1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxation; allocating $1,000,000 annually 
  1.3             from the occupation taxes paid by taconite companies 
  1.4             to the Natural Resources Research Institute of the 
  1.5             University of Minnesota, to be used for certain 
  1.6             purposes; appropriating money; proposing coding for 
  1.7             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 298. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [POLICY.] 
  1.10     It is vital to the state of Minnesota and its people that 
  1.11  the vast deposits of taconite on the Minnesota Iron Range be 
  1.12  fully utilized for as long as these resources continue to be 
  1.13  available.  To ensure such utilization, it is necessary to 
  1.14  conduct research to improve the quality of taconite pellets, to 
  1.15  find alternate methods of using taconite in the production of 
  1.16  iron and steel, to find methods of converting taconite into iron 
  1.17  and steel products on the Minnesota Iron Range, and to perform 
  1.18  these processes in an environmentally sound manner.  To 
  1.19  accomplish these goals, cooperation between private industry and 
  1.20  the state of Minnesota is essential.  It is equally vital to the 
  1.21  state of Minnesota that the timber, peat, and water resources of 
  1.22  the state of Minnesota be utilized in an environmentally sound 
  1.23  manner. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  [298.175] [RESEARCH ALLOCATION.] 
  1.25     Subdivision 1.  [APPROPRIATION.] $1,000,000 of the 
  1.26  occupation taxes on taconite concentrates levied under Minnesota 
  2.1   Statutes, section 298.01, subdivisions 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 
  2.2   4e, and deposited in the general fund in accordance with section 
  2.3   298.17, is annually appropriated to the commissioner of revenue 
  2.4   for research grants to the Natural Resources Research Institute 
  2.5   of the University of Minnesota to be used on the following 
  2.6   programs: 
  2.7      (1) $475,000 for advanced technology research and 
  2.8   development at the Coleraine research laboratory of the Natural 
  2.9   Resources Research Institute; 
  2.10     (2) $375,000 for advanced geological studies with respect 
  2.11  to ferrous and nonferrous minerals on the Minnesota Iron Range; 
  2.12  and 
  2.13     (3) $150,000 for research at the laboratory at the 
  2.14  Vermillion Community College in Ely, Minnesota. 
  2.15     Subd. 2.  [REPORT.] The Natural Resources Research 
  2.16  Institute shall report annually to the Minnesota legislature on 
  2.17  its research efforts conducted with the funds provided in this 
  2.18  section for the preceding year and shall outline to the 
  2.19  legislature what its initiatives will be for the succeeding 
  2.20  three years. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [PARTICIPATION.] The Natural Resources Research 
  2.22  Institute shall encourage private industry to participate in its 
  2.23  research efforts under this section. 
  2.24     Subd. 4.  [ADDITION.] The appropriation in subdivision 1 is 
  2.25  in addition to any funds appropriated to the Natural Resources 
  2.26  Research Institute pursuant to an appropriation to the 
  2.27  University of Minnesota for the use of the Natural Resources 
  2.28  Research Institute.