1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to natural resources; modifying timber permit 
  1.3             and lease provisions; creating a prairie chicken 
  1.4             hunting license; modifying requirements for taking 
  1.5             turtles; modifying requirements for a firearms safety 
  1.6             certificate; providing for enforcement authority and 
  1.7             restoration requirements related to gathering or 
  1.8             destroying aquatic plants; eliminating certain 
  1.9             experimental trout stream restrictions; providing 
  1.10            criminal penalties; appropriating money; amending 
  1.11            Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 90.151, subdivision 
  1.12            1; 90.162; 97A.475, subdivisions 2, 41; 97B.020; 
  1.13            97B.601, subdivision 4; 97C.605; 97C.611; 103G.615, by 
  1.14            adding subdivisions; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.15            Minnesota Statutes, chapters 97A; 97B; repealing 
  1.16            Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 90.50; 97C.003; 
  1.17            97C.605, subdivision 4. 
  1.18  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.19     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 90.151, 
  1.20  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.21     Subdivision 1.  [ISSUANCE; EXPIRATION.] (a) Following 
  1.22  receipt of the down payment for state timber sold at public 
  1.23  auction, the commissioner shall issue a numbered permit to the 
  1.24  purchaser, in a form approved by the attorney general, by the 
  1.25  terms of which the purchaser shall be authorized to enter upon 
  1.26  the land, and to cut and remove the timber therein described, 
  1.27  according to the provisions of this chapter.  The permit shall 
  1.28  be correctly dated and executed by the commissioner or agent and 
  1.29  signed by the purchaser.  If a permit is not signed by the 
  1.30  purchaser within 60 days from the date of purchase, the permit 
  1.31  cancels and the down payment for timber forfeits to the state. 
  2.1      (b) The permit shall expire no later than five years after 
  2.2   the date of sale as the commissioner shall specify, and the 
  2.3   timber shall be cut within the time specified therein.  All cut 
  2.4   timber, equipment, and buildings not removed from the land 
  2.5   within 90 days after expiration of the permit shall become the 
  2.6   property of the state.  
  2.7      (c) The commissioner may grant an additional period of time 
  2.8   not to exceed 120 days for the removal of cut timber, equipment, 
  2.9   and buildings upon receipt of such request by the permit holder 
  2.10  for good and sufficient reasons.  The commissioner may grant a 
  2.11  second period of time not to exceed 120 days for the removal of 
  2.12  cut timber, equipment, and buildings upon receipt of a request 
  2.13  by the permit holder for hardship reasons only. 
  2.14     (d) No permit shall be issued to any person other than the 
  2.15  purchaser in whose name the bid was made.  
  2.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 90.162, is 
  2.17  amended to read: 
  2.18     90.162 [ALTERNATIVE TO BOND OR DEPOSIT REQUIREMENTS.] 
  2.19     In lieu of the bond or cash deposit equal to the value of 
  2.20  all timber covered by the permit required by section 90.161 or 
  2.21  90.173, a purchaser of state timber may, at the time of the bid 
  2.22  approval and upon payment by the purchaser to the commissioner 
  2.23  of 15 percent of the appraised value under section 90.14, elect 
  2.24  in writing on a form prescribed by the attorney general 
  2.25  to prepay give good and valid surety to the state of Minnesota 
  2.26  equal to the purchase price for any designated cutting block 
  2.27  identified on the permit before the date the purchaser enters 
  2.28  upon the land to begin harvesting the timber on the designated 
  2.29  cutting block. 
  2.30     Sec. 3.  [97A.434] [PRAIRIE CHICKEN LICENSES.] 
  2.31     Subdivision 1.  [NUMBER OF LICENSES TO BE ISSUED.] If the 
  2.32  commissioner establishes an open season for prairie chickens 
  2.33  under section 97B.711, the commissioner shall also determine, by 
  2.34  rule, the number of licenses to be issued.  
  2.35     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] Eligibility for a prairie chicken 
  2.36  license shall be determined by this section and by rule adopted 
  3.1   by the commissioner.  A person is eligible for a prairie chicken 
  3.2   license only if the person: 
  3.3      (1) is a resident; and 
  3.4      (2) was born before January 1, 1980, or possesses a 
  3.5   firearms safety certificate. 
  3.6      Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.] An application for a 
  3.7   prairie chicken license must be made in a manner provided by the 
  3.8   commissioner and accompanied by a $3 application fee.  The $3 
  3.9   application fee is appropriated as prescribed in Minnesota 
  3.10  Statutes, section 84.027, subdivision 15, paragraph (d), to pay 
  3.11  for costs associated with conducting the prairie chicken license 
  3.12  drawing.  A person may not make more than one application for 
  3.13  each season.  If a person makes more than one application, the 
  3.14  person is ineligible for a license for that season after 
  3.15  determination by the commissioner, without a hearing.  
  3.16     Subd. 4.  [SEPARATE SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE LICENSEES.] (a) 
  3.17  The commissioner may conduct a separate selection for up to 20 
  3.18  percent of the prairie chicken licenses to be issued for any 
  3.19  area.  Only persons who are owners or tenants of at least 40 
  3.20  acres of prairie or grassland in the area, and their family 
  3.21  members, are eligible applicants for prairie chicken licenses 
  3.22  for the separate selection.  The qualifying prairie or grassland 
  3.23  may be noncontiguous.  Persons who are unsuccessful in a 
  3.24  separate selection must be included in the selection for the 
  3.25  remaining licenses.  Persons who obtain a license in a separate 
  3.26  selection must allow public prairie chicken hunting on their 
  3.27  land during that prairie chicken season. 
  3.28     (b) The commissioner may by rule establish criteria for 
  3.29  determining eligible family members under this subdivision. 
  3.30     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.475, 
  3.31  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.32     Subd. 2.  [RESIDENT HUNTING.] Fees for the following 
  3.33  licenses, to be issued to residents only, are: 
  3.34     (1) for persons under age 65 to take small game, $12; 
  3.35     (2) for persons age 65 or over, $6; 
  3.36     (3) to take turkey, $18; 
  4.1      (4) to take deer with firearms, $25; 
  4.2      (5) to take deer by archery, $25; 
  4.3      (6) to take moose, for a party of not more than six 
  4.4   persons, $310; 
  4.5      (7) to take bear, $38; 
  4.6      (8) to take elk, for a party of not more than two persons, 
  4.7   $250; 
  4.8      (9) to take antlered deer in more than one zone, $50; 
  4.9      (10) to take Canada geese during a special season, $4; and 
  4.10     (11) to take an antlered buck throughout the state in any 
  4.11  open deer season, except as restricted under section 97B.305, 
  4.12  $66; and 
  4.13     (12) to take prairie chickens, $20. 
  4.14     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.475, 
  4.15  subdivision 41, is amended to read: 
  4.16     Subd. 41.  [TURTLE SELLERS LICENSES.] (a) The fee for a 
  4.17  turtle seller's license to sell turtles and to take, transport, 
  4.18  purchase buy, and possess turtles for sale is $70.  
  4.19     (b) The fee for a recreational turtle license to take, 
  4.20  transport, and possess turtles for personal use is $25. 
  4.21     (c) The fee for a turtle seller's apprentice license is $25.
  4.22     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97B.020, is 
  4.23  amended to read: 
  4.24     97B.020 [FIREARMS SAFETY CERTIFICATE REQUIRED.] 
  4.25     (a) Except as provided in this section, a person born after 
  4.26  December 31, 1979, may not obtain an annual license to take wild 
  4.27  animals by firearms unless the person has a firearms safety 
  4.28  certificate or equivalent certificate, driver's license or 
  4.29  identification card with a valid firearms safety qualification 
  4.30  indicator issued under section 171.07, subdivision 13, previous 
  4.31  hunting license, or other evidence indicating that the person 
  4.32  has completed in this state or in another state a hunter safety 
  4.33  course recognized by the department under a reciprocity 
  4.34  agreement.  A person who is on active duty and has successfully 
  4.35  completed basic training in the United States armed forces, 
  4.36  reserve component, or national guard may obtain a hunting 
  5.1   license or approval authorizing hunting regardless of whether 
  5.2   the person is issued a firearms safety certificate. 
  5.3      (b) A person born after December 31, 1979, may not use a 
  5.4   lifetime license to take wild animals by firearms, unless the 
  5.5   person meets the requirements for obtaining an annual license 
  5.6   under paragraph (a). 
  5.7      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97B.601, 
  5.8   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  5.9      Subd. 4.  [EXCEPTION TO LICENSE REQUIREMENTS.] (a) A 
  5.10  resident under age 16 may take small game without a small game 
  5.11  license, and a resident under age 13 may trap without a trapping 
  5.12  license, as provided in section 97A.451, subdivision 3. 
  5.13     (b) A person may take small game without a small game 
  5.14  license on land occupied by the person as a principal residence. 
  5.15     (c) An owner or occupant may take certain small game 
  5.16  causing damage without a small game or trapping license as 
  5.17  provided in section 97B.655.  
  5.18     (d) A person may use dogs to pursue and tree raccoons under 
  5.19  section 97B.621, subdivision 2, during the closed season without 
  5.20  a license.  
  5.21     (e) A person may take a turkey or a prairie chicken without 
  5.22  a small game license.  
  5.23     Sec. 8.  [97B.716] [PRAIRIE CHICKENS.] 
  5.24     Subdivision 1.  [LICENSE REQUIRED.] A person may not take a 
  5.25  prairie chicken without a prairie chicken license. 
  5.26     Subd. 2.  [TAGGING AND REGISTRATION.] The commissioner may 
  5.27  by rule prescribe requirements for the tagging and registration 
  5.28  of prairie chickens. 
  5.29     Subd. 3.  [LIMITED NUMBER OF PRAIRIE CHICKEN HUNTERS.] The 
  5.30  commissioner may establish a method, including a drawing, to 
  5.31  impartially select persons eligible to take prairie chickens in 
  5.32  an area.  Preference must be given to persons who have 
  5.33  previously applied in the general selection but have not been 
  5.34  selected. 
  5.35     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97C.605, is 
  5.36  amended to read: 
  6.1      97C.605 [TURTLES.] 
  6.2      Subdivision 1.  [RESIDENT ANGLING LICENSE REQUIRED.] In 
  6.3   addition to any other license required in this section, a person 
  6.4   may not take, possess, or transport turtles without an a 
  6.5   resident angling license, except as provided in subdivision 2 2c.
  6.6      Subd. 2.  [TURTLE SELLER'S LICENSE.] (a) A person may not 
  6.7   take, possess, buy, or transport, or purchase turtles for sale; 
  6.8   sell turtles; or take turtles for sale using commercial 
  6.9   equipment without a turtle seller's license, except as provided 
  6.10  in this subdivision 2c. 
  6.11     (b) Except for renewals, no new turtle seller's licenses 
  6.12  may be issued after June 1, 2002. 
  6.13     Subd. 2a.  [RECREATIONAL TURTLE LICENSE.] A person who does 
  6.14  not possess a turtle seller's license must obtain a recreational 
  6.15  turtle license to take turtles for personal use with commercial 
  6.16  equipment. 
  6.17     Subd. 2b.  [TURTLE SELLER'S APPRENTICE LICENSE.] (a) A 
  6.18  person with a turtle seller's license may list one person as an 
  6.19  apprentice on the license.  A person acting as an apprentice for 
  6.20  a turtle seller licensee must have an apprentice license and may 
  6.21  assist the turtle licensee in all licensed activities. 
  6.22     (b) The turtle seller licensee or turtle seller's 
  6.23  apprentice licensee must be present at all turtle operations 
  6.24  conducted under the turtle seller's license.  Turtle operations 
  6.25  include going to and from turtle harvest locations; setting, 
  6.26  lifting, and removing commercial turtle equipment; taking 
  6.27  turtles out of equipment; and transporting turtles from harvest 
  6.28  locations. 
  6.29     (c) A turtle seller's apprentice license is transferable by 
  6.30  the turtle seller licensee by making application to the 
  6.31  commissioner.  A person listed as an apprentice by a turtle 
  6.32  seller licensee must not be listed as an apprentice by another 
  6.33  turtle seller licensee nor may an apprentice possess a turtle 
  6.34  seller's license or a recreational turtle license. 
  6.35     Subd. 2c.  [LICENSE EXEMPTIONS.] A person does not need a 
  6.36  turtle seller's license or an angling license: 
  7.1      (1) when buying turtles for resale at a retail outlet; 
  7.2      (2) when buying a turtle at a retail outlet; or 
  7.3      (3) if the person is a nonresident buying a turtle from a 
  7.4   licensed turtle seller for export out of state.  Shipping 
  7.5   documents provided by the turtle seller must accompany each 
  7.6   shipment exported out of state by a nonresident.  Shipping 
  7.7   documents must include:  name, address, city, state, and zip 
  7.8   code of the buyer; number of each species of turtle; and name 
  7.9   and license number of the turtle seller.  
  7.10     Subd. 3.  [TAKING; METHODS PROHIBITED.] (a) Except as 
  7.11  allowed in paragraph (b), A person may take turtles in any 
  7.12  manner, except by the use of: 
  7.13     (1) explosives, drugs, poisons, lime, and other harmful 
  7.14  substances; 
  7.15     (2) traps, except as provided by rules adopted under 
  7.16  subdivision 6; or 
  7.17     (3) nets other than anglers' fish landing nets. 
  7.18     (b) A person with a turtle seller's license may take 
  7.19  turtles with a floating turtle trap that: 
  7.20     (1) has one or more openings above the water surface that 
  7.21  measure at least ten inches by four inches; and 
  7.22     (2) has a mesh size of not less than one-half inch, bar 
  7.23  measure. 
  7.24  The commissioner may prescribe additional regulations for taking 
  7.25  turtles for sale; or 
  7.26     (4) commercial equipment, except as provided by rules 
  7.27  adopted under subdivision 6.  
  7.28     Subd. 4.  [ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS.] The commissioner may issue 
  7.29  permits to take turtles with the use of artificial lights in 
  7.30  designated waters.  
  7.31     Subd. 5.  [INTERFERENCE WITH COMMERCIAL OR RECREATIONAL 
  7.32  TURTLE OPERATIONS.] A person may not: 
  7.33     (1) knowingly place or maintain an obstruction that will 
  7.34  hinder, prevent, or interfere with a licensed turtle operation; 
  7.35     (2) remove turtles, other wild animals, or fish from a 
  7.36  floating or submerged trap licensed under the game and fish 
  8.1   laws; or 
  8.2      (3) knowingly damage, disturb, or interfere with a licensed 
  8.3   turtle operation. 
  8.4      Subd. 6.  [RULES.] The commissioner may adopt rules for 
  8.5   taking turtles.  The commissioner may prescribe seasons, limits, 
  8.6   closed areas, and other restrictions and requirements the 
  8.7   commissioner deems necessary for the conservation of turtles. 
  8.8      Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97C.611, is 
  8.9   amended to read: 
  8.10     97C.611 [SNAPPING TURTLES; LIMITS.] 
  8.11     A person may not possess more than three snapping turtles 
  8.12  of the species Chelydra serpentina without a turtle seller's 
  8.13  license.  A person may not take snapping turtles of a size less 
  8.14  than ten inches wide including curvature, measured from side to 
  8.15  side across the shell at midpoint only take snapping turtles of 
  8.16  a size defined by rules adopted under section 97C.605, 
  8.17  subdivision 6. 
  8.18     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.615, is 
  8.19  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  8.20     Subd. 4.  [ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AND RESTORATION 
  8.21  REQUIREMENTS.] (a) The commissioner may make findings and issue 
  8.22  an order to a person to stop gathering, harvesting, planting or 
  8.23  transplanting, or destroying aquatic vegetation or organisms in 
  8.24  public waters without a permit issued under this section or in 
  8.25  violation of the terms of an issued permit. 
  8.26     (b) In the same or a separate findings and order, the 
  8.27  commissioner may require restoration or replacement of the 
  8.28  aquatic vegetation lost as a result of the unauthorized 
  8.29  activities, to the condition existing before the unlawful 
  8.30  activities were undertaken.  An order for restoration or 
  8.31  replacement must state with specificity the work that is 
  8.32  necessary to comply with the order and must specify a date by 
  8.33  which the work must be completed. 
  8.34     (c) The person or entity to whom the order is issued may 
  8.35  request a review of the order by the commissioner within 30 days 
  8.36  of receipt of written notice by filing a written request for 
  9.1   review.  If the written request is not submitted within 30 days, 
  9.2   the restoration or replacement order becomes final.  The 
  9.3   commissioner shall review the request and supporting evidence 
  9.4   and render a decision within 60 days of the request for review. 
  9.5      (d) If the person or entity wishes to appeal the decision 
  9.6   of the commissioner after review under paragraph (c), a written 
  9.7   request must be filed with the commissioner within 30 days for a 
  9.8   contested case hearing under chapter 14.  A bond, as provided in 
  9.9   subdivision 5, must accompany the demand for a hearing.  The 
  9.10  bond and demand for hearing must be filed 30 days after the 
  9.11  person is served with a copy of the decision of the commissioner 
  9.12  on review. 
  9.13     (e) If the person or entity to whom the decision of the 
  9.14  commissioner on review is addressed does not demand a contested 
  9.15  case hearing under chapter 14 or demands a hearing but fails to 
  9.16  file the required bond: 
  9.17     (1) the commissioner's order becomes final at the end of 30 
  9.18  days after the person is served with the decision of the 
  9.19  commissioner on review; and 
  9.20     (2) the person may not appeal the order. 
  9.21     Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.615, is 
  9.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  9.23     Subd. 5.  [BOND FOR DEMANDING PUBLIC HEARING.] (a) A person 
  9.24  or entity filing a demand for a public hearing must execute and 
  9.25  file a corporate surety bond or equivalent security to the state 
  9.26  of Minnesota, to be approved by the commissioner and in an 
  9.27  amount and form determined by the commissioner.  The bond or 
  9.28  security must be conditioned to pay the costs of the hearing to 
  9.29  the extent described in subdivision 6 if the commissioner's 
  9.30  findings and order are affirmed without material modification. 
  9.31     (b) A bond or security is not required of a public 
  9.32  authority that demands a public hearing. 
  9.33     (c) The commissioner may waive the requirement for a bond 
  9.34  or other security. 
  9.35     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.615, is 
  9.36  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 10.1      Subd. 6.  [HEARING COSTS.] (a) Except as provided in 
 10.2   paragraph (b), the costs of a hearing must be paid as prescribed 
 10.3   by chapter 14 and the chief administrative law judge. 
 10.4      (b) If the commissioner's order is affirmed without 
 10.5   material modification, the appellant must pay the following 
 10.6   costs, up to $750: 
 10.7      (1) costs of the stenographic record and transcript; and 
 10.8      (2) rental costs, if any, of the place where the hearing is 
 10.9   held. 
 10.10     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 103G.615, is 
 10.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 10.12     Subd. 7.  [MISDEMEANOR.] A violation of an order issued 
 10.13  under this section is a misdemeanor and must be prosecuted by 
 10.14  the county attorney in the county where the illegal activity 
 10.15  occurred. 
 10.16     Sec. 15.  [REPEALER.] 
 10.17     Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 90.50; 97C.003; and 
 10.18  97C.605, subdivision 4, are repealed. 
 10.19     Sec. 16.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 10.20     Sections 3, 4, 7, and 8 are effective March 1, 2003.