1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to local elected officials; expanding the law 
  1.3             on removal to city officials; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1996, sections 351.14, subdivision 5; 351.15; 
  1.5             351.16; 351.18; 351.19, subdivision 4; 351.20; 351.21; 
  1.6             and 351.22. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.14, 
  1.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5.  [ELECTED COUNTY LOCAL OFFICIAL.] "Elected county 
  1.11  local official" means any public official who is elected 
  1.12  to citywide or countywide office or appointed to an 
  1.13  elective citywide or countywide office, including mayor, county 
  1.14  attorney, county sheriff, county auditor, county recorder, and 
  1.15  county treasurer.  "Elected county local official" also means a 
  1.16  county commissioner elected or appointed from a commissioner 
  1.17  district and a city council member elected from a council 
  1.18  district. 
  1.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.15, is 
  1.20  amended to read: 
  1.21     351.15 [REMOVAL OF ELECTED COUNTY LOCAL OFFICIAL.] 
  1.22     An elected county local official may be removed from office 
  1.23  in accordance with the procedures established in sections 351.14 
  1.24  to 351.23. 
  1.25     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.16, is 
  1.26  amended to read: 
  2.1      351.16 [PETITION; REVIEW.] 
  2.2      Subdivision 1.  [FORM OF PETITION.] Any registered voter 
  2.3   may petition the county auditor or city clerk requesting a 
  2.4   removal election and setting forth facts which allege with 
  2.5   specificity that an elected county local official committed 
  2.6   malfeasance or nonfeasance in the performance of official duties 
  2.7   during the current or any previous term in the office held by 
  2.8   the elected county official, except that a petition may not be 
  2.9   submitted during the 180 days immediately preceding a general 
  2.10  election for the office which is held by the county official 
  2.11  named in the petition.  The petitioner must attach to the 
  2.12  petition documents which contain the signatures of supporters 
  2.13  who are registered voters totaling at least 25 percent of the 
  2.14  number of persons who voted in the preceding election for the 
  2.15  office which is held by the county local official named in the 
  2.16  petition.  Each page on which signatures are included must 
  2.17  clearly identify the purpose of the petition.  The registered 
  2.18  voters must be residents of the city or county or, in a removal 
  2.19  election involving a county commissioner or city council member, 
  2.20  of the commissioner district which elected the named county 
  2.21  commissioner official.  The signatures of supporters must be on 
  2.22  forms provided by the county auditor or city clerk.  
  2.23     Subd. 2.  [COUNTY AUDITOR'S ELECTION OFFICIAL'S DUTIES.] 
  2.24  The county auditor or city clerk shall examine the petition to 
  2.25  determine whether it contains the requisite number of valid 
  2.26  signatures of registered voters.  If so, the county auditor or 
  2.27  city clerk shall forward the petition, but not the signatures, 
  2.28  to the clerk of appellate courts within 15 days of receipt of 
  2.29  the petition.  If the county auditor or city clerk determines 
  2.30  that the petition does not include the requisite number of 
  2.31  signatures, the county auditor or city clerk shall deny the 
  2.32  petition within 15 days of receipt of the petition.  
  2.33     Subd. 3.  [REMOVAL OF COUNTY AUDITOR OR CITY CLERK.] If the 
  2.34  county auditor or city clerk is the named elected county local 
  2.35  official, the petition must be submitted to the chair of the 
  2.36  county board of commissioners or city council who shall 
  3.1   appoint a county an official to perform the duties of the county 
  3.2   auditor or city clerk specified in sections 351.14 to 351.23. 
  3.3      Subd. 4.  [LIMITATION.] An elected county local official is 
  3.4   not subject to a removal election on the ground that misfeasance 
  3.5   in the performance of official duties was committed, or on the 
  3.6   ground of disagreement with actions taken that were within the 
  3.7   lawful discretion of the elected county official. 
  3.8      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.18, is 
  3.9   amended to read: 
  3.10     351.18 [WAIVER.] 
  3.11     An elected county local official who is the subject of a 
  3.12  petition under section 351.16 may waive in writing the right to 
  3.13  a public hearing.  If the hearing is waived, the case must be 
  3.14  certified by order of the chief justice to the county auditor or 
  3.15  city clerk for a removal election to be held within 30 days of 
  3.16  the receipt of the order.  
  3.17     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.19, 
  3.18  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  3.19     Subd. 4.  [LEGAL COUNSEL.] The petitioners and the 
  3.20  elected county local official shall be represented by legal 
  3.21  counsel at their own expense, and shall pay their costs 
  3.22  associated with the hearing except that the county or city may 
  3.23  assume the legal costs incurred by the elected county local 
  3.24  official.  The county or city shall pay all other costs of the 
  3.25  hearing.  
  3.26     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.20, is 
  3.27  amended to read: 
  3.28     351.20 [DECISION; CERTIFICATION.] 
  3.29     If the special master determines that the elected county 
  3.30  local official committed malfeasance or nonfeasance in the 
  3.31  performance of official duties, the case must be certified to 
  3.32  the county auditor or city clerk for a removal election on a 
  3.33  date to be fixed by the county auditor or city clerk and held 
  3.34  within 30 days of the order of the special master.  
  3.35     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.21, is 
  3.36  amended to read: 
  4.1      351.21 [APPEAL.] 
  4.2      An elected county local official may appeal the decision of 
  4.3   a special master under section 351.20 to the supreme court 
  4.4   within ten days.  The removal election is stayed until 20 days 
  4.5   after the supreme court issues a decision on the appeal.  The 
  4.6   supreme court shall grant an expedited appeal.  
  4.7      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 351.22, is 
  4.8   amended to read: 
  4.9      351.22 [REMOVAL ELECTION; DISQUALIFICATION.] 
  4.10     Subdivision 1.  [MAJORITY VOTE; FORM OF QUESTION.] An 
  4.11  elected county local official may be removed pursuant to 
  4.12  sections 351.14 to 351.23 by majority vote.  The removal 
  4.13  election is a special election conducted under applicable 
  4.14  provisions of section 375.20 or laws governing city elections.  
  4.15  The question submitted to the voters must be:  
  4.16  "Should ........, elected (appointed) to the office of ..........
  4.17            (Name)                                          (title)
  4.18  be removed from that office?  
  4.19                                     Yes .......
  4.20                                     No ........"
  4.21  Any resulting vacancy must be filled as provided by law.  
  4.22     Subd. 2.  [DISQUALIFICATION.] A removed county local 
  4.23  official may not thereafter hold the same office for the 
  4.24  remainder of the term to which the official was elected.