1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; providing for local 
  1.3             government impact notes; providing that certain rules 
  1.4             take effect only upon legislative approval; 
  1.5             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.6             section 14.19; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [14.112] [LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [REQUEST AND PREPARATION.] The elected 
  1.11  governing body of a statutory or home rule city, township, 
  1.12  county, school district, soil and water conservation district, 
  1.13  or sanitary district may request the commissioner of finance to 
  1.14  prepare a local fiscal impact and fiscal benefit note on a rule 
  1.15  proposed by a state agency.  The request must be made by 
  1.16  submitting a resolution of the governing body to the 
  1.17  commissioner of finance at least 20 days before a public hearing 
  1.18  on a proposed rule is held or, if the agency intends to adopt 
  1.19  the rule without a public hearing, at least 20 days before the 
  1.20  deadline for requesting a public hearing.  Upon receipt of a 
  1.21  request, the commissioner of finance must prepare an estimate of 
  1.22  the fiscal impact and fiscal benefit of the rule on each 
  1.23  category of political subdivision requesting a local impact 
  1.24  note.  The commissioner may require any political subdivision or 
  1.25  state agency to supply information necessary for the 
  1.26  commissioner to determine fiscal impact and fiscal benefit.  
  2.1   Relevant information submitted by a political subdivision, 
  2.2   whether or not requested by the commissioner, must be considered 
  2.3   by the commissioner and commented on in the local fiscal impact 
  2.4   and fiscal benefit note.  The commissioner must prepare the 
  2.5   local fiscal impact and fiscal benefit note before the close of 
  2.6   the hearing record or, if there is no public hearing, before the 
  2.7   agency submits the record to the administrative law judge.  
  2.8      Subd. 2.  [FEE.] The commissioner of finance may bill the 
  2.9   political subdivision requesting the local fiscal impact and 
  2.10  fiscal benefit note up to $35 per hour for time spent preparing 
  2.11  the note.  Upon receiving a request for a note from a political 
  2.12  subdivision, the commissioner must give the political 
  2.13  subdivision an estimate of the fee that the commissioner will 
  2.14  charge.  The political subdivision may withdraw the request for 
  2.15  the note.  Upon completion of the note, the requesting political 
  2.16  subdivision must pay the fee in the time and manner requested by 
  2.17  the commissioner of finance.  Fees collected under this 
  2.18  subdivision must be deposited in the general fund. 
  2.19     Subd. 3.  [EXCLUSION.] This section does not apply to a 
  2.20  rule proposed by the Public Utilities Commission. 
  2.21     Sec. 2.  [14.127] [LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL REQUIRED.] 
  2.22     Subdivision 1.  [COST THRESHOLDS.] An agency must determine 
  2.23  if the cost of complying with a proposed rule in the first year 
  2.24  after the rule takes effect will exceed $50,000 for:  (1) any 
  2.25  one business that has less than 50 full-time employees; or (2) 
  2.26  any one statutory or home rule city that has less than ten 
  2.27  full-time employees.  For purposes of this section, "business" 
  2.28  means a business entity organized for profit or as a nonprofit, 
  2.29  and includes an individual, partnership, corporation, joint 
  2.30  venture, association, or cooperative. 
  2.31     Subd. 2.  [AGENCY DETERMINATION.] An agency must make the 
  2.32  determination required by subdivision 1 before the close of the 
  2.33  hearing record, or before the agency submits the record to the 
  2.34  administrative law judge if there is no hearing.  The 
  2.35  administrative law judge must review and approve or disapprove 
  2.36  the agency determination under this section. 
  3.1      Subd. 3.  [LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL REQUIRED.] If the agency 
  3.2   determines that the initial or yearly cost exceeds the threshold 
  3.3   in subdivision 1, or if the administrative law judge disapproves 
  3.4   the agency's determination that the cost does not exceed the 
  3.5   threshold in subdivision 1, the rules may not take effect until 
  3.6   the rules are approved by a law enacted after the agency 
  3.7   determination or administrative law judge disapproval. 
  3.8      Subd. 4.  [EXCEPTIONS.] (a) Subdivision 3 does not apply if 
  3.9   the administrative law judge approves an agency's determination 
  3.10  that the legislature has appropriated money to sufficiently fund 
  3.11  the expected cost of the rule upon the business proposed to be 
  3.12  regulated by the rule. 
  3.13     (b) Subdivision 3 does not apply if the administrative law 
  3.14  judge approves an agency's determination that the rule has been 
  3.15  proposed pursuant to a specific federal statutory or regulatory 
  3.16  mandate. 
  3.17     (c) This section does not apply if the rule is adopted 
  3.18  under section 14.388 or under another law specifying that the 
  3.19  rulemaking procedures of chapter 14 do not apply. 
  3.20     (d) This section does not apply to a rule adopted by the 
  3.21  Public Utilities Commission. 
  3.22     (e) Subdivision 3 does not apply if the governor waives 
  3.23  application of subdivision 3.  The governor may issue a waiver 
  3.24  at any time, either before or after the rule would take effect 
  3.25  but for the requirement of legislative approval.  As soon as 
  3.26  possible after issuing a waiver under this paragraph, the 
  3.27  governor must send notice of the waiver to the speaker of the 
  3.28  house of representatives and the president of the senate, and 
  3.29  must publish notice of this determination in the State Register. 
  3.30     Subd. 5.  [SEVERABILITY.] If an administrative law judge 
  3.31  determines that part of a proposed rule exceeds the threshold 
  3.32  specified in subdivision 1, but that a severable portion of a 
  3.33  proposed rule does not exceed the threshold in subdivision 1, 
  3.34  the administrative law judge may provide that the severable 
  3.35  portion of the rule that does not exceed the threshold may take 
  3.36  effect without legislative approval. 
  4.1      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 14.19, is amended 
  4.2   to read: 
  4.3      14.19 [DEADLINE TO COMPLETE RULEMAKING.] 
  4.4      Within 180 days after issuance of the administrative law 
  4.5   judge's report or that of the chief administrative law judge, 
  4.6   the agency shall submit its notice of adoption, amendment, or 
  4.7   repeal to the State Register for publication.  If the agency has 
  4.8   not submitted its notice to the State Register within 180 days, 
  4.9   the rule is automatically withdrawn.  The agency may not adopt 
  4.10  the withdrawn rules without again following the procedures of 
  4.11  sections 14.05 to 14.28, with the exception of section 14.101, 
  4.12  if the noncompliance is approved by the chief administrative law 
  4.13  judge.  The agency shall report to the Legislative Coordinating 
  4.14  Commission, other appropriate committees of the legislature, and 
  4.15  the governor its failure to adopt rules and the reasons for that 
  4.16  failure.  The 180-day time limit of this section does not 
  4.17  include:  
  4.18     (1) any days used for review by the chief administrative 
  4.19  law judge or the commission if the review is required by law; or 
  4.20     (2) days during which the rule cannot be adopted, because 
  4.21  of votes by legislative committees under section 14.126; or 
  4.22     (3) days during which the rule cannot be adopted, because 
  4.23  approval of the legislature is required under section 14.127. 
  4.24     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.25     $45,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2005 from the 
  4.26  general fund to the commissioner of finance for purposes of 
  4.27  implementing this act. 
  4.28     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.29     Sections 1 to 3 are effective July 1, 2004.  These sections 
  4.30  apply to any rule for which the hearing record has not closed 
  4.31  before the effective date of the applicable section or, if there 
  4.32  is no public hearing, for which the agency has not submitted the 
  4.33  record to the administrative law judge before that date.