1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to motor vehicles; providing a rebate on the 
  1.3             purchase price of flexible fuel vehicles; 
  1.4             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.5             section 174.03, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 174.03, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 7a.  [CASH REBATE FOR PURCHASE AND USE OF FLEXIBLE 
  1.10  FUEL VEHICLES.] (a) To the extent money is appropriated and 
  1.11  available for this purpose, the commissioner shall make cash 
  1.12  rebates in amounts up to $1,000 to a person that purchases or 
  1.13  leases a new or used flexible fuel motor vehicle and provides 
  1.14  evidence that the vehicle has been operated on E85 fuel for a 
  1.15  period of up to 12 months. 
  1.16     (b) To be eligible for the rebate in paragraph (a), a 
  1.17  person must purchase or lease a vehicle identified by its 
  1.18  manufacturer as being designed for the use of E85 fuel as 
  1.19  defined in section 296A.01, subdivision 19.  The application for 
  1.20  rebate must be submitted to the commissioner on forms provided 
  1.21  by the commissioner.  The application must include documentation 
  1.22  adequate for the commissioner to identify the vehicle and 
  1.23  determine that the vehicle was operated in Minnesota by the 
  1.24  purchaser or lessee during one or more months in a calendar year 
  1.25  and that at least 80 percent of the fuel used in the vehicle 
  2.1   during that time period was E85 fuel.  Properly completed 
  2.2   applications must be delivered to the commissioner not later 
  2.3   than February 28 of the year following the eligible use of the 
  2.4   flexible fuel vehicle. 
  2.5      (c) The commissioner shall review each application and pay 
  2.6   the rebate amount appropriate for the number of months of 
  2.7   eligibility.  Each applicant is eligible for reimbursement for 
  2.8   up to 12 months of ownership and use of a flexible fuel 
  2.9   vehicle.  An applicant may claim the reimbursement for a vehicle 
  2.10  for up to 12 successive months in a single calendar year or for 
  2.11  successive months in each of two calendar years.  Total claims 
  2.12  for a given vehicle must not exceed 12 months. 
  2.13     (d) If eligible applications for rebates under this 
  2.14  subdivision exceed the available appropriation money for a 
  2.15  calendar year, the commissioner must prorate the rebate amount 
  2.16  for each eligible application. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.18     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.19  commissioner of transportation for purposes of section 1.  The 
  2.20  appropriation is available for the biennium ending June 30, 2005.