1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to capital investment; appropriating money for grants to public school 
1.3 	districts for solar energy systems; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. PUBLIC SCHOOLS; SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Appropriation. (a) $4,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds 
1.7 	fund to the commissioner of commerce for grants to public school districts to add solar 
1.8 	energy systems on, adjacent to, or in proximity to school district buildings.
1.9 	(b) An eligible solar energy system must be a capital improvement to land or buildings 
1.10 	within the meaning of the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 5, paragraph (a), which 
1.11 	includes fixtures with a useful life of at least ten years. The capacity of a solar energy system 
1.12 	must be less than 300 kilowatts to the extent necessary to match the electrical load of the 
1.13 	building. A solar energy system under this section is not eligible to receive a rebate for the 
1.14 	installation of a solar energy system under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.7791, or from 
1.15 	any utility.
1.16 	(c) "Solar energy system" means photovoltaic devices alone or installed in conjunction 
1.17 	with a solar thermal system or an energy storage system. "Energy storage system" means 
1.18 	a commercially available technology capable of absorbing and storing electrical energy and 
1.19 	dispatching that stored electrical energy at a later time.
1.20 	(d) One-half of the appropriation is available for grants to districts in the seven-county 
1.21 	metropolitan area and one-half is available for grants to districts outside the seven-county 
1.22 	metropolitan area. The commissioner of commerce shall determine the application procedures 
2.1 	and make grants on a first-come, first-served basis. A grant may be for up to 95 percent of 
2.2 	the cost of design, engineering, acquisition, and installation of a solar energy system. A 
2.3 	school district may issue debt under Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.62, to provide its 
2.4 	share of the costs of a solar energy system funded from this appropriation.
2.5 		Subd. 2.Bond sale. To provide the money appropriated in this section from the bond 
2.6 	proceeds fund, the commissioner of management and budget shall sell and issue bonds of 
2.7 	the state in an amount up to $4,000,000 in the manner, upon the terms, and with the effect 
2.8 	prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the Minnesota 
2.9 	Constitution, article XI, sections 4 to 7.

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