2005 Minnesota Statutes

     298.227 Taconite economic development fund. 

    An amount equal to that distributed pursuant to each 
 taconite producer's taxable production and qualifying sales 
 under section 298.28, subdivision 9a, shall be held by the Iron 
 Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board in a separate taconite 
 economic development fund for each taconite and direct reduced 
 ore producer.  Money from the fund for each producer shall be 
 released by the commissioner after review by a joint committee 
 consisting of an equal number of representatives of the salaried 
 employees and the nonsalaried production and maintenance 
 employees of that producer.  The District 11 director of the 
 United States Steelworkers of America, on advice of each local 
 employee president, shall select the employee members.  In 
 nonorganized operations, the employee committee shall be elected 
 by the nonsalaried production and maintenance employees.  The 
 review must be completed no later than six months after the 
 producer presents a proposal for expenditure of the funds to the 
 committee.  The funds held pursuant to this section may be 
 released only for acquisition of equipment and facilities for 
 the producer or for research and development in Minnesota on new 
 mining, or taconite, iron, or steel production technology, but 
 only if the producer provides a matching expenditure to be used 
 for the same purpose of at least 50 percent of the distribution 
 based on 14.7 cents per ton beginning with distributions in 
 2002.  If a taconite production facility is sold after 
 operations at the facility had ceased, any money remaining in 
 the fund for the former producer may be released to the 
 purchaser of the facility on the terms otherwise applicable to 
 the former producer under this section.  If a producer fails to 
 provide matching funds for a proposed expenditure within six 
 months after the commissioner approves release of the funds, the 
 funds are available for release to another producer in 
 proportion to the distribution provided and under the conditions 
 of this section.  Any portion of the fund which is not released 
 by the commissioner within two years of its deposit in the fund 
 shall be divided between the taconite environmental protection 
 fund created in section 298.223 and the Douglas J. Johnson 
 economic protection trust fund created in section 298.292 for 
 placement in their respective special accounts.  Two-thirds of 
 the unreleased funds shall be distributed to the taconite 
 environmental protection fund and one-third to the Douglas J. 
 Johnson economic protection trust fund. 

    HIST: 1992 c 511 art 9 s 8; 1993 c 375 art 16 s 1; 1994 c 587 
 art 6 s 2; 1995 c 264 art 7 s 2; 1996 c 471 art 12 s 1; 1Sp2001 
 c 5 art 6 s 21; 2003 c 127 art 11 s 12