1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to taxes; increasing the aggregate material 
  1.3             production tax; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.4             section 298.75, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 298.75, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] Except as may otherwise be 
  1.10  provided, the following words, when used in this section, shall 
  1.11  have the meanings herein ascribed to them.  
  1.12     (1) "Aggregate material" shall mean nonmetallic natural 
  1.13  mineral aggregate including, but not limited to sand, silica 
  1.14  sand, gravel, building stone, crushed rock, limestone, and 
  1.15  granite.  Aggregate material shall not include dimension stone 
  1.16  and dimension granite.  Aggregate material must be measured or 
  1.17  weighed after if it has been extracted from the pit, quarry, or 
  1.18  deposit.  
  1.19     (2) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, 
  1.20  corporation, organization, trustee, association, or other entity.
  1.21     (3) "Operator" shall mean any person engaged in the 
  1.22  business of removing aggregate material from the surface or 
  1.23  subsurface of the soil, for the purpose of sale, either directly 
  1.24  or indirectly, through the use of the aggregate material in a 
  1.25  marketable product or service.  
  2.1      (4) "Extraction site" shall mean a pit, quarry, or deposit 
  2.2   containing aggregate material and any contiguous property to the 
  2.3   pit, quarry, or deposit which is used by the operator for 
  2.4   stockpiling the aggregate material.  
  2.5      (5) "Importer" shall mean any person who buys aggregate 
  2.6   material produced from a county not listed in paragraph (6) or 
  2.7   another state and causes the aggregate material to be imported 
  2.8   into a county in this state which imposes a tax on aggregate 
  2.9   material.  
  2.10     (6) "County" shall mean the counties of Stearns, Benton, 
  2.11  Sherburne, Carver, Scott, Dakota, Le Sueur, Kittson, Marshall, 
  2.12  Pennington, Red Lake, Polk, Norman, Mahnomen, Clay, Becker, 
  2.13  Rock, Murray, Wilkin, Big Stone, Sibley, Hennepin, Washington, 
  2.14  Chisago, and Ramsey.  
  2.15     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 298.75, 
  2.16  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.17     Subd. 2.  A county shall impose upon every importer and 
  2.18  operator a production tax equal to ~~ten~~ 19 cents per cubic yard 
  2.19  or ~~seven~~ 13 cents per ton of aggregate material removed except 
  2.20  that the county board may decide not to impose this tax if it 
  2.21  determines that in the previous year operators removed less than 
  2.22  20,000 tons or 14,000 cubic yards of aggregate material from 
  2.23  that county.  The tax shall be imposed on aggregate material 
  2.24  produced in the county when the aggregate material is 
  2.25  transported from the extraction site or sold.  When aggregate 
  2.26  material is stored in a stockpile within the state of Minnesota 
  2.27  and a public highway, road or street is not used for 
  2.28  transporting the aggregate material, the tax shall be imposed 
  2.29  either when the aggregate material is sold, or when it is 
  2.30  transported from the stockpile site, or when it is used from the 
  2.31  stockpile, whichever occurs first.  The tax shall be imposed on 
  2.32  an importer when the aggregate material is imported into the 
  2.33  county that imposes the tax.  
  2.34     If the aggregate material is transported directly from the 
  2.35  extraction site to a waterway, railway, or another mode of 
  2.36  transportation other than a highway, road or street, the tax 
  3.1   imposed by this section shall be apportioned equally between the 
  3.2   county where the aggregate material is extracted and the county 
  3.3   to which the aggregate material is originally transported.  If 
  3.4   that destination is not located in Minnesota, then the county 
  3.5   where the aggregate material was extracted shall receive all of 
  3.6   the proceeds of the tax. 
  3.7      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 298.75, 
  3.8   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subd. 4.  If the county auditor has not received the report 
  3.10  by the 15th day after the last day of each calendar quarter from 
  3.11  the operator or importer as required by subdivision 3 or has 
  3.12  received an erroneous report, the county auditor shall estimate 
  3.13  the amount of tax due and notify the operator or importer by 
  3.14  registered mail of the amount of tax so estimated within the 
  3.15  next 14 days.  An operator or importer may, within 30 days from 
  3.16  the date of mailing the notice, and upon payment of the amount 
  3.17  of tax determined to be due, file in the office of the county 
  3.18  auditor a written statement of objections to the amount of taxes 
  3.19  determined to be due.  The statement of objections shall be 
  3.20  deemed to be a petition within the meaning of chapter 278, and 
  3.21  shall be governed by sections 278.02 to 278.13. 
  3.22     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 298.75, is 
  3.23  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.24     Subd. 8.  The county auditor or its duly authorized agent 
  3.25  may examine records, including computer records, maintained by 
  3.26  an importer or operator.  The term "record" includes, but is not 
  3.27  limited to, all accounts of an importer or operator.  The county 
  3.28  auditor must have access at all reasonable times to inspect and 
  3.29  copy all business records related to an importer's or operator's 
  3.30  collection, transportation, and disposal of aggregate to the 
  3.31  extent necessary to ensure that all aggregate material 
  3.32  production taxes required to be paid have been remitted to the 
  3.33  county.  The records must be maintained by the importer or 
  3.34  operator for no less than six years. 
  3.35     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.36     The amendments made by section 2 are effective for taxes 
  4.1   imposed after June 30, 1997.  Sections 1, 3, and 4 are effective 
  4.2   July 1, 1997.