1.1    .................... moves to amend H. F. No. 631 as follows:
1.2Page 3, after line 25, insert:

1.3    "Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 282.04, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.4    Subdivision 1. Timber sales; land leases and uses. (a) The county auditor may
1.5sell timber upon any tract that may be approved by the natural resources commissioner.
1.6The sale of timber shall be made for cash at not less than the appraised value determined
1.7by the county board to the highest bidder after not less than one week's published notice
1.8in an official paper within the county. Any timber offered at the public sale and not sold
1.9may thereafter be sold at private sale by the county auditor at not less than the appraised
1.10value thereof, until the time as the county board may withdraw the timber from sale. The
1.11appraised value of the timber and the forestry practices to be followed in the cutting of
1.12said timber shall be approved by the commissioner of natural resources.
1.13    (b) Payment of the full sale price of all timber sold on tax-forfeited lands shall be
1.14made in cash at the time of the timber sale, except in the case of oral or sealed bid auction
1.15sales, the down payment shall be no less than 15 percent of the appraised value, and the
1.16balance shall be paid prior to entry. In the case of auction sales that are partitioned and
1.17sold as a single sale with predetermined cutting blocks, the down payment shall be no less
1.18than 15 percent of the appraised price of the entire timber sale which may be held until the
1.19satisfactory completion of the sale or applied in whole or in part to the final cutting block.
1.20The value of each separate block must be paid in full before any cutting may begin in that
1.21block. With the permission of the county contract administrator the purchaser may enter
1.22unpaid blocks and cut necessary timber incidental to developing logging roads as may
1.23be needed to log other blocks provided that no timber may be removed from an unpaid
1.24block until separately scaled and paid for. If payment is provided as specified in this
1.25paragraph as security under paragraph (a) and no cutting has taken place on the contract,
1.26the county auditor may credit the security provided, less any down payment required for
1.27an auction sale under this paragraph, to any other contract issued to the contract holder
2.1by the county under this chapter to which the contract holder requests in writing that it
2.2be credited, provided the request and transfer is made within the same calendar year as
2.3the security was received.
2.4    (c) The county board may require final settlement on the basis of a scale of cut
2.5products sell any timber, including biomass, as appraised or scaled, at its discretion.
2.6Any parcels of land from which timber is to be sold by scale of cut products shall be so
2.7designated in the published notice of sale under paragraph (a), in which case the notice
2.8shall contain a description of the parcels, a statement of the estimated quantity of each
2.9species of timber, and the appraised price of each species of timber for 1,000 feet, per cord
2.10or per piece, as the case may be. In those cases any bids offered over and above the
2.11appraised prices shall be by percentage, the percent bid to be added to the appraised price
2.12of each of the different species of timber advertised on the land. The purchaser of timber
2.13from the parcels shall pay in cash at the time of sale at the rate bid for all of the timber
2.14shown in the notice of sale as estimated to be standing on the land, and in addition shall
2.15pay at the same rate for any additional amounts which the final scale shows to have been
2.16cut or was available for cutting on the land at the time of sale under the terms of the sale.
2.17Where the final scale of cut products shows that less timber was cut or was available
2.18for cutting under terms of the sale than was originally paid for, the excess payment
2.19shall be refunded from the forfeited tax sale fund upon the claim of the purchaser, to be
2.20audited and allowed by the county board as in case of other claims against the county. No
2.21timber, except hardwood pulpwood, may be removed from the parcels of land or other
2.22designated landings until scaled by a person or persons designated by the county board
2.23and approved by the commissioner of natural resources. Landings other than the parcel
2.24of land from which timber is cut may be designated for scaling by the county board by
2.25written agreement with the purchaser of the timber. The county board may, by written
2.26agreement with the purchaser and with a consumer designated by the purchaser when the
2.27timber is sold by the county auditor, and with the approval of the commissioner of natural
2.28resources, accept the consumer's scale of cut products delivered at the consumer's landing.
2.29No timber shall be removed until fully paid for in cash. Small amounts of timber not
2.30exceeding $3,000 in appraised valuation may be sold for not less than the full appraised
2.31value at private sale to individual persons without first publishing notice of sale or calling
2.32for bids, provided that in case of a sale involving a total appraised value of more than $200
2.33the sale shall be made subject to final settlement on the basis of a scale of cut products in
2.34the manner above provided and not more than two of the sales, directly or indirectly to any
2.35individual shall be in effect at one time.
3.1    (d) As directed by the county board, the county auditor may lease tax-forfeited land
3.2to individuals, corporations or organized subdivisions of the state at public or private sale,
3.3and at the prices and under the terms as the county board may prescribe, for use as cottage
3.4and camp sites and for agricultural purposes and for the purpose of taking and removing of
3.5hay, stumpage, sand, gravel, clay, rock, marl, and black dirt from the land, and for garden
3.6sites and other temporary uses provided that no leases shall be for a period to exceed ten
3.7years; provided, further that any leases involving a consideration of more than $12,000 per
3.8year, except to an organized subdivision of the state shall first be offered at public sale in
3.9the manner provided herein for sale of timber. Upon the sale of any leased land, it shall
3.10remain subject to the lease for not to exceed one year from the beginning of the term of the
3.11lease. Any rent paid by the lessee for the portion of the term cut off by the cancellation
3.12shall be refunded from the forfeited tax sale fund upon the claim of the lessee, to be
3.13audited and allowed by the county board as in case of other claims against the county.
3.14    (e) As directed by the county board, the county auditor may lease tax-forfeited land
3.15to individuals, corporations, or organized subdivisions of the state at public or private sale,
3.16at the prices and under the terms as the county board may prescribe, for the purpose
3.17of taking and removing for use for road construction and other purposes tax-forfeited
3.18stockpiled iron-bearing material. The county auditor must determine that the material is
3.19needed and suitable for use in the construction or maintenance of a road, tailings basin,
3.20settling basin, dike, dam, bank fill, or other works on public or private property, and
3.21that the use would be in the best interests of the public. No lease shall exceed ten years.
3.22The use of a stockpile for these purposes must first be approved by the commissioner of
3.23natural resources. The request shall be deemed approved unless the requesting county
3.24is notified to the contrary by the commissioner of natural resources within six months
3.25after receipt of a request for approval for use of a stockpile. Once use of a stockpile has
3.26been approved, the county may continue to lease it for these purposes until approval is
3.27withdrawn by the commissioner of natural resources.
3.28    (f) The county auditor, with the approval of the county board is authorized to grant
3.29permits, licenses, and leases to tax-forfeited lands for the depositing of stripping, lean
3.30ores, tailings, or waste products from mines or ore milling plants, upon the conditions and
3.31for the consideration and for the period of time, not exceeding 15 years, as the county
3.32board may determine. The permits, licenses, or leases are subject to approval by the
3.33commissioner of natural resources.
3.34    (g) Any person who removes any timber from tax-forfeited land before said
3.35timber has been scaled and fully paid for as provided in this subdivision is guilty of a
3.36misdemeanor.
4.1    (h) The county auditor may, with the approval of the county board, and without first
4.2offering at public sale, grant leases, for a term not exceeding 25 years, for the removal
4.3of peat and for the production or removal of farm-grown closed-loop biomass as defined
4.4in section 216B.2424, subdivision 1, or short-rotation woody crops from tax-forfeited
4.5lands upon the terms and conditions as the county board may prescribe. Any lease for
4.6the removal of peat, farm-grown closed-loop biomass, or short-rotation woody crops
4.7from tax-forfeited lands must first be reviewed and approved by the commissioner of
4.8natural resources if the lease covers 320 or more acres. No lease for the removal of
4.9peat, farm-grown closed-loop biomass, or short-rotation woody crops shall be made by
4.10the county auditor pursuant to this section without first holding a public hearing on the
4.11auditor's intention to lease. One printed notice in a legal newspaper in the county at least
4.12ten days before the hearing, and posted notice in the courthouse at least 20 days before
4.13the hearing shall be given of the hearing.
4.14    (i) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (c) to the contrary, the St. Louis
4.15County auditor may, at the discretion of the county board, sell timber to the party who
4.16bids the highest price for all the several kinds of timber, as provided for sales by the
4.17commissioner of natural resources under section 90.14. Bids offered over and above the
4.18appraised price need not be applied proportionately to the appraised price of each of
4.19the different species of timber.
4.20    (j) In lieu of any payment or deposit required in paragraph (b), as directed by the
4.21county board and under terms set by the county board, the county auditor may accept an
4.22irrevocable bank letter of credit in the amount equal to the amount otherwise determined
4.23in paragraph (b). If an irrevocable bank letter of credit is provided under this paragraph,
4.24at the written request of the purchaser, the county may periodically allow the bank letter
4.25of credit to be reduced by an amount proportionate to the value of timber that has been
4.26harvested and for which the county has received payment. The remaining amount of
4.27the bank letter of credit after a reduction under this paragraph must not be less than 20
4.28percent of the value of the timber purchased. If an irrevocable bank letter of credit or
4.29cash deposit is provided for the down payment required in paragraph (b), and no cutting
4.30of timber has taken place on the contract for which a letter of credit has been provided,
4.31the county may allow the transfer of the letter of credit to any other contract issued to the
4.32contract holder by the county under this chapter to which the contract holder requests in
4.33writing that it be credited."
4.34Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
4.35Amend the title as follows:
5.1Page 1, line 4, after the first semicolon, insert: "providing for timber sales on
5.2tax-forfeited land;"