1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to local government; providing for local 
  1.3             governments to opt out of certain state mandates; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 471B. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [471B.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of this chapter, 
  1.9   the terms defined in this section have the meanings given them. 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENT.] "Local government" means a 
  1.11  county, town, school district, or statutory or home rule charter 
  1.12  city. 
  1.13     Subd. 3.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF THE SAME KIND.] "Local 
  1.14  government of the same kind" means any category of the 
  1.15  following:  all cities; all counties; all school districts; or 
  1.16  all towns. 
  1.17     Subd. 4.  [SAME CLASS.] "Same class" means all cities of 
  1.18  the same class. 
  1.19     Subd. 5.  [SCHOOL DISTRICT.] "School district" means a 
  1.20  common, independent, or special school district and excludes 
  1.21  charter schools. 
  1.22     Subd. 6.  [STATE MANDATE.] "Mandate" means a state law or 
  1.23  rule that is specifically directed at or related to local 
  1.24  government structure, operation, services, programs, or 
  1.25  financing, that: 
  2.1      (1) imposes a cost on a local government, whether or not 
  2.2   the state appropriates money for the local government to cover 
  2.3   the costs, or authorizes the local government to impose a tax or 
  2.4   fee to cover the costs; 
  2.5      (2) decreases revenue available to a local government 
  2.6   without a commensurate decrease in services and programs 
  2.7   required by state law; 
  2.8      (3) establishes goals or policies a local government must 
  2.9   follow; 
  2.10     (4) makes a local government, or its officers or employees, 
  2.11  civilly or criminally liable for failure to follow or enforce 
  2.12  the law or rule; 
  2.13     (5) restricts the ability of a local government to 
  2.14  establish services, programs, policies, plans or goals, or 
  2.15  restricts its ability to raise revenue or finance its services, 
  2.16  programs, policies, plans, or goals; or 
  2.17     (6) implements or interprets federal law and, by its 
  2.18  implementation or interpretation, increases or decreases program 
  2.19  or service levels beyond the level required by the federal law.  
  2.20     Sec. 2.  [471B.02] [OPT OUT PROCEDURES.] 
  2.21     Subdivision 1.  [LOCAL PROCEDURE.] A local government may, 
  2.22  by written resolution of the governing body after public notice 
  2.23  and hearing, determine that a state mandate imposed on all local 
  2.24  governments of the same kind or class should not apply to it, 
  2.25  except any state mandate listed in section 471B.03.  A local 
  2.26  government must adopt a separate resolution for each mandate 
  2.27  that it determines should not apply to the district.  The 
  2.28  resolution must specifically cite the state law or rule that 
  2.29  imposes the mandate on the local government, the reasons the 
  2.30  local government wants to opt out of the state mandate, and how 
  2.31  the local government will meet the objectives of the mandate or 
  2.32  why the objectives do not apply to the local government.  Before 
  2.33  adopting the resolution, there must be adequate notice to the 
  2.34  public of the proposal, including information on whether any 
  2.35  state or federal funding for the local government might be 
  2.36  adversely affected and on how a person can participate in the 
  3.1   discussion on the decision.  The governing body of the local 
  3.2   government must hold at least one public hearing on the proposal 
  3.3   with opportunity for public testimony.  The proponent of making 
  3.4   the determination must identify at the hearing any potential 
  3.5   loss of state or federal revenue that might result from a 
  3.6   determination to opt out of the state mandate and any other 
  3.7   policy issues or effects that might arise from the 
  3.8   determination.  For a school district, the school board must 
  3.9   encourage teacher and parent participation to assist in 
  3.10  determining general support for the resolution.  
  3.11     Subd. 2.  [FILING; FILING FEE.] A local government that 
  3.12  adopts a resolution must file the resolution with the state 
  3.13  auditor.  The local government must also pay the state auditor a 
  3.14  filing fee of $75 per resolution at the time the local 
  3.15  government files its resolution to cover costs incurred by the 
  3.16  state auditor in performing the duties assigned to the state 
  3.17  auditor in this chapter.  The fees collected under this section 
  3.18  must be deposited in the general fund and are appropriated to 
  3.19  the state auditor for the purposes of this section.  On July 1, 
  3.20  2004, and July 1 of each year thereafter, using the powers under 
  3.21  chapter 6, the auditor must determine the actual cost of 
  3.22  performing the duties assigned in this chapter and adjust the 
  3.23  amount of the fee so that it fully covers the auditor's costs. 
  3.24     Subd. 3.  [STATE PROCEDURE.] (a) The state auditor must: 
  3.25     (1) keep on the state auditor's Web site a list of all 
  3.26  state mandates that have been named in a resolution filed with 
  3.27  the state auditor, identifying for each mandate the local 
  3.28  governments that have adopted and filed a resolution to opt out 
  3.29  of it, and whether the threshold for opt out has been met; 
  3.30     (2) keep a running total of the percent of local 
  3.31  governments that have approved the opt out; 
  3.32     (3) notify the legislature and the local governments that 
  3.33  have filed resolutions to opt out of the mandate with the state 
  3.34  auditor when the threshold for opt out has been met; and 
  3.35     (4) each year before publication of Minnesota Statutes or 
  3.36  Minnesota Statutes Supplement, at a time determined by the 
  4.1   revisor of statutes, the state auditor must provide to the 
  4.2   revisor of statutes a list of all state laws that do not apply 
  4.3   to any school districts because those local governments have 
  4.4   opted out as provided in this section.  
  4.5      (b) The revisor of statutes must: 
  4.6      (1) publish a list of the affected laws and local 
  4.7   governments; and 
  4.8      (2) provide appropriate finding aids or cross-references to 
  4.9   the list for users of the laws and statutes. 
  4.10     Subd. 4.  [THRESHOLD FOR OPT OUT; CERTIFICATION; EFFECTIVE 
  4.11  DATE.] If the state auditor certifies to the legislature before 
  4.12  the first day of the regular annual session of the legislature 
  4.13  that at least ten percent of the number of local governments of 
  4.14  the same kind and, if applicable, same class filed with the 
  4.15  state auditor resolutions to opt out of a state mandate, as 
  4.16  authorized in this chapter, and otherwise have met the 
  4.17  procedural requirements of this chapter, the state mandate does 
  4.18  not apply to those local governments effective the day following 
  4.19  adjournment of that session of the legislature. 
  4.20     Subd. 5.  [LATER OPT OUTS.] After an opt out is effective 
  4.21  under subdivision 4, any other local government of the same kind 
  4.22  or class may, following the procedures in this section, opt out 
  4.23  of the same mandate and its opt out is effective upon filing 
  4.24  with the state auditor the resolution to opt out of the same 
  4.25  state mandate and the law or rule that is the subject of the 
  4.26  resolution to opt out does not apply to that local government 
  4.27  thereafter. 
  4.28     Sec. 3.  [471B.03] [EXCEPTIONS.] 
  4.29     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] The state laws listed in this 
  4.30  section are not subject to section 471B.02 and no local 
  4.31  government may opt out of complying with them. 
  4.32     Subd. 2.  [ELECTION LAW.] Minnesota Election Law, as 
  4.33  defined in section 200.01, and any other law governing elections.
  4.34     Subd. 3.  [ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM.] Any 
  4.35  laws relating to administration of the property tax system, 
  4.36  including provisions in chapters 270, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 
  5.1   276A, 277, 278, and 473F. 
  5.2      Subd. 4.  [ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES; 
  5.3   AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.] Any law relating to the accounting, 
  5.4   financial management, and audit requirements of local 
  5.5   governments, including for school districts, the accounting, 
  5.6   expenditures, and budgeting required under sections 123B.76 and 
  5.7   123B.77, except that no account or fund restrictions imposed by 
  5.8   state law apply to a school district that has opted out of those 
  5.9   state mandates. 
  5.10     Subd. 5.  [NONPUBLIC STUDENTS.] Sections 123B.40 to 123B.48 
  5.11  governing the rights of nonpublic school students and other law 
  5.12  related to nonpublic schools or students.