) the present transportation network and potential 
 60.25  transportation issues, including proposed highway development; 
 60.26     (6) land use controls and planning presently being utilized 
 60.27  in the municipality and the subject area, including 
 60.28  comprehensive plans for development in the area and plans and 
 60.29  policies of the metropolitan council, and whether there are 
 60.30  inconsistencies between proposed development and existing land 
 60.31  use controls and the reasons therefore; 
 60.32     (7) existing levels of governmental services being provided 
 60.33  in the municipality and the subject area, including water and 
 60.34  sewer service, fire rating and protection, law enforcement, 
 60.35  street improvements and maintenance, administrative services, 
 60.36  and recreational facilities and the impact of the proposed 
 61.1   action on the delivery of said services; 
 61.2      (8) existing or potential environmental problems and 
 61.3   whether the proposed action is likely to improve or resolve 
 61.4   these problems; 
 61.5      (9) plans and programs by the municipality for providing 
 61.6   needed governmental services to the subject area; 
 61.7      (10) an analysis of the fiscal impact on the municipality, 
 61.8   the subject area, and adjacent units of local government, 
 61.9   including net tax capacity and the present bonded indebtedness, 
 61.10  and the local tax rates of the county, school district, and 
 61.11  township; 
 61.12     (11) relationship and effect of the proposed action on 
 61.13  affected and adjacent school districts and communities; 
 61.14     (12) adequacy of town government to deliver services to the 
 61.15  subject area; 
 61.16     (13) analysis of whether necessary governmental services 
 61.17  can best be provided through the proposed action or another type 
 61.18  of boundary adjustment; and 
 61.19     (14) if only a part of a township is annexed, the ability 
 61.20  of the remainder of the township to continue or the feasibility 
 61.21  of it being incorporated separately or being annexed to another 
 61.22  municipality. 
 61.23  Any party to the proceeding may present evidence and testimony 
 61.24  on any of the above factors at the hearing on the matter. 
 61.25     Sec. 47.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.02, 
 61.26  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 61.27     Subd. 6.  [DECISION.] The arbitrators, after a hearing on 
 61.28  the matter, shall make a decision regarding the dispute within 
 61.29  60 days and transmit an order to the parties and the ~~office of~~ 
 61.30  ~~strategic and long-range planning or the municipal~~ county 
 61.31  board.  Unless appealed by an aggrieved party within 30 days of 
 61.32  receipt of the arbitration panel's order by the ~~municipal~~ county 
 61.33  board, the ~~municipal~~ board shall execute an order in accordance 
 61.34  with the arbitration panel's order and shall cause copies of the 
 61.35  same to be mailed to all parties entitled to mailed notice, the 
 61.36  secretary of state, the department of revenue, the state 
 62.1   demographer, individual property owners if initiated in that 
 62.2   manner, the affected county auditor, and any other party of 
 62.3   record.  The affected county auditor shall record the order 
 62.4   against the affected property. 
 62.5      Sec. 48.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 572A.03, 
 62.6   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 62.7      Subdivision 1.  [DECISION STANDARDS.] The arbitration 
 62.8   panel, based upon the factors in section 572A.02, subdivision 5, 
 62.9   shall decide the matter based upon the decision standards in 
 62.10  ~~subdivisions 2 to 6~~ this section.  
 62.11     Sec. 49.  [REPEALER.] 
 62.12     Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 414.01, subdivisions 1, 
 62.13  7a, and 10; 414.011, subdivision 11; and 414.051, are repealed. 
 62.14     Sec. 50.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 62.15     This article is effective July 1, 2003.