1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to energy; extending due date for task force 
  1.3             report related to electric energy policy; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 216C.051, 
  1.5             subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.8   216C.051, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 5.  [REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.] (a) The legislative 
  1.10  task force may contract with independent experts, none of whom 
  1.11  can have been involved in any capacity in any of the proceedings 
  1.12  before the public utilities commission, the administrative law 
  1.13  judge, or the court of appeals related to dry cask storage at 
  1.14  Prairie Island or in any proceedings related to the license for 
  1.15  the facility granted by the United States Nuclear Regulatory 
  1.16  Commission, to assist it with analysis of items and issues 
  1.17  listed in subdivisions 3 and 4. 
  1.18     (b) The legislative task force shall convene a separate 
  1.19  balanced group of experts in the fields of energy production and 
  1.20  distribution and energy economics from within and without the 
  1.21  state to include experts formerly or currently employed by the 
  1.22  department of public service and/or the public utilities 
  1.23  commission, an economist employed by the residential and small 
  1.24  business division of the office of the attorney general, 
  1.25  electric energy experts employed by utilities, experts from 
  2.1   other states that have begun to implement policies for utilizing 
  2.2   indigenous, sustainable energy sources, experts from public 
  2.3   advocacy groups, and others to be determined by the task force.  
  2.4   The task force shall request the group of experts to assist it 
  2.5   in publicly examining and analyzing information received from 
  2.6   the independent experts and in preparing the report required in 
  2.7   paragraph (c). 
  2.8      (c) By January 15 July 1, 1996, the task force shall submit 
  2.9   a report to the chairs of the committees in the house and in the 
  2.10  senate that have responsibility for energy and for environmental 
  2.11  and natural resources issues that contains an overview of plans 
  2.12  and analyses that have been prepared, a critique of how those 
  2.13  plans and analyses will assist in implementation of the energy 
  2.14  conservation and sources for generation policies and goals in 
  2.15  chapters 216B and 216C, and specific recommendations for 
  2.16  legislative action that will ensure development and 
  2.17  implementation of electric energy policy that will provide the 
  2.18  state with adequate, sustainable, and economic electric power 
  2.19  for the long term while utilizing, to the maximum reasonable 
  2.20  extent, energy resources that are available or producible within 
  2.21  the state and while developing, maintaining, and strengthening a 
  2.22  viable and robust energy and utility infrastructure. 
  2.23     (d) By September 15, 1995, the task force shall submit to 
  2.24  the chairs of the committees specified in paragraph (c), a 
  2.25  preliminary report that provides: 
  2.26     (1) an overview of the current status of energy planning 
  2.27  and implementation of those plans by state agencies and 
  2.28  utilities, along with an analysis of the extent to which 
  2.29  existing statutory energy policies and goals are being met for 
  2.30  electric energy consumed in the state; 
  2.31     (2) an analysis of and any recommendations for adjustments 
  2.32  to the specific targets set in subdivisions 4 and 5, relating to 
  2.33  energy savings, electric generation sources for replacement and 
  2.34  additional capacity needs, and development of wind and biomass 
  2.35  energy sources; and 
  2.36     (3) as much information as the task force has been able to 
  3.1   gather on future high-level radioactive waste management and 
  3.2   transportation, including technologies and costs.