1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state finance; changing certain accounting 
  1.3             procedures; changing the dollar threshold for approval 
  1.4             of gifts to the state; changing procedures for 
  1.5             collection of debt by the state; changing terminology 
  1.6             for the petroleum tank release cleanup account; 
  1.7             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 7.09, 
  1.8             subdivision 1; 15.415; 16A.127, subdivision 8; 
  1.9             16A.129, subdivision 3; 16A.28, subdivisions 5 and 6; 
  1.10            16A.40; 16A.57; 16A.72; 115C.02, by adding a 
  1.11            subdivision; and 115C.08, subdivisions 1, 2, and 4; 
  1.12            proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.13            chapter 16D; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.14            section 115C.02, subdivision 1a. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 7.09, 
  1.17  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [PROCEDURE.] The state treasurer is 
  1.19  authorized to receive and accept, on behalf of the state, any 
  1.20  gift, bequest, devise, or endowment which may be made by any 
  1.21  person, by will, deed, gift, or otherwise, to or for the benefit 
  1.22  of the state, or any of its departments or agencies, or to or in 
  1.23  aid, or for the benefit, support, or maintenance of any 
  1.24  educational, charitable, or other institution maintained in 
  1.25  whole or in part by the state, or for the benefit of students, 
  1.26  employees, or inmates thereof, or for any proper state purpose 
  1.27  or function, and the money, property, or funds constituting such 
  1.28  gift, bequest, devise, or endowment.  No such gift, bequest, 
  1.29  devise, or endowment whose value is equal to or exceeds $10,000 
  1.30  shall be so accepted unless the commissioner of finance and the 
  2.1   state treasurer ~~shall~~ determine that it is for the interest of 
  2.2   the state to accept it, and ~~shall~~ approve of and direct the 
  2.3   acceptance.  If the value is less than $10,000, only the state 
  2.4   treasurer need determine that it is for the interest of the 
  2.5   state to accept it, and approve of and direct the acceptance.  
  2.6   When, in order to effect the purpose for which any gift, 
  2.7   bequest, devise, or endowment has been accepted, it is necessary 
  2.8   to sell property so received, the state treasurer, upon request 
  2.9   of the authority in charge of the agency, department, or 
  2.10  institution concerned, may sell it at a price which shall be 
  2.11  fixed by the state board of investment. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 15.415, is 
  2.13  amended to read: 
  2.14     15.415 [CORRECTIONS IN TRANSACTIONS, WAIVER.] 
  2.15     In any instance where a correction concerning any state 
  2.16  department or agency transaction involves an amount less than 
  2.17  the administrative cost of making the correction, the correction 
  2.18  shall be waived unless it is possible at a relatively nominal 
  2.19  expense to include the correction in a later transaction.  If 
  2.20  the amount of any correction is less than ~~$2~~ $5 it shall be 
  2.21  prima facie evidence that the cost of the correction would 
  2.22  exceed the amount involved.  
  2.23     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.127, 
  2.24  subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
  2.25     Subd. 8.  [EXEMPTIONS.] (a) No statewide or agency indirect 
  2.26  cost liability shall be accrued to any program, appropriation, 
  2.27  or account that is specifically exempted from the liability in 
  2.28  federal or state law, or if the commissioner determines the 
  2.29  funds to be held in trust, or to be a pass-through, workshop, or 
  2.30  seminar account.  Accounts receiving proceeds from bond issues~~,~~ 
  2.31  and ~~those accounts whose funds are determined by the~~ 
  2.32  ~~commissioner to originate from the~~ general fund~~,~~ accounts are 
  2.33  also exempt from this section. 
  2.34     (b) Except for the costs of the legislative auditor to 
  2.35  conduct financial audits of federal funds, this section does not 
  2.36  apply to the community college board, state university board, or 
  3.1   the state board of technical colleges.  Receipts attributable to 
  3.2   financial audits conducted by the legislative auditor of federal 
  3.3   funds administered by these post-secondary education boards 
  3.4   shall be deposited in the general fund. 
  3.5      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.129, 
  3.6   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.7      Subd. 3.  [CASH ADVANCES.] When the operations of any 
  3.8   nongeneral fund account would be impeded by projected cash 
  3.9   deficiencies resulting from delays in the receipt of grants, 
  3.10  dedicated income, or other similar receivables, and when the 
  3.11  deficiencies would be corrected within the budget period 
  3.12  involved, the commissioner of finance may ~~transfer~~ use general 
  3.13  fund cash reserves ~~into the accounts as necessary~~ to meet cash 
  3.14  demands.  If funds are transferred from the general fund to meet 
  3.15  cash flow needs, the cash flow transfers must be returned to the 
  3.16  general fund as soon as sufficient cash balances are available 
  3.17  in the account to which the transfer was made.  Any interest 
  3.18  earned on general fund cash flow transfers accrues to the 
  3.19  general fund and not to the accounts or funds to which the 
  3.20  transfer was made. 
  3.21     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.28, 
  3.22  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 5.  [PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS.] An appropriation for 
  3.24  permanent improvements, including the acquisition of real 
  3.25  property, does not lapse until the purposes of the appropriation 
  3.26  are determined by the commissioner, after consultation with the 
  3.27  affected agencies, to be accomplished or abandoned.  This 
  3.28  subdivision also applies to any part of an appropriation for a 
  3.29  fiscal year that has been requisitioned to acquire real property 
  3.30  or construct permanent improvements. 
  3.31     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.28, 
  3.32  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 6.  [CANCELED ~~SEPTEMBER 1~~ OCTOBER 15.] On ~~September 1~~ 
  3.34  October 15 all allotments and encumbrances for the last fiscal 
  3.35  year shall be canceled unless an agency head certifies to the 
  3.36  commissioner that there is an encumbrance for services rendered 
  4.1   or goods ordered in the last fiscal year, or certifies that 
  4.2   funding will be carried forward under subdivision 1.  The 
  4.3   commissioner may:  reinstate the part of the cancellation needed 
  4.4   to meet the certified encumbrance or charge the certified 
  4.5   encumbrance against the current year's appropriation. 
  4.6      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.40, is 
  4.7   amended to read: 
  4.8      16A.40 [WARRANTS.] 
  4.9      Money must not be paid out of the state treasury except 
  4.10  upon the warrant of the commissioner or an electronic fund 
  4.11  transfer approved by the commissioner.  Warrants must be drawn 
  4.12  on printed blanks that are in numerical order.  The commissioner 
  4.13  shall enter, in numerical order in a warrant register, the 
  4.14  number, amount, date, and payee for every warrant issued. 
  4.15     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.57, is 
  4.16  amended to read: 
  4.17     16A.57 [APPROPRIATION, ALLOTMENT, AND WARRANT NEEDED.] 
  4.18     Unless otherwise expressly provided by law, state money may 
  4.19  not be spent or applied without an appropriation, an allotment, 
  4.20  and issuance of a warrant or electronic fund transfer. 
  4.21     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16A.72, is 
  4.22  amended to read: 
  4.23     16A.72 [INCOME CREDITED TO GENERAL FUND; EXCEPTIONS.] 
  4.24     All income, including fees or receipts of any nature, shall 
  4.25  be credited to the general fund, except:  
  4.26     (1) federal aid; 
  4.27     (2) contributions, or reimbursements received for any 
  4.28  account of any division or department for which an appropriation 
  4.29  is made by law; 
  4.30     (3) income to the University of Minnesota; 
  4.31     (4) income to revolving funds now established in 
  4.32  institutions under the control of the commissioners of 
  4.33  corrections or human services; 
  4.34     (5) investment earnings resulting from the master lease 
  4.35  program, except that the amount credited to another fund or 
  4.36  account may not exceed the amount of the additional expense 
  5.1   incurred by that fund or account through participation in the 
  5.2   master lease program; 
  5.3      (6) receipts from the operation of patients' and inmates' 
  5.4   stores and vending machines, which shall be deposited in the 
  5.5   social welfare fund in each institution for the benefit of the 
  5.6   patients and inmates; 
  5.7      (7) money received in payment for services of inmate labor 
  5.8   employed in the industries carried on in the state correctional 
  5.9   facilities which receipts shall be credited to the current 
  5.10  expense fund of those facilities; 
  5.11     (8) as provided in sections 16B.57 and 85.22; 
  5.12     (9) income to the Minnesota historical society; ~~or~~ 
  5.13     (10) the percent of income collected by a private 
  5.14  collection agency and retained by the collection agency as its 
  5.15  collection fee; or 
  5.16     (11) as otherwise provided by law. 
  5.17     Sec. 10.  [16D.11] [PAYMENT OF COLLECTION AGENCY FEES.] 
  5.18     Unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a state 
  5.19  agency may pay for the services of a state or private collection 
  5.20  agency from the money collected.  The portion of the money 
  5.21  collected which must be paid to the collection agency as its 
  5.22  collection fee is appropriated from the fund to which the 
  5.23  collected money is due. 
  5.24     Sec. 11.  [16D.12] [AUTHORITY TO CHARGE INTEREST.] 
  5.25     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY.] Unless otherwise provided by 
  5.26  contract out of which the debt arises or by state or federal 
  5.27  law, a state agency may charge simple interest on debts owed to 
  5.28  the state at the rate provided in subdivision 2.  Interest 
  5.29  charged under this section must not begin to accrue before the 
  5.30  30th calendar day following the state agency's first written 
  5.31  demand for payment and notification to the debtor that interest 
  5.32  will begin to accrue on the debt in accordance with this section.
  5.33     Subd. 2.  [COMPUTATION.] Notwithstanding chapter 334, the 
  5.34  commissioner of finance shall set the rate of interest as the 
  5.35  rate corresponding with the adjusted prime rate charged by 
  5.36  banks, rounded to the nearest full percent.  For the purposes of 
  6.1   this subdivision, the term "adjusted prime rate charged by 
  6.2   banks" means the average predominate prime rate quoted by 
  6.3   commercial banks to large businesses, as determined by the board 
  6.4   of governors of the Federal Reserve System.  The commissioner of 
  6.5   finance shall annually adjust the rate of interest by April 15 
  6.6   of each year, to be effective the following July 1, if the 
  6.7   adjusted prime rate charged by banks during the six-month period 
  6.8   ending on March 30 of that year, rounded to the nearest full 
  6.9   percent, is at least a full percentage point more or less than 
  6.10  the interest rate then in effect.  The determination of the 
  6.11  commissioner of finance under this subdivision is not a rule and 
  6.12  is not subject to section 16A.1285 or chapter 14. 
  6.13     Subd. 3.  [EXCLUSION.] A state agency may not charge 
  6.14  interest under this section on overpayments of assistance 
  6.15  benefits to obligees who continue to receive benefits under 
  6.16  sections 256.031 to 256.0361, 256.72 to 256.87, chapters 256D 
  6.17  and 256I, or the federal food stamp program.  Notwithstanding 
  6.18  this prohibition, any of the debts which have been reduced to 
  6.19  judgment under these programs are subject to the interest 
  6.20  charges provided under section 549.09. 
  6.21     Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115C.02, is 
  6.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.23     Subd. 6a.  [FUND.] "Fund" means the petroleum tank release 
  6.24  cleanup fund. 
  6.25     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115C.08, 
  6.26  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.27     Subdivision 1.  [REVENUE SOURCES.] Revenue from the 
  6.28  following sources must be deposited in the state treasury and 
  6.29  credited to a petroleum tank release cleanup ~~account in the~~ 
  6.30  ~~environmental~~ fund: 
  6.31     (1) the proceeds of the fee imposed by subdivision 3; 
  6.32     (2) money recovered by the state under sections 115C.04, 
  6.33  115C.05, and 116.491, including administrative expenses, civil 
  6.34  penalties, and money paid under an agreement, stipulation, or 
  6.35  settlement; 
  6.36     (3) interest attributable to investment of money in the 
  7.1   ~~account~~ fund; 
  7.2      (4) money received by the board and agency in the form of 
  7.3   gifts, grants other than federal grants, reimbursements, or 
  7.4   appropriations from any source intended to be used for the 
  7.5   purposes of the ~~account~~ fund; 
  7.6      (5) fees charged for the operation of the tank installer 
  7.7   certification program established under section 116.491; and 
  7.8      (6) money obtained from the return of reimbursements, civil 
  7.9   penalties, or other board action under this chapter. 
  7.10     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115C.08, 
  7.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  7.12     Subd. 2.  [IMPOSITION OF FEE.] The board shall notify the 
  7.13  commissioner of revenue if the unencumbered balance of the 
  7.14  ~~account~~ fund falls below $4,000,000, and within 60 days after 
  7.15  receiving notice from the board, the commissioner of revenue 
  7.16  shall impose the fee established in subdivision 3 on the use of 
  7.17  a tank for four calendar months, with payment to be submitted 
  7.18  with each monthly distributor tax return. 
  7.19     Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115C.08, 
  7.20  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  7.21     Subd. 4.  [EXPENDITURES.] (a) Money in the ~~account~~ fund may 
  7.22  only be spent:  
  7.23     (1) to administer the petroleum tank release cleanup 
  7.24  program established in this chapter; 
  7.25     (2) for agency administrative costs under sections 116.46 
  7.26  to 116.50, sections 115C.03 to 115C.06, and costs of corrective 
  7.27  action taken by the agency under section 115C.03, including 
  7.28  investigations; 
  7.29     (3) for costs of recovering expenses of corrective actions 
  7.30  under section 115C.04; 
  7.31     (4) for training, certification, and rulemaking under 
  7.32  sections 116.46 to 116.50; 
  7.33     (5) for agency administrative costs of enforcing rules 
  7.34  governing the construction, installation, operation, and closure 
  7.35  of aboveground and underground petroleum storage tanks; 
  7.36     (6) for reimbursement of the harmful substance compensation 
  8.1   account under subdivision 5 and section 115B.26, subdivision 4; 
  8.2   and 
  8.3      (7) for administrative and staff costs as set by the board 
  8.4   to administer the petroleum tank release program established in 
  8.5   this chapter. 
  8.6      (b) Money in the ~~account~~ fund is appropriated to the board 
  8.7   to make reimbursements or payments under this section. 
  8.8      Sec. 16.  [REVISOR INSTRUCTION.] 
  8.9      The revisor of statutes shall change the term "account," 
  8.10  where it refers to the petroleum tank release cleanup account, 
  8.11  to "fund" in the following sections of Minnesota Statutes:  
  8.12  115B.26, 115C.03, 115C.08, 115C.09, 115C.10, 115C.11, 115E.11, 
  8.13  and 135A.045, and in the headnote to section 115C.08. 
  8.14     Sec. 17.  [REPEALER.] 
  8.15     Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 115C.02, subdivision 1a, 
  8.16  is repealed.