1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to counties; expanding authority to acquire 
  1.3             real property by exchange; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             2002, section 373.01, subdivision 1.  
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 373.01, 
  1.7   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [PUBLIC CORPORATION; LISTED POWERS.] Each 
  1.9   county is a body politic and corporate and may: 
  1.10     (1) Sue and be sued. 
  1.11     (2) Acquire and hold real and personal property for the use 
  1.12  of the county, and lands sold for taxes as provided by law. 
  1.13     (3) Purchase and hold for the benefit of the county real 
  1.14  estate sold by virtue of judicial proceedings, to which the 
  1.15  county is a party. 
  1.16     (4) Sell, lease, and convey real or personal estate owned 
  1.17  by the county, and give contracts or options to sell, lease, or 
  1.18  convey it, and make orders respecting it as deemed conducive to 
  1.19  the interests of the county's inhabitants.  
  1.20     No sale, lease, or conveyance of real estate owned by the 
  1.21  county, except the lease of a residence acquired for the 
  1.22  furtherance of an approved capital improvement project, nor any 
  1.23  contract or option for it, shall be valid, without first 
  1.24  advertising for bids or proposals in the official newspaper of 
  1.25  the county for three consecutive weeks and once in a newspaper 
  2.1   of general circulation in the area where the property is 
  2.2   located.  The notice shall state the time and place of 
  2.3   considering the proposals, contain a legal description of any 
  2.4   real estate, and a brief description of any personal property.  
  2.5   Leases that do not exceed $15,000 for any one year may be 
  2.6   negotiated and are not subject to the competitive bid procedures 
  2.7   of this section.  All proposals estimated to exceed $15,000 in 
  2.8   any one year shall be considered at the time set for the bid 
  2.9   opening, and the one most favorable to the county accepted, but 
  2.10  the county board may, in the interest of the county, reject any 
  2.11  or all proposals.  Sales of personal property the value of which 
  2.12  is estimated to be $15,000 or more shall be made only after 
  2.13  advertising for bids or proposals as provided for real estate.  
  2.14  Sales of personal property the value of which is estimated to be 
  2.15  less than $15,000 may be made either on competitive bids or in 
  2.16  the open market, in the discretion of the county board.  
  2.17  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the county may, 
  2.18  when acquiring real property for county highway right-of-way or 
  2.19  for other facilities related to county highways, exchange 
  2.20  parcels of real property of substantially similar or equal value 
  2.21  without advertising for bids.  The estimated values for these 
  2.22  parcels shall be determined by the county assessor. 
  2.23     If real estate or personal property remains unsold after 
  2.24  advertising for and consideration of bids or proposals the 
  2.25  county may employ a broker to sell the property.  The broker may 
  2.26  sell the property for not less than 90 percent of its appraised 
  2.27  market value as determined by the county.  The broker's fee 
  2.28  shall be set by agreement with the county but may not exceed ten 
  2.29  percent of the sale price and must be paid from the proceeds of 
  2.30  the sale. 
  2.31     A county or its agent may rent a county-owned residence 
  2.32  acquired for the furtherance of an approved capital improvement 
  2.33  project subject to the conditions set by the county board and 
  2.34  not subject to the conditions for lease otherwise provided by 
  2.35  this clause. 
  2.36     In no case shall lands be disposed of without there being 
  3.1   reserved to the county all iron ore and other valuable minerals 
  3.2   in and upon the lands, with right to explore for, mine and 
  3.3   remove the iron ore and other valuable minerals, nor shall the 
  3.4   minerals and mineral rights be disposed of, either before or 
  3.5   after disposition of the surface rights, otherwise than by 
  3.6   mining lease, in similar general form to that provided by 
  3.7   section 93.20 for mining leases affecting state lands.  The 
  3.8   lease shall be for a term not exceeding 50 years, and be issued 
  3.9   on a royalty basis, the royalty to be not less than 25 cents per 
  3.10  ton of 2,240 pounds, and fix a minimum amount of royalty payable 
  3.11  during each year, whether mineral is removed or not.  
  3.12  Prospecting options for mining leases may be granted for periods 
  3.13  not exceeding one year.  The options shall require, among other 
  3.14  things, periodical showings to the county board of the results 
  3.15  of exploration work done.  
  3.16     (5) Make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to 
  3.17  the property and concerns of the county necessary to the 
  3.18  exercise of its corporate powers.