1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to energy; establishing a goal for pipeline permitting efficiency; requiring 
1.3 	a report;amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216G.02, by adding a 
1.4 	subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216G.02, is amended by adding a 
1.7 	subdivision to read:
1.8 		Subd. 5.Permitting efficiency. (a) It is the goal of the state that pipeline routing 
1.9 	permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission of a permit application. 
1.10 	The Public Utilities Commission shall establish management systems designed to achieve 
1.11 	the goal.
1.12 	(b) The Public Utilities Commission shall prepare semiannual permitting efficiency 
1.13 	reports that include statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a). The reports are due 
1.14 	February 1 and August 1 each year. For permit application review processes that did 
1.15 	not meet the goal, the report must state the reasons for not meeting the goal. In stating 
1.16 	the reasons for not meeting the goal, the Public Utilities Commission shall separately 
1.17 	identify delays caused by the responsiveness of the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or 
1.18 	technical disagreements, or the level of public engagement. The report must specify the 
1.19 	number of days from initial submission of the application to the day the application is 
1.20 	deemed complete. The report for August 1 each year must aggregate the data for the year 
1.21 	and assess whether program or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The 
1.22 	report must be posted on the Public Utilities Commission's Web site and submitted to the 
1.23 	governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and 
1.24 	senate committees having jurisdiction over energy policy and finance.
2.1 	(c) The Public Utilities Commission shall allow electronic submission of 
2.2 	environmental review and permit documents to the agency.
2.3 	(d) Beginning July 1, 2016, within 30 business days of application for a permit 
2.4 	subject to paragraph (a), the Public Utilities Commission shall notify the project proposer, 
2.5 	in writing, whether the application is complete or incomplete. If the commissioner 
2.6 	determines that an application is incomplete, the notice to the applicant must identify all 
2.7 	deficiencies, citing specific provisions of the applicable rules and statutes, and advise the 
2.8 	applicant on how the deficiencies can be remedied. This paragraph does not apply to an 
2.9 	application for a permit that is subject to a grant or loan agreement under chapter 446A.

2.10 	Sec. 2. PERMITTING PROCESS REVIEW.
 2.11 	(a) The Public Utilities Commission must evaluate its pipeline routing permitting 
2.12 	processes under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216G, to determine whether existing 
2.13 	processes cause, encourage, or reduce unnecessary delays in the pipeline permitting 
2.14 	process. To the extent the Public Utilities Commission identifies any processes that are 
2.15 	repetitive, duplicative, unnecessary, or cause burden or delay, the commission shall either: 
2.16 	(1) alter or eliminate the process; or (2) provide justification detailing the reasons why 
2.17 	a process that causes delay is necessary.
2.18 	(b) The Public Utilities Commission shall report its findings under paragraph (a) to 
2.19 	the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees 
2.20 	with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance. The report shall describe in detail all of 
2.21 	the processes reviewed, an explanation as to whether or why each process is necessary 
2.22 	or should be altered or eliminated, and include any action taken by the commission to 
2.23 	streamline any processes identified for alteration or elimination. The report under this 
2.24 	section shall be included with the August 1, 2016, submission of the report required under 
2.25 	Minnesota Statutes, section 216G.02, subdivision 5, paragraph (b).

2.26 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.