1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to the environment; requiring disclosure of 
  1.3             the amount of mercury emitted in the generation of 
  1.4             electricity; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes, chapter 116. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [TITLE.] 
  1.8      Section 2 may be referred to as the Mercury Emissions 
  1.9   Consumer Information Act of 1997. 
  1.10     Sec. 2.  [116.925] [ELECTRIC ENERGY; MERCURY EMISSIONS 
  1.11  DISCLOSURE.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [DISCLOSURE.] To address the shared 
  1.13  responsibility between the providers and consumers of 
  1.14  electricity for the protection of Minnesota's lakes, each person 
  1.15  that sells electricity at retail or at wholesale in the state, 
  1.16  or that generates electricity for that person's own use in the 
  1.17  state, shall provide the commissioner an annual statement of the 
  1.18  amount of mercury emitted in generating that electricity. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [TERMS AND CONDITIONS.] (a) The disclosure must 
  1.20  be made to the commissioner on a quarterly basis for the first 
  1.21  year and annually thereafter.  This disclosure must include: 
  1.22     (1) a list of all generation sources from which the person 
  1.23  purchased electricity or which the person used to generate 
  1.24  electricity; and 
  1.25     (2) information for each source listed in clause (1), 
  2.1   stating the total amount of mercury emitted from that source in 
  2.2   the previous calendar year and the average mercury concentration 
  2.3   in each fuel used at that source. 
  2.4      (b) The disclosure, as well as the calculation of mercury 
  2.5   emissions, shall be made under terms and conditions established 
  2.6   by the commissioner.  The establishment of the terms and 
  2.7   conditions for the disclosure is exempt from chapter 14, 
  2.8   including sections 14.385 to 14.388, although the commissioner 
  2.9   must provide notice of the proposed terms and conditions, an 
  2.10  opportunity for the public to comment on those terms and 
  2.11  conditions, and must publish the terms and conditions in the 
  2.12  State Register. 
  2.13     Subd. 3.  [REPORT TO CONSUMERS.] By September 30, 1998, and 
  2.14  each year thereafter, the commissioner shall issue a report 
  2.15  detailing the amount of mercury emitted in the generation of 
  2.16  electricity, based on the information provided under subdivision 
  2.17  1.  The commissioner shall include in this report an analysis of 
  2.18  trends in the emissions of mercury due to electricity generation 
  2.19  and recommendations to the legislature to reduce these emissions.
  2.20     Sec. 3.  [INITIAL DISCLOSURE.] 
  2.21     Persons subject to section 2 shall make the initial 
  2.22  disclosure to the agency by July 1, 1997. 
  2.23     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.24     Sections 1 to 3 are effective on the day following final 
  2.25  enactment.