1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; establishing a livestock 
  1.3             development program; appropriating money; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 17.101, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 17.101, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 6.  [LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT.] (a) For the purposes of 
  1.10  this subdivision, "local unit of government" means a county or a 
  1.11  group of counties acting jointly. 
  1.12     (b) The commissioner may establish a process, including 
  1.13  criteria and standards, to recognize local efforts to maintain 
  1.14  or expand their livestock sector.  The process, criteria, and 
  1.15  standards must be designed to help establish and maintain a 
  1.16  livestock development effort within the county as well as to 
  1.17  meet the unique needs of each county. 
  1.18     (c) The commissioner may establish and implement a 
  1.19  livestock development grant program to help producers and local 
  1.20  units of government maintain or develop their livestock industry 
  1.21  in an economically viable and environmentally responsible manner.
  1.22     (d) To be eligible for the grant program, a local unit of 
  1.23  government must: 
  1.24     (1) have evidence of its support of livestock producers, 
  1.25  including the involvement of the financial and business 
  2.1   communities and providing information for the general public; 
  2.2      (2) explain how livestock producers will be involved in the 
  2.3   project and the public informed; and 
  2.4      (3) have the authority to establish plans and policies that 
  2.5   allow the growth and development of the livestock industry. 
  2.6      (e) The grants may be used for: 
  2.7      (1) preparing livestock development plans; 
  2.8      (2) revisions, additions, or development of county 
  2.9   agricultural land use plans or ordinances, including the 
  2.10  delineations of sensitive areas; 
  2.11     (3) site analysis; and 
  2.12     (4) evaluating capital improvement needs or other services 
  2.13  or programs, including educational programs, needed to support 
  2.14  livestock development in an economically prudent and 
  2.15  environmentally responsible manner. 
  2.16     (f) Applications for grants must be made to the 
  2.17  commissioner on forms prescribed by the commissioner.  The 
  2.18  commissioner may establish an ad hoc advisory group to assist in 
  2.19  evaluating grant requests.  The commissioner may make grants for 
  2.20  up to $50,000 to individual local units of government or for up 
  2.21  to $100,000 for two or more contiguous local units of government 
  2.22  acting jointly.  A project may be funded for up to three years; 
  2.23  however, multiyear projects must be reevaluated by the 
  2.24  commissioner before second- and third-year funding is approved.  
  2.25  A project may be funded with additional grants as long as the 
  2.26  total of all grants received for the project does not exceed the 
  2.27  limits provided in this paragraph. 
  2.28     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.29     $....... in fiscal year 2002 and $....... in fiscal year 
  2.30  2003 are appropriated to the commissioner of agriculture for 
  2.31  livestock development grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.32  17.101, subdivision 6.