1997 Minnesota Statutes

     18.022 Insect pests, plant diseases, bee diseases, and 
  destructive or nuisance animals. 

    Subdivision 1.    Control.  When recommended so to do 
 by the commissioner of agriculture, the governing body of any 
 county, city, or town of this state is hereby authorized and 
 empowered to appropriate money for the control of insect pests, 
 plant diseases, bee diseases, or destructive or nuisance 
 animals.  Such money shall be expended according to technical 
 and expert opinions and plans as shall be designated by the 
 commissioner and the work shall be carried on under the 
 direction of the commissioner.  

    Subd. 2.    Cost.  The governing body of the political 
 subdivision may levy a tax on the taxable property within the 
 subdivision to defray the cost of the activities authorized 
 under subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 3.    Certificates of indebtedness.  To provide 
 funds for such activities in advance of collection of the tax 
 levies under subdivision 2, the governing body may, at any time 
 after the tax has been levied and certified to the county 
 auditor for collection, issue certificates of indebtedness in 
 anticipation of the collection and payment of such tax.  The 
 total amount of such certificates, including principal and 
 interest, shall not exceed 90 percent of the amount of such levy 
 and shall be payable from the proceeds of such levy and not 
 later than two years from the date of issuance.  They shall be 
 issued on such terms and conditions as the governing body may 
 determine and shall be sold as provided in section 475.60.  If 
 the governing body determines that an emergency exists, it may 
 make appropriations from the proceeds of such certificates for 
 authorized purposes without complying with statutory or charter 
 provisions requiring that expenditures be based on a prior 
 budget authorization or other budgeting requirement.  

    Subd. 4.    Deposit of proceeds in separate fund.  The 
 proceeds of any tax levied under subdivision 2 or of any issue 
 of certificates of indebtedness under subdivision 3 shall be 
 deposited in the municipal treasury in a separate fund and 
 expended only for purposes authorized by this section.  If no 
 disbursement is made from the fund for a period of five years, 
 any money remaining therein may be transferred to the general 
 fund.  

    Subd. 5.    Penalty.  Any person who shall prevent, 
 obstruct, or in any manner interfere with the county authorities 
 or their agents in carrying out the provisions of subdivisions 1 
 to 4, or neglects to comply with the rules and regulations of 
 the county commissioners promulgated under authority thereof, 
 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.  

    Subd. 6.    Regulations, scope.  The council of any 
 city by ordinance and the board of county commissioners of any 
 county and the town board of any town by resolution may adopt 
 and enforce regulations to control and prevent the spread of 
 plant pests and diseases.  Such regulations may authorize 
 appropriate officers and employees to enter and inspect any 
 public or private place which might harbor plant pests, as 
 defined in section 18.46, subdivision 13, may provide for the 
 summary removal of diseased trees from public or private places 
 where deemed necessary to prevent the spread of the disease, may 
 require the owner to destroy or treat plant pests, diseased 
 plants or other disease bearing material and in default thereof 
 to provide for such work at the expense of the owner, which 
 expense shall be a lien upon the property and may be collected 
 as a special assessment as provided by section 429.101 or by 
 charter.  In this subdivision, the term private place means 
 every place except a private home.  

    Subd. 7.    Failure of political subdivision to act; 
 commissioner's duties.  If the governing body of a political 
 subdivision does not appropriate money for the control of Dutch 
 elm disease pursuant to subdivision 1, or does not adopt and 
 enforce regulations to control and prevent the spread of Dutch 
 elm disease pursuant to subdivision 6, and if the commissioner 
 determines that economic, recreational, or esthetic losses will 
 result, the commissioner shall proceed as provided in section 
 18.48, subdivisions 1 and 4, to control the spread of Dutch elm 
 disease.  However, the expense of these control activities 
 performed on land owned by a county, city, or town is a charge 
 upon the county, city, or town owning the land and shall be paid 
 by the governing body from money which it shall appropriate 
 pursuant to subdivision 1 and, if necessary, for which it shall 
 levy taxes pursuant to subdivision 2.  The purpose of this 
 subdivision and of the increased maximum tax levies authorized 
 by subdivision 2, clause (b), is to protect elm trees from Dutch 
 elm disease and thus prevent the economic, recreational, and 
 esthetic losses which occur when elm trees are killed by Dutch 
 elm disease.  

    Subd. 8.    Rules.  The commissioner may make 
 reasonable rules after a public hearing, in a manner provided by 
 law, to properly carry out the purposes of this section and 
 section 18.012.  

    Subd. 9.    Rules.  The commissioner may adopt rules in 
 accordance with chapter 14 prescribing control measures to be 
 used to prevent the spread of shade tree diseases and shall 
 include the following:  (a) A definition of shade tree, (b) 
 qualifications for inspectors, (c) methods of identifying 
 diseased shade trees, (d) procedures for giving reasonable 
 notice of inspection of private real property, (e) measures for 
 the treatment and removal of any shade tree which may contribute 
 to the spread of shade tree disease, and (f) such other matters 
 as shall be determined to be necessary by the commissioner to 
 prevent the spread of shade tree disease and enforce the 
 provisions of this section.  The rules of the commissioner shall 
 apply in a county, city or town unless the county, city or town 
 adopts an ordinance or resolution pursuant to subdivision 6 
 which is determined by the commissioner to be more stringent 
 than the rules of the commissioner.  The rules of the 
 commissioner or the more stringent ordinance or resolution of 
 the city, county or town shall apply to all state agencies and 
 special purpose districts which own or control land within any 
 county, city or town exercising the powers granted in this 
 section.  

    HIST: (6145-16,6145-23) 1935 c 29 s 1,8; 1953 c 641 s 1; 1957 
 c 552 s 12; 1961 c 113 s 1; 1965 c 323 s 1; 1965 c 768 s 2; 1967 
 c 799 s 2,3; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 583 s 3; 1973 c 773 s 
 1; 1975 c 180 s 2; 1975 c 253 s 6; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1989 c 350 art 10 s 1; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 2 s 11; 1990 c 426 
 art 1 s 10; 1991 c 291 art 12 s 1; 1994 c 505 art 2 s 1; 1995 c 
 233 art 2 s 56; 1997 c 187 art 5 s 8