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 extra unemployment 
  1.5             benefits for certain workers laid off from the LTV 
  1.6             Mining Company; providing criteria for future 
  1.7             unemployment benefit extensions; amending Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes 2000, section 93.003. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 93.003, is 
  1.11  amended to read: 
  1.12     93.003 [IRON MINING; CONDITIONS.] 
  1.13     Legal authority to mine and process iron ore, a basic 
  1.14  irreplaceable natural resource of the people of the state of 
  1.15  Minnesota, is subject to the conditions of this section.  When 
  1.16  the owner or operator of an iron mine or related production or 
  1.17  beneficiation facilities determines to discontinue the operation 
  1.18  of the mine or facilities for any reason it shall maintain the 
  1.19  mine or facilities in salable operating condition for at least 
  1.20  ~~one year~~ two years after it discontinues operation in order to 
  1.21  allow the state of Minnesota and other interested public and 
  1.22  private bodies to seek a new owner and operator.  The 
  1.23  requirement imposed by this section is a preliminary and 
  1.24  permanent requirement on the right of an owner to commence or 
  1.25  continue the operation of an iron mine or related facilities.  
  1.26  This requirement is enforceable on all owners and operators and 
  1.27  successors of owners and operators and shall be enforced by the 
  2.1   state in any action in bankruptcy or other litigation that may 
  2.2   affect it. 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  [IRON ORE MINING EXTRA BENEFITS.] 
  2.4      Subdivision 1.  [EXTRA BENEFITS; AVAILABILITY.] Extra 
  2.5   unemployment benefits are available to an applicant if the 
  2.6   applicant was permanently laid off due to lack of work after 
  2.7   August 1, 2000, from the LTV Mining Company in St. Louis county, 
  2.8   including the LTV Mining Company power plant operation at 
  2.9   Taconite Harbor in Cook county.  
  2.10     Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT FROM FUND; EFFECT ON EMPLOYER.] Extra 
  2.11  unemployment benefits are payable from the fund.  Extra 
  2.12  unemployment benefits shall not affect the future tax rate of a 
  2.13  taxpaying employer nor be charged to the reimbursing account of 
  2.14  a government or nonprofit employer. 
  2.15     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant is 
  2.16  eligible to receive extra unemployment benefits under this 
  2.17  section for any week during the 95-week period following the 
  2.18  effective date of the applicant's benefit account of regular 
  2.19  unemployment benefits, as a result of a layoff described under 
  2.20  subdivision 1, if: 
  2.21     (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with 
  2.22  LTV Mining Company, including the power plant operation at 
  2.23  Taconite Harbor in Cook county; 
  2.24     (2) except as provided in subdivision 6, the applicant 
  2.25  meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.26  section 268.085; 
  2.27     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  2.28  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095; 
  2.29     (4) the applicant is not entitled to regular unemployment 
  2.30  benefits and the applicant is not entitled to receive 
  2.31  unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law for 
  2.32  that week; and 
  2.33     (5) the applicant is enrolled in, or has within the last 
  2.34  two weeks successfully completed, a program that qualifies as 
  2.35  reemployment assistance training under Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.36  section 268.035, subdivision 21a, except that an applicant whose 
  3.1   training is scheduled to begin in more than 30 days may be 
  3.2   considered to be in training if:  (i) the applicant's chosen 
  3.3   training program does not offer an available start date within 
  3.4   30 days; (ii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training on 
  3.5   the earliest available start date for the chosen training 
  3.6   program; and (iii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training 
  3.7   in no more than 60 days. 
  3.8      If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account 
  3.9   at any time after exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a 
  3.10  result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the applicant must 
  3.11  apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new regular 
  3.12  unemployment benefits. 
  3.13     Subd. 4.  [WEEKLY AMOUNT OF EXTRA BENEFITS.] (a) The weekly 
  3.14  extra unemployment benefits amount available to an applicant is 
  3.15  the same as the applicant's weekly regular unemployment benefit 
  3.16  amount on the benefit account established as a result of a 
  3.17  layoff under subdivision 1. 
  3.18     (b) If an applicant qualifies for a new benefit account in 
  3.19  this or any other state, after exhausting regular unemployment 
  3.20  benefits as a result of a layoff under subdivision 1 and the 
  3.21  weekly benefit amount on that new benefit account is less than 
  3.22  the applicant's extra unemployment benefit amount, the applicant 
  3.23  shall be entitled to receive a weekly benefit amount under this 
  3.24  section equal to the difference between the weekly benefit 
  3.25  amount on the new benefit account and the applicant's weekly 
  3.26  amount of extra unemployment benefits.  If the weekly benefit 
  3.27  amount on the new benefit account exceeds the weekly amount of 
  3.28  extra unemployment benefits, the applicant shall not be entitled 
  3.29  to any extra unemployment benefits until the applicant exhausts 
  3.30  unemployment benefits on that new benefit account.  
  3.31     Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  3.32  BENEFITS.] The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits 
  3.33  available is 26 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment 
  3.34  benefits amount.  
  3.35     Subd. 6.  [WORKERS' COMPENSATION/DISABILITY INSURANCE 
  3.36  OFFSET.] (a) An applicant laid off from LTV Mining Company on or 
  4.1   after August 1, 2000, who is otherwise eligible for regular or 
  4.2   extra unemployment benefits is not subject to the deductible 
  4.3   payment provisions of Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085, 
  4.4   subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (3).  Instead, the 
  4.5   applicant is subject to the limitations of this subdivision. 
  4.6      (b) An applicant shall not be eligible to receive 
  4.7   unemployment benefits for any week with respect to which the 
  4.8   applicant is receiving or has received compensation for loss of 
  4.9   wages equal to or in excess of the applicant's weekly 
  4.10  unemployment benefit amount under: 
  4.11     (1) the workers' compensation law of this state; 
  4.12     (2) the workers' compensation law of any other state or 
  4.13  similar federal law; or 
  4.14     (3) any insurance or fund paid in whole or in part by an 
  4.15  employer. 
  4.16     If an applicant receives compensation for loss of wages 
  4.17  under clauses (1) to (3) that is less than the applicant's 
  4.18  weekly unemployment benefit amount, then unemployment benefits 
  4.19  requested for that week shall be reduced by the amount of the 
  4.20  compensation payment. 
  4.21     (c) An applicant is not ineligible to receive unemployment 
  4.22  benefits because the applicant has a claim pending for loss of 
  4.23  wages under paragraph (b); however, such a pending claim shall 
  4.24  raise an issue of the applicant's ability to work under 
  4.25  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085, subdivision 1, clause (2), 
  4.26  that the commissioner shall determine.  If the applicant later 
  4.27  receives compensation as a result of the pending claim, then 
  4.28  that compensation is subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), 
  4.29  and shall be subject to recoupment by the commissioner to the 
  4.30  extent that the compensation constitutes overpaid unemployment 
  4.31  benefits. 
  4.32     (d) If the commissioner intervenes, in accordance with 
  4.33  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.18, subdivision 5, in a workers' 
  4.34  compensation matter under Minnesota Statutes, section 176.361, 
  4.35  in order to recoup overpaid unemployment benefits paid to an 
  4.36  applicant laid off under paragraph (a), the commissioner shall 
  5.1   not be required to pay any portion of the applicant's attorney 
  5.2   fees, and the applicant shall be liable to repay the total 
  5.3   amount of the overpaid unemployment benefits. 
  5.4      This subdivision continues in effect until January 1, 2004. 
  5.5      Subd. 7.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  5.6   benefit program expires on January 1, 2004.  No extra 
  5.7   unemployment benefits shall be paid for any week after the 
  5.8   expiration of this program. 
  5.9      Sec. 3.  [FINDINGS.] 
  5.10     The legislature finds that extra unemployment benefits in 
  5.11  addition to those provided for under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
  5.12  268, may be appropriate in the event of a large layoff only 
  5.13  where the following conditions are met: 
  5.14     (1) the employer involved in the layoff has permanently 
  5.15  ceased operations and has commenced bankruptcy proceedings; 
  5.16     (2) the community or communities in which the affected 
  5.17  employees live is disproportionately affected by the layoff; 
  5.18     (3) the community or communities in which the affected 
  5.19  employees live is in a remote location where opportunities for 
  5.20  reemployment are limited; and 
  5.21     (4) employees receive extra benefits only while they are 
  5.22  making satisfactory progress in an education or job training 
  5.23  program. 
  5.24     In cases where these criteria are not fully met, the 
  5.25  legislature finds that the availability of benefits should be 
  5.26  limited to the amount and duration provided by Minnesota 
  5.27  Statutes, chapter 268, including any additional benefits 
  5.28  available under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.125. 
  5.29     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.30     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  5.31  enactment and are retroactive to August 1, 2000.