1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to local building officials; authorizing the 
  1.3             creation of local building department professional 
  1.4             activity funds; authorizing the commissioner of 
  1.5             administration to grant funds to municipalities for 
  1.6             professional activity funds; amending Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 2000, section 16B.70, by adding a 
  1.8             subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.9             Statutes, chapter 16B. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [16B.655] [LOCAL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY FUNDS.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [LOCAL ORDINANCE REQUIRED.] To be eligible 
  1.13  to receive a grant for professional activity, a municipality 
  1.14  must first establish by ordinance, or other method approved by 
  1.15  the commissioner, a fund dedicated to funding the professional 
  1.16  activity of personnel whose primary responsibilities are the 
  1.17  enforcement and administration of the state building code.  The 
  1.18  building department professional activity fund must meet the 
  1.19  requirements of this section.  The commissioner shall draft a 
  1.20  model local ordinance creating a building department 
  1.21  professional activity fund. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY FOR MATCHING FUNDS.] To be eligible 
  1.23  to receive a building department professional activity grant 
  1.24  under section 16B.70, subdivision 3, a municipality with a 
  1.25  population of 100,000 or fewer must dedicate annually one-fourth 
  1.26  of one percent of the permit and plan-review fees it collects, 
  1.27  with a minimum charge of $1 per permit issued, into a building 
  2.1   department professional activity fund.  A municipality with a 
  2.2   population greater than 100,000 is exempt from the requirements 
  2.3   in this subdivision.  In this subdivision, the University of 
  2.4   Minnesota is considered to be a municipality with a population 
  2.5   of 100,000 or fewer. 
  2.6      Subd. 3.  [RESERVED USES.] A building department 
  2.7   professional activity fund established under this section may 
  2.8   fund only the costs incurred by municipal building officials and 
  2.9   plan-review and inspection staff to attend model code and 
  2.10  standards development hearings and the annual business meetings 
  2.11  of model code development organizations.  For attendance at a 
  2.12  hearing or annual business meeting to be funded by a building 
  2.13  department professional activity fund, the model code adopted by 
  2.14  the sponsoring organization must be under consideration by the 
  2.15  commissioner for adoption in Minnesota, or the expenditure must 
  2.16  be approved by the commissioner.  Money not disbursed within a 
  2.17  budget year shall remain in the building department professional 
  2.18  activity fund.  A municipality with a population under 100,000 
  2.19  may carry over up to $2,000 for disbursal from the fund within 
  2.20  the following two budget years, while those with a population of 
  2.21  100,000 or more may carry over up to $8,000 for disbursal in the 
  2.22  following year. 
  2.23     Subd. 4.  [OVERSIGHT.] (a) The commissioner may evaluate 
  2.24  the administration of local building department professional 
  2.25  activity funds for compliance with the intent of this section.  
  2.26  Discovery by the commissioner of misuse of funds may result in 
  2.27  repayment by the municipality to the state of all state grants 
  2.28  awarded for professional activities as well as any 
  2.29  administrative costs associated with recovering the misused 
  2.30  grant funds. 
  2.31     (b) The commissioner shall establish procedures for: 
  2.32     (1) reporting by local government units on the use of 
  2.33  building department professional activity funds; and 
  2.34     (2) recovery of misused or unused building department 
  2.35  professional activity funds. 
  2.36     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 16B.70, is 
  3.1   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.2      Subd. 3.  [GRANTS FOR PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY.] (a) The 
  3.3   commissioner may grant funds to a municipality for professional 
  3.4   activity by municipal building officials and plan-review and 
  3.5   inspection staff. 
  3.6      (b) A municipality meeting the requirements of section 
  3.7   16B.655 is entitled to receive a building department 
  3.8   professional activity grant from the commissioner to be 
  3.9   deposited in the municipality's building department professional 
  3.10  activity fund, subject to the following limits: 
  3.11     (1) for a municipality with a population of 7,500 or less, 
  3.12  up to 20 percent of the permit surcharge fees paid in the last 
  3.13  year or $8,000, whichever is less; 
  3.14     (2) for a municipality with a population greater than 7,500 
  3.15  but less than 100,000, up to ten percent of the permit surcharge 
  3.16  fees paid in the last year or $8,000, whichever is less; 
  3.17     (3) for a municipality with a population of 100,000 or 
  3.18  more, but less than 300,000, up to ten percent of the permit 
  3.19  surcharge fees paid in the last year or $16,000, whichever is 
  3.20  less; and 
  3.21     (4) for municipalities with populations of 300,000 or more, 
  3.22  up to ten percent of the permit surcharge fees paid in the last 
  3.23  year or $24,000, whichever is less. 
  3.24     (c) In this subdivision, the University of Minnesota is 
  3.25  considered to be a municipality with a population greater than 
  3.26  7,500 but less than 100,000.