1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; requiring a closed 
  1.3             iron mine and related facilities to be maintained for 
  1.4             a period of time; providing for the payment of 
  1.5             additional unemployment benefits; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 2000, section 93.003. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 93.003, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     93.003 [IRON MINING; CONDITIONS.] 
  1.11     Legal authority to mine and process iron ore, a basic 
  1.12  irreplaceable natural resource of the people of the state of 
  1.13  Minnesota, is subject to the conditions of this section.  When 
  1.14  the owner or operator of an iron mine or related production or 
  1.15  beneficiation facilities determines to discontinue the operation 
  1.16  of the mine or facilities for any reason it shall maintain the 
  1.17  mine or facilities in salable operating condition for at least 
  1.18  ~~one year~~ two years after it discontinues operation in order to 
  1.19  allow the state of Minnesota and other interested public and 
  1.20  private bodies to seek a new owner and operator.  The 
  1.21  requirement imposed by this section is a preliminary and 
  1.22  permanent requirement on the right of an owner to commence or 
  1.23  continue the operation of an iron mine or related facilities.  
  1.24  This requirement is enforceable on all owners and operators and 
  1.25  successors of owners and operators and shall be enforced by the 
  1.26  state in any action in bankruptcy or other litigation that may 
  2.1   affect it. 
  2.2      Sec. 2.  [IRON ORE MINING EXTRA BENEFITS.] 
  2.3      Subdivision 1.  [EXTRA BENEFITS; AVAILABILITY.] Extra 
  2.4   unemployment benefits are available to an applicant if the 
  2.5   applicant was permanently laid off due to lack of work after 
  2.6   August 1, 2000, from the LTV Mining Company in St. Louis county, 
  2.7   including the LTV Mining Company power plant operation at 
  2.8   Taconite Harbor in Cook county.  
  2.9      Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT FROM FUND; EFFECT ON EMPLOYER.] Extra 
  2.10  unemployment benefits are payable from the Minnesota 
  2.11  unemployment insurance program trust fund.  Extra unemployment 
  2.12  benefits shall not affect the future tax rate of a taxpaying 
  2.13  employer.  
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant is 
  2.15  eligible to receive extra unemployment benefits under this 
  2.16  section for any week during the 78-week period following the 
  2.17  effective date of the applicant's benefit account of regular 
  2.18  unemployment benefits, as a result of a layoff described under 
  2.19  subdivision 1, if: 
  2.20     (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with 
  2.21  the employer described in subdivision 1; 
  2.22     (2) except as provided in subdivision 6, the applicant 
  2.23  meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.24  section 268.085; 
  2.25     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  2.26  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095; and 
  2.27     (4) the applicant is not entitled to regular unemployment 
  2.28  benefits and the applicant is not entitled to receive 
  2.29  unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law for 
  2.30  that week.  
  2.31     If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account 
  2.32  at any time after exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a 
  2.33  result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the applicant must 
  2.34  apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new regular 
  2.35  unemployment benefits.  
  2.36     Subd. 4.  [WEEKLY AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  3.1   BENEFITS.] (a) The weekly extra unemployment benefit amount 
  3.2   available to an applicant is the same as the applicant's weekly 
  3.3   regular unemployment benefit amount on the benefit account 
  3.4   established as a result of a layoff under subdivision 1.  
  3.5      (b) If an applicant qualifies for a new benefit account in 
  3.6   this or any other state, after exhausting regular unemployment 
  3.7   benefits as a result of a layoff under subdivision 1 and the 
  3.8   weekly benefit amount on that new benefit account is less than 
  3.9   the applicant's extra unemployment benefit amount, the applicant 
  3.10  shall be entitled to receive a weekly benefit amount under this 
  3.11  section equal to the difference between the weekly benefit 
  3.12  amount on the new benefit account and the applicant's weekly 
  3.13  amount of extra unemployment benefits.  If the weekly benefit 
  3.14  amount on the new benefit account exceeds the weekly amount of 
  3.15  extra unemployment benefits, the applicant shall not be entitled 
  3.16  to any extra unemployment benefits until the applicant exhausts 
  3.17  unemployment benefits on that new benefit account.  
  3.18     Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  3.19  BENEFITS.] The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits 
  3.20  available is 30 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment 
  3.21  benefits amount.  
  3.22     Subd. 6.  [WORKERS' COMPENSATION OFFSET.] Notwithstanding 
  3.23  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085, subdivision 3, paragraph 
  3.24  (a), clause (3), an applicant laid off under subdivision 1 is 
  3.25  eligible to receive any type of unemployment benefits for any 
  3.26  week even if the applicant has a pending claim for that week for 
  3.27  payment in an amount equal to or in excess of the applicant's 
  3.28  weekly unemployment benefit amount in the form of compensation 
  3.29  for loss of wages under the workers' compensation law of this 
  3.30  state or any other state or under a similar law of the United 
  3.31  States; however, such a pending claim shall raise an issue of 
  3.32  the applicant's ability to work under Minnesota Statutes, 
  3.33  section 268.085, subdivision 1, clause (2), that the 
  3.34  commissioner shall determine.  If payment is made on the 
  3.35  workers' compensation claim for any week for which any type of 
  3.36  unemployment benefits are received, the unemployment benefits 
  4.1   for that week must be reduced by the amount of the workers' 
  4.2   compensation benefits received for that week.  The amount of the 
  4.3   reduction is an overpayment and may be recovered in the same 
  4.4   manner as other overpayments.  
  4.5      This subdivision shall be effective starting with the date 
  4.6   of layoff under subdivision 1 and continues to be effective so 
  4.7   long as the applicant is entitled to extra unemployment benefits.
  4.8      Subd. 7.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  4.9   benefit program expires on January 1, 2004.  No extra 
  4.10  unemployment benefits shall be paid for any week after the 
  4.11  expiration of this program. 
  4.12     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.13     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment 
  4.14  and is retroactive to December 1, 2000.  Section 2 is effective 
  4.15  the day following final enactment and is effective retroactive 
  4.16  to August 1, 2000.