Minnesota Fencing Licensing Law

Minnesota Code · 49 sections

The following is the full text of Minnesota’s fencing licensing law statutes as published in the Minnesota Code. For the official version, see the Minnesota Legislature.

Minn. Stat. § 103G.601

103G.601 ICE-CUTTING FENCES AND GUARDS.

Subdivision 1. Fence and guard requirement.

A person cutting ice in or on waters entirely or partly in the state to remove ice must surround the cuttings and openings with fences or guards sufficient to warn persons of the cutting before the cutting is started. The fence or guard must be maintained until the ice has formed in the openings to the thickness of at least six inches.

Subd. 2. Penalty.

A person who fails to comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

History:

1990 c 391 art 7 s 59

Minn. Stat. § 117.21

117.21 EASEMENT MAY INCLUDE SNOW FENCES.

When the right to establish a public road is acquired by the state, or by any of its agencies or political subdivisions, there may be included in the easement so acquired the power to erect and maintain temporary snow fences as required upon lands adjoining the highway part of which lands have been taken for road purposes. If included, the right to erect and maintain such fences shall be considered in awarding damages, and any award shall be conclusively presumed to include the damages, if any, caused by the right to erect and maintain such fences.

History:

( 6557-4 ) 1929 c 396 s 1 ; 1998 c 403 s 3

Minn. Stat. § 160.16

160.16 WARNING SIGNS AND DETOUR SIGNS.

Subdivision 1. Contract to provide for warning signs.

Whenever the road authorities enter into a contract for the construction or improvement of any road, culvert, or bridge thereon they shall, as a condition of the contract, provide therein that the contractor shall place suitable warning signs at the highways intersecting the road so to be constructed or improved warning the public that the road under construction or improvement is impassable at a designated place or distance from the warning sign. The signs shall be placed at such places as will obviate unnecessary travel by persons not otherwise aware of the impassable condition of the roads. Nothing in the provisions of chapters 160 to 165 shall make any town, county, or the state liable in damages for the failure of the road authorities to provide in any contract for the erection of a warning sign as is herein provided for, or the failure of any contractor to erect same in accordance herewith.

Subd. 2. Contractor to place detour signs.

The contractor, lead supervisor, or person in charge of work or repairs on any public road shall, when the doing of the work or repairs necessitates the closing of a part of the road to traffic, post signs stating that the road is under repair and describing the direction and distance of the detour necessary to avoid the part of the road being repaired. The signs shall be posted at the intersection of the road under repair with the road to be traveled while detouring and at appropriate intervals along the road.

Subd. 3. Barricades.

The road authorities may also provide, by contract or otherwise, for the erection of barricades, fences or other obstructions so as to prevent traffic from entering any impassable section of road or a section closed to public travel.

History:

1959 c 500 art 1 s 16 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 160.232

160.232 ;

(3) erect a fence on the right-of-way of a trunk highway, county state-aid highway, county highway, or town road, except to erect a lane fence to the ends of a livestock pass;

(4) erect or reconstruct driveway headwalls in or on the right-of-way of a highway or road, except as may be allowed by permit from the road authority imposing reasonable regulations as are necessary to prevent interference with the construction, maintenance, and safe use of the highway or road and its appurtenances;

(5) dig any holes in any highway, except to locate markers placed to identify sectional corner positions and private boundary corners;

(6) remove any earth, gravel, or rock from any highway;

(7) obstruct any ditch draining any highway or drain any noisome materials into any ditch;

(8) place or maintain any building or structure within the limits of any highway;

(9) place or maintain any advertisement within the limits of any highway, except as provided in section 160.27, subdivision 7 ;

(10) paint, print, place, or affix any advertisement or any object within the limits of any highway, except as provided in section 160.27, subdivision 7 ;

(11) deface, mar, damage, or tamper with any structure, work, material, equipment, tools, signs, markers, signals, paving, guardrails, drains, or any other highway appurtenance on or along any highway;

(12) remove, injure, displace, or destroy right-of-way markers, or reference or witness monuments, or markers placed to preserve section or quarter-section corners;

(13) improperly place or fail to place warning signs and detour signs as provided by law;

(14) drive over, through, or around any barricade, fence, or obstruction erected for the purpose of preventing traffic from passing over a portion of a highway closed to public travel or to remove, deface, or damage any such barricade, fence, or obstruction.

(b) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

History:

1959 c 500 art 1 s 27 ; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7 ; 1980 c 435 s 1 ; 1980 c 533 s 2 ; 1986 c 398 art 27 s 2 ; 1986 c 435 s 1 ; 1989 c 179 s 2 ; 1995 c 23 s 1 ; 1998 c 283 s 1 ; 2004 c 295 art 2 s 15

REST AREAS AND TRAVEL CENTERS

Minn. Stat. § 160.26

160.26 MOVING BUILDINGS OVER HIGHWAYS.

Subdivision 1. Moved without unnecessary interference.

Buildings or structures moved or caused to be moved upon, across, or along any road or street, including city streets, shall be moved in such manner as not to unnecessarily interfere with, damage, or destroy any bridges, trees, hedges, fences, telephone or electric power poles, wires, cables, or any appurtenance upon the road or street.

Subd. 2. Permit requirement, authority.

(a) Buildings or structures together with the vehicle or vehicles moving same of a size or weight exceeding the maximums specified in chapter 169 and acts amendatory thereto shall not be moved or caused to be moved upon, across, or along any road or street without first obtaining a written permit from the road authority including road authorities of cities having supervision over such road or street. The county board as to highways under its jurisdiction may authorize the county engineer to issue the permits.

(b) When a permit is granted by the commissioner for the moving of buildings or structures exclusively on trunk highways no other permit shall be required from any political subdivision of the state for the moving of such buildings or structures on such trunk highways. When a permit is granted by the county board or county engineer for the moving of buildings or structures exclusively on highways under the jurisdiction of the county board no other permit shall be required from any political subdivision for moving such buildings or structures on such county highways.

Subd. 3.

MS 1982 [Repealed, 1983 c 293 s 115 ]

Subd. 4. Cost of removing fences, poles.

No person, firm, or corporation shall be required to displace or temporarily remove the fences, poles, wires, cables, or other appurtenances of that person, firm, or corporation to permit the moving of any building or structure upon, along, or across the road or street, nor shall guard rails and appurtenances placed upon the road or street be displaced or moved for like reason until the reasonable cost of the displacement, removal, and replacement shall have been paid or tendered.

Subd. 5. Not to apply to road-building or maintenance equipment.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to road-building or maintenance equipment while operating on a road or street under construction or maintenance.

History:

1959 c 500 art 1 s 26 ; 1961 c 748 s 1 ; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 161.242

161.242 JUNK YARD ACT.

Subdivision 1. Legislative findings and purpose.

It is hereby found that the operation of motor vehicle, agricultural, construction machinery or other junk yards adjacent to the trunk highways on which motor vehicles are operated is a distracting influence on drivers, thereby impairing the public safety; and that junk yards are unsightly, thus impairing the public investment in such highways. It is hereby found and declared that in the interest of and to promote the public safety, to protect the public investment in such highways, and to preserve natural beauty, it is necessary to regulate the operation of junk yards on lands adjacent to the trunk highways of the state.

Subd. 2. Definitions.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them.

(b) "Automobile graveyard" means any establishment or place of business which is maintained, used, or operated for storing, keeping, buying, or selling wrecked, scrapped, ruined, or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts.

(d) "Hazard signs" means signs listed in the Minnesota drivers' manual published by the Department of Public Safety, signs required by the State Fire Code, and other signs related to road or fire hazards and approved for use by the state or a political subdivision.

(e) "Industrial activities" means those activities permitted only in industrial zones, or in less restrictive zones by the nearest zoning authority within the state, or prohibited by said authority but generally recognized as industrial by other zoning authorities within the state, except that none of the following shall be considered industrial activities:

(1) outdoor advertising devices as defined in section 173.02, subdivision 16;

(2) agricultural, forestry, ranching, grazing, farming and related activities, including, but not limited to, wayside fresh produce stands;

(3) activities normally and regularly in operation less than three months of the year;

(4) activities not visible from the traffic lanes of the main-traveled way;

(5) activities conducted in a building principally used as a residence;

(6) railroad tracks, minor sidings, and passenger depots; or

(7) junk yards, as defined in paragraph (g).

(f) "Junk" means old or scrap hazard signs, copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, synthetic or organic, trash, rubber debris, waste, or junked, dismantled, or wrecked automobiles or farm or construction machinery or parts thereof, iron, steel, and other old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material.

(g) "Junk yard" means an establishment, place of business, or place of storage or deposit, which is maintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk, or for the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard, and shall include garbage dumps and sanitary fills not regulated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, any of which are wholly or partly within one-half mile of any right-of-way of any state trunk highway, including the interstate highways, whether maintained in connection with another business or not, where the waste, body, or discarded material stored is equal in bulk to five or more motor vehicles and which are to be resold for used parts or old iron, metal, glass, or other discarded material.

(h) "Unzoned industrial area" means the land occupied by the regularly used building, parking lot, storage or processing area of an industrial activity, and the land within 1,000 feet thereof which is located on the same side of the highway as the principal part of said activity, and not predominantly used for residential or commercial purposes, and not zoned by state or local law, regulation or ordinance.

Subd. 3. Unauthorized junk yards prohibited.

(a) A junk yard may not exist or be operated outside a zoned or unzoned industrial area, including those located on public lands, unless it is screened to effectively conceal it from the view of motorists using the highway. The screening required by this section may be effected by trees, shrubs, or foliage, natural objects, fences or other appropriate means as determined by standards established by the commissioner. Plantings that will eventually achieve effective screening shall be acceptable. Plantings shall be used in connection with any fence or other nonnatural screening device.

(b) A portion of a junk yard that cannot be effectively screened must be removed or relocated under the provisions of this section. A junk yard lawfully existing along a highway that is made a part of the trunk highway system after January 1, 1975, and becomes nonconforming thereby shall be effectively screened or removed or relocated within four years. Any junk yard that comes into existence after July 1, 1971 that does not conform to this section, or that becomes nonconforming after July 1, 1971, or that becomes nonconforming after action by the commissioner pursuant to this section, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and illegal, and the commissioner may enter upon the land where the junk yard is located and may screen the same, or may relocate or dispose of the junk yard after 90 days' notice to the owner or dealer thereof, if known, or to the owner of the land. In this event, no compensation shall be paid to the owner or dealer or owner of the land, and the commissioner may recover the cost of screening, removal, relocation or disposal from the owner or dealer, if known, or from the owner of the land upon which the junk yard is located. Any costs recovered by the commissioner shall be deposited in the general fund.

(c) None of the articles commonly found in junk yards shall be allowed to remain on the grounds for more than 24 hours unless within the buildings or the properly screened area as provided herein, nor shall any junk in any junk yard be allowed to extend above existing or planned screening so as to be visible from the highway.

Subd. 4. Authority; enforcement.

The commissioner shall screen junk yards when required by this section at locations on the right-of-way of the highway or on lands within 1,000 feet of the right-of-way and shall pay for the costs thereof. If screening is not feasible because of economic or topographic reasons, the commissioner shall secure the removal, relocation or disposal of such junk yard by sale, agreement, or other means, and pay for the costs thereof. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, if a junk yard exists within one-half mile of the right-of-way of any trunk highway and is visible from the highway, the commissioner may acquire easements for screening purposes up to one-half mile from the edge of the right-of-way of the highway. The commissioner shall acquire such rights and interest in property, personal or real, necessary to carry out the purposes of this section by purchase, gift, or eminent domain proceedings and shall pay just compensation therefor.

Subd. 5. Penalty.

The owner or dealer of any junk yard which is declared a public nuisance and illegal under subdivision 3, paragraph (b), or who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day such a condition exists is a separate offense.

Subd. 6. Agreements with United States.

The commissioner is authorized to do all things necessary, including, but not limited to, entering into agreements with the United States or any of its agencies or departments as provided in United States Code, title 23, section 136, with respect to control of junk yards, or any other applicable federal statute, and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, to accomplish the purposes of this section and to take such action as may be necessary to obtain all available federal money therefor.

Subd. 6a. Hazard signs must be accepted.

A dealer shall accept hazard signs only from a properly identified elected official or employee of the state or a political subdivision, who is acting within the scope of the person's official duties. A dealer is not required to pay or otherwise compensate any person or organization for taking possession of a hazard sign and is not required to take possession at a place away from the site of the dealer's junk yard.

Subd. 7. Other regulation allowed.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any right, power or authority to regulate more strictly and control the erection or maintenance of junk yards under the provisions of any other law of this state.

Subd. 8. Citation.

This section is the Junk Yard Act.

Subd. 9.

[Unnecessary]

History:

1965 c 674 s 1 -6; 1971 c 881 s 1 ; 1973 c 35 s 35 ; 1974 c 483 s 9 ; 1975 c 266 s 1 ; 1981 c 357 s 50 ; 1984 c 654 art 3 s 54 ,55; 1991 c 197 s 2 ,3; 2022 c 55 art 1 s 46

HIGHWAY LOCATION, SPECIAL SITUATIONS

Minn. Stat. § 17.03

17.03 POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER.

Subdivision 1. Development of agricultural industries.

The commissioner shall encourage and promote the development of agricultural industries, investigate marketing conditions affecting the marketing of farm products, and assist farmers, producers, and consumers in the organization and management of cooperative enterprises and the cooperative marketing of farm products; advise and assist in the location and establishment of local markets when the commissioner determines that the public necessity or the welfare of the community requires such markets, if satisfied that such markets will be successfully operated by a cooperative company or municipality. It shall be the duty of the Department of Agriculture and the University of Minnesota to cooperate in all ways that may be beneficial to the agricultural interests of the state. It is intended that police and organizational powers in reference to agriculture shall be exercised by the state Department of Agriculture and that the University of Minnesota shall retain its present powers and duties relating to obtaining and disseminating agricultural information and conducting agricultural research, and shall retain custody of scientific collections.

Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 2014 c 181 s 14 ]

Subd. 3. Cooperation with federal agencies.

(a) The commissioner shall cooperate with the government of the United States, with financial agencies created to assist in the development of the agricultural resources of this state, and so far as practicable may use the facilities provided by the existing state departments and the various state and local organizations. This subdivision is intended to relate to every function and duty which devolves upon the commissioner.

(b) The commissioner may apply for, receive, and disburse federal funds made available to the state by federal law or regulation for any purpose related to the powers and duties of the commissioner. All money received by the commissioner under this paragraph shall be deposited in the state treasury and is appropriated to the commissioner for the purposes for which it was received. Money made available under this paragraph may be paid pursuant to applicable federal regulations and rate structures. Money received under this paragraph does not cancel and is available for expenditure according to federal law. The commissioner may contract with and enter into grant agreements with persons, organizations, educational institutions, firms, corporations, other state agencies, and any agency or instrumentality of the federal government to carry out agreements made with the federal government relating to the expenditure of money under this paragraph. Bid requirements under chapter 16C do not apply to contracts under this paragraph.

Subd. 4. Publication of information.

The commissioner is authorized to publish, from time to time, such marketing or other information as may be deemed necessary to the welfare of agriculture, and to that end may investigate marketing or other conditions relating to agriculture in this and in other states, and to make these investigations public in such manner as shall in the commissioner's judgment be most effective.

Subd. 5.

[Repealed, 1987 c 312 art 1 s 25 ; 1987 c 396 art 10 s 7 ]

Subd. 6. Cooperation with Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The commissioner of agriculture and the commissioner of employment and economic development shall cooperate with each other to promote the beneficial agricultural interests of the state. The commissioner of agriculture has primary responsibility for promoting state agricultural interests to international markets. The commissioner of agriculture is also responsible for the promotion of national trade programs related to international marketing. The commissioner of agriculture has primary responsibility for promoting the agriculture interests of producers, promoting state agricultural markets, and promoting agricultural interests of the state in cooperative production and marketing efforts with other states and the United States Department of Agriculture. The commissioner of agriculture is also responsible for promoting the national and international marketing of state agricultural products.

Subd. 7. Agricultural diversification.

The commissioner shall establish a program of agricultural diversification. The commissioner must assist the horticultural industry, help producers diversify farming operations, and coordinate state agency efforts regarding agricultural diversification, after consulting with farm groups, the University of Minnesota, and applicable institutions of higher learning. The commissioner shall report to the governor and legislature annually on activities and actions that should be taken in these matters.

Subd. 7a. Nontraditional agriculture; promotion.

(a) The commissioner shall devise means of advancing the production and marketing of nontraditional agricultural products of the state. The commissioner shall also seek the cooperation and involvement of every department or agency of the state, and such public and nonpublic organizations as the commissioner deems appropriate, for the promotion of nontraditional agricultural products.

(b) The production and marketing of nontraditional agricultural products are considered agricultural pursuits.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in law, the commissioner may adopt appropriate rules concerning health standards for nontraditional agriculture.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in law, the slaughter of all meat producing animals, fowl, or fish that are nontraditional agriculture intended for sale in commercial outlets must occur at an inspected slaughterhouse.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in law, it is the responsibility of an owner to take all reasonable actions to maintain the nontraditional agriculture on property owned or leased by the owner, including the construction of fences, enclosures, or other barriers, and housing of a suitable design.

(f) For purposes of this subdivision, "nontraditional agriculture" and "nontraditional agricultural products" includes but is not limited to aquaculture as defined in section 17.47, subdivision 2 , and the production of animals domesticated from wild stock, either native or nonnative, that are kept in confinement by the owner.

Subd. 8.

[Repealed, 2003 c 128 art 13 s 40 ]

Subd. 9. Farm crisis assistance fees; liability.

(a) The department may charge a fee for farm crisis assistance services it provides to persons outside of the department.

(b) The state is not liable for the actions of persons under contract with the department who provide farm crisis assistance services as part of their contractual duties. Persons who provide farm crisis assistance are not subject to liability for their actions that are within the scope of their contract. The immunity from liability in this subdivision is in addition to and not a limitation of immunity otherwise accorded to the state and its contractors under law.

(d) Persons under contract with the department to provide farm crisis assistance are not employees of the state.

Subd. 10. Gifts; publication fees; advertising; appropriation.

(a) The commissioner may accept for and on behalf of the state any gift, bequest, devise, grant, or interest in money or personal property of any kind tendered to the state for any purpose pertaining to the activities of the Department of Agriculture or any of its divisions.

(b) The commissioner may charge a fee for reports, publications, or other promotional or informational material produced by the Department of Agriculture. The commissioner may solicit and accept advertising revenue for any departmental publications or promotional materials.

(c) The fees collected by the commissioner under this section are to recover all or part of the costs of providing services for which the fees are paid.

(d) Money received by the commissioner for these activities may be credited to one or more special accounts in the state treasury. Money in those special accounts is annually appropriated to the commissioner to provide the services for which the money was received.

Subd. 11. Mission; efficiency.

It is part of the department's mission that within the department's resources the commissioner shall endeavor to:

(1) prevent the waste or unnecessary spending of public money;

(2) use innovative fiscal and human resource practices to manage the state's resources and operate the department as efficiently as possible;

(3) coordinate the department's activities wherever appropriate with the activities of other governmental agencies;

(4) use technology where appropriate to increase agency productivity, improve customer service, increase public access to information about government, and increase public participation in the business of government;

(5) utilize constructive and cooperative labor-management practices to the extent otherwise required by chapters 43A and 179A;

(6) report to the legislature on the performance of agency operations and the accomplishment of agency goals in the agency's biennial budget according to section 16A.10, subdivision 1 ; and

(7) recommend to the legislature appropriate changes in law necessary to carry out the mission and improve the performance of the department.

Subd. 11a. Permitting efficiency goal and report.

(a) It is the goal of the Department of Agriculture that environmental and resource management permits be issued or denied within 150 days of the submission of a completed permit application. The commissioner of agriculture shall establish management systems designed to achieve the goal.

(b) The commissioner shall prepare an annual permitting efficiency report that includes statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a). The report is due February 1 of each year. For permit applications that have not met the goal, the report must state the reasons for not meeting the goal, steps that will be taken to complete action on the application, and the expected timeline. In stating the reasons for not meeting the goal, the commissioner shall separately identify delays caused by the responsiveness of the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or technical disagreements, or the level of public engagement. The report must specify the number of days from initial submission of the application to the day of determination that the application is complete. The report must aggregate the data for the year and assess whether program or system changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted on the department website and submitted to the governor and the chairs of the house of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over agriculture policy and finance.

Subd. 12. Contracts; appropriation.

The commissioner may accept money as part of a contract with any public or private entity to provide statutorily prescribed services by the department. A contract must specify the services to be provided by the department and the amount and method of reimbursement. Money generated in a contractual agreement under this section must be deposited in a special revenue fund and is appropriated to the department for purposes of providing services specified in the contracts. Contracts under this section must be processed in accordance with section

Minn. Stat. § 17.118

17.118 LIVESTOCK INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1. Establishment.

The commissioner may award a livestock investment grant to an eligible applicant who raises livestock in this state equal to 50 percent of the first $20,000 of qualifying expenditures and 25 percent of the next $220,000 of qualifying expenditures. The commissioner may award multiple livestock investment grants to a person over the life of the program and shall give preference to applicants who have not previously received a grant under this section.

Subd. 2. Definitions.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given.

(b) "Livestock" means animals raised for the production of fiber, meat, and animal by-products for sale or as breeding stock, including but not limited to beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, poultry, goats, mules, farmed Cervidae, Ratitae, bison, sheep, horses, aquaculture, and llamas.

(1) the acquisition, construction, or improvement of buildings or facilities for the production of livestock or livestock products;

(2) the development of pasture for use by livestock including, but not limited to, the acquisition, development, or improvement of:

(i) lanes used by livestock that connect pastures to a central location;

(ii) watering systems for livestock on pasture including water lines, booster pumps, and well installations;

(iii) livestock stream crossing stabilization; and

(iv) fences; or

(3) the acquisition of equipment for livestock housing, confinement, feeding, and waste management including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) freestall barns;

(ii) watering facilities;

(iii) feed storage and handling equipment;

(iv) milking parlors;

(v) robotic equipment;

(vi) scales;

(vii) milk storage and cooling facilities;

(viii) bulk tanks;

(ix) computer hardware and software and associated equipment used to monitor the productivity and feeding of livestock;

(x) manure pumping and storage facilities;

(xi) swine farrowing facilities;

(xii) swine and cattle finishing barns;

(xiii) calving facilities;

(xiv) digesters;

(xv) equipment used to produce energy;

(xvi) on-farm processing facilities equipment;

(xvii) fences, including but not limited to farmed Cervidae perimeter fences required under section 35.155, subdivision 4 ; and

(xviii) livestock pens and corrals and sorting, restraining, and loading chutes.

Except for qualifying pasture development expenditures under clause (2), qualifying expenditures only include amounts that are allowed to be capitalized and deducted under either section 167 or 179 of the Internal Revenue Code in computing federal taxable income. Qualifying expenditures do not include an amount paid to refinance existing debt.

Subd. 3. Eligibility.

To be eligible for a livestock investment grant, an applicant must:

(1) be a resident of Minnesota, a unit of Tribal government, or an entity specifically defined in section

Minn. Stat. § 219.34

219.34 FENCE BETWEEN RAILROAD AND PUBLIC ROAD.

If a railroad company fails to fence its line where it adjoins a public road or street, or lies so near as to render travel on it dangerous, the governing body of the town or municipality having charge of the road or street, by notice as in the case of an abutting landowner, may require the fence to be built. In case of failure to build the fence within the time provided in section

Minn. Stat. § 222.48

222.48 have the same meanings when used in this section. Other terms used in this section have the following meanings:

(a) "Abandoned," when used with reference to a rail line or right-of-way, means a line or right-of-way with respect to which the Surface Transportation Board or other responsible federal regulatory agency has permitted discontinuance of rail service.

(b) "Right-of-way" means any real property, including any interest in the real property that is or has been owned by a railroad company as the site, or is adjacent to the site, of an existing or former rail line.

(c) "State rail bank" means abandoned rail lines and right-of-way acquired by the commissioner of transportation pursuant to this section.

Subd. 2. Purpose.

A state rail bank shall be established for the acquisition and preservation of abandoned rail lines and rights-of-way, and of rail lines and rights-of-way proposed for abandonment in a railroad company's system diagram map, for future public use including trail use, or for disposition for commercial use in serving the public, by providing transportation of persons or freight or transmission of energy, fuel, or other commodities. Abandoned rail lines and rights-of-way may be acquired for trail use by another state agency or department or by a political subdivision only if (1) no future commercial transportation use is identified by the commissioner, and (2) the commissioner and the owner of the abandoned rail line have not entered into or are not conducting good-faith negotiations for acquisition of the property.

Subd. 2a. Acquisition.

The commissioner of transportation may acquire by purchase all or part of any abandoned rail line or right-of-way or rail line or right-of-way proposed for abandonment in a railroad company's system diagram map which is necessary for preservation in the state rail bank to meet the future public and commercial transportation and transmission needs of the state. The commissioner may acquire by eminent domain under chapter 117 an interest in abandoned rail lines or rights-of-way except that the commissioner may not acquire by eminent domain rail lines or rights-of-way that are not abandoned or are owned by a political subdivision of the state or by another state. All property taken by exercise of the power of eminent domain under this subdivision is declared to be taken for a public governmental purpose and as a matter of public necessity.

Subd. 2b. Eligible property.

An abandoned rail line or right-of-way is eligible for preservation in the state rail bank if the commissioner determines that it provides or may be used to provide one or more of the following:

(1) access to a present or proposed major energy generating or using facility such as an electrical generating plant, major heating plant or other major industrial user of energy;

(2) access to a major storage or terminal facility in the marketing of agricultural commodities or forest products;

(3) important access to surrounding states;

(4) a present or potential corridor for a pipeline, electrical transmission line, highway, transit route, rail freight or passenger line or other similar transportation or transmission use; or

(5) access to an extractive resource requiring rail or other transportation or transmission service for its development.

Subd. 2c. Preservation.

The commissioner shall provide for the maintenance, including control of weeds, of any rail line or right-of-way that is acquired for the rail bank, and for its management in a manner that minimizes maintenance costs and provides a benefit to the state. The commissioner may also require that any existing rail line on acquired right-of-way shall not be removed during any part or all of the period for which the right-of-way is included in the state rail bank.

Subd. 3. Public and agency participation.

If the commissioner desires to acquire, dispose of or utilize any right-of-way which is permitted to be or has been acquired pursuant to authorization under subdivision 2, the commissioner shall publish a notice of the proposed action in the state register and in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each area where the right-of-way is located. If any person objects in writing to the proposed action within 30 days of publication of notice the commissioner shall proceed in the manner provided for a contested case. If no written objection is received the commissioner may take the proposed action only after holding a public meeting to seek public comment on the action. At least one hearing or meeting required under this subdivision shall be held in the area where the right-of-way is located.

Subd. 4. Disposition permitted.

(a) The commissioner may lease any rail line or right-of-way held in the state rail bank or enter into an agreement with any person for the operation of any rail line or right-of-way for any of the purposes set forth in subdivision 2 in accordance with a fee schedule to be developed by the commissioner.

(b) The commissioner may convey any rail line or right-of-way, for consideration or for no consideration and upon other terms as the commissioner may determine to be in the public interest, to any other state agency or to a governmental subdivision of the state having power by law to utilize it for any of the purposes set forth in subdivision 2.

(c) The commissioner may convey a portion of previously acquired rail bank right-of-way to a state agency or governmental subdivision when the commissioner determines that:

(1) the portion to be conveyed is in excess of that needed for the purposes stated in subdivision 2;

(2) the conveyance is upon terms and conditions agreed upon by both the commissioner and the state agency or governmental subdivision;

(3) after the sale, the rail bank corridor will continue to meet the future public and commercial transportation and transmission needs of the state; and

(4) the conveyance will not reduce the width of the rail bank corridor to less than 100 feet.

(d) The commissioner may lease previously acquired state rail bank right-of-way to a state agency or governmental subdivision or to a private entity for nontransportation purposes when:

(1) the portion to be leased is in excess of that needed for the purposes stated in subdivision 2;

(2) the lease will not reduce the usable width of the rail bank corridor to less than 100 feet;

(3) the cost of the lease is based on the fair market value of the portion to be leased, as determined by appraisal;

(4) the lease allows the commissioner to terminate the lease on 90 days' written notice to the lessee; and

(5) the lease prohibits the construction or erection of any permanent structure within the 100-foot rail bank corridor and requires any structure erected on the leased property to be removed and the land restored to its original condition on 90 days' written notice to the lessee.

(e) Proceeds from a sale or lease must be deposited in the rail bank maintenance account described in subdivision 8.

Subd. 5.

[Repealed, 1992 c 581 s 21 ]

Subd. 6. Intervention in abandonment proceeding.

The commissioner may intervene in a proceeding of the Surface Transportation Board on the issue of suitability for a public use of a rail line proposed to be abandoned if the commissioner finds that the right-of-way of the line would be eligible for inclusion in the state rail bank. To the extent practicable before intervening as provided in this section the commissioner shall hold at least one public meeting in the area in which the line is located to solicit opinions of interested persons concerning the commissioner's proposed action.

Subd. 7. Rules for eligibility and procedures.

The commissioner of transportation shall adopt rules necessary to establish criteria for properties eligible for inclusion in the rail bank and to establish public procedures for acquisition and disposition of rail bank properties.

Subd. 8. Rail bank accounts.

A special account shall be maintained in the state treasury, designated as the rail bank maintenance account, to record the receipts and expenditures of the commissioner of transportation for the maintenance of rail bank property. Funds received by the commissioner of transportation from interest earnings, administrative payments, rentals, fees, or charges for the use of rail bank property, or received from rail line rehabilitation contracts shall be credited to the maintenance account and used for the maintenance of that property and held as a reserve for maintenance expenses in an amount determined by the commissioner, and amounts received in the maintenance account in excess of the reserve requirements shall be transferred to the rail service improvement account.

All proceeds of the sale of abandoned rail lines shall be deposited in the rail service improvement account. All money to be deposited in this rail service improvement account as provided in this subdivision is appropriated to the commissioner of transportation for the purposes of this section.

The appropriations shall not lapse but shall be available until the purposes for which the funds are appropriated are accomplished.

Subd. 9. Rail bank property use; penalties.

(a) Except for the actions of road authorities and their agents, employees, and contractors, and of utilities, in carrying out their duties imposed by permit, law, or contract, and except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful to knowingly perform any of the following activities on rail bank property:

(1) obstruct any trail;

(2) deposit snow or ice;

(3) remove or place any earth, vegetation, gravel, or rock without authorization;

(4) obstruct or remove any ditch-draining device, or drain any harmful or dangerous materials;

(5) erect a fence, or place or maintain any advertising, sign, or memorial, except upon authorization by the commissioner of transportation;

(6) remove, injure, displace, or destroy right-of-way markers or reference or witness monuments or markers placed to preserve section or quarter-section corners defining rail bank property limits;

(7) drive upon any portion of rail bank property, except at approved crossings, and except where authorized for snowmobiles, emergency vehicles, maintenance vehicles, or other vehicles authorized to use rail bank property;

(8) deface, mar, damage, or tamper with any structure, work, material, sign, marker, paving, guardrail, drain, or any other rail bank appurtenance;

(9) park, overhang, or abandon any unauthorized vehicle or implement of husbandry on, across, or over the limits of rail bank property;

(10) plow, disc, or perform any other detrimental operation; or

(11) place or maintain any permanent structure.

(b) Unless a greater penalty is provided elsewhere in statute, a violation of this subdivision is a petty misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor.

(c) The cost to remove, repair, or perform any other corrective action necessitated by a violation of this subdivision may be charged to the violator.

History:

1980 c 558 s 3 ; 1981 c 338 s 4 -7; 1982 c 424 s 60 ; 1986 c 444 ; 1988 c 686 art 1 s 71 ,72; 1989 c 299 s 9 ; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 16 ; 1992 c 581 s 17 -19; 1994 c 635 art 1 s 28 ; 1999 c 154 s 3 ; 1999 c 230 s 27 ; 2000 c 260 s 97 ; 1Sp2001 c 8 art 2 s 60 ; 2003 c 2 art 4 s 13 ,14; 2008 c 287 art 1 s 88 ,89; 2012 c 287 art 3 s 47

RAILROAD PROPERTY, FIRST REFUSAL

Minn. Stat. § 240.06

240.06 RACETRACK LICENSES.

Subdivision 1. Application.

The commission may issue one or more class A licenses, but not more than one to any one person. An application for a class A license must be on a form the commission prescribes and must be accompanied by detailed plans and specifications of the track, buildings, fences, and other improvements. The application must contain:

(1) the name and address of the applicant and, if it is a corporation, the names of all officers, directors, and shareholders of the corporation and any of its holding corporations;

(2) if required by the commission, the names of any person or persons holding directly, indirectly, or beneficially an interest of any kind in the applicant or any of its holding corporations, whether the interest is financial, administrative, policy making, or supervisory;

(3) a statement of the assets and liabilities of the applicant;

(4) an affidavit executed by the applicant setting forth that no officer, director, or other person with a present or future direct or indirect financial or management interest in the racetrack, to the best of the applicant's knowledge:

(i) is in default in the payment of an obligation or debt to the state under this chapter;

(ii) has ever been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court or has a state or federal felony charge pending;

(iii) is or has been connected with or engaged in any illegal business;

(iv) has ever been found guilty of fraud or misrepresentation in connection with racing or breeding;

(v) has ever been found guilty of a violation of a law or rule relating to horse racing, pari-mutuel betting or any other form of gambling which is a serious violation as defined by the commission's rules; or

(vi) has ever knowingly violated a rule or order of the commission or a law of Minnesota relating to racing;

(5) an irrevocable consent statement, to be signed by the applicant, which states that suits and actions relating to the subject matter of the application or acts or omissions arising from it may be commenced against the applicant in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state by the service on the secretary of state of any summons, process, or pleadings authorized by the laws of this state. If any summons, process, or pleadings is served upon the secretary of state, it must be by duplicate copies. One copy must be retained in the Office of the Secretary of State and the other copy must be forwarded immediately by certified mail to the address of the applicant, as shown by the records of the commission; and

(6) an affirmative action plan establishing goals and timetables consistent with the Minnesota Human Rights Act, chapter 363A, and in conformity with the goals established by the commission by rule.

Subd. 2. Hearings.

Before granting a class A license the commission shall conduct one or more public hearings in the area where the racetrack is or will be located. The commission shall also request comments on the application from the city council or town board of the city or town where the track is or will be located, or from the county board if it is to be located outside a city or town and from the appropriate regional development commission or the Metropolitan Council, as the case may be.

Subd. 3. Investigation.

Before granting a class A license the commission shall conduct, or request the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement to conduct, a comprehensive background and financial investigation of the applicant and sources of financing. The commission may charge an applicant an investigation fee to cover the cost of the investigation, and shall from this fee reimburse the division of alcohol and gambling enforcement for its share of the cost of the investigation. The commission has access to all criminal history data compiled by the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement on class A licensees and applicants.

Subd. 4. License issuance.

If after considering the information received at the hearing or hearings and the comments requested under subdivision 2, the commission determines that the license will not adversely affect the public health, welfare, and safety, that the racetrack will be operated in accordance with all applicable laws and rules, that the license will not create a competitive situation that will adversely affect racing and the public interest, and that the applicant is financially able to operate a licensed racetrack, it may issue a class A license to the applicant. The license is effective until revoked or suspended by the commission or relinquished by the licensee.

Subd. 5. Prohibited locations.

A class A license may not be issued to any location where the operation of a racetrack is prohibited by a valid local zoning ordinance. Not more than one class A license may be issued by the commission within the seven-county metropolitan area.

Subd. 5a. Additional license; metropolitan area.

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision 5, the commission may issue one additional class A license within the seven-county metropolitan area, provided that the additional license may only be issued for a facility:

(1) located more than 20 miles from any other racetrack in existence on January 1, 1987;

(2) containing a track no larger than five-eighths of a mile in circumference;

(3) at which standardbred racing is the only form of live horse racing conducted;

(4) not owned or operated by a governmental entity or a nonprofit organization; and

(5) that has a current road or highway system adequate to facilitate present and future vehicular traffic expeditiously to and from the facility.

The consideration of clause (5) shall prevail when two competing licensees are relatively equal regarding other considerations mandated by law or rule.

(b) An application for an additional class A license within the seven-county metropolitan area may not delay or adversely affect an application for a class A license for a facility to be located outside the seven-county metropolitan area.

Subd. 5b. Sharing of purse set-aside and breeders fund revenue.

Notwithstanding subdivision 5, a class A licensed racetrack operating within the seven-county metropolitan area may:

(1) enter into an agreement with a horsepersons' organization that represents a breed other than the breed racing at the licensee's racetrack under which the licensee agrees to pay a percentage of simulcasting or card club revenues to the purse set-aside account of another class A licensed racetrack operating within the seven-county metropolitan area. The licensee may only enter into such an agreement with a horsepersons' organization that represents a breed other than the breed racing at the licensee's racetrack. All amounts contributed to a class A racetrack under such an agreement must go to purses for races run at that racetrack; and

(2) conduct simulcasting on all breeds of horses if it:

(i) enters into an agreement with another class A licensed racetrack within the seven-county metropolitan area regarding simulcasting of any breed of horses raced at such other class A licensed racetrack that the class A racetrack elects to simulcast; and

(ii) contributes to the purse set-aside account of another class A licensed racetrack operating within the seven-county metropolitan area, and to the breeders fund, an amount equal to the amount that would have been contributed to the set-aside account and the breeders fund, as required by statute, if the simulcast had been conducted at such other class A licensed racetrack. The percentages used to determine the amount of the simulcast contribution to the purse set-aside account and the breeders fund will be the percentage required under law. Contributions to the purse set-aside account shall be used by such other class A licensed racetrack for purses for races conducted by that racetrack in the same manner as if the simulcast had occurred at that racetrack.

Subd. 6. Changes in ownership or management.

If a change in the officers, directors, shareholders, or other persons with a present or future direct or indirect financial or management interest in the licensee, or a change of ownership of more than five percent of the licensee's shares is made after the application is filed or the license issued, the applicant or licensee must notify the commission of the changes within five days of their occurrence and provide the affidavit required by subdivision 1, clause (4).

Subd. 7. License suspension and revocation.

The commission:

(1) may revoke a class A license for (i) a violation of law, order, or rule which in the commission's opinion adversely affects the integrity of horse racing in Minnesota, or for an intentional false statement made in a license application, or (ii) a willful failure to pay any money required to be paid by Laws 1983, chapter 214;

(2) may revoke a class A license for failure to perform material covenants or representations made in a license application; and

(3) shall revoke a class A license if live racing has not been conducted on at least 50 racing days assigned by the commission during any period of 12 consecutive months, unless the commission authorizes a shorter period because of circumstances beyond the licensee's control pursuant to section 240.30, subdivision 5 .

The commission may suspend a class A license for up to one year for a violation of law, order, or rule which in the commission's opinion adversely affects the integrity of horse racing in Minnesota, and may suspend a class A license indefinitely if it determines that the licensee has as an officer, director, shareholder, or other person with a direct, indirect, or beneficial interest a person who is in the commission's opinion inimical to the integrity of horse racing in Minnesota or who cannot be certified under subdivision 1, clause (4).

A license revocation or suspension under this subdivision is a contested case under sections

Minn. Stat. § 240.09

240.09 COUNTY FAIR LICENSES.

Subdivision 1. Application.

The commission may issue class D licenses to county agricultural societies or associations incorporated under chapter 38 or nonprofit corporations organized under chapter 317A in existence and operating fairs on April 21, 1951, to conduct and manage, on their own fairgrounds, horse racing on which pari-mutuel betting is conducted. An application for a class D license must be on a form the commission prescribes and must be accompanied by a certified copy of a resolution of the county board of the county where racing is to be conducted stating that it has reviewed the license application and does not object to it. An application for a class D license must be accompanied by detailed plans and specifications of the track, buildings, fences, and other improvements.

Subd. 2. Occupational licenses.

A person who participates in the management or conduct of horse racing or pari-mutuel betting for a county fair holding a class D license who is in an occupation listed in section 240.08, subdivision 1 , or the rules of the commission must have a class C license from the commission except for active members, as defined in section

Minn. Stat. § 297A.69

297A.69 AGRICULTURAL EXEMPTIONS.

Subdivision 1. Scope.

The gross receipts from the sale of, and storage, distribution, use, or consumption of the items contained in this section are specifically exempted from the taxes imposed by this chapter.

Subd. 2. Materials consumed in agricultural production.

Materials stored, used, or consumed in agricultural production of personal property intended to be sold ultimately at retail are exempt, whether or not the item becomes an ingredient or constituent part of the property produced. Materials that qualify for this exemption include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) feeds, seeds, trees, fertilizers, and herbicides, including when purchased for use by farmers in a federal or state farm or conservation program;

(2) materials sold to a veterinarian to be used or consumed in the care, medication, and treatment of agricultural production animals and horses;

(3) chemicals, including chemicals used for cleaning food processing machinery and equipment;

(4) materials, including chemicals, fuels, and electricity purchased by persons engaged in agricultural production to treat waste generated as a result of the production process;

(5) fuels, electricity, gas, and steam used or consumed in the production process, including electricity, gas, or steam used for space heating, cooling, or lighting of facilities housing agricultural animals;

(6) petroleum products and lubricants;

(7) packaging materials, including returnable containers used in packaging food and beverage products; and

(8) accessory tools and equipment that are separate detachable units with an ordinary useful life of less than 12 months used in producing a direct effect upon the product.

Machinery, equipment, implements, tools, accessories, appliances, contrivances, and furniture and fixtures, except those listed in this clause are not included within this exemption.

Subd. 3. Repair and replacement parts.

Repair and replacement parts, except tires, used for maintenance or repair of farm machinery, logging equipment, and aquaculture production equipment are exempt, if the part replaces a machinery part assigned a specific or generic part number by the manufacturer of the machinery.

Subd. 4. Machinery, equipment, and fencing.

The following machinery, equipment, and fencing is exempt:

(1) farm machinery;

(2) logging equipment, including chain saws used for commercial logging;

(3) fencing used for the containment of farmed Cervidae, as defined in section 35.153, subdivision 3 ;

(4) primary and backup generator units used to generate electricity for the purpose of operating farm machinery, aquacultural production equipment, or logging equipment, or providing light or space heating necessary for the production of livestock, dairy animals, dairy products, or poultry and poultry products; and

(5) aquaculture production equipment.

Subd. 5.

MS 2004 [Repealed, 2003 c 127 art 1 s 34 ]

Subd. 6. Horses; related materials.

(a) Horses, including racehorses, are exempt.

(b) Materials, including feed and bedding, used or consumed in the breeding, raising, owning, boarding, and keeping of horses are exempt. Machinery, equipment, implements, tools, appliances, furniture, and fixtures used in the breeding, raising, owning, boarding, and keeping of horses are not included within this exemption.

Subd. 7. Feed for poultry raised for human consumption.

Poultry feed is exempt if the poultry is raised for human consumption.

History:

2000 c 418 art 1 s 13 ,44 subd 3; 2000 c 490 art 8 s 4 ,16; 1Sp2001 c 5 art 12 s 55 ; 2003 c 127 art 6 s 12 -14; 2006 c 212 art 1 s 22 ; 2008 c 154 art 12 s 32

Minn. Stat. § 3.7371

3.7371 COMPENSATION FOR CROP OR FENCE DAMAGE CAUSED BY ELK.

Subdivision 1. Authorization.

Notwithstanding section 3.736, subdivision 3 , paragraph (e), or any other law, a person who owns an agricultural crop or pasture shall be compensated by the commissioner of agriculture for an agricultural crop, or fence surrounding the crop or pasture, that is damaged or destroyed by elk as provided in this section.

Subd. 1a. Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given.

(b) "Approved agent" means a person authorized by the Department of Agriculture to determine if crop or fence damage was caused by elk and to assign a monetary value to the crop or fence damage.

(d) "Estimated value" means the current value of crops or fencing as determined by an approved agent.

(e) "Owner" means an individual, firm, corporation, copartnership, or association with an interest in crops or fencing damaged by elk.

Subd. 2. Claim form and reporting.

(a) The owner must prepare a claim on forms provided by the commissioner and available on the Department of Agriculture website or by request from the commissioner.

(b) After discovering crop or fence damage suspected to be caused by elk, an owner must promptly notify an approved agent of the damage. To submit a claim for crop or fence damage caused by elk, an owner must complete the required portions of the claim form provided by the commissioner. An owner who has submitted a claim must provide an approved agent with all information required to investigate the crop or fence damage.

Subd. 2a. Investigation and crop valuation.

(a) Upon receiving notification of crop or fence damage suspected to be caused by elk, an approved agent must promptly investigate the damage in a timely manner. An approved agent must make written findings on the claim form regarding whether the crop or fence was destroyed or damaged by elk. The approved agent's findings must be based on physical and circumstantial evidence, including:

(1) the condition of the crop or fence;

(2) the presence of elk tracks;

(3) the geographic area of the state where the crop or fence damage occurred;

(4) any sightings of elk in the area; and

(5) any other circumstances that the approved agent considers to be relevant.

(b) The absence of affirmative evidence may be grounds for denial of a claim.

(c) On a claim form, an approved agent must make written findings of the extent of crop or fence damage and, if applicable, the amount of crop destroyed.

(d) For damage to standing crops, an owner may choose to have the approved agent use the method in clause (1) or (2) to complete the claim form and determine the amount of crop loss:

(1) to submit a claim form to the commissioner at the time that the suspected elk damage is discovered, the approved agent must record on the claim form: (i) the field's potential yield per acre; (ii) the field's average yield per acre that is expected on the damaged acres; (iii) the estimated value of the crop; and (iv) the total amount of loss. Upon completing the claim form, the approved agent must submit the form to the commissioner; or

(2) to submit a claim form to the commissioner at the time that the crop is harvested, the approved agent must record on the claim form at the time of the investigation: (i) the percent of crop loss from damage; (ii) the actual yield of the damaged field when the crop is harvested; (iii) the estimated value of the crop; and (iv) the total amount of loss. Upon completing the claim form, the approved agent must submit the form to the commissioner.

(e) For damage to stored crops, an approved agent must record on the claim form: (1) the type and volume of destroyed stored crops; (2) the estimated value of the crop; and (3) the total amount of loss.

(f) For damage to fencing, an approved agent must record on the claim form: (1) the type of materials damaged; (2) the linear feet of the damage; (3) the value of the materials per unit according to National Resource Conservation Service specifications; and (4) the calculated total damage to the fence.

Subd. 2b. Claim form.

A completed claim form must be signed by the owner and an approved agent. An approved agent must submit the claim form to the commissioner for the commissioner's review and payment. The commissioner must return an incomplete claim form to the approved agent. When returning an incomplete claim form to an approved agent, the commissioner must indicate which information is missing from the claim form.

Subd. 3. Compensation.

(a) An owner is entitled to the estimated value of the damaged or destroyed crop or fence. Verification of crop or fence damage by elk may be provided by submitting photographs or other evidence and documentation using forms prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner, upon recommendation of the commissioner's approved agent, shall determine whether the crop damage or destruction or damage to or destruction of a fence surrounding a crop or pasture is caused by elk and, if so, the amount of the crop or fence that is damaged or destroyed. In any fiscal year, an owner may not be compensated for a damaged or destroyed crop or fence surrounding a crop or pasture that is less than $100 in value and may be compensated up to $20,000, as determined under this section. An owner may not be compensated more than $1,800 per fiscal year for damage to fencing surrounding a crop or pasture.

(b) In any fiscal year, the commissioner may provide compensation for claims filed under this section up to the amount expressly appropriated for this purpose.

Subd. 4. Insurance deduction.

Payments authorized by this section must be reduced by amounts received by the owner as proceeds from an insurance policy covering crop losses or damage to or destruction of a fence surrounding a crop or pasture, or from any other source for the same purpose including, but not limited to, a federal program.

Subd. 5. Decision on claims; opening land to hunting.

If the commissioner finds that the owner has shown that the damage or destruction of the owner's crop or damage to or destruction of a fence surrounding a crop or pasture was caused more probably than not by elk, the commissioner shall pay compensation as provided in this section and the rules of the commissioner. An owner who receives compensation under this section may, by written permission, permit hunting on the land at the landowner's discretion.

Subd. 6. Denial of claim; appeal.

(a) If the commissioner denies compensation claimed by an owner under this section, the commissioner shall issue a written decision based upon the available evidence including a statement of the facts upon which the decision is based and the conclusions on the material issues of the claim. A copy of the decision must be mailed to the owner.

(b) A decision denying compensation claimed under this section is not subject to the contested case review procedures of chapter 14, but an owner may have the claim reviewed in a trial de novo in a court in the county where the loss occurred. The decision of the court may be appealed as in other civil cases. Review in court may be obtained by filing a petition for review with the administrator of the court within 60 days following receipt of a decision under this section. Upon the filing of a petition, the administrator shall mail a copy to the commissioner and set a time for hearing within 90 days after the filing.

Subd. 7.

MS 2022 [Repealed, 2024 c 126 art 2 s 73 ; 2024 c 127 art 38 s 73 ]

Subd. 8. Report.

The commissioner must submit a report to the chairs of the house of representatives and senate committees and divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture and environment and natural resources by December 15 each year that details the total amount of damages paid, by elk herd, in the previous two fiscal years.

History:

1987 c 373 s 2 ; 1988 c 469 art 1 s 1 ; 1995 c 33 s 1 ; 2007 c 45 art 1 s 7 ; 2009 c 94 art 1 s 7 ; 1Sp2011 c 2 art 5 s 1 ; 2016 c 184 s 1 ; 2017 c 88 art 2 s 1 ; 2024 c 126 art 2 s 1 -5; 2024 c 127 art 38 s 1 -5

Minn. Stat. § 306.10

306.10 USE OF FUNDS; GRANTS IN TRUST.

Proceeds from the sales of lots and personal property not invested as hereinafter provided shall be applied solely to pay debts incurred in purchasing cemetery grounds and property, to fence, improve, and beautify the grounds and the avenues leading to the grounds, and to defray the necessary expenses of their management and care. Real or personal property given to an association to maintain a monument or to keep or improve grounds within the cemetery must always be applied to the uses for which the property was given.

History:

( 7563 ) RL s 2941 ; 1988 c 469 art 5 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 306.12

306.12 ACTION FOR DAMAGES.

Every such cemetery association may recover, in its own name, all damages resulting from injury to or destruction of any stone, monument, building, fence, railing, or other work for protection or ornament, or any tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of the cemetery.

History:

( 7566 ) RL s 2944 ; 1988 c 469 art 5 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 307.08

307.08 DAMAGES; ILLEGAL MOLESTATION OF HUMAN REMAINS; BURIALS; CEMETERIES; PENALTY; ASSESSMENT.

Subdivision 1. Legislative intent; scope.

It is a declaration and statement of legislative intent that all human burials, human remains, and human burial grounds shall be accorded equal treatment and respect for human dignity without reference to their ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds, or religious affiliations. The provisions of this section shall apply to all human burials, human remains, or human burial grounds found on or in all public or private lands or waters in Minnesota. Within the boundaries of Tribal Nation reservations, nothing in this section should be interpreted to conflict with federal law, including the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), United States Code, title 25, section 3001 et seq., and its implementing regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, title 43, part 10.

Subd. 2. Felony; gross misdemeanor.

(a) A person who intentionally, willfully, or knowingly does any of the following is guilty of a felony:

(1) destroys, mutilates, or injures human burials, human burial grounds, or associated grave goods; or

(2) without the consent of the appropriate authority, disturbs human burial grounds or removes human remains or associated grave goods.

(b) A person who, without the consent of the appropriate authority and the landowner, intentionally, willfully, or knowingly does any of the following is guilty of a gross misdemeanor:

(1) removes any tombstone, monument, or structure placed in any public or private cemetery or assessed human burial ground; or

(2) removes any fence, railing, natural stone, or other work erected for protection or ornament, or any tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of a public or private cemetery or assessed human burial ground; or

(3) discharges any firearms upon or over the grounds of any public or private cemetery or assessed burial ground.

(c) A person who intentionally, willfully, or knowingly fails to comply with any other provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 3. Protective posting.

Upon the agreement of the appropriate authority and the landowner, an authenticated or recorded human burial ground may be posted for protective purposes every 75 feet around its perimeter with signs listing the activities prohibited by subdivision 2 and the penalty for violation of it. Posting is at the discretion of the Indian Affairs Council in the case of American Indian burials or at the discretion of the state archaeologist in the case of non-American Indian burials. This subdivision does not require posting of a burial ground. The size, description, location, and information on the signs used for protective posting must be approved by the appropriate authority and the landowner.

Subd. 3a. Cemeteries; records and condition assessments.

(a) Cemeteries shall be assessed according to this subdivision.

(b) The state archaeologist shall implement and maintain a system of records identifying the location of known, recorded, or suspected cemeteries. The state archaeologist shall provide access to the records as provided in subdivision 11.

(c) The cemetery condition assessment of non-American Indian cemeteries is at the discretion of the state archaeologist based on the needs identified in this section or upon request by an agency, a landowner, or other appropriate authority.

(d) The cemetery condition assessment of American Indian cemeteries is at the discretion of the Indian Affairs Council based on the needs identified in this section or upon request by an agency, a landowner, or other appropriate authority. If the Indian Affairs Council has possession or takes custody of remains they may follow United States Code, title 25, sections 3001 to 3013.

(e) The cemetery condition assessment of cemeteries that include American Indian and non-American Indian remains or include remains whose ancestry cannot be determined shall be assessed at the discretion of the state archaeologist in collaboration with the Indian Affairs Council based on the needs identified in this section or upon request by an agency, a landowner, or other appropriate authority.

(f) The state archaeologist and the Indian Affairs Council shall have 90 days from the date a request is received to begin a cemetery condition assessment or provide notice to the requester whether or not a condition assessment of a cemetery is needed.

(g) The state archaeologist and the Indian Affairs Council may retain the services of a qualified professional archaeologist, a qualified forensic anthropologist, or other appropriate experts for the purpose of gathering information that the state archaeologist or the Indian Affairs Council can use to assess or identify cemeteries. If probable American Indian cemeteries are to be disturbed or probable American Indian remains analyzed, the Indian Affairs Council must approve the professional archaeologist, qualified anthropologist, or other appropriate expert.

Subd. 4.

[Repealed by amendment, 2007 c 115 s 1 ]

Subd. 5. Cost.

The cost of condition assessment, recording, surveying, and marking burial grounds and the cost of identification, analysis, rescue, and reburial of human remains on public lands or waters shall be the responsibility of the state or political subdivision controlling the lands or waters. On private lands or waters these costs may be borne by the state, or the landowner upon mutual agreement with the state.

Subd. 6.

[Repealed by amendment, 2007 c 115 s 1 ]

Subd. 7. Remains found outside of recorded cemeteries.

(a) All unidentified human remains or burials found outside of recorded cemeteries or unplatted graves or burials found within recorded cemeteries and in contexts which indicate antiquity greater than 50 years shall be treated with the utmost respect for all human dignity and dealt with according to the provisions of this section.

(b) If such burials are not American Indian or their ethnic identity cannot be ascertained, as determined by the state archaeologist, they shall be dealt with in accordance with provisions established by the state archaeologist and other appropriate authority.

(c) If such burials are American Indian, as determined by the state archaeologist and Indian Affairs Council, efforts shall be made to follow procedures as defined in United States Code, title 25, section 3001 et seq., and its implementing regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, title 43, part 10, within reservation boundaries. For burials outside of reservation boundaries, the procedures defined in United States Code, title 25, section 3001 et seq., and its implementing regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, title 43, part 10, are at the discretion of the Indian Affairs Council.

Subd. 7a. Landowner responsibilities.

Application by a landowner for permission to develop or disturb nonburial areas within assessed or recorded burial grounds shall be made to:

(1) the state archaeologist and other appropriate authority in the case of non-American Indian burials; and

(2) the Indian Affairs Council and other appropriate authority in the case of American Indian burials.

(b) Landowners with assessed or suspected human burial grounds on their property are obligated to inform prospective buyers of the burial ground.

Subd. 8. Burial ground relocation.

No non-American Indian burial ground may be relocated without the consent of the appropriate authority. No American Indian burial ground may be relocated unless the request to relocate is approved by the Indian Affairs Council. When a burial ground is located on public lands or waters, any burial relocations must be duly licensed under section

Minn. Stat. § 344.01

344.01 FENCE VIEWERS.

Supervisors in their respective towns, city council members in their respective wards, commissioners of public works in cities having a commission form of government, and city trustees in statutory cities are fence viewers.

History:

( 7248 ) RL s 2748 ; 1921 c 25 s 1 ; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.02

344.02 KINDS OF PARTITION FENCES.

Subdivision 1. Legal and sufficient fences.

The following are legal and sufficient fences:

(a) fences consisting of at least 32-inch woven wire and two barbed wires firmly fastened to well-set posts not more than one rod apart, the first barbed wire being above and not more than four inches from the woven wire and the second barbed wire being above and not more than eight inches from the first wire;

(b) fences consisting of at least 40-inch woven wire and one barbed wire firmly fastened to well-set posts not more than one rod apart, the barbed wire being above and not more than four inches from the woven wire;

(c) fences consisting of woven wire at least 48 inches in height, and one barbed wire not more than four inches above the woven wire firmly fastened to well-set posts not more than one rod apart;

(d) fences consisting of at least four barbed wires with at least 40 barbs to the rod, the wires firmly fastened to posts not more than one rod apart, the top wire not more than 48 inches high and the bottom wire 12 to 16 inches from the ground; and

(e) fences consisting of rails, timbers, wires, boards, stone walls, or any combination of those materials, or streams, lakes, ditches, or hedges, which are considered by the fence viewers as equivalent to any of the fences listed in this subdivision.

Subd. 2. Determination of kind of fence.

If adjoining land owners disagree as to the kind of fence to be built on any division line, the matter must be referred to the fence viewers, who shall determine what kind of fence should be built on the line and order it built.

Subd. 3. Special case.

If the lands of two persons adjoin and the land of one is enclosed by a woven wire fence on all sides except the side forming a division line between the lands, each person shall erect and maintain a fence along one-half the total length of the division line. The fences must be similar in character and quality.

History:

( 7249 ) RL s 2749 ; 1915 c 282 ; 1917 c 408 s 1 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.03

344.03 EXPENSE; EQUAL SHARES.

Subdivision 1. Adjoining owners.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), if two adjoining lands are both used in whole or in part to produce or maintain livestock for agricultural or commercial purposes and one or both of the owners of the land desires the land to be partly or totally fenced, the land owners or occupants shall build and maintain a partition fence between their lands in equal shares.

(b) The requirement in this section and the procedures in this chapter apply to the Department of Natural Resources when it owns land adjoining privately owned land subject to this section and chapter and the landowner desires the land permanently fenced for the purpose of restraining livestock.

(c) For purposes of this section, "livestock" means beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, poultry, goats, donkeys, hinnies, mules, farmed Cervidae, Ratitae, bison, sheep, horses, alpacas, and llamas.

Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 1989 c 335 art 4 s 109 ; 1Sp1989 c 2 s 8 ]

History:

RL s 2750 ; 1913 c 525 s 1 ; 1915 c 173 ; 1965 c 717 s 1 ; 1969 c 1129 art 3 s 1 ; 1971 c 24 s 38 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1 ; 1989 c 335 art 4 s 109 ; 1Sp1989 c 2 s 8 ; 1994 c 623 art 1 s 40 ; 2017 c 88 art 2 s 77

Minn. Stat. § 344.04

344.04 and the fence viewers consider it sufficient, they shall give the occupants reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard, determine the cost of the fence or repair, and give to the complainant who built, repaired, or rebuilt the fence a signed certificate of their decision and of the cost of the fence or repair and the viewers' fees. The complainant may demand, either of the owner or the occupant of the adjoining land where the fence was wanting or deficient, the viewers' fees and double the amount of the ascertained expense. If the owner or occupant does not pay that amount within one month after demand, the complainant may recover the amount, with interest, in a civil action.

History:

( 7252 ) RL s 2752 ; 1915 c 173 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.08

344.08 RECORDED DIVISION; BINDING ON HEIRS AND ASSIGNS.

All divisions of fences which are made by fence viewers under this chapter, or which are made by owners of adjoining lands, in writing, witnessed by two witnesses, signed and acknowledged by the parties, and recorded with the county recorder, are valid against the parties to the divisions and their heirs and assigns.

History:

( 7255 ) RL s 2755 ; 1976 c 181 s 2 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1 ; 2005 c 4 s 65

Minn. Stat. § 344.09

344.09 PARTY ERECTING MORE THAN SHARE.

If there is a controversy between occupants of adjoining lands as to their respective rights in any partition fence and the fence viewers decide that either occupant has voluntarily erected or otherwise become the proprietor of more than that occupant's just share of the fence before a complaint was made, the other occupant shall pay for the share of the fence assigned to the other to repair and maintain. The value of the fence must be ascertained and recovered pursuant to section

Minn. Stat. § 344.10

344.10 LANDS BOUNDED BY STREAM.

If lands of different persons must be fenced and are bounded upon or divided by a stream or pond which, in the judgment of the fence viewers, is not in itself a sufficient fence, and if the viewers determine that it is impracticable, without unreasonable expense, for a partition fence to be made on the waters at the true boundary line, and if the occupant on either side fails to join with the occupant on the other side in making a partition fence on one side or the other, then the fence viewers, on application of either party, shall view the stream or pond, and, after giving due notice to the parties, determine, in writing, on which side of the stream or pond the fence must be erected and maintained, or whether partly on one side and partly on the other. If either party fails to build or maintain the assigned part of the fence according to the viewers' determination, the other party may build and maintain the fence, and the delinquent party must pay the charges and costs provided for in other cases in this chapter.

History:

( 7257 ) RL s 2757 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.11

344.11 LANDS OCCUPIED IN COMMON.

If one of the occupants of enclosed lands belonging to different persons in severalty, which have been occupied by them in common without a partition fence, desires that the part occupied by that person be occupied in severalty, and the other party fails to divide the land or to build a fence on part of the land when it has been divided, the party desiring it may have the land divided and assigned by the fence viewers in the manner provided in this chapter.

History:

( 7258 ) RL s 2758 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 344.12

344.12 VIEWERS TO FIX TIME FOR BUILDING.

If fence viewers have divided land and assigned fence responsibilities, they may set in writing a reasonable time for building the fence, having regard to the season of the year. If either party fails to build part of the fence within the time assigned, the other party may, after completing part of the fence, build the other part, and recover the viewers' fees and double the cost of building the other part, as determined pursuant to this chapter.

History:

( 7259 ) RL s 2759 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.13

344.13 LANDS FIRST ENCLOSED.

When unenclosed lands are afterwards enclosed, the owner or occupant of the lands shall pay one-half of the value of each partition fence extending upon the line between that person's land and the enclosure of any other owner or occupant. If the parties do not agree, the value must be ascertained by the fence viewers and stated in writing. If an owner or occupant fails to pay within 60 days after the value is ascertained and a demand made, the owner of the fence may recover the value and the cost of ascertaining it in a civil action.

History:

( 7260 ) RL s 2762 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.14

344.14 VIEWERS WHEN FENCE ON TOWN LINE.

If a partition fence is to be built on a line between towns, or partly in one town and partly in another, two supervisors, one from each town, shall be the fence viewers.

History:

( 7261 ) RL s 2763 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.16

344.16 DIVISION OR RECORDED AGREEMENT RUNS WITH THE LAND.

If the line upon which a partition fence is to be built between unimproved lands has been divided by the fence viewers or by the recorded agreement of the parties, the several landowners, and their heirs and assigns forever, shall erect and maintain fences in accordance with the divisions.

History:

( 7263 ) RL s 2765 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.17

344.17 FAILURE OF VIEWER TO PERFORM DUTY; PENALTY.

A fence viewer who unreasonably fails to perform a duty required by this chapter shall forfeit $5 to the town or city and be liable to the injured party for all resulting damages.

History:

( 7264 ) RL s 2766 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 344.20

344.20 CITY OR TOWN OPTION.

(a) If eight or more landowners in a home rule charter or statutory city or town petition the governing body for a vote on a partition fence policy, the governing body may adopt its own policy and procedures for dealing with partition fences, including enforcement procedures. When a town board adopts a partition fence policy, the policy must be approved by the electors of the town at an annual or special town meeting, in which case this chapter does not apply in that town.

(b) This chapter applies to any partition fence lying on the boundary between a political subdivision that has adopted its own partition fence policy and any other political subdivision unless the other political subdivision has adopted a similar policy.

History:

1982 c 616 s 2 ; 1985 c 265 art 6 s 1 ; 2004 c 228 art 2 s 9 ; 2016 c 102 s 2

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Minn. Stat. § 346.10

346.10 APPRAISEMENT; PROCEDURE.

The appraisers, immediately after their appointment, shall be sworn and view the damage done. They may take the evidence of any witnesses of the facts and circumstances necessary to enable them to ascertain the extent of such damage, and the insufficiency of any line fence on the premises where the damage was done, if any dispute shall arise touching the same, and may administer oaths to such witnesses. They shall certify, under their hands, the amount of such damages, and the costs of keeping such beasts to that time, with their fees, not exceeding $1 per day each; and their determination as to such damages, and the sufficiency of such fence, if in dispute, shall be conclusive.

History:

( 7276 ) RL s 2778

Minn. Stat. § 35.086

35.086 BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS MANAGEMENT ZONE; RESTRICTIONS.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.

(b) "Bovine tuberculosis management zone" means the area within the ten-mile radius around the five presumptive tuberculosis-positive deer sampled during the fall 2006 hunter-harvested surveillance effort.

Subd. 2. Cattle herd buyout.

(a) The board shall offer a herd buyout payment to cattle owners with existing cattle that are located within the bovine tuberculosis management zone. The payment shall be $500 per bovine animal. By July 15, 2008, the cattle owner must accept or decline the offer for herd buyout payments under this subdivision. A cattle owner receiving payment under this subdivision must sign a contract with the board that provides:

(1) all cattle that are at least one year old and located within the bovine tuberculosis management zone will be slaughtered by January 31, 2009;

(2) all cattle that are less than one year old are either slaughtered or moved out of the bovine tuberculosis management zone, as provided in paragraph (b), by January 31, 2009;

(3) the landowner and cattle owner will not have or allow any livestock to be located on land in the board's proposed modified accredited zone, unless authorized by the board; and

(4) a landowner or cattle owner who violates a condition under this subdivision must repay all payments received under this section and is subject to penalties for violations under this chapter.

(b) Cattle that are less than one year old may be moved out of the bovine tuberculosis management zone to comply with paragraph (a), clause (2), only when:

(1) they are from a herd that received a whole herd tuberculosis test within the previous 12 months;

(2) they are not sexually intact; and

(3) they have had a tuberculosis test within 60 days of being moved out of the zone.

(c) After May 6, 2008, livestock shall not be moved into the bovine tuberculosis management zone unless authorized by the board.

(d) Before the board issues payment to a cattle owner under this subdivision, the board shall verify all cattle owned by that cattle owner and located within the bovine tuberculosis management zone have been slaughtered.

(e) A cattle owner who signs a contract under paragraph (a) or who depopulated an infected herd and signs a contract containing the provisions of paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (3), shall receive an annual payment of $75 for each bovine animal slaughtered. The board shall make the first annual payment by June 30, 2009, and make annual payments by June 30 each year thereafter until the area receives a bovine tuberculosis-free status and the owner is authorized by the board to have cattle located within the bovine tuberculosis management zone.

Subd. 3. Cattle herds remaining in the zone.

The board shall conduct a risk assessment for cattle that remain located within the bovine tuberculosis management zone. If the board determines that cattle herds within the bovine tuberculosis management zone present a risk of interaction between cattle and deer or elk, the board shall require the owner of the cattle to keep all cattle in a manner that does not allow cattle and deer or elk interface. The board may also require that any person who stores forage crops within the bovine tuberculosis management zone, including but not limited to a person who participates in the herd buyout in subdivision 2, must keep stored forage crops in a manner that does not allow deer or elk access. The board shall offer cost-share assistance for fencing under subdivision 4 to a person who is required to:

(1) keep cattle in a manner that does not allow cattle and deer or elk interface; or

(2) keep stored forage crops in a manner that does not allow deer or elk access.

Subd. 4. Cost-share assistance for fencing.

(a) The board shall provide cost-share assistance to persons required to fence stored forage crops or fence cattle in areas where the board determines that there is an unacceptable risk of transmitting bovine tuberculosis to deer or elk. The cost-share payments shall be 90 percent of the cost of an approved fence up to a maximum cost-share payment of $75,000. The payments under this subdivision shall be on a reimbursement basis and paid by the board after the board determines that the fence is built to the specifications required by the board.

(b) The board shall establish specifications for fences that qualify for cost-share assistance under this subdivision and provide cattle owners or those who store forage crops with a list of approved fencing contractors. The fencing must be constructed and maintained by an approved fencing contractor, the landowner, or the tenant.

(c) The board shall periodically inspect fences for which cost-share assistance has been received under this subdivision. If the board determines that a fence for which cost-share assistance has been received is not being maintained or used properly, the board may:

(1) order that the fence be repaired or used properly; or

(2) require repayment of any cost-share assistance received by the person and, if the fence was intended to keep cattle in a manner that does not allow cattle and deer or elk interface, the board may place the herd under quarantine.

History:

2008 c 274 s 1

Minn. Stat. § 450.20

450.20 ART COMMISSION; WORK OF ART.

The council of any city of the first class may establish by ordinance a city art commission of five resident members to be appointed by the mayor, one each from lists of three persons each presented to the mayor as follows: One by the oldest incorporated society of fine arts or other similar body of the city, one by the library board thereof, and one by the park board. The other two shall be selected, one from the resident painters, sculptors, and architects, and one from the citizens generally. If any list be not submitted within 30 days after request so to do, the mayor shall appoint without the recommendation. The terms of members shall begin January 1 next after appointment. The first board shall serve for one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively, as designated by the mayor, and thereafter the term of each shall be five years, and until a successor qualifies. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by like appointments. After the commission is established, the city shall acquire no work of art, nor shall any such work be placed in any public place therein, unless the design and location thereof be approved by such commission; neither shall any work of art possessed by the city be removed, replaced, or altered without the approval of the commission. The mayor or council may request the commission to pass upon the design of any municipal building, bridge, approach, gate, fence, lamp, or other structure to be erected upon any public ground of the city, and upon any proposed grading, platting, or laying out of public grounds or ways; and in these cases the decisions of the commission shall be binding, and shall be obeyed. If the commission shall fail to decide upon any matter within 60 days after such request, its decision may be dispensed with and in cases of emergency the mayor or council may prescribe a shorter time. The term "work of art," as used herein, shall embrace all paintings, mural decorations, stained glass, statues, bas-reliefs or other sculptures, monuments, fountains, arches, gates, and other permanent structures for ornament or commemoration. Nothing herein shall apply to any building or grounds owned by the state or require any library or park board to accept any work of art to be displayed upon property under its control.

History:

( 1590 ) RL s 764 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 463.251

463.251 SECURING VACANT BUILDINGS.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

The following terms have the meanings given them for the purposes of this section.

(a) "City" means a statutory or home rule charter city.

(b) "Neighborhood association" means an organization recognized by the city as representing a neighborhood within the city.

(c) "Secure" may include, but is not limited to, installing locks, repairing windows and doors, boarding windows and doors, posting "no-trespassing" signs, installing exterior lighting or motion-detecting lights, fencing the property, and installing a monitored alarm or other security system.

Subd. 2. Order; notice.

(a) If in any city a building becomes vacant or unoccupied and is deemed hazardous due to the fact that the building is open to trespass and has not been secured and the building could be made safe by securing the building, the governing body may order the building secured and shall cause notice of the order to be served upon the owner of record of the premises or the owner's agent, the taxpayer identified in the property tax records for that parcel, the holder of the mortgage or sheriff's certificate, and any neighborhood association for the neighborhood in which the building is located that has requested notice, by delivering or mailing a copy to the owner or agent, the identified taxpayer, the holder of the mortgage or sheriff's certificate, and the neighborhood association, at the last known address. Service by mail is complete upon mailing.

(b) The notice under this subdivision must include a statement that:

(1) informs the owner and the holder of any mortgage or sheriff's certificate of the requirements of subdivision 3 and that costs may be assessed against the property if the person does not secure the building;

(2) informs the owner and the holder of any mortgage or sheriff's certificate that the person may request a hearing before the governing body challenging the governing body's determination that the property is vacant or unoccupied and hazardous; and

(3) notifies the holder of any sheriff's certificate of the holder's duty under section 582.031, subdivision 1 , paragraph (b), to enter the premises to protect the premises from waste and trespass if the order is not challenged or set aside and there is prima facie evidence of abandonment of the property as described in section 582.032, subdivision 7 .

Subd. 3. Securing building by city; lien.

If the owner of the building or a holder of the sheriff's certificate of sale fails to either comply or provide to the governing body a reasonable plan and schedule to comply with an order issued under subdivision 2 or to request a hearing on the order within six days after the order is served, the governing body shall cause the building to be properly secured and the cost of securing the building may be charged against the real estate as provided in section

Minn. Stat. § 471.92

471.92 DANGEROUS EXCAVATIONS.

Subdivision 1. Wells, pools, cisterns, basins as nuisance.

The governing body of any county, city or town may regulate the maintenance or abandonment of open wells, cesspools, cisterns, recharging basins, catch basins and may provide penalties for the violation thereof. The use, maintenance, or abandonment of any such installation so as to endanger the safety of any considerable number of persons, may be defined as a public nuisance and abated pursuant to the laws relating to public nuisances.

Subd. 2. Abate by cover, fence.

The abatement of any such nuisance may include suitably covering such installation or surrounding the same with a suitable protective fence.

History:

1955 c 601 s 1 ,2; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7

Minn. Stat. § 508.14

508.14 SURVEY IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

In any county of this state having more than 200,000 inhabitants, the county surveyor thereof shall, at the request of the examiner of titles for such county, make a survey of the plat described in any application for registration under this chapter, and file with the court administrator of the district court of such county a plat of such land, duly certified, showing the dimensions of the land, the location of all structures, fences, and other improvements thereon and such other facts as may be required by the examiner. The surveyor shall also at the request of the registrar of titles of such county, make a survey of any registered land designated by the registrar and file with such registrar a plat of such land, duly certified showing its dimensions and such other facts as the registrar may require. Such plat shall be numbered and entered as a memorial on the certificate of title of such land and transferred with each subsequent certificate of title affecting such land. In any county in which the county surveyor receives fees in lieu of a salary, the county surveyor shall be paid such compensation for services as the county board may determine; in all other counties, the county surveyor shall receive no other compensation than the salary paid for other county work.

History:

( 8260 ) 1909 c 366 s 1 ; 1986 c 444 ; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82 ; 1999 c 11 art 1 s 13

Minn. Stat. § 559.10

559.10 OCCUPYING CLAIMANT; COMPENSATION FOR IMPROVEMENTS.

When any person, under color of title in fee and in good faith, has peaceably taken possession of land for which that person has given a valuable consideration, or when any person has taken possession of land under the official deed of any person or officer empowered by law or by any court of competent jurisdiction to sell land, and such deed is regular upon its face, and the person has no actual notice of any defects invalidating the same, neither such person, nor the person's heirs, representatives, or assigns, shall be ejected from such land, except as hereinafter provided, until compensation is tendered the person or the person's heirs, representatives, or assigns for such improvement which the person or the person's heirs, representatives, or assigns have made upon such land previous to actual notice of the claim upon which the action is founded, or, in case of possession under an official deed, previous to actual notice of defects invalidating the same. The word "improvement" shall be construed to include all kinds of buildings and fences, and ditching, draining, grubbing, clearing, breaking, and all other necessary or useful labor of permanent value to the land. When the occupant holds as heir, devisee, or grantee, either immediate or remote, of any person who is not a resident of the state, the good faith of the original taker shall be presumed.

History:

( 9565 ) RL s 4434 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 561.03

561.03 REMEDIES.

Any such owner or occupant injured, either in comfort or in the enjoyment of an estate by such fence, or any other structure, may have an action of tort for the damage sustained thereby and may have such nuisance abated.

History:

( 9582 ) 1907 c 387 s 2 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 561.18

561.18 WASTE PENDING YEAR FOR REDEMPTION; INJUNCTION.

When real property is sold upon execution or under judgment or mortgage, until the expiration of the time allowed for redemption, the court may restrain the commission of waste on the property, by order granted, with or without notice, on application of the purchaser or the purchaser's assigns holding the certificate of sale; but it is not waste for the person in possession of the property at the time of sale, or entitled to the possession afterwards, during the time allowed for redemption, to continue to use it in the same manner in which it was previously used, or to use it in the ordinary course of husbandry, or to make the necessary repairs of the buildings thereon, or to use wood or timber on the property therefor, or for the repair of fences or for fuel for the possessor's family, while the possessor occupies the property.

History:

( 9584 ) RL s 4448 ; 1986 c 444

Minn. Stat. § 609.6055

609.6055 TRESPASS ON CRITICAL PUBLIC SERVICE FACILITY; UTILITY; OR PIPELINE.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the meanings given.

(b) "Critical public service facility" includes buildings and other physical structures, and fenced in or otherwise enclosed property, of railroad yards and stations, bus stations, airports, and other mass transit facilities; oil refineries; and storage areas or facilities for hazardous materials, hazardous substances, or hazardous wastes. The term also includes nonpublic portions of bridges. The term does not include railroad tracks extending beyond a critical public service facility.

(c) "Pipeline" includes an aboveground pipeline, a belowground pipeline housed in an underground structure, and any equipment, facility, or building located in this state that is used to transport natural or synthetic gas, crude petroleum or petroleum fuels or oil or their derivatives, or hazardous liquids, to or within a distribution, refining, manufacturing, or storage facility that is located inside or outside of this state. Pipeline does not include service lines.

(d) "Utility" includes:

(1) any organization defined as a utility in section 216C.06, subdivision 18 ;

(2) any telecommunications carrier or telephone company regulated under chapter 237; and

(3) any local utility or enterprise formed for the purpose of providing electrical or gas heating and power, telephone, water, sewage, wastewater, or other related utility service, which is owned, controlled, or regulated by a town, a statutory or home rule charter city, a county, a port development authority, the Metropolitan Council, a district heating authority, a regional commission or other regional government unit, or a combination of these governmental units.

The term does not include property located above buried power or telecommunications lines or property located below suspended power or telecommunications lines, unless the property is fenced in or otherwise enclosed.

(e) "Utility line" includes power, telecommunications, and transmissions lines as well as related equipment owned or controlled by a utility.

Subd. 2. Prohibited conduct; penalty.

(a) Whoever enters or is found upon property containing a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline, without claim of right or consent of one who has the right to give consent to be on the property, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor, if:

(1) the person refuses to depart from the property on the demand of one who has the right to give consent;

(2) within the past six months, the person had been told by one who had the right to give consent to leave the property and not to return, unless a person with the right to give consent has given the person permission to return; or

(3) the property is posted.

(b) Whoever enters an underground structure that (1) contains a utility line or pipeline and (2) is not open to the public for pedestrian use, without claim of right or consent of one who has the right to give consent to be in the underground structure, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The underground structure does not need to be posted for this paragraph to apply.

Subd. 3. Posting.

For purposes of this section, a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline is posted if there are signs that:

(1) state "no trespassing" or similar terms;

(2) display letters at least two inches high;

(3) state that Minnesota law prohibits trespassing on the property; and

(4) are posted in a conspicuous place and at intervals of 500 feet or less.

Subd. 4. Detention authority; immunity.

An employee or other person designated by a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline to ensure the provision of services by the critical public service facility or the safe operation of the equipment or facility of the utility or pipeline who has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating this section may detain the person as provided in this subdivision. The person detained must be promptly informed of the purpose of the detention and may not be subjected to unnecessary or unreasonable force or interrogation. The employee or other designated person must notify a peace officer promptly of the detention and may only detain the person for a reasonable period of time. No employee or other designated person is criminally or civilly liable for any detention that the employee or person reasonably believed was authorized by and conducted in conformity with this subdivision.

Subd. 5. Arrest authority.

A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe the person violated this section within the preceding four hours. The arrest may be made even though the violation did not occur in the presence of the peace officer.

History:

2002 c 401 art 1 s 18 ; 2008 c 217 s 1 ,2

Minn. Stat. § 617.90

617.90 GRAFFITI DAMAGE ACTION.

Subdivision 1. Definition.

For purposes of this section, "graffiti" means unauthorized markings of paint, dye, or other similar substance that have been placed on real or personal property such as buildings, fences, transportation equipment, or other structures, or the unauthorized etching or scratching of the surfaces of such real or personal property, any of which markings, scratchings, or etchings are visible from premises open to the public.

Subd. 2. Cause of action.

An action for damage to property caused by graffiti may be brought by the owner of public or private property on which graffiti has been placed. Damages may be recovered for three times the cost of restoring the property, or the court may order a defendant to perform the work of restoring the property. Damages may be recovered from an individual who placed graffiti on public or private real or personal property or from the parent of a minor individual. The liability of the parent is limited to the amount specified in section

Minn. Stat. § 624.731

624.731 TEAR GAS AND TEAR GAS COMPOUNDS; ELECTRONIC INCAPACITATION DEVICES.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

For the purposes of this section:

(1) "authorized tear gas compound" means a lachrymator or any substance composed of a mixture of a lachrymator including chloroacetophenone, alpha-chloroacetophenone; phenylchloromethylketone, orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile or oleoresin capsicum, commonly known as tear gas; and

(2) "electronic incapacitation device" means a portable device which is designed or intended by the manufacturer to be used, offensively or defensively, to temporarily immobilize or incapacitate persons by means of electric pulse or current, including devices operating by means of carbon dioxide propellant. "Electronic incapacitation device" does not include cattle prods, electric fences, or other electric devices when used in agricultural, animal husbandry, or food production activities.

Subd. 2. Authorized possession; use.

(a) A person may possess and use an authorized tear gas compound in the exercise of reasonable force in defense of the person or the person's property only if it is propelled from an aerosol container, labeled with or accompanied by clearly written instructions as to its use and the dangers involved in its use, and dated to indicate its anticipated useful life.

(b) A person may possess and use an electronic incapacitation device in the exercise of reasonable force in defense of the person or the person's property only if the electronic incapacitation device is labeled with or accompanied by clearly written instructions as to its use and the dangers involved in its use.

Subd. 3. Prohibited possession; use.

(a) No person under the age of 16 may possess or use an authorized tear gas compound except by written permission of a parent or guardian, and no person under the age of 18 may possess or use an electronic incapacitation device.

(b) No person prohibited from possessing a pistol pursuant to section 624.713, subdivision 1 , clause (2), may possess or use an authorized tear gas compound or an electronic incapacitation device.

(c) No person prohibited from possessing a pistol pursuant to section 624.713, subdivision 1 , clauses (3) to (5), may possess or use an authorized tear gas compound or an electronic incapacitation device, except that the certificate or other proof required for possession of a handgun shall not apply.

(d) No person shall possess or use tear gas or a tear gas compound other than an authorized tear gas compound.

Subd. 4. Prohibited use.

(a) No person shall knowingly, or with reason to know, use tear gas, a tear gas compound, an authorized tear gas compound, or an electronic incapacitation device on or against a peace officer who is in the performance of duties.

(b) No person shall use tear gas, a tear gas compound, an authorized tear gas compound, or an electronic incapacitation device except as authorized in subdivision 2 or 6.

(c) Tear gas, a tear gas compound, or an electronic incapacitation device shall legally constitute a weapon when it is used in the commission of a crime.

(d) No person shall use tear gas or a tear gas compound in an immobilizing concentration against another person, except as otherwise permitted by subdivision 2.

Subd. 5. Prohibited sale.

Except as permitted by subdivision 6, no person shall knowingly furnish or sell tear gas or a tear gas compound to another person. No person shall knowingly furnish or sell an authorized tear gas compound or an electronic incapacitation device to a person prohibited from possessing it by subdivision 3. No person shall knowingly furnish or sell an authorized tear gas compound or an electronic incapacitation device which fails to meet the requirements of subdivision 2. No tear gas, tear gas compound, authorized tear gas compound, or electronic incapacitation device shall be sold or furnished on premises where 3.2 percent malt liquor as defined in section 340A.101, subdivision 19 , is sold on an on-sale basis or where intoxicating liquor as defined in section 340A.101, subdivision 13 , is sold on an on-sale or off-sale basis. No person shall sell tear gas, a tear gas compound, authorized tear gas compound, or electronic incapacitation device in violation of local licensing requirements.

Subd. 6. Exceptions.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the possession or use of by, or the sale or furnishing of, tear gas, a tear gas compound, an authorized tear gas compound, or electronic incapacitation device to, a law enforcement agency, peace officer, the National Guard or reserves, or a member of the National Guard or reserves for use in their official duties, except that counties and municipalities may impose licensing requirements on sellers pursuant to subdivision 9.

Subd. 7. Exemption.

Tear gas, tear gas compounds, and authorized tear gas compounds shall not be classified as an obnoxious or harmful gas, fluid, or substance under section

Minn. Stat. § 84.90

84.90 OPERATING LIMITATIONS; RECREATIONAL MOTOR VEHICLES.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given them:

(1) "Recreational motor vehicle" means any self-propelled vehicle and any vehicle propelled or drawn by a self-propelled vehicle used for recreational purposes, including but not limited to snowmobile, trail bike or other all-terrain vehicle, hovercraft, or motor vehicle licensed for highway operation which is being used for off-road recreational purposes.

(2) "Snowmobile" has the same meaning given by section 84.81, subdivision 3 .

Subd. 2. Within metropolitan area.

Within the seven-county metropolitan area, no person shall enter and operate a recreational motor vehicle on lands not owned by the person, except where otherwise allowed by law, without the written or oral permission of the owner, occupant, or lessee of such lands. Written permission may be given by a posted notice of any kind or description that the owner, occupant, or lessee prefers, so long as it specifies the kind of vehicles allowed, such as by saying "Recreational Vehicles Allowed," "Snowmobiles Allowed," "Trail Bikes Allowed," "All-Terrain Vehicles Allowed," or words substantially similar.

Subd. 3. Outside metropolitan area.

Outside the seven-county metropolitan area, no person shall enter on any land not owned by the person for the purpose of operating a recreational motor vehicle after being notified, either orally or by written or posted notice, by the owner, occupant, or lessee not to do so. Where posted notice is used, signs shall bear letters not less than two inches high and shall state one of the following: "Recreational Vehicles Prohibited," "Snowmobiles Prohibited," "Trail Bikes Prohibited," "All-Terrain Vehicles Prohibited," or words substantially similar. In lieu of the above notice an owner, occupant or lessee may post any sign prohibiting recreational motor vehicles which has been adopted by rule of the commissioner of natural resources. The notice or sign shall be posted at corners and ordinary ingress and egress to the property and when so posted shall serve so as to raise a conclusive presumption that a person operating a recreational motor vehicle thereon had knowledge of entering upon such posted lands. Failure to post notice as provided in this subdivision shall not deprive a person of the right to bring a civil action for damage to one's person or property as otherwise provided by law.

Subd. 4. Posting; trail facilities.

It is unlawful for a person to post, mutilate, or remove any notice or sign provided in this section upon any lands or waters over which the person has no right, title, interest, or license. It is unlawful for a person other than a duly constituted legal authority to so post any public lands, including but not limited to tax-forfeited lands, as above described. It is unlawful for a person to mutilate, destroy, damage, or remove any shelter, comfort station or other trail facility on any trail established on state-owned land or on any recreational trail which is funded in whole or in part by state grant-in-aid funds.

Subd. 5. Gates; fencing.

No person shall enter or leave the lands of another with a recreational motor vehicle, or pass from one portion of such lands to another portion, through a closed gate, without returning the gate to its original position. No person shall enter or leave the lands of another with a recreational motor vehicle by cutting any wire or tearing down or destroying any fence.

Subd. 6. Additional prohibitions.

Nothing in this section shall limit or otherwise qualify the power of municipalities, counties, school districts, or other political subdivisions of the state or any agency of the state to impose additional restrictions or prohibitions on the operation of recreational motor vehicles on property not owned by the operator in accordance with law.

Subd. 7. Penalty.

(a) A person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Notwithstanding section 609.101, subdivision 4 , clause (2), the minimum fine for a person who operates an off-highway motorcycle, off-road vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, or snowmobile in violation of this section must not be less than the amount set forth in section

Minn. Stat. § 88.195

88.195 PENALTIES.

Subdivision 1. Failure to extinguish fire.

Any person who starts and fails to control or extinguish the fire, whether on owned property or on the property of another, before the fire endangers or causes damage to the property of another person or the state is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 2. Failure to control permit fire.

Any person who has a burning permit and fails to keep the permitted fire contained within the area described on the burning permit or who fails to keep the fire restricted to the materials specifically listed on the burning permit is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 3. Careless or negligent fires.

Any person who carelessly or negligently starts a fire that endangers or causes damage to the property of another person or the state is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 4. Careless or negligent acts.

Any person who participates in an act involving careless or negligent use of motor vehicles, other internal combustion engines, firearms with tracers or combustible wads, fireworks, smoking materials, electric fences, torches, flares, or other burning or smoldering substances whereby a fire is started and is not immediately extinguished before the fire endangers or causes damage to the property of another person or the state is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 5. Internal combustion engines.

Any person who operates a vehicle in a wildfire area when the ground is not snow-covered with an open exhaust cutout, without a muffler, without a catalytic converter if required, or without a spark arrestor on the exhaust pipe; or any person who operates a tractor, chainsaw, or other internal combustion engine not equipped to prevent fires is guilty of a misdemeanor.

History:

1993 c 328 s 29

Minn. Stat. § 88.52

88.52 CUTTING TIMBER; TAXATION.

Subdivision 1. Yield tax; when to be paid.

The merchantable timber shall either be cut, or the yield tax hereinbefore mentioned shall be paid upon its value as standing timber, at the expiration of the period fixed in the contract for the duration of the auxiliary forest; or at the expiration of any renewal of the contract.

Subd. 2. Examination; report.

When any timber growing or standing in any auxiliary forest is suitable for merchantable forest products, the commissioner shall, at the written request of the owner, a copy of which shall at the time be filed in the office of the county auditor, make an examination of the timber and designate for the owner the kind and number of trees most suitable to be cut in the judgment of the commissioner. The cutting and removal of designated trees must be in accordance with the instructions of the commissioner. The commissioner shall inspect the cutting or removal and determine whether it or the manner of its performance constitute a violation of the terms of the contract creating the auxiliary forest or of the applicable laws, or of the instructions of the commissioner relative to the cutting and removal. Any such violation is ground for cancellation of the contract by the commissioner; otherwise the contract continues in force for the remainder of the period stated in the contract, regardless of the cutting and removal. Within 90 days after the completion of any cutting or removal operation, the commissioner shall make a report of findings and transmit copies of the report to the county auditor and the surveyor general.

Subd. 3. Kinds, permit, scale report, assessment, and payment of tax.

(a) Upon filing of the owner's written request as provided in subdivision 2, the director of forestry, with the county board or the county land commissioner, shall determine within 30 days the kinds, quantities, and value on the stump of the timber proposed to be cut.

Before the cutting is to begin, the director of forestry shall file with the county auditor a report showing the kinds, quantities, and value of the timber proposed to be cut or removed and approved by the director of forestry for cutting within two years after the date of approval of the report by the director of forestry. The county auditor shall assess and levy the estimated yield tax thereon, make proper record of this assessment and levy in the auditor's office, and notify the owner of the auxiliary forest of the tax amount. The owner shall, before any timber in the forest is cut or removed, give a bond payable to the state of Minnesota, or a deposit in cash with the county treasurer, in the amount required by the report, and not less than 150 percent of the amount of the levy, conditioned for the payment of all taxes on the timber to be cut or removed. Upon receipt of notification from the county auditor that the bond or cash requirement has been deposited, the director of forestry will issue a cutting permit in accordance with the report. The owner shall keep an accurate count or scale of all timber cut. On or before April 15 following issuance of the cutting permit, and on or before April 15 of each succeeding year in which any merchantable wood products were cut on auxiliary forest lands prior to the termination of the permit, the owner of the timber covered by the permit shall file with the director of forestry a sworn statement, submitted in duplicate on a form prepared by the director of forestry, one copy of which must be transmitted to the county auditor, specifying the quantity and value of each variety of timber and kind of product cut during the preceding year ending on March 31, as shown by the scale or measurement made on the ground as cut, skidded, or loaded as the case may be. If no such scale or measurement was made on the ground, an estimate must be made and corrected by the first scale or measurement made in the due course of business. The correction must at once be filed with the director of forestry who shall immediately transmit it to the county auditor. On or before May 15 following the filing of the sworn statement covering the quantity and value of timber cut under an authorized permit, the auditor shall assess and levy a yield (severance) tax, according to Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51, subdivision 2 , of the timber cut during the year ending on March 31 preceding the date of assessing and levying this tax. This tax is payable and must be paid to the county treasurer on or before the following May 31. Copies of the yield (severance) tax assessment and of the yield (severance) tax payment must be filed with the director of forestry and the county auditor. Except as otherwise provided, all yield (severance) taxes herein provided for must be levied and collected, and payment, with penalties and interest, enforced in the same manner as taxes imposed under section 88.51, subdivision 1 , and must be credited to the funds of the taxing districts affected in the proportion of their interests in the taxes on the land producing the yield (severance) tax. On deeming it necessary, the director of forestry may order an inspection of any or all cutting areas within an auxiliary forest and may require the owner of the auxiliary forest to produce for inspection by the director of forestry any or all cutting records pertaining to timber cutting operations within an auxiliary forest for the purpose of determining the accuracy of scale or measurement reports, and if intentional error in scale or measurement reports is found to exist, shall levy and assess a tax triple the yield (severance) tax on the stumpage value of the timber cut in excess of the quantity and value reported.

(b) The following alternative method of assessing and paying annually the yield tax on an auxiliary forest is to be available to an auxiliary forest owner upon application and upon approval of the county board of the county within which the auxiliary forest is located.

For auxiliary forests entered under this paragraph, the county auditor shall assess and levy the yield tax by multiplying the acreage of each legal description included within the auxiliary forest by the acre quantity of the annual growth by species, calculated in cords, or in thousands of feet board measure Minnesota standard log scale rule, whichever is more reasonably usable, for the major species found in each type by the from year-to-year appraised stumpage prices for each of these species, used by the Division of Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, in selling trust fund timber located within the district in which the auxiliary forest is located. The assessed value of the annual growth of the auxiliary forest, thus determined, is subject to a ten percent of stumpage value yield tax, payable annually on or before May 31. In all other respects the assessment, levying and collection of the yield tax, as provided for in this subdivision must follow the procedures specified in paragraph (a).

Forest owners operating under this paragraph are subject to all other provisions of the auxiliary forest law except the provisions of paragraph (a) that are in conflict with this paragraph. Penalties for intentional failure by the owner to report properly the quantity and value of the annual growth upon an auxiliary forest entered under this paragraph and for failure to pay the yield tax when due are the same as the penalties specified in other subdivisions of this law for like failure to abide by its provisions.

To qualify for the assessment and levying of the yield tax by this method, the owner of the forest requesting this method of taxation must submit a map or maps and a tabulation in acres and in quantity of growth by legal descriptions showing the division of the area covered by the auxiliary forest for which this method of taxation is requested into the following forest types, namely: white and red pine; jack pine; aspen-birch; spruce-balsam fir; black spruce; tamarack; cedar; upland hardwoods; lowland hardwoods; upland brush and grass (temporarily nonproductive); lowland brush (temporarily nonproductive); and permanently nonproductive (open bogs, stagnant swamps, rock outcrops, flowage, etc.). Definition of these types and determination of the average rate or rates of growth (in cords or thousand feet, board measure, Minnesota standard log scale rule, whichever is more logically applicable for each of them) must be made by the director of the Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with the advice and assistance of the land commissioner of the county in which the auxiliary forest is located; the director of the United States Forest Service's North Central Forest Experiment Station; and the director of the School of Forestry, University of Minnesota. Before the approval of the application of the owner of an auxiliary forest to have the auxiliary forest taxed under provisions of this paragraph is submitted to the county board, the distribution between types of the area as shown on the maps and in the tabulations submitted by the owner of the auxiliary forest must be examined and their accuracy determined by the director of the Division of Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, with the assistance of the county board of the county in which the auxiliary forest is located.

During the life of the auxiliary forest, contract timber cutting operations within the various types shown upon the type map accepted as a part of the approved auxiliary forest application do not bring about a reclassification of the forest types shown upon that map or those maps until after the passage of ten years following the termination of the timber cutting operations and then only upon proof of a change in type.

Subd. 4. Hearing; procedure.

The owner of any land or timber upon which a yield tax is assessed and levied as provided in this section may, within 15 days after mailing of notice of the amount of the tax, file with the county auditor a demand for hearing on the tax before the county board. The county auditor shall thereupon fix a date of hearing, which must be held within 30 days after the filing of the demand, and mail to the owner notice of the time and place of the hearing. The owner may appear at the meeting and present evidence and argument as to the amount of the tax and as to any related matter. The county board shall determine whether the tax as levied is proper in amount and make its order. The county auditor shall mail to the owner a notice of the order. If the amount of the tax is increased or reduced by the order, the county auditor shall make a supplemental assessment and levy, as in this subdivision provided.

Subd. 5. Yield tax; prior lien.

Throughout the life of any auxiliary forest, the accruing yield tax constitutes and is a first and prior lien upon all the merchantable timber and forest products growing or grown thereon; and, if not paid when due, this yield tax, together with penalties and interest as otherwise provided by law and all expenses of collecting same, continues to be a lien upon the timber and forest products however much changed in form or otherwise improved until the yield tax is fully paid. The lien may be foreclosed and the property subject to the lien dealt with by action in the name of the state, brought by the county attorney at the request of the county auditor.

Subd. 6. Yield tax; exemption.

Timber cut from an auxiliary forest by an owner and used by the owner for fuel, fencing, or building on land occupied by the owner which is within or contiguous to the auxiliary forest where cut is exempt from the yield tax, and, as to timber so cut and used, the requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2 do not apply. The owner shall, prior to cutting, file with the county auditor, on a form prepared by the commissioner, a statement showing the quantity of each kind of forest products proposed to be cut and the purposes for which the products will be used.

History:

( 4031-66 ) 1927 c 247 s 7 ; 1945 c 269 s 4 ; 1953 c 246 s 3 ; 1955 c 772 s 3 ; 1967 c 905 s 5 ; 1969 c 1129 art 10 s 2 ; 1971 c 25 s 27 ; 1986 c 444 ; 1Sp2015 c 4 art 4 s 54 -58

Minn. Stat. § 97A.028

97A.028 CROP PROTECTION ASSISTANCE.

Subdivision 1. Definitions.

(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.

(b) "Agricultural crops" means annually seeded crops, legumes, fruit orchards, tree farms and nurseries, turf farms, and apiaries.

(d) "Specialty crops" means fruit orchards, vegetables, tree farms and nurseries, turf farms, and apiaries.

(e) "Stored forage crops" means hay, silage, grain, or other crops that have been harvested and placed in storage for commercial livestock feeding.

Subd. 2. Technical assistance.

The commissioner shall establish a statewide program to provide technical assistance to persons for the protection of agricultural crops from destruction by wild animals. As part of the program, the commissioner shall develop and identify the latest and most effective abatement techniques; acquire appropriate demonstration supplies and materials required to meet specialized needs; train property owners, field staff, public land managers, extension agents, pest control operators, and others; provide technical manuals and brochures; and provide field personnel with supplies and materials for damage abatement demonstrations and short-term assistance and for the establishment of food or lure crops where appropriate.

Subd. 3. Emergency deterrent materials assistance.

(a) For the purposes of this subdivision, "cooperative damage management agreement" means an agreement between a landowner or tenant and the commissioner that establishes a program for addressing the problem of destruction of the landowner's or tenant's specialty crops or stored forage crops by wild animals, destruction of agricultural crops by flightless Canada geese, or destruction of agricultural crops or pasture by elk within the native elk range, as determined by the commissioner.

(b) A landowner or tenant may apply to the commissioner for emergency deterrent materials assistance in controlling destruction of the landowner's or tenant's specialty crops or stored forage crops by wild animals, destruction of agricultural crops by flightless Canada geese, or destruction of agricultural crops or pasture by elk within the native elk range, as determined by the commissioner. Subject to the availability of money appropriated for this purpose, the commissioner shall provide suitable deterrent materials when the commissioner determines that:

(1) immediate action is necessary to prevent significant damage from continuing; and

(2) a cooperative damage management agreement cannot be implemented immediately.

(c) A person may receive emergency deterrent materials assistance under this subdivision more than once, but the cumulative total value of deterrent materials provided to a person, or for use on a parcel, may not exceed $5,000 for specialty crops, $1,500 for protecting stored forage crops other than silage or grain, $3,000 for stored silage or grain, or $1,000 for agricultural crops damaged by flightless Canada geese. The value of deterrent materials provided to a person to help protect stored forage crops, agricultural crops, or pasture from damage by elk may not exceed $5,000. If a person is a co-owner or cotenant with respect to the crops for which the deterrent materials are provided, the deterrent materials are deemed to be "provided" to the person for the purposes of this paragraph.

(d) As a condition of receiving emergency deterrent materials assistance under this subdivision, a landowner or tenant shall enter into a cooperative damage management agreement with the commissioner. Deterrent materials provided by the commissioner may include repellents, fencing materials, or other materials recommended in the agreement to alleviate the damage problem. If requested by a landowner or tenant, any fencing materials provided must be capable of providing long-term protection of specialty crops. A landowner or tenant who receives emergency deterrent materials assistance under this subdivision shall comply with the terms of the cooperative damage management agreement.

History:

1993 c 172 s 50 ; 1994 c 632 art 2 s 23 ; 1996 c 407 s 40 ,41; 1997 c 216 s 78 ,79; 2006 c 282 art 9 s 9 ; 2008 c 297 art 1 s 23 ; 1Sp2011 c 2 art 5 s 20

Minn. Stat. § 97A.315

97A.315 , subdivision 1, paragraph (b).

(b) The owner, occupant, or lessee of private land, or an authorized manager of public land may prohibit outdoor recreation on the land by posting signs once each year that:

(1) state "no trespassing" or similar terms;

(2) display letters at least two inches high;

(3) either:

(i) are signed by the owner, occupant, lessee, or authorized manager; or

(ii) include the legible name and telephone number of the owner, occupant, lessee, or authorized manager; and

(4) either:

(i) are at intervals of 1,000 feet or less along the boundary of the area, or in a wooded area where boundary lines are not clear, at intervals of 500 feet or less; or

(ii) mark the primary corners of each parcel of land and access roads and trails at the point of entrance to each parcel of land except that corners only accessible through agricultural land need not be posted.

(c) A person may not erect a sign that prohibits outdoor recreation or trespassing where the person does not have a property right, title, or interest to use the land.

Subd. 5. Retrieving wounded game.

Except as provided in subdivision 3, a person on foot may, without permission of the owner, occupant, or lessee, enter land that is not posted under subdivision 4, to retrieve a wounded animal that was lawfully shot. The hunter must leave the land immediately after retrieving the wounded game.

Subd. 6. Retrieving hunting dogs.

A person on foot may, without permission of the owner, occupant, or lessee, enter private land without a firearm to retrieve a hunting dog. After retrieving the dog, the person must immediately leave the premises.

Subd. 7. Using firearms and taking in certain areas.

(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, a person may not discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a building occupied by a human or livestock without the written permission of the owner, occupant, or lessee:

(1) on another person's private land, if the land is not a licensed shooting preserve; or

(2) on a public road right-of-way.

(b) No person may discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a stockade or corral confining livestock for the purpose of normal livestock holding or sorting operations without the permission of the owner, occupant, or lessee. This paragraph does not apply to persons hunting during an established hunting season on state-owned or local government-owned land that is not a road right-of-way. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "stockade or corral" means a fenced enclosure for confining livestock that does not enclose an area greater than one acre.

Subd. 8. Destroying property; gate closing.

A person may not:

(1) wound or kill another person's domestic animal;

(2) destroy, cut, or tear down another person's fence, building, grain, crops, live tree, or sign erected under subdivision 4; or

(3) pass through another person's closed gate without returning the gate to its original position.

History:

1986 c 386 art 2 s 1 ; 1987 c 149 art 1 s 40 -42; 1996 c 301 s 1 -7; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 117 ; 2012 c 277 art 1 s 49 ; 2014 c 290 s 35 -37

Minn. Stat. § 97B.516

97B.516 PLAN FOR ELK MANAGEMENT.

(a) The commissioner of natural resources must adopt an elk management plan that:

(1) recognizes the value and uniqueness of elk;

(2) provides for integrated management of an elk population in harmony with the environment; and

(3) affords optimum recreational opportunities.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner must not manage an elk herd in Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, or Beltrami Counties in a manner that would increase the size of the herd, including adoption or implementation of an elk management plan designed to increase an elk herd, unless the commissioner of agriculture verifies that crop and fence damages paid under section

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)