1998 Minnesota Statutes

     85.41 User fees. 

    Subdivision 1.    On person.  While skiing on 
 cross-country ski trails, a person between the ages of 16 and 64 
 years shall carry in immediate possession a valid cross-country 
 ski pass.  A landowner who grants an easement for a grant-in-aid 
 ski trail is not required to have a pass when skiing on the 
 landowner's property.  

    Subd. 2.    License agents.  County auditors are 
 appointed agents of the commissioner for the sale of 
 cross-country ski passes.  The commissioner may appoint other 
 state agencies as agents for the sale of passes.  A county 
 auditor may appoint subagents within the county or within 
 adjacent counties to sell passes.  Upon appointment the auditor 
 shall notify the commissioner of the name and address of the 
 subagent.  The auditor may revoke the appointment of a subagent, 
 and the commissioner may revoke the appointment of a state 
 agency, at any time.  Upon demand of the commissioner, the 
 auditor shall revoke a subagent's appointment.  The auditor 
 shall furnish pass blanks on consignment to any subagent who 
 furnishes a surety bond in favor of the county in an amount at 
 least equal to the value of the blanks to be consigned to that 
 subagent.  A surety bond is not required of a state agency 
 appointed by the commissioner.  The county auditor shall be 
 responsible for all blanks issued to, and user fees received by 
 agents, except in St. Louis county or in a county where the 
 county auditor does not retain fees paid for license purposes.  
 In these counties, the responsibilities imposed upon the county 
 auditor are imposed upon the county.  The commissioner may 
 promulgate additional rules as provided in section 97A.485, 
 subdivision 11.  

    Any resident desiring to sell cross-country ski passes may 
 either purchase for cash or obtain on consignment pass blanks 
 from a county auditor in groups of not less than ten individual 
 blanks.  In selling passes, the resident shall be deemed a 
 subagent of the county auditor and the commissioner, and shall 
 observe all rules promulgated by the commissioner for the 
 accounting and handling of licenses pursuant to section 97A.485, 
 subdivision 11.  

    The county auditor shall promptly deposit all moneys 
 received from the sale of passes with the county treasurer, and 
 shall promptly transmit any reports required by the 
 commissioner, plus 96 percent of the price to each pass holder, 
 exclusive of the issuing fee, for each pass sold or consigned by 
 the auditor and subsequently sold to a pass holder during the 
 accounting period.  The county auditor shall retain as a 
 commission four percent of all pass fees, excluding the issuing 
 fee for passes consigned to subagents and the issuing fee on 
 passes sold by the auditor to pass holders.  

    Unsold blanks in the hands of any subagent shall be 
 redeemed by the commissioner if presented for redemption within 
 the time prescribed by the commissioner.  Any blanks not 
 presented for redemption within the period prescribed shall be 
 conclusively presumed to have been sold, and the subagent 
 possessing the same or to whom they are charged shall be 
 accountable.  

    Subd. 3.    Exemptions.  Participants in cross-country 
 ski races and official school activities and residents of a 
 state or local government operated correctional facility are 
 exempt from the pass requirement in subdivision 1 if a special 
 use permit has been obtained by the organizers of the event or 
 those in an official capacity in advance from the agency with 
 jurisdiction over the cross-country ski trail.  Permits shall 
 require that permit holders return the trail and any associated 
 facility to its original condition if any damage is done by the 
 permittee.  Limited permits for special events may be issued and 
 shall require the removal of any trail markers, banners, and 
 other material used in connection with the special event.  

    Subd. 4.    Form.  The department shall provide forms 
 and blanks to all agents authorized to issue passes by the 
 commissioner.  The pass shall be with the skier and available 
 for inspection by any peace or conservation officer.  The pass 
 shall include the applicant's name and other information deemed 
 necessary by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 5.    Agent's fee.  The fee for a cross-country 
 ski pass shall be increased by the amount of an issuing fee of 
 50 cents per pass.  The issuing fee may be retained by the 
 seller of the pass.  A pass shall indicate the amount of the fee 
 that is retained by the seller.  This subdivision does not apply 
 to any pass sold by the state.  

    HIST: 1983 c 325 s 3; 1984 c 654 art 2 s 87-89; 1985 c 248 s 
 70; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 149 art 2 s 6; 1987 c 404 s 101; 1993 c 
 231 s 3