1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to agriculture; providing disaster assistance 
  1.3             payments for certain farmers; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
  1.7   section apply to section 2. 
  1.8      Subd. 2.  [COMMISSIONER.] "Commissioner" means the 
  1.9   commissioner of agriculture. 
  1.10     Subd. 3.  [DISASTER ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.] "Disaster 
  1.11  assistance payment" means a cash payment to an eligible farmer 
  1.12  to assist the farmer and the rural economy in this time of 
  1.13  historically low commodity grain prices, erratic weather 
  1.14  conditions, and disease infestation. 
  1.15     Subd. 4.  [FARMER.] "Farmer" means a natural person 
  1.16  residing in Minnesota who operates a family farm as defined in 
  1.17  Minnesota Statutes, section 500.24, subdivision 2, located 
  1.18  wholly or in part in Minnesota.  "Farmer" also means a resident 
  1.19  who is a shareholder in a family farm corporation or a partner 
  1.20  in a family farm partnership as defined in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.21  section 500.24, subdivision 2, located wholly or in part in 
  1.22  Minnesota. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  [DISASTER ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.] 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT.] Within 30 days 
  2.1   after the effective date of this act the commissioner shall 
  2.2   announce procedures and distribute application forms for the 
  2.3   disaster assistance payment program. 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] A farmer is eligible for state 
  2.5   assistance under this section if: 
  2.6      (1) the farmer experienced a 50 percent or greater loss 
  2.7   from the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service 
  2.8   Agency, county yield or collected an indemnity or federal 
  2.9   disaster payment on wheat or barley in one or more growing 
  2.10  seasons from 1993 to 1998; 
  2.11     (2) the crop acreage covered by the insurance premium used 
  2.12  to calculate the disaster payment amount is located within 
  2.13  Minnesota; and 
  2.14     (3) the farmer or the farmer's financial advisor submits a 
  2.15  properly completed application for a disaster assistance payment 
  2.16  to the commissioner on forms provided by the commissioner on or 
  2.17  before August 1, 1999. 
  2.18     Subd. 3.  [DISASTER ASSISTANCE PAYMENT CALCULATION, 
  2.19  PRIORITY, AND MAXIMUM ASSISTANCE.] (a) From funds appropriated 
  2.20  for purposes of this section, the commissioner shall provide a 
  2.21  disaster assistance payment to each eligible farmer in an amount 
  2.22  calculated to be equal to premiums and administrative fees paid 
  2.23  for federal crop insurance on wheat and barley grown by the 
  2.24  farmer in Minnesota for the 1998 growing season.  The maximum 
  2.25  reimbursement available to any farmer, or in the case of a 
  2.26  family farm corporation or a family farm partnership, to the 
  2.27  family farm corporation or partnership, is $4,000. 
  2.28     (b) Properly completed applications for disaster assistance 
  2.29  payments take priority in the order in which they are received 
  2.30  by the commissioner. 
  2.31     (c) The farmer must be listed as the payee, or one of the 
  2.32  payees, on the disaster assistance payment check. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.34     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.35  commissioner of agriculture for disaster assistance payments 
  2.36  under section 2.  This appropriation is available until June 30, 
  3.1   2000.