1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to local government; providing for the 
  1.3             appointment of supervisors for the Hennepin county 
  1.4             soil and water conservation district; providing for 
  1.5             the transition from an elected to an appointed board; 
  1.6             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.7             chapter 383B. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [383B.82] [SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION 
  1.10  DISTRICT; APPOINTMENT OF SUPERVISORS.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [SUPERVISORS APPOINTED BY COUNTY 
  1.12  BOARD.] Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 103C.305, 
  1.13  103C.311, and 103C.315, the board of commissioners of Hennepin 
  1.14  county may appoint the board of supervisors of the Hennepin soil 
  1.15  and water conservation district as specified in this section. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [STATE BOARD.] For purposes of this section, 
  1.17  "state board" means the Minnesota board of water and soil 
  1.18  resources. 
  1.19     Subd. 3.  [SUPERVISOR DISTRICTS.] (a) The Hennepin county 
  1.20  board of commissioners shall, subject to the approval of the 
  1.21  Minnesota board of water and soil resources, divide the county 
  1.22  into five districts.  After establishing the boundaries of the 
  1.23  five districts, the chair of the Hennepin county board of 
  1.24  commissioners shall promptly file with the state board a 
  1.25  certified copy of the resolution establishing the districts. 
  1.26     (b) The boundaries of the districts may be amended by the 
  2.1   county board of commissioners, subject to the approval of the 
  2.2   state board.  The boundaries of the districts shall be reviewed 
  2.3   by the county board of commissioners and submitted to the state 
  2.4   board for approval at least once every ten years. 
  2.5      Subd. 4.  [APPOINTMENT OF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.] (a) The 
  2.6   district board shall consist of five supervisors with one 
  2.7   supervisor appointed to represent each district. 
  2.8      (b) The term of office for a district supervisor shall be 
  2.9   four years.  The terms of office for the supervisors shall be 
  2.10  staggered.  When a vacancy in the office of supervisor occurs 
  2.11  before the expiration of the term of office, the county board 
  2.12  shall appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term. 
  2.13     (c) When filling vacancies on the board of supervisors, the 
  2.14  Hennepin county board of commissioners shall publish a notice of 
  2.15  all vacancies on the district board and solicit applications 
  2.16  pursuant to the Hennepin county open appointments policy.  The 
  2.17  application period shall end not less than 30 days from the date 
  2.18  the vacancy is first published. 
  2.19     (d) To be eligible to serve as a supervisor for a district, 
  2.20  a person must be an eligible voter residing in such district and 
  2.21  be knowledgeable of soil and water conservation issues. 
  2.22     Subd. 5.  [TRANSITION RULE.] The appointment of supervisors 
  2.23  under subdivision 4 begins after the expiration of the terms of 
  2.24  the supervisors in office on January 1, 2002, or to fill any 
  2.25  vacancies occurring before that time. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.27     Section 1 is effective on the day following approval by the 
  2.28  Hennepin county board of commissioners and the board of 
  2.29  supervisors of the Hennepin county soil and water conservation 
  2.30  district and after compliance with Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.31  645.021.