1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to solid waste; requiring the state to return 
  1.3             a portion of solid waste assessments for landfill 
  1.4             cleanup to certain counties; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1996, section 116.07, subdivision 10. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.07, 
  1.8   subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 10.  [SOLID WASTE GENERATOR ASSESSMENTS.] (a) For the 
  1.10  purposes of this subdivision: 
  1.11     (1) "assessed waste" means mixed municipal solid waste as 
  1.12  defined in section 115A.03, subdivision 21, infectious waste as 
  1.13  defined in section 116.76, subdivision 12, pathological waste as 
  1.14  defined in section 116.76, subdivision 14, industrial waste as 
  1.15  defined in section 115A.03, subdivision 13a, and construction 
  1.16  debris as defined in section 115A.03, subdivision 7; provided 
  1.17  that all types of assessed waste listed in this clause do not 
  1.18  include: 
  1.19     (i) materials that are separated for recycling by the 
  1.20  generator and that are collected separately from other waste and 
  1.21  delivered to a waste facility for the purpose of recycling and 
  1.22  recycled; 
  1.23     (ii) materials that are separated for recycling by the 
  1.24  generator, collected and delivered to a waste facility that 
  1.25  recycles at least 85 percent of its waste, and are collected 
  2.1   with mixed municipal solid waste that is segregated in leakproof 
  2.2   bags, provided that the mixed municipal solid waste does not 
  2.3   exceed five percent of the total weight of the materials 
  2.4   delivered to the facility and is ultimately delivered to a 
  2.5   facility designated under sections 115A.80 to 115A.893; and 
  2.6      (iii) waste generated outside of Minnesota; 
  2.7      (2) "noncompacted cubic yard" means a loose cubic yard of 
  2.8   assessed waste; 
  2.9      (3) "nonresidential customer" means: 
  2.10     (i) an owner or operator of a business, including a home 
  2.11  operated business, industry, church, nursing home, nonprofit 
  2.12  organization, school, or any other commercial or institutional 
  2.13  enterprise; 
  2.14     (ii) an owner of a building or site containing multiple 
  2.15  residences, including a townhome or manufactured home park, 
  2.16  where no resident has separate trash pickup, and no resident is 
  2.17  separately assessed for such service; and 
  2.18     (iii) any other generator of assessed waste that is not a 
  2.19  residential customer as defined in clause (6); 
  2.20     (4) "periodic waste collection" means each time a waste 
  2.21  container is emptied by the person that collects the assessed 
  2.22  waste; 
  2.23     (5) "person that collects assessed waste" means each person 
  2.24  that is required to pay sales tax on solid waste collection 
  2.25  services under section 297A.45, or would pay sales tax under 
  2.26  that section if the assessed waste was mixed municipal solid 
  2.27  waste; and 
  2.28     (6) "residential customer" means: 
  2.29     (i) a detached single family residence that generates only 
  2.30  household mixed municipal solid waste; and 
  2.31     (ii) a person residing in a building or at a site 
  2.32  containing multiple residences, including a townhome or a 
  2.33  manufactured home park, where each resident either (A) is 
  2.34  separately assessed for waste collection or (B) has separate 
  2.35  waste collection for each resident, even if the resident pays to 
  2.36  the owner or an association a monthly maintenance fee which 
  3.1   includes the expense of waste collection, and the owner or 
  3.2   association pays the waste collector for waste collection in one 
  3.3   lump sum. 
  3.4      (b) A person that collects assessed waste shall collect and 
  3.5   remit to the commissioner of revenue a solid waste generator 
  3.6   assessment from each of the person's customers as provided in 
  3.7   paragraphs (c) and (d).  A waste management facility that 
  3.8   accepts assessed waste shall collect and remit to the 
  3.9   commissioner of revenue the solid waste assessment as provided 
  3.10  in paragraph (e). 
  3.11     (c) Except as provided in paragraph (f), the amount of the 
  3.12  assessment for each residential customer is $2 per year.  Each 
  3.13  person that collects assessed waste shall collect the assessment 
  3.14  annually from each residential customer that is receiving mixed 
  3.15  municipal solid waste collection service on July 1 of each year 
  3.16  and shall remit the amount actually collected along with the 
  3.17  person's first remittance of the sales tax on solid waste 
  3.18  collection services, described in section 297A.45, made after 
  3.19  October 1 of each year.  For buildings or sites that contain 
  3.20  multiple residences that are not separately billed for 
  3.21  collection services, the person who collects assessed waste 
  3.22  shall collect the assessment for all the residences from the 
  3.23  person who is billed for the collection service.  Any amount of 
  3.24  the assessment that is received by the person that collects 
  3.25  assessed waste after October 1 of each year must be remitted 
  3.26  along with the person's next remittance of sales tax after 
  3.27  receipt of the assessment. 
  3.28     (d)(1) Except as provided in clause (2), the amount of the 
  3.29  assessment for each nonresidential customer is 60 cents per 
  3.30  noncompacted cubic yard of periodic waste collection capacity 
  3.31  purchased by the customer, based on the size of the container 
  3.32  for the assessed waste.  For a residential customer that 
  3.33  generates assessed waste that is not mixed municipal solid 
  3.34  waste, the amount of the assessment is 60 cents per noncompacted 
  3.35  cubic yard of collection capacity purchased for the waste that 
  3.36  is not mixed municipal solid waste, based on the size of the 
  4.1   container for the waste.  If the capacity purchased is for 
  4.2   compacted cubic yards of mixed municipal solid waste, the 
  4.3   noncompacted capacity purchased is based on the compaction ratio 
  4.4   of 3:1.  The commissioner of revenue, after consultation with 
  4.5   the commissioner of the pollution control agency, shall 
  4.6   determine, and may publish by notice, compaction rates for other 
  4.7   types of waste where they exist and conversion schedules for 
  4.8   waste that is managed by measurements other than cubic yards.  
  4.9   Each person that collects assessed waste shall collect the 
  4.10  assessment from each nonresidential customer as part of each 
  4.11  statement for payment of waste collection charges and shall 
  4.12  remit the amount actually collected along with the next 
  4.13  remittance of sales tax after receipt of the assessment. 
  4.14     (2) The assessment for nonresidential customers for the 
  4.15  mixed municipal solid waste that is collected with 
  4.16  source-separated recyclable materials as described in paragraph 
  4.17  (a), clause (1), item (ii), is three-tenths of a cent per 
  4.18  gallon.  The customer must pay by purchasing specific collection 
  4.19  bags or stickers that include the cost of the collection service 
  4.20  and assessment. 
  4.21     (e) A person who transports assessed waste generated by 
  4.22  that person or by another person without compensation shall pay 
  4.23  an assessment of 60 cents per noncompacted cubic yard or the 
  4.24  equivalent to the operator of the waste management facility to 
  4.25  which the waste is delivered.  The operator shall remit the 
  4.26  assessments actually collected under this paragraph to the 
  4.27  commissioner of revenue.  This subdivision does not apply to a 
  4.28  person who transports industrial waste generated by that person 
  4.29  to a facility owned and operated by that person. 
  4.30     (f) The amount of the assessment for each residential 
  4.31  customer that is subject to a mixed municipal solid waste 
  4.32  collection service for which the customer pays, based on the 
  4.33  volume of waste collected, by purchasing specific collection 
  4.34  bags or stickers from the waste collector, municipality, or 
  4.35  other vendor is either: 
  4.36     (1) determined by a method developed by the waste collector 
  5.1   or municipality and approved by the commissioner of revenue, 
  5.2   which yields the equivalent of approximately a $2 annual 
  5.3   assessment per household; or 
  5.4      (2) three cents per each 35 gallon unit or less.  If the 
  5.5   per unit fee method under this clause is used, it is the 
  5.6   responsibility of the waste collector or the municipality who is 
  5.7   selling the bags or stickers to remit the amount of the 
  5.8   assessment to the department of revenue, according to a payment 
  5.9   schedule provided by the commissioner of revenue.  The 
  5.10  collection service and assessment under this clause shall be 
  5.11  included in the price of the bag or sticker.  
  5.12     (g) The commissioner of revenue shall redesign sales tax 
  5.13  forms for persons that collect assessed waste to accommodate 
  5.14  payment of the assessment.  The amounts remitted under this 
  5.15  subdivision must be deposited in the state treasury and credited 
  5.16  to the solid waste fund established in section 115B.42. 
  5.17     (h) For persons that collect assessed waste and operators 
  5.18  of waste management facilities who are required to collect the 
  5.19  solid waste generator assessments under this subdivision, and 
  5.20  persons who are required to remit the assessment under paragraph 
  5.21  (f), and who do not collect and remit the sales tax on solid 
  5.22  waste collection services under section 297A.45, the 
  5.23  commissioner of revenue shall determine when and in what manner 
  5.24  the persons and operators must remit the assessment amounts 
  5.25  actually collected. 
  5.26     (i) For the purposes of this subdivision, the requirement 
  5.27  to "collect" the solid waste generator assessment under 
  5.28  paragraph (b) means that the person to whom the requirement 
  5.29  applies shall: 
  5.30     (i) include the amount of the assessment in the appropriate 
  5.31  statement of charges for waste collection services and in any 
  5.32  action to enforce payment on delinquent accounts; 
  5.33     (ii) accurately account for assessments received; 
  5.34     (iii) indicate to generators that payment of the assessment 
  5.35  by the waste generator is required by law and inform generators, 
  5.36  using information supplied by the commissioner of the agency, of 
  6.1   the purposes for which revenue from the assessment will be 
  6.2   spent; and 
  6.3      (iv) cooperate fully with the commissioner of revenue to 
  6.4   identify generators of assessed waste who fail to remit payment 
  6.5   of the assessment. 
  6.6      (j) The audit, penalty, enforcement, and administrative 
  6.7   provisions applicable to taxes imposed under chapter 297A apply 
  6.8   to the assessments imposed under this subdivision. 
  6.9      (k) If less than $25,000,000 is projected to be available 
  6.10  for new encumbrances in any fiscal year after fiscal year 1996 
  6.11  from all existing dedicated revenue sources for landfill cleanup 
  6.12  and reimbursement costs under sections 115B.39 to 115B.46, by 
  6.13  April 1 before the next fiscal year in which the shortfall is 
  6.14  projected the commissioner of the agency shall certify to the 
  6.15  commissioner of revenue the amount of the shortfall.  To provide 
  6.16  for the shortfall, the commissioner of revenue shall increase 
  6.17  the assessment under paragraphs (d) and (e) by an amount 
  6.18  sufficient to generate revenue equal to the amount of the 
  6.19  shortfall effective the following July 1 and shall provide 
  6.20  notice of the increased assessment by May 1 following 
  6.21  certification to persons who are required to collect and remit 
  6.22  the solid waste generator assessments under this subdivision. 
  6.23     (l) For the purposes of paragraphs (m) to (p), "disposal 
  6.24  facility" has the meaning given in section 115A.03, subdivision 
  6.25  10, and "environmental response costs" and "qualified facility" 
  6.26  have the meanings given in section 115B.39, subdivision 2.  
  6.27     (m) Within 90 days of receipt of fees collected under this 
  6.28  subdivision, the commissioner of revenue shall return to each 
  6.29  eligible public entity, as defined in paragraph (o), 50 percent 
  6.30  of the revenue collected under this subdivision from residential 
  6.31  and nonresidential customers located within the boundaries of 
  6.32  the eligible public entity.  All funds returned to an eligible 
  6.33  public entity under this paragraph must be used: 
  6.34     (1) to retire bonds issued as part of a final order or 
  6.35  settlement of a lawsuit by a county or any of its political 
  6.36  subdivisions in order to pay for the environmental response 
  7.1   costs, excluding closure costs, of a disposal facility that 
  7.2   would be a qualified facility, except that contiguous with or 
  7.3   adjacent to this disposal facility a public entity was on or 
  7.4   after April 9, 1994, operating a disposal facility; or 
  7.5      (2) to reimburse the public entity for its payment of 
  7.6   environmental response costs, excluding closure costs, of a 
  7.7   disposal facility that would be a qualified facility, except 
  7.8   that contiguous with or adjacent to this disposal facility the 
  7.9   public entity was on or after April 9, 1994, operating a 
  7.10  disposal facility.  The eligible public entity shall only be 
  7.11  reimbursed for its payment of the environmental response costs 
  7.12  less the amount of its financial assurance for the old disposal 
  7.13  facility on the date its contiguous or adjacent new disposal 
  7.14  facility was opened.  
  7.15     (n) The commissioner of revenue shall return the funds 
  7.16  specified in paragraph (m) to each eligible public entity in the 
  7.17  manner prescribed in paragraph (m) until the commissioner of the 
  7.18  agency issues a written letter to the commissioner of revenue 
  7.19  and the eligible public entity that either the bonds described 
  7.20  in paragraph (m), if any, have been fully retired or the 
  7.21  reimbursement of the payment of environmental response costs 
  7.22  described in paragraph (m), if any, is full and complete.  
  7.23     (o) A public entity is an eligible public entity for the 
  7.24  purposes of paragraphs (m) and (n) if: 
  7.25     (1) the public entity or its political subdivisions issued 
  7.26  bonds as part of a final order or settlement of a lawsuit in 
  7.27  order to pay for the environmental response costs, excluding 
  7.28  closure costs, of a disposal facility that would be a qualified 
  7.29  facility, except that contiguous with or adjacent to this 
  7.30  disposal facility a public entity was on or after April 9, 1994, 
  7.31  operating a disposal facility; or 
  7.32     (2) the public entity owned a mixed municipal waste 
  7.33  disposal facility that would be a qualified facility, except 
  7.34  that contiguous with or adjacent to this disposal facility the 
  7.35  public entity was on or after April 9, 1994, operating a 
  7.36  disposal facility.  
  8.1   The public entities that meet the criteria in clauses (1) and 
  8.2   (2), include without limitation the counties of Benton, Brown, 
  8.3   Clay, Cottonwood, Goodhue, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lyon, Morrison, 
  8.4   Ottertail, Polk, Renville, Rice, Steele, St. Louis, and Winona, 
  8.5   the city of Fergus Falls, and Western Lake Superior Sanitary 
  8.6   District.  
  8.7      (p) Prior to receiving the funds described in paragraphs 
  8.8   (m) to (o), a public entity must have agreed to waive all claims 
  8.9   for recovery of environmental response costs against any other 
  8.10  Minnesota citizen or business as it relates to waste in a 
  8.11  disposal facility that would be a qualified facility, except 
  8.12  that contiguous with or adjacent to this disposal facility a 
  8.13  public entity was on or after April 9, 1994, operating a 
  8.14  disposal facility.